Nate and Ryan discuss their summer movie watching and try to decide which action movies are worth watching. A recent viewing of 1987’s The Running Man with an eye to Edgar Wright’s upcoming remake fuel a conversation that hits heavily on Jackie Chan’s 1985 classic Police Story. They also discuss Friendship, the… Continue reading
Our 5-star movie discussions continue with a deep-dive into the 1984 masterpiece Amadeus, directed by Milos Forman. Adapted from his stage play, Peter Shaffer’s examination of the ersatz rivalry between Mozart (Tom Hulce), a prodigious genius, and his traditional-minded admirer/covetous underminer, Salieri (F. Murray Abraham). On top of the heaps of… Continue reading
Nate and Ryan are breaking ground yet again with our very first Bonus Features episode. We discuss the Oscar movies we still needed to catch up on. A conversation about A Complete Unknown leads to a discussion of better than average music biopics. Ryan shares his recent obsession with Steven Soderbergh… Continue reading
Nate and Ryan rewatch Harold and Maude, Hal Ashby’s 1971 cult classic, and another entry in our discussions of 5-star movies. Upon its release, audiences and critics had no idea what to make of this offbeat dark comedy. As the years went on, it gained a cult following and is widely… Continue reading
Nate and Ryan start their journey through their 5-Star movies by discussing The Apartment, the 1960 classic starring Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine. Winning a swath of Oscars signaled the love people had for The Apartment early on, but over the years, its legend has only grown. Directed by Billy Wilder, it’s… Continue reading
Happy T. Hanksgiving! It’s that wonderful time of year when we give thanks for Hanks. This year we’re celebrating by rewatching a ’90s classic, Apollo 13, directed by Ron Howard and starring, of course, the man himself: Tom Hanks. Coming right in the middle of his epic run of iconic ’90s… Continue reading
Get ready for another Holiday Spooktacular, as Nate and Ryan watch Godzilla Minus One, last year’s Oscar-winning hit monster movie from Japan! Who knew we needed another Godzilla movie, and a prequel at that, but director Takashi Yamazaki delivered a blend of monster action and historical fiction heart, bound together by… Continue reading
Nate and Ryan talk about 2023’s American Fiction, written and directed by Cord Jefferson and starring Jeffrey Wright. Both Nate and Ryan are big fans of author Percival Everett and his novel Erasure, which American Fiction is adapted from. For that reason, expectations were high for this Academy-Award winning movie. Critics all loved it,… Continue reading
Nate and Ryan complete the second leg of Barbenheimer with a discussion about 2023’s smash hit Barbie, directed by Greta Gerwig. Barbie‘s popularity boom and subsequent backlash and Oscars buzz and subsequent Oscars backlash have come and gone, so we decided it would be a good time to see what it’s like… Continue reading
Once again, the Academy picked our movie for this month, so Ryan and Nate are re-watching Oppenheimer, 2024’s Best Picture Oscar winner, written and directed by Christopher Nolan. On top of continuing this year’s theme of revisiting 2023, Ryan and Nate realized they’ve never talked about a Christopher Nolan movie on… Continue reading
For this episode, Nate and Ryan picked from the slate of Best Picture nominees and decided to re-watch Past Lives, their favorite movie from 2023, and a stunning directorial debut from playwright Celine Song. While it’s not a front-runner for any Oscars, Past Lives has been widely recognized as something special, which… Continue reading
Nate and Ryan discuss the Golden Globe winning and Oscar nominated Alexander Payne comedic drama The Holdovers. Much has been made of the reunion of Paul Giamatti and Alexander Payne after 20 years. Added to their alchemy are Da’Vine Joy Randolph (in yet another standout performance) and newcomer Dominic Sessa. What… Continue reading
For our Gap Year T. Hanksgiving, Nate and Ryan watch The ‘Burbs, the 1989 Tom Hanks cult classic directed by Joe Dante. Featuring a stacked cast, including Carrie Fisher, Bruce Dern, and Corey Feldman, in addition to the man himself, The ‘Burbs is a horror/comedy that kind of befuddled audiences and critics… Continue reading
‘Tis the season for our 10th annual Holiday Spooktacular, and as part of our Gap Year, we’re watching Hereditary, Ari Aster’s 2018 hit horror film starring Toni Collette. Hereditary took audiences by storm and continued studio A24’s rise to prominence in the current film conversation. It’s a career-making first feature for… Continue reading
Nate and Ryan watch Bringing out the Dead, a Gap Year movie by one of their favorite directors, Martin Scorsese. Released in 1999, Bringing out the Dead was largely ignored by audiences and remains one of Scorsese’s forgotten works. Listen in as Nate and Ryan dig into the merits of this underappreciated… Continue reading
Nate and Ryan get in the summer blockbuster mood by watching Predator (1987) for the first time. As part of our Gap Year series, we’re catching up on this action classic over 35 years later. As often happens, Predator is now looked at quite differently from when it was first released. Nate… Continue reading
Nate and Ryan watch Under the Tuscan Sun with special guest Rachel Hughes Gates. As we continue to rectify blind spots during this Gap Year, Rachel suggested that we watch Under the Tuscan Sun, a movie that has stuck with her ever since she saw it in theaters 20 years ago. Though… Continue reading
Nate and Ryan watch and discuss Sicario, directed by Denis Villeneuve. As the beginning to what we’re calling our Gap Year, where we fill in gaps in our viewing history, we’ve chosen to watch Sicario, with an unbelievable cast and crew that includes cinematographer Roger Deakins, and screenwriter Taylor Sheridan, not to… Continue reading
Really quick announcement: We will NOT be discussing Marcel the Shell with Shoes On for our March episode and will instead be watching and discussing Sicario. Watch it with us! Continue reading
Nate and Ryan re-watch Everything Everywhere All at Once. In addition to being the top nominated movie at this year’s Oscars (11 nominations), Everything Everywhere All at Once is also one of our favorite movies from last year. Despite, or maybe because of its mind-bending multiversal action, audiences flocked to see it… Continue reading
For their annual Holiday episode, Nate and Ryan re-watch the ultimate Christmas movie: A Charlie Brown Christmas. It’s the first TV special on this podcast, and there couldn’t be a more fitting choice. A staple since it’s debut in 1965, A Charlie Brown Christmas has brought joy and melancholy to generations. Listen… Continue reading
Nate and Ryan discuss You’ve Got Mail to celebrate this year’s annual T. Hanksgiving! Rom-Com Tom Hanks won America’s hearts throughout the ’90s, so listen in as Nate and Ryan take a look at Hanks and Meg Ryan at the peak of their powers. Directed and written by Nora Ephron… Continue reading
Nate and Ryan celebrate their 9th Holiday Spooktacular by watching Get Out, Jordan Peele’s 2017 Oscar-winning horror contemporary classic. We’re continuing our Back to School series with another movie that Ryan teaches in his high school class. Listen in as we discuss the philosophical and social implications in Peele’s razor-sharp writing… Continue reading
Nate and Ryan revisit No Country for Old Men, the Coen brothers’ 2007 Best Picture Oscar winner. No Country for Old Men is one of the movies Ryan teaches in his high school class, so for our September episode, Nate wanted to go back to school and hear what Mr. Ebling has… Continue reading
Nate and Ryan invite long-time friend Andrew Johnson in to discuss 2001’s Josie and the Pussycats, a flop when it was released 21 years ago, but now a film that many are rethinking as its lasting impact is more apparent. Andrew has championed Josie ever since he first saw it in college,… Continue reading
Nate and Ryan invite Kris Hiew in to talk about Top Gun, the 1986 hit whose recent hit sequel has Tom Cruise wowing audiences again. Kris and Nate have a long history with Top Gun and bring all that childlike wonder into the conversation. With the sequel, Top Gun: Maverick proving to be… Continue reading
For their first volume of underappreciated movies, Ryan and Nate discuss Spencer and Happy Go-Lucky. Listen in as they discuss two powerhouse performances that are criminally underrated. While quite different in tone, both movies feature women who are trying to navigate worlds that don’t know what to do with their unique… Continue reading
For this episode, Nate and Ryan watch the most recent Best Picture winner, CODA. Its story of a deaf family portrayed by deaf actors is an important step in diverse representation and storytelling. Even before its historic Oscar win for Troy Kotsur – the first deaf man to win an… Continue reading
Nate and Ryan talk about Hayao Miyazaki’s Oscar-winning masterpiece, Spirited Away. Miyazaki is undoubtedly a legend of cinema, and with Spirited Away celebrating the 20th anniversary of its US release, the time is perfect to revisit one of the most iconic animated films of all time. Whether it’s the first time or… Continue reading
For their 100th episode, Nate and Ryan name the movies that have defined them as people and as movie-watchers. After a century of episodes over 8 years, Nate and Ryan haven’t really talked about how certain movies have shaped them over the course of their lives. With the help from… Continue reading
