Cows in the field

It is with clear eyes and love in our hearts that we dive into this classic football parable from the aughts with friend and returning guest Edward Lewis. We discuss the role of suffering in achievement, the paradox of youth, and the cycles that shackle us to our communities. We think about regret and expectation, and above all share our love for the film, which has since been eclipsed by the TV show of the same name. Come toss the football and punt when you should go for a touchdown, it's Friday Night Lights!

We stuff into a tiny F14 cockpit with Sean Burns (WBUR’s The ARTery) and fly into the danger zone to discuss why Top Gun is a sports film that forges a new American myth with dazzling imagery and zero subtlety. We consider the view that Tom Cruise is America's son and get into the trenches with Kelly McGillis to unpack their love triangle with Val Kilmer's Iceman. Also discussed: the effects of g-forces on the human body, what our callsigns would be, and why 80s American jingoism is quaint and endearing. Take my breath away why don't you??? Let's go! 

Not to be downers, but, everything alive must die. This is something the kids from David Robert Mitchell's devastating horror film must come to terms with, as they are stalked by a demonic entity that, no matter where they are, is constantly walking towards them. We sit down with Alison Willmore (Vulture / New York Magazine) to discuss how the film works as an allegory for social class, capitalism, personal trauma, sexual politics, and manages to channel both existential dread and the experience of a panic attack all at once. We wonder how to avoid the creature, what its scariest incarnation is, and whether a tale this bleak can have a happy ending after all...

We sit down with Nicolas Cage expert Keith Phipps (author of The Age of Cage) to discuss the second highest grossing film of Cage's career (second only to its sequel). We consider the point at which this film lands in the arc of Cage's career, and how he draws on his well of acting experience to craft a character that blends elements of conspiratorial mania and fifth grade boy scout energy, selling the four-quadrant appeal of a movie about treasure hunting and historical preservation to both children and adults alike. We wonder what makes the film's portrayal of patriotism appealing and then explore what could have been for Cage, concluding with some recommended overlooked Cage films to explore! 

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Have you ever wondered whether a famous painting contained a clue to a mystery that, once revealed, would upend the world as we know it? Well, you're in luck because in this episode we dive into The Da Vinci Code with museum expert and curator Andrea Rosen! We explore the tough questions of whether to reveal the lie at the center of Catholicism or just go on living your life because no one would care, and then discuss the film's art historical bonafides, whether Robert Langdon is a good professor, and whether this film, which has been mostly forgotten, deserves a dusting off and revisit!

Join us and Katie Walsh (LA Times, Miami Nice) for one night in L.A. as we journey through deserted streets with a meek cabbie dreamer (Jamie Foxx) and his assassin fare (Tom Cruise). We discuss cities and alienation, indecision and action, order and chaos, psychopaths and empaths, coyotes and subways. We gush about Cruise and Foxx playing against type, and wonder about how taxi drivers manage to keep all those streets straight. You might be surprised to find out where this Michael Mann film stacks up in his filmography for Katie, someone who hosts a podcast about another Michael Mann film (Miami Vice), but you won't be surprised to learn that Laura loves the leanness of this ode to the city at night.

Join us for a spoiler-free celebration of the very best films of 2021! We discuss our nominees and winners in the following categories: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (non-gendered, pick 2), Best Supporting Actor (same thing), Best Score, Best Scene, and Most Overrated. Each film can win in only one category, so the stakes have never been higher! Tune in for the suspense, stay for the coveted, career-defining, awards.

Justin's ranking of 2021 films

Join us and Matt Belenky (Movie Talk Podcast) to dive headfirst into Paul Verhoven’s classic 90s erotic thriller! We try to figure out what happened and why, and then explore how the film dissolves boundaries between Sharon Stone / Catherine Trammell and Nick Curran / audience member. We consider the possibility that the film is simultaneously exploitative and empowering, and lavish in its many unnecessary Americana details. Finally, we get to the bottom of why this was the peak time for ice picks.

What does it mean to say that a movie is so bad it's good? Is Twilight (2008) such a movie? We sit down with Matt Strohl (Philosophy, University of Montana), author of the new book "Why It's OK To Love Bad Movies", to talk about what it means to love and appreciate the beauty of bad films, and why bad movie love is an important and often overlooked mode of engaging with films. Along the way, we discuss the social aspirations of taste, what makes "Twilight" a potentially conventionally bad film and why those 'flaws' also contribute to its artistic achievement. Matt catalogs the various wide-ranging literary references embedded in the films and argues, contra the standard view that they push a conservative viewpoint about sex and marriage, that they are actually incredibly horny. We hope you'll join us to give this much maligned film a second chance!