Ryan and Justin try to unpack the conspiracy behind "The 39 Steps" (1935) and in the process, think about...

• cliches in the conspiracy sub-genre, and in this movie
• Hitchcock's struggles with character depth
• the film world's oddest dying/last words
• deep thoughts on conspiracies both real and imagined
• our Verdict
• next week's film: "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" (1954)

*warning* Next week's film callously uses the Roman legend of the abduction and rape of the Sabine women as a major plot element in a way that can be seen as trivializing the gravity of such offenses.

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

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This week, Ryan and Justin pick up the trail of our favorite Samurai/Ronin, "Sanjuro" (1962), to see what he's up to, and talk about...

• speculations about Sanjuro's past
• whether Sanjuro qualifies as a "Gary Stu" character
• one particularly bloody special effect
• the richness of the supporting cast
• our Verdict
• next week's film: "The 39 Steps" (1935)

Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! And let us know what films you think we should cover.

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A wealthy socialite becomes a masked vigilante dressed in black but he's not Batman. He robs from the rich and gives to the poor, but he's not Robin Hood either, which means he must be Zorro!

Ryan and I sort it all out this week as we watch "The Mask of Zorro" (1940) and discuss...

• Can a Zorro film get away with only one real swordfight?
• An actor even more typecast than Basil Rathbone
• Justin's pet peeves with a certain brand of acting
• What the 'sexy lamp' test is, and whether it applies here
• Next week's film: "Sanjuro" (1962)

Justin and Ryan get movie therapy in the form of "David and Lisa" (1962) and share their thoughts from the couch about...

• A psych film where the institution isn't evil?!?
• Examining social and cultural effects the 50's had on the '60's
• Portraying mental illness in film
• Some neat casting connections to very different films
• Next week's film: "The Mark of Zorro" (1940)

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This week, Ryan and Justin take on the original giant, city stomping monster film, "Godzilla" (1954) where they talk about...

• Popular Kaiju film tropes and overcoming them
• The cultural self-awareness of the film
• Puppet Godzilla
• Examining the transitional periods in a culture's history through film
• What Godzilla can teach us today
• Next week's film: "David and Lisa" (1962)

Justin and Ryan pay a visit to "The Last Man on Earth" (1964) this week as they talk about...

• Really bad colorizing
• The 60's trend of mainstream Italian films with American leads
• How much explanation a movie really needs to sell its concept
• Why a story gets remade so frequently and why it always feels off
• Spoiler stuff - lots of it!
• Our verdict
• Next week's film: "Gojira" (1954)

Justin and Ryan take their chances on the first of 28 films based on the "Blondie" (1938) comic strip, where they ponder...

• Actors that build their career exclusively on one franchise
• Why there are 28 of these things
• The comic strip itself
• The perils of a non-sequitur universe
• Dagwood as humanity's dumping ground
• Consequence-free bad behavior in the portrayal of marriage (Not Satire!)
• Ryan spontaneously creating a new rating
• Our verdict
• Next week's film: "The Last Man on Earth" (1964)

Justin and Ryan become  Notorious" (1946) this week as they talk about...

• The great Ingrid Bergman
• Bucking the sniveling villain/overbearing mother trope
• Hitchcock - great at building tension. Relationships? Not so much..
• Needlessly putting your heroine in danger...
• Our rating
• Next week's film: "Blondie" (1938)

Justin and Ryan give their verdict on "12 Angry Men" (1957), but not before they deliberate on...

• The confined setting, and how it helps the story
• The powerful human need to conform
• A parallel to "The Dark Night"
• An unexpected main character
• Our rating
• Next week's film: "Notorious" (1946)

Justin and Ryan hope that their plans to review "Of Mice and Men" (1939) don't go awry, as they share their thoughts on...

• Ambitions: when they're reasonable, and when they're not
• A culture that becomes the real villain
• The privilege of the powerful
• How self-centered environments make unwilling accomplices
• Next week's film: "12 Angry Men" (1957)

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