Those who brought us Asphalt City

Director

Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire

Writers

Shannon Burke

Ryan King

Ben Mac Brown

Main Cast

Tye Sheridan as Ollie Cross

Sean Penn as Gene Rutkovsky

Michael Pitt as Lafontaine

Mike Tyson as Chief Burroughs

Gbenga Akinnagbe as Verdis

Raquel Nave as Clara

Katherine Waterston as Nancy

Kali Reis as Nia Brown

Producers

Shannon Burke

Eric Gold

Warren Goz

Ryan King

Christopher Kopp

John Ira Palmer

Music Composers

Nicolas Becker

Quentin Sirjacq

Cinematographer

David Ungaro

Editors

Saar Klein

Katie McQuerrey

Casting Director

Lori Eastside

Production Designer

Robert Pyzocha

Today, The Film Buff explores the mastery of director Luca Guadagnino and his ability to construct films that culminate in powerful final shots. This technique aligns so closely with Pete’s recent viewings that he insists the film must have been reverse-engineered to achieve this effect.

Queer is recently available on HBO MAX.

Those who brought us Queer.

Daniel Craig as William Lee

Drew Starkey as Eugene Allerton

Jason Schwartzman as Joe Guidry

Lesley Manville as Dr. Cotter

Henrique Zaga as Winston Moor

Drew Droege as John Dumé

Andra Ursuța as Mary

Ariel Schulman as Tom Weston

Andrés Duprat as Dr. Hernandez

Omar Apollo as Chimu Bar Guy

David Lowery as Jim Cochran

Lisandro Alonso as Mr. Cotter

Michaël Borremans as Doctor

Ronia Ava as Joan Vollmer

Crew

Director: Luca Guadagnino

Screenwriter: Justin Kuritzkes

Producers: Lorenzo Mieli, Luca Guadagnino

Executive Producers: Christian Vesper, James Grauerholz, Peter Spears, Elena Recchia, Maria Teresa Monaco

Cinematographer: Sayombhu Mukdeeprom

Editor: Marco Costa

Music: Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross

Production Designer: Inbal Weinberg

Costume Designer: Jonathan Anderson

Casting Directors: Luis Rosales, Maurilio Mangano, Valentina Materiale

A Complete Unknown is now streaming on Hulu, and The Film Buff is here to dive into the career of director James Mangold, the rise of star Timothée Chalamet, and the creative allure of Bob Dylan. Don’t miss this episode!

Those who brought us A Complete Unknown

Timothée Chalamet – Bob Dylan

Elle Fanning – Sylvie Russo

Monica Barbaro – Joan Baez

Boyd Holbrook – Johnny Cash

Edward Norton – Pete Seeger

Nick Offerman – Alan Loma

Corey Stoll – Tom Wilson

Vincent D’Onofrio – Albert Grossman

Crew:

Director: James Mangold

Writers: James Mangold, Jay Cocks

Producers: James Mangold, Bob Dylan, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Andrew Rona, Fred Berger

Cinematography: Phedon Papamichael

Production Company: Searchlight Picture

More about this film.

Get ready to go electric! A Complete Unknown, directed by James Mangold, dives into the transformative years of Bob Dylan’s career as he shakes up the folk scene and reinvents himself as a rock icon. Starring Timothée Chalamet as the enigmatic singer-songwriter, the film follows Dylan’s rise to fame, his controversial switch to electric guitar, and the cultural revolution he helped ignite. With Elle Fanning, Monica Barbaro, and Edward Norton rounding out the cast, A Complete Unknown promises a soulful, star-studded journey through music history.

DAREDEVIL and the SPIDER-MAN 1994 Animated Series

For this Animation Weekend, AKAPAD The Film Buff dives into an overlooked Paramount+ animated series—ARK: The Animated Series. This show impressed Peter so much that he had to bump today’s scheduled release to make room for this discussion. We’re often told to seek out what’s new and what’s good—ARK: The Animated Series is both.

Beyond the show itself, this episode also explores a larger question: Why isn’t there more dinosaur-driven storytelling in today’s marketplace?

*** Producers note***

AKAPAD recoreded this episode with very little sleep, so at time he rambles.

Those who brought us The Ark The Animated series.

Main Voice Cast

Madeleine Madden – Helena Walker

Michelle Yeoh – Meiyin Li

Gerard Butler – General Gaius Marcellus Nerva

David Tennant – Sir Edmund Rockwell

Zahn McClarnon – John / Thunder Comes Charging

Devery Jacobs – Alasie

Jeffrey Wright – Henry Townsend

Recurring and Guest Roles

Dee Bradley Baker – Dodo, Scary, Rhubarb, Monkey

Juliet Mills – Chava

Tonantzin Carmelo – Zitkala

Cissy Jones – Gladiatrix

Armen Taylor – Randall Wallace

Russell Crowe – Kor the Prophet

Vin Diesel – Santiago

Karl Urban – Bob

Elliot Page – Victoria Walker

Deborah Mailman – Deborah Walker

Tatanka Means – Mato

Malcolm McDowell – Senator Lucius Cassius Virilis

Alan Tudyk – The Captain

Monica Bellucci – Cassia Virila

Production Crew

Directors: Jay Oliva, David Hartman, Chase Conley, Sebastian Montes, Jeremy Stieglitz

Producers: Vin Diesel, Gerard Butler, Jeremy Stieglitz, Jesse Rapczak, Alan Siegel, Doug Kennedy

Writers: Marguerite Bennett, Kendall Deacon Davis

Composer: Gareth Coker

A little bit more about The Ark The Animateed Series

ARK: THE ANIMATED SERIES

Alright, nerds and dino-fanatics, buckle up because ARK: The Animated Series is here to rip through your TV screen like a raptor in a meat locker! Based on the massively popular survival game, this show is a high-octane, time-bending thrill ride that asks one simple question: What if history’s greatest warriors, scientists, and survivors all woke up in a prehistoric nightmare—together?

Enter Helena Walker, a 21st-century paleontologist who finds herself resurrected on a savage world where dinosaurs roam, warlords rule, and survival is anything but guaranteed. With no memory of how she got there, Helena has to adapt fast, forming uneasy alliances with warriors from different eras—think samurai, Vikings, and futuristic soldiers—all while fending off the ruthless General Nerva and the sinister alchemist Sir Edmund Rockwell. Oh, and did we mention Vin Diesel is in this? Because Vin Diesel is in this.

It’s Jurassic Park meets Conan the Barbarian, with a dash of Lost and a whole lot of dino-fueled action. The animation? Slick. The battles? Brutal. The stakes? Nothing short of survival itself. And with a voice cast stacked with Hollywood heavyweights like Michelle Yeoh, David Tennant, Gerard Butler, and, yeah, Vin freakin’ Diesel, this is one prehistoric epic you don’t want to sleep on.

So sharpen your spears, mount your T-Rex, and prepare for war—because ARK: The Animated Series is coming for your eyeballs!

TGIF, Film Buffs! It’s Friday, so let’s have some fun. Arena Wars (2024), directed by Brandon Slagle, thrives on the power of crowdfunding, delivering a brutally thrilling world packed with everything you'd expect from a film of this nature—and that’s exactly what makes it so damn fun. AKAPAD The Film Buff continues his mission to revive the joy of watching movies, reminding us why heading to the theater for pure entertainment is a tradition worth keeping alive.

Now streaming on Disney+, The Film Buff dives into Mufasa: The Lion King—a remarkable prequel directed by an Oscar winner. But is it truly an animated feature? Let’s break it down!

AKAPAD The Film Buff dives back into the Hellboy fray with his take on the character’s latest cinematic outing, Hellboy: The Crooked Man (2024). This $20 million gem looks and feels like it was torn straight from the comic page, drenched in gritty folk-horror vibes. But here’s the head-scratcher: despite all its strengths, this flick got the cold shoulder from every tier of fan you’d expect to champion it. Time to dissect why the faithful adaptation, killer practical effects, and Jack Kesy’s brooding Big Red failed to ignite the passion this movie deserved.

Those who brought you Hellboy the Crooked Man

Cast

Jack Kesy - Hellboy

Jefferson White - Tom Ferrell

Adeline Rudolph - Bobbie Jo Song

Leah McNamara - Effie Kolb

Joseph Marcell - Reverend Watts

Hannah Margetson - Cora Fisher

Martin Bassindale - The Crooked Man

Nathan Cooper - Farmhand

Carola Colombo - Old Woman

Suzanne Bertish - Grammy Oaku

Crew

Director - Brian Taylor

Writers - Brian Taylor, Mike Mignola, Christopher Golden

Producers - Mike Richardson, Jeffrey Greenstein, Jonathan Yunger, Les Weldon, Rob Van Norden, Yariv Lerner, Sam Schulte

Executive Producers - Avi Lerner, Trevor Short, Boaz Davidson, Tanner Mobley, Lati Grobman, Christa Campbell, Mike Mignola, Michael Mullner, Julia Muentefering, Victor Hadida, Cristina Serafini, Gareth West, Artur Galstian, Vahan Yepremyan

Cinematographer - Ivan Vatsov

Editor - Ryan Denmark

Composer - Sven Faulconer

Production Companies - Millennium Media, Dark Horse Entertainment, Nu Boyana Film Studios, Campbell Grobman Films

Distributor - Ketchup Entertainment

More about Hellboy The Crooked Man

Alright, True Believers, let’s dive into Hellboy: The Crooked Man (2024), the latest gritty reboot of our favorite cigar-chomping demon! This flick, helmed by Brian Taylor, drags Big Red (Jack Kesy) and rookie B.P.R.D. agent Bobbie Jo Song (Adeline Rudolph) into the eerie backwoods of 1950s Appalachia. They’re up against a coven of witches and the sinister Crooked Man (Martin Bassindale), a devilish creep tied to Hellboy’s past. Think folk horror meets paranormal detective vibes—less blockbuster bombast, more low-budget chills. Co-written by Hellboy creator Mike Mignola, it’s a faithful stab at his 2008 comic, with practical effects that’d make Sam Raimi nod approvingly.

Box office? Well, brace yourselves, Wiz fans—this one didn’t exactly set the world ablaze. Skipping U.S. theaters for a direct-to-VOD drop on October 8, 2024, it scraped together a measly $2 million internationally. With a rumored budget “way under $20 million,” it might’ve turned a profit via digital and streaming, but don’t expect it to topple Hellboy II: The Golden Army’s $160 million haul. A cult classic in the making? Maybe. A cash cow? Not a chance. Excelsior!

In 2024, Netflix released another outstanding addition to modern science fiction. What followed was a stark revelation about The Film Buff. Today, Peter urges you to take the time to experience this film, as its lack of press could signal a troubling future for the sci-fi genre as a whole.

Those who brought us Bionic

Main Cast:

Jessica Córes as Maria

Gabz as Gabi

Bruno Gagliasso

Christian Malheiros

Kagga Jayson

Klebber Toledo

Director:

Afonso Poyart

The Academy rightfully recognized September 5 with a nomination for Best Original Screenplay this past year, but this film offers so much more. In fact, AKAPAD The Film considers it one of the most underrated movies of 2024. Join him on the Movie Pod of Movie Pods as he delves into an in-depth discussion of its brilliance.

Those who brought us September 5

Director

Tim Fehlbaum

Cast

Peter Sarsgaard as Roone Arledge

John Magaro as Geoffrey Mason

Ben Chaplin

Leonie Benesch

Zinedine Soualem

Georgina Rich

Corey Johnson

Marcus Rutherford

Benjamin Walker

Daniel Adeosun

Solomon Mousley

Caroline Ebner

Daniel Betts

Screenwriters

Tim Fehlbaum

Moritz Binder

Production

Distributor: Paramount Pictures

More about this time.

September 5: A Gripping Retelling of the 1972 Munich Tragedy

The 2024 film September 5, directed by Tim Fehlbaum, is a tense historical drama that revisits the harrowing events of the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre. The film follows an American sports broadcasting team, led by Roone Arledge (played by Peter Sarsgaard), as they become unwitting witnesses to one of the most tragic acts of terrorism in sports history.

Historical Context

On September 5, 1972, a Palestinian terrorist group known as Black September infiltrated the Olympic Village, taking 11 Israeli athletes hostage. What began as a global celebration of unity turned into a 21-hour standoff, culminating in a disastrous rescue attempt at a German airbase. All the hostages were killed, along with several terrorists and a German police officer.

Film’s Perspective and Impact

September 5 brings this historical event to life from the perspective of journalists who had to navigate the ethical dilemmas of live reporting while witnessing history unfold. The film has been praised for its gripping storytelling, nuanced performances, and its deep dive into the role of media during crises.

Despite being nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the Academy Awards, many critics and film enthusiasts, including AKAPAD The Film, consider it one of the most underrated films of 2024.