The Establishing Shot

Hostage and kidnapping stories actually have a rich history in film. From serious dramas, to edge-of-your-seat thrillers, to comedies, there was a lot of great cinema to choose from for this week’s movie draft. This draft follows up our discussion of Spielberg’s Munich, and it is fully of fun discussion of some of the most fun and/or thrilling hostage movies.

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Guest Info:
Dave Lester
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/davelester80.bsky.social
Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/retselfilm/

Veterans of Culture Wars Podcast
Listen to the Show: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/veterans-of-culture-wars/id1537732624

Does the Bible Say THAT?!? Podcast
Listen to the Show: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/does-the-bible-say-that/id1706252114 

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Munich is one of Spielberg’s least discussed movies and undeservedly so. It displays some of his best action set pieces, contains serious contemplative political and ethical questions, and has all of the iconic Spielbergian shots and framing. And that is not even to mention that its subject matter dealing with Israeli-Palestinian conflict is still just as relevant as ever. My guest and I marvel at what this movie accomplishes (cinematically and ethically), discuss some of its weaker point mole hills that got made into mountains by critics, and take our stance that this is actually among Spielberg’s best films!

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Join The Establishing Shot Family for early, ad-free episodes, bonus content, and access to our Discord server where we talk movies all the time: https://www.establishingshotpod.com/support/

Guest Info:
Dave Lester
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/davelester80.bsky.social
Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/retselfilm/
Veterans of Culture Wars Podcast
Listen to the Show: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/veterans-of-culture-wars/id1537732624
Does the Bible Say THAT?!? Podcast
Listen to the Show: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/does-the-bible-say-that/id1706252114 

Follow Eli and the Show:
Eli on Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/theeliprice
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Show on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@EstablishingShotPod

Other Links:
My Letterboxd Ranking of Spielberg Films: https://letterboxd.com/eliprice/list/elis-ranking-of-steven-spielbergs-directorial/ 

Research Resources:
- Steven Spielberg All the Films: The Story Behind Every Movie, Episode, and Short by Arnaud Devillard, Olivier Bousquet, Nicolas Schaller
- Steven Spielberg: A Life in Films by Molly Haskell

As a belated companion to our Catch Me If You Can episode, we are doing a movie draft of Leonardo DiCaprio performances! Leo is arguably the biggest movie star of his era. Making the turn from young heartthrob to a medium for auteurs to explore conflicted characters through was impressive. And he has worked with nearly all of the great directors of a generation. An old friend and avid Leo fan joins me to talk about all this and more as we get as pumped as Jordan Belfort in The Wolf of Wall Street drafting our favorite Leo performances.

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Guest Info:
Mason Law
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mason.r.law/ 

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With his adaptation of the sci-fi classic War of the Worlds, Spielberg continues his 2000s science fiction fun with yet another 9/11 coded film with a broken family and troubled father. Join me and the Nerds & Jesus podcast as we talk about these themes, the Tom Cruise factor, Dakota Fanning’s breakout child performance, the mix of practical and digital effects, and the blockbuster-ness of it all in this week’s episode. 

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Join The Establishing Shot Family for early, ad-free episodes, bonus content, and access to our Discord server where we talk movies all the time: https://www.establishingshotpod.com/support/

Guest Info:
Mary Howell & Dezerae Manier
Nerd & Jesus Podcast
Website: https://bio.site/nerdsandjesus
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nerdsandjesus/
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@nerdsandjesus
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nerdsandjesuspodcast
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Follow Eli and the Show:
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Other Links:
My Letterboxd Ranking of Spielberg Films: https://letterboxd.com/eliprice/list/elis-ranking-of-steven-spielbergs-directorial/ 

Research Resources:
- Steven Spielberg All the Films: The Story Behind Every Movie, Episode, and Short by Arnaud Devillard, Olivier Bousquet, Nicolas Schaller
- Steven Spielberg: A Life in Films by Molly Haskell

Have you ever thought of watching movies as a spiritual practice? Abby Olcese’s book Film for All Seasons: Experiencing the Church Year at the Movies explores this idea by taking the stories that inspired the church calendar and connecting those occasions with films that explore similar themes. In this interview, we talk about how Abby got her start in writing about film, the art of storytelling as it relates to human experience, and how spirituality relates to film viewing (and filmmaking for that matter).

https://www.establishingshotpod.com/

Feedback:
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Support the Show:
Join The Establishing Shot Family for early, ad-free episodes, bonus content, and access to our Discord server where we talk movies all the time: https://www.establishingshotpod.com/support/

Guest Info:
Abby Olcese
BlueSky: https://web-cdn.bsky.app/profile/abbyolcese.bsky.social
Twitter (X): https://x.com/abbyolcese
Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/indieabby88/
Buy her book Films for All Seasons: https://www.amazon.com/Films-All-Seasons-Experiencing-Church/dp/1514007843 

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With The Terminal, Tom Hanks rejoins Steven Spielberg for their third collaboration and certainly their most lighthearted to date. This film represents some of the worst and best of Spielberg. It is charming and fun at times with its fun cast and remarkable set. But it is also weighed down by an inscrutable plot, strangely motivated characters, and bad jokes. We talk about all of its highs and lows this week with our guests from the Movies & Us Podcast!

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Guest Info:
Sarah Callen and Jen Han
Movies & Us Podcast
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Follow Eli and the Show:
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Other Links:
My Letterboxd Ranking of Spielberg Films: https://letterboxd.com/eliprice/list/elis-ranking-of-steven-spielbergs-directorial/ 

Research Resources:
- Steven Spielberg All the Films: The Story Behind Every Movie, Episode, and Short by Arnaud Devillard, Olivier Bousquet, Nicolas Schaller
- Steven Spielberg: A Life in Films by Molly Haskell

The 2025 Oscars are here! With the ceremony coming up this Wednesday, I went through all the categories from production to design to cinematography to the big categories of acting, directing, and best picture. Some categories like lead actress, editing, and animated feature are pretty tough to choose this year. But I give my best predictions for what will win, and I also give my own personal nominations for most of the categories. Also, look forward to tons of recommendations from me on what to see from last year’s releases as I share my top movies of 2024!

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Feedback:
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Support the Show:
Join The Establishing Shot Family for early, ad-free episodes, bonus content, and access to our Discord server where we talk movies all the time: https://www.establishingshotpod.com/support/

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Other Links:
My Full Ranking of 2024 Films: https://letterboxd.com/eliprice/list/2024-ranked/

What do you get when you combine the star studded power of Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks with the blockbuster filmmaking genius of Steven Spielberg with a globe-trotting, fast paced crime drama? Turns out you get a really good and entertaining movie in Catch Me if You Can! During our discussion of this movie we talk about the incredibly fast production, the star studded cast, the Spielbergian family drama at the center of it, and just the incredible amount of fun you have watching this inherently interesting story.

https://www.establishingshotpod.com/ 

Feedback:
Email us at [email protected]
Leave a voicemail from the button on the right side of the screen on our website https://www.establishingshotpod.com/ 

Support the Show:
Join The Establishing Shot Family for early, ad-free episodes, bonus content, and access to our Discord server where we talk movies all the time: https://www.establishingshotpod.com/support/ 

Guest Info:
Abby Olcese
BlueSky: https://web-cdn.bsky.app/profile/abbyolcese.bsky.social
Twitter (X): https://x.com/abbyolcese
Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/indieabby88/ 
Buy her book Films for All Seasons: https://www.amazon.com/Films-All-Seasons-Experiencing-Church/dp/1514007843 

Follow Eli and the Show:
Eli on Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/theeliprice
Eli on Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/eliprice
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Show on Instagram: https://instagram.com/establishingshotpod
Show on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@establishingshotpod
Show on Facebook: https://facebook.com/establishingshotpod
Show on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/establishingshot.bsky.social
Show on TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@establishingshotpod
Show on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@EstablishingShotPod

Other Links:
My Letterboxd Ranking of Spielberg Films: https://letterboxd.com/eliprice/list/elis-ranking-of-steven-spielbergs-directorial/ 

Research Resources:
- Steven Spielberg All the Films: The Story Behind Every Movie, Episode, and Short by Arnaud Devillard, Olivier Bousquet, Nicolas Schaller
- Steven Spielberg: A Life in Films by Molly Haskell

The stardom of Tom Cruise might have been at its peak in the 80s and 90s, but his steady work throughout his career shows that he has that timeless star quality that people go to the movies to see. He has moved from fatherless son to protective father personas; he has moved from making his way through working with many auteur directors to creating his own franchise; and it would be reasonable to say that he has never been in a movie where his co-star was ever even close to stealing the show from him. We talk about all this and more in this week’s movie draft of Tom Cruise performances.

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Feedback:
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Support the Show:
Join The Establishing Shot Family for early, ad-free episodes, bonus content, and access to our Discord server where we talk movies all the time:https://www.establishingshotpod.com/support/ 

Guest Info:
Andrew Fossier
Letterboxd:https://letterboxd.com/andrewfossier/ 

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Minority Report feels like the deepest dive into hard sci-fi that Steven Spielberg has ever attempted, and it is also his first collaboration with fellow Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise. That combination makes for an interesting conversation in this episode as we discuss everything from working with a star to inventive sci-fi visuals to existential questions that are common to the genre and more!

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