Tune in this week to hear our Oscar predictions for the 97th Academy Awards! We discuss what we think will win, what we hope will win, and the nominations that left us scratching our heads.

This week’s topic is movies about magic! Ryan and Shane discuss two animated films, Ralph Bakshi’s Wizards (1977) and Hayao Miyazaki’s Ponyo (2008). Both films use animation to show the audience unique and creative worlds and magical abilities. Wizards is a shoddily paced and vulgar depiction of a post-apocalyptic Earth with fairies, elves, and mutant Nazis. Ponyo, on the other hand, is an endearing and beautiful depiction of life on the Japanese coast and a magical underwater world. Join us in our discussion of these unique and fascinating animated movies about magic! 

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This week we’re talking about Companion (2025). Drew Hancock’s darkly comic thriller is a pleasant January surprise for movie fans. We give our general thoughts at the start of the episode before getting into spoilers. This movie has plenty of twists and turns so go into Companion knowing as little as possible and we think you’ll have a great time! Once you’ve seen the movie, come back and listen to us chat about the movie’s story, the actors’ great performances, and some of our favorite moments in Companion. 

Lights, Camera, Action! Jump back on set with us as we chat about movies about movies for this week's episode. We take a time machine back to the year 2000 to debrief E. Elias Merhige's "Shadow of the Vampire," which reenvisions the behind-the-scenes of the original 1922 "Nosferatu" with Willem Dafoe playing a real-life vampire employed by F. W. Murnau (played by John Malkovich) to create the most realistic movie possible, and David Mamet's "State and Main," which follows a Hollywood film crew trying to film in rural Vermont and features a clash of these cultures and an expose of the dark side of Hollywood. Join us for 'State and Madow of the Vampire'!

On Episode 9.5 of the show we’re discussing Nobuhiko Obayashi’s cult classic House. This haunted house horror comedy is absolutely bananas. Obayashi’s experimental filmmaking makes this one of the most unique and fun cinematic experiences anyone could hope to see. We also discuss the film’s memorable kills and its parallels with the slasher subgenre. Everyone hide your watermelons and join us as we gush about House. 

This week were talking college movies! Blue Chips is a college basketball movie with a stacked cast including Nick Nolte, Shaq, Penny Hardaway, Bob Cousy, Larry Bird, and many more cameos from the hardwood. The film is an interesting relic of its time that’s not without its flaws. Our other college movie is Cat Person, based on the short story by Kristen Roupenian. The film is sometimes poignant and at other times too ridiculous to believe. This will also be an interesting relic of its time given the way it explores gender and communication in modern times. Both films are mixed bags with plenty for us to discuss. 

On this weeks mini-episode we discuss Nosferatu (2024). We discuss the film’s themes, character design andcinematography. The film’s unique storytelling choices differentiate it from previous Nosferatu films and some vampire movies in general. While Ryan loved the dark atmosphere and impeccable filmmaking, Shane was worn out by the pacing and muddled themes. Regardless, this new version of Nosferatu is fascinating and a valuable new entry in the vampire subgenre. 

On Episode 8 of the show we talk about movies available in the public domain! We discuss two classics of their respective genres: F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu (1922) and Fritz Lang’s Metropolis (1927). Both films were created in Weimar-era Germany and have influenced countless horror and sci-fi films. Both also hold up as brilliantly constructed silent films. 

This week Ryan and Shane discuss Black Christmas! We talk about the beloved original 1974 and the less beloved 2006 and 2019 remakes. 

The original film directed by Bob Clark is a slasher classic with brilliant cinematography and sound design. Clark manages the film’s tone brilliantly. The characters are realistic and the film features complex, three-dimensional female characters. The whodunit story is fascinating and always keeps the audience guessing. A true Christmas classic that holds up today. We also discuss the remakes and why we found them disappointing, especially in comparison to the original.

All aboard! This week we’re talking trains. We discuss Buster Keaton’s classic silent film The General and Bong Joon-ho’s dystopian sci-fi film Snowpiercer for our episode titled The Genowpiercer. We talk about Buster Keaton’s brilliant career and the many daring stunts in The General. We also discuss the themes and metaphors explored in Snowpiercer.