In this episode of the show we are continuing our July debate about Men in Crisis as we take on a real humdinger of a movie, Steve McQueen's Shame. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about how this movie is equally something everyone should see and something everyone will wish to never see again, how Steve McQueen's meticulou…

Here's a short teaser of our brand new Patreon-exclusive episode of Uncut Gems Tie-ins, a monthly series where we take a classic movie and connect it to a film discussed on our main show. In this podcast we are tying into our month-long conversation about male mental health and men in crisis and we are talking about David Fincher's Fight Club. Over…

In this episode of the show we are beginning our July conversations on Men in Crisis, jumping directly off a month on Distressed Dads, and we commence with a great chat about The Art of Self-Defense. Over the course of our debate you will hear us talk about this movie fitting in the legacy of David Fincher's Fight Club, Jesse Eisenberg's awkward pr…

In this episode of our ongoing 2024 Spike Lee project, we are diving deep into the 1999 Summer of Sam. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us speculate as to why Spike Lee chose to make this movie in particular, how it relates to his ongoing interests and whether it pauses the filmmaker's streak of activist black cinema, or maybe if i…

In this episode of the show we are adding a notch to our Spike Lee belt by talking about his mostly forgotten 90s piece, Get on the Bus. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about Spike Lee playing with form, advancing his concepts of cinematic activism and whether a single-location movie like this could ever be conceived as a …

In this episode of the show we are closing our Distressed Father's Day month with a conversation about the 1977 revenge opus Rolling Thunder. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about dangers of pressing down one's emotional state, the power of a monosyllabic hero and how much meaning can possibly fit into a single line of dia…

In this episode of our 2024 Kathryn Bigelow Marathon we are discussing her follow-up to Point Break, an audacious and wildly misunderstood Sci-Fi opus Strange Days. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us wonder why audiences failed to connect with this movie, how its immersive aesthetic works both in favour and against the idea of acc…

In this episode of the show we are discussing the 1972 film Rage directed and starring George C. Scott. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about the many ways in which this film fits in the microtrend of revenge fantasies which sprouted across cinema of the 70s, how it adds to the legacy of anti-establishment paranoid thrille…

In this episode of the show we are embarking on a June trip through movies about distressed dads and all the bad decisions they make. And so we begin with the 1970 Joe and the 1974 Death Wish. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about Peter Boyle's unique talent to look fifty-five when he was merely thirty-five, Charles Bronso…

Here's a short teaser of our brand new Patreon-exclusive episode of Uncut Gems Tie-ins, a monthly series where we take a classic movie and connect it to a film discussed on our main show. In this episode of the show we are working our way to Father's Day in connection to the entire month of 70s dads making bad decisions which we will be exploring o…

In this episode of the show we are talking about Spike Lee's 1996 movie Girl 6. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about how Spike Lee fits in the grand design of the 90s Indie Revival, what the movie has to say about Hollywood and whether some of the more recent scandals that shook the world are already touched on in detail …

This month we are discussing Spike Lee's 1998 outing He Got Game starring Denzel Washington and Ray Allen. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about Spike Lee's directorial style meshing with the raw talent of athletes in front of the camera, Denzel Washington's fatherly mission and the importance of basketball as a social mob…

In this episode of the show we are joined by our great friend Sarah Buddery to talk about 2010: The Year We Make Contact, the sequel to Stanley Kubrick's eponymous 2001: A Space Odyssey. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about the perils and woes of making a sequel to one of the greatest films of all time, adding context to …

Here's a short teaser of our brand new Patreon-exclusive episode of Uncut Gems Tie-ins, a monthly series where we take a classic movie and connect it to a film discussed on our main show. In this podcast we are talking about the Stanley Kubrick-directed magnum opus 2001: A Space Odyssey in connection to our upcoming show about its 1984 sequel 2010:…

In this episode of the show we are once again joined by our buddy Rich Foster to talk about the third and final collaboration between Jean-Claude Van Damme and Peter Hyams - Enemies Closer. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about JCVD as an ageing action hero, the obscure universe of direct-to-video filmmaking and the many r…

In this episode of the show we are joined by the great Kevin and Erin from The Podcast That Wouldn't Die to talk about JCVD's second collaboration with Peter Hyams - Sudden Death. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about how this movie fits into the legacy of Die Hard, how JCVD wants to abandon his martial artist garb in favo…

Here's a short teaser of our brand new Patreon-exclusive episode of Uncut Gems Tie-ins, a monthly series where we take a classic movie and connect it to a film discussed on our main show. This month we are tying into our main show conversations about Peter Hyams by talking about his arguably first hit, Capricorn One. Over the course of our conversa…

In this episode of the show we are opening our May triptych of JCVD collaborations with Peter Hyams and we begin our deliberations by travelling back in time to 1994 to talk about Timecop. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about Van Damme's drive to establish himself as an A-list action star, Ron Silver's villainous take owi…

In this episode of the show we are again touching base with our hero of the year, Spike Lee, as we talk about his 1995 outing Clockers. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about Lee taking his cinema close to Martin Scorsese, whether this movie is a continuation of film activism the filmmaker has been advancing his entire care…

This month we are devoting our Spike Lee conversation to Crooklyn, a semiautobiographical piece co-authored by Spike and his sisters. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about whether this movie strays from Lee's mission of cinematic activism or if it indeed harbours a message of societal appeal, how much of what we see on scr…

In this episode of the show we are joined by our good friend Hillary to talk about Leave No Trace, Debra Granik's drama about a man and his daughter living off the grid. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about Granik's filmmaking being rooted in sociopolitical activism, Ben Foster's performance as a traumatized vet and Thoma…

In the fourth episode of our 2024 Kathryn Bigelow Marathon, we look at her 1991 outing, Point Break. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about how Bigelow's moody aesthetic translates into the movie and perhaps enriches it, whether Keanu Reeves could have been replaced by Brandon Lee and if Gary Busey eating a meatball sandwic…

In this episode of the show, we are continuing our trek off the grid as we talk the 2016 indie darling Captain Fantastic. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about the quirky recipe for a Sundance drama, what the film is trying to say about parenting and whether it is interested in practicing what it preaches. We also talk abo…

Here's a short teaser of our brand new Patreon-exclusive episode of Uncut Gems Tie-ins, a monthly series where we take a classic movie and connect it to a film discussed on our main show. In this episode of the show tying into this month's theme of April Off The Grid, we are talking about Ted Kotcheff's First Blood. Joined by a special guest and fr…

In this episode of the show we are heading to the forest to begin our April Off The Grid together with William Friedkin's The Hunted. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about possible reasons why Friedkin decided to direct this movie, what it possibly owes to First Blood and whether it has a metaphorical connotation with the …

In this episode of our 2024 Spike Lee Joint-a-thon, we are gearing up for a serious discussion about Spike Lee's take on a prestige biopic, Malcolm X. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about how Lee reinvents the biopic formula while adhering to it, how Denzel Washington embodies the titular character and how this movie had …

In this episode of the show, we are talking about Spike Lee's Jungle Fever, a dense societal diorama that begins with a premise of an elevated screwball rom-com and descends into deep and heavy thematic deliberations on race, relationships, drugs and familial sins. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about Spike Lee finding hi…

In this episode of the show, we are closing our Spring Clinging series with a homerun as we are talking about Tony Scott's The Fan! Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about how much Nine Inch Nails music is too much, whether this movie gets baseball right and if there is a point to it in the first place only a few short years…

In the third episode of our 2024 Kathryn Bigelow Marathon we are entering the 90s together with her police procedural Blue Steel. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about Jamie Lee Curtis and whether Roger Ebert was right to call her character the next iteration of Laurie Strode, Bigelow's continuing fascination with John Car…

In this episode of the show, we are continuing our exploration of obsession and stalking, aka Spring Clinging, as we are talking about the 1993 The Crush. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about Alan Shapiro as a filmmaker, his attempt at meshing real life experience with Lolita, his writing acumen or lack thereof, and wheth…

In this episode of the show, we are continuing our conversations about obsession and lack of personal boundaries, as we talk about The Fanatic. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us wonder if this universally panned movie can be salvaged, whether John Travolta's performance is overblown, by how much and why, as well as what we think …

Here's a short teaser of our brand new Patreon-exclusive episode of Uncut Gems Tie-ins, a monthly series where we take a classic movie and connect it to a film discussed on our main show. In this show, which is tied into our month's conversations about obsession and people who don't know where the boundaries are, we are talking about one of the mos…

In this episode of the show, we are talking about Ingrid Goes West as we begin our March bout of Spring Clinging. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about Aubrey Plaza's troll deadpan, the dangers of social media and how reality is warped by looking at carefully curated lives online. We also talk about Hollywood's fake-it-til…

In this episode of our 2024 Spike Lee Joint-a-thon, we are talking about Lee's magnum opus, Do the Right Thing. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us try to deconvolute the intricate cultural mosaic that is this movie, understand Lee's political convictions and map them over the cyclical nature of American history. We also talk about…

In this episode of the show, making our monthly stop at the Spike Lee Station to talk about his fourth feature, Mo' Better Blues. Joined by our two great buddies, Jak and Carson, we dig into this dense movie to find out whether it should be faulted for its archetypal storytelling or applauded for its symbolic richness. We also talk about Lee's plac…

In the second episode of our Kathryn Bigelow Marathon, we are talking about her vampire western sophomore, Near Dark. Joined by our great friend Hillary, we talk about Bigelow meshing genre, taking inspiration from James Cameron and John Carpenter, and wonder how much one can refresh the vampire canon. We also talk about her becoming an action dire…

In this episode of the show, we are taking a slow and steady blimp trip as we talk about Robert Wise's The Hindenburg. Over the course of our chat you will hear us talk about the genre of disaster movies slowly reaching its climax and fizzling out towards the latter half of the 70s, how nice it is to see George C. Scott in shape and how the movie m…

In this jumbo jet-sized episode we are joined by our great buddy Jak to talk about the three movies that followed the 1970 Airport: Airport '75, Airport '77 and The Concorde... Airport 1979. Over the course of our conversation you will hear what we think about the early days of Hollywood franchising, how the Airport movies are either B-movies or Bo…

Here's a short teaser of our brand new Patreon-exclusive episode of Uncut Gems Tie-ins, a monthly series where we take a classic movie and connect it to a film discussed on our main show. In this show, tied to our February theme of Terror in the Sky, we are talking about the 1970 Airport! Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk ab…

In this episode of the show we are getting jacked in the sky as we are talking Skyjacked to kick off our February theme of Terror in the Sky (or T-air-or?). Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about the ripples that Airport made in 1970, how the big studio heads grappled with the advent of The New Hollywood and how this movie …

In this inaugural episode of our Patreon side of the 2024 Spike Lee retrospective, we are looking at his sophomore feature School Daze. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about the sophomore ego, the surprise of this movie being a musical and the perils of stuffing a musical template with too much content. We also talk about …

In this episode of the show we are officially beginning our new long-term project where we will comprehensively go through the cinema of Spike Lee and there's only one way to begin such a journey, which is with his debut She's Gotta Have It. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about how this movie, short as it may be, fosters …

In this episode of the show we are concluding our brief journey through Liam Neeson movies confined to different modes of transportation and we are taking off into the skies to talk about Non-Stop! Over the course of our conversation you will hear us wonder why this movie was as successful as it was, the woes of making action movies in the Marvel e…

The time has come for us to get on our bikes and launch a brand new director marathon and for this year we decided to shadow Kathryn Bigelow and chart the course of her career as she went from indie obscurity to genre re-invention and all the way to the highest echelons of prestige filmmaking! We begin our escapade by talking about her indie debut …

In this episode of the show we are going on a road trip with Liam Neeson while trying not to be left out in the cold, as we talk The Ice Road! Over the course of our conversation you will hear us try to understand what makes this movie work way better than it perhaps should, how important it is to anchor an action movie in the classics of the genre…

Here's a short teaser of our brand new Patreon-exclusive episode of Uncut Gems Tie-ins, a monthly series where we take a classic movie and connect it to a film discussed on our main show. This month we are talking about Taken, the movie which recalibrated Liam Neeson's career and transformed him from an aging prestige thespian into a latter-day sup…

In this episode of the show we are beginning our January theme of Liam Neeson's Planes, Trains and Automobiles (transitioning from our recent chat on Terror Train) and we begin with his train-bound thriller The Commuter. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about Neeson fully embracing his action stardom, the question whether t…

In this episode of the show we are finally coming to an end of our epic journey through the cinema of Steven Soderbergh we have been on for the last thirteen months! We are also plugging a few blind spots here by discussing the two Spalding Gray movies he made (Gray's Anatomy and And Everything Is Going Fine), just to make sure we have covered his …

Here's a short teaser of our Patreon-exclusive podcast series where we will be examining the cinema of Steven Soderbergh. On our main show we are going through his more underrated works, while on our Patreon we are talking about Soderbergh's most prominent movies. This is it! We have come to the end of our Soderbergh project and on this occasion we…

In this episode of the show we are inching ever closer to the end of our Steven Soderbergh journey as we talk about one his most recent efforts, Kimi. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about how reliant Soderbergh has become on the quality of the scripts he directs, David Koepp's magic touch, and how a well-paced story can h…