We’re back! And we’re starting season two of Baconsale by discussing the best and worst movies of 2015. Kent, the traditionalist, limits his picks to movies that were actually released in theaters in 2015, whereas Joel, the loose cannon, allows any movie he watched for the first time in the past year on his list.
We’re happy to have escaped the clutches of Krampus and we hope you enjoy this latest episode of Baconale!
WARNING: Joel spoils a movie from 1931, despite violent protests from Kent and Jacob.
Baconsale 
So you guys got put in the Krampus globe with Wifi and Vegas in it, and you binged watched “Making a Murderer”? Also, did Emily make it out? We’ve all been dying to know.
LikeLike
To answer your first question, yes.
To answer your second question, Emily is safe and sound, as well. She actually made it out during the first spell.
LikeLike
I went and checked out your blog, love the shout out to Jacob and whatever he does. Had to really focus to hold in my laugh to not disturb my coworkers. Good luck Jacob.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Not gonna lie Joel, I would love to hear more on your feelings of The Force Awakens. I get that it’s touchy topic after that last podcast, and you stated your overall review of it here and on your site. I value your opinion and want to hear more, but I know you have other stuff to do so this is not a plea or request. Just wanted to say you’re the man and I’m sad I didn’t get to hear more of your take on the movie.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Force Awakens gave me feelings of nostalgia that I haven’t felt about Star Wars in a long time. I felt like I did when I watched the original series. I think that the homage to the earlier episodes was well done and was an intentional move by J.J. Abrams to set the foundation for the new series. I liked Rey as the protagonist a lot, but I felt like Finn was underdeveloped. Also, I like Kylo Ren as a villain because he is different from Darth Vader or The Emperor because he’s young and unpredictable. Plus, his control of the Force and his lightsaber aren’t as polished, probably because of his lack of control and short-changing his training.
I wish they would have had something different than another Death Star to conquer and I was annoyed by the plot convenience of R2-D2 being in hibernation and then suddenly waking up when it was convenient, but the acting, the special effects and the compelling story allowed me to forgive those moments.
Phew. That was more than I intended. What were your thoughts on the movie?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I loved it. I feel like it’s taking flak for things that are unfair to throw at it. To me, it looks and feels like a true piece of a trilogy (i.e. it’s not really meant to be a stand alone film) and the last couple of decades of film have conditioned people to expect and need all the answers given to them in one film. The tone of the film was something that I was expecting, and was disappointed to not get, in the prequel films. Rey may be my favorite protagonist in the series. Poe Dameron felt forced… it was like they were trying to capture the “Wedge Antilles” type character from the originals and place him in the new trilogy. Finn was definitely underdeveloped, but I’m really excited to see where they go with him in the next two. Kylo Ren finally gave me the kind of broken, uncontrolled Sith character I was expecting in the Star Wars universe. It never made sense to me that these beings obsessed with hatred and passion would be so controlled and I loved his random fits of rage. Definitely agree on the R2 plot convenient placement.. I don’t get why he was there and why he was randomly turned on. I kind of wish the Starkiller base had blown up the command post with the resistance.. (Sadistic? Yeah, Ken may be influencing me too much..) It would have made some interesting twists on the universe to have the resistance and republic basically decimated by the first order and put the movie firmly in control of the new stars of the franchise. Overall I’d put this one as tied with ROTJ for the second/third best movie in the series.
Also, do you use Vid-Angel or Clear-play? You talk about both but which one do you like better?
LikeLike
I loved the movie. I feel like it’s taking a lot of unwarranted flak because people like to hate popular stuff (dang hipsters). The Starkiller base does feel recycled, and I felt like the whole attack on it was really rushed. I actually think they should have had the base get it’s shot off and blow up Princess.. er.. General Leia. (Sadistic right? Kent might be rubbing off on me…) I think it would have been cool to have the three new protagonists left completely on their own to find Luke and take down the First Order who just did what the empire could never do, actually use the Death Star to do something significant that would hinder their enemies.
Other than that I loved everything about this show. I’d put it tied for my second favorite Star Wars movie with Return of the Jedi (obviously Empire would be #1). The film just felt like Star Wars, which is something the prequels only did for me in a few scenes, and those were pretty much all in #3. Rey is such a great character and I can’t wait to see where she goes. Finn was underused. He has to coolest backstory they’ve shown us in a while and they used next to none of it to drive the story. Poe Dameron felt like a weird attempt to make a Wedge Antilles clone. Kylo Ren is an awesome villain. It never really made sense to me that the Sith, these beings consumed with hatred and passion for destruction, would be nearly as controlled in their emotions as the Jedi. His fits of rage where he went berserk made me laugh, but they were such a cool portrayal of how unstable he was, I loved it. Lord Snoke is the most intriguing character to me… I think his true identity may be the big twist of this trilogy rather than Rey’s parentage.
Anyway, (wow that got lengthy really fast) that was my review. Glad you guys are back!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I watched and really liked Not Quite Human.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m not alone!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Did you also see the other classic with the same kid actor, “The Boy Who Could Fly”?
LikeLike
Of the twenty movies discussed (best and worst) I have only seen two of them: Star Wars and Mad Max. Both great movies.
LikeLiked by 1 person
BTW – I know you didn’t comment a whole lot on the Making a Murderer documentary, but I’d like to throw my two cents in. First, I understand that the filmmakers didn’t put in all the evidence that was presented at trial. I have read about what was left out of the documentary. Yet still, as an attorney, and especially as a former prosecutor, I am amazed at how the whole investigation and trial was handled. I am not going to go into each of the ways that Steven Avery’s rights were trampled upon, I’m not even going to go into whether or not I think he did it. To me, that doesn’t matter at this point. The investigation was shoddy, the dassey confession was definitely coerced, and there is enough fishy stuff out there to give me reasonable doubt.
LikeLike
Now back to some less serious stuff. Which is better: clearplay or vidangel?
LikeLike
hahaha nice! I was about to ask the same thing! Clearplay or Vidangel?
LikeLike