We grew up in a time when the original Gladiator was a cultural touchstone—everyone saw this movie, and it was the talk of the proverbial water cooler. But, is it actually a good movie? We debate that, getting hung up on a pointless, long escape sequence that sees Maximus end up right back where he … Continue reading XX – ‘Gladiator’ Jumps the Shark

For this episode, we opted to compare and contrast American Fiction and You People, two comedy-dramas where contemporary racial politics are the focal point. Yet, their perspective, style, tone, themes—and demonstrated level of filmmaking competence—could not be more radically different. We thoroughly analyze both films in our patented “deep casual” style, and we ask only … Continue reading XIX – ‘American Fiction’ and ‘You People’

We take a deep dive into the films of animator and director Don Bluth, with special focus on The Land Before Time, An American Tail, All Dogs Go to Heaven, and Anastasia.  For those of us who grew up watching these movies, they are remembered for their dark subject matter and themes antithetical to Disney. … Continue reading XVIII – Don Bluth

George Miller can’t make yet another great Mad Max movie, right? Wrong. He can and he did. And we hope he makes them forever. As we catch up on movies we’ve seen, one of them was Unfrosted. There’s a deep analysis of Jerry Seinfeld’s directorial debut (and its Goo Monster), followed by some light praise … Continue reading XVII – ‘Furiosa’, the PopTart Movie, and Tangents

We sat down with Chad’s old Virginia Tech classmate Kevin Hershner to discuss his film Normal Accidents. Kevin is a writer, director, and actor living in Los Angeles who is currently pitching the movie—his first feature—to festivals. Normal Accidents is an auteur satire on “one man, one location” films with a lot of levity. But, … Continue reading XVI – Conversation with Kevin Hershner, Director of ‘Normal Accidents’

We love Adam McKay movies. Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby embraces the Americana of rednecks and NASCAR culture, innocently pitting our uncouth heroes against the French liberal elites. Step Brothers is two losers resisting the urge to seek status, content with having a good time. And Anchorman? One can argue it’s a treatise … Continue reading XV – You Used to Laugh with the People, Adam McKay

The boys celebrate the podcast’s 10th anniversary by digging into the whole “Barbenheimer” thing.  Show Notes: Mission Impossible 7 bombs because theatres are dead again:https://www.msn.com/en-us/movies/news/mission-impossible-7-ends-its-domestic-run-by-hitting-another-disappointing-low/ar-AA1hdwR7 Censorship on Apple TV and Criterion Channel:https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnarcher/2023/06/06/apple-tv-and-the-criterion-channel-outrage-film-fans-by-censoring-classic-movie/  The “Despecialized Edition” of Star Wars: https://originaltrilogy.com/topic/Harmys-STAR-WARS-Despecialized-Edition-HD-V2-7-MKV-Released/id/12713 Krystal Ball on Barbie’s late-stage capitalist bullshit:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCQdVQUXgSQ Ben Shapiro takes Barbie way, way, way too seriously:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynU-wVdesr0 … Continue reading XIV – Barbenheimer

Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale and The Wrestler are very different films, but both center on a broken person, unable to achieve their former high, estranged from family and facing a new, less satisfying reality. Yet, one of these films sucks while the other is a cinematic masterpiece.  Brad and Chad take a hard look at … Continue reading XIII – Darren Aronofsky: Capriciously Comparing ‘The Whale’ and ‘The Wrestler’

Everything Everywhere All at Once swept the Oscars, but Hollywood seems incapable of talking about the movie on its merits. After discussing the struggle between art and identity politics, Brad and Chad both fail to remember the plot to Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, despite seeing it multiple times. Then, CinTan praises the shit out … Continue reading XII – There Should be More Beat-the-Clock Movies about the Asteroid that Killed the Dinosaurs

Cocaine Bear is based on the true tale of a bear who ate cocaine and died. The movie adaptation is about a CGI blob that mauls people to death – with some admittedly cool traditional effects. After sobering up, Brad and Chad go deep on M. Night Shyamalan’s Knock at the Cabin, revealing the (possible) … Continue reading XI – It’s About a Bear that Does a Lot of Cocaine