Gavia is joined by guest-host Steffan Alun to discuss Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, an innovative animated feature that puts most live-action superhero films to shame.

Among other topics, we covered the film's visual artistry, its self-aware take on the concept of canon, its flawed political storytelling, and its relationship to other Marvel adaptations.

Gavia is joined by guest-host Claire Biddles to discuss Luca Guadagnino’s beautiful romantic horror movie Bones and All (2022), about a pair of young cannibal drifters played by Taylor Russell and Timothee Chalamet.

Among other topics, we covered the film's brilliant casting choices, its well-observed depiction of rural 1980s America, and Guadagnino's use of quasi-vampiric cannibalism as an allegory for outsider identity.

This week, Gavia is joined by guest-host Steffan Alun to discuss Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park, an icon of blockbuster cinema.

Among other topics, we covered the film's immaculate casting choices, its masterful special effects, Spielberg's skill for combining horror with heartwarming family drama, and Jurassic Park's place in the history of dinosaur cinema (including its own dubious sequels).

This week, Gavia is joined by guest-host Claire Biddles to discuss Stanley Kubrick’s acclaimed erotic psychodrama Eyes Wide Shut (1999), starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman as Bill and Alice Hartford, a married couple in 1990s New York. After Alice reveals that she fantasized about having an affair, Bill embarks on a night of sexual experimentation.

Topics include Tom and Nicole's marriage and divergent acting styles, the film's subversion of erotic thriller expectations, its depiction of gender roles in a straight marriage, and its fascinating legacy within Kubrick's career.

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This week, we discuss the influential 1966 Senegalese film "Black Girl," written and directed by Ousmane Sembene. The film follows a Senegalese young woman who works as a nanny for a white French family whose life turns into a nightmare when she accompanies them back to France and is forced to work as a maid.

Topics include the film's overt postcolonial politics, its thoughtful deployment of production design and costumes, its reception in the west, and more.

This week, we turn our attention to the original movie adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque's classic WWI novel, "All Quiet on the Western Front," directed by Lewis Milestone and starring Lew Ayres in his first major role.

We compare Milestone's groundbreaking, early-sound era (1930)film to the remake currently nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars, analyze the films' political intentions, praise Milestone's innovative filmmaking techniques, discuss the original film's complicated reception, and much more.

It's been a a few months since Todd Field's massively acclaimed film "TÁR" was released in America, but between its Oscar nominations — for Field, Cate Blanchett, Best Picture, and more — all the Lydia Tár memes, and the debates its ending continues to inspire, we figured there was no better time to discuss it than the present.

Topics include the film's depiction of and engagement with classical music and the MeToo movement, sublime performances by Blanchett and supporting actor Nina Hoss, the film's wobbly ending and blinkered worldview, and more.

Just as January comes to a close, Team Overinvested brings you our Best Films of 2022. Though we're posting this episode a little later than usual, we're as excited as ever to share our favorite films of last year, and hopefully introduce you all to some titles you haven't heard of or gotten a chance to see yet.

This year, our lists range from the big budget — "Top Gun: Maverick" — to the tiny indie — "Saint Omer" — and we've both included a documentary, too. Let us know what you think of our picks and what 2022 movies you loved!

We return to you after an unplanned break due to illness with a delayed episode on "Häxan," Benjamin Christiansen's groundbreaking 1922 docu-drama about the history of the persecution of witches (or "witches") — which also conveniently allowed him to depict sexually transgressive behavior that meant the film couldn't be shown in the United States for decades.

Topics discussed include the film's push and pull between analysis and fetishism, its legacy as a cult object, Christiansen's experimental style, and more.

We recorded this before Christmas so you'll hear a Christmas-y intro — so it goes! We'll be back soon with our episode on the Best Films of 2022. Thanks for listening.