Bonus!! Remember in BATMAN BEGINS when Christian Bale says he’s going to build back Wayne Manor, brick by brick? That was actually a reference to THE LEGO MOVIE! Yes, we’re talking about bricks today. And not just because LEGO is part of Adam’s origin story. There’s a Batman in this film! So we’re required to talk about him! Next week, it’s Chris McKay’s bat/brick spinoff, THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE. Join the conversation on our Discord at https://discord.com/invite/RssDc3brsx and get more Eye of the...
Jun 16, 2025•2 hr 6 min•Ep. 220
Into the Keatonverse! For this week’s bonus, we’re going meta with Alejandro González Iñárritu’s exceedingly self aware Oscar-winner that’s definitely not about Batman or Michael Keaton’s career. What do we talk about when we talk about Batman? Listen to find out. Next week it’s another bonus, Lord and Miller’s LEGO MOVIE. It counts because Batman is in it! Join the conversation on our Discord at https://discord.com/invite/RssDc3brsx and get more Eye of the Duck on our Patreon show, After Hours ...
Jun 09, 2025•2 hr 17 min•Ep. 219
The fire rises, brother! This week we conclude our Nolan run with the biggest and most divisive entry in his Batman saga. Also discussed this week: the origins of Tom Hardy’s infamous Bane voice, whether or not Joseph Gordon Levitt’s character should have just been named Dick Grayson, and…why the hell is Bruce so fucking cruel to Alfred? Next week it’s bonus time, baby! Alejandro González Iñárritu may not have made a Batman movie per se…but there’s no way we could skip BIRDMAN for this series. J...
Jun 02, 2025•3 hr 13 min•Ep. 218
Listeners, you either die a normal film podcast, or live long enough to see your show completely devolve into a Christopher Nolan marathon. Between Heath Ledger’s legendary turn as the Joker, Nolan’s transformation into an IMAX-first director, and the coolest truck crash in cinema history, there’s so much to explore in this sprawling behemoth of a picture. We went for nearly four hours on this one, and could easily do another four. THE DARK KNIGHT is (still!) just that good!! Next week, our Nola...
May 26, 2025•3 hr 36 min•Ep. 217
“Why do we fall, Master Bruce? So that we can learn to pick ourselves up. Batman Begin.“ This week, we’re celebrating the greatest tweet ever made. Michael Caine’s post from August 19, 2024 inspired a generation of Batman storytelling. And this is where is it all begins. Also, we’re going to talk about Christopher Nolan. Next week, we we either die a hero or live long enough to become the villain. Get ready for our epic THE DARK KNIGHT episode. Join the conversation on our Discord at https://dis...
May 19, 2025•3 hr 22 min•Ep. 216
Holy Nu-metal, Batman! It’s the year 2039, Bruce Wayne is a grouchy old man, corporations rule the world, and Batman is a moody teen. Has there ever been a cooler superhero show? This we're week going long on one of our favorite animated series, BATMAN BEYOND, and the standalone film that reunited Mark Hamill’s Joker with Bruce Timm, Kevin Conroy, and the whole BTAS gang for a truly horrific vision of the Bat-Family’s future. Cyberpunk is so back! Next week, our Nolan era finally begins with BAT...
May 12, 2025•2 hr 27 min•Ep. 215
It’s that time of year again…we are pausing our regularly scheduled programming to commence the second annual season of MINISERIES MAY HEM! That’s right, just like last year, we’re asking YOU to decide the future of Eye of the Duck. What should we cover for our big summer miniseries? Listen in to hear our three contenders, and hop over to the Discord on May 5 to cast your vote! Next week, we return to our Duck Knight series for the BATMAN BEYOND film, RETURN OF THE JOKER (2000). Join the convers...
May 05, 2025•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 214
Our Schumacher era concludes with this week’s episode on the most toyetic of all toyetic films in human history! But, this isn’t the last time we’ll be talking about BATMAN & ROBIN… On May 20, join us at the Nitehawk Theater where we’ll be in-person to introduce Schumacher’s exceedingly demented opus on the big screen!! Grab your tickets here: https://nitehawkcinema.com/prospectpark/movies/batman-and-robin/ Next week, we’re going fully cyberpunk again with BATMAN BEYOND: RETURN OF THE JOKER ...
Apr 28, 2025•2 hr 43 min•Ep. 213
Rest in peace, Val Kilmer. This week, we’re devoting our episode to Val and his smoldering performance in Joel Schumacher’s first foray into the Batman franchise. There will never be another Dark Knight like you, Mr. Kilmer. Between Jim Carrey’s unhinged take on the Riddler, Tommy Lee Jones trying against all odds to out-crazy him, and the overwhelming aura of horny energy exuding from Nicole Kidman, there is a lot to unpack with this 90s classic. Strap in, we’re getting takeout in the (very pha...
Apr 21, 2025•2 hr 53 min•Ep. 212
Bonus! Johnny To’s windswept, smoldering superhero masterpiece may not exactly exist in the Batman continuity… but we sure as hell are going to talk about it anyway. Starring Michelle Yeoh, Anita Mui, and Maggie Cheung, we thought this bonkers dream of an action noir would be the perfect appetizer for our upcoming Schumacher era. Whether it was intentional or not, Schumacher’s films look suspiciously similar to THE HEROIC TRIO. And we’re going to get to the bottom of it! Join the conversation on...
Apr 14, 2025•1 hr 45 min•Ep. 211
Bruce Timm’s animated Batverse is for many people the defining adaptation of the character, and this week we’re here to tell you why. We’re going deep on THE ANIMATED SERIES over on our Patreon show (link below!) but here on the main feed it’s all about the original villain, The Phantasm, and how she helped inspire a tormented Bruce Wayne to leave his personal life behind for a life in vigilantism. Also…Abe Vigoda? A young, creepy Joker?! The Phantasm’s return in JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED: EPILOG...
Apr 07, 2025•2 hr 9 min•Ep. 210
Griffin Newman returns! And this time he’s brought with him the Bat, the Cat, the Penguin, and….Shreck? Yes, we’ve got THE TICK’s Arthur to talk all things superhero movies, performing in costume, transitioning from comedian to action hero, and why there will never be a better Bruce Wayne than Michael Keaton. Also, we gush about how truly reprehensible and brilliant Danny DeVito is in this film! He stayed in character throughout the entire production! Demented! Join the conversation on our Disco...
Mar 31, 2025•3 hr 2 min•Ep. 209
Greatest superhero movie of all time? Whatever you think about Burton’s 1989 BATMAN, it’s hard to argue its influence on movies and pop culture. It’s an all-timer, and we’re going to get into it! Also discussed on this episode: the long and windy path to getting a proper Batman movie made, fan backlash against Michael Keaton’s casting, Jack Nicholson’s absurdly lax production schedule, the Prince of it all…and more! Join the conversation on our Discord at https://discord.com/invite/RssDc3brsx an...
Mar 24, 2025•2 hr 51 min•Ep. 208
Dunna-nunna-nunna-nunna…holy miniseries, Batman!! This week, we’re kicking off Eye of the Duck Knight with the very first theatrical movie about the Caped Crusader! Leslie H. Martinson’s 1966 BATMAN may not be the most faithful adaptation of the iconic superhero, but it is definitely the most colorful. And insane! Really, what is going on with the US foreign relations in this film? Join the conversation on our Discord at https://discord.com/invite/RssDc3brsx and get more Eye of the Duck on our P...
Mar 17, 2025•2 hr•Ep. 207
Just like the Xenomorph who (somehow) survived the desolation of outer space, we are back. And this time, we’re going deep! The last episode on Fede Alvarez’s space thriller was just an appetizer. This is the full meal, as promised. Joining us to perform the Eye of the Duck treatment is franchise expert and author of BECOMING ALIEN, our old friend Sarah Welch-Larson. It’s time to answer once and for all: why does the Xenomorph gestation chrysalis have lips? Listen to find out. Next week, we’re k...
Mar 10, 2025•2 hr 32 min•Ep. 206
It’s awards season, baby! This week we celebrate another year of Eye of the Duck by naming our favorite films of 2024…and we’re announcing a very special new addition to the podcast...our new show, After Hours (!!) which you can find on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/EyeoftheDuckPod Also discussed: our favorite movies we watched for the podcast, honorable mentions from ‘24, the recently announced Fockers sequel, and whether or not it will indeed be called “Mother Fockers”. Thanks to every...
Mar 03, 2025•2 hr 36 min•Ep. 205
We finally played all five tones! Our UFO Invasion series is over, and we’re waving goodbye this week with tears in our eyes and a lot of lingering questions about extraterrestrial life. Do they want to kill us or not? We may never know. To send off our longest-ever miniseries, we’re offering up some final thoughts about our scaly green friends, answering listener questions, and announcing what’s next for the show!!! Join the conversation on Eye of the Discord https://discord.com/invite/RssDc3br...
Feb 24, 2025•2 hr 22 min•Ep. 204
This week we finish off our UFO miniseries with the long overdue Eye of the Duck debut of Wes Anderson! ASTEROID CITY asks all the big questions from we’ve been trying to answer since we began this miniseries back in the summer: where do aliens come from? Why are they here? What do they want from us?! And was it really just Jeff Goldblum in a latex suit all along? Next week, it’s the outro for our miniseries, where we’ll be tying off loose ends, answers listeners questions…and announcing what’s ...
Feb 17, 2025•2 hr 6 min•Ep. 203
It’s the penultimate film of our UFO invasion series and the only one to feature an evil monkey, a suicidal cinematographer, and a nasty alien thing called “jean jacket.” Oh, and Osgood Perkins! Jordan Peele’s latest big budget spectacle has so much to say. But does it all come together in the end? We tried our best to find some answers without getting chewed up and spit out by the cowboy hat monster. Next week, it’s the final movie of our series. Wes Anderson’s ASTEROID CITY. Join the conversat...
Feb 10, 2025•2 hr 16 min•Ep. 202
It's literally impossible. But it's literally what we're covering this week on the show. Welcome to The Shimmer. Joining us for some very sobering (and demented) meditations on Alex Garland's UFO thriller is returning guest, Jefferson White! He's no stranger to Garland's work, having appeared in the director's most recent film, CIVIL WAR. And we're thrilled to have him here to answer some of our weirdest questions about Garland and this mysterious film. Next week, it's our penultimate film of th...
Feb 03, 2025•2 hr 15 min•Ep. 201
This week we gain two new friends…and bring an old one back! It’s Abbott, Costello, and returning champion Sarah Welch-Larson for the most requested film in Eye of the Duck history! ARRIVAL is a dense one, but luckily Sarah has the linguistic expertise to help us unlock the mystery of the heptapods and save planet earth from itself. Next week we travel deep into the wacky (and evil?) Shimmer for Alex Garland’s ANNIHILATION. Join the conversation on Eye of the Discord https://discord.com/invite/R...
Jan 27, 2025•2 hr 40 min•Ep. 199
This week we are pausing our release schedule to pay tribute to the godfather of our podcast, the late, great David Lynch. Usually on our show, we talk about movie scenes. But for this dedication, we've selected a handful of clips of Lynch–the man, not his movies–to discuss. It's our hope that by sharing his voice, and connecting over his philosophy, all of us can find some comfort in the tragedy of his passing. We have a channel dedicated to Lynch in our Discord if you're looking to connect wit...
Jan 20, 2025•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 200
This week we venture deep into the abyss for Jonathan Glazer’s unnerving science fiction masterpiece, the only movie on earth that is somehow equal parts NATHAN FOR YOU and 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY. How does this film even exist? What happens in that dark room? Is it all as real as it looks? Listeners, we tried our best to find some answers for you. Next week, it’s the most-requested film in Eye of the Duck history, Denis Villeneuve’s ARRIVAL. Join the conversation on Eye of the Discord https://dis...
Jan 13, 2025•2 hr 11 min•Ep. 198
We are officially one flavor away from completing the Cornetto trilogy! It’s Edgar Wright’s thrilling and deliciously stupid body snatcher comedy this week, the third in our series to feature Mr. Nick Frost. Coming along for our apocalyptic hometown pub crawl is returning guest, Ethan Warren. Is this the perfect ending to the only film trilogy based on ice cream? Listen to find out. Next week, it’s perhaps the strangest film in our UFO series, Jonathan Glazer’s UNDER THE SKIN. Join the conversat...
Jan 06, 2025•1 hr 59 min•Ep. 197
The aliens may be fuzzy this week… but they’re also very scary and mean. It’s our first Joe Cornish movie, and one of the great science fiction films of the 21st century! Topics discussed this week: the high expectations for Cornish’s career, the STRANGER THINGSification of all media, whether or not Terry Notary was indeed the Silver Surfer in FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER, and we try to answer the question, why aren’t these hairy aliens wet? Next week, we conclude our Edgar Wright-c...
Dec 30, 2024•1 hr 55 min•Ep. 196
It’s mint! This week we hang out with a crew of teenage filmmakers…and one very big scary tarantula alien-looking guy. It’s JJ Abram’s big budget 70s throwback adventure, with a hint of BLOW-UP, and a whole lot of Spielberg influence. It’s the final Amblin movie of our series! Join the conversation on Eye of the Discord https://discord.com/invite/RssDc3brsx . References: Film Commentary The Dream Behind Super 8 The Search for New Faces Meet Joel Courtney Rediscovering the Steeltown The Visitor L...
Dec 23, 2024•2 hr 22 min•Ep. 195
Listeners, you didn’t ask for it, but we did it anyway. This week it’s the one alien we specifically promised we wouldn’t talk about…and he’s chill as hell. Topics covered in our very deep dive of PAUL: Seth Rogen’s new show that seems dangerously similar to ENTOURAGE, whether or not Paul smells like shit, and of course, Grandpa Stevey Spielberg. Next week, it’s JJ Abrams’s Amblin throwback, SUPER 8. Join the conversation on Eye of the Discord https://discord.com/invite/RssDc3brsx . References: ...
Dec 16, 2024•2 hr 6 min•Ep. 194
Can aliens and humans co-exist on this Earth? What happens when you squirt a can of alien jet fuel in your eye? This week we find out. It’s Neil Blomkamp’s debut feature, where action blockbuster meets guerrilla-style documentary. Can you believe this is Sharlto Copley’s first acting job?! Also, where the hell is DISTRICT 10?! Next week we come face to face with destiny. Yes, we’re doing Greg Mottola’s PAUL. Join the conversation on Eye of the Discord https://discord.com/invite/RssDc3brsx . Refe...
Dec 09, 2024•2 hr•Ep. 193
It's James Gunn week on the pod, and we're (finally) talking about the DC Studio head and his origins as a down-and-dirty genre guy. Between the mouth-stuffing slugs and Michael Rooker's lovably demented performance as a human meat volcano, SLITHER has a little bit of everything. And we're all for it. Next week, we take a trip down to Johannesburg for our first Neill Blomkamp picture, DISTRICT 9. Join the conversation on Eye of the Discord https://discord.com/invite/RssDc3brsx . References: Spec...
Dec 02, 2024•2 hr•Ep. 192
We are so back! It’s the finale (?) of the Spielberg UFO invasion trilogy this week. Joining us once again to talk Grandpa Steve, Tom Cruise, and Janusz Kamiński, is returning champion Patrick Willems! Topics discussed: post-9/11 filmmaking, the glory of MUNICH, Patrick’s upcoming short film (!!), Gore Verbinski’s PIRATES movies, the Tom Cruise Running Score, longing for Peter Jackson’s comeback, and some text message dispatches from WAR OF THE WORLDS vfx artist, Todd Vaziri. Next week, it’s Jam...
Nov 25, 2024•2 hr 58 min•Ep. 191
