In Zodiac, policemen, journalists and a cartoonist become obsessed with identifying  the titular killer, whose cryptic letters and brutal murders haunt the Bay Area. As the years pass, the case consumes those chasing the truth.

Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr., and Mark Ruffalo, and directed by David Fincher, Zodiac was released March 2, 2007.

Also, don't miss our other podcast, promoting the Peaks Central Asian Film Festival. Check out the latest episode here, and follow them on Instagram here.

Recommendations
Tim: Mindhunter (Fincher, 2017) — where to watch
Tay: All The President's Men (Pakula, 1976) — where to watch

Follow:

• SSC on Instagram
• Tim on Letterboxd
• Tay on Letterboxd

In Prometheus, a team of explorers travels to a distant planet hoping to uncover the origins of human life. What they find instead is a threat beyond anything they imagined.

Starring Noomi Rapace and Michael Fassbender, and directed by Ridley Scott, Prometheus was released June 8, 2012.

Recommendations
Tim: The Killer (Fincher, 2023) — where to watch
Tay: Hard To Be A God (German, 2014) — where to watch

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• SSC on Instagram
• Tim on Letterboxd
• Tay on Letterboxd

Alien focuses on the crew of a commercial spaceship who investigate a distress signal and unknowingly bring a deadly alien lifeform aboard. One by one, the crew is hunted in the isolation of deep space.

Starring Sigourney Weaver and directed by Ridley Scott, Alien was released May 25, 1979.

Where to watch Alien.

Notes

• Peaks Central Film Festival
• Chestburster in Spaceballs 

Recommendations
Tim: The Hidden (Sholder, 1987) — where to watch
Tay: Repo Man (Cox, 1984) — where to watch

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• SSC on Instagram
• Tim on Letterboxd
• Tay on Letterboxd

Annihilation is a sci-fi mystery about a group of scientists who enter the Shimmer—a strange, mutating zone to investigate a phenomenon no one understands. As they journey deeper, the landscape—and their minds—begin to unravel.

Starring Natalie Portman and written and directed by Alex Garland, Annihilation was released February 23, 2018.

Where to watch Annihilation.

Notes

• Annihilation and Decoding Metaphor (Folding Ideas)
• Mandelbulb

Recommendations
Tim: Evil Does Not Exist (Hamaguchi, 2023) — where to watch
Tay: Rush (Howard, 2013) — where to watch
James: Devs (Garland, 2020) — where to watch

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• SSC on Instagram
• Tim on Letterboxd
• Tay on Letterboxd

Ex Machina is a sci-fi drama about a young programmer who’s invited to test a humanoid robot’s intelligence. As the experiment unfolds, he begins to question the motives of both the robot and its creator.

Starring Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander, and Oscar Isaac, and directed by Alex Garland, Ex Machina was released April 10, 2015.

Where to watch Ex Machina

Notes

• Playhouse Cinema
• Peaks Film Festival
• The Idea of "Bumping The Lamp" (via kaptainkristian, not Every Frame a Painting)

Recommendations
Tim: Companion (Hancock, 2025) — where to watch
Tay: Automata  (Ibáñez, 2014) — where to watch

Follow:

• SSC on Instagram
• Tim on Letterboxd
• Tay on Letterboxd

O Brother, Where Art Thou? is a Depression-era comedic-adventure-musical that follows three escaped convicts as they journey across Mississippi in search of hidden treasure, encountering bizarre characters and unexpected twists along the way—all set to a rich backdrop of American folk and bluegrass music.

Starring George Clooney and directed by Joel & Ethan Coen, O Brother, Where Art Thou? was released December 22, 2000.

Where to watch O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Notes

• Down From The Mountain (music documentary)
• Eudora Welty's photography

Recommendations
Tim: Sullivan's Travels (Sturges, 1941) — where to watch
Tay: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (Coens, 2018) — where to watch

Follow:

• SSC on Instagram
• Tim on Letterboxd
• Tay on Letterboxd

Andrew Finlay Stewart is an artist and musician, and the host of the podcast The Rules of the Show, which you can find on Instagram (@therulesoftheshow) and wherever you get podcasts. 

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Inside Llewyn Davis is a melancholic drama set in the 1960s folk music scene, following a struggling musician navigating the unforgiving New York winter in pursuit of artistic success.  

Starring Oscar Isaac and directed by Joel & Ethan Coen, Inside Llewyn Davis was released December 6, 2013.  

Where to watch Inside Llewyn Davis

Recommendations
Andrew: Sprout Wings and Fly (Blank, 1983) — where to watch
Tim: Amadeus (Forman, 1984) — where to watch
Tay: Eden (Løve, 2014) — where to watch

Follow:

• SSC on Instagram
• Tim on Letterboxd
• Tay on Letterboxd

In this special annual episode, Tim and Tay highlight a few notable scenes from 2024. Not necessarily the best or our favourites, but certainly worth seeing!

Links:

• THR Director Roundtable: Brady Corbet, Coralie Fargeat, Denis Villeneuve, Ridley Scott & More
• 'Dune: Part Two' Director Denis Villeneuve Breaks Down the Sandworm Scene | Vanity Fair

As always, please leave us a review on iTunes and spread the word to your friends!

This month: The Coen Brothers!

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• SSC on Instagram
• Tim on Letterboxd
• Tay on Letterboxd

Snowpiercer is a dystopian thriller set in a frozen post-apocalyptic world, where the last remnants of humanity survive aboard a perpetually moving train—divided by a brutal class hierarchy that erupts into rebellion.

Starring Chris Evans and directed by Bong Joon-ho, Snowpiercer was released August 1, 2013.

Where to watch Snowpiercer

Notes:

• "Snowpiercer - Left or Right" (Every Frame a Painting)
• First past the post polling
  
  

Recommendations
Tim: Train to Busan (Yeon, 2016) — where to watch
Tay: The Platform (Gaztelu-Urrutia, 2019) — where to watch

Follow:

• SSC on Instagram
• Tim on Letterboxd
• Tay on Letterboxd

Parasite is a social satire about a poor family infiltrating the lives of a wealthy household, leading to unexpected consequences and a scathing critique of class inequality.

Starring Song Kang-ho and directed by Bong Joon-ho, Parasite was released May 30, 2019.

Where to watch Parasite.

Notes:

• "Memories of Murder (2003) - Ensemble Staging" (Every Frame a Painting)
• "Notes From The Underground" by Inkoo Kang
  
  

Recommendations
Tim: Cheap Thrills (Katz, 2013) — where to watch
Tay: Kajillionaire (July, 2020) — where to watch

Follow:

• SSC on Instagram
• Tim on Letterboxd
• Tay on Letterboxd