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Back to the Balcony

An amused second look at movies and culture from the last century.
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Back to the Balcony
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Now displaying: 2023
Dec 29, 2023

Mario Bernardi revisits a movie he hated the first time around. His reaction this time is completely different. So what caused the change because it didn't have that effect on Jimmy.

Dec 15, 2023

Bob Kerr is one of our most thoughtful, insightful, truly original guests and a man who loves the magic of Christmas. And yet, his favourite Christmas movie is Ernest Saves Christmas. Jimmy thinks the only magic is what kept the franchise going to this point. A funny review that takes us all back to our younger days when the standards weren't as high.

Dec 1, 2023

Guest Ronald Hae sees Rush Hour as more comedy than drama. Phil leans towards the suspense. Jimmy leans towards end of life therapy if he ever has to watch it again. 

Nov 17, 2023

Somehow this got away from Jimmy when Patrick Coppolino admitted that Manolis Zontanos was right and Back to the Future was the better movie. But he still found enough redeeming value in Hot Tub Time Machine to put up a spirited defence. And then Manolis starts definding it. Very funny episode with a couple of naturally funny people.

Nov 3, 2023

Guest Greg Dobrowski wants to talk about a most unusual movie, 1981's Time Bandits. it's kind of like the Wizard of Oz on acid. It's kind of like a lot of things, but is it a good movie? Jimmy has some strong feelings here.

Oct 20, 2023

Guests Ryan Sim and Mitch McBeaudry face off again to determine not just the best movie but the best movie franchise, Friday the 13th versus Nightmare on Elm Street. Jimmy found both movies so scary he hosted the show from under the covers.

Oct 6, 2023

Guest Keh Dee dips way back in the past to the birth of Hag Horror for the classic tale of sisters and fame with 1962's Whatever Happened to Baby Jane starring two of classic Hollywood's screen divas - who happened to share a mutual hatred in real life. Jimmy can't believe she chose a movie he's wanted to talk about for eight years.

Sep 22, 2023

Bob Kerr returns with a new kind of horror, 1991's Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Funny as always but there's also an interesting segment about whether The Terminator movies are the source of everyone's anxiety about AI. Jimmy's not worried but then he's still getting over the shock of moveable type. That's a really smart joke.

Sep 8, 2023

Chris Jarvie and Ryan Schnider join Jimmy to decide the best James Bond movie of all time, 1989's License to Kill or 2006's Casino Royale. Weird fact: License to Kill has nothing to do with Bond's license and outside of the card game taking place there, Casino Royale has nothing to do with the casino. Where do they get these names?

Aug 25, 2023

Quick, name another movie where bicycle racing played a major part? Yeah, Jimmy and Mario couldn't either. Mind you, Mario contends this isn't a sports movie, it's a coming of age movie. Jimmy's not so sure. Special guest engineering by Len Perdic.

Aug 11, 2023

What's the best movie about show business? Chris Wuergler thinks it's 2018's A Star is Born. Barry Carter disagrees, he says it's 2008's Tropic Thunder. You couldn't get two movies that were further apart yet they both make a convincing argument. And Jimmy will say? Listen to find out.

Jul 28, 2023

This could very well be the companion  episode to the one we did a couple months ago about the movie Clue (with Dave Sokolowski). This time Mario Bernardi praises Murder By Death and Jimmy finds it's not the comic gem he remembers. Whose right? You may be surprised.

Jul 14, 2023

We know our 100th anniversary was a couple years ago but thanks to Covid we had to put off our big celebration - until now! So much fun, so many great memories - plus ice cream cake and champagne. Stories, insights, jokes - even a quiz. What a great way to kick off season 8.

Jun 30, 2023

The gloves come off when comedians Gerry Hall and Chris Jarvie try and decide what's the greatest hockey movie of all time. Both are big sports fans - which begs the question why talk about the most under-represented sport in cinema history? According to Wikipedia, there's more films about bull fighting. Funny episode.

Jun 16, 2023

Guests Joel Van Vliet and Allie Moore insisit that Martin Scorsese makes the most intense movies - they just can agree about which one is best. Joel says it's 2016's Silence, Allie says it's 2006's The Departed. So essentially a movie about priests in Japan is more intense than a movie about infiltraters in the police and gangs of Boston. Jimmy doesn't say much in this one - they do all the work for him. Our most fast paced episode.

Jun 2, 2023

Comedian Dave Sokolowski considers Clue a great movie because it so seamlessly builds on the characters of the board game. Jimmy thinks that's a liability. Funny for what it is or not funny because of what it is? Give it a listen and tell us what you think.

May 20, 2023

This shaped up to be a cakewalk deciding which was the best spy spoof movie of all time. Instead, things got turned around in one of our funniest episodes with guests Ryan Sim and Mitch McBeaudry.

May 5, 2023

Is it about books or TV or censorship or ridiculous ideas? Mario Bernardi and Jimmy go back in time to talk about the movie based on a book they had to read in high school. While they don't reveal how they did when tested on it you get a pretty good idea based on their discussion. Surprisingly insightful.

Apr 21, 2023

Patrick Coppolino and Kristian Reimer join Jimmy to determine once and for all which movie has the worst special effects. Patrick Coppolino makes a pretty convincing argument for 1992's The Lawnmower Man. Kristian Reimer makes a surprisingly convincing argument for every tampered version of 1977's Star Wars - A New Hope. Most shocking reveleation: Patrick has never seen Star Wars.

Apr 7, 2023

Will anybody remember the Marx Brothers in fifty years? That's just one of the things Jimmy and guest Mario Bernardi ponder as they talk about a movie that isn't even the best Marx Brothers movie. So why not talk about their best? According to Mario, it's only for one reason: Tuttsi-fruittsi. If that doesn't mean anything you definitely have to give a listen. Fun and you might even learn something about some comedians who deserve to be remembered.

Mar 24, 2023

Once in a great while a movie comes along that makes Jimmy appreciate how good Love Story was. Chris Wuergler does it again with The Bodyguard, part Whitney Houston music video, part Kevin Costner trying to remember how many emotions he knows.

Mar 10, 2023

Okay, it's a sexist comment but would you really expect Chris Wuergler to bring us 1994's The Shawshank Redemption? Traditional wisdom is women don't want to see a movie that doesn't have women in it but Chris has a deep and abiding affection for this one. Jimmy is hard pressed to disagree and Phil goes missing in action for a while.

Feb 24, 2023

Comedian Larry Smith tries to convince Jimmy there's something beautifully funny about the movie Johnny Dangerously even if it's not great art. It's fascinating how two individuals can look at the same thing and see two different things. A funny look at a movie that may or may not be funny.

Feb 10, 2023

Good grief, guest Bret Measor can't stop talking about the Rocky movies! This time it's Rocky III. Jimmy says it's just another formula fight movie, Bret begs to differ - then insists Rocky IV has to be next. Nice try, Bret.

Jan 27, 2023

And now for something entirely different - that isn't Monty Python. Mitch McBeaudry and Ryan Sim face off to determine the best movie parody of all time. Is it Spaceballs or Shaun of the Dead? Or something entirely different (that still isn't Monty Python). Give a listen and then let us know your candidate.

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