Almigos

It's a strange movie year ahead of us. With a weird 2023 in the rear view, 2024 poses yet another year with a release schedule affected by strange circumstances (hopefully no pandemic this time).  Alejandro and Jon delve into a variety of topics and give their thoughts on the odd year, as well as give what seems like a euelogy for physical media.

Happy New Years our lovely listeners! After an extended break (again), we're back!!! Again! We're sorry we have personal lives! Work and stuff gets in the way sometimes ya know.  Any way, what better way to kick off the new year than by reflecting on the previous one? 2023 was a strong year for the motion pictures, and Alejandro and Jon are here to list their favorites (in order of course), as well as some honorable mentions. They also discuss television programs, video games and some music as well. We missed you very much and we just KNOW you're dying to hear what we have to say!

It's the biggest cinematic event of the decade! Literally! The internet strikes again, and made this unqiue release of Barbie and Oppenheimer on the same day one of the most anticipated days ever. And an event this feels like. With both films killing it at the box office and dominating the conversation in the common rhetroic, Alejandro and Jon sit down and break down both films, the hype surrounding it, and what this means going forward. They also squeeze in a little discussion of the Netflix film They Cloned Tyrone, which unfortunately was released in the midst of the Barbenheimer madness and was overlooked. 

The summer is here. That means two things- awful humid weather and MOOOOOOVIES. It also means that the year is just over after done, and before the Summer Movie season really kicks into high gear with a chaotic July, Alejandro and Jon are back from a hiatus to recount the year so far. They each talk about what 2023 has been for the Hollywood industry, talk about the movies they loved thus far, and even a couple that they've LOATHED. 

The Almigos gang has been busy! With what, you ask? Making short films!! Alejandro Cardenas joined forces with his childhood friend Matt Benson and his now fiance Eve Smith to create two short films that we are excited to share with you, Bugsy and Bright Noise. Jon also helped (he's writing this description and wanted to be sure you guys know he was involved). The "Troublesome Two" (as dubbed by Alejandro) join the Almigos duo to discuss the productions, which both star Almigos alum Alexa Pastor (who was in the land down under during the recording of this pod). They discuss inspirations, set fun among other things. Enjoy the episode, and you guys better have seen the two shorts. OR ELSE!

The duo are joined by Almigo alum and video game enthusiast Mike Reis to discuss the biggest show of the year, a show based on a video game! The Last of Us, the HBO phenomenom, is sweeping the nation by storm, along with Pedro Pascal-mania. The group break the show down, give their thoughts on how the show has translated from video game form, what they thought of the shows many twists and turns, as well as speculate on future season- including a spoiler discussion for the video game Last of Us Part II (skip to 1:05:00 to avoid).

The duo is back, and this time they tackle a popular topic. Fellow Sea graduate and longtime pal, Chris Bertosen, has been dying to come on. Finally he does, and he does not disappoint. Mystery/true crime stories/podcasts are all the rage these days, and these three debate their favorites in the genre. They attempt to discuss lesser known entrys in the genre and try to recommend under the radar Mystery films you may have missed! They attempted to veer away from the popular films like Seven and Knives Out to give you some gems of recommendations. We hope you enjoy them as well as the episode!

In a surprisng turn of events, the duo have an episode that went UNDER one hour. Who would've guessed!  In light of the recent announcement that AMC will be pricing certain seats differently for reasons that remain unclear, the duo take this opprotunity to discuss the sad state of the movie theaters. Despite some recent glimmers of hope from the likes of Avatar 2 and Puss in Boots 2 (is it the second one? The third? I dunno), times are scary for the theater going experience. And the two weigh in on this, especially the behavior of the movie goers.

The year is upon us, and in store is a fun gimmick for you, humble listener.  First the duo recap what they've seen so far in the new year, including a discussion of the hit new HBO television program The Last of Us. Then, the meat of the episode, the two draft the movies they are most looking forward to in the coming year! Divided into categories of genre, the two take turns picking the films they are most excited about.

It's the biggest episode of the year, and appropriately the longest one of the year. No clever description is needed. Chris Esposito joins to break down a truly splendid year for the pictures. Jon wrote this description in case you couldn't tell. Strap in, and get ready for the gang's top 10 favorite movies of 2022.

He's taken the world by storm. He's topping music charts. He's selling out shows left and right. He's spitting on Nick Kroll. And finally, he's the topic of an episode of Almigos. In this episode, the duo are joined by Certified Harry Styles Stan (or "Harry" as the fanbase calls it) Theresa Cambeis to tackle the pop culture phenom. They talk about Harry's career, from his humble beginnings as a member of a boy band, to Billboard powerhouse, to aspiring actor (spoiler alert- he isn't very good at it). They talk about his role in the lexicon, his booming career, and his recent antics on movie sets and press tours. It's Harry-mania on Almigos!!

It's the most wonderful time of the year- Election season!!! This episode, the duo talk about everyone's favorite subject: politics.  But rather than be divisive, the Almigos gang strives to unify their wonderful listeners. And what better way to do so than with movies! So listen as Al and Jon discuss their favorite pictures centered on government, politics, conspiracies, and problematic actors! 

The days are getting shorter, the skies are getting grayer and the weather getting colder. It's the perfect time of the year to snuggle up under a nice blanket, get a cup of hot chocolate and fire up some plesant movies!! This week, the duo are joined by Al's better half, Jess Nivelo, to chat about their comfort movies. The movies they've seen a million times and just always leave them with that warm, fuzzy feeling inside.

It's a month of firsts on the Almigos Podcast. After hosting their first couple on the show, the Almigos Duo hosts their first pair of siblings on the show. Decorated Almigos Alum Anthony "Figz" Figliozzi brings on the younger Figz (and movie nerd) Nicolette!  In this episode, they discuss their relationships with their siblings, and then transition into a movie talk. They talk about their favorite depictions of siblings in the pictures. You won't want to miss this!

Summer is coming to a close and Fall is nigh! To celebrate the time of change, spookiness, sweater weather, football and pumpkin spice, we give you one of the most seasonal episodes in the history of Almigos! Recorded while Jon is drafting in one of his fantasy leagues, the duo host the couple with the coolest combination of names ever, one a first timer and one an Almigos alum. Al's longtime friend, Matthew Benson, and his girlfriend, Eve Smith, have recently moved here from sunny Los Angeles, and they join the Alimgos duo to talk about horror films. The theme this time is obscure horror movies, and there's some gems in here- Everything from movies that'll make you keep the lights on and movies that are so terrible you'll be laughing your ass off. It's a fun time as always on this episode!

The duo is joined by long time friend and now 3x Almigos guest Joe Bitetto! In a departure from the usual pop culture heavy topics, this one gets a little more personal. Joe opens up about his fitness journey, personal struggles, highs, lows, goals and more.  And then, because we are contractually obligated to tie this back into movies, we round the episode by testing Joe on his knowledge of actor's health. We play a game of "Natty or Not" where we show Joe a pic of a shredded celebrity and he must deduce whether they are natural or not. It's a fun and suprisingly heartfelt episode that you won't want to miss.

We're back again! After another extended hiatus, the duo are back to recap the year. Sort of joined by previous guest, Pat Blancero, the two talk about the year 2022 in pop culture so far. They tackle some of the big shows like the Bear and the Boys, as well as some massive movies such as Nope, Top Gun: Maverick and Crimes of the Future!! Hopefully this is the last extended break we take and we can get back to weekly content for you guys. We shall see!

Reacting to the recent news about apparent struggles at Netflix, Jon and Al take a step back and evaluate the streaming industry as a whole. They talk about Netflix's decline in subscribers, possible reasons, the other competition and speculate on a changing industry. They also, of course, talk about the movies they've seen. Most notably The Northman and Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

After about two weeks of everyone talking about the biggest pop culture moment of the 21st century, Jon and Al finally weigh in on the controversy. In addition, they give their thoughts on a mostly bizzare ceremony all around, even without the infamous slap heard around the world. They then round out with discussing some movies they've seen. This includes the incredible Everything, Everywhere All at Once.

It's finally here! ANOTHER incarnation of the Caped Crusader has been unleashed on the movie landscape. And this time he's more of the world's greatest detective than a dark knight. Jon and Al break down the movie at length. This is a spoiler filled episode, so watch the movie before you listen to this. They're also is a guest appearance by Cooper! He was in a mood when we recorded this so get ready to hear him whine and bark throughout.