We’ve announced our nominees and now it’s up to you to VOTE!

Voting is open now and closes this Saturday, January 6th at 9 AM CST! Be sure to make your voices heard! The winners will be announced on Monday’s new episode of the CineBoiz Podcast. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast wherever podcasts are found or watch this Monday on the Korked Bats YouTube page.

VOTE HERE!!!!

The post The 2023 Tommy Awards; TIME TO VOTE appeared first on Korked Bats.

This is it! This is the BIG ONE. The category of categories. The following films are our nominees for the best films of the year.

What a remarkable year for film! If it wasn’t for movies, we simply would not have a podcast. Be sure to be on the lookout in the next few days for your chance to VOTE on the Tommy Awards!

And the nominees are….

Oppenheimer

Barbie

Past Lives

Killers of the Flower Moon

The Iron Claw

Poor Things

Maestro

The Holdovers

What do you think of this year’s nominees for Best MOVIE? Is there anyone you think we missed? Be sure to holler at us on Twitter (@korkedbats; @thecineboiz) and Instagram (@korkedbats; @thecineboiz)

Also, be sure to follow Korked Bats on YouTube and subscribe to The CineBoiz Podcast wherever podcasts are found!

You can watch the MOVIE Nomination episode here:

The post The 2023 Tommy Awards: Best Movie Nominees appeared first on Korked Bats.

Less than a week after joining us on DOING LINES (Korked Bats’ fake sports betting podcast), Good Morning Football host Kyle Brandt denounced his desire to go on any other podcast ever again (as seen on the video above). Was DOING LINES the podcast that sent him over the edge? PEOPLE ARE ASKING.

Now was his rant actually about us? Maybe. We have a few theories here…

1. He’s annoyed at the influx. After joining our podcast, a bunch of other people reached out trying to get him their no-name podcasts as well, which I’m sure he found annoying and decided to go on his rant.

2. Just chance. He needed to fill a segment and decided to just rant just to rant. No rhyme or reason to anything.

3. He hated DOING LINES. He lied to our faces over Zoom during our podcast recording and actually hated being on DOING LINES because we broke the news to him that Jean-Claude Van Damme voiced a character in Minions; The Rise of Gru. Understandably. That’s a tough pill to swallow for anyone.

I will admit, the idea of KB hating our pod feels less likely since Kyle’s retweet.

Or, and this is the one we’re definitely telling ourselves…

4. He’s going out on top. He knows that there is no better podcast on the entire Internet than DOING LINES where me and comedian Kyle Ayers (as seen on CONAN) come up with fake betting lines for celeb, comedian, and sports media guests to wager fake money on to donate to fake charities of their choosing and then be added to a leaderboard to compete with other guests. Ridiculous? You bet. But uniquely ridiculous? Of course. If you wanna give it a listen, feel free. If you don’t, feel freer. But I don’t think you’ll find another podcast anything like what we have with DOING LINES. (We’ve also pulled some pretty dope guests over the last season.)

The post Kyle Brandt Has Quit Appearing On Podcasts After Joining Us On DOING LINES appeared first on Korked Bats.

What the hell is DOING LINES you ask? Luckily we’ve got you covered with a video to explain.

So after a successful first season, we had to come out of the gates swinging with our guest booking. So we got one of television’s favorites: Kyle Brandt from Good Morning Football on NFL Network. Kyle has been a big supporter of this dumb sports blog over the years, and he brings it with this week’s pod. This week’s fake bets include Chris Jones v. Tyreek Hill, Jean-Claude Van Damme (naturally), and a tribute to an iconic musician we recently lost.

Give it a listen and feel free to subscribe if you want.

The post America’s Favorite Fake NFL Betting Podcast Is Back With Kyle Brandt In The Week 1 Guest Chair appeared first on Korked Bats.

‘Equalizer III’ comes out this week, and it’s safe to say that some of here at Korked Bats are as hard as diamond in an ice storm.

This week, in honor of it’s release, we had a little Denzel Washington Movie Draft on the latest episode of The CineBoiz Podcast.

Now we tweaked the rules slightly from our typical format. We each got 4 picks each, but we couldn’t pick more than one Denzel movie per decade.

Here were the results:

KENNY: Glory (1980’s); American Gangster (2000’s); The Hurricane (1990’s); Book of Eli (2010’s)

TOM: Training Day (2000’s); The Pelican Brief (1990’s); Flight (2010’s); Power (1980’s)

KEVIN: Remember the Titans (2000’s); Courage Under Fire (1990’s); Fences (2010’s); The Little Things (2020’s)

MOB: Malcolm X (1990’s); Man on Fire (2000’s); The Equalizer (2010’s); The Tragedy of Macbeth (2020’s)

Be sure to check out the latest episode of The CineBoiz Podcast!!!

You can find it anywhere podcasts are found or simply watch below on the Korked Bats YouTube Page. Be sure to let us know who you think won in the YT comments or on social media!

The post Who Won Our Denzel Washington Draft? appeared first on Korked Bats.

Ok look, unless you’re a big-time Comic Book fan, you probably don’t really care about ‘The Flash’ that much. Maybe I’m wrong, but I didn’t have any idea who Barry Allen was until a few years ago. All I know is that he could run really fast. Credit to Warner Bros, DC and Zack Snyder for making me more familiar going into this film, but even so The Flash isn’t that high on the super-hero hierarchy for me. If I’m being real honest, the biggest draw of this movie for me was seeing Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne/Batman one last time.

That promise was certainly delivered on.

‘The Flash’ is a movie that really doesn’t do too much to separate itself from the dozens of super-hero movies we get every year, but it is one that relies heavily on fan-service to keep you happy.

So, If you’re on the fence about whether or not you should see ‘The Flash’ here are 3 Big Things to consider:

1. The CGI is absolute dog-s#!t.

I’ll go ahead and get the biggest complaint out of the way first. And Director Andy Muschietti can say “it was meant to look like that” all he wants, but there just isn’t any escaping it. This probably has to be one of the worst looking movies of the past decade. It’s always difficult critiquing artists in a harsh way (especially since I wouldn’t even know where to begin when rendering any sort of image), but the visual effects here are so distracting they completely take you out of the movie–sometimes in huge moments.

Not to sound too much like your dad on this Father’s Day weekend, but this is unacceptable. Especially in 2023 where CGI can be used so well you don’t even realize that’s what you’re seeing. This felt more like the CGI from ‘The Matrix Reloaded’ repurposed by Warner Bros. in an attempt to meet a deadline. The truth is that this movie was sitting on the shelf for a bit…plenty of time to polish and get this movie ready for a wide audience. Possibly more evidence of Warner Bros. attempting to save a buck.

2. This isn’t the “game-changing” super-hero movie that we were promised.

After many early and secret screenings coming out of Hollywood, the word on the street was ‘The Flash’ was possibly the best super-hero movie since 2008’s ‘The Dark Knight’. There were even reports of Tom Cruise and Stephen King reaching out to Andy Muschietti to praise him for the work that was done on the film months before release. Momentum seemed to be building and every indication was that this movie would blow us away.

In reality, it seems to fall short of those expectations. It certainly isn’t a bad movie, but I think the expectations were set a bit too high. Perhaps Tom Cruise was really excited about seeing Michael Keaton play Batman again? Maybe Stephen King enjoys a good flying-baby sequence? Who knows, but ‘The Flash’ falls a few rungs short of being considered an top-tier superhero film.

3. All-Star Cameos will ultimately be this film’s lasting legacy.

Fan-service is really what ‘The Flash’ does well and there is no better measuring stick for that than cameos. We wont spoil anything for you here, but there are a handful of fantastic and fun cameos that span the gamut of DC and Warner Bros. It’s truly what makes the movie have those big-pop moments and keeps you invested. While that is a lot of fun, it’s certainly not what you want to build a whole movie around. Unfortunately there isn’t a whole lot more to the substance of ‘The Flash’ than really great surprise moments.

VERDICT

‘The Flash’ for all of it’s faults is still a fun and entertaining movie that serves as a fitting end to the “Snyderverse” years of DC movies. It would feel like a step in the right direction if not for Warner Bros and DC turning over a new leaf and starting from scratch with Peter Saffran and James Gunn at the helm. I would certainly recommend checking this one out in a theater with an audience if you feel invested with the story. If not, it’s certainly one worth checking out when it premieres on MAX in the coming months.

3/5 Swedish Fish

So what do you think? Be sure to holler at us on Twitter (@korkedbats; @thecineboiz) and Instagram (@korkedbats; @thecineboiz)

Also, be sure to follow Korked Bats on YouTube and subscribe to The CineBoiz Podcast wherever podcasts are found!

You can also listen/watch the latest episode of the 3 BIG THINGS PODCAST where Austin and I have a deeper conversation on ‘ The Flash” and dive into SPOILER territory. Check it out here:

The post 3 Big Things on ‘The Flash’ — A SPOILER-FREE Review (and PODCAST!) appeared first on Korked Bats.

What is this? 2007?

Sorry, Korked Bats-Nation. You’re not getting a new movie review this week. No, it’s not because I’m out of town or busy. It’s simply because I’m not going to spend my hard-earned money to go see the 7th film in a franchise that should’ve ended about 6 films ago.

I’m over it. So are the other CineBoiz. We typically don’t like to get too opinionated (that’s a lie) but this is not the kind of movie we want to keep being pushed on us.

Shame on you Hollywood….Shame on you Michael Bay.

We’re boycotting the theater this weekend and so should you. (Unless you’re going to see SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE…that’s more than OK). Instead we have a few suggestions for movies you can check out this weekend. All of which will keep you entertained and keep that box-office money out of Paramount’s pockets.

Tom Suggests ‘AIR’ on Amazon Prime

Easy. It’s on Amazon Prime. We can guarantee you will have a much better time with this than ‘Rise of the Beasts’. It’s a movie where a bunch of famous friends all got together and made a fun movie about a subject they were all interested in. The good times are infectious. Is it the best mediocre-movie ever made? People are asking.

MOB Suggests ‘CREED III’ on Amazon Prime

Admittedly, it’s hard in this day and age to recommend anything with Jonathan Majors in it, but the movie truly stands on its own. Plus, it might feel better to see him get punched in the face rather than a giant robot-gorilla. You could even make a whole weekend of it and watch all three ‘Creed’ movies back to back to back.

Kevin Suggests the Extended Editions of ‘The Lord of the Rings’ Trilogy on MAX

I mean, if you’re gonna watch ’em, you’re not gonna stop after just one. They’re too good. This is definitely a “once a year” event for the Keith household. Why not do it on a weekend where you’re actively boycotting Optimus Prime?

Kenny Suggests ‘Dune’ on MAX (and maybe even Dune ’84 on Netflix, lulz)

Now is the perfect time to go back and catch ‘Dune: Part One’ on MAX before ‘Dune: Part 2’ hits theaters in the fall. It’s like Denis Villeneuve’s own version of ‘Lord of the Rings’ but in space…with worms. Then once you finish it and still have time, maybe try to sit through ‘Dune’ (1984) and see how long you can last. SPOILER ALERT: it’s not very good, BUT it does have loads of 80’s vibey-goodness. Can’t say the same for ‘Transformers’…wait…

Also, be sure to check out the latest episode of The CineBoiz Podcast!

We hate on ‘Transformers’ some more and also take a deep dive into some of our favorite beverages. Subscribe and listen wherever podcasts are found or check us out on the Korked Bats’ YouTube Page!

The post Dear Hollywood, Stop Making Transformers Movies. Love, The CineBoiz. appeared first on Korked Bats.

The Academy Awards are less than two weeks away!

This year, we’re opening up our ESPN/ABC Pick’em group to EVERYONE!

Just follow the link below, create an entry, and make your picks before Oscar night on March 12th!

https://abc.com/games/oscars-pickem-2023/group?id=b86f2ff9-de67-42ed-b270-f60b68a5fa5c&joining=true

If your entry wins the group, I, Kenny of The CineBoiz, will present you with a $25 Amazon Gift Card. I plan on running away with this though, so don’t get your hopes up.

Also, be sure to tune in to The CineBoiz Oscar LIVESTREAM on Twitch on Oscar Night (More Details to Come)

The post Join the Korked Bats/CineBoiz Oscar Pick’em! You Could Win a Prize! appeared first on Korked Bats.

Finally, there’s a sports gambling podcast on the internet! Only this one talks about the sports side of sports that isn’t really sports. Each week, myself and Kyle Ayers will invited comedians and friends on to gamble on prop bets that we make up. If you like gambling, sports, or neither, you’ll like this podcast. It’s a fun time and the first episode has already dropped. Check it out, and subscribe. Why not?

Here are a few of this week’s props…

Skip Bayless Tweets on Sunday – O/U: 47.5

Tyreek Hill Mentions during Chiefs/Chargers – O/U: 8.5

Kyler Murray’s Studying Clause Mentions – O/U 4.5

The post We’ve Launched A New Sports Gambling Podcast That Isn’t Really About Gambling On The Sports Side Of Sports appeared first on Korked Bats.

Alright, we’ve come to the end of our journey together. With less than a week from the big-night, we have saved the best of our 4-part series for last. So far we’ve taken a look at The Fan Favorites, the Oscar-Bait, and the head-scratchers. Now let’s take a look at the three nominees that seem to be universally loved by everyone who saw them (movie-snobs and filthy-casuals alike). These are the Best of the Best Best Picture Nominees for 2022.

Licorice Pizza

Now let’s go ahead and make something clear upfront before we dig into this one. We understand that some of the subject material and content of this film has caught some heat over the past few months and that’s understandable. It’s hard to justify a relationship between an adult and a minor as well as seemingly over-the-top racial stereotyping. With that being said though, LICORICE PIZZA is an unmistakably fantastic entry from Paul Thomas Anderson. Perhaps his best in years.

The story, direction, and characters all make this film accessible to just about everyone. Bradley Cooper as a maniacal yet (from what we understand) very true to life version of uber-producer Jon Peters is perhaps my favorite part of this film. If you thought that was a made-up character, I highly recommend viewing 2002’s AN EVENING WITH KEVIN SMITH in which Kevin Smith describes his interaction with Peters when he was brought on to do re-writes for a failed 1990’s Superman movie produced by Peters. It’s not hard to separate Bradley Cooper’s character from the man Kevin Smith describes.

Of these three nominees, it’s hard to imagine that LICORICE PIZZA will actually walk away with the top-prize (especially given some of the controversial material) but it is a truly enjoyable movie for just about any movie goer.

Coda

If you’ve been listening to The CineBoiz Podcast the past few weeks, you’ve heard nothing but unanimous praise from all of us in regards to CODA. This movie seemingly snuck out of nowhere to not just blow us away, but also pretty much everyone who has seen it. It also has been cleaning up in the recent awards circuit, taking home the top prizes at the SAG and PGA awards. Now this by no means makes this film a lock, but if we were to bet on it we’d say the likely favorites this year are this and POWER OF THE DOG. Both excellent films, but truly we have not heard anyone have anything bad to say about this one–POWER OF THE DOG seems to have people a bit more split.

Also, if Troy Kotsur does not win Best Supporting Actor…we riot. I think just about everyone can agree that among his fellow nominees, he absolutely steals the show as Frank Rossi. Frank is the father to Ruby who is the main protagonist in the film. No spoilers here, but he is going to make you cry…a lot. So go ahead and spend the $5 to get Apple TV+ for a month to watch this one, or you can just steal your in-laws login.

Belfast

So I know that I’m only one of the four CineBoiz, so I shouldn’t speak for them in regards to ranking the top films of the past year, but I can confidently say the BELFAST is the best picture amongst all of this year’s nominees. There you go, bold, italicized and underlined. This film is absolutely perfect from direction to story to acting as well as score and soundtrack (which is all Van Morrison).

There’s something about this movie that sucked me in straight from the start. It’s just so heartfelt, and so brilliantly told from the eyes of an 8 year-old boy. It takes place in Northern Ireland during the riots of the late 60’s, but has such a timeless feel much like STAND BY ME or PORKY’S. It is hard for me to see this winning over CODA or POWER OF THE DOG, but If I were an Oscar voter it would definitely have mine.

Did we mention that everyone in the movie is amazing? Jamie Dornan, Ciaran Hands, Judi Dench? The list goes on-and-on! My recommendation to everyone, if you’re only going to watch one Best Picture nominee this year, make it BELFAST. I speak for all of The CineBoiz.

So what do you think?  Do you desperately want to see one of these three movies take home Best Picture on Sunday? Do you think another nominee fits into this category? Be sure to holler at us on Twitter (@korkedbats; @thecineboiz) and Instagram (@korkedbats2; @thecineboiz) and let us know how you feel.

Also, be sure to follow Korked Bats on YouTube and The Cineboiz on Twitch to catch us live, and subscribe to The CineBoiz Podcast wherever podcasts are found!

The post The 2022 Oscar Best Picture Nominees (Part 4: Best of the Best) appeared first on Korked Bats.