LITTLE ENGINES CAN DO BIG THINGS...

In a really interesting double feature with last week's episode, we take a trip to Jackson's childhood with his pick for a September filled with only female directors, THOMAS AND THE MAGIC RAILROAD directed by Britt Alcroft. Alec Baldwin snorting something that can't not be an allegory for some kind of drug, Peter Fonda hiding in a cave and giving absolutely nothing, trains that don't have the ability to move their mouths when they speak. We've got everything this week. Also Sutherland's thoughts on Reagan (a.k.a. movie of the year), Josh hops into some journeys, Joey defends Peter Jackson's Hobbit movies, and Jackson wraps up the new Apes trilogy.

Chapters:

00:00:00 Intro

00:05:46 What We Watched

00:33:59 Thomas and the Magic Railroad

01:12:39 Final Thoughts + Ratings

01:28:38 Emails from Our Friends <3

01:33:17 Joey's Pick for Next Week

Email us at [email protected] with any feedback, suggestions, or messages that we can read on the show!

Links:

⁠Jackson on Letterboxd⁠

⁠Joey on Letterboxd⁠

⁠Josh on Letterboxd⁠

Sutherland on Letterboxd

Film Explorers is mixed and edited by Josh :)

ENCHANTED DANCING IN A MAGICAL WORLD!

In one of our longest and silliest episodes to date, we take the plunge into the magical world of BARBIE IN THE 12 DANCING PRINCESSES, guided by our good friend and Barbie historian Carson! She lectures us on the history of the Mattel straight-to-DVD Barbie films, the unsung lore, and why these movies mean so much to her. Of course, we respond by focusing way too hard on Brutus the monkey, going on a tangent about the Brothers Grimm, and doing visual gags that don't necessarily play well on a podcast but we left them in because they make us look stupid.

Go check out Carson's podcast, Speak-Easy: A Conversation Archive!

References:

DESMOND // Try Not To Laugh Challenge // HARD!

Chapters:

00:00:00 Intro

00:03:24 Carson's Four Favs

00:32:06 Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses

01:25:59 Final Thoughts + Ratings

01:50:38 Next Month + Jackson's Pick

Email us at [email protected] with any feedback, suggestions, or messages that we can read on the show!

Links:

⁠Jackson on Letterboxd⁠

⁠Joey on Letterboxd⁠

⁠Josh on Letterboxd⁠

Sutherland on Letterboxd

Film Explorers is mixed and edited by Josh :)

ONCE HE FOUGHT FOR A DREAM. NOW HE'S FIGHTING FOR LOVE!

A huge conclusion to our sequel month run with one of Sutherland's favorite movies of all time, ROCKY II! If you thought Blade Runner was heated...it still is but this one is also incredibly contentious! We talk how to construct a good sports movie. Are they ever really about the sport? And we break down Josh's infamous claim about this "frankly miserable" franchise. Also some big new releases at the top of the episode and a guest appearance announced for next week!

References:

Watching Rocky II with Muhammad Ali - Roger Ebert

Chapters:

00:00:00 Alien: Romulus and Sing Sing Talk

00:16:42 What Else We Watched

00:34:05 Rocky II

01:23:31 Final Thoughts + Ratings

01:32:07 Next Week's Episode

Email us at [email protected] with any feedback, suggestions, or messages that we can read on the show!

Links:

⁠Jackson on Letterboxd⁠

⁠Joey on Letterboxd⁠

⁠Josh on Letterboxd⁠

Sutherland on Letterboxd

Film Explorers is mixed and edited by Josh :)

CAPTAIN JACK IS BACK!

After three weeks off from recording, we're so unbelievably back talking about one of the most iconic films to our generation, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST. We talk about theme park rides being adapted into film, grungy gross visual effects that have never been surpassed to date, and why need a billion more pirate movies. We also spend a while talking through everything we watched in the last few weeks, including lots of M. Night Shyamalan, some Apes retrospectives, and Josh and Sutherland having some life-changing theatrical experiences.

Chapters:

00:00:00 Catching Up

00:06:27 What We Watched

00:40:15 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

01:21:37 Final Thoughts + Ratings

01:29:24 Sutherland's Pick + Outro

Email us at [email protected] with any feedback, suggestions, or messages that we can read on the show!

Links:

⁠Jackson on Letterboxd⁠

⁠Joey on Letterboxd⁠

⁠Josh on Letterboxd⁠

Sutherland on Letterboxd

Film Explorers is mixed and edited by Josh :)

THE KEY TO THE FUTURE IS FINALLY UNEARTHED.

You know the movie, I don't have to intro it for you. BLADE RUNNER 2049 is one of the most beloved movies of the 2010s, an instantly iconic film of the science fiction genre. We talk through Roger Deakins being at the top of his game, Ryan Gosling hitting that thousand-yard stare, and we answer the question you're asking: is Denis Villeneuve the best director working today? (Answers may vary from host to host).

Chapters:

00:00:00 Intro

00:04:09 What We Watched

00:17:13 Josh's Pick

00:21:10 Blade Runner 2049

01:10:18 Final Thoughts + Ratings

01:24:29 Outro

Email us at [email protected] with any feedback, suggestions, or messages that we can read on the show!

Links:

⁠Jackson on Letterboxd⁠

⁠Joey on Letterboxd⁠

⁠Josh on Letterboxd⁠

Sutherland on Letterboxd

Film Explorers is mixed and edited by Josh :)

JUSTICE IS COMING.

Unfortunately, we have once again been reached. In this very special throwback episode of Film Explorers, we return to the genesis of the show with one of the longest running bits in our short history, JACK REACHER: NEVER GO BACK. We talk studio cash-grabs, Tom Cruise clenching his jaw in every single close-up, and actively forgetting movies as you watch them. We also debate the merits of Twisters, Josh talks through their birthday filled with watching five-star films, and Sutherland checks out some Yasujiro Ozu.

Chapters:

00:00:00 Intro

00:02:28 Twisters (no spoilers)

00:21:53 What We Watched

00:34:44 Elden Ring and EA College Football

00:36:56 Jack Reacher: Never Go Back

01:10:18 Final Thoughts + Ratings

01:19:52 Joey's Pick + Outro

Email us at [email protected] with any feedback, suggestions, or messages that we can read on the show!

Links:

⁠Jackson on Letterboxd⁠

⁠Joey on Letterboxd⁠

⁠Josh on Letterboxd⁠

Sutherland on Letterboxd

Film Explorers is mixed and edited by Josh :)

PROTECTING THE EARTH FROM THE SCUM OF THE UNIVERSE.

This week, we're rounding out our blockbuster slate for the month of July with another classic '90s Will Smith joint MEN IN BLACK! We talk about Josh staying winning with these picks (don't worry, that doesn't last long), Vincent D'onofrio being one of the great unsung actors of all time, every alien in this movie just being that one weird guy you saw on the street in New York last time you were there, and why we don't get massive pieces of monoculture like this anymore. August's theme at the top of the show, some Despicable Me 4 talk, and some Ridley Scott praise to bring things full circle!

Email us at [email protected] with any feedback, suggestions, or messages that we can read on the show!

Chapters:

00:00:00 What We Watched

00:20:48 August's Theme + Jackson's Pick

00:30:30 Men in Black

01:02:50 Final Thoughts + Ratings

01:08:35 Outro

Links:

⁠Jackson on Letterboxd⁠

⁠Joey on Letterboxd⁠

⁠Josh on Letterboxd⁠

Sutherland on Letterboxd

Film Explorers is mixed and edited by Josh :)

A SIMPLE WESTERN ABOUT THE ORIGIN OF THE AMERICAN DREAM.

In a very special bonus episode for Josh's birthday, they chose one of their all-time favorite films to get the feature presentation treatment on the show with Kelly Reichardt's FIRST COW! We talk through the beauty in Reichardt's photography of nature, breaking the way we talk about love out of the confines of the English language, what it means to show male friendship through a feminine lens, and Minecraft cow sound effects.

Email us at [email protected] with any feedback, suggestions, or messages that we can read on the show!

Links:

⁠Jackson on Letterboxd⁠

⁠Joey on Letterboxd⁠

⁠Josh on Letterboxd⁠

Sutherland on Letterboxd

Film Explorers is mixed and edited by Josh :)

HE IS AFRAID. HE IS ALONE. HE IS THREE MILLION LIGHT YEARS FROM HOME.

In a month where we're covering some of the biggest blockbusters of all time, we had to go to the father of them all: the man, the myth, the legend Steven Spielberg and his seminal '80s classic E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL. We talk aliens drinking Coors Banquets, aliens eating Pez, aliens making friggin bikes fly in the air! We settle the score on if Reese's Pieces are really that good, if John Williams is the greatest composer of all time, and if Josh can make it through this episode without crying (no!). We also break down our thoughts on Longlegs, talk about some Game of Thrones, and Josh and Joey returns to the filmography of one Ridley Scott.

Email us at [email protected] with any feedback, suggestions, or messages that we can read on the show!

References:

E.T. Adventure Ride POV at Universal Studios Orlando

Chapters:

00:00:00 Intro

00:02:28 What We Watched

00:31:09 E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

01:03:09 Final Thoughts + Ratings

01:28:02 Outro

Links:

⁠Jackson on Letterboxd⁠

⁠Joey on Letterboxd⁠

⁠Josh on Letterboxd⁠

Sutherland on Letterboxd

Film Explorers is mixed and edited by Josh :)

If you've been craving more random bonus conversations, do we have something perfect for you. Here's nearly two hours of Josh and Sutherland having a stupid laid-back conversation about a bunch of movies they haven't seen yet! Seriously though, Oscar predictions at this point in the year (and always) are just for fun, so we're just goofing. But we talk about so much stuff, from Dune 2 to Joker 2 to Gladiator 2 and some indies like Anora, A Real Pain, and The Seed of the Sacred Fig.

Email us at [email protected] with any feedback, suggestions, messages, or your own Oscar predictions that we can read on the show!

00:00:00 Disclaimer

00:04:26 Best Picture

00:57:54 Best Director

01:10:26 Best Lead Actress

01:10:22 Best Lead Actor

01:29:44 Best Supporting Actress

01:35:28 Best Supporting Actor

Links:

Josh on Letterboxd

Sutherland on Letterboxd

Film Explorers is mixed and edited by Josh :)