Sonic Cinema Podcast

As you've probably noticed in the past few years, one of the things I've wanted to do is have some discussions on films from my formative years discovering films, and getting deeper into films, that mean a lot to me. This is one that was bound to be a tough one to get a guest for, but as you hear, this conversation ended up being a fascinating, all-encompassing one about every aspect of this film's discussion over the years. We are discussing Mel Gibson's Oscar-winning "Braveheart", which remains meaningful to me, in spite of its maker- and the film's- reputation. Joining me is Carlo from The Movie Loot podcast. I hope you enjoy!

In the latest episode of the Sonic Cinema Podcast, we continue a conversation that began this year at the 2025 Atlanta Film Festival. It's not often that we return to a filmmaker so quickly after meeting them, but the connection I had with filmmaker Kiera Faber was a meaningful one for both of us. I hope you enjoy this continuing meeting of minds with the filmmaker of the short film, "The Garden Sees Fire".

You can hear our discussion at the Atlanta Film Festival here.

Because of the lack of the film festival element, it feels as though my annual DragonCon podcast gets shorter and shorter each year. But, it is tradition, and it's also a nice reprieve from the heavier episodes of the year. I hope you enjoy this year's episode!

One of the most exciting things about the idea of discussing Fascism in Cinema is how fluidly the ideas of authoritarianism have been adapted, and sometimes skewered, by filmmakers over the years. In the third episode of this series, we are looking at films that look at matters of faith, and how corrupted they can be by mankind. Since we are discussing religion, it would be wrong to have any other guest but return guest Stuart Delony from Snarky Faith. Listen as we discuss the state of religion in both the US, and the world, through the lens of Carl Theodor Dreyer's "The Passion of Joan of Arc", Monty Python's "Life of Brian", and Paul Thomas Anderson's "There Will Be Blood". I hope you enjoy!

You can read my blog outlining my thoughts after the 2024 election here.

Stuart wrote about a lot of the ideas we discuss about "There Will Be Blood" on his blog here.

Fascism in Cinema Series

Episode 162 - Resistance to Fascism in Cinema

Episode 166 - Fascism in Cinema: Copaganda

You'll have to excuse the high-pitched sound during most of the record. It's my first record with my new computer and I'm still working out the kinks. That said, this was quite a discussion to debut it with. In this episode, "Star Wars" returns to the podcast with a discussion about the acclaimed series, "Andor." Joining me is a filmmaker whom I met a few years ago at the Renegade Film Festival, Charles de Lauzirika, whose love for the series made him a natural fit for this discussion.

The end piece on this episode is my original piece, "Ahsoka's Theme," from my EP, "Classical Cinema."

It's a couple of months later than I hoped, but my wrap-up episode of the 2025 Atlanta Film Festival is finally here. I explain where the podcast has been the past couple of months, rattle off some of my favorite films of the fest, as well as share interviews with director David Fortune, executive producer Xavier Two Lewis and actor Njema Williams ("Color Book"), writers Omar Epps and 2 Chainz ("Red Clay") and filmmaker Kiera Faber ("The Garden Sees Fire", which I forgot to mention as one of my favorite short films of the festival). I hope you enjoy!

Prior to the 2025 Atlanta Film Festival beginning, I had the chance to watch the lovely short documentary, "At See", and speak to its director- Serena Dykman- about its unusual storytelling approach. I hope you enjoy!

It's interesting how this episode lined up with events around it. My guest and I had been planning for this episode for months, and we happened to have time for it shortly after one of its stars passed away. My guest is a first-timer to the podcast, my dear friend Dawn Echols, and the subject is George P. Costamos's 1993 film, "Tombstone", starring the late Val Kilmer. In addition to thoughts on the film, we also have a meaningful discussion about our friendship. I hope you enjoy!

The closing composition is "Ballad for the Beloved Departed", which was performed by Dawn, and is from my 2007 album, Sonic Visions of a New Old West.

As I began to prepare for my recent episode with Jason from Binge Movies on Fascism in Cinema, it occurred to me that this would be a fascinating ongoing series in the next year or two in American history. For the next episode of the series, we are looking at authoritarian violence and the idea of due process in our society, and how it can be reflected in films. Joining me for this episode is Darin Lundberg from NostalgiaCast and Back to Bluey, and listen to us discuss Don Siegel's "Dirty Harry", Paul Michael Glaser's "The Running Man", and Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight Rises". It's a very different discussion, but one worth taking in. I hope you enjoy!

On the next episode of the podcast, I'm joined by a fellow podcaster whom I've only talked to on social media, and will be my first new guest on 2025. The topic of the day is Mary Harron's controversial dark comedy, "American Psycho", which turns 25 this year. The guest is Pete Abeyta, one of the co-hosts of the Middle Class Film Class podcast. I hope you enjoy!