The Tilt Shift

Last Chance U is a sports docu-series on Netflix.  The show follows junior college (JUCO) athletes at East LA College that are trying to rehabilitate their athletic career.  At first glance this series is about basketball and the JUCO system, but what unfolds are compelling stories of young adults trying to overcome more than just the challenges of basketball, and helping them are the the coaches, trainers, and families who all sacrifice and have hope for future success.  Last Chance U has gotten better every successive season in how it's presented with just the right mix of basketball training and practice, game synopsis, personal stories, yelling coaches, and the daily challenges of junior college life.

Jake and Chris discuss the what it's like to be severed and work at Lumon, the company at the centre of the television series "Severance."  We look at what the series says about the nature of work and what severance means for the "innies" Helly R, Mark S, Irving B, Burt G, and Dylan G.  Despite the finger traps, waffle parties, and music dance experiences, severance doesn't seem worth it.  We hope you enjoy the conversation.

Nina, Kim, Morgan, and Chris discuss what Top Gun: Maverick means to them.  Topics include the power and grace of Ice Man, Maverick's focus building his team, why flying is cool, and what this movie says about generations, teaching, and work.  We love this movie, and we hope you love podcast because "it's the only one [on Top Gun Maverick] that [we] got."

There are some minor recording errors during parts of this episode.  Our apologies for this.

Charly and Chris discuss previous Batman movie comparisons, favourite scenes, and important themes about an hour after they watched Matt Reeves' The Batman.  Get their initial thoughts of this three hour film and SPOILER ALERT - they do not hold back in talking about the whole movie!  At the end, Charly and Chris go over their top 'character lighting a flare' and "character free falling" moments from the films that come to mind.

In this podcast, Charly and Chris discuss Alien and Aliens as they explore the miners, marines, and aliens of planet LV426.  So what makes this movie "best in class"?  We think a lot of aspects: we discuss sinister corporations, technology that will save and hurt us, future human nature, and just really great storylines that create suspense and foster anxiety.  Enjoy! (and be sure to listen to the end to see if this podast is doomed!)

Why are rhino's so awesome?!!  Find out this and more (after an unusually long hiatus) in the second part of our conversation on The Black Panther.

In today's episode Chris discusses the documentary Val with his guest, Nina, who is also a huge fan of Val Kilmer.  During their discussion they look at their top 5 Val Kilmer movies, their top 5 Val Kilmer scenes, and his most well known lines.  They also give their thoughts on Val and the book I'm Your Huckleberry.  Finally, they try to settle that age old question: who is the better pilot - Maverick or Iceman?

In this special episode we are trying to do something very 'un-Snyderish' - we are trying to shorten our podcast run time!  During this episode, Jake and Chris list their ten thoughts on Zack Snyder's Justice League.  At four hours running time it took a couple of evenings, but was it worth it?  From the macro to meta will it this movie be a marvel?  Or did we waste our time and really we should have done this on "Infinity War" and "Endgame."  Find out on today's episode of the Tilt Shift. 

In today's episode, Chris, Charly, and our special guest, Kim, discuss the Marvel genre and how Black Panther transcended the formula.  We also share our overall impressions of the significance of Black Panther and our favourite scenes!  We hope you enjoy and thank you for listening!

For the final episode of our first season of The Tilt Shift, we looked at Tarantino's latest film, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. This was a kaleidoscope of a movie that immersed us into 1969 Hollywood. It was like what Vincent Vega of Pulp Fiction would have called, "A wax museum with a pulse." We discuss how unlike many of his other films, Tarantino's 9th, doesn't have as innovative of a story and story structure, but unlike many of his other films, he's created arguably the most human and complex characters of his career. It's a film that sparks a lot of questions: Did Cliff Booth kill his wife? How are we supposed to feel about him as a hero? Is Sharon Tate's character developed enough? These questions and more are explored in this season finale. Even Shrek and Kobe Bryant end up in the conversation somehow. 

This is most likely a two-parter, as we have a lot more to discuss about it, such as how it ranks in Tarantino's career, why it may have been deserving of the best picture of the year, and who or what was the MVP of the picture. If you liked, part 1, stay tuned for part 2.