Better Than Speed

We give a Better Than Speed salute to Ernst Lubitsch's powerful and punchy anti-Nazi comedy from 1942. The only thing we hail at Speed HQ is that big blue bus going 50 miles an hour.

Make sure to join us for our next episode where we tackle our first musical, Jaques Demy's The Umbrellas of Cherbourg.

Plus, if you leave us an iTunes review or recommend our podcast to a friend online, you're automatically entered to win one of our brand new, limited edition Better Than Speed shirts from Daniel. Check out the cool design here!

The glitz, the glamor, the hype! The gold watches and the coveted Keanus! This year's awards ceremony goes off the rails when the best and worst films of 2018 duke it out in a balls-out battle. Plus, your burning questions answered... Was 1999 the best year in cinema history? Will David disown Predator? Will Daniel's popcorn populism save the day? Will Jessica coin a catch phrase?

Remember to join us for our next regular episode featuring Ernst Lubitsch's classic comedy To Be Or Not To Be.

(Watch out ... there's a mediocre Mel Brooks remake from 1983. Not that one.)

"We give our Kurosawa Connoisseur, Morgan Hanner-Morfesis, the ultimate pop quiz: is Seven Samurai Better Than Speed? Is Mifune puny compared to killer Keanu? All will be answered as we test our mettle with the pedal to the metal." - Gene Shalit

Beverly Hills. Century City. Everything's so nice and pretty, but the ever acute Alex Cox turns his lens to the gritty underbelly of LA's punk scene. Special guest Dawn Garcia takes us on a tour of California counter-culture at the end of the century.

Which is a more quintessential LA flick: Keanu Reeve's Speed or Emlio Estevez's Repo Man? Has Harry Dean Stanton been abducted by aliens? Will we all get vaporized by the neutron bomb?

You can stream Repo Man on Amazon Video. And you can watch next episode's selection, Seven Samurai, on Kanopy. Go get your free library card and dry your FilmStruck tears.

Make sure to check out Erin Larson's Letterboxd page cataloging all of our votes throughout the history of Better Than Speed.

Good night, and good luck.

It's Halloween! So we rose from the grave with Clouzot's frothy potboiler Jenny Lamour. Have you missed us? Because we've missed you.

You can check out this week's film selection on Amazon Video.

Sign this petition to keep FilmStruck alive.

And join us next episode for Repo Man!

Good things come in twos! Join us on the safari for a very special bonus episode devoted entirely to Predator 2. The lions, the tigers, the bears... oh my. No spoilers, but there's a lot to celebrate on this week's surprise podcast as we welcome new members to the BTS club.

As the brutal summer of 2018 comes to a close, we celebrate everything Sandy with a rundown of the best (and worst) films in the Sandra Bullock catalogue. Plus, a ratings bonanza as we fire off verdicts left and right. Will any Sandra movies dethrone Speed?

Next episode, we'll discuss Clouzot's Quai des Orfèvres.

When he sees someone rich both his thumbs start to itch and he has to pick a pocket or two. The wonderful Morgan Hanner-Morfesis joins us to discuss Robert Bresson's transcendental meditation on love and loss, PICKPOCKET. Drinking game: take a shot every time we mention Paul Schrader.

This episode's film selection PICKPOCKET is available on FilmStruck, and they have a 14-day trial if you wanna stay on theme and snatch this one for free.

On our next episode we'll be celebrating The Summer of Sandra with all of our favorite Sandra Bullock films, like THE NET, GRAVITY, and DEMOLITION MAN (as well as some of her stinkers like WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING). If you act quick HBO has PRACTICAL MAGIC and THE BLIND SIDE streaming. Write into us at [email protected] and let us know your favorite Sandra moments and we'll read them during the next episode!

We reference a whole shitload of research material in this PICKPOCKET episode, so if you want to follow us down the rabbit hole, here ya go:

-Paul Schrader's book, Transcendental Style in Film -Paul Schrader's essay on film noir -Paul Schrader's glowing review of PICKPOCKET -The Tarkovsky diagram

-The Letterboxd list of slow cinema

-And finally, Dana Carvey's turtle costume

It's an unwritten rule: never pull a boner in front of Cary Grant. But rules were meant to be broken. Join us for a perilous excursion into the Howard Hawks adventure film where bonds are tested, planes demolished, and friendships forged. With special guest Matt Maddox, editor of the upcoming Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder film DESTINATION WEDDING.

If you didn't get the chance to watch this episode's film, ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS, starring Cary Grant, Rita Hayworth, and Jean Arthur, you can stream it on Amazon Video. You'll also find next episode's selection there as well, Robert Bresson's PICKPOCKET.

Also, make sure you catch the upcoming documentary Daniel Morfesis edited, SCOTTY AND THE SECRET HISTORY OF HOLLYWOOD.

And finally, a huge Speed salute to our listener Erin, who created this great Letterboxd list of all our film verdicts in each episode of the podcast. Thanks Erin!

Would you like me to tell you the little story of right-hand / left-hand? The story of good and evil? The story of Mitchum vs Hopper?

Tonight, three bros get in touch with their dark side and ride down the river of hate with Charles Laughton's expressionistic masterpiece THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER. You can find it streaming on Amazon if you want to join in on the fun.

Shoutout to Radio Raheem, Chuck D, and all the knuckle bracelet wearing players out there.

Next episode, we'll find out if Only Angels Have Wings when we throw Cary Grant and Howard Hawks down an elevator shaft.