Rogue Auteurs

***AUDIO QUALITY WARNING*** The sound quality of this episode is below par. We apologize for our recording trouble. We hope you will still listen to the episode and have some fun with us.

Jake, Chad, and special guest Kresten Erickson talk about Taika Waititi. What are his strengths as a director? Does he have any weaknesses? Why is he so ubiquitous? They also give their top 3 favorite Waititi-directed movies.

Eric, Jake, and Chad discuss the career of famed cinematographer Roger Deakins and reflect on what makes him great.

Jake, Eric, and Chad discuss the power of the Before Trilogy (Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, Before Midnight). Why do they work? Why do they resonate? Do they solidify Linklater's legacy? Also, can you actually rank these three movies when they are so inextricably connected? They also ruminate on the connection to Linklater's filmmaking opus, Boyhood.

Jake, Eric, Chad, and special guest and incredible human Kolton Nielsen talk about the phenomenon that is Top Gun: Maverick. They discuss how good the movie ACTUALLY is related to the way people talk about it. How much of the love stems from nostalgia and how much for the pristine and incredible cinematography. Also, are theaters finally actually back?

Jake, Eric, Chad, and special guest Kolton Nielsen discuss the appeal and Oscar possibilities of the Daniels' EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE. What made it "pop"? They also discuss the return of Ke Huy Quan, as well as the comic booky aspects of the movie. It's a good time.

Our favorite episode of the year: celebrating movies by picking our top 10 favorites of 2021.

In which Jakes continues to root for "making it weird."

In which Eric continues to be hard to pin down.

In which Chad continues to argue for cutting "the naked giants."

The Oscar nominations are announced on February 8th. This is our annual episode where we give some "suggestions" for nominations that we feel have been unfairly overlooked. Some of the movies that get mentioned: The Green Knight, Candyman, The Last Duel, Dune, Spencer.

Eric, Jake, and Chad rank Villeneuve's movies, starting with Incendies and ending with Dune. They discuss what makes him great and how hard it was to rank someone who has zero bad movies.

Jake and Eric catch up on some good stuff they have seen, such as Encanto, The Power of the Dog, Last Night in Soho, etc. Chad jumps in to share quick thoughts on West Side Story and Sing 2.

Chad discusses the impact and effectiveness of Lin-Manuel Miranda's directorial debut. Also, Chad does a little bit of singing. So hold on to your hats. Andrew Garfield is sensational and Chad is not.