The Desert of the Reel: A Movie Podcast

Ryan is by himself in this short episode. Jason experienced some travel difficulties and got stuck in an airport, so Ryan decided that he could use this week to talk about Skeleton Crew. This show is really good! It seems to be a reflection on Star Wars itself and wanting to try something new. It looks great, has pirate action, and good kid acting.

What are your thoughts on Skeleton Crew? Send us your thoughts at [email protected]

Mystery Men (1999) is a personal favorite of Jason's! He hasn't had a long list of things he loved in a very long time. We talk about parts that made us laugh but then analyze the film's deeper meanings.

We ask about what larger contexts should we be connected to. We look to see if "All Star" by Smash Mouth is a deep song. What ideals of human perfection should we be striving for? And analyze the film for Virtue Ethics.

Let us know your thoughts and anything else at [email protected]

We love you!

The third episode of our Star Wars season and the first of the Star Wars movies Jason likes. This episode focuses heavily on the excellence of Palpatine, both the actor and the character, as well as on the pacing failures of the film. The Philosophy of the Reel focuses on the real-world applications of the prescriptions for good and evil the film provides. We cover a number of film studies aspects, some Rhetoric of the Reel, and as the ultimate Dessert of the Reel, the absolute pleasure it was for us to see Samuel L. Jackson flying out a window, screaming into space!

What do you think of the prequels? Email us your thoughts at [email protected]

Umm.... yeah. I had thought Nukie (1987) was the worst movie ever made. Now, I'm not so sure...

The second episode of our Star Wars season! Jason likes it more than Phantom Menace but struggles with Samuel L. Jackson.

We talk building a perfect society based on Anakin's morals, the bad love story, the flaws of the jedi's, the ethics of cloning, being mindful of our thoughts, and more bureaucracy!

Is it better than than the previous movie?

What do you think of the prequels? Email us your thoughts at [email protected]

Welcome to the second season of Desert of the Reel! For the next few months, Ryan is forcing Jason to experience the Star Wars theatrical releases, many of them for the first time. In this episode, we ponder how The Phantom Menace could have been made with its racist stereotypes, lack of acting, wooden dialogue, and the fact that a quarter of the movie is about podracing, which has nothing to do with anything else in the movie or in the series as a whole. On the plus side, John Williams and impressive visuals. As an added bonus, this episode includes a lengthy tirade about bureaucracy.

Email us your thoughts, reviews, and suggestions at [email protected]

Jason is very excited to talk about 2019's I Am Mother. He could have talked about the many different ideas from this movie for hours. A film with three characters but a lot of big ideas. In the future when all humans are gone, a girl is raised by a robot named Mother. However, things may change for her when a mysterious woman knocks on the door, changing everything.

Besides talking about the excellent use of its small budget and filmmaking techniques, we spend the entire episode having a fun philosophical discussion. We talk about whether Mother is "right," do human beings have intrinsic value, whether we can conceptualize a better world with imperfect people, what is reality, how much control we have in life, and, of course, ethics. All this and more!

What a good movie!

Email us your thoughts, opinions, ideas, and anything else at [email protected]

For this episode, Jason chose a PG-13 horror movie called Lights Out (2016). While it's not a perfect horror movie, there's much to be loved and admired in the careful craftsmanship of this film. Your hosts discuss the director's bootstrap film-making abilities, the ways in which light shapes reality, the hierarchy of loyalist ethics, and the natural vs. spiritual impact of horror movies.

What did you think of Lights Out? Email us your thoughts, reviews, reccomendations at [email protected]

For our final episode, we review our final thoughts on the MCU. We talk about what Jason's preconceived notions were before he started watching and what he thinks about it when it is all said and done.

We go over the results of our super official poll! And we reveal our final rankings of every single MCU movie.

We share our final thoughts and set up our next franchise, Star Wars! But first, next week, Lights Our (2016) and then I Am Mother (2019) to let Jason take a break from blockbusters.

Share with us your thoughts, reviews, or anything at all at [email protected]

While The Marvels (2023) is a massive dumpster fire of terrible dialogue, mediocre CGI, terrible lighting choices, and a plot stolen from Spaceballs (1987), we all agree the Kamala Khan is a bright light in an otherwise dismal cinescape. However, this film does inspire critical-thinker-in-chief Ryan to come up with four excellent questions that Donald and Jason bat around.

Also, this episode features a live performance of Handel's Hallelujah Chorus by the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square and the London Philharmonic Orchestra!

Email us your thoughts, reviews, and suggestions at [email protected]