Film critic and author Barry Hertz, whose new book Welcome to the Family unpacks the history of the Fast & Furious movies, is here to talk about Fast Five, the beloved 2011 chapter where director Justin Lin introduced Vin Diesel and Paul Walker to a whole new level of motorized mayhem – and supercharged the franchise. Your genial host Norm Wilner can’t really argue with the choice.

Writer-directors Emma Hough Hobbs and Leela Varghese, whose animated sci-fi comedy Lesbian Space Princess is in theaters now, step up for Raja Gosnell’s 2004 live-action sequel Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed – which, your genial host Norm Wilner is surprised to discover, holds up pretty well two decades later. 

Actor Guillaume Marbeck plays Jean-Luc Godard in Richard Linklater’s Nouvelle Vague, so he has a unique perspective on Godard’s revolutionary first feature Breathless – which, it just so happens, Nouvelle Vague is all about. Your genial host Norm Wilner cannot thank Winnie Wong enough for coming up with this concept.

Writer-director Bryn Chainey, whose eerie debut Rabbit Trap is ideal Halloween viewing, is here to talk about the Jonathan Miller’s 1968 BBC adaptation of M.R. James’ Whistle and I’ll Come to You, which launched a British tradition of televised ghost stories – and still holds a disquieting power. Your genial host Norm Wilner suggests you listen to this episode in a very dark room.

Bryan Fuller created the cult TV shows Dead Like Me, Pushing Daisies and Hannibal, among others, and his delirious first feature Dust Bunny plays the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival this Thursday, October 23rd. And he’s here to explore Philip Kaufman’s brilliant reinterpretation of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Your genial host Norm Wilner has been waiting a long time for this one.

With his historical drama Vindication Swim rolling into US theaters this Friday, October 17th, writer-director Elliott Hasler is here to swash some buckles for Gore Verbinski’s 2003 blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl – the movie that made him want to be a filmmaker at the age of four. Really. Your genial host Norm Wilner has done the math on this.

Before he battles his way through the new Deathstalker this Friday, October 10th, action hero Daniel Bernhardt drops in to discuss how the Wachowskis’ action epic The Matrix blew his mind when he first saw in in 1999 – and how he ended up acting in at least one of the sequels. Your genial host Norm Wilner can’t believe no one’s brought this movie onto the podcast before.

Writer-director Jules Koostachin, whose new drama Angela’s Shadow premieres on Hollywood Suite today to mark Canada’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, is here to talk about how seeing Adrian Lyne’s blockbuster Flashdance as a kid in 1983 inspired her to tell her own stories. Your genial host Norm Wilner broke out the legwarmers for this.

To celebrate the Criterion Collection release of her subversive classic Born in Flames, writer-director Lizzie Borden is here to talk about Chantal Akerman’s Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles. And yes, Wayne Wang and Lukas Dhont have already discussed Akerman’s feminist masterpiece, but Lizzie has a very different approach to the film. Your genial host Norm Wilner suggests you hear her out.

He’s on Broadway with his best pal Keanu Reeves in Waiting for Godot and his new movie Adulthood is in theaters today, but somehow actor and filmmaker Alex Winter carved out the time to talk about his abiding love for Los Olvidados, Luis Bunuel’s uncompromising 1951 drama about a child living in poverty in Mexico City. Your genial host Norm Wilner can’t believe this one came together.