If Pixar made a Chinese fable 6 years ago, it’d look a lot like this 2019 Chinese and American co-production. This most recent Pick the Flick takes us to the world of demons, humans, and utterly terrified dogs. Michael and Abe discuss the unique aspects of making an international kids film and how filmmakers will often water down narrative and character for a wider audience. Everyone thank minefreak555 for generously donating toward this episode. We love you, minefreak555. Features: Michael Swai...
Aug 25, 2020•1 hr 14 min
“The more I try, the harder it seems / But you’ve turned around, blocked me out, / deliberately trying to bloody my back / Falsely sweet words, masking your soul, / I’m trying to get past this. / Plastering on a fake plastic smile when all I want is to break down and cry.” - Teresa Lee, teenage poet. Bridgett and Sarah stare unblinkingly into the void of teenage crush strategies, angelfire webpages, Sadie Hawkins dances, and Teresa is our guide. And frankly, the poem is off the chain. Like real,...
Aug 21, 2020•1 hr 8 min
What is charming about an underdog? What do movies do to make us love a good underdog story? Adam has an answer that’s pure jazz. Maggie has an answer that’s all style. This episode looks at the films Whiplash and Fantastic Mr. Fox. Adam Ganser: https://twitter.com/therealganz Maggie Mae Fish: https://twitter.com/MaggieMaeFish Support Small Beans and access Additional Content: https://www.patreon.com/SmallBeans
Aug 19, 2020•1 hr 57 min
This one takes us to the unfortunate year of 1990 and the world of made-for-TV movies as Michael and Abe tackle the 3-hour two-part miniseries “It.” The king beans haven’t gotten to check in with each other for a while and this episode starts with a selfish catching up of each others’ lives and reminiscing about our past. Just like It, except for the bludgeoning and ripping asunder of a trans-universal spider and the coming-of-age orgies. Let’s see where they stack this one in the films reviewed...
Aug 17, 2020•1 hr 33 min
A new Frame Rate logo! Holy wow! Michael Vincent Bramley, our very own MVB has updated our logo and we think it’s the beans! This Parker Posey vehicle was widely unseen by everyone. Let’s let Abe and Michael determine if that was a shame. In any case, it’s available for streaming and is the only incestuous Jackie O drama/thriller that came out in 1997. Even if you don’t listen, if you like Parker Posey and have never heard of this film, go check it out. She’s fantastic. Everyone thank Zac Schwar...
Aug 14, 2020•1 hr 3 min
Abe sets out to convince Adam that Demolition Man’s direction is sneaky complex, albeit flawed. Looking at camera, lighting, and production design, the past and the present are at odds in the film which begs the question: based on its own system of design who is the true hero of Demolition Man? Features: Adam Ganser: https://twitter.com/therealganz Abe Epperson: https://twitter.com/AbeTheMighty Support Small Beans and access Additional Content: https://www.patreon.com/SmallBeans
Aug 12, 2020•1 hr 36 min
Betcha didn’t expect a brand-spankin' new podcast! This one takes us to the wonderful world of the physical. Science! Or whatever. Michael Swaim interviews actual scientist/engineer and lifelong friend, Griffin Rowell every episode about a topic that Griffin has researched and found does not get enough press. This episode takes us to 1666 and the “wonderful year” of Newton. Oh hey, he did all these things in quarantine. So listen and immediately feel like you’ve been squandering your stay-at-hom...
Aug 10, 2020•56 min
Maggie’s Hidden Gem film is a fictional documentary. Adam’s choice is an Australian crime drama. Let’s all soak in their effervescence and hear their appeals as to why both of these films need to be in your library. Maggie got two cats! Topic brought to you by the Show You Yours Producers patreon tier. Features: Adam Ganser: https://twitter.com/therealganz Maggie Mae Fish: https://twitter.com/MaggieMaeFish Support Small Beans and access Additional Content: https://www.patreon.com/SmallBeans
Aug 06, 2020•1 hr 12 min
Michael Swaim stops by with a possible interpretation of Marvel’s Doctor Strange, a film with early publicity regarding the whitewashing of Asian roles in the film. As Michael points out that Stephen Strange's and the Sorcerer Supreme's initials are SS, Strange uses a whip, he’s against the progress of time, and his main enemy is called “The Dark One.” Oh, dear. Oh, shucks. This is looking real bad, real fast. Features: Michael Swaim: https://twitter.com/SWAIM_CORP Adam Ganser: https://twitter.c...
Jul 29, 2020•1 hr 34 min
Michael, Abe, and Dave are entranced by the 1973 animated French-Czechoslovakian film Fantastic Planet and its sci-fi, psychedelic landscapes. They deconstruct the larger metaphor of the film and stare into its general weirdness. It’s in the Criterion Collection, so it must be important! Everyone thank minefreak555 for generously donating toward this episode. We love you, you freak of mine. Features: David Christopher Bell: https://twitter.com/MovieHooligan Michael Swaim: https://twitter.com/SWA...
Jul 27, 2020•1 hr 6 min
Through the miraculous technology of wifi, Sarah and Bridgett bring their friends from the distant land of New York City, New York. Do you have what it takes to listen to four people sharing their past awkwardnesses? This one digs deep into the origin of Chandler and Carolina’s tale: the High School for Performing and Visual Arts in Houston, Texas. Pornography, discussing oral sex with the boys, the best boob joke in a movie? Checks all around, baby! Features: Uncertified Fresh Podcast: https://...
Jul 24, 2020•1 hr 11 min
This episode Maggie and Adam make a playlist. Here’s the rules: each host will suggest six songs, be able to veto two songs, and a “catapult” round where they each get to unilaterally add one song to the playlist. The topic of the playlist is Old Crushes. The hope is that the collection of songs will serve as a Frankenstein’s monster of Adam and Maggie’s past partners. Here’s the spotify playlist so you can play along: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7xT7QVP2ANRz2GdvgoZUAu?si=pAEQRLL6Rlm4yh7PL...
Jul 22, 2020•1 hr 28 min
Sarah and Bridgett have arrived at the raison d'etre of the F&F universe: Fast Five. Sarah is officially acclimated to what the series is about as a whole. As the filmmakers retool and refine their art, this description writer feels that our hosts have done the same to their very own podcast. Sarah approves of Han and Gisele ill-fated hook up while Bridgett reminds her of what everyone’s names are. Features: Sarah Griffith: https://twitter.com/sk_griffith Bridgett Greenberg: https://twitter....
Jul 18, 2020•1 hr 3 min
Adam shines some light on how 1998’s Mask of Zorro represented the end of an era. 1999 was a big year for CG and with it came a whole new paradigm for how Hollywood created blockbusters. Abe is there as well. Features: Adam Ganser: https://twitter.com/therealganz Abe Epperson: https://twitter.com/AbeTheMighty Support Small Beans and access Additional Content: https://www.patreon.com/SmallBeans
Jul 15, 2020•1 hr 27 min
The Kings return to discuss the symbology of the coming of age classic Stand By Me. The simple story is at its best when it builds the atmosphere of that small window between childhood and adolescence. For the best podcast experience, find a dead body to look upon while you listen. Features: Michael Swaim: https://twitter.com/SWAIM_CORP Abe Epperson: https://twitter.com/AbeTheMighty Support Small Beans and access Additional Content: https://www.patreon.com/SmallBeans
Jul 14, 2020•1 hr 21 min
The bruvs take some time to chat about the film that launched John Boyega’s career, the 2011 sci-fi adventure film, Attack The Block. Abe argues there’s more political symbology at play than most assume. Adam and Michael determine for themselves if this is a sneakily smart cult film or just a slightly updated, more adult version of Goonies. Make your own mind up, beans! Features: Adam Ganser: https://twitter.com/therealganz Michael Swaim: https://twitter.com/SWAIM_CORP Abe Epperson: https://twit...
Jul 03, 2020•1 hr 8 min
So, there's a litmus test and we've probably all manufactured it as a test or have been unwittingly tested by someone at some point. There's a handful of films specific to you that you put on that really throws the romantic gauntlet down. Adam and Maggie wax poetic about their "Is This A Date?" movies. How'd they do? Will you date us? Please? I'm just going to spoil right now that Maggie's pick is "Let The Right One In" so chew on that, you teenage vampires. In one of your earth weeks (July 8th)...
Jun 30, 2020•1 hr 39 min
Take a moment, theater kids, and breathe. This one is going to hit home for most schoolchildren who witnessed the problematic school plays we all had sit through. And for those of you who were in said plays, here's a tale that will make everyone feel uncomfortable from the one and only Colin McLaughlin. Bridgett and Sarah do as they always do: staring unblinkingly into the abyss that is self-torture and laugh like two maniacs who need their fix. Features: Sarah Griffith: https://twitter.com/sk_g...
Jun 27, 2020•1 hr 6 min
The 2014 film Under The Skin is not for everyone. It's dark, meditative, brutal, and terrifying. There are some shocking shots, but it's not your typical horror film. Michael and Abe sit down with Brooks Brown to discuss how Jonathan Glazer and Scarlett Johansson pulled off this art film that's really about consent, celebrity, and the male gaze. This episode was produced by Martin, our monthly Flick Picker. If you want us to cover a specific film, pledge to our Pick the Flick tier found here: ht...
Jun 22, 2020•1 hr 7 min
Abe presents the case that while 1995's Clueless has flaws, its insistence on inclusive art forms and mundane art is actually a fantastic message for teens in the 1990's and the film displays a more diverse culture snapshot than most genre films of the era. Adam and Abe debate its value and merit as a satire. Features: Adam Ganser: https://twitter.com/therealganz Abe Epperson: https://twitter.com/AbeTheMighty Support Small Beans and access Additional Content: https://www.patreon.com/SmallBeans
Jun 19, 2020•2 hr
Michael and Abe discuss what's going on with this movie. Why did it flop so hard? Does it deserve the hate? Who said yes to Morgan Freeman's eyebrows? Like so many horrifying ass worms, there's plenty of unpack in this episode. Features: Michael Swaim: https://twitter.com/SWAIM_CORP Abe Epperson: https://twitter.com/AbeTheMighty Support Small Beans and access Additional Content: https://www.patreon.com/SmallBeans
Jun 15, 2020•1 hr 4 min
Sarah and Bridgett review the fourth installment of the FFF (Fast and Furious Franchise). Sarah starts by nailing the play-by-play of the series up to this point. This film makes two things clear. The series is now about superheroes and sexy ladies. Our hosts talk about the nature of the Feds in this series and an initial misstep of pivoting to gratuitous licking of toes in your car movie. Join them by watching the film and feeling shame about it? I think it's shame? Is shame the right word? Ah,...
Jun 12, 2020•49 min
The Show You's start off with a pretty thorough discussion of coffee but things take a turn when Maggie chooses House of Wax. I mean, that is utterly ridiculous and Maggie's the only person we know who could pull this answer off. Listen to the whole episode to hear Adam's choice along with some news about the future of this show and how you, the beans, can get involved! Adam Ganser: https://twitter.com/therealganz Maggie Mae Fish: https://twitter.com/MaggieMaeFish Support Small Beans and access ...
Jun 05, 2020•1 hr 28 min
Adam tells Abe to pull over because he's taking the wheel for an examination of the 2005 British adventure horror thriller movie, The Descent, written and directed by Neil Marshall. In this episode, Adam examines the production hurdles that a film of its budget must overcome and how Marshall expertly navigated tough creative decisions for the benefit of the movie as a whole. From lighting, creature make-up, to camera, it's your one-stop-shop for making a £3.5 million horror film. Features: Adam ...
Jun 01, 2020•1 hr 16 min
We don't even summarize the film this time. It's just three dudes talking about what it means to be human for about an hour. Tom Reimann from Gamefully Unemployed stops by to drop some knowledge. What does it mean to be sentient? What does it mean to be human? What does it mean to be a bean? This episode is all thanks to our Pick the Flick patron Zac Schwartz! Thank you Zac! We'd lock you in an impenetrable bunker any day! We love you! Features: Abe Epperson: https://twitter.com/AbeTheMighty Mic...
May 25, 2020•1 hr 8 min
BOLD is a podcast about race and justice in America, and a collaboration between Small Beans and Showing Up For Racial Justice, produced by White People 4 Black Lives. In the first of our three live interviews, our co-hosts Dahlia Ferlito and Ivette Alé talk with Eunisses Hernandez about her activism as a member of Just Leadership USA, which focuses on issues of drug criminalization and the intersection between race and incarceration in America. Featuring "Sage for my Soul," by Indigo Mateo, Pro...
May 18, 2020•58 min
Alright, cockadoodies! The kings catalog their third entry of their deep dive into the Kingiverse. So get ready to get smothered and sedated like so many Paul Sheldons as they discuss fiddely-foof and its impact on the entire rooty-patootie genre. How does Misery hold up? How does Annie Wilkes stack up in the rare sub-genre of female horror villains? What academic approach does Abe take this time to justify his film degree? Features: Michael Swaim: https://twitter.com/SWAIM_CORP Abe Epperson: ht...
May 15, 2020•1 hr 21 min
Dan's back! Everybody Dan's back! Go Crazy! Alright, calm down. It's murder most foul! A cacophony of crime! A Monty Python of ending retcons! The three guys talk about 1985's Clue and how(s) it holds up and hows it don't for an hour and a half. Abe tries to get them to dissect the jokes. They're all into Tim Curry and Martin Mull (spoilers). You'll have to listen to the episode to hear whether or not it was developed around Tim Curry or not and how his role was crafted. Also, the hosts kill eac...
May 11, 2020•1 hr 32 min
The third installment of our Fast and Furious deep dive comes with many epiphanies, like Sarah learning what drifting is. Both the hosts are pretty confident in their scoring of how fast this film is, but less so in if it's truly furious. Not a lot of violence in this one, as the franchise is starting to understand what it's broad appeal is and starts using more green screen. Sarah pitches Vin Diesel's semi-autographical short film "Multi-Facial" to us all. Available on Youtube! Features: Sarah ...
May 08, 2020•1 hr 2 min
Paranorman is a movie from 2012 that sneakily deconstructs American traditionalism, suburbia, and consumerism. Abe is a film nerd who believes that film school dissections of children's animated films are a good use of ninety of your minutes. Let's get real though. That Jon Brion score, Laika's beautifully grotesque animation style, and some superb voice acting keeps this movie afloat. I don't care what Adam says, he doesn't write these descriptions. Chalk it up as a win, baby! Features: Adam Ga...
May 04, 2020•1 hr 31 min
