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Movie Bones

Movie Bones

By: Justin Miller
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About this listen

Movie Bones is an adventure in watching movies from before the age of blockbusters (aka, 1975 or earlier), as Justin & Ryan search out and watch old movies available for free on streaming platforms regardless of how well-remembered, obscure, odd or just plain awful they may be. Then we share our thoughts and leave our verdict here for posterity.


And because this is a shared adventure, there's also some expectation that you folks will be watching along side us, experiencing the thrills and agony along the way. That's our way of saying: Expect spoilers!


If any of this sounds like your jam, feel free to follow us on your favorite podcast platform.

Here's how we rate the films we dig up, based, naturally, on that most famous film archaeologist himself, Indiana Jones...


“Fortune & Glory” films are pure gold. They're movies to go back to again and again. These are the films would find a great home in your physical movie library, if you've still got one - they're that good.

“Trust Me” films are imperfect gems that still offer a really good time. Buy a digital copy to stream if you want to make sure you always have access to it.

“Belongs in a Museum”: If you think of museums as places you pay to get in to see things you wouldn’t necessarily want to bring home with you, then you’ve got a good feel for this category. If you can’t find these movies for free on sites like Tubi, you might still consider renting them off one of the paid platforms when the mood strikes.

“Bad Dates”, happen when ‘free’ is the only price you’d be willing to pay to experience it, and only because at least one person showed up to make a good film. It could be the special effects were ahead of their time, the stunning cinematography, or some other aspect. But generally speaking, these are once-and-done films. Once you’ve seen it, you’ve gotten everything out of it you’ll ever get.

“Don’t Look At It”. Movies so bad they’ll melt your face off, whether from boredom or some really horrible sensibilities, and nobody doing ‘their best’ could make it worth enduring again. If you've taken the chance to watch it along side Ryan and me, we make no apologies, because part of what makes this podcast journey unique is the shared risk of the occasional exploding head!

“Nuke the Fridge”; A category reserved for films that manage to be fun because they’re bad in entertaining ways. You know the kind. This is kind of a ‘modifier’ category, that’ll often be applied alongside one of the other ratings.

“Kill it with FIRE”; A new basement category, to only be used sparingly. This is our "Break glass in case of Emergency" basket. Films in this category don't just have horrible sensibilities, but go out of their way to feature them as an integral part of the plot and theme so you can't just wait them out. First appears in our review of "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers", and hopefully will never again!


Don't forget to share your thoughts on our Facebook page!

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Episodes
  • Episode 078 - "Count Dracula" (1970)
    Sep 17 2025

    This week, Justin and Ryan dig up Count Dracula (1970), and talk about...


    - When an adaptation betrays its source faithfully.

    - Zero thematic translation achievement unlocked!

    - Van Helsing having a random stroke with no connection to plot or character. Wut?

    - The most life-like portrayal being the one undead guy.

    - Justin getting educated on the differences between the novel and screen versions of the story.

    - What atmosphere? The problem of brightly lighting your gothic horror movie.

    - One slim moment of unintentional humor

    - Our Verdict

    - Next week's film: "Pimpernel Smith" (1941)


    Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

    Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

    Show More Show Less
    21 mins
  • Episode 077 - "Jason and the Argonauts" (1963)
    Sep 10 2025

    This week, Justin and Ryan set sail for adventure in the footsteps of "Jason and the Argonauts" (1963) and pass the time talking about..


    - The drama of these fickle gods: where is it?

    - The motives of Greek/Roman gods

    - Distinguishing between fulfilling the purposes of mythmaking & the purpose of storytelling/filmmaking.

    - When sticking to the story-as-told hurts more than helps

    - Why give Herc the boot? This alteration was the one worth making?

    - Adventure: Go do the thing. We did the thing!

    - A few B-Movie moments

    - Harryhausen just keeps nailing his part.

    - The real geographical locations in the story

    - Just how much netting is standard-issue on a Greek sailing vessel?

    - Verdicts

    - Next week's film: "Count Dracula" (1970)


    Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

    Join in the discussion on our Youtube channel or Facebook page!

    Show More Show Less
    26 mins
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