We recorded an episode about our favorite Paul Thomas Anderson films before the theatrical release of his new film, "One Battle After Another," but are only now releasing it post its online release as a "pre-game" discussion to our episode on OBAA.

We track his auteurist trajectory — from the bombastic and tightly constructed "Magnolia" to a more loose-limbed work like "Licorice Pizza" — and discuss why the shift towards a seemingly freer form appeals to us more than the early days of his (incredibly) impressive but demonstratively flashy filmmaking.

Listen to the full, spoiler-filled episode to hear Sanjeet, Cris, Dhruv, and the ⁠Cinematic Liberties⁠ Podcast Guys -- Arjun & Ashwin -- discuss their favorite PTA films and (correctly) speculate OBAA's box office fate!

You can (and should!) follow -

⁠⁠CINEMATIC LIBERTIES PODCAST⁠⁠

Do hit 'Follow' on Spotify if you haven't already to help the podcast reach more people!

Follow our Instagram page: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://instagram.com/queenisdead.filmpodcast.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

QID LINKTREE: https://linktr.ee/queenisdead.

TIME CODES

OBAA Speculation: [00:00 - 03:06]

Introduction: [03:06 - 05:49]

"Magnolia" (& Early PTA): [05:49 - 30:36]

"Punch-Drunk Love" (The Breaking Point): [30:36 - 48:21]

"There Will Be Blood": [48:21 - 01:04:52]

"The Master": [01:04:52 - 01:17:27]

The Thomas Pynchon Connection: [01:17:27 - 01:21:44]

"Phantom Thread": [01:21:44 - 01:41:47]

"Licorice Pizza" (& Late PTA): [01:41:47 - 02:07:08]

Outro & OBAA Speculation (again!): [02:07:08 - 02:13:35]

You can also follow us on Letterboxd at -

SANJEET: https://letterboxd.com/sanjeet_singh/.

CRIS: https://letterboxd.com/crislim/.

ARJUN: https://letterboxd.com/arjun_skumar1/.

ASHWIN: https://letterboxd.com/ashwindev/.

DHRUV: https://letterboxd.com/aterminalcinema/.

We're [now] 4 months late to the BEST OF (SO FAR) party because, well, just.

The format we've been using for the past two years is as follows: rather than simply listing our favorite films of the year, we categorize them in the same way [insert any Award show name] categorizes them.

Part 2, which was meant to be an hour long but also ended up being over 2 hours, will include discussions on our choices for "Best Director," "Best Film," "WTF (Affectionate) Film of the Year," and "Best Screenplay."

Do listen and let us know -- amicably, of course -- how much you (dis)agree with us!

TIME CODES

Introduction - [00:00:00 - 00:07:48]

Best Screenplay - [00:07:48 - 00:49:00]

Best Director - [00:49:00 - 01:39:05]

WTF (Affectionate) Film of the Year - [01:39:05 - 02:30:17]

Best Film - [02:30:17 - 02:47:25]

Outro - [02:47:25 - 02:51:56]

Follow our Instagram page: https://instagram.com/queenisdead.filmpodcast.

QID LINKTREE: ⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/queenisdead⁠⁠⁠.

Follow us on Instagram at:

Adithiyan:⁠⁠ https://www.instagram.com/curioseradithiyan/.⁠⁠

Amartya:⁠⁠ https://www.instagram.com/amartya25/.⁠⁠

Dhruv: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/terminalcinema/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Aryan: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/aryantalksfilm/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Cris: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/prdscris/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow us on Letterboxd at:

Adithiyan: ⁠⁠https://letterboxd.com/curioseradi/⁠⁠.

Amartya: ⁠⁠https://letterboxd.com/amartya/⁠⁠.

Dhruv: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://letterboxd.com/aterminalcinema/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Aryan: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://letterboxd.com/aryantalksfilms/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Cris: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://letterboxd.com/crislim/⁠⁠⁠

All Audio Excerpts may not have been used under the “Fair Use Provisions” of the Indian Copyright Act because Cris loves "Badass Ravi Kumar" that much.

Hello Hello Hello! Bond fan(atics) - Varun, Amartya and Sanjeet get together to discuss Timothy Dalton's interpretation of James Bond in The Living Daylights (1987) and Licence to Kill (1989). Timothy Dalton has often been noted for bringing a darker, more serious, and gritty portrayal of the character that emphasized the realism from Ian Fleming's novels; a departure from the more lighthearted style of Roger Moore.

They also discuss their hopes and expectations for Denis Villeneuve's upcoming Bond film set to release in a few years and speculate the future of the franchise.

TIME CODES

Introduction - [00:00:00 - 00:10:00]

Timothy Dalton as Bond - [00:10:01 - 00:25:00]

"The Living Daylights" - [00:25:01 - 01:06:22]

"Licence to Kill" - [01:06:23 - 01:37:00]

"Future of James Bond" - [01:37:01 - 02:05:06]

Outro - [02:05:07 - 02:14:53]

Follow our Instagram page: https://instagram.com/queenisdead.filmpodcast.

QID LINKTREE: https://linktr.ee/queenisdead

All Audio Excerpts have been used under the “Fair Use Provisions” of the Indian Copyright Act.

Dhruv and Cris meet Devarsi again outside the industrial hellscape of "Eraserhead" -- this time travelling alongside two new (hopefully recurring!) podcast guests, Rushnan and Vani -- on Lynch's "Lost Highway" to psychosexual hell.

Listen to the full episode to hear us not only discuss Lynch's film in detail but also explore the myriad of seemingly oppositional ways -- from deeply subjective to almost clinically objective -- the film appeals to us.

Major spoilers, of course, for "Lost Highway."

TIME CODES

Introduction : [00:00 - 09:42]

"Lost Highway": [09:42 - 01:18:20]

Outro: [01:18:20 - 01:19:27]

TEXT REFERENCED REPEATEDLY HERE

"Room to Dream" (David Lynch & Kristine McKenna).

"Premonitions Following an Evil Deed" (David Lynch, 1995).

"The Eye of the Duck" (Mark Cousins' David Lynch Interview).

Do hit 'Follow' on Spotify if you haven't already to help the podcast reach more people!

Follow our Instagram page: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://instagram.com/queenisdead.filmpodcast.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

You can watch Rushnan's 17-minute experimental short film, "The Angel of Forms" (2023) on Vimeo for free.

You can also follow us on Instagram at:

VANI: https://www.instagram.com/uwu_vani/.

DEVARSI: https://www.instagram.com/devarsighosh/.

RUSHNAN: https://www.instagram.com/rushnanjaleel/.

CRIS: https://www.instagram.com/prdscris/.

DHRUV: https://www.instagram.com/terminalcinema/.

You can also follow us on Letterboxd at -

DEVARSI: https://letterboxd.com/d2dag/.

CRIS: https://letterboxd.com/crislim/.

DHRUV: https://letterboxd.com/aterminalcinema/.

August and September were the lucky months for some Indian cinephiles who crave an alternate form of cinema (i.e., indie) to the mainstream one they have to endure for the rest of the time in cinemas.

In this episode, Sanjeet, Amartya, Cris & Dhruv (in a not-so-special appearance) catch up to 4 of these films that released in limited cinemas between these two months.

Since Neeraj Ghaywan's "Homebound" is the most high-profile of these releases (it is India's submission to the Academy Awards for Best International Feature), we spend the most time (occasionally delving into spoilers) debating the value (or lack thereof) of its indie-ness.

The rest of the episode involves Sanjeet promoting Raam Reddy's indescribably beautiful "Jugnuma," Amartya and Cris trying -- unsuccessfully -- to convince Sanjeet to watch the theoretically sound but undeveloped "Humans in the Loop," and all three of them lavishing a lot of praise on Rohan Parashuram Kanawade's tender "Sabar Bonda."

Note: We apologize for the audio leak issues that occurred during the first part of the episode. We only noticed this after the "Homebound" discussion was over, so the second half sounds cleaner than the first. Though we like to think that Dhruv's dislike of "Homebound" is what will make people fast-forward through this part of the episode, and not the audio quality.

TIME CODES

Introduction - [00:00:00 - 00:02:28]

"Homebound" - [00:02:28 - 01:08:22]

"Sabar Bonda" - [01:08:22 - 01:38:18]

"Humans in the Loop" - [01:38:18 - 01:54:06]

"Jugnuma" - [01:54:06 - 02:05:03]

Indie Distribution & Exhibition - [02:05:03 - 02:19:08]

Follow our Instagram page: https://instagram.com/queenisdead.filmpodcast.

QID LINKTREE: ⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/queenisdead⁠⁠⁠.

Follow us on Instagram at:

Sanjeet: https://www.instagram.com/pixel_baba/

Amartya:⁠⁠ https://www.instagram.com/amartya25/.⁠⁠

Dhruv: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/terminalcinema/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Cris: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/prdscris/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow us on Letterboxd at:

Sanjeet: https://letterboxd.com/Sanjeet_Singh/

Amartya: ⁠⁠https://letterboxd.com/amartya/⁠⁠.

Dhruv: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://letterboxd.com/aterminalcinema/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Cris: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://letterboxd.com/crislim/⁠⁠⁠

All Audio Excerpts have been used under the “Fair Use Provisions” of the Indian Copyright Act.

We're 3 months late to the BEST OF (SO FAR) party because, well, just.

The format we've been using for the past two years is as follows: rather than simply listing our favorite films of the year, we categorize them in the same way [insert any Award show name] categorizes them.

Because we like to ramble a lot, Part 1 of the Best of 2025 (So Far) focuses on our in-depth discussions of film technique ("Best Editing," "Best Cinematography," etc), performance ("Best Lead Performance," "Best Supporting Performance"), and "Best Scene."

Part 2, which was meant to be an hour long but also ended up being over 2 hours, will include discussions on our choices for "Best Director," "Best Film," "WTF (Affectionate) Film of the Year," and "Best Screenplay."

Do listen and let us know -- amicably, of course -- how much you (dis)agree with us!

TIME CODES

Introduction - [00:00:00 - 00:03:42]

Best Editing - [00:03:42 - 00:41:37]

Best Cinematography - [00:41:37 - 01:26:56]

Best Song/Music - [01:26:56 - 02:16:26]

Best Scene - [02:16:26 - 02:38:20]

Best Supporting Performance - [02:38:20 - 02:56:08]

Best Performance - [02:56:08 - 03:19:08]

Impromptu Outro - [03:19:08 - 03:22:31]

Follow our Instagram page: https://instagram.com/queenisdead.filmpodcast.

QID LINKTREE: ⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/queenisdead⁠⁠.

Follow us on Instagram at:

Adithiyan:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/curioseradithiyan/.⁠

Amartya:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/amartya25/.⁠

Dhruv: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/terminalcinema/⁠⁠⁠

Aryan: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/aryantalksfilm/⁠⁠⁠

Cris: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/prdscris/⁠⁠⁠

Follow us on Letterboxd at:

Adithiyan: ⁠https://letterboxd.com/curioseradi/⁠.

Amartya: ⁠https://letterboxd.com/amartya/⁠.

Dhruv: ⁠⁠⁠https://letterboxd.com/aterminalcinema/⁠⁠⁠

Aryan: ⁠⁠⁠https://letterboxd.com/aryantalksfilms/⁠⁠⁠

Cris: ⁠⁠⁠https://letterboxd.com/crislim/⁠⁠

All Audio Excerpts may not have been used under the “Fair Use Provisions” of the Indian Copyright Act because Cris loves "Badass Ravi Kumar" that much.

Amartya and Dhruv had been desperately waiting for Spike Lee's latest film to release, only because they wanted an excuse to go back and revisit Akira Kurosawa's incredibly influential 1963 classic, "High and Low."

This episode -- promoted as an extended deep dive into Spike Lee's exasperatingly absurd (mostly in an amusingly bad way) "Highest 2 Lowest" -- is, in actuality, very much an excuse for both Amartya and Dhruv to also wax lyrical about Kurosawa's original.

Listen to the full episode to hear their full spoilerific thoughts on both Kurosawa's original version and Lee's interpretation of it -- and why the 2 (memorable) highs of the latter don't outmatch its (2) many lows.

TIME CODES

Highs & Lows of Film Criticism: [00:00 - 11:09]

For the Impatient Ones: [11:09 - 14:43]

Akira Kurosawa's "High and Low": [14:43 - 56:49]

Spike Lee's "Highest 2 Lowest": [56:49 - 01:39:11]

Outro: [01:39:11 - 01:44:36]

Do hit 'Follow' on Spotify and rate us if you haven't already to help the podcast reach more people!

Follow our Instagram page:

https://instagram.com/queenisdead.filmpodcast

You can also follow us on Instagram at:

Amartya: https://www.instagram.com/amartya25/

Dhruv: https://www.instagram.com/terminalcinema/

On Letterboxd at:

Dhruv: https://letterboxd.com/aterminalcinema/

Amartya: https://letterboxd.com/amartya/

Long gone are the days when Dhruv and Sanjeet talked about QID not being a platform for ranting about films we hate.

What was supposed to merely be a (fun) category addition to our Best of 2025 (So Far) List took about an hour of discussion, which made our already super-sized episode even more (probably unbearably) long.

So Cris -- who proudly claims this to be "his episode -- has dutifully edited this section of our otherwise 4-hour-long discussion into a one-hour episode of its own.

Listen to the full episode to hear Amartya, Cris, Dhruv, Aryan & Adithiyan ranting :)

TIME CODES

Introduction - [00:00 - 05:30]

Cris ("Badass RK" & "Param Sundari") - [05:30 - 19:30]

Dhruv ("Nadaaniyan") - [19:30 - 27:40]

Aryan ("Bhool Chuk Maaf") - [27:40 - 34:50]

Adithiyan ("Thug Life") - [34:50 - 46:15]

Amartya ("Star Trek: Section 31") - [46:15 - 59:20]

Follow our Instagram page: https://instagram.com/queenisdead.filmpodcast.

QID LINKTREE: ⁠https://linktr.ee/queenisdead⁠.

Follow us on Instagram at:

Adithiyan: https://www.instagram.com/curioseradithiyan/.

Amartya: https://www.instagram.com/amartya25/.

Dhruv: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/terminalcinema/⁠⁠

Aryan: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/aryantalksfilm/⁠⁠

Cris: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/prdscris/⁠⁠

Follow us on Letterboxd at:

Adithiyan: https://letterboxd.com/curioseradi/.

Amartya: https://letterboxd.com/amartya/.

Dhruv: ⁠⁠https://letterboxd.com/aterminalcinema/⁠⁠

Aryan: ⁠⁠https://letterboxd.com/aryantalksfilms/⁠⁠

Cris: ⁠⁠https://letterboxd.com/crislim/⁠

All Audio Excerpts are used under the “Fair Use Provisions” of the Indian Copyright Act.

In this very special episode, Dhruv welcomes back Prakhar Patidar (previously appeared on the "All We Imagine as Light" ep!) to discuss the Taiwanese New Wave of the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s because, well, they both love its particularly sad, introspective, and -- yes, that dreaded word -- SLOW -- depiction of loneliness that engulfs every fabric of one's being as they stumble around a city so intent on looking upwards (to urbanization and Americanization) that it ends up looking down upon those who don't want to be swept up by all of it.

Please listen to the full episode to hear us talk -- in full spoilers -- about Edward Yang's "Taipei Story," Tsai Ming-liang's "Vive L'Amour," & Hou Hsiao-hsien's "Millennium Mambo" -- and how the depiction of contemporary Taipei -- and people's alienation within it -- changes (or not) from the 80s to the 2000s.

Or, you can listen to it for Prakhar's forceful manifesto about the need & value of Slow Cinema (Viewing) in the Current Media (Viewing) Landscape.

TIMECODES

Apologizing for our Pronunciations - [00:00 – 07:20]

The Origins of the Taiwanese New Wave - [07:20 – 31:05]

Summarizing TNW [for the Impatient Ones] - [31:05 – 42:23]

"Taipei Story" (1985) - [42:23 – 01:10:45]

“Vive L'Amour” (1994) - [01:10:45 – 01:35:56]

“Millennium Mambo” (2001) - [01:35:56 – 01:52:22]

Outro (Planning a Lynne Ramsay Ep!) - [01:52:22 – 01:58:17]

Do hit 'Follow' on Spotify if you haven't already to help the podcast reach more people!

Follow our Instagram page: ⁠https://instagram.com/queenisdead.filmpodcast⁠

ARTICLES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

1. “Man, Muse & Their Movies: Tsai Ming-liang & Lee Kang-sheng in the 90s” (Prakhar Patidar).

2. “What Do You Mean America is Not the Answer?: Asian Modernity & the American Dream in Edward Yang's Taipei Story” (Prakhar Patidar).

3. “A Guide to the Masterworks of New Taiwanese Wave” (James Balmont).

4. “Taiwanese New Waves in New York” (David Hudson).

PODCASTS/VIDEOS MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE

1. Prakhar's Tsai Ming-liang Article Research Playlist

2. Slow Cinema 101⁠⁠

Follow us on Instagram at:

Prakhar: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/she_isatthemovies⁠⁠.

Dhruv: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/terminalcinema/⁠

Audio Excerpts are taken from the promotional material for Taipei Story, and select scenes from Vive L'Amour & Millennium Mambo -- all of which are discussed and referenced in this episode.

It's another Ari Aster movie discussion -- something we didn't think we would do after our "Beau Is Afraid" experience.

BUT -- "Eddington" is something different for Aster, even though it does (justifiably for some, not for others) devolve into something of a "Beau Is Afraid"-style paranoid nightmare. It's his brand of absurdly cruel personal neurosis funneled through the cruelly absurd America of the 2020s, giving this film's hellish descent into meaninglessness (more for some, less for others) potency than his other films.

Listen to the full, spoiler-filled episode to hear Amartya, Cris, Dhruv, and the Cinematic Liberties Podcast Guys -- Arjun & Ashwin -- discuss the merits and demerits of Aster's latest!

You can (and should!) follow -

⁠CINEMATIC LIBERTIES PODCAST⁠

Do hit 'Follow' on Spotify if you haven't already to help the podcast reach more people!

Follow our Instagram page: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://instagram.com/queenisdead.filmpodcast.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

TIME CODES

 Introduction ("War 2 Trauma") : [00:00 - 02:39]

"Eddington" (Spoiler-Free): [02:39 - 39:25]

"Eddington" (Spoiler-Filled): [39:25 - 1:13:25]

"Eddington" & The Western Genre: [1:13:25 - 1:49:50]

Outro ("Hindsight is 2020"): [1:49:50 - 02:01:51]

REVIEWS REFERENCED

1. ⁠⁠ Eddington is a Lethally Self-Satisfied COVID Satire [Justin Chang, New Yorker]

2. ⁠⁠ Eddington Captures the Chaos of the COVID Era -- and Modern Existence [Adam Nayman, The Ringer]

You can also follow us on Letterboxd at -

AMARTYA: https://letterboxd.com/amartya/.

CRIS: https://letterboxd.com/crislim/.

ARJUN: https://letterboxd.com/arjun_skumar1/.

ASHWIN: https://letterboxd.com/ashwindev/.

DHRUV: https://letterboxd.com/aterminalcinema/.