The Bobby Bones Show: Movie Mike's Movie Podcast

Episode: "MOVIE MIKE: The 5 Greatest Years in Film + Movie Review: Is Weapons Overhyped? + Trailer Park: Predator: Badlands"

Release Date: August 23, 2025
Host: Movie Mike
Produced by: Nashville Podcast Network / Premiere Networks

Episode Overview

In this jam-packed episode, Movie Mike dives deep into his personal picks for the five greatest years in movie history, sharing top five films for each year and exploring the cultural moments that made those years special. He gives a passionate, spoiler-free review of the much-hyped horror thriller Weapons. The episode wraps up with a Trailer Park segment on the upcoming Predator: Badlands, where Mike shares why this latest installment in the Predator franchise has him especially excited.

The 5 Greatest Years in Movie History

(00:46–36:35)

Movie Mike’s main feature is a countdown of what he considers to be the five all-time best years for movie releases. His choices are deeply personal, anchored in the years he was alive and the ways movies affected him.

How Mike Approached the List

• Mike specifically chooses years that he personally experienced, choosing authenticity over film history’s “golden age” decades.
• “It would have been really hard for me... I just feel like that wouldn’t be authentically me.” (03:07)

#5: 2014

(03:45–15:58)

• Personal Significance: The Blu-ray/Redbox era; symbolized Mike’s adult entry into physical movie collecting and solo watching.
• Social Anxiety Backbone: Redbox allowed Mike to rent without human interaction.
• Top 5 Movies:
  1. Whiplash: “Fantastic movie. Who knew you could make a movie about drumming be so tense filled?” (05:28)
  2. Fury: “My favorite war movie of all time.” (06:00)
  3. Nightcrawler: “Best Jake Gyllenhaal movie of all time.” (06:32)
  4. Guardians of the Galaxy: “It shook up Marvel a little bit… it just changed the game.” (07:21)
  5. Interstellar: “I didn’t watch in theaters—I watched it on Redbox, and I regret that.” (07:57)
• Honorable Mentions:
  • John Wick, Gone Girl, Edge of Tomorrow, Grand Budapest Hotel, It Follows, 22 Jump Street, The Lego Movie, Big Hero 6, Boyhood (“overrated, but I enjoyed it before everyone hyped it”), Neighbors, Paddington, The Interview, Tusk, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, TMNT, A Million Ways to Die in the West, St. Vincent, Wild.

#4: 1999

(15:59–25:47)

• Cultural Context: “Edgy and cool and black and dark, where people just wanted kind of still the coolness of the 90s without the cheese.” (16:20)
• Top 5 Movies:
  1. Fight Club: “Quintessential 1999 movie.” (20:58)
  2. South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut: “This movie taught me how to curse at a very young age. I should not have watched this movie at 8 years old.” (19:16)
  3. Toy Story 2: “Almost didn’t see the light of day—was almost deleted entirely.” (18:37)
  4. American Pie: “The quintessential teen hookup movie.” (17:09)
  5. Tarzan: “Primarily because of the music. That movie is a classic.” (16:42)
• Overflowing Talent:
  • The Matrix, Big Daddy, The Mummy, Notting Hill, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, The Green Mile, Johnny Tsunami, American Beauty, Eyes Wide Shut, 10 Things I Hate About You, The Sixth Sense, Boondock Saints, Dogma, Office Space, The Iron Giant, The Blair Witch Project.

#3: 2019

(25:48–29:45)

• Podcast Launch Year: “The year we launched this podcast and I didn’t know how good we had it until movies shut down in 2020.” (25:49)
• Top 5 Movies:
  1. Avengers: Endgame: “At least once a year I rewatch Endgame...I have to put it at one.” (29:44)
  2. Parasite: “It was this movie that really just made me think, why haven’t I been seeking out movies from other countries?” (28:31)
  3. Joker: “One of my favorite in theater experiences of all time. It just left my jaw on the floor and really rattled me.” (27:09)
  4. Uncut Gems: “Adam Sandler in a stressful role like this is my favorite.” (26:24)
  5. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: “Such big stars now had smaller parts in it… almost a prerequisite to be a star in five years.” (26:03)
• Extra Mentions:
  • Detective Pikachu, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Ford v Ferrari, Jojo Rabbit, Midsommar, Knives Out, John Wick: Chapter 3, Rise of Skywalker, Little Women, Marriage Story, 1917, Sound of Metal, Booksmart, Bombshell, Us, Ready or Not.

#2: 1994

(29:46–35:11)

• Unbelievable Year: “Looking at this list, it is hard to believe that 1994 was real.” (29:48)
• Top 5 Movies:
  1. The Lion King: “Still say it is the best made Disney movie of all time.” (34:42)
  2. Dumb and Dumber: “My favorite comedy movie, not only of the 90s—my favorite comedy of all time.” (33:03)
  3. Pulp Fiction: “Everybody wanted to rip [Tarantino] off…but nobody has his vision.” (32:21)
  4. Angels in the Outfield: “The best baseball movie of all time. A ridiculous plot as emotional as it is.” (30:53)
  5. Forrest Gump: “At number five I have one of the greatest movies of all time.” (29:53)
• Notable Other Films:
  • The Usual Suspects, Shawshank Redemption, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Mask, Clerks, Speed, True Lies, D2: The Mighty Ducks, Little Giants, The Pagemaster, The Jungle Book (live action), The Flintstones, Little Rascals, Street Fighter, Airheads.

Honorable Mention: 2009

(35:12–36:34)

• “Last year that film was really unified... Before everyone was so consumed by social media and YouTube.” (35:21)
• Top 5: Up in the Air, Avatar, Up, The Hangover (“last great American comedy classic”), Inglourious Basterds

#1: 2007

(36:34–40:53)

• Pivotal Personal Year: “Year where I really fell in love with movies... where I went from saying I like movies to finally saying I love movies.” (36:48)
• Transition to Film Analysis: “Started paying attention to directors and cinematography... all sensors in my brain just started going off.” (37:50)
• Top 5 Movies:
  1. No Country for Old Men: “Perfect scene—Anton Chigurh at the gas station making a coin toss. So much tension just through dialogue and acting.” (40:04)
  2. Juno: “Quirky movie with quotes you could sell at Hot Topic. Defines pop culture, music, fashion in 2007.” (39:08)
  3. Spider-Man 3: “Finally getting its flowers in recent years.” (38:39)
  4. Transformers: “Pillar of cinema. Hearing Peter Cullen’s voice in a theater... feels like summer to me.” (38:13)
  5. The Simpsons Movie: “Felt like an event. I am such a huge Simpsons fan.” (37:16)

Spoiler-Free Movie Review: Weapons

(40:54–52:25)

Movie Mike shares a nuanced, careful (spoiler-free) review of Weapons, the latest talk-of-the-town horror film.

• The Hype Cycle:

  • “Weapons is now entering that overhyped stage... you’re gonna start to see those people who are going to witness it now and they’re gonna be like, that’s what everybody was raving about.” (41:11)
  • “I would rather a really great movie be overhyped than have to fight for a really great movie that nobody is seeing.” (41:33)

• Director Zach Cregger:

  • Praised for attention to detail and a clear director’s vision.
  • “Zach Kreger is somebody I really enjoy now because he’s only 44 years old. But just hearing him talk about this movie, how much attention to detail he has…” (42:19)

• Synopsis:

  • “17 kids go missing in one classroom. Julia Garner is the teacher. The parents want answers, they are blaming her, and it’s up to this town to unravel the mystery.” (42:35)

• Cast:

  • Julia Garner, Josh Brolin (originally offered to Pedro Pascal), Alden Ehrenreich, Benedict Wong, Austin Abrams.
  • “Just perfectly casted… I couldn’t see anybody else in these roles.” (43:10)

• Character Depth & Tone:

  • No clear-cut protagonist—everyone is flawed, nuanced, and human.
  • “There’s not one character that is inherently the protagonist... they all have unique flaws.” (44:24)
  • Movie instantly dives into story, opts for show-don’t-tell character development.

• Pacing & Structure:

  • Individualized focus builds real empathy: “You get to know these characters so well because it fully dives into where they were when all these things started to happen.” (45:00)

• Horror & Mystery Elements:

  • “Wasn’t going to be a full-on supernatural jump scare movie—it was really more of a horror mystery.” (46:14)
  • “Had a sinister DNA to it... didn’t rely on cheap tactics to scare you.” (46:35)

• Best Performances:

  • “Austin Abrams was lowkey the MVP of this movie... brought something that was just completely unexpected... also brought a little bit of comedic relief.” (47:17)

• Director’s Influences:

  • “His three biggest influences for this movie were Magnolia, Hereditary and Prisoners.” (48:27)

• Warner Bros. as Studio:

  • “Horror is where it is when it comes to creativity—it’s also where it is when it comes to strong female leads… Warner Bros. has prioritized visionaries and story above everything.” (49:20)
  • “What we’re sick of now isn’t that everything’s a reboot, it’s mediocre movies with lame stories that go nowhere.” (50:38)
  • Weapons opening: $42.5 million (strong for an original title).

• Final Verdict:

  • “Weapons for me was an almost perfect movie. It’s as close as you can get... For Weapons, I give it 4 out of 5 kids running with their arms out like they’re holding heavy bags of groceries. 4.5 out of 5 of those.” (52:23)

Trailer Park: Predator: Badlands

(56:44–65:05)

Movie Mike spotlights the trailer for Predator: Badlands, an upcoming installment in the iconic sci-fi franchise.

• Initial Reaction:

  • “When I saw the trailer… I was like, ah, here we go. Another generic sci-fi movie. I haven’t been one to dive into any Predator or Alien movies. But one movie earlier this year may have changed my mind.” (56:51)

• Animation Influence:

  • Mike was won over by the animated movie Predator: Killer of Killers (Hulu) and now trusts the director Dan Trachtenberg (Prey, 10 Cloverfield Lane):
  • “And when I sat down to watch that movie, I just love animation... you can tell great, powerful stories with it.” (57:09)
  • “This is coming from the same director as Prey... another pretty big hit for Hulu.” (57:30)

• Movie Details:

  • Live-action, releasing November 7.
  • Focuses on an outcast Predator forging an alliance with an android (Elle Fanning), hunted by a larger Predator.
  • Language details:
    • “Colomontagi, who plays the Predator, he actually learned an entirely different language written for this movie by the same person who created the language used in the Avatar movies.” (59:17)
  • Predator: Badlands is standalone but connects in spirit to Prey and other recent Predator media.

• Sci-Fi Fan Culture:

  • “If your favorite franchise is Alien or Predator, I feel like you are a really cool person because you don’t care about the flashy things.” (60:43)
  • “This franchise is like the baseball of sci-fi franchises, not the sexiest, but you appreciate all the detail.” (61:16)

• Mike’s Excitement:

  • “I can’t wait to find out what happens more with her story... the trailer got me hyped, I immediately thought, when does this movie come out, because I cannot watch it soon enough.” (59:08, 59:05)
  • Mike expects the November release to help the film succeed outside the crowded summer.

Listener Mail: Streaming Service Trials

(65:08–68:54)

Mike answers a listener’s question about the safety and convenience of signing up for free streaming trials:

• Listener Concern: “I just feel like the second I enter my credit card info I’m going to forget to cancel and get charged. Do you use these free trials? Is there a safe way to take advantage of them without getting burned?” (65:18)

• Mike’s Pragmatic Tips:

  • Schedule a reminder/email for when to cancel.
  • Peacock is relatively easy to cancel.
  • “Just schedule an email, schedule a text on your phone, write it on your calendar... and they will not charge you.” (67:10)
  • Predicts a return to bundled “cable-like” models: “We’re basically just going back to cable.” (68:14)

Notable Quotes & Highlights

• “It would have been really hard for me... I just feel like that wouldn’t be authentically me.” (On choosing movie years, 03:07)
• “There’s not one character that is inherently the protagonist... they all have unique flaws.” (On the movie Weapons, 44:24)
• “This movie taught me how to curse at a very young age. I should not have watched this movie at 8 years old.” (On South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, 19:16)
• “Weapons for me was an almost perfect movie. It’s as close as you can get...” (52:23)
• “If your favorite franchise is Alien or Predator, I just feel like you don’t care about anything... you appreciate something that puts as much detail into movies like this.” (60:43/61:16)
• “I think that’s the way this is going to go down... we’re going to go back to cable eventually.” (Mike on streaming, 68:14)

Timestamps for Major Segments

• Intro & Brief Context: 00:46–02:45
• Top 5 Movie Years: 02:46–40:53
  • 2014: 03:45–15:58
  • 1999: 15:59–25:47
  • 2019: 25:48–29:45
  • 1994: 29:46–35:11
  • 2009 (Honorable Mention): 35:12–36:34
  • 2007: 36:34–40:53
• Weapons Review: 40:54–52:25
• Predator: Badlands Trailer Park: 56:44–65:05
• Listener Mailbox: 65:08–68:54

Closing Notes

Movie Mike’s blend of nostalgia, personal connection, and thoughtful film analysis makes this episode stand out for devoted cinephiles, new listeners, and anyone wondering what’s worth watching or re-watching. The episode is packed with recommendations, fun memories, and practical advice for any movie fan.

Quote to remember:
“Weapons for me was an almost perfect movie ... But I also think that Zach Kreger hasn’t put out his best movie yet.” (52:20)