What the corpus says about The Dark Knight (2008)

The 46 lines php artisan corpus:ask hands a model, in the order it gets them, and nothing else. The model writes a clerk's answer from these and only these.

What was said about it (14)

[The Rewatchables · ‘Skyfall’ · 0:46:30 · Chris Ryan (0.60)] The Dark Knight ⇒ Skyfall (the host's read) · lineage · Mendes openly lifted the Dark Knight aesthetic and the orphan-avenging-sins idea. · "Mendy's just very openly lifted a lot of the Dark Knight aesthetic for these movies."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Skyfall’ · 0:46:41 · Chris Ryan (0.60)] James Bond series ⇒ The Dark Knight (the host's read) · lineage · Nolan's Batman films are read as a commentary on Bond. · "I think Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight movies are also a commentary on James Bond, if you look at them from one direction"
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Killing · 1:28:00 · David Sims (0.35)] The Killing ⇒ The Dark Knight (the host's read) · lineage · The clown mask is said to look basically like the Joker mask Nolan pays homage to in The Dark Knight. · "Nolan obviously pays homage to in the Dark Knight"
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Lego Batman Movie · 0:15:06 · Griffin Newman (0.60)] The Dark Knight ⇒ The Lego Batman Movie (the host's read) · lineage · The Joker's need for Batman to see him as an enemy is read against the post-Dark Knight Joker. · "It's this thing of like, right, especially post Dark Knight, right?"
[Blank Check — Patreon · Batman (1966) · 1:26:27 · Griffin Newman (0.45)] The Dark Knight ↔ The Batman · verdict · The Batpod reveal is called the greatest Batmobile moment of all time. · "I do think the greatest Batmobile moment of all time is when it's broken in the dark night and the Batpod comes out."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Domestic Disturbance’ · 0:06:34 · Bill Simmons (0.50)] Lakeview Terrace ↔ The Dark Knight · industry · Lakeview Terrace might be the last 'from hell' movie before The Dark Knight took over the villain slot. · "It could be the last, it could be the last from hell, and then Dark Knight comes along and cleans up hell, you know?"
[The Big Picture · ‘Mamma Mia!’ Meets ‘The Strangers'! It’s a Movie Swap! · 1:09:09 · Amanda Dobbins (0.50)] Mamma Mia! ↔ The Dark Knight · industry · In 2008, a year dominated by The Dark Knight and Iron Man, Mamma Mia still became a global phenomenon. · "it was the Dark Knight and Iron Man year"
[The Big Picture · The Great ‘Avatar’ Debate · 1:17:25 · unknown (0.40)] The Dark Knight ↔ Avatar · industry · The Dark Knight was the first movie to come close to Titanic's domestic record. · "Dark Knight came close, but it was, it had made $600 million domestic, and no other movie ever even got to 500 until the Dark Knight."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Eclipse · 2:09:21 · unknown (0.30)] The Twilight Saga: Eclipse ↔ The Dark Knight · industry · Opening weekend compared to Dark Knight's 151M record and Avengers' 200M in 2012. · "Dark Knight, the record was 151 or something."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 2 · 2:02:21 · unknown (0.30)] Iron Man 2 ↔ The Dark Knight · industry · The Dark Knight came out the same year as the first Iron Man and changed everything. · "And then obviously Dark Knight, which comes out the same year as Iron Man, and they change everything forever."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Skyfall’ · 1:26:07 · Chris Ryan (0.50)] The Dark Knight ⇒ Silva (the host's read) · lineage · Silva's plan to be captured and gain M's attention is the Joker plot. · "essentially the Joker plot from Dark Knight."
[The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:00:46 · Sean Fennessey (0.40)] Macrinus ↔ The Dark Knight · theme · Macrinus has no master plan and improvises like Heath Ledger's Joker. · "he's more of the Dark Knight, Heath Ledger Joker character, where he's sort of like, is, he does not have a master plan."
[The Big Picture · The Past, Present, and Future of Superhero Movies | The Big Picture · 0:37:36 · David Shoemaker (0.50)] The Dark Knight ↔ Heath Ledger · people · Ledger's Joker is the main reason the Nolan trilogy is still discussed positively. · "Heath Ledger was, is the main reason that we still talk about those movies at all in a positive way."
[The Big Picture · The Past, Present, and Future of Superhero Movies | The Big Picture · 0:38:36 · Sean Fennessey (0.50)] The Dark Knight ↔ Heath Ledger · what-if · Ledger's death took the Batman/Joker relationship off the board; what might Nolan's plans have been? · "what would have happened if Heath Ledger lived, what could their plans have been?"

One hop out: what recommends the films most often joined to it (24)

[The Big Picture · The Great ‘Avatar’ Debate · 0:26:06 · Sean Fennessey (0.90)] Edgar Rice Burroughs ⇒ Avatar (the maker said so: Cameron's 1994 80-page treatment) · lineage · Cameron's Avatar treatment drew on childhood sci-fi reading, Burroughs and Haggard. · "drawing inspiration from, quote, every single science fiction book that he had read in his childhood, and also Edgar Rice Burroughs, H. Rider Haggard."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The Winter Soldier · 1:16:27 · unknown (0.45)] Captain America: The Winter Soldier ↔ Iron Man 2 · programming · Gary Shandling's Hydra senator is an odd pull-back to Iron Man 2 for a franchise otherwise ignoring that film. · "when they're like trying to ignore as much of Iron Man 2 as possible"
[The Big Picture · ‘Mamma Mia!’ Meets ‘The Strangers'! It’s a Movie Swap! · 0:13:57 · Sean Fennessey (0.70)] Mamma Mia! ↔ Shrek · programming · Reflecting on their movie swaps, Sean ties Shrek, the earlier one-way swap, to Bobby Wagner's last episode. · "Bob's last episode was like a one-way movie swap, which was Shrek."
[The Big Picture · The Great ‘Avatar’ Debate · 0:26:24 · unknown (0.40)] John Carter of Mars ⇒ Avatar (the host's read) · lineage · Avatar reads like a John Carter of Mars style story. · "Yeah, it's very like John Carter of Mars or whatever."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 2 · 0:12:08 · unknown (0.30)] Iron Man 2 ↔ The Avengers · programming · Feige pushed more cinematic-universe setup after the first film, but held most back; the Fury scene and shield joke are the result. · "Let's build shield outlets, like give them, you know, a little more of what they want."
[The Big Picture · ‘Mamma Mia!’ Meets ‘The Strangers'! It’s a Movie Swap! · 0:52:57 · Amanda Dobbins (0.80)] ABBA ⇒ Mamma Mia! (the host's read) · lineage · The film is aesthetically and spiritually in tune with ABBA's incandescent, inescapable and stupid songs. · "It is a film that is very, like aesthetically and spiritually in tune with its source material, being the, like, incandescent, inescapable, wonderful, and also really stupid songs of ABBA."
[The Big Picture · The Great ‘Avatar’ Debate · 0:42:25 · Sean Fennessey (0.50)] The Wizard of Oz ⇒ Avatar (the host's read) · lineage · Avatar is described as a deep Wizard of Oz homage. · "In case you were wondering, this is a deep wizard of a homage, among other things."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 2 · 2:07:38 · unknown (0.30)] Iron Man 2 ↔ Thor · programming · Its post-credit scene is called the weakest, existing only to announce Thor's film, much like the Captain Marvel tag after Infinity War. · "Because essentially it's just like Thor, Thor, will be the star of a new movie."
[The Big Picture · ‘Mamma Mia!’ Meets ‘The Strangers'! It’s a Movie Swap! · 1:35:44 · Amanda Dobbins (0.60)] Mamma Mia! ⇒ Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (the host's read) · lineage · The sequel is both prequel and sequel, with Lily James as young Donna in Donna and the Dynamos. · "can I tell you it's both a prequel and a sequel?"
[The Big Picture · The Great ‘Avatar’ Debate · 0:52:25 · unknown (0.40)] Avatar ↔ Aliens · lineage · Cameron's 1995 pitch for Avatar was much closer to Aliens in tone. · "It was much closer to aliens in tone."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man · 1:18:06 · unknown (0.30)] Iron Man ↔ Iron Man 2 · programming · Griffin has a point about Paltrow in Iron Man 2 and promises a separate Iron Man 2 commentary. · "We're going to do an Iron Man 2 commentary so we can talk about the movie I want to talk about there."
[The Big Picture · ‘Mamma Mia!’ Meets ‘The Strangers'! It’s a Movie Swap! · 0:02:42 · Sean Fennessey (0.60)] The Strangers ↔ Mamma Mia! · theme · Amanda argues the two 2008 films share a theme of knowing thyself and what can't be known; later both end by withholding the answer. · "And I would, I'll argue, has some things in common with Mama Mia."
[The Big Picture · The Great ‘Avatar’ Debate · 0:53:51 · unknown (0.40)] The Wizard of Oz ⇒ Avatar (the host's read) · lineage · Avatar is an original story but inspired by Oz and John Ford movies. · "It's just like hugely inspired by not just the Wizard of Oz, but like lots of John Ford movies"
[Blank Check — Patreon · Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation · 1:01:43 · unknown (0.30)] Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation ↔ Iron Man 2 · lineage · The thigh-grab move is traced back to Iron Man 2 by one speaker. · "I mean, I always think of Iron Man 2."
[The Big Picture · ‘Mamma Mia!’ Meets ‘The Strangers'! It’s a Movie Swap! · 1:22:55 · Sean Fennessey (0.50)] Mamma Mia! ↔ The Rocky Horror Picture Show · theme · The older characters' drag-like performances make Mamma Mia like Rocky Horror for people who go to full-service resorts. · "it's like rocky horror picture show for people who like to go to, like, Cabo to all, like, to, you know, um, full service resorts"
[The Big Picture · The Great ‘Avatar’ Debate · 0:53:51 · unknown (0.40)] John Ford ⇒ Avatar (the host's read) · lineage · Same line: Avatar draws on John Ford films and the history of movies. · "lots of John Ford movies and you can see like the history of movies"
[Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:21:49 · unknown (0.30)] Iron Man 2 ↔ Robocop 2 · lineage · Iron Man 2 forces Tony to be a wreck again for no earned reason, which they liken to Robocop 2 resetting its hero. · "doing the Robocop 2 thing."
[The Big Picture · ‘Mamma Mia!’ Meets ‘The Strangers'! It’s a Movie Swap! · 1:29:03 · Amanda Dobbins (0.70)] Mamma Mia! ↔ The Strangers · theme · Mamma Mia, by never confirming the father, honors not-knowing the way The Strangers does, which Amanda says gives it more nerve. · "This movie understands that the greatest fear and the greatest power lies in not knowing."
[Blank Check — Patreon · RoboCop (2014) · 0:38:34 · Griffin Newman (0.50)] Avatar ⇒ RoboCop (the host's read) · lineage · The robot-waking sequence is beat for beat the first act of Avatar, down to testing the new body's powers. · "It is crazy actually how much this sequence is like beat for beat, the Avatar, right?"
[Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 0:19:47 · David Sims (0.40)] Iron Man 2 ⇒ Captain America: The First Avenger (the host's read) · lineage · The Stark Expo of the 1940s is the origin of the Expo seen in Iron Man 2, now as the full World's Fair version. · "Like what we see in Iron Man 2, but now it's like the full like 40s World Fair version."
[The Big Picture · ‘Mamma Mia!’ Meets ‘The Strangers'! It’s a Movie Swap! · 0:54:46 · Amanda Dobbins (0.60)] Mamma Mia! ↔ Phyllida Lloyd · craft · A celebrated theater director made poor camera choices; the speaker says it is some of the worst direction they've seen. · "The actual direction of the film is some of the worst I've ever seen."
[The Big Picture · The Great ‘Avatar’ Debate · 0:55:09 · unknown (0.40)] Avatar ↔ Dances with Wolves · theme · Avatar belongs to the interloper-story family but is not like Dances with Wolves or The Last Samurai. · "something like Dances with Wolves, Last Samurai, whichever one of these movies you want to throw out there. Interloper movies."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 2 · 1:09:32 · Griffin Newman (0.35)] Iron Man 2 ↔ Robocop 2 · lineage · Both feature an opening gag of malfunctioning machines, and a plot about the military trying to make another one. · "this is very similar to Robocob 2 where they're like, the plot is kind of just like, how do we make another one of these?"
[The Big Picture · ‘Mamma Mia!’ Meets ‘The Strangers'! It’s a Movie Swap! · 1:11:35 · Sean Fennessey (0.50)] Mamma Mia! ↔ Bergman Island · craft · Bergman Island also uses The Winner Takes It All, which Sean ranks as the second-greatest use of the song. · "I told you at the time, the 2nd greatest use of the winner takes it all ever."

Who said it, by their latest sketch (6)

[speaker] Chris Ryan · latest sketch, The Rewatchables · ‘Friday the 13th’ · A franchise and genre scholar who likes Jason, the early sequels, and Manhattan; attention to trivia, tropes and critic reception. Treats slashers as a canon with tiers. · stances: Parts 1, 2, 4 and Manhattan are the good ones; The series finds its legs at 4
[speaker] Griffin Newman · latest sketch, Blank Check · The Last Temptation of Christ · Calls Last Temptation his college-era favorite Scorsese; loves Scorsese's smaller 80s and the film's closing transcendence and Gabriel score. Cannot stand fundamentalist outrage at it. A sucker for casting trivia and Tom Cruise-silliness. · stances: Hot take: Last Temptation structurally mirrors New York, New York as a better version; Outrage over the film is stupid; it is respectful to Jesus; Scorsese's smaller 80s work beats his later baroque phases
[speaker] Sean Fennessey · latest sketch, The Big Picture · ‘Resident Evil’ Absolutely Rips! · Loves gory, funny, fast genre movies with craft and confidence, especially 87-minute films that never overstay. Can't stand ponderous elevated horror that fills out its runtime with introspection and sad family history. A sucker for the Carpenter-era lineage, Die Hard homages, and directors who break studio dogma. · stances: Resident Evil is one of the best films of the year; Horror movies have become a drag; fun genre experiences are needed; Short running times are a virtue; Video-game films work best when great filmmakers get creative license
[speaker] Amanda Dobbins · latest sketch, The Big Picture · ‘Mamma Mia!’ Meets ‘The Strangers'! It’s a Movie Swap! · Loves The Strangers' withholding craft and a good tense horror film without gore, but likes fun, communal movies like Mamma Mia. She dislikes supernatural or gory horror, which irritates her more than it scares her. She is a sucker for stars and for Googling a movie mid-recording. · stances: The Strangers is scary because of what it doesn't show or explain; Ending explanation weakens it; no answer would be better; Prefers 'withholding' filmmaking; Defends Mamma Mia as joyful and intentional
[speaker] Bill Simmons · latest sketch, The Rewatchables · ‘Friday the 13th’ · Loves the Friday series as a communal, rental-era memory and tells childhood stories about the ads and theaters. Likes casting what-ifs and sports analogies for everything. Skeptical of horror at Christmas and of anything that wastes the premise. · stances: Friday the 13th is not the best entry but the origin story had to be told; Friday 2 is a leap over the original
[speaker] David Shoemaker · latest sketch, The Big Picture · Pro Wrestling Goes to the Movies, Plus Stephen Merchant on ‘Fighting · Believes the best wrestling movies are documentaries and cult oddities; loves weird, tonally pure b-movies like Body Slam and Paradise Alley. Dislikes tone-deaf studio efforts like Ready to Rumble. A sucker for wrestling's blur of real and fake. · stances: Documentaries beat fiction for wrestling; The Wrestler is the best wrestling movie; Fiction fails when it treats a fake sport in a fake world; Wrestling history (Gold Dust Trio, Sputnik Monroe) deserves movies

The shows' running bits (2)

[bits] The Big Picture: Drafts (Hosts and guests draft films in rounds; every pick is a recommendation with an argument); Hall of Fame (A star's or director's best, ranked and argued); Countdowns (Ranked lists, top five or top ten)
[bits] The Rewatchables: Apex Mountain (The moment a star peaks; where on the mountain a performance sits); Who Won the Movie (The hosts name the person who came out of the film best off); The Ebert review (Roger Ebert's original review and star rating read aloud. Ebert is cited, never on the show); Casting what-ifs (Who was almost cast, or who should have been); Most rewatchable scene (The scene each host would stop on while flipping channels); Aged best / aged worst (What holds up and what does not); Picking Nits (The little things in a film the hosts love that they don't think totally work: the nits); Double feature (The film each host would pair it with; a programming pick)

The whole prompt

As the model gets it, from app/Ai/Prompts/CorpusAsk.md

You are a clerk at Video Culture, a video store. A customer just finished The Dark Knight (2008) and wants to know what to watch next.

Below is what people who love movies said on three podcasts (Blank Check, The Rewatchables, The Big Picture) about The Dark Knight (2008) and the films around it, one line each. Every line starts with where it came from, in brackets: [show · episode · time · speaker (how sure we are it was them)]. A [pairs] line says how often two films were put side by side. A [speaker] line says what that person likes. A [bits] line lists a show's running bits: a format, not an opinion.

[The Rewatchables · ‘Skyfall’ · 0:46:30 · Chris Ryan (0.60)] The Dark Knight ⇒ Skyfall (the host's read) · lineage · Mendes openly lifted the Dark Knight aesthetic and the orphan-avenging-sins idea. · "Mendy's just very openly lifted a lot of the Dark Knight aesthetic for these movies."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Skyfall’ · 0:46:41 · Chris Ryan (0.60)] James Bond series ⇒ The Dark Knight (the host's read) · lineage · Nolan's Batman films are read as a commentary on Bond. · "I think Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight movies are also a commentary on James Bond, if you look at them from one direction"
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Killing · 1:28:00 · David Sims (0.35)] The Killing ⇒ The Dark Knight (the host's read) · lineage · The clown mask is said to look basically like the Joker mask Nolan pays homage to in The Dark Knight. · "Nolan obviously pays homage to in the Dark Knight"
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Lego Batman Movie · 0:15:06 · Griffin Newman (0.60)] The Dark Knight ⇒ The Lego Batman Movie (the host's read) · lineage · The Joker's need for Batman to see him as an enemy is read against the post-Dark Knight Joker. · "It's this thing of like, right, especially post Dark Knight, right?"
[Blank Check — Patreon · Batman (1966) · 1:26:27 · Griffin Newman (0.45)] The Dark Knight ↔ The Batman · verdict · The Batpod reveal is called the greatest Batmobile moment of all time. · "I do think the greatest Batmobile moment of all time is when it's broken in the dark night and the Batpod comes out."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Domestic Disturbance’ · 0:06:34 · Bill Simmons (0.50)] Lakeview Terrace ↔ The Dark Knight · industry · Lakeview Terrace might be the last 'from hell' movie before The Dark Knight took over the villain slot. · "It could be the last, it could be the last from hell, and then Dark Knight comes along and cleans up hell, you know?"
[The Big Picture · ‘Mamma Mia!’ Meets ‘The Strangers'! It’s a Movie Swap! · 1:09:09 · Amanda Dobbins (0.50)] Mamma Mia! ↔ The Dark Knight · industry · In 2008, a year dominated by The Dark Knight and Iron Man, Mamma Mia still became a global phenomenon. · "it was the Dark Knight and Iron Man year"
[The Big Picture · The Great ‘Avatar’ Debate · 1:17:25 · unknown (0.40)] The Dark Knight ↔ Avatar · industry · The Dark Knight was the first movie to come close to Titanic's domestic record. · "Dark Knight came close, but it was, it had made $600 million domestic, and no other movie ever even got to 500 until the Dark Knight."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Eclipse · 2:09:21 · unknown (0.30)] The Twilight Saga: Eclipse ↔ The Dark Knight · industry · Opening weekend compared to Dark Knight's 151M record and Avengers' 200M in 2012. · "Dark Knight, the record was 151 or something."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 2 · 2:02:21 · unknown (0.30)] Iron Man 2 ↔ The Dark Knight · industry · The Dark Knight came out the same year as the first Iron Man and changed everything. · "And then obviously Dark Knight, which comes out the same year as Iron Man, and they change everything forever."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Skyfall’ · 1:26:07 · Chris Ryan (0.50)] The Dark Knight ⇒ Silva (the host's read) · lineage · Silva's plan to be captured and gain M's attention is the Joker plot. · "essentially the Joker plot from Dark Knight."
[The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:00:46 · Sean Fennessey (0.40)] Macrinus ↔ The Dark Knight · theme · Macrinus has no master plan and improvises like Heath Ledger's Joker. · "he's more of the Dark Knight, Heath Ledger Joker character, where he's sort of like, is, he does not have a master plan."
[The Big Picture · The Past, Present, and Future of Superhero Movies | The Big Picture · 0:37:36 · David Shoemaker (0.50)] The Dark Knight ↔ Heath Ledger · people · Ledger's Joker is the main reason the Nolan trilogy is still discussed positively. · "Heath Ledger was, is the main reason that we still talk about those movies at all in a positive way."
[The Big Picture · The Past, Present, and Future of Superhero Movies | The Big Picture · 0:38:36 · Sean Fennessey (0.50)] The Dark Knight ↔ Heath Ledger · what-if · Ledger's death took the Batman/Joker relationship off the board; what might Nolan's plans have been? · "what would have happened if Heath Ledger lived, what could their plans have been?"
[The Big Picture · The Great ‘Avatar’ Debate · 0:26:06 · Sean Fennessey (0.90)] Edgar Rice Burroughs ⇒ Avatar (the maker said so: Cameron's 1994 80-page treatment) · lineage · Cameron's Avatar treatment drew on childhood sci-fi reading, Burroughs and Haggard. · "drawing inspiration from, quote, every single science fiction book that he had read in his childhood, and also Edgar Rice Burroughs, H. Rider Haggard."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The Winter Soldier · 1:16:27 · unknown (0.45)] Captain America: The Winter Soldier ↔ Iron Man 2 · programming · Gary Shandling's Hydra senator is an odd pull-back to Iron Man 2 for a franchise otherwise ignoring that film. · "when they're like trying to ignore as much of Iron Man 2 as possible"
[The Big Picture · ‘Mamma Mia!’ Meets ‘The Strangers'! It’s a Movie Swap! · 0:13:57 · Sean Fennessey (0.70)] Mamma Mia! ↔ Shrek · programming · Reflecting on their movie swaps, Sean ties Shrek, the earlier one-way swap, to Bobby Wagner's last episode. · "Bob's last episode was like a one-way movie swap, which was Shrek."
[The Big Picture · The Great ‘Avatar’ Debate · 0:26:24 · unknown (0.40)] John Carter of Mars ⇒ Avatar (the host's read) · lineage · Avatar reads like a John Carter of Mars style story. · "Yeah, it's very like John Carter of Mars or whatever."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 2 · 0:12:08 · unknown (0.30)] Iron Man 2 ↔ The Avengers · programming · Feige pushed more cinematic-universe setup after the first film, but held most back; the Fury scene and shield joke are the result. · "Let's build shield outlets, like give them, you know, a little more of what they want."
[The Big Picture · ‘Mamma Mia!’ Meets ‘The Strangers'! It’s a Movie Swap! · 0:52:57 · Amanda Dobbins (0.80)] ABBA ⇒ Mamma Mia! (the host's read) · lineage · The film is aesthetically and spiritually in tune with ABBA's incandescent, inescapable and stupid songs. · "It is a film that is very, like aesthetically and spiritually in tune with its source material, being the, like, incandescent, inescapable, wonderful, and also really stupid songs of ABBA."
[The Big Picture · The Great ‘Avatar’ Debate · 0:42:25 · Sean Fennessey (0.50)] The Wizard of Oz ⇒ Avatar (the host's read) · lineage · Avatar is described as a deep Wizard of Oz homage. · "In case you were wondering, this is a deep wizard of a homage, among other things."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 2 · 2:07:38 · unknown (0.30)] Iron Man 2 ↔ Thor · programming · Its post-credit scene is called the weakest, existing only to announce Thor's film, much like the Captain Marvel tag after Infinity War. · "Because essentially it's just like Thor, Thor, will be the star of a new movie."
[The Big Picture · ‘Mamma Mia!’ Meets ‘The Strangers'! It’s a Movie Swap! · 1:35:44 · Amanda Dobbins (0.60)] Mamma Mia! ⇒ Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (the host's read) · lineage · The sequel is both prequel and sequel, with Lily James as young Donna in Donna and the Dynamos. · "can I tell you it's both a prequel and a sequel?"
[The Big Picture · The Great ‘Avatar’ Debate · 0:52:25 · unknown (0.40)] Avatar ↔ Aliens · lineage · Cameron's 1995 pitch for Avatar was much closer to Aliens in tone. · "It was much closer to aliens in tone."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man · 1:18:06 · unknown (0.30)] Iron Man ↔ Iron Man 2 · programming · Griffin has a point about Paltrow in Iron Man 2 and promises a separate Iron Man 2 commentary. · "We're going to do an Iron Man 2 commentary so we can talk about the movie I want to talk about there."
[The Big Picture · ‘Mamma Mia!’ Meets ‘The Strangers'! It’s a Movie Swap! · 0:02:42 · Sean Fennessey (0.60)] The Strangers ↔ Mamma Mia! · theme · Amanda argues the two 2008 films share a theme of knowing thyself and what can't be known; later both end by withholding the answer. · "And I would, I'll argue, has some things in common with Mama Mia."
[The Big Picture · The Great ‘Avatar’ Debate · 0:53:51 · unknown (0.40)] The Wizard of Oz ⇒ Avatar (the host's read) · lineage · Avatar is an original story but inspired by Oz and John Ford movies. · "It's just like hugely inspired by not just the Wizard of Oz, but like lots of John Ford movies"
[Blank Check — Patreon · Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation · 1:01:43 · unknown (0.30)] Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation ↔ Iron Man 2 · lineage · The thigh-grab move is traced back to Iron Man 2 by one speaker. · "I mean, I always think of Iron Man 2."
[The Big Picture · ‘Mamma Mia!’ Meets ‘The Strangers'! It’s a Movie Swap! · 1:22:55 · Sean Fennessey (0.50)] Mamma Mia! ↔ The Rocky Horror Picture Show · theme · The older characters' drag-like performances make Mamma Mia like Rocky Horror for people who go to full-service resorts. · "it's like rocky horror picture show for people who like to go to, like, Cabo to all, like, to, you know, um, full service resorts"
[The Big Picture · The Great ‘Avatar’ Debate · 0:53:51 · unknown (0.40)] John Ford ⇒ Avatar (the host's read) · lineage · Same line: Avatar draws on John Ford films and the history of movies. · "lots of John Ford movies and you can see like the history of movies"
[Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:21:49 · unknown (0.30)] Iron Man 2 ↔ Robocop 2 · lineage · Iron Man 2 forces Tony to be a wreck again for no earned reason, which they liken to Robocop 2 resetting its hero. · "doing the Robocop 2 thing."
[The Big Picture · ‘Mamma Mia!’ Meets ‘The Strangers'! It’s a Movie Swap! · 1:29:03 · Amanda Dobbins (0.70)] Mamma Mia! ↔ The Strangers · theme · Mamma Mia, by never confirming the father, honors not-knowing the way The Strangers does, which Amanda says gives it more nerve. · "This movie understands that the greatest fear and the greatest power lies in not knowing."
[Blank Check — Patreon · RoboCop (2014) · 0:38:34 · Griffin Newman (0.50)] Avatar ⇒ RoboCop (the host's read) · lineage · The robot-waking sequence is beat for beat the first act of Avatar, down to testing the new body's powers. · "It is crazy actually how much this sequence is like beat for beat, the Avatar, right?"
[Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The First Avenger · 0:19:47 · David Sims (0.40)] Iron Man 2 ⇒ Captain America: The First Avenger (the host's read) · lineage · The Stark Expo of the 1940s is the origin of the Expo seen in Iron Man 2, now as the full World's Fair version. · "Like what we see in Iron Man 2, but now it's like the full like 40s World Fair version."
[The Big Picture · ‘Mamma Mia!’ Meets ‘The Strangers'! It’s a Movie Swap! · 0:54:46 · Amanda Dobbins (0.60)] Mamma Mia! ↔ Phyllida Lloyd · craft · A celebrated theater director made poor camera choices; the speaker says it is some of the worst direction they've seen. · "The actual direction of the film is some of the worst I've ever seen."
[The Big Picture · The Great ‘Avatar’ Debate · 0:55:09 · unknown (0.40)] Avatar ↔ Dances with Wolves · theme · Avatar belongs to the interloper-story family but is not like Dances with Wolves or The Last Samurai. · "something like Dances with Wolves, Last Samurai, whichever one of these movies you want to throw out there. Interloper movies."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 2 · 1:09:32 · Griffin Newman (0.35)] Iron Man 2 ↔ Robocop 2 · lineage · Both feature an opening gag of malfunctioning machines, and a plot about the military trying to make another one. · "this is very similar to Robocob 2 where they're like, the plot is kind of just like, how do we make another one of these?"
[The Big Picture · ‘Mamma Mia!’ Meets ‘The Strangers'! It’s a Movie Swap! · 1:11:35 · Sean Fennessey (0.50)] Mamma Mia! ↔ Bergman Island · craft · Bergman Island also uses The Winner Takes It All, which Sean ranks as the second-greatest use of the song. · "I told you at the time, the 2nd greatest use of the winner takes it all ever."
[speaker] Chris Ryan · latest sketch, The Rewatchables · ‘Friday the 13th’ · A franchise and genre scholar who likes Jason, the early sequels, and Manhattan; attention to trivia, tropes and critic reception. Treats slashers as a canon with tiers. · stances: Parts 1, 2, 4 and Manhattan are the good ones; The series finds its legs at 4
[speaker] Griffin Newman · latest sketch, Blank Check · The Last Temptation of Christ · Calls Last Temptation his college-era favorite Scorsese; loves Scorsese's smaller 80s and the film's closing transcendence and Gabriel score. Cannot stand fundamentalist outrage at it. A sucker for casting trivia and Tom Cruise-silliness. · stances: Hot take: Last Temptation structurally mirrors New York, New York as a better version; Outrage over the film is stupid; it is respectful to Jesus; Scorsese's smaller 80s work beats his later baroque phases
[speaker] Sean Fennessey · latest sketch, The Big Picture · ‘Resident Evil’ Absolutely Rips! · Loves gory, funny, fast genre movies with craft and confidence, especially 87-minute films that never overstay. Can't stand ponderous elevated horror that fills out its runtime with introspection and sad family history. A sucker for the Carpenter-era lineage, Die Hard homages, and directors who break studio dogma. · stances: Resident Evil is one of the best films of the year; Horror movies have become a drag; fun genre experiences are needed; Short running times are a virtue; Video-game films work best when great filmmakers get creative license
[speaker] Amanda Dobbins · latest sketch, The Big Picture · ‘Mamma Mia!’ Meets ‘The Strangers'! It’s a Movie Swap! · Loves The Strangers' withholding craft and a good tense horror film without gore, but likes fun, communal movies like Mamma Mia. She dislikes supernatural or gory horror, which irritates her more than it scares her. She is a sucker for stars and for Googling a movie mid-recording. · stances: The Strangers is scary because of what it doesn't show or explain; Ending explanation weakens it; no answer would be better; Prefers 'withholding' filmmaking; Defends Mamma Mia as joyful and intentional
[speaker] Bill Simmons · latest sketch, The Rewatchables · ‘Friday the 13th’ · Loves the Friday series as a communal, rental-era memory and tells childhood stories about the ads and theaters. Likes casting what-ifs and sports analogies for everything. Skeptical of horror at Christmas and of anything that wastes the premise. · stances: Friday the 13th is not the best entry but the origin story had to be told; Friday 2 is a leap over the original
[speaker] David Shoemaker · latest sketch, The Big Picture · Pro Wrestling Goes to the Movies, Plus Stephen Merchant on ‘Fighting · Believes the best wrestling movies are documentaries and cult oddities; loves weird, tonally pure b-movies like Body Slam and Paradise Alley. Dislikes tone-deaf studio efforts like Ready to Rumble. A sucker for wrestling's blur of real and fake. · stances: Documentaries beat fiction for wrestling; The Wrestler is the best wrestling movie; Fiction fails when it treats a fake sport in a fake world; Wrestling history (Gold Dust Trio, Sputnik Monroe) deserves movies
[bits] The Big Picture: Drafts (Hosts and guests draft films in rounds; every pick is a recommendation with an argument); Hall of Fame (A star's or director's best, ranked and argued); Countdowns (Ranked lists, top five or top ten)
[bits] The Rewatchables: Apex Mountain (The moment a star peaks; where on the mountain a performance sits); Who Won the Movie (The hosts name the person who came out of the film best off); The Ebert review (Roger Ebert's original review and star rating read aloud. Ebert is cited, never on the show); Casting what-ifs (Who was almost cast, or who should have been); Most rewatchable scene (The scene each host would stop on while flipping channels); Aged best / aged worst (What holds up and what does not); Picking Nits (The little things in a film the hosts love that they don't think totally work: the nits); Double feature (The film each host would pair it with; a programming pick)

Recommend three to six films, and only films that appear in these lines. A series, a TV film, or a franchise counts too when a line recommends it or pairs it with The Dark Knight (2008); name it the way the line names it. Don't recommend The Dark Knight (2008) itself. For each one, give one short reason in your own words and say whose reason it is: the show, named exactly as the brackets name it, and the speaker when the line names one (an "unknown" speaker is just the show). If the lines are thin, say so plainly rather than stretching them.

Keep a contrast a contrast. When a line sets two films apart, the reason is how they differ; never turn it into a way they're alike. A line with ⇒ puts the source first and what drew on it second, and one marked "the maker said so" is still the host reporting it: say who said it, and never state an influence as fact.

You know only what's on these lines. Add no fact they don't state: not who directed a film, not what kind of film it is, not when it came out, unless a line says so. Say nothing about the store or how anything rents here.

Talk the way a clerk talks to a customer at the counter: plain text, titles written plainly with no asterisks or other markup, no headings, no lists of more than six, no JSON.