Excellent Adventures: The Time Travel Movie Podcast

paulexcellentadventures
  • 0.0 (0)
  • FILM REVIEWS
  • UPDATED BIWEEKLY

Three friends, Ellen, James and Paul, explore the hows and whens of time travel in the movies.

  1. FEB 6

    051: Your Name (2016): An Excellent Adventure

    Join Ellen, Paul and James in a wide-ranging discussion that begins with Makoto Shinkai’s Your Name.   What starts as an exploration of the film’s narrative - two strangers connected across time and space - expands into a conversation about memory, identity and the human desire for connection.   They consider how films like Your Name reflect deeper cultural questions about fate, loss, and longing and why stories of chance encounters continue to resonate.

    1h 2m

  2. JAN 16

    050: A Fiftieth Episode Excellent Adventure

    Celebrating a whopping 50 episodes of Excellence. Ellen, James & Paul reflect on highlights of 2 years Podcasting together, lessons learned & what the Future still holds. Tune in & celebrate along with them!

    35 min

  3. JAN 2

    049: Warlock (1989): An Excellent Adventure

    This episode, Paul Hosts & invites Ellen & James to a mini quiz on the cinema of the Summer of 1989. With the picture painted, it’s a race against Time to stop a devil of a scheme to undo creation itself.   Discussing the performances of Richard E Grant, Julian Sands & Lori Singer, there’s also much praise for Jerry Goldsmith’s score.   Oh & Paul was really pleased to finally suggest something Time Travelly that Ellen hadn’t already seen!

    1h 11m

  4. 12/19/2025

    048: A Christmas Carol (2009): Part Two of An Xmassy Adventure - WITH BONUS!

    Robert Zemeckis, co-writer  and director of Back to the Future (1985), returns to the world of the time travel movie with this lively and very faithful adaptation of the Charles Dickens story.  Produced as a performance capture movie, and released in 2009, the film has a visual dynamism and invention to it that makes it an especially effective version of the source material.  Jim Carrey’s performance across several roles is fascinating and the sense of atmosphere and place, and of menace and of whimsy, are beautifully realised.    Amidst the visual spectacle of the movie, the core ideas that Ebenezer Scrooge’s journey articulate are not overshadowed.    For James, this adaptation of A Christmas Carol is one of the very best there has ever been. The movie also works as an excellent double-bill with Zemeckis’s other Christmas movie, The Polar Express (2004).   BONUS: Stay tuned at the end for a short report from Alexandra Palace by Ellen & Paul of the stage adaptation by Mark Gatiss, showing to 4th January 2026.

    58 min

  5. 12/05/2025

    047: Scrooge (1951) & Muppet Chistmas Carol (1992): Part One of An Xmassy Adventure

    Our Christmas special two-parter takes a festive leap through time (and film history) as we each pick our favourite Christmas Carol adaptation. Obviously, the correct choice is The Muppet Christmas Carol - which I selected, of course! Michael Caine delivers a perfectly straight-faced Scrooge performance amid singing frogs and bantering ghosts, but it’s Gonzo (as Charles Dickens) who truly steals the show. Narrating the story with unexpected heart and a fair bit of slapstick help from Rizzo, he brings both the comedy and the classic text to life. It’s that rare adaptation that’s both hilarious and genuinely moving - and proof that the Muppets really can improve any classic.   Oh, & Paul's pick - the 1951 Scrooge starring Alastair Sim. That's not too shabby either. Bring a bag of humbugs. Put your feet up in front of the fire. Enjoy Part One...

    1h 29m

  6. 11/21/2025

    046: Jane Austen & Time Travel with Hallmark: A Mini Excellent Adventure with Guest Jen Francis

    This week, Ellen is joined by Jen Francis - a freelance TV producer and writer whose work spans original scripts, television development and sharp-eyed film criticism. Jen is also the author of Steve McQueen: In The Scene (2025), a new non-fiction study of the director’s craft. https://www.aurorametro.com/product/steve-mcqueen-book/   Together, Ellen and Jen dive into the irresistible world of time-traveling Jane Austen adaptations: Love & Jane (Hallmark, 2024), An American in Austen (Hallmark, 2024), and ITV’s cult miniseries Lost in Austen (2008).   Why do these stories of portals, swaps and “out-of-time” heroines keep captivating a udiences? And what do they reveal about the enduring appeal of Austen herself?   They also celebrate their joint contribution to Encounters with Jane Austen — a brand-new anthology of short stories, essays, and poetry marking the 250th anniversary of Austen’s birth in 2025 (Supernova Books). A thoughtful, celebratory collection — and an ideal Christmas gift for Austen fans everywhere. https://www.aurorametro.com/product/encounters-with-jane-austen/

    53 min

  7. 11/07/2025

    045: The Green Knight (2021): An Excellent Adventure

    A visually arresting adaptation of the poem ‘Sir Gawain and the Green Knight’ , David Lowery’s film is fascinating. It’s a Christmas movie , for sure, and it includes a time travel thread in the tapestry of its tale. What more could you ask for? Inventive, and imbued with a tangible sense of magic, the film prompts an enthusiastic conversation between James and Ellen for this episode.

    58 min

  8. 10/17/2025

    044: Hallmark Movies Time Travel Special: A Mini Excellent Adventure

    James and Paul are MIA, but Ellen is forging ahead solo into the wonderfully absurd world of Hallmark Time Travel Movies. From pocket watches that open wormholes to Victorian men horrified by toasters, she breaks down the rules, the romance, and the time-bending tropes that make this subgenre so irresistibly unhinged. Buckle up—time travel waits for no one!

    20 min
See All (51)

About

Three friends, Ellen, James and Paul, explore the hows and whens of time travel in the movies.

Information

You Might Also Like