Afterthoughts

Our guest Mark is back, joining Dixon and John for a Recommend or Refute to remember --or, in John's case, to forget [who's hosting]. Mark's finally gotten around to sampling the notes of humor and hints of commentary in The Menu (2022) and he's ready to serve up his thoughts. Meanwhile, Dixon and John join forces to deliver a paired review of two movies related only in the theme of espionage. Will Dixon send The Spy Who Came In From The Cold (1965) to the bitter frozen land of refutes? Will John unmask Unmasking The Idol (1986) as a recommend? Tune in to find out.

It's 11:14pm. The time when teenagers run rampant through town wreaking havoc everywhere they go, leading to two violent accidental deaths and one tragically severed penis. Join us on Afterthoughts as we discuss the comic thriller 11:14 (2003). Does it live up to the films that inspired it like Pulp Fiction and Memento? Or is it a grim disappointment like fatal coitus in a rundown cemetery?

On this episode of Recommend or Refute, John waxes poetic about the inspirational indie Potato Dreams of America (2021), Ryan traumatizes his children with the pure nightmare fuel that is Return to Oz (1985), and Dixon can't believe the insanity of John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023).

Do you like fighter pilot movies? Do you enjoy the camaraderie of a band of scrappy pilots executing a dangerously dumb mission that could very well save all of humanity? The Sky Crawlers (2008) is not that. Don't get us wrong, it's got dogfights, hotshot pilots, and executing dangerously dumb missions, but it's also got PTSD, existentialism, and some truly bleak moments that undercut all of that. John saw it as a youth, and now he's bringing Dixon and Ryan to the airshow to discuss what the hell happened in the controlled fog of war that fuels this movie. Join us as we tailspin into Mamuro Oshii's thoughtful reflection on war and peace with a film that was well executed yet poorly marketed in the US.

Join us for another roundtable review session as we plan out your weekend's upcoming watchlist with an eclectic set of offerings. Ryan discusses a heartfelt anime about rediscovering humanity through Violet Evergarden (2018), John brings his first schlock exposure to Cynthia Rothrock and her Latin rhythm infused martial arts with Sworn to Justice (1996), and Dixon calmly revisits the classic 12 Angry Men (1957) decades after his first watch in middle school.

With Creed 3 (2023) in theaters, Dixon figured it's a good time to revisit the classic that started it all. That's right, the bums of the Afterthoughts podcast will not be deterred by their lack of friends who work in a meat factory. Come drink the raw eggs of the Rocky franchise with us and go the distance on this discussion as we run up the steps of the metaphorical Philadelphia Museum of Art  in this retrospective on Rocky (1976), the influences it had on an entire genre, and the legacy of Sly Stallone's Philly Underdog.

In Part 2 of our SXSW discussion, Dixon breaks down the festival by category and talks about his favorite film in each section.  We also discuss other local Austin film festivals and how SXSW stacks up against them.

Films we talk about:
- Joy Ride (2023)
- Raging Grace (2023)
- Angel Applicant (2023)
- Down Low (2023)
- Chronicles of a Wandering Saint (2023)
- Fremont (2023)

In our first topic discussion episode, John interviews Dixon about the recent SXSW 2023 festival. In Part 1 we'll be talking Film Festival strategy, Dixon's top highlight, lowlight, and nolight (i.e. meh moive) from the fest, as well as dissect a few of the documentaries he'd recommend or meh-commend.

Films we talk about:
- Aberrance (2023)
- With Love and a Major Organ (2023)
- Revival69: The Concert that Rocked the World (2023)
- Last Stop Larrimah (2023)
- Kite Zo A (2023)
- A Disturbance in the Force (2023)

It's a new week and a new round of Recommend or Refute. Join Dixon as he discusses the Rocky formula's return to form in Creed (2015), Ryan's descent into Magic Stripper Madness with the Magic Mike trilogy, and John... well... uh... yeah. John's bringing something obscurely terrible to the table, and we're probably never going to let him do it again.

Call us Ishmael because we're talking about Darren Aronofsky's most recent film The Whale (2022), an adaptation of the Samuel D. Hunter stage play of the same name. Is it worthy of all the accolades and standing ovations? Did it merit its controversy? Where does it rank on the list of Aronofsky films? Join us for afterthoughts on these questions and more!