The Canon: An Essential Movies Watchlist

Time to assemble! Director of C.A.N.O.N., Raf Stitt, has gathered the world's mightiest ScreenAgers for an epic episode about an epic movie. Bob, Duke, Jacob, and RJ join to discuss how Marvel's The Avengers changed the course of cinema, debate who the best Avenger is, and reminisce some major life events. It's a long one, but don't worry though, this episode doesn't have a post-credits sequence.

Read the full Canon entry on ScreenAge Wasteland:

https://screenagewasteland.com/lets-talk-about-marvels-the-avengers-2012/

Let's get some revenge! We welcome our first Korean film into the Canon. It's very fitting that it's Park Chan-wook's Oldboy, which introduced a lot of American audiences to Korean cinema as a whole, eating live octopus, and hammer hallway fights. Bob and Sailor join for a SPOILER filled discussion.

Read the full Canon entry on ScreenAge Wasteland:

https://screenagewasteland.com/lets-talk-about-oldboy-2003/

Stay gold, Screenagers! Raf is joined by Seth Vargas (@ohsethy on Twitter) of the Movie Friend podcast to discuss masculine bonds, rumbles, and found families. Seth and Raf also explore how The Outsiders may have kicked off the 80's teen wave, and the film's connection to world cinema.

Read the full Canon entry on ScreenAge Wasteland:

https://screenagewasteland.com/lets-talk-about-the-outsiders-1983/

Happy Valentine's Day! This episode is for all of our number one fans out there. Just don't go all Annie Wilkes on us! Raf is joined by a murderer's row of SAW writers - Duke, Bob, Romona, and RJ - to talk about the classic Stephen King adaptation. Kathy Bates puts on an acting masterclass, Rob Reiner is the best director at adapting King's work to screen, and one of the most memorably haunting scenes ever caught on film make this rom-com (JK) a worthy entry in The Canon.

Read the full Canon entry on ScreenAge Wasteland:

https://screenagewasteland.com/lets-talk-about-misery-1990/

An alien invasion! But the aliens are friendly - what a relief. Pat Brennan (@Pattbb8 on Twitter) of The Commentary Podcast joins Raf to talk about Steven Spielberg's classic tale of communication, family, and spaceships. It might be Spielberg's most personal movie, but it's also the one where he convinced Francois Truffaut to play a scientist. Which means it's great for multiple reasons. Come explore why.

Read the full Canon entry on ScreenAge Wasteland:

https://screenagewasteland.com/lets-talk-about-close-encounters-of-the-third-kind-1977/

Let's go to toon town! Things get wacky in this episode. Raf is joined by RJ and Sailor to talk best toon deaths, dueling ducks, and the sex appeal of shirtless Bob Hoskins. Raf also reveals that he has the hots for Helen. Sailor debuts some spot on impressions. And RJ wonders if a discussion about a movie almost 40 years old needs a "SPOILER ALERT" warning.

Read the full Canon entry on ScreenAge Wasteland:

https://screenagewasteland.com/lets-talk-about-who-framed-roger-rabbit-1988/

Look! A murder mystery! ScreenAge Wasteland All-Stars Jacob Holmes, Romona Comet, and Bob Cram Jr. are back to chat about a Hitchcock classic. The crew breaks down the film's flaw production design, impeccable cinematography, and the funky little romance at the center of everything. Also, Raf, Romona, Bob, and Jacob become each other's accountability buddies for their 2024 New Year resolutions.

Read the full Canon entry on ScreenAge Wasteland:

https://screenagewasteland.com/lets-talk-about-rear-window-1954/

The Canon! Now also available on YouTube (sort of)! However, you can check out Dhalgren's 'Dhalhouse' video essays on the ScreenAge Wasteland YouTube page (youtube.com/@ScreenAgeWasteland). You can also check out Dhalgren on this very episode of The Canon, where he joins Raf to talk about Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker. It's not every day that we get to talk about heady Soviet era films on this show, so this one is a bit of a treat!

Read the full Canon entry on ScreenAge Wasteland:

https://screenagewasteland.com/lets-talk-about-stalker-1979/

This episode is crazy! We are back for Season 3 and kicking it off with a bang! Sailor Monsoon joins Raf to talk about one of the three movies to ever sweep the "big five" at the Oscars. It's also arguably the movie that made Jack Nicholson the megastar that he is today. Sailor explains why One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is such an important movie in his life. He also previews his most anticipated movies of 2024.

Read the full Canon entry here:

https://screenagewasteland.com/lets-talk-about-one-flew-over-the-cuckoos-nest-1975/

Get busy living or get busy dying! Season 2 of The Canon ends with a bang. Brandon and Andrew of the Namely 90s Podcast (@Namely90s on Twitter and Instagram) join Raf to talk about an essentially 90s movie. Shawshank Redemption has everything you could want in a movie - quotable lines, memorable moments, and Morgan Freeman's velvety voiceover narration. Raf, Brandon, and Andrew take a trip down memory lane to examine why this movie is a perfect piece of 90s nostalgia.

Read the full Canon entry on ScreenAge Wasteland:

https://screenagewasteland.com/lets-talk-about-the-shawshank-redemption-1994/