All Those Moments

Benji and Luke discuss Lance Oppenheim’s Primetime, the filmmaker’s first narrative feature film, in which his muse, Chris Hansen, has been gifted with renewed relevance despite his grievance tour. Spoiler: Benji liked Primetime so much he saw it three times.

The conversation begins with an examination of David Osit’s documentary Predators (2025) and Luke Dittrich’s Esquire article “Tonight on Dateline, This Man Will Die”, two absolutely essential pieces of context for understanding Hansen and the legacy of To Catch A Predator.

They then break down Oppenheim’s fever-dream portrait of Hansen's ascending celebrity built on a TV show template of performative justice.

Finally, they discuss the film’s connections to post-9/11 America, Robert Pattinson’s brilliant and unsettling performance, and their final thoughts about Oppenheim's first narrative fiction feature.

Warnings: Spoilers throughout after 12 minutes. Also, this episode contains direct discussion of suicide.

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CHAPTERS:

00:00 Primetime (2026), Predators (2025), and our first reactions

04:31 Lance Oppenheim, the filmmakers, and the cast

09:15 Why David Osit's Predators changed our reading of Hansen

22:19 Robert Pattinson channeling Lestat as celebrity-addled Hansen

38:03 The Society of Chris Hansen's Spectacle

54:32 To Catch A Predator on the road in Texas

1:03:38 Dan Plum becomes Hansen & the Murphy, TX sting collapses into tragedy

1:26:30 Final thoughts, Primetime's technical formats, and fever-dream favorites

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Isabel Hagen joins Benji for an in-depth conversation about her career as a performing artist and her debut movie, On A String. From Juilliard-trained violist to standup comedian and now filmmaker, Hagen will complete the year 2026 with her first feature film as well as her first comedy special, Live At The Bitter End.

Benji talks with Isabel about growing up in a musical family in Lower Manhattan, attending Juilliard, discovering stand-up comedy, and turning her experiences as a working violist into the narrative spine of On A String. They also get into the influence of films like Happiness, Frances Ha, and Inside Llewyn Davis. Other topics include the realities of the gig economy, the film’s depiction of women enduring insecure men, and the balance between comedy and classical music that runs throughout Isabel’s work.

Later, they dig into some of the film’s best moments, including Dylan Baker’s connection to Happiness, Jamie Lee and the infamous sheet scene, Fred Weller’s guitar performance, the quartet’s climactic escape, Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony, and the real-life encounter that inspired the film’s final scene.

Spoiler warning: The second half of the conversation discusses specific scenes and the ending of On a String.

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CHAPTERS

00:00 Isabel Hagen and On a String

04:48 Juilliard, stand-up and growing up in Manhattan

14:22 How On a String began

24:01 The gig economy of a working classical musician

28:45 Women, insecure men and dating in New York

35:41 Todd Solondz's Happiness, Dylan Baker, and the film’s influences

41:37 Carl, the guitar and “plausible deniability”

55:14 The true story behind the film’s final scene

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Watch Isabel Hagen's comedy special, Live At The Bitter End

Cover photo: Arin Sang-urai

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When we first saw the trailer for Tony, expectations were low. It looked like a biopic-by-numbers movie about “the coming of age of a future celebrity.” Instead, it's a deeply human portrait of a chapter in Bourdain's life constructed with humor, love, and collaborative invention from director Matthew Johnson.

In this episode, we break down Johnson’s evolution as a filmmaker, Dominic Sessa’s performance as a young Anthony Bourdain, and a movie built around self-invention and pathological lying all in the pursuit of finding meaning (and trade and family and purpose). We also compare Tony to Johnson's previous feature, BlackBerry (2023).

And finally, Benji tells the story of meeting Anthony Bourdain in Livingston, Montana, in 2009.

CHAPTERS:

00:00 First reactions to Tony

06:07 Dominic Sessa as a young Bourdain

12:56 Matthew Johnson, BlackBerry and the filmmakers behind Tony

25:16 The real Anthony Bourdain, Nancy, and Kitchen Confidential

31:36 Tony as a pathological liar

40:55 The Flagship, Sal, and Bourdain wielding nunchuks

48:59 The Lying Montage

55:26 Kitchens, male culture, and malevolent bonding

58:48 Benji meets Anthony Bourdain

01:05:51 The legacy of Bourdain

01:10:42 Another excellent coming of age movie: This Boy’s Life (1993)

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Director Cole Webley joins All Those Moments to discuss his devastating and deeply human film, Omaha, starring John Magaro. Benji talks to Cole about growing up in Central Washington, making movies while raising a family, depicting scarcity on screen, and the emotional ending of Omaha.

They also discuss working with child actors and how this movie explores humbling experiences of parenting while quietly celebrating the kindness of strangers. The conversation also explores masculinity, grief, and what it means to ask for help.

It's one of our favorite conversations we’ve had on the podcast.

CHAPTERS

0:00 - Introducing Omaha & Cole Webley

2:27 - Audience reactions & emotional responses to the film

11:51 - John Magaro, family, and Cole Webley’s filmmaking background

25:47 - Spoiler discussion begins: road trip structure & a hidden destination

39:24 - A controversial scene, judgment, and parenting

56:10 - The ending of Omaha explained: “I’m going to need some help.”

1:08:00 - Kindness, Masculinity, & Asking for Help

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In this episode of the show, we dive into Mother Mary, David Lowery's allegorical character study about creativity, betrayal, and the ghosts we carry with us.

We discuss Lowery’s maximalist approach, the central relationship between Mother Mary and Sam, and why this director's ninth feature film plays more like a black box love story than a horror film.

Along the way, we explore the meaning of the red “ghost,” the role of performance and religion, and how the film turns trauma into art and art into healing.

CHAPTERS:

00:00 First reactions & what the movie tried to do

03:49 Setup: logline, key cast & Lowery’s approach

14:11 Mary & Sam: tension, staccato / legato dialog, a broken creative partnership

25:25 The musicless dance sequence

30:50 The red ghost and shared trauma

38:22 The ritual & the meaning of the red dress

43:09 Ending explained & Mary's final performance

45:11 Audience reactions & interpretations

54:25 Lowery’s films as “ghost stories”

56:42 Final thoughts

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Project Hail Mary is part sci-fi blockbuster and part screwball comedy that still observes the hard science source material from Andy Weir.

In this episode of All Those Moments, we talk about why this movie is an antidote to our cynicism, how its dual-timeline structure keeps the story moving, and why the relationship between Grace and Rocky becomes the emotional and intellectual core of the film. Along the way, we break down the astrophage premise, the science behind the mission to Tau Ceti, and how the movie pulls off one of the most effective buddy movies in all of Lord & Miller's filmography. Yes, including Benji's favorites, 21 & 22 Jump Street.

We also get into the tonal balancing act between the comedy and the existential stakes, the decision to use practical effects for Rocky (and why that might have been a billion dollar decision), the agency and ethics of Grace's big decision, and whether the ending actually works.

0:00 Episode Setup

2:55 First Impressions

6:00 The Sci-Fi Premise Explained

12:10 Earth Timeline & Backstory Discovery

22:00 First Contact at Tau Ceti

33:00 Meeting Rocky

48:30 Solving the Astrophage Crisis Together

1:01:00 The Ending, Sacrifice, and Final Thoughts

Also available on all podcast platforms 🎧 https://www.allthosemomentspod.com/subscribe

Project Hail Mary is part sci-fi blockbuster and part screwball comedy that still observes the hard science source material from Andy Weir.

In this episode of All Those Moments, we talk about why this movie is an antidote to our cynicism, how its dual-timeline structure keeps the story moving, and why the relationship between Grace and Rocky becomes the emotional and intellectual core of the film. Along the way, we break down the astrophage premise, the science behind the mission to Tau Ceti, and how the movie pulls off one of the most effective buddy movies in all of Lord & Miller's filmography. Yes, including Benji's favorites, 21 & 22 Jump Street.

We also get into the tonal balancing act between the comedy and the existential stakes, the decision to use practical effects for Rocky (and why that might have been a billion dollar decision), the agency and ethics of Grace's big decision, and whether the ending actually works.

0:00 Episode Setup

2:55 First Impressions

6:00 The Sci-Fi Premise Explained

12:10 Earth Timeline & Backstory Discovery

22:00 First Contact at Tau Ceti

33:00 Meeting Rocky

48:30 Solving the Astrophage Crisis Together

1:01:00 The Ending, Sacrifice, and Final Thoughts

Also available on all podcast platforms 🎧 https://www.allthosemomentspod.com/subscribe

In this episode of All Those Moments, we dive into the bloody waters of Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man including its themes, performances, and whether we think it lives up to the legacy of the series.We also explore how this changes the trajectory of Tommy Shelby’s story (especially when compared to how the show concluded), the historical and political backdrop shaping the narrative, and whether or not we think the overall project was a success. Is this a fitting continuation for the Peaky Blinders or is Netflix going to spin this thing off into something else entirely?Along the way, Benji and Luke discuss:The evolution of Tommy Shelby as a characterThe movie compared to the BBC / Netflix seriesKey moments that land (or don’t)This episode should be useful whether you’re a longtime Peaky Blinders devotee like Luke or someone who enjoyed the show but stopped after two seasons like Benji.

Hosts:

Benji Wade

Luke Baumgarten

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Thank you to Mitch Davis for the artwork and Lucid Terminal for the theme song.

The story of Hind Rajab can never be ignored and it should never be forgotten. Kaouther Ben Hania's film, The Voice of Hind Rajab, is an imperfect but essential document that turns the details of what has happened to more than 20,000 children in Gaza since the end of 2023 into an intimate rendering of human anguish. Benji and Luke watched this movie during the week that Neil Patrick Harris talked about being "interested in things that are apolitical." The Voice of Hind Rajab, conversely, provokes conversations about the role of politics in art and cinema. After all, isn't art without politics just decoration? Or, as Ben Hania put it recently, "Cinema is not just image laundering."

Benji and Luke start their conversation with an introduction to the filmmaker, Ben Hania, and her previous work with Four Daughters (2023) as well as its similarities to The Voice of Hind Rajab. They then describe key moments from the movie and react to the filmmaking, narrative structure, and the real life events depicted in the story. They finish the podcast with their thoughts about recent developments as America and Israel have started a war against Iran and the implications for an ongoing genocide in Gaza.

Hosts:

Benji Wade

Luke Baumgarten

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Thank you to Mitch Davis for the artwork and Lucid Terminal for the theme song.

Benji and Luke start the show with describing their expectations for the movie No Other Choice based on their familiarity with Park Chan-wook's previous work. They then begin the spoiler-filled section of their conversation with audience responses to the movie and an introduction of the themes of No Other Choice, including its critique of neoliberalism, large language models, and the role of the Moloch theory as a way of understanding the phrase 'no other choice.' They also give breakdowns of key scenes, the incredible performances from Son Ye-jin and Lee Byung-hun, and exchange personal anecdotes that relate to the storytelling.

Hosts:

Benji Wade

Luke Baumgarten

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Thank you to Mitch Davis for the artwork and Lucid Terminal for the theme song.