The Movie Bar

The Movie Bar, Episode 11: Liar Liar Walks Into the Bar!

The Diad and Bedroth finally tackle what may be the most successful legal film in history: 1997's Jim Carrey vehicle, Liar Liar.

Directed by Tom Shadyac and written by Paul Guay and Stephen Mazur, Liar Liar tells the story of Fletcher Reede (Carrey), a Los Angeles attorney who has built a successful career at the expense of the truth, his marriage to Maura Tierney's Audrey, and his relationship with his son Max, played by Justin Cooper. Fletcher's life and career are turned upside down when Max's birthday wish prevents Fletcher from lying for 24 hours.

The film was considered a critical and commercial success at the time of its release, with Carrey's performance specifically gaining him accolades, including a Golden Globe nomination.

We're pretty sure most of you will have seen this one and know how it turns out - the real question is, will Bedroth and The Diad agree with the critics and audiences from 1997 who thought Liar Liar was so great? Join us at the bar to find out!

Bedroth on Twitter: https://twitter.com/VGMPod

The Diad on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thediad

Find us on Discord: https://discord.gg/3w8EfU4mJM

Theme Song "Cross Examination" by Skeletroy (https://www.patreon.com/skeletroy/posts)

The Movie Bar is proudly affiliated with RPGEra.com (https://rpgera.com/)! Check them out for lots of great content, including articles, videos, and podcasts covering a variety of pop culture topics!

The Diad and Bedroth celebrate double digits and their first episode of 2023 with a film that came out the same year as Bedroth - 1982's medical malpractice-centered drama, The Verdict.

Directed by Sidney Lumet and written by David Mamet, adapted from Barry Reed's 1980 novel of the same name, the verdict stars Paul Newman as Frank Galvin, a down-on-his-luck alcoholic lawyer who accepts a medical malpractice case to improve his own situation, but discovers along the way that he is doing the right thing. The film also features Jack Warden as Frank's longsuffering partner, Mickey; Charlotte Rampling as Frank's love interest, Laura; James Mason as defense attorney Ed Concannon; and Milo O'Shea as Judge Hoyle, between Frank and whom there is no love lost.

The film was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor in a Leading Role (Newman), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Mason), and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Will Frank's better angels triumph and give him the verdict he deems just for his client, or will the demons of his past drag him back down? Join us at the bar to find out!

Bedroth on Twitter: https://twitter.com/VGMPod

The Diad on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thediad

Find us on Discord: https://discord.gg/3w8EfU4mJM

Theme Song "Cross Examination" by Skeletroy (https://www.patreon.com/skeletroy/posts)

The Movie Bar is proudly affiliated with RPGEra.com (https://rpgera.com/)! Check them out for lots of great content, including articles, videos, and podcasts covering a variety of pop culture topics!

Sound clips from The Verdict are copyright (c) 1982 by 20th Century Fox.

The Diad and Bedroth take two trips down Christmas Memory Lane as they present their first double (jeopardy) feature for Christmas 2022! Originally released in 1947 by 20th Century Fox, written and directed by George Seaton and based on a story by Valentine Davies - and remade in 1994 by John Hughes and Les Mayfield (again released by Fox) - Miracle on 34th Street tells the story of Kris Kringle, an elderly gentleman in New York who believes he is Santa Claus and is forced to defend (with the legal assistance, respectively, of John Payne's Fred Gailey and Dylan McDermott's Bryan Bedford) his sanity and his very identity against the State of New York.

At the same time, Kris is struggling to hold on to the hope that he can still make a difference in the world, and he has chosen as a test case the mother/daughter pair of Special Events Director Doris Walker (originally played by Maureen O'Hara and portrayed - as "Dorey" by Elizabeth Perkins in the remake), who hires Kris to play Santa in the annual Thanksgiving Day parade after her original Santa becomes intoxicated, and her skeptical daughter, Susan (Natalie Wood/Mara Wilson).  Add in the love story brewing between Doris and Fred (or Dorey and Bryan), and these movies have a lot going on!

Will Fred/Bryan be successful in their attempts to prove that Kris is not crazy for believing he is Santa? Will they be successful in their romantic aspirations? Perhaps most importantly, will Doris/Dorey and Susan have their faith restored on this momentous Christmas? And how does it all hold up under the Diad's legal scrutiny and in Bedroth's court of public opinion? Grab your eggnog, join us at the bar and find out!

Bedroth on Twitter: https://twitter.com/VGMPod

The Diad on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thediad

Find us on Discord: https://discord.gg/3w8EfU4mJM

Theme Song "Cross Examination" by Skeletroy (https://www.patreon.com/skeletroy/posts). 

Additional music under the blooper reel, "VGMVGM Winter Mix" also by Skeletroy.

The Movie Bar is proudly affiliated with RPGEra.com (https://rpgera.com/)! Check them out for lots of great content, including articles, videos, and podcasts covering a variety of pop culture topics!

Sound bytes from ...And Justice for All are TM and Copyright (c) 21st Century Fox.

Hello, everyone. The guys didn't get around to watching The Verdict this month with all the hustle and bustle of the impending holiday season (plus some sicknesses, some school stuff with the kids, and, you know...work and stuff), so that case is going back on the docket for January, and we're all going to take a short recess in observation of American Thanksgiving! For all of you who are celebrating, we wish you the best of times with family and food; for those who aren't, we hope you have a great rest of November.

We'll be back next month with our first double feature! The guys will sit down to watch both the 1947 and 1994 versions of the holiday classic, Miracle on 34th Street! We hope you'll all join us as we determine if it's possible to legally affirm the existence of Santa Claus.

In the mean time, please reach out to us on social media! We'd love to hear from you about how you think the show's first year has gone, what you like about it, what you'd add or change, and any films you'd like us to check out in 2023!

Bedroth on Twitter: https://twitter.com/VGMPod

The Diad on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thediad

Find us on Discord: https://discord.gg/3w8EfU4mJM

You can also go to https://anchor.fm/moviebar and leave us a voice message!

Theme Song "Cross Examination" by Skeletroy (https://www.patreon.com/skeletroy/posts)

The Movie Bar is proudly affiliated with RPGEra.com (https://rpgera.com/)! Check them out for lots of great content, including articles, videos, and podcasts covering a variety of pop culture topics!

The Movie Bar, Episode 8: The Devil's Advocate Walks Into the Bar!

**This episode deals with topics that some people may find triggering, including religious angst, murder, sexual assault, incest, and suicide. As such, we have chosen to mark it as explicit. Listener discretion is strongly advised.**

The Diad and Bedroth dance with the devil just in time for Halloween in this supersized holiday episode, as they analyze 1997 supernatural horror/legal thriller The Devil's Advocate.

Directed by Taylor Hackford from a screenplay by Jonathan Lemkin and Tony Gilroy, and based on Andrew Neiderman's 1990 novel of the same name, The Devil's Advocate stars Keanu Reeves as promising young prosecutor Kevin Lomax, Charlize Theron (returning to the podcast) as his wife Mary Ann, and Al Pacino (also returning) in the scene-stealing role of John Milton, an immensely powerful and influential New York lawyer who may not be quite what he seems.

Once the Lomaxes arrive in New York, Kevin is swept up in Milton's world, passing a series of apparent tests until he is awarded a very high-profile case. Mary Ann is initially excited, but she soon starts to have second thoughts as Kevin's job pull them farther apart. Then there are the disturbing dreams and visions she's having about some of the people into whose circle her husband's new job has pulled them.

Will the Lomaxes weather the storm and find redemption? Will Kevin give in to temptation and risk his very soul for another big win? And what's the real story behind the enigmatic John Milton? Join us at the bar and find out!

Bedroth on Twitter: https://twitter.com/VGMPod

The Diad on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thediad

Find us on Discord: https://discord.gg/3w8EfU4mJM

Theme Song "Cross Examination" by Skeletroy (https://www.patreon.com/skeletroy/posts)

The Movie Bar is proudly affiliated with RPGEra.com (https://rpgera.com/)! Check them out for lots of great content, including articles, videos, and podcasts covering a variety of pop culture topics!

Sound clips from The Devil's Advocate are copyright (c) 1997 by Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

The Movie Bar, Episode 7: ...Ace Attorney Walks Into the Bar!

*Note - if your download of this episode is messed up (sound effects in the wrong place, half an hour of dialogue mis-aligned around the 85 minute mark), please delete and re-download the episode to fix the issue!

**Content warning - this episode contains mild swearing and references to violence, including non-graphic mentions of murder.

The Diad and Bedroth cross the ocean to the Land of the Rising Sun with their first international film, and they're not alone! Jason Arriola of Games and Junk joins the guys to analyze Ace Attorney, a Japanese film adaptation of Gyakuten Saiban Yomigaeru Gyakuten, known in the United States as Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney .

Directed by Takashi Miike from a screenplay by Takeharu Sakurai and Sachiko Oguchi, Ace Attorney (Gyakuten Saiban in Japan) stars Hiroki Narimaya as Phoneix Wright, Mirei Kiratani as Maya Fey, and Takumi Saitoh as Miles Edgeworth, as Phoenix, an up-and-coming defense attorney, faces a series of opponents (including Edgeworth himself) while also dealing with the death of his friend and colleague, Mia Fey (played by Rei Dan). Mia's sister, Maya, who is initially charged with the Mia's murder before being acquitted thanks to Phoenix's defense, begins assisting Phoenix when he takes his next case. In a turn(about) of events, Phoenix's opponent in Maya's murder trial, the famed (and feared) prosecutor Miles Edgeworth, is also charged with murder! And this case has ramifications that go all the way back to the mysterious death of Miles's father, Gregory (Takehiro Hira) and the downfall of Maya's family name after her mother, the medium Misty Fey (Kimiko Yo) provides mystical (and mistaken) evidence for the mysterious DL-6 case. What's more, to prove Miles innocent, Phoenix must win a case against Miles's one-time mentor, Manfred von Karma (Ryo Ishibashi), who hasn't lost a single case in his 40-year career!

Confused? Intrigued? So are we! Will Phoenix emerge victorious and prove that Miles is innocent? Is Miles innocent to begin with? Or will The Judge (Akira Emoto) find the young Edgeworth guilty in spite of Phoenix Wright's OBJECTIONS? Join us (and Jason!) at the bar and find out!

Jason on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JasonArriola

Games and Junk website: http://gamesandjunk.net/

Bedroth on Twitter: https://twitter.com/VGMPod

The Diad on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thediad

Find us on Discord: https://discord.gg/3w8EfU4mJM

Theme Song "Cross Examination" by Skeletroy (https://www.patreon.com/skeletroy/posts)

The Movie Bar is proudly affiliated with RPGEra.com (https://rpgera.com/)! Check them out for lots of great content, including articles, videos, and podcasts covering a variety of pop culture topics!

Music from Gyakuten Saiban Yomigaeru Gyakuten (composed by Masakazu Sugimori and Naoto Tanaka) is copyright (c) 2001 by Capcom Co., Ltd.

The Movie Bar, Episode 6: ...And Justice for All Walks Into the Bar!

The Diad and Bedroth head to Baltimore to watch Al Pacino in one of his many Oscar-nominated performances as Arthur Kirkland, a lawyer who struggles with his conscience and with the legal system itself in the 1979 legal drama...And Justice for All - as always, from the dual standpoints of casual moviegoer and legal expert.

Directed by Norman Jewison from a screenplay by Valerie Curtin and Barry Levinson, ...And Justice For All stars Jack Warden, John Forsythe, and Pacino, with strong supporting turns from Lee Strasberg, Jeffrey Tambor, Christine Lahti, and Craig T. Nelson. Arthur Kirkland is a passionate young lawyer whose pursuit of true justice, especially for society's cast-offs, puts him at odds with the powers that be - particularly the ruthless Judge Henry T. Fleming, whose strict adherence to the letter of the law is keeping one of Kirkland's clients behind bars far longer than his crime deserves. As he deals with numerous other struggles, including his grandfather's decline into dementia, a colleague's mental breakdown, and another client's tragic reaction to a prison sentence, Kirkland is drawn, against his will, into the defense of Judge Fleming himself, who has been accused of rape. 

Will Kirkland's sense of duty compel him to provide a sound defense of his nemesis, or will his strong moral compass lead him down a path that is incompatible with his responsibility as an attorney? Join us at the bar and find out!

Bedroth on Twitter: https://twitter.com/VGMPod

The Diad on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thediad

Find us on Discord: https://discord.gg/3w8EfU4mJM

Theme Song "Cross Examination" by Skeletroy (https://www.patreon.com/skeletroy/posts)

Song from the film's credits: "Something Funny Goin' On", by Marilyn Bergman, Alan Bergman, and Dave Grusin, performed by Zack Sanders, Copyright (c) Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc.

The Movie Bar is proudly affiliated with RPGEra.com (https://rpgera.com/)! Check them out for lots of great content, including articles, videos, and podcasts covering a variety of pop culture topics!

Sound bytes from ...And Justice for All are TM and Copyright (c) Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc.

**Trigger Warning - Due to its subject matter, this episode contains racial slurs and discussion and descriptions of gun violence and sexual assault, including the assault of a child. Listener discretion is advised.**

The Movie Bar, Episode 5: A Time to Kill Walks Into the Bar!

The Diad and Bedroth head back to the American South as they discuss their first foray into the world of John Grisham in the 1996 drama/thriller A Time to Kill - as always, from the dual standpoints of casual moviegoer and legal expert.

The film, based on Grisham's 1989 novel of the same name, directed by Joel Schumacher from a screenplay by Akiva Goldsman, stars Samuel L. Jackson and Matthew McConaughey as, respectively, Carl Lee Hailey, a Black mill worker whose 10 year old daughter is raped by two white men on her way home from the grocery store, and Jake Brigance, the while lawyer who takes Carl's case after he fatally shoots the two men in the local courthouse. After taking Heiley's case, Brigance and his wife (Ashley Judd) and colleagues (Sandra Bullock, Brenda Fricker, and Oliver Platt) find themselves the targets of the local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan, summoned by the brother of one of Hailey's victims, Freddie Lee Cobb (Kiefer Sutherland), and must decide whether the risk of losing their reputation (and perhaps their lives) is worth the potential benefit of not only saving Hailey's life, but also of proving that a Black man can have a fair trial. 

The film also features Donald Sutherland as Lucien Wilbanks, a once-great civil rights lawyer and Jake's longtime mentor; Kevin Spacey as Rufus Buckley, the politically ambitious and experienced prosecutor; and Charles S. Dutton as county sheriff Ozzie Walls.

Does the film stand the test of time? Does it hold up under legal scrutiny? Join us at the bar and find out!

Bedroth on Twitter: https://twitter.com/VGMPod

The Diad on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thediad

Find us on Discord: https://discord.gg/3w8EfU4mJM

Theme Song "Cross Examination" by Skeletroy (https://www.patreon.com/skeletroy/posts)

The Movie Bar is proudly affiliated with RPGEra.com (https://rpgera.com/)! Check them out for lots of great content, including articles, videos, and podcasts covering a variety of pop culture topics!

Sound bytes from A Time to Kill are TM and Copyright (c) Regency Enterprises.

The Movie Bar, Episode 4: From the Hip Walks Into the Bar!

The Diad and Bedroth brave some Stormy Weathers in the 1987 comedy/drama(/thriller?) - as always, from the dual standpoints of casual moviegoer and legal expert.

The film, directed by Bob Clark from a screenplay by Clark and David E. Kelley, stars Judd Nelson as a fresh-faced, up-and-coming lawyer named Robin "Stormy" Weathers. After insinuating himself into a relatively minor assault case on behalf of the storied law firm where he works, Weathers displays an impressive (if unconventional) courtroom manner, ultimately winning what was thought to be an unwinnable case. This catapults the young lawyer to national acclaim and, somewhat begrudgingly to his superiors, to a role as partner in his firm. 

But when he is assigned his second case - one so impossible, representing a client so unsavory that his firm had initially turned it down - Robin begins to wonder if this is a storm he will be able to weather.

The film also features Ray Walston, Darren McGaven, Elizabeth Perkins, and, in the standout role as a prickly professor of English literature accused of murdering his mistress, John Hurt.

Does the film, like its protagonist, strike a unique and impressive tone, or does it end up biting off more than it can chew? Will it be found guilty of misrepresenting the legal profession? Join us at the bar and find out!

Bedroth on Twitter: https://twitter.com/VGMPod

The Diad on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thediad

Find us on Discord: https://discord.gg/3w8EfU4mJM

Theme Song "Cross Examination" by Skeletroy (https://www.patreon.com/skeletroy/posts)

The Movie Bar is proudly affiliated with RPGEra.com (https://rpgera.com/)! Check them out for lots of great content, including articles, videos, and podcasts covering a variety of pop culture topics!

Sound bytes from From the Hip are TM and Copyright (c) Lionsgate Films.

The Diad and Bedroth find themselves in a mixed-up situation in the 1997 legal comedy - as always, from the dual standpoints of casual moviegoer and legal expert.

Charlie Tuttle (Jeff Daniels) has just been made partner in a successful law firm when his boss and future father-in-law sends him to Paradise Bluff, Nevada, to request a continuance in a mail fraud case involving a cousin-in-law, con artist Benny Gibbs (Rip Torn), who is likely to be found guilty. However, the timing of the trip conflicts with Charlie's bachelor party, which has been planned by his old friend and best man, actor Richard Rietti (Michael Richards). 

When Charlie arrives in Paradise Bluff, he is unexpectedly greeted by Richard, who is determined to show his friend a great time prior to his wedding. During the celebration, Charlie is knocked out in a bar fight. The next day — the day of the court appearance — Richard finds him in no shape to appear in court that day, so he impersonates Charlie. When the case unexpectedly goes to trial, the two must continue the charade, or they both will go to prison for perpetrating a fraud upon the court.

The film co-stars Charlize Theron and Jessica Steen and features entertaining cameos by Austin Pendleton, Jennifer Coolidge, and Rip Torn.

Will the film's reputation stand up to the hosts' scrutiny? Will it be found guilty of misrepresenting the legal profession? Join us at the bar and find out!

Bedroth on Twitter: https://twitter.com/VGMPod

The Diad on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thediad

Find us on Discord: https://discord.gg/3w8EfU4mJM

Theme Song "Cross Examination" by Skeletroy (https://www.patreon.com/skeletroy/posts)

The Movie Bar is proudly affiliated with RPGEra.com (https://rpgera.com/)! Check them out for lots of great content, including articles, videos, and podcasts covering a variety of pop culture topics!

Sound bytes from Trial and Error are TM and Copyright (c) Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc.

**Content Warning - this episode contains discussion of physical assault and murder and contains profanity such as a__, p_ssed, and g_d d_mn**

The Movie Bar, Episode 2: A Few Good Men Walks Into the Bar!

The Diad and Bedroth find out if they can handle the truth in the 1992 military legal drama - as always, from the dual standpoints of casual moviegoer and legal expert.

The film, directed by Rob Reiner, from a screenplay by Aaron Sorkin (adapted from his 1989 stage play of the same name), features an ensemble cast headlined by Tom Cruise, Demi Moore, and Jack Nicholson. Cruise stars as Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee, a U. S. Navy lawyer serving in the branch's JAG Corps, who is assigned to defend two marines who have been accused of murdering a fellow soldier. Encouraged by Moore's Lt. Commander JoAnne Galloway and joined by Kevin Pollak's Lt. Sam Weinberg, Kaffee (a smooth talker who prefers plea bargains and has never seen the inside of a courtroom) subverts expectations by taking the matter to trial, putting him at odds with Nicholson's formidable Colonel Nathan Jessup of the U. S. Marine Corp.

The film also features impressive turns by Kevin Bacon, Kiefer Sutherland, and J. T. Walsh.

Will the film's reputation stand up to the hosts' scrutiny? Will it be found guilty of misrepresenting the legal profession? Join us at the bar and find out!

Bedroth on Twitter: https://twitter.com/VGMPod

The Diad on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thediad

Find us on Discord: https://discord.gg/3w8EfU4mJM

Theme Song "Cross Examination" by Skeletroy (https://www.patreon.com/skeletroy/posts)

The Movie Bar is proudly affiliated with RPGEra.com (https://rpgera.com/)! Check them out for lots of great content, including articles, videos, and podcasts covering a variety of pop culture topics!

Sound bytes from A Few Good Men are TM and Copyright (c) Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc.

Welcome to The Movie Bar, Episode 1: My Cousin Vinny Walks Into the Bar!

The Diad and Bedroth discuss the low points and high points of the classic 1992 legal comedy from the dual standpoints of casual moviegoer and legal expert.

The film, directed by Jonathan Lynn, from a screenplay by Dale Launer, stars Joe Pesci as Vincent Laguardia "Vinny" Gambini, who travels from New York to Alabama with his fiance, Mona Lisa Vito (Marisa Tomei). The inexperienced Vinny faces off against a savvy southern prosecutor (Lane Smith) and a stickler of a judge (Fred Gwynne, in his final film appearance) as he endeavors to prove the innocense of his cousin (Ralph Macchio), who has been accused of murder.

Bedroth on Twitter: https://twitter.com/VGMPod

The Diad on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thediad

Find us on Discord: https://discord.gg/3w8EfU4mJM

Theme Song "Cross Examination" by Skeletroy (https://www.patreon.com/skeletroy/posts)

The Movie Bar is proudly affiliated with RPGEra.com (https://rpgera.com/)! Check them out for lots of great content, including articles, videos, and podcasts covering a variety of pop culture topics!

Sound bytes from My Cousin Vinny are TM and Copyright (c) 20th Century Fox Film Corp. 

The Diad and Bedroth, both veteran podcasters in the Video Game Music scene, join forces to tackle a completely different topic: legal films. The Diad (who is a lawyer) and Bedroth (who is not) will discuss courtroom classics like My Cousin Vinnie and A Few Good Men, other law-related movies such as Erin Brockovich and Legally Blonde, and perhaps even audience requests! Once this show finds an audience...which is where YOU come in!

Follow us on Twitter @TheDiad and @VGMPod and come join the conversation on Discord at https://discord.gg/3w8EfU4mJM. More contact info will come as the show grows, so keep an eye on your podcast feed!

Check out our first episode, covering My Cousin Vinnie, airing on Monday, January 31st, 2022 at 8:00 AM ET.

Grab a your briefcase and your favorite drink and join us at The Movie Bar!