Best Kevin & Erin Weir Podcasts (2024)

1
1979: Kramer V Kramer: Dawn of Just Us 1:08:27

12h ago1:08:27

1:08:27

It's 1979, nearing the end of the era of serious dramas for adults ruling the box office, and Dustin Hoffman's divorce and custody drama becomes one of our more unlikely joint champions. Erin, Claire, and Dan dig into Ted Kramer's attempts to juggle two lives: raising his son alone after his wife Joanna disappears into the night, and a career that …

1
1978: The Grease Hunter (feat. Kevin Weir) 2:10:14

15d ago2:10:14

2:10:14

It's 1978 and the tonal gulf between Oscar winner and people's champ has, if anything, widened, as has the gap in host reactions. The Academy goes for Michael Cimino's home-from-Vietnam story The Deer Hunter, which has some stellar performances but also very strange and off-putting pacing, and an iconic, definitive scene that maybe does more harm t…

1
1977: Hall Wars (w/ Munsi Parker-Munroe) 1:21:54

29d ago1:21:54

1:21:54

In 1977, a long time ago, you might say Academy and Audience's tastes were far, far away. Claire, Erin, Dan, and returning guest Munsi Parker-Munroe strap in to take on one Woody Allen in his seminal hit, Annie Hall, asking how well it's aged and how challenging it is to deal with the Woody Allen of it all. That accomplished, it's time for our firs…

1
Oscars 2024: Year in Review (w/ Olav Rokne) 1:34:54

1M ago1:34:54

1:34:54

The Oscars have happened, Award Season is done for now, and we take a look at the ten candidates for Best Picture of 2023, with returning guest Oscar enthusiast, and greatest living fan of Zardoz, Olav Rokne. Dan and Olav saw all ten, as is their wont, Erin's seen six, and Claire's here for the vibes as we speed through reviews of nine great movies…

1
1976: Yo, Rocky! 1:00:47

2M ago1:00:47

1:00:47

It's 1976, and audiences and the Academy are united in loving one man: Rocky Balboa. A nine film franchise spanning six decades has a small and simple beginning as a struggling young Sylvester Stallone writes himself into stardom as a simple palooka trying to prove to the world and himself that he can go the distance with heavyweight champ Apollo C…

1
1975: One Flew Over the SHARK! SHARK! RUN! 1:06:41

2M ago1:06:41

1:06:41

It's 1995, and we have cuckoos and sharks coming your way! The Oscar went to One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, second film ever to achieve the Oscar Grand Slam, as Jack Nicholson's anti-hero McMurphy squared off with Louise Fletcher's icily villainous Nurse Ratched. It's hailed by a classic, but how does it hold up? And what do other versions of the…

1
1974: Godfather 2 Electric Boogaloo (feat. Gina Stewart) 1:41:42

3M ago1:41:42

1:41:42

Two years after The Godfather dominated the box office and snagged the top Oscar, Francis and the Corleones are back for one of the most lauded sequels ever, The Godfather Part 2. Gina Stewart's back to join Erin, Claire, and Dan in unpacking the rise of Vito and the fall of Michael, and the sad story of Fredo and the career of the man playing him.…

1
1973: Heists and Horror (feat. Keith Kollee) 1:46:04

3M ago1:46:04

1:46:04

It's 1973, and we take a break from Coppola's mafia movies for... more crimes, of legal and spiritual nature! First up, Paul Newman and Robert Redford are back together for new crimes in a new century, as 1930s con men out for payback on a vicious gangster in Oscar winner The Sting. But as popular as the Butch and Sundance reunion was (very), audie…

1
1972: You've NEVER Seen The GODFATHER!? (feat. Gina Stewart) 59:31

4M ago59:31

59:31

It's 1972 and Francis Ford Coppola had an offer neither Academy nor Audience could refuse, with all-time-classic mob movie The Godfather. Erin, Claire, and Dan dig into the suspense, the twists and turns, who the best Corleone kid is and why it's Tom Hagen, and Gina Stewart is back to tell us all about how Mario Puzo's novel was adapted (by Puzo hi…

1
2023 in Review 50:31

4M ago50:31

50:31

It's the holiday season, so while taking a brief break, Erin, Claire, and Dan look back at the hits, possible nominees, and other random movies they've seen over the course of 2023. What were some Oscar History highlights? What were the weird trends of 2023 movies? What's the most unfortunate trend? Are we headed for the first Joint Champion in two…

1
1971: The Fiddler Connection 1:25:20

5M ago1:25:20

1:25:20

1971 brings us another year where you have to ask if someone wrote the winners down wrong, as the Academy goes with the cop thrillers and audiences decide they're not quite done with musicals. Best Picture goes to The French Connection, with Gene Hackman as Popeye Doyle, a cop on the edge in world he never made, fighting French drug traffickers wit…

1
1970: Love and War 1:21:51

5M ago1:21:51

1:21:51

Welcome to the 70s, New Hollywood! And as Erin, Claire, and Dan enter this new decade, all is fair in love and war... and if it isn't, love means never having to say you're sorry. The Academy goes for Patton, a biopic of the controversial World War II general, and Erin and Claire are... not convinced. Meanwhile, the audience showed up in droves for…

1
1969: Oops All Cowboys 1:03:03

6M ago1:03:03

1:03:03

Grab your hat, your boots, your portable radio, and all the chewing gum you can carry, as New Hollywood hits hard in 1969. The Academy goes for the bleak, urban tragedy of two failing hustlers in Midnight Cowboy, and Dustin Hoffman shatters our hosts' hearts. The audience went for something lighter, more fun, and yet with fewer surviving protagonis…

1
1968: Last Stand of the Hollywood MegaMusical (feat. Kevin Weir) 1:55:37

6M ago1:55:37

1:55:37

It's 1968, the dying days of Hollywood's "Golden Age," and while grosses have been down and the market's oversaturated, the big-budget Hollywood musical is going down swinging. First, the Oscar goes to Oliver!, a whimsical, light-hearted, peppy musical adaptation of... Oliver Twist? Weird choice. Once we're through the toe-tapping child trauma, it'…

1
1967: The Heat of the Graduate 1:39:13

7M ago1:39:13

1:39:13

Welcome to New Hollywood, listeners! The Academy goes for tense, racially charged In The Heat of the Night, where Sidney Poitier announces "They call me Mr. Tibbs" and helps a hick southern sheriff solve a murder. It's gripping, it's powerful, it brings up some sad thoughts for Erin, Claire, and Dan in the wake of recent events in Canada. Then on t…

1
1966: Old Testament Centrism (feat. Munsi Parker-Munroe) 1:43:54

7M ago1:43:54

1:43:54

It's 1966, and as the so-called "Golden Age" of Hollywood collapses, nobody's having a good year. The Oscars favour A Man For All Seasons, the story of Thomas Moore, a man bold enough to [checks notes] take no actions, speak no opinions, and "My name's Paul and that's tween y'all" Henry VIII's marriage controversies. Yeah. Great subject for a biopi…

1
1965: The Hills are Alive! RUN! 1:05:55

8M ago1:05:55

1:05:55

It's 1965, and Academy Vs Audience hits Film History's Second Juggernaut: Dame Julie Andrews and the late, great, Christopher Plummer in The Sound of Music. Erin, Claire, and Dan dig into the sweet little musical about love, family, music, and the dangers of capitulating to Nazis... breaking down the kids, the king that is Captain Von Trapp and the…

1
1964: POPPINS. VS. DOOLITTLE! 1:16:18

8M ago1:16:18

1:16:18

It's 1964 and it's all singing, all dancing, all grudge match for Julie Andrews! The Oscar goes to Lerner and Lowe's My Fair Lady, with Audrey Hepburn taking over the role Julie Andrews created onstage, because the future Dame wasn't "a big enough draw." In response, Andrews joins Walt Disney for the aggressively whimsical Mary Poppins, claiming th…

1
1963: SEX BOMBS (feat. John Tebbutt) 1:46:02

9M ago1:46:02

1:46:02

It's 1963, and both Hollywood and the UK were starting to poke at the boundaries of film censors. First off, the best picture winner, England's Tom Jones, in which the title character tries to win his lady Sophie (whoa, She's a Lady), but can't resist saying "What's New Pussycat" to any woman with a come hither look. Our special guest, Video Vultur…

1
1962: Larry Arabia and the Long Day 1:22:43

9M ago1:22:43

1:22:43

War! Huh. Good god, y'all, what is it good for? In 1962, the answer is two surprisingly good movies. First, the Academy Award goes to Lawrence of Arabia, featuring stunning cinematography, deadly deserts, amazing breakout performances from Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif, and some DEEPLY uncomfortable casting choices for Arab leadership. But by a nar…

1
1961: DANCE FIGHT (feat. Keith Kollee) 1:14:20

9M ago1:14:20

1:14:20

Welcome, listeners, to the Academy Vs Audience/Recovered crossover! Dan, Erin, and Claire welcome Dan's Recovered co-host Keith Kollee to dig into 1961's Joint Champion, West Side Story, the only movie whose every film remake is an Oscar contender. The gang digs into this story of rival gangs, racial tensions, corrupt cops, amazing progressive tran…

1
1960: The Spartacus Apartment 1:27:55

10M ago1:27:55

1:27:55

Welcome to the 60s, the decade that most changed Hollywood! But not quite yet. In The Apartment, Jack Lemmon is doing a sex farce while Shirley Maclaine is in a doomed romance tragedy, Billy Wilder tries to make both work at once, and the Academy was here for it. The Audience wasn't ready to give up sword and sandal epics, and turned out for Kirk D…

1
1959: Ben of the Hurs (feat. Gina Stewart) 1:20:31

10M ago1:20:31

1:20:31

Here at the end of another decade, Dan, Claire, and Erin ask a question: can a movie have too much Jesus but also way too little Jesus at the same time? It's our second biggest Joint Champion Juggernaut, Ben-Hur, in which Charlton Heston pursues vengeance via chariot while Forrest Gumping his way through the New Testament. Claire and Erin cry out f…

1
1958: Singing, Dancing, Soldiers, Sex Workers? 1:21:58

11M ago1:21:58

1:21:58

In our first all-musical episode (don't look at us like that, Broadway Melody doesn't count), Claire, Erin, and Dan dissect two musical movies from famous teams to see which aged worse. First, our Oscar winner, Lerner and Lowe bring us the story of a Parisian womanizer realizing he might have feelings for the teenage girl he's watched grow up... an…

1
1957: Bridge Over Troubled Kwai Waters 57:30

11M ago57:30

57:30

And we are back! It's 1957, and one film towers over some tough Oscar competition and... a lean year, box office-wise: The Bridge on the River Kwai. Claire, Erin, and Dan dig into the film's portrayal of cult-like devotion to duty, honour, and so-called principles via the film's main cast, led by our first appearance of Alec Guinness, as well as th…

1
1952 Revisited 1:36:20

12M ago1:36:20

1:36:20

Our Best of Munsi Triptych wraps up in 1952, as Erin, Claire, Dan, and Munsi dig into two films with questionable romance content. First, An American in Paris, the quaint, charming, whimsical tale of a middle-aged painter trying to win the hand of a teenager away from the French singer who's groomed her since childhood. With Gershwin songs! And Gen…

1
1943 Revisited 1:38:42

1y ago1:38:42

1:38:42

Our hosts' various breaks continue, and we return to 1943, a year where the Academy couldn't have been more right and the Audience couldn't have been more wrong, and Munsi Parker-Munroe is back to witness both. Come to Casablanca to visit Rick's Café American, stay for the Stage Door Canteen... because there is no leaving the Stage Door Canteen. Ma…

1
1933 Revisited 1:25:50

1y ago1:25:50

1:25:50

We've hit a perfect storm of host conflicts, so while we recharge in our various ways, enjoy a trip down memory lane, beginning with 1933, in which eventual recurring guest Munsi Parker-Munroe joined Claire, Erin, and Dan for, perhaps, the worst combination of movies we've yet discussed: Cavalcade and Eddie Cantor's... best?... movie, Roman Scandal…

1
1956: 80 Days in Ten Commandments (feat. Kevin Weir) 2:06:05

1y ago2:06:05

2:06:05

In 1956, two movies take their sweet time with two famous stories. Our Best Picture takes us Around the World in 80 Days (and 200 cameos) as this first film version of Jules Verne's novel loads the screen with exotic locales, familiar faces, and long, LONG shots of scenery. But 'tis but a blip next to our Box Office Champion, As Cecil B. DeMille br…

1
Bonus: 95th Oscars Recap (feat. Olav Rokne) 1:29:08

1y ago1:29:08

1:29:08

Erin and Dan are joined by returning guest and Hugo Book Club co-runner Olav Rokne to dissect the latest crop of Best Picture nominees, in the wake of learning who won what, and how many of the ten nominees went home empty-handed (Claire will be back next time). Who deserved what? Who maybe snuck onto the shortlist undeservedly? Which of these movi…

1
1955: Love, War, and Tonal Clashes 1:12:27

1y ago1:12:27

1:12:27

It's 1955, and the films get simple in both a pleasant and insulting way. The Academy chooses Paddy Chayefsky's quiet romance of two people deemed unlovable finding each other in Marty, while the audience goes for the tonally confused war movie Mr. Roberts, which tries to be both a wacky wartime farce and a somber reflection on service and ultimate…

1
1954: Waterfronts and White Christmases 1:23:52

1y ago1:23:52

1:23:52

Erin, Claire, and Dan get a break from feature-length Sunday School sermons to talk about two possible Good Actually movies! Thanks, 1950s! First, young Marlon Brando reinvents film acting for the better in the hard hitting On The Waterfront, and your hosts are here to, gush, unpack a few flaws, examine the line everyone thinks they know, and look …

1
1953: Sexy Beach Times, Also Jesus 57:16

1y ago57:16

57:16

It's 1953, time for what many consider a beloved classic in From Here to Eternity, and certainly some of our hosts agree. Romance, tragedy, and one heavily telegraphed surprise attack await... and then, due to poor choices by 50s audiences, it's time for more Sunday School with The Robe. Richard Burton joins the stars if Samson and Delilah and Quo …

1
1952: The Greatest Show Sarcastic Air Quotes 1:08:35

1+ y ago1:08:35

1:08:35

It's our first joint champion of the 1950s! Good news, no bible stories. Less good news, Cecil B. DeMille really wanted people to know how neat he thinks the circus is. There are love triangles that make a Hellraiser puzzle box look simple, criminals lurking in the shadows, many plot-relevant elephants, and yet all of it is somehow drowned out by m…

1
1951: Dancing, Disciples, Doofuses (feat. Munsi Parker-Munroe) 1:36:20

1+ y ago1:36:20

1:36:20

Erin, Claire, Dan, and returning guest Munsi Parker-Munroe unpack some terrible leading men as the Oscars get musical while the audience goes to Sunday School. First, Gene Kelley brings us the songs of the Gershwins, some incredible dance numbers, and a romance that set gender relations back fifty years in An American in Paris. Does the dancing def…

1
1950: Eve and Delilah 1:38:47

1+ y ago1:38:47

1:38:47

It's the 1950s, and we kick off the decade with two very different movies. First, legit classic All About Eve brings us into the backstabbing world of being a woman in theatre through immortal frienemies Margo Channing and Eve Harrington; then, Cecil B. DeMille kicks off 50s Hollywood's obsession with feature length Sunday School classes in Samson …

1
Mini-episode: 2022 in Review 38:24

1+ y ago38:24

38:24

Before jumping into the 1950s, Erin, Claire, and Dan take a moment to reflect on 2022 in film. What could/should win Best Picture? What's the probable Box Office Champ? Will we see our first Joint Champion in nearly two decades? And which movies delighted us but won't be mentioned on Oscar night? Join us as we look back on 2022 in film. Find all of…

1
There Now Follows a Brief Intermission 14:14

1+ y ago14:14

14:14

With the 1940s wrapped up, Dan, Claire, and Erin take some time to recharge before diving into 1950s Bible Epics, and while they do so, enjoy an outtake from back in the 30s or 40s. Back soon with some true classics, some regrettable leading men, the episode where we say "Good-bye Bing, Hello Marlon," and much more. Find all of our episodes and the…

1
1949: Creepy Old Men (feat. Kevin Weir) 1:30:05

1+ y ago1:30:05

1:30:05

Kevin Weir is back to dig into weirder corners of Oscar history as Academy Vs Audience wraps up the 1940s with two stories of creepy old white dudes having unfortunate levels of success. Best Picture All The King's Men brings us the uncomfortably prescient tale of Willie Stark, a good man driven to corruption by... well there's some confusion on th…

1
1948: A Year For the Theatre Kids 1:18:19

1+ y ago1:18:19

1:18:19

It's 1948, and our movies are catnip for theatre kids. First up, Sir Laurence Olivier takes on what's clearly a dream project in Hamlet, and while the Oscars favoured him, Hamlet enthusiasts Claire and Erin have some notes while Dan explains which contemporary horror franchise it slots right into. Next up, The Red Shoes talks passion, obsession, an…

1
1947 Part 2: Return of the Bing 48:54

1+ y ago48:54

48:54

1947's box office champ is weirdly hard to track down, but we found it, so it's time to talk Welcome Stranger! Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald reunite in a movie very desperate to recapture the magic of Going My Way, only with doctors instead of priests. Does letting Bing be sassier and kiss ladies make up for the relative lack of Father Chuck-sty…

1
1947 Part 1: Underrated Peck Action 55:35

1+ y ago55:35

55:35

It's 1947, and the Academy thinks it's time America had a frank talk about how many Nazis are running around two years after World War II ended. Human avatar of gravitas Gregory Peck leads Gentleman's Agreement, in which a journalist goes looking for antisemitism in New York for a story, and finds that it's very much like trying to get a sip of wat…

1
1946: The Best Years [citation needed] Of Our Lives 41:49

1+ y ago41:49

41:49

It's our third joint champion in five episodes! In the wake of WWII ending, both audiences and the Academy turned out for what might be the coming-home-from-war-movie, The Best Years of Our Lives. Three hours' worth of three men from three military branches having three different struggles returning home, and almost all of them get some sort of res…

1
1945: Chuck and the Drunk 1:16:03

1+ y ago1:16:03

1:16:03

It's 1945, and with the war wrapping up, the Academy is done with comfort viewings, and hands the top prize to Billy Wilder's The Lost Weekend. Audiences, however, are not yet done with joy as an emotion, and flock to the continuing adventures of Father Chuck O'Malley in The Bells of Saint Mary. In one corner, a bleak no-holds-barred look at addict…

1
1944: Comfort Flicks With Bing 58:40

1+ y ago58:40

58:40

It's our second Joint Champion of the 1940s, and what Dan calls "The Yancey Cravat of the 40s," as Claire, Erin, and Dan dive into Going My Way with Bing Crosby. Father Chuck O'Malley rolls into town with military grade love and tolerance, and no supporting character will escape without their lives being improved through uncut Mr. Rogers belief in …

1
1943: The Best of Times, the Worst of Times (feat. Munsi Parker-Munroe) 1:36:52

1+ y ago1:36:52

1:36:52

1943... the world's at war, and the film world is reacting, but in ways good and bad. For you see, inside all of us are two wolves: Rick's Café American, and the Stage Door Canteen. And the Academy and Audience fed very different wolves. The Oscars hand the top trophy to Casablanca, about as correct a choice as can be made, while the audience turne…

1
1942: One Miniver To Rule Them All 1:10:37

2y ago1:10:37

1:10:37

It's 1942, America has joined the war in Europe, and so both Academy and Audience flock to the sweet, pastoral, hard-hitting propaganda picture Mrs. Miniver. The Miniver family navigates life and love and also the Blitz. Which of our hosts get caught up in it all? How do they react to the vignette-based narrative? Was 1942 too early to make a movie…

1
1941: Valleys, Green? (feat. Olav Rokne) 1:38:37

2y ago1:38:37

1:38:37

It's 1941: the valleys are green, the accent work is shoddy, and nobody's cast age-appropriate. Erin, Claire, Dan, and special guest Olav Rokne (co-runner of the Hugo Book Club blog) take on How Green Was My Valley, one of the more infamous Best Picture winners, to figure out if Film History gives it more hate than it deserves. Some find simple bea…

1
1940: Gloom and Boom 1:36:13

2y ago1:36:13

1:36:13

Academy Vs Audience enters a new decade, and celebrates with improved audio quality over last episode (albeit some internet issues from a host). It's Alfred Hitchcock's only Best Picture winner with the gloomy, creeping dread of Rebecca, giving us our first appearance of Sir Laurence MF'n Olivier; meanwhile the audience embraces old familiar friend…

1
1939: Blown Away 1:32:12

2y ago1:32:12

1:32:12

The time has come; Erin, Claire, and Dan take on the most successful movie ever made. As we reach the end of the 1930s, it's time for the big show, the absolute unit of filmmaking, the OG Blockbuster, Gone With the Wind. Four hours of movie with so much to unpack: does this movie love the Confederacy? Does it want you to love the Confederacy? Or is…

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