Bob Odenkirk breaks out of middle-aged domestic boredom to wreck an entire army of Russian mobsters in the new action film Nobody, and Bob and Stew are here to talk about it on the latest episode of The Unfranchised. The two discuss the joy of seeing Odenkirk go full action hero, debate the merits of the supporting cast and wonder if Nobody and John Wick writer Derek Kolstad has launched yet another franchise. This episode contains mild to moderate spoilers. Our podcasters this episode are Robert Taylor and Stewart Smith. To make sure you catch every episode, you can subscribe to The Unfranchised via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or pick up our direct podcast feed. Theme music by The Zombie Dandies, licensed through the Free Music Archive (CC by 4.0).

It's a brand new year, but COVID-19 is still here, which means, for many of us, movie-watching will remain strictly an at-home affair for the foreseeable future. Enter Netflix, which recently announced plans to release more than 70 new movies on the streaming service this year. One of the first is Outside the Wire, a new sci-fi/military-action thriller starring Anthony Mackie. In this episode, Bob and Stew tackle the strengths and weaknesses of that film before segueing into a general discussion about Netflix's plans to be your primary movie provider in these troubling times. Our podcasters this episode are Robert Taylor and Stewart Smith. To make sure you catch every episode, you can subscribe to The Unfranchised via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or pick up our direct podcast feed. Theme music by The Zombie Dandies, licensed through the Free Music Archive (CC by 4.0).

After a brief discussion about the tragic loss of Chadwick Boseman, Bob and Stew tackle their first double feature in this episode, debating the merits of two Safdie brothers' films -- the 2017 Robert Pattinson crime thriller Good Time and Adam Sandler's 2019 dramatic showcase Uncut Gems. Among the questions tackled are: Is Pattinson the best actor to ever play Batman? Did Sandler deserve all that awards-season hype last year? And how is it that Lakeith Stanfield is able to make everything he's involved with better? Stew also unexpectedly drops some synthwave knowledge, and, if you listen closely, you may also hear him propose the notion that Raul Julia deserved an Oscar nomination for Street Fighter. This episode contains major spoilers for both films. Our podcasters this episode are Robert Taylor and Stewart Smith. To make sure you catch every episode, you can subscribe to The Unfranchised via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or pick up our direct podcast feed. Theme music by The Zombie Dandies, licensed through the Free Music Archive (CC by 4.0).

Maybe it was the election of Donald J. Trump and the current troubled state of America. Or, alternate theory: Maybe it was Green Book winning Best Picture. But for whatever reason, Spike Lee seems fired up and ready to fight the power again. Da 5 Bloods is his second film in a row that fiercely tackles race and racism in America through a historical lens. In this episode of The Unfranchised, Bob and Stew are joined by critic and writer Justin Clark, and the three talk about the important messages of Da 5 Bloods and take an overall look at Spike's impressive filmography. This episode contains moderate spoilers for Da 5 Bloods. Our podcasters this episode are Robert Taylor, Stewart Smith and special guest Justin Clark. To make sure you catch every episode, you can subscribe to The Unfranchised via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or pick up our direct podcast feed. Theme music by The Zombie Dandies, licensed through the Free Music Archive (CC by 4.0).

Beautifully shot martial-arts action takes center stage as Bob and Stew do a deep dive on Asian cinema in our latest episode of The Unfranchised. They're here to talk about Shadow, a gorgeous, Zhang Yimou-directed wuxia epic from 2018 that's currently streaming on Netflix. But in the ramp up to that discussion, Stew breaks down his love of Chinese film while Bob ponders the best way to become acclimated with movies from the others side of the world. They touch upon how Asian cinema differs from country to country, wuxia as a genre, films from the legendary Shaw Brothers studio, the impact of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero here in America, and the works of King Hu, Wong Kar-wai, Akira Kurosawa, Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and more. This episode contains no spoilers and is safe for those who have not yet seen Shadow. Our podcasters this episode are Robert Taylor and Stewart Smith. To make sure you catch every episode, you can subscribe to The Unfranchised via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or pick up our direct podcast feed. Theme music by The Zombie Dandies, licensed through the Free Music Archive (CC by 4.0).

With movie-goers quarantined at home during the coronavirus pandemic, it may have been the perfect time for Netflix to release Extraction, a Chris Hemsworth actioner that has quickly become one of the streamer's biggest original films ever. In our latest episode, Bob and Stew take a look at which action tropes Extraction utilizes and which ones it subverts. They discuss the importance of action-film locales, the joys of a well done one-take action sequence and the surprise of Hemsworth fighting a bunch of kids. They also end up fan-casting their dream Uncharted movie because ... well, because they don't always stay on topic. This episode contains only mild spoilers until the very end, and a spoiler warning is given at that point in the show. Our podcasters this episode are Robert Taylor and Stewart Smith. To make sure you catch every episode, you can subscribe to The Unfranchised via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or pick up our direct podcast feed. Theme music by The Zombie Dandies, licensed through the Free Music Archive (CC by 4.0).

Bob and Stew really get into the weeds on episode #4 of The Unfranchised when they tackle In the Tall Grass, a recent Netflix horror film adapted from a novella by Stephen King and Joe Hill. During the conversation they discuss some of director Vincenzo Natali's other movies, talk about why adaptations are hard, and, at the end of the episode, give their picks for their favorite, most overrated and most underrated Stephen King films. Our podcasters this episode are Robert Taylor and Stewart Smith. To make sure you catch every episode, you can subscribe to The Unfranchised via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or pick up our direct podcast feed. Theme music by The Zombie Dandies, licensed through the Free Music Archive (CC by 4.0).

In episode #3 of The Unfranchised, hosts Robert Taylor and Stewart Smith discuss Knives Out, the new murder-mystery film from Star Wars: The Last Jedi writer/director Rian Johnson. During the conversation they talk about how Johnson is able to take a traditional whodunit structure and twist it into something fresh, surprising and fun. They also debate Johnson's entire filmography, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of his past films, including Brick and Looper. There also may be some Star Wars talk. (Okay, there's a LOT of Star Wars talk.) This episode contains moderate to heavy spoilers. Our podcasters this episode are Robert Taylor and Stewart Smith. To make sure you catch every episode, you can subscribe to The Unfranchised via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or pick up our direct podcast feed. Theme music by The Zombie Dandies, licensed through the Free Music Archive (CC by 4.0).

In episode #2 of The Unfranchised, hosts Robert Taylor and Stewart Smith tackle The Lighthouse, the new psychological horror film from The Witch director Robert Eggers. During the discussion they talk about why they enjoyed Eggers' second film so much more than his first, discuss the careers of The Lighthouse stars Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson, and ponder whether or not Pattinson will make a good Batman. This episode contains only mild spoilers. Our podcasters this episode are Robert Taylor and Stewart Smith. To make sure you catch every episode, you can subscribe to The Unfranchised via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or pick up our direct podcast feed. Theme music by The Zombie Dandies, licensed through the Free Music Archive (CC by 4.0).

Welcome to The Unfranchised, a brand new film podcast from Cult Spark. In each episode of The Unfranchised, hosts Bob Taylor and Stew Smith will discuss a recently released movie that is NOT a sequel, reboot, franchise film or based on an existing IP. Instead, they're going to use this podcast to talk about original films that don't get the same coverage as a new Marvel or Star Wars movie. In this first episode, Bob and Stew tackle Netflix's Apostle, the 2018 period horror film from The Raid director, Gareth Evans. In the process they also end up chatting about the careers of both Evans and the film's stars, Dan Stevens and Michael Sheen. This episode contains moderate spoilers. It's time to start showing some love to the little guy. It's time to celebrate The Unfranchised. Our podcasters this episode are Bob Taylor and Stewart Smith. To make sure you catch every episode, you can subscribe to The Unfranchised via Apple Podcasts or pick up our direct podcast feed. Theme music by The Zombie Dandies, licensed through the Free Music Archive (CC by 4.0).