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This week, we're taking up arms against the British and making moves on our dead wife's sister as we get downright independent with 2000's The Patriot, directed by Roland Emmerich, and starring Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger, Jason Isaacs, Tom Wilkinson, Joely Richardson, Chris Cooper, Rene Auberjonois, Donal Logue, Adam Baldwin, Gregory Smith and a young Logan Lerman. Try as we might to tie into this week's release of Alex Garland's Civil War, this is a war epic about the War of Independence, and just like Independence Day, when America needed a rousing, slightly fascistic display of patriotism via action cinema, you need the propagandist touch that can only come from a German. This movie is also nearly three hours long, so needless to say, Hayley hated it. Meanwhile J Mo's got a theatrical field report on Sydney Sweeney's latest, Immaculate, and Hayley's getting down with some crunchy sugar cereals.

Other works discussed on this episode include The First Omen, The Omen, The First Purge, The Purge, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Dark Side of the Ring, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, Ghostbusters (2016), Isle of Dogs, The French Dispatch, Asteroid City, The Royal Tenenbaums, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, Moonfall, Small Soldiers, Zodiac, Full Metal Jacket, Firefly / Serenity, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, The Princess Diaries, Waterworld, Escape From New York, the music of Queens of the Stone Age, Ima Robot and Diana Ross & The Supremes, and the video games Spider-Man: Miles Morales and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

We'll be back next week as we stay in the early 2000s with a completely different type of picture: the 2004 rom-com Along Came Polly, an unseen selection from Hayley's collection that packs a dynamite supporting performance from Philip Seymour Hoffman. If you'd like to watch the movie along with us it is currently streaming on Starz in Canada at the time of publication. Until then, we'll see you at the movies!!

This week we're back in Cruise control as we follow Tom to a mystical faraway land of blood and honour. It's 2003's The Last Samurai, directed by Edward Zwick, and starring Tom Cruise, Ken Watanabe, Tony Goldwyn, Hiroyuki Sanada, Timothy Spall, Billy Connolly, Koyuki, William Atherton, Scott Wilson and Masato Harada. The movie's conception of the dawn of the Meiji Restoration is bafflingly nonsensical, but what it gets wrong about Japan in 1876 can be forgiven for what it gets right about America in 2003. It's a sweeping war epic from the director of Glory, starring Tom Cruise at the height of his leading man swagger, and a supporting cast that notably launched the North American careers of several Japanese treasures of the silver screen. Meanwhile at the theatre, Hayley hit up the re-release of Ex Machina while J Mo caught up with Love Lies Bleeding.

Other works discussed in this episode include Blow Out, Civil War, Godzilla vs Kong, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Godzilla Minus One, Children of Men, The Good Shepherd, Pooh's Heffalump Movie, Batman Begins, Inception, Gladiator, Troy, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, A.I.: Artificial Intelligence, Gossip, White Noise, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, The Mummy, Hot Rod, The Walking Dead, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Tropic Thunder, Days of Thunder, Valkyrie, Vanilla Sky, Eyes Wide Shut, and Minority Report among others.

We will be back next week to celebrate the release of Alex Garland's Civil War by tracing it all the way back to the last American civil war, as we check in with returning favourite Heath Ledger and returning gremlin Mel Gibson in 2000's The Patriot -- a movie that sadly just like The Last Samurai is not currently available to stream in Canada. Oh well. Until then, we'll see you at the movies!!

This week it gets lonely at night, as we live in a twilight world and there are no friends at dusk. We welcome Matt Pollock (Matty's Movie Burner) back to the program on the final Friday of the month to induct a new entry into the podcast canon: 2020's Tenet, written and directed by Christopher Nolan, and starring John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Kenneth Branagh, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Himesh Patel, Clémence Poésy, Michael Caine, Martin Donovan, Dimple Kapadia, and former NHL super-pest Sean Avery. One of the few major theatrical releases of the COVID era, it was only just re-released to theaters to capitalize on Oppenheimer's Oscar momentum. But it's a polarizing movie to be sure. While the three of us love it a great deal, it is not a popular sentiment. We do our best to analyze why people put this undeniable gorgeous and visually inventive movie in the crosshairs, and if a critical re-appraisal is due. Plus it's not all Tenet talk, as Matty and J Mo combines for Theatrical Field Reports on Late Night with the Devil, Snack Shack and Love Lies Bleeding.

Be forewarned: this is our longest episode ever, and you may want to watch the film before listening along. Unfortunately, at the time of publication, Tenet is currently unavailable for streaming in Canada, though, you know, you could check it out of the library if you're keen.

Other works referenced in this episode include Wonka, Paddington, Paddington 2, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, Licorice Pizza, Sex Drive, American Pie, Thirteen, Trainspotting, Kids, Heat, Superbad, Pineapple Express, The To-Do List, The Way Way Back, The Dark Knight, Early Edition, Prisoners, Dune: Part 1, S1m0ne, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning: Part 1, The Holdovers, The Iron Claw, Dune: Part 2, The Fabelmans, Dazed and Confused, California Split, A History of Violence, Gone Baby Gone, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, The Garbage Pail Kids Movie, Footloose, X-Men '97, Spider-Man: The Animated Series, Madame Web, Dune (1984), Arrival, Hot Rod, The Departed, The Invisible Man, In Bruges, Widows, Inception, 12 Monkeys, The Terminator, Looper, Dunkirk, Munich, Belfast, Love Actually..., A Haunting in Venice, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, Interstellar, Good Time, High Life, The Lost City of Z, The Boy and the Heron, the Twilight saga, May-December, Station Eleven, Weeds, Insomnia, The Art of Racing in the Rain, Malcolm X, The Dark Knight Rises, Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade, E.T., Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Jurassic Park, and Good Will Hunting among others.

We'll be back next week to kick off April as we check back in with our old pal Tom Cruise and follow him over to Japan for 2003's The Last Samurai, a movie which is presently unavailable to stream in Canada but can be rented on Amazon and YouTube. Until then, we'll see you at the movies!!

This week we're headed to the desert in hopes the dry air will ease our sufferin'... and hell's coming with us, as we watch 1993's Tombstone, directed by George Cosmatos (or Kurt Russell, depending who you ask), and starring Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, Sam Elliott, Bill Paxton, Powers Boothe, Michael Biehn, Charlton Heston, Dana Delany, Jason Priestley, Stephen Lang, Thomas Haden Church, Michael Rooker, Billy-Bob Thornton, Paul Ben-Victor, Billy Zane, John Corbett, Terry O'Quinn, and the voice of Robert Mitchum. It may not boast the bonafides behind the camera of a more prestige picture like Wyatt Earp, which came out almost six months to the day after Tombstone's Christmas '93 release -- but history has been much kinder to it, in large part because it's a hell of a lot of fun. Consider it redemption for both Russell and Kilmer given their recent fare on the podcast. PLUS: Would you quit your job if they made you go watch Madame Web? And Hayley can finally join in the conversation around Dune: Part 2.

If you'd like to watch Tombstone before listening along to our discussion, it is currently streaming on Disney+. Or you can snag it for $3 from the thrift store like Justin did.

Other works discussed in this episode include Little Women, Lady Bird, Elvis, Moulin Rouge!, Romeo + Juliet, Asteroid City, Cloud Atlas, Arrested Development, October Sky, The Room, Troll 2, Quiet On Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, Lebanese Burger Mafia, Where'd You Go, Bernadette?, Poor Things, Late Night with the Devil, Last Voyage of the Demeter, That Thing You Do, Roadhouse, Point Break, Superman: The Animated Series, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, Friday Night Lights, Young Guns, Deep Impact, Armageddon, Volcano, Dante's Peak, A Bug's Life, Antz, Capote, Infamous, The Prestige, The Illusionist, and Monarch, among others.

We'll be back next week to wrap up the month with a much anticipated and perhaps controversial canon entry, a movie that we love quite a lot here on the show but we know is not universally beloved. Returning favourite Matt Pollock is back next week to help us induct Christopher Nolan's TENET into the pod canon. Until then, we'll see you at the movies!!

We begin a new year of the show this week, and kick off the campaign by welcoming These Estates and Oiseaux musician and Briarpatch publisher John Cameron for an unseen selection from his collection, a prescient political satire that is now 52 years old but could release today with few alterations and still feel timely. It's 1972's The Candidate, directed by Michael Ritchie, and starring Robert Redford, Peter Boyle, Melvyn Douglas, Don Porter, Allen Garfield, Karen Carlson and Michael Lerner. It's a comedy without any jokes that still manages to be fairly funny, at least when its bleak political outlook doesn't feel equal parts harrowing and deadly accurate. Plus: J Mo's hooked on Pocket Card Jockey, while Hayley and John are willing to die for Casino Regina.

Other works discussed on this episode include Oppenheimer, Dune: Part Two, Aquaman & The Last Kingdom, Beau Is Afraid, The Devils, Go, Ocean's Eleven, Bulworth, Fletch, Fletch Lives, season 6 of The West Wing, Parks & Recreation, The Thick of It, In The Loop, Death of Stalin, The Newsroom (CBC), The Ides of March, Our Brand Is Crisis, and Lions For Lambs among many more.

If you'd like to watch The Candidate before listening to our discussion, some maniac has posted the entire movie for free on YouTube. And we thank them.

We'll be back next week as Year 2 on the pod continues with a shot at redemption for two top stars who have recently wronged us on the pod by being in movies we watched that were not good. Yes, Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer can completely redeem themselves as we'll be back to watch 1994's Tombstone, a 90s VHS classic that somehow both hosts have never seen before. It's currently streaming on Disney+ if you want to watch it, and of course we're wrapping up the month the week after with our monthly canon submission, Christopher Nolan's TENET. Until then, we'll see you at the movies!!

We're celebrating one full year of being unlikely partners on the podcast beat by finally getting around to what we've been told is one of the all-time great buddy cop movies. Yes it's 1989's Tango & Cash, directed by a three-headed monster of directors on a deeply troubled production but overseen in post-production by Demolition Man editor Stuart Baird, and starring Sylvester Stallone, Kurt Russell, Jack Palance, Teri Hatcher, Brion James, James Hong, Michael J. Pollard, Robert Z'Dar, Lewis Arquette, Eddie Bunker and Clint Howard. No sense sugar-coating it, she doesn't want it to be a secret: Hayley hated this movie. But J Mo still makes the case for its not-so-guilty pleasures, and we reflect on a full year of doing the show.

Of course, with the Oscars on Sunday we also take a quick minute to make our picks in the major categories, leading Justin to discover that while he's now seen 100 films from 2023, he's somehow missed almost all the Oscar movies. Embarrassing. We're going heavy on Oppenheimer. Big surprise.

Other works discussed in this episode include Dune: Part Two, Robin Hood: Men In Tights, Spaceballs, The Princess Bride, The Emperor's New Groove, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, The Voyeurs, Deep Water, Nocturne, The Perfection, Tenet, The Fast Franchise, First Blood, Rocky, Thief, The Rocketeer, Dick Tracy, Cobra, and Under Siege 2: Dark Territory.

We'll be back next week to kick off a new campaign as we're joined by Briarpatch publisher and all-around good dude John Cameron to discuss the 1972 Robert Redford political satire The Candidate, which is currently available to watch in its entirety for free on YouTube. Until then, we'll see you at the movies!!

This week, he will, he will rock you as we begin the first themeless month on the pod in quite a while with a movie that Hayley has seen north of 50 times and Justin has never seen before now. It's 2001's A Knight's Tale, written and directed by Brian Helgeland, and starring Heath Ledger, Rufus Sewell, Shannyn Sossamon, Paul Bettany, Mark Addy, Alan Tudyk, Laura Fraser and James Purefoy. It's the movie that firmly cemented Ledger as a movie star, as Helgeland crafts an underdog sports movie in the world of medieval jousting. Plus we've got theatrical field trips to report on as Hayley caught Drive-Away Dolls this week, while J Mo took in the Tenet re-release on 70mm.

If you'd like to watch the film before listening to our discussion, A Knight's Tale is currently streaming on Netflix in Canada at the time of publication.

Other works discussed on this episode include Macbeth, Dune: Part 2, Madame Web, Mr. 3000, Top Gun, 10 Things I Hate About You, Lords of Dogtown, I'm Not There, Brokeback Mountain, The Dark Knight, Capote, Dark City, Dazed & Confused, Rollerball, Payback, The Order, L.A. Confidential, Mystic River, Blood Work, Man on Fire, The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, and Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant.

We'll be back next week to celebrate one full year of ADHD-DVD as we die and go to buddy-cop heaven with Stallone and Kurt Russell in 1989's Tango & Cash. Until then, we'll see you at the movies!!

This week we're wrapping up February Is For Lovers with another potential entry to the podcast canon, as we dip our toes into rom-com waters for the first time this month with a movie that very much aspires to be a modern take on classic Nora Ephron material: it's 2015's Sleeping With Other People, written and directed by Leslye Headland, and starring Alison Brie, Jason Sudeikis, Adam Scott, Amanda Peet, Jason Mantzoukas, Andrea Savage, Natasha Lyonne, Katherine Waterston, and Adam Brody. Does it succeed in its ambition to sit alongside When Harry Met Sally... in the ADHD-DVD pod pantheon? Plus: We continue to fixate on cults and dad fashion, while J Mo is back from the drive-in having seen Madame Web and Anyone But You, so you know we've devoted a huge chunk of the episode to the Adam Scott movie currently in theatres. After all... her web connects them all.

If you'd like to watch the movie before listening along to our discussion, it is currently streaming in Canada on Amazon Prime and is also available for free on Tubi and Plex (at the time of publication). If you'd like to see Madame Web, you can sit alone in an empty theatre anywhere in the world.

Other works discussed in this episode include When Harry Met Sally…, 10 Things I Hate About You, Morbius, The Terminator, Defending Your Life, Defending My Life, I Want You Back, Out of Sight, Ocean's Eleven, Jennifer Lopez: This Is Me... Now, Drive, Justified, Jackie Brown, The Vow, The Thing, The Birdcage, Rocko's Modern Life, Drinking Buddies, Kid Detective, Long Shot, Palm Springs, Trainwreck, Fire Island, Star Wars: The Acolyte, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, and Dune: Parts I & II.

We'll be back next week to kick off our first free-form themeless month in what feels like quite a long time, as we rapidly approach the show's one-year anniversary and celebrate with a long-time fave of Hayley's and a recently thrifted pick-up Justin has never seen: the 2001 medieval action romance / anachronistic pseudo-musical A Knight's Tale, which is currently streaming in Canada on Netflix. Until then, we'll see you at the movies!!

This week, it's trouble in paradise as we conclude the Before trilogy and keep it on brand with a big blow-up argument. Yes, February Is For Lovers continues with 2013's Before Midnight, once again directed by Richard Linklater, starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, and written by all three. This final chapter keeps you guessing throughout on exactly what kind of movie it's going to be, and is of course lifted once more by two outstanding lead performances. It even earned Oscar gold for Linklater, Hawke and Delpy, who took home the Best Adapted Screenplay award in 2014.

If you'd like to watch the film before listening along to our discussion, it is currently streaming in Canada on Amazon Prime, Tubi and the CTV app at the time of publication.

Other works discussed in this episode include Fantastic 4, Dune: Part One, Anyone But You, Reality, Madame Web, Torque, Morbius, Kraven The Hunter, Venom, You Hurt My Feelings, The Last Duel, Nuff Said, Blow Out, and LOST.

We'll be back next week to wrap up February Is For Lovers with our next canon consideration, a modern rom-com favourite that puts a new twist on the old When Harry Met Sally... formula: 2015's Sleeping With Other People, written and directed by Leslye Headland. It is currently streaming in Canada on Amazon Prime, Tubi and Plex. Until then, we'll see you at the movies!!

This week, we continue to stroll through Europe as we're joined by traffic anchor, physical media archivist and Vancouver film criticism scion Marc Staehling for an unseen entry from his collection: 2004's Before Sunset, directed by Richard Linklater, starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, from a script by Linklater, Hawke and Delpy. Like the 1995 film it follows, the whole appeal is a stripped-down, naturalistic approach to onscreen romance, as Jesse and Celine reunite 9 years later for a movie that follows their catch-up conversation in real-time. It feels like checking in with old friends again, and we can't wait to see where the trilogy takes us with next week's finale.

You can find Marc on air at AM730 Traffic in Vancouver, and online on both Twitter and Letterboxd: @maybe_yes_sir

Additional works discussed in this episode include All of Us Strangers, Ran, To Live and Die in L.A., Midnight Run, King of Killers, Blow Out, Dressed to Kill, Star Trek: Lower Decks, Welcome to Mooseport, Dazed and Confused, Waking Life, A Scanner Darkly, Two Days in Paris, Demolition, Hit Man, and The Dark Knight Rises.

If you'd like to watch the film before listening along to our discussion, it and Before Sunrise are both available to stream in Canada on Crave and Starz.

We'll be back next week as February Is For Lovers continues with Linklater's Before Midnight, a film currently streaming in Canada on Amazon Prime, Tubi, and the CTV app. Until then, we'll see you at the movies!!