Essential Viewing

Bryce shoved Cole and Chris on a bus to the desert this week to watch The Band's Visit, the 2007 comedy-drama that has been recently adapted into a Broadway Musical! This film was written and directed by Eran Kolirin, and stars Saleh Bakri, Ronit Elkabetz, and Sasson Gabai and others as a group of strangers that cross paths in a small Israeli town for one night. 

Were Cole and Chris moved by this film, or were they right to have packed rotten fruits with them for tossing? Grab your instrument, iron your suit, and trim your mustache to find out!

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Cole Bielen - thatcbkid

Christian Cuevas - ChristianCuevas

Bryce Kramer - brycekramer42

Visit our Anchor page to find all the platforms the podcast is available on: https://anchor.fm/essential-viewing

Cranketh thy volume, and joineth the Essential Viewing crew, as we discuss The Tragedy Of Macbeth, the new adaptation of the classic Shakespearean play, written and directed by Joel Cohen, and starring Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand. Was this film a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing? Or are the EV boys pricking their thumbs, a 5-star movie this way comes? Find out on today's episode.

We have an Instagram now! Follow us @essential_viewing

Leave us a voice message! https://anchor.fm/essential-viewing/message

Meet the Essential Viewing Staff and follow us on LetterBoxd!

Cole Bielen - thatcbkid

Christian Cuevas - ChristianCuevas

Bryce Kramer - brycekramer42

Visit our Anchor page to find all the platforms the podcast is available on: https://anchor.fm/essential-viewing

Say goodbye to 2021 and hello 2022 with the Essential Viewing crew as we review the year in film. In this episode, we will be highlighting some of our favorite movies from this year that didn't get the full EV treatment, revising scores on movies we previously discussed, and hosting the first ever annual Essential Viewies awards. 

Will your favorite film of the year walk away with tonight's grand prize? Will Chris get even more critical of The Matrix Resurrections? Will we ever release another episode of the podcast under one hour long? Tune in to find out!

We have an Instagram now! Follow us @essential_viewing

Leave us a voice message! https://anchor.fm/essential-viewing/message

Meet the Essential Viewing Staff and follow us on LetterBoxd!

Cole Bielen - thatcbkid

Christian Cuevas - ChristianCuevas

Bryce Kramer - brycekramer42

Visit our Anchor page to find all the platforms the podcast is available on: https://anchor.fm/essential-viewing

Grab your trench coats and don your sunglasses for this weeks episode of Essential Viewing as the boys discuss The Matrix Resurrections! Directed by Lana Wachowski, this film stars Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Ann Moss, Jessica Henwick, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, and others in a reboot/remake of the genre-defining Matrix franchise.

Join us as we reminisce about The Matrix, and weigh in on whether Reloaded and Revolutions are actually any good.

Was Lana Wachowski able to resurrect the franchise, or were we left choking down blue pills to stay in a reality with only three Matrix films? Stay tuned to find out!

We have an Instagram now! Follow us @essential_viewing

Leave us a voice message! https://anchor.fm/essential-viewing/message

Meet the Essential Viewing Staff and follow us on LetterBoxd!

Cole "The Oracle" Bielen - thatcbkid

Christian "The Architect" Cuevas - ChristianCuevas

Bryce "The Analyst" Kramer - brycekramer42

Visit our Anchor page to find all the platforms the podcast is available on: https://anchor.fm/essential-viewing

Yippee Ki Yay! Another episode of Essential Viewing is here! Bust out some C4 and join the EV gang for this explosive discussion of the 1988 classic Die Hard, starring Bruce Willis and Alan Rickman, and directed by John McTiernan. 

Did this film manage to steal 13 stars out of the Essential Viewing vault? Or did the EV crew end up tossing this one down the elevator shaft? Find out on this week's episode. 

Leave us a voice message! https://anchor.fm/essential-viewing/message

Meet the Essential Viewing Staff and follow us on LetterBoxd!

Cole Bielen - thatcbkid

Christian Cuevas - ChristianCuevas

Bryce Kramer - brycekramer42

Visit our Anchor page to find all the platforms the podcast is available on: https://anchor.fm/essential-viewing

The mantra we live by here at Essential Viewing is that with great podcasts comes great listening. So, we hope you will join the EV crew as they discuss Spider-Man: No Way home, the 9th theatrical Spider-Man film and the 27th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film is directed by Jon Watts and stars Tom Holland, Zendaya, Benedict Cumberbatch, Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina, and many, many others. 

Did the film provide enough fan service for Bryce? Were there enough WWE smackdowns for Cole? Was Chris able to sit through the entirety of another MCU film? Listen in to find out!

Leave us a voice message! https://anchor.fm/essential-viewing/message

Meet the Essential Viewing Staff and follow us on LetterBoxd!

Cole Bielen - thatcbkid

Christian Cuevas - ChristianCuevas

Bryce Kramer - brycekramer42

Visit our Anchor page to find all the platforms the podcast is available on: https://anchor.fm/essential-viewing

Say hello to the EV crew as they discuss the hugely influential 1983 gangster epic, Scarface. This film - directed by Brian De Palma - starring Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeifer, and Steven Bauer, has influenced so much pop culture that you may know all of Tony Montana's classic one-liners without ever having seen the film!

Were Bryce and Cole pushed to their limits, or did Chris get them hooked on the addictive fun of this gangster classic?

Leave us a voice message! https://anchor.fm/essential-viewing/message

Meet the Essential Viewing Staff and follow us on LetterBoxd!

Cole "The Shadow" Bielen - thatcbkid

Christian "The Skull" Cuevas - ChristianCuevas

Bryce "The Fixer" Kramer - brycekramer42

Visit our Anchor page to find all the platforms the podcast is available on: https://anchor.fm/essential-viewing

Do a quick 20 situps and pour yourself a glass of milk as the EV crew discusses the 1994 film, Leon: The Professional, starring Jean Reno, Natalie Portman, and Gary Oldman. Was this a cleanly executed hit, or did the EV gang have to call for backup? Find out on today's episode.

Leave us a voice message! https://anchor.fm/essential-viewing/message

Meet the Essential Viewing Staff and follow us on LetterBoxd!

Cole Bielen - thatcbkid

Christian Cuevas - ChristianCuevas

Bryce Kramer - brycekramer42

Visit our Anchor page to find all the platforms the podcast is available on: https://anchor.fm/essential-viewing

Even though we were on a holiday break, the Essential Viewing gang still found time to gather round the table and discuss what they had been watching while home for Thanksgiving. Following the roundtable, we bring you an episode from the EV vault, where we discuss Paul Thomas Anderson's 2014 film, The Master, starring Joaquin Phoenix, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Addams. We hope you all enjoyed the Thanksgiving holiday, and we'll be back next week!

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Founder C. Robert Bielen - thatcbkid

Operating Thetan Christian Cuevas - ChristianCuevas

E-Meter Technician Bryce Kramer - brycekramer42

Visit our Anchor page to find all the platforms the podcast is available on: https://anchor.fm/essential-viewing

Bryce has finally been able to collect all six infinity stones, snap his fingers, and force Chris to watch both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Join the podcast crew today as we discuss the 22nd film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, and starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, and many, many others.

Are we living in the one universe where Chris enjoyed Avengers: Endgame? Or is this one of the 14,000,605 other realities where he couldn't stand it? Tune in to find out! 

Leave us a voice message! https://anchor.fm/essential-viewing/message

Meet the Essential Viewing Staff and follow us on LetterBoxd!

Cole Bielen - thatcbkid

Christian Cuevas - ChristianCuevas

Bryce Kramer - brycekramer42

Visit our Anchor page to find all the platforms the podcast is available on: https://anchor.fm/essential-viewing