Movies That Matter

Adam and Nicole discuss Napoleon and what makes for a good war movie. We don't know what this movie was about and found it a failure of a narrative. Beyond that, the acting and casting choices didn't work, the soundtrack made no sense, and only the costumes were worthy of praise. We discuss what makes for a good war movie including having stakes, an understanding of the cause, and perspectives from among the ranks. Also you actually have to have two armies fighting in the movie for it to be a war movie.

Adam recommends The Leftovers. Nicole recommends Memphis Belle. 

Garret, Stacy, and Nicole discuss the Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes after also reading the book. As fans of the Hunger Games, we all enjoyed the movie and the look back at how Katniss and Peeta's games came to be. We praise the cast diversity, but disagree on the success of the rewind back to earlier times presented in the movie. We discuss what it means to play the Hunger Games and to win them. We dig into how our backgrounds and personalities guide our chosen strategies.

Garret recommends seeing the movie again. Stacy recommends catching up on history. Nicole recommends The Power of One.

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Justin and Nicole discuss Rustin and the intricacies of putting together social moviements. We highly enjoyed the performances, particularly Colman Domingo who captured the charisma and passion of Bayard Rustin. We talk about the challenges, the infighting, and the varying approaches to building a social movement.

Justin recommends Lawmen: Bass Reeves. Nicole recommends Nature's Premium aloe cream.

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Justin and Nicole with special guest Rosebud Sioux tribe member Marietta discuss Killers of the Flower Moon and American Indian stories that aren't getting told. We disagree on our enjoyment of a three and a half hour movie but praise the performances. We wish the story focused more on the Osage. 

We have a wide ranging discussion on American Indian culture and history. We learn about Maria Tallchief, prima ballerina from the Osage tribe. Marietta also recommends checking out the Gathering of Nations in the spring in New Mexico. We discuss the issue of missing and murdered indigenous women, an issue that touched Marietta personally with the murder of her great niece's best friend Kyla Red Bear. We also cover the residential schools and the repatriation of american indian remains.

Marietta recommends Reservation Dogs and Dark Winds. Justin recommends Prey and The Nightmare Before Christmas. Nicole recommends going to the Renwick Gallery for the Sharing Honors and Burdens exhibit.

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Adam and Lexy discuss The Exorcist: Believer and whether being possessed by the devil still carries the same scare factor as it did when the original movie was made. Both hosts find the new movie fails to make good use of a legacy character and falls flat in the scare factor. We discuss if possession by the devil remains a timely fear versus other forms of possession. We find a known factor makes the fear much more unlikely.

Adam recommends author Ashley Herring Blake. Lexy recommends Buttermilk by Sam.

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Lexy and Nicole discuss Dumb Money and the difficulties most of us face running our investments. Lexy liked the movie better than Nicole who could not get past the central messaging of bad financial advice. We find the movie does a good job bringing audiences back into the world of the pandemic and describes the financial techniques and the basics of reddit well but some of the characters fell short. We discuss how the american economy has forced us all to be investors without the necessary training. We also note how this was an example of online life becoming in real life.

Lexy recommends Bodies, Bodies, Bodies. Nicole recommends You're Wrong About's series on the DC Snipers. 

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Picking up where they left in the discussion of the male backlash again Barbie, Stacy and Nicole talk about how the movie stays away from using the word feminism but that the patriarchy is bad for both genders. We also discuss the consumerism aspect of Barbie. 

Stacy recommends Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem and Nicole recommends season 16 of Business Wars: Hasbro vs Mattel. 

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Stacy and Nicole discuss Barbie and the movie's message about The Patriarchy. The first of a two part episode, we praise the movie for its sets, costumes, performances, and its honor of Barbie. We get into the male backlash against the movie and how men prefer toxic masculinity to any alternative presented on the left. Stay tuned for the second half!

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Justin and Nicole discuss Oppenheimer and the issues around nuclear proliferation. We disagree on how much we liked the movie. We enjoyed the parts about the bomb and the sound design but disagreed on the later segments featuring Robert Downey Jr. We talk about the benefits and risks of nuclear proliferation, and Japan's special status as the only country to experience a nuclear bomb.

Justin recommends Hardcore History: Supernova in the East and Peaky Blinders. Nicole recommends Copenhagen. 

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* Note Lise Meitner's name was incorrectly pronounced in the episode, but her story is very important to keep in mind about how women's contributions to science are erased.

Lexy, Nicole, and special guest Monique discuss Joy Ride and the unique experience of Korean adoptees growing up in white families. We disagree on the humor based on personal taste and our appreciation of raunchy comedy. We all enjoyed the more serious and heartfelt aspects of film. We delve into a discussion about the experiences of Korean adoptees especially the difficulties of interracial adoption and how that affects identity.

Lexy recommends Nimona, Nicole recommends Uncoupled, and Monique recommends Cassandra in Reverse.

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