Episode 498: Wicked, Bird, Gladiator (2000)

It's Blockbuster Tuesday for a change, with just an aroma of the arthouse on this midweek edition of Breakfast All Day.

First, we have an early, spoiler-free review of "Wicked," the much-anticipated film version of the beloved Broadway musical. It doesn't come out until this weekend but we wanted to talk about Jon M. Chu's film as soon as we could. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande star in this prequel to "The Wizard of Oz," which is 2 hours and 40 minutes long -- and it's only part one! Part two comes out next November, so we'll be back for that, too.

Then, we review "Bird," the kind of auteur-driven indie you're used to hearing about from us on Tuesdays. Andrea Arnold's film follows a 12-year-old girl who lives with her drug addict father (Barry Keoghan) but goes on an adventure with a kind, mysterious stranger (Franz Rogowski). Either you'll go with the magical realism turn it takes or you won't. In theaters now in limited release.

Finally, in anticipation of the sequel this weekend, we revisit the OG "Gladiator" from 2000. Ridley Scott's film won five Academy Awards including best picture and best actor for Russell Crowe. Alonso didn't love it back then, so we wanted to rewatch it now to see what we think. What are yor thoughts on "Gladiator"? Let us know! And check out our "Gladiator II" review here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/gladiator-ii-no-115786961

And for our Patreon subscribers, we've started recapping "Dune: Prophecy." The HBO series takes place some 10,000 years before the birth of Paul Atreides. You'll need to take notes, because it's a lot. You can always purchase videos like this individually if you're not a member. Find out more here: https://www.patreon.com/c/bfastallday/shop

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