Cinema on Tap

Our final episode on Best Picture nominees from 2000 is here. It’s time to talk Gladiator.

Ridley Scott’s Best Picture winning epic follows Maximus, a disgraced Roman general on a quest for vengeance. Russell Crowe won an Oscar for his performance, and he is joined by Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Djimon Hounsou, Derek Jacobi, Richard Harris, and Oliver Reed in his final performance.

Fans of Gladiator have found a rewatchable classic; detractors say it’s too conventional and poorly written. Where will our hosts land?

Next week: Gladiator II!

How do you feel about Gladiator? Are you excited for Gladiator II? Let us know at [email protected]

Our November theme continues, and we’re sticking with Soderbergh. This week: Traffic.

The film that won Soderbergh his Oscar, Traffic is a modern epic about the drug war, with separate narrative threads in Mexico, Southern California, and Cincinnati, Ohio. Covering drug traffickers, law enforcement in both Mexico and the United States, and teenagers hooked on drugs, the film’s ambitious scope attempts to tell the whole story, complexities and all.

New friend of the show Joaquin Dominguez, screenwriter and all-around Soderbergh superfan, is still hanging with us after last week’s episode. Christian, Scott, and Joaquin take a look at Traffic to see if the film holds up 24 years later.

What’s your favorite Soderbergh film? Let us know at [email protected].

Joaquin’s new film Watch Them Come Blood recently premiered in Los Angeles to a sold out crowd. The film is continuing to screen around the country, and is coming to physical media in the future.

Now that we’ve got The Cat in the Hat out of our system, it’s time to kick off our November theme of the month! With Gladiator II coming soon, we’re taking a look at the original plus some of the other Best Picture nominated films of 2000. First up: we’re joined by screenwriter and Steven Soderbergh fanatic Joaquin Dominguez to discuss Erin Brockovich.

The first of Steven Soderbergh’s two Best Picture nominated films in the year 2000, this is also the one that garnered Julia Roberts her Oscar. Erin Brockovich follows the titular legal assistant who uncovers an environmental conspiracy in Hinkley, California. She and her boss, the lawyer Ed Masry, begin a legal fight on behalf of the residents to get them justice.

Erin Brockovich is a classic underdog story, with Brockovich, Masry, and Hinkley taking on a massive corporation. But, will it stand out from other similar films?

What’s your favorite legal drama? Let us know at [email protected].

Joaquin’s new film Watch Them Come Blood recently premiered in Los Angeles to a sold out crowd. The film is continuing to screen around the country, and is coming to physical media in the future. Reach out for more information on opportunities to see it!

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the very first Lalo’s Shitty Classics week! Before kicking off our Novemeber theme, we’ve turned over planning to Producer Lalo, and he’s  chosen one of his childhood favorites to talk about: The Cat in the Hat.

Mike Myers stars as the titular feline in this live action adaptation of the Dr. Seuss classic. While the film had a strong negative reaction at the time, many people who were kids when it came out now carry its banner as a misunderstood cult classic. Christian didn’t like it when he first watched it, and Scott has never seen it. Will Lalo be vindicated or disappointed?

What’s your favorite Dr. Seuss adaptation? Let us know at [email protected].

Stay tuned to hear what’s happening on the show in November!

Vamp-tober comes to a showstopping conclusion as we dive headfirst into the Twilight series! Friend of the show Emily Baker is back to break down the iconic franchise.

Who’s Team Edward and who’s Team Jacob? Which is the best film in the series? Are any of these movies even good? Why is the baby CGI?! All these questions and more will be answered! (Maybe not the baby one though. We don’t know why they did that.)

How do you feel about Twilight? Let us know at [email protected].

Stay tuned to find out what’s coming up next week!

Our final pairing of Vamp-Tiber is here: Vampire Action! Today, we’re talking about From Dusk Till Dawn and Blade.

Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino’s ode to exploitation movies starts George Clooney and Tarantino as criminal brothers on the run who have an unexpected run-in with vampires. Blade starts Wesley Snipes as the titular vampire killer, looking cool as hell as he kicks off the modern superhero era of Hollywood filmmaking.

Producer Lalo had to use a few bleeps this time. It’s a fun one!

What’s your favorite vampire movie? Let us know at [email protected]

Vamp-tober continues as we zoom forward in time to the 80s! The 80s were a great decade for vampire films, and we’ll be talking about two beloved cult classics from the time: The Hunger and The Lost Boys.

The Hunger is slower, more stylish movie starring Catherine Deneuve, David Bowie, and Susan Sarandon — plus, it’s the directorial debut from Tony Scott! The Lost Boys is a Joel Schumacher spectacle, in a teen movie + vampire mashup. Which approach will our hosts prefer?

Plus, we open the show discussing the movies we got to see at Beyond Fest 2024!

What’s your favorite vampire movie? Let us know at [email protected]

Welcome to Vamp-tober! For this year’s October theme, Cinema on Tap will be taking a deep dive into vampire movies. To start, we’re going way back to the beginning, and discussing the OVs: 1922’s Nosferatu and 1931’s Dracula.

Both of these films are adaptations of Bram Stoker’s genre-defining novel and hugely important in film history. F.W. Murnau’s silent film has lived on as one of the most influential  films of the silent era, while Tod Browning’s film kickstarted the Universal Monsters series and made an enduring impact on popular culture.

Is Max Schreck or Bela Lugosi the better vampire? Which is the superior film? Will Producer Lalo survive watching his first silent film? All these questions and more will be answered on the show!

Plus, get our quick review of The Substance and Scott’s thoughts on Megalopolis!

What’s your favorite vampire movie? Let us know at [email protected]

We’ve got a supersized episode to wrap up September as we talk about 12 individual movies! This got a lot bigger than expected…needless to say, antics ensue.

We start by a getting a fresh-out-the-theatre review from Christian about Jason Reitman’s new film Saturday Night. After that, he shares his thoughts on two other new releases, Transformers One and A Different Man. Then, Scott updates us with the 4 new-ish release films he caught up with on flights over the weekend.

Once the new release roundup is complete, we debut a new format in the show, Booze You’ve Never Heard Of! We talk about one of the Coen brothers lesser seen films from the early 21st century, and round it out with early films from the Wachowskis, Radio Silence, Safdie brothers, and Duplass brothers.

Did we pique your interest in any of these movies? Let us know at [email protected].

Stay tuned to hear our horror theme for October!

This week, our Coen brothers marathon continues as we welcome new friend of the show Max Dominguez to discuss Inside Llewyn Davis. While not the Coen brothers’ biggest financial success nor a Best Picture winner, Inside Llewyn Davis has lived on as one of the most critically praised films of the 2010s.

Both hosts and guest are returning to this film. Scott and Max are big fans, but is Christian due for a hot take? Listen along to find out.

What’s your favorite Coen bros. movie? Let us know at [email protected]