It only seemed right to make this month’s Aerial Shot: Movie Club Christmas-themed. Hence, we had to bring in Erica, who chose National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik, written by John Hughes and starring Chevy Chase.

I’ve never actually seen this one before, so there was a lot to catch up on. I think I did okay. We had a great time breaking down the 1989 holiday classic and even had our Clark Griswold-esque technical difficulties.

As much as any of you care about the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, I can promise you that Antara Sinha cares more. Which is why she’s this month’s guest for the revered Aerial Shot: Movie Club.

Although I originally thought we were going for The Curse of the Black Pearl, I should’ve known better. There’s no Bill Nighy as Davy Jones in that first movie, nor a cannibal island or a human hamster wheel in The Bahamas. And so … we watched Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest and then podcasted late into the night about the second of the three Pirates movies. There were no others; don’t look into it.

This movie came out in 2006, which math tells us was 19 years ago, and it still holds up remarkably. Of course, you just have to separate Johnny Depp from Captain Jack Sparrow, which is, umm, not easy. But we powered through.

Anyway, it’s a fun episode in which we discuss the lore of the pirate’s life, how much we miss director’s commentaries and heavy sleeping. Check it out. Please. I’m begging you.

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Hi. I’m currently in Florida for work. It’s been very busy, so I’m not writing much. But here’s a New York Film Festival recap with Jake Richards and Erica Steward, featuring a boatload of tangents. The festival was incredible. Go see Sentimental Value.

It’s been 17 years since the first Kristen Stewart-Robert Pattinson film, which is as good a time as any to look back at the biting, the sparkles and the Anna Kendrick of it all. Of course, as all Aerial Shot Movie Clubs go, this was our guest’s pick. And that guest is Melanie Whyte.

A media maven, pop-culture junkie and Twilight shirt haver, it makes so much sense that Melanie would go for the Catherine Hardwicke classic(?) and end up breaking down what makes Phoenix essentially hell on earth.

Anyway, the two of us watched the movie over Cava, Buncha Crunch and popcorn, and then analyzed Pattinson’s British accent sneaking through, strong smells and me during freshman year of college.

Greta Gerwig’s Little Women premiered at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City on December 7, 2019. Lauren Saxe and I were there.

In the nearly six years since, both of us have seen the masterful adaptation of the Louisa May Alcott book so many times, so it only felt right that Lauren chose this for the Aerial Shot Movie Club. It’s a romantic heartbreaker, a laugh-out-loud comedy and should probably go to jail for still making me emotional on every goddamn viewing.

The 1984 horror-comedy, Gremlins, directed by Joe Dante, is many things: A fever dream, a Christmas movie, a teenage romance, a treatise on bad dads and, of course, this week’s Aerial Shot Movie Club, all thanks to Jake Richards.

The two of us break down Mogwai, eating after midnight and 2019 Best Picture winner Green Book … obviously. Also, frequent guest Erica Steward makes an appearance. As Bill Simmons might say, “It’s a free-flowing conversation that occasionally touches on mature subjects.”

Welcome to Aerial Shot Movie Club, a monthly podcast in which one of my friends picks a movie, and then we watch it and discuss it. I don't think that's very complicated.

Molly Longman (our first-ever guest!) and I break down The Lion King (1994). You've probably seen it. We discuss a bunch of things, and there may or may not be some singing in there.

Well, we did it. Kind of.

Along with my year-end list of every new movie I saw in 2024, I wanted to try my hand at picking all of the major categories: What I’d select for Best Picture, Best Director and so on. Instead of just writing that all out (and making you scroll and scroll and scroll), we did a podcast instead, which is just writing but easier.

Friends, filmgoers and past guests Antara Sinha (subscribe to Best Food Blog) and Taylor Eisenhauer joined and things went off the rails pretty quickly. Like the best podcasts, it’s mostly just us ridiculing one another and every so often getting back on track before another tangent. If you want to listen, great. If not, you’ll never know who Antara’s two favorite supporting actors are. I hope you can live with yourself.

Jake and I answer some questions from Erica on the Toronto International Film Festival. It's a fun time.

We drafted movie characters we would throw our lives away for. It was (as always) chaotic.