ASPECT RADIO

Ben and Corey talk out their thoughts on “Suicide Squad,” the latest from DC and Warner Bros. that critics mostly hate. Is it nearly as bad as the Twitter hype machine insists? One thinks it’s a bigger disaster than “Batman v Superman,” while the other saw some bright spots. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN/DOWNLOAD: http://ia801505.us.archive.org/33/items/AspectRadio122/AspectRadio122.mp3 Follow the show on Twitter.

AL.com Birmingham news manager and deliriously hapless Chicago Cubs fan Alex Walsh joins Ben to explore the best examples of the baseball movie genre, as we list each of our top three favorite films set on or around a diamond. Warning: We will leave out a couple that we know you hold near and dear to your hearts, but it's because we only get three picks apiece and the list is extremely personal. It doesn't mean we don't love "Field of Dreams," "The Natural" and "The Pride of the Yankees."

Ben and Corey finally discuss once-beloved writer/director Neill Blomkamp’s latest sci-fi action flick “Chappie,” which somehow found itself met with vitriol from most fans including those who loved his first film “District 9.” The guys also preview the summer movie landscape of 2015, running through the full calendar of major release on the horizon. They even pick their top three films they’re most looking forward to seeing this season including “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” “Mad Max: Fury Road” and “Inside Out.” This summer, you’ll also see new movies from Cameron Crowe, Brad Bird, Judd Apatow and Guy Ritchie. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN/DOWNLOAD!!! Please “Like” us on Facebook! We’re also on iTunes. We’d really appreciate a rating and review!Thanks for listening!!! Produced by Andrew Richardson Music heard in AR #113 Die Antwoord - “Ugly Boy” Aphex Twin - “Ageispolis” "Work Song (Cinderelly, Cinderelly)" (as heard in “Cinderella”) Die Antwoord - “Enter the Ninja” (as heard in “Chappie”)

If we ran the Oscars it might look a little different than what you see on Sunday. But only just a little. We, of course, do not run the Oscars, which is why we came up with the brilliantly titled "Aspys," honoring our favorite performances, scenes, lines, music and more from the 2014 film year. So take a look at Ben and Corey's nominations, or how it all really should have gone down, below: BEST ACTOR BEN Ralph Fiennes, THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL Jake Gyllenhaal, NIGHTCRAWLER Michael Keaton, BIRDMAN Matthew McConaughey, INTERSTELLAR David Oyelowo, SELMA COREY Ralph Fiennes, THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL Jake Gyllenhaal, NIGHTCRAWLER Tom Hardy, LOCKE David Oyelowo, SELMA Joaquin Phoenix, INHERENT VICE BEST ACTRESS BEN Essie Davis, The Babadook Hilary Swank, THE HOMESMAN Tessa Thompson, DEAR WHITE PEOPLE Reese Witherspoon, WILD Shailene Woodley, THE FAULT IN OUR STARS COREY Marion Cotillard, THE IMMIGRANT Scarlett Johansson, UNDER THE SKIN Gugu Mbatha-Raw, BEYOND THE LIGHTS Rosamund Pike, GONE GIRL Reese Witherspoon, WILD BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR BEN Toby Kebbell, DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES Edward Norton, BIRDMAN JK Simmons, WHIPLASH Luke Wilson, THE SKELETON TWINS Noah Wiseman, THE BABADOOK COREY Riz Ahmed, NIGHTCRAWLER Josh Brolin, INHERENT VICE Ethan Hawke, BOYHOOD Mark Ruffalo, FOXCATCHER J.K. Simmons, WHIPLASH BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS BEN Patricia Arquette, BOYHOOD Eileen Atkins, MAGIC IN THE MOONLIGHT Rose Byrne, NEIGHBORS Carmen Ejogo, SELMA Rene Russo, NIGHTCRAWLER COREY Patricia Arquette, BOYHOOD Minnie Driver, BEYOND THE LIGHTS Elizabeth Moss, LISTEN UP PHILLIP Rene Russo, NIGHTCRAWLER Tilda Swinton, SNOWPIERCER CINEMATOGRAPHY BEN Robert Yeoman, THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL Ryszard Lenczewski and Lukasz Zal, IDA Robert Elswit, NIGHTCRAWLER Hoyte van Hoytema, INTERSTELLAR Yves Bélanger, WILD COREY Robert Yeoman, THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL Ryszard Lenczewski and Lukasz Zal, IDA Darius Khondji, THE IMMIGRANT Matthew Libatique, NOAH Bradford Young, SELMA LINE BEN "You see, there are still faint glimmers of civilization left in this barbaric slaughterhouse that was once known as humanity. Indeed, that's what we provide in our own modest, humble, insignificant -- oh, fuck it." M. Gustave (Ralph Fiennes), THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL "Well my parents love each other, and I think it's hilarious." Teddy (Zac Efron), NEIGHBORS "Human work." Koba (Toby Kebbell), DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES "That's what bullets do." Ben (Devin Ratray), BLUE RUIN "I'd like to think if you're seeing me you're having the worst day of your life." Lou Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal), NIGHTCRAWLER COREY "To be frank, I think his world had vanished long before he ever entered it - but, I will say: he certainly sustained the illusion with a marvelous grace." - Zero Moustafa (F. Murray Abraham), THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL "The best and clearest way that I can phrase it for you, to capture the spirit of what we air, is think of our news cast as a screaming woman running down the street with her throat cut." - Nina (Rene Russo), NIGHTCRAWLER "Here's a piece of paper with some staples in it." - Philip Lewis Friedman (Jason Schwartzman), LISTEN UP PHILIP "DARKNESS!!! NO PARENTS!!!! CONTINUED DARKNESS!!! THE OPPOSITE OF LIGHT!!! GET IT?" - Batman (Will Arnett), THE LEGO MOVIE "Order is the barrier that holds back the flood of death. We must all of us on this train of life remain in our allotted station. We must each of us occupy our preordained particular position. Would you wear a shoe on your head? Of course you wouldn't wear a shoe on your head. A shoe doesn't belong on your head. A shoe belongs on your foot. A hat belongs on your head. I am a hat. You are a shoe. I belong on the head. You belong on the foot. Yes? So it is." - Minister Mason (Tilda Swinton), SNOWPIERCER SCENE BEN Koba kills, DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES Mike Shiner's first scene, BIRDMAN Cooper takes off, INTERSTELLAR Martin Luther King consoles Cager Lee, SELMA Boy sings to Cheryl, WILD COREY The final shot, THE IMMIGRANT Bloody Sunday, SELMA The ending, BOYHOOD The prison escape, THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL The final performance, WHIPLASH OVERRATED BEN Captain America: The Winter Soldier Foxcatcher Guardians of the Galaxy John Wick COREY Big Eyes Birdman Into the Woods The Theory of Everything Unbroken UNDERRATED BEN The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Magic in the Moonlight Men, Women & Children A Million Ways to Die in the West Noah COREY Calvary Godzilla The Immigrant Night Moves Wild MOVIES THAT NEED A SECOND LOOK BEN Foxcatcher Gone Girl Godzilla Listen Up Philip Under the Skin COREY The Drop Interstellar Magic in the Moonlight A Most Violent Year Nymphomaniac MUSIC BEN Hans Zimmer, INTERSTELLAR Alexandre Desplat, THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, GONE GIRL Soundtrack, INHERENT VICE Antonio Sanchez, BIRDMAN COREY Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, GONE GIRL Alexandre Desplat, THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL Alexandre Desplat, THE IMITATION GAME Hans Zimmer, INTERSTELLAR Mica Levi, UNDER THE SKIN

Ben and Corey sift through the high praise and backlash for "American Sniper" to determine whether Clint Eastwood has his best movie in years, or if the film's perceived lack of nuance on important issues costs it any integrity. The guys do the same for Ava DuVernay's historical drama "Selma," which has its own equal share of supporters and detractors, many of whom take sides on the issue of the film's artistic liberties taken by the director. They also spend a few minutes on Paul Thomas Anderson's trippy take on the Thomas Pynchon novel "Inherent Vice," a far-out detective story simultaneously about something, everything and nothing. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN/DOWNLOAD!!!

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While I've still got a handful of movies from last year I still want and need to see, all or most of the music from the 2014 film year remains accessible. So I'm not ready to make a top 10 list of my favorite movies, but I do feel good about this list of my favorite movie music. Personally, I feel like 2014 was an exceptional year for it. We heard career best original work from some of the industry's best composers like Hans Zimmer, Alexandre Desplat and the duo of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, plus an array of pop songs used beautifully in memorable scenes I won't soon forget. In fact, those three composers deserve special recognition for the jobs they did on three specific films, although their work appears in multiple movies in 2014, some of which landed on this list. It's hard to pick one true favorite piece of music from the 2014 film year. As you'll read below, there's a ton of good stuff out there. If pressed, my favorite scores came from "Interstellar," "The Grand Budapest Hotel" and "Gone Girl," and I'd give my favorite soundtrack or song compilation to "Inherent Vice." -- Ben CLICK HERE TO LISTEN/DOWNLOAD You can follow the show on Twitter, or email any feedback to [email protected].

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