It just so happens that one of us is probably possessed, and is in need of THE EXORCIST! Join us and Carly Severn (KQED San Francisco) to discuss the Friedkin / Pazuzu of it all. Why is this movie so deeply terrifying, even today, FIFTY years after its initial release?? We talk about parents -- being parents, being kids, dealing with parents, and kids, and why all those familial relationships are apt targets of twisted horror. We talk sacrifice, losing control, the many bodily fluids, and wonder...
Oct 28, 2022•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 75
Join us and Bilge Ebiri (New York Magazine / Vulture) to delve into Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 masterpiece. We discuss the early critical reception and why the broader consensus has come around to this sexed-up, theatrical, in-camera-practical-effects-driven, reinvention of the classic vampire story. We discuss the uncanny and the helplessness induced by the film's meandering epistolary style, as well Coppola's genre reinventions and the standoff between materialism and spiritualism. If y...
Oct 14, 2022•2 hr 33 min•Ep. 74
We are joined by Jamelle Bouie (NYTimes / Unclear and Present Danger Podcast) to discuss the conclusion to the Lord of the Rings Trilogy and bring our miniseries to a close. We pick up the discussion about heroism with Frodo's empathy towards Gollum, Sam's faithfulness to Frodo, and Aragorn's radical faith in the hobbits. Then, we discuss at length Charles Mills' recent essay about the racial ideology embedded in Tolkien's writings and consider what we should make of this in light of our love of...
Sep 30, 2022•1 hr 2 min
We sit down with Agnes Callard (Philosophy, Chicago) and Robin Hanson (Economics, GMU) to discuss the second installment in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Two Towers! We talk about the film as a transitional piece that deals with the transformations of its main characters, the addictive and corruptive capacity of power, and wonder about who the hero of the film is and what that tells us about the notion of heroism. We consider Tolkien's religious inspirations as well as (drawing on Cha...
Sep 16, 2022•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 72
Welcome to the start of our Lord of the Rings miniseries! We kick things off with the first film of Peter Jackson's trilogy, which marks the beginning of Frodo's quest and introduces us to the main players and themes of the books/films. We welcome Bennett Eckert (MIT) and Rebecca Kuang (Yale) to consider what makes Jackson's trilogy such a powerful and successful adaptation, and explore how on (Middle) earth he managed to make these films. We explore the film's central themes while discussing To...
Sep 02, 2022•2 hr 32 min
It's time to visit Jurassic Park (1994)! We discuss the tenuous relationship between science/art and commerce, while thinking about the relationship between order, chaos, and personal responsibility. Does Spielberg see a bit of himself in Hammond, the doomed entrepreneur who wants to bring magic to the masses? It's a movie about procreation and playing god, but also coming to terms with limitations. Justin goes on a rant about why night time shooting doesn't look as good as Jurassic Park did ove...
Aug 19, 2022•1 hr 3 min
Join us and Carly Severn (KQED San Francisco) to talk about Mike Nichols' 2004, super emo and eminently re-watchable melodrama, Closer. It's a game of sexy Tetris between four hot people, but also a contrapuntal reflection on appearance and reality, and also a movie about two dudes who can't get over the fact that the women they've slept with have slept with other men. We somehow hit on nice guy-isms, the film's use of elision, love, passion, and Damien Rice. Also, did you know that many of the ...
Aug 05, 2022•2 hr 46 min
Today we're joined by friend of the show Adam Kane to discuss Hitchcock's bombastic spy thriller North By Northwest! We discuss film's confusing setup, symbolism (and Hitchcock's refusal to read into this film), the demand not to ask silly questions, how old Cary Grant's character is supposed to be, the many MacGuffins, the many love triangles, Mount Rushmore, and Saul Bass himself. This episode is sponsored by Crop Duster Assassins Ltd. -- if you need to take someone out and you want to do it i...
Jul 22, 2022•1 hr 21 min
Join us to talk about the Miracle on the Hudson with friend Chris Kaiser (Columbia University / the podcast Said and Done )! We delve into Eastwood's hatred of bureaucracy and tease apart his complex feelings towards individualism and collective heroism. Is the film dripping with gay subtext? We explore the semiotics of a mustache and wonder what goes into Sully/Skiles slash-fiction. We also consider the possibility that, through his filmmaking, Eastwood is helping us repair our relationship to ...
Jul 08, 2022•1 hr 13 min
The life of a repo man is intense, which is why we invited friend Toby Levers to join us to talk about Alex Cox's punk rock satire Repo Man! We discuss the film's influence and influences, as well as how it manages to mash together genres in a style all of its own, fashioning the spirit of suburban punk on to a social critique of ex-hippy middle class malaise and the inherent contradictions of rebellion. We chew on the obscure wisdom of Miller (played by the magnificent Tracey Walter) before rid...
Jun 24, 2022•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 66
It is with clear eyes and love in our hearts that we dive into this classic football parable from the aughts with friend and returning guest Edward Lewis. We discuss the role of suffering in achievement, the paradox of youth, and the cycles that shackle us to our communities. We think about regret and expectation, and above all share our love for the film, which has since been eclipsed by the TV show of the same name. Come toss the football and punt when you should go for a touchdown, it's Frida...
Jun 10, 2022•1 hr 11 min
We stuff into a tiny F14 cockpit with Sean Burns (WBUR’s The ARTery) and fly into the danger zone to discuss why Top Gun is a sports film that forges a new American myth with dazzling imagery and zero subtlety. We consider the view that Tom Cruise is America's son and get into the trenches with Kelly McGillis to unpack their love triangle with Val Kilmer's Iceman. Also discussed: the effects of g-forces on the human body, what our callsigns would be, and why 80s American jingoism is quaint and e...
May 27, 2022•1 hr•Ep. 64
Not to be downers, but, everything alive must die. This is something the kids from David Robert Mitchell's devastating horror film must come to terms with, as they are stalked by a demonic entity that, no matter where they are, is constantly walking towards them. We sit down with Alison Willmore (Vulture / New York Magazine) to discuss how the film works as an allegory for social class, capitalism, personal trauma, sexual politics, and manages to channel both existential dread and the experience...
May 13, 2022•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 63
We sit down with Nicolas Cage expert Keith Phipps (author of The Age of Cage ) to discuss the second highest grossing film of Cage's career (second only to its sequel). We consider the point at which this film lands in the arc of Cage's career, and how he draws on his well of acting experience to craft a character that blends elements of conspiratorial mania and fifth grade boy scout energy, selling the four-quadrant appeal of a movie about treasure hunting and historical preservation to both ch...
Apr 29, 2022•57 min
Have you ever wondered whether a famous painting contained a clue to a mystery that, once revealed, would upend the world as we know it? Well, you're in luck because in this episode we dive into The Da Vinci Code with museum expert and curator Andrea Rosen! We explore the tough questions of whether to reveal the lie at the center of Catholicism or just go on living your life because no one would care, and then discuss the film's art historical bonafides, whether Robert Langdon is a good professo...
Apr 15, 2022•2 hr 30 min
Join us and Katie Walsh ( LA Times , Miami Nice ) for one night in L.A. as we journey through deserted streets with a meek cabbie dreamer (Jamie Foxx) and his assassin fare (Tom Cruise). We discuss cities and alienation, indecision and action, order and chaos, psychopaths and empaths, coyotes and subways. We gush about Cruise and Foxx playing against type, and wonder about how taxi drivers manage to keep all those streets straight. You might be surprised to find out where this Michael Mann film ...
Apr 01, 2022•1 hr 7 min
Join us for a spoiler-free celebration of the very best films of 2021! We discuss our nominees and winners in the following categories: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (non-gendered, pick 2), Best Supporting Actor (same thing), Best Score, Best Scene, and Most Overrated. Each film can win in only one category, so the stakes have never been higher! Tune in for the suspense, stay for the coveted, career-defining, awards. Justin's ranking of 2021 films...
Mar 18, 2022•2 hr 59 min
Join us and Matt Belenky (Movie Talk Podcast) to dive headfirst into Paul Verhoven’s classic 90s erotic thriller! We try to figure out what happened and why, and then explore how the film dissolves boundaries between Sharon Stone / Catherine Trammell and Nick Curran / audience member. We consider the possibility that the film is simultaneously exploitative and empowering, and lavish in its many unnecessary Americana details. Finally, we get to the bottom of why this was the peak time for ice pic...
Mar 04, 2022•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 58
What does it mean to say that a movie is so bad it's good ? Is Twilight (2008) such a movie? We sit down with Matt Strohl (Philosophy, University of Montana), author of the new book "Why It's OK To Love Bad Movies" , to talk about what it means to love and appreciate the beauty of bad films, and why bad movie love is an important and often overlooked mode of engaging with films. Along the way, we discuss the social aspirations of taste, what makes "Twilight" a potentially conventionally bad film...
Feb 18, 2022•2 hr 58 min•Ep. 57
How should we feel about and how should we engage with art made by immoral artists? We consider these questions in the context of The Usual Suspects along with Erich Hatala Matthes (Wellesley), whose new book on the topic (Drawing the Line: What to Do with the Work of Immoral Artists from Museums to the Movies) provides a philosophical guide to the complexities of these challenging issues. We consider whether the film's aesthetic value is diminished by the behavior of its creators, and discuss w...
Feb 04, 2022•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 56
Come swing through the streets of Manhattan with us and Sam Adams (Slate) as we discuss Sam Raimi's melancholic and reflective Spider-Man 2! We talk about the film's major themes of grief and the burden of heroism, as well as Sam Raimi's view of humanity as fundamentally decent. We consider the film in light of the tragedy of 9/11 and how it highlights the heroic in all of us. We also marvel at how a big budget superhero film manages to have a climactic finale that consists mostly of two guys re...
Jan 21, 2022•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 55
It's time to go back to the Matrix! Join us and David Chalmers (Professor of Philosophy at NYU) to discuss the fourth Matrix film, and distinguish what we like and don't about its meta- and first-order narrative interpretations. We bring in past and future guest Emily VanDerWerff to provide some broader context about the film and what makes it great, before turning to discuss whether what happens in a simulation is real and whether we can live a good life in a simulation. We also consider whethe...
Jan 07, 2022•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 54
We don't have a new New Year's episode for you, but we do have a classic episode of us battling to the death over whether Forrest Gump is a good movie. We hope you enjoy this discussion and may you celebrate the end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022 more joyously than Lieutenant Dan does in this movie. We'll be back with The Matrix Resurrections next week!
Dec 31, 2021•2 hr 46 min
It’s the coldest time of the year, which means we need community more than ever to help us stay warm and remind us of the ongoing project of humanity and our part in it. So consider us the luckiest Peanuts on block, since we get to welcome back Emily VanDerWerff (Vox & Arden Podcast)! We talk about endings, opportunities for renewal, and the melancholy that comes with our experiences of the holidays. We also delve into our personal religious beliefs (or lack thereof) and how they interact wi...
Dec 17, 2021•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 53
It's the holiday season, and what better way to start than with a veritable Christmas classic, Stanley Kubrick's final film, Eyes Wide Shut! We sit down with Carly Severn (KQED San Francisco) to discuss noble lies in relationships and society, Tom and Nicole's challenging (and, ultimately destructive) performances, and the interrelations between power, anonymity, powerlessness, and nakedness. Along the way, we explore how social structures prop up divisions and reinforce fantasies that may be ei...
Dec 10, 2021•2 hr 46 min•Ep. 52
This week we are joined by Barry Lam (Professor of Philosophy at Vassar College and host of HiPhi Nation) to discuss Terry Gilliam's manic time travel science fiction masterpiece, 12 Monkeys! We explore how the film manifests the philosopher David Lewis's theory of time travel, while also depicting the madness of foreknowledge and the futility of attempting to change what's already happened. We discuss the possibility of closed causal loops, the challenges of political activism, pandemic tie-ins...
Nov 26, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 51
Join us on an interstellar journey with friend Vishal Dave as we attempt to reignite the dying sun -- it's Danny Boyle's unfairly overlooked 2007 sci-fi masterpiece, Sunshine! We discuss the ethics of self-sacrifice and the nature of embarking on a journey of no return. We ponder the enormity of the universe and what it might do to someone to confront that head on -- how might facing the limits of human knowledge and exploration affect the individual? Religious readings and humanity's need for s...
Nov 12, 2021•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 50
We sit down with fellow Dune-head John DeVore to discuss two DUNE movies -- David Lynch's 1984 troubled masterpiece, and Denis Villeneuve's 2021 re-imagining of Arrakis. Can Villeneuve's film live up to the inevitable hype? How do the two films capture the mystical weirdness of the book? What is that weird spider-person in the Harkonnen's palace? Join us as we drink the juice of Sapho and ride a spice maggot into the folds of space and beyond! Follow @JohnDeVore on Twitter! Read John on Dune her...
Oct 29, 2021•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 49
Join us on the harmonium as we revisit Paul Thomas Anderson's (not-)musical tragicomedy Punch Drunk Love with Sean Burke (Founding Partner, Whistler Partners). We discuss how Adam Sandler embodies the awkwardness and anxiety of male adolescence, and how Anderson mixes color and sound to create an overwhelming kaleidoscope of social panic, rage and repression, and fear of public humiliation. Yet, underneath it all, we find a simple and pure love story -- perhaps one of the most hopeful in recent ...
Oct 15, 2021•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 48
Bilge Ebiri (New York Magazine / Vulture) returns to talk with us about this classic nineties Wolfgang Petersen conspiracy thriller that pits an aging Secret Service Agent (Clint Eastwood) against an anarchistic terrorist (John Malkovich) intent on assassinating the President. We reflect on how the movie reflects cautiously on Eastwood's broad career, regret and second chances, and consider the virtue of sacrificing oneself in defense of democratic institutions (flawed as they may be in practice...
Oct 01, 2021•2 hr 31 min•Ep. 47
