What the corpus says about Superman (1978)

The 52 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 (6)

[Blank Check — Patreon · Blue Steel · 1:05:28 · unknown (0.30)] Blue Steel ↔ Superman · craft · The helicopter date with aerial photography is a Superman thing. · "It's a Superman thing, and there are those amazing, like, the helicopter photography going around"
[The Big Picture · ‘Captain Marvel’ Is a ’90s Nostalgia Play. Did It Work? | Exit Survey · 0:49:46 · Amanda Dobbins (0.60)] Captain Marvel ↔ Superman · contrast · Captain Marvel is so powerful that Amanda wants her Kryptonite, like Superman. · "I'm sure she have her version of Kryptonite or whatever?"
[Blank Check · Dune · 1:39:19 · unknown (0.35)] Dune ↔ Superman · industry · Realizing a novel's iconography on screen risks looking dumb, like early superhero costumes before Reeve. · "Only Christopher Reeve could really do it."
[The Rewatchables · ‘F1’ · 0:43:56 · Bill Simmons (0.50)] F1 ↔ Superman · industry · F1 beat Superman at the 2025 worldwide box office. · "Take that fucking Superman."
[The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:23:40 · Sean Fennessey (0.40)] Gladiator II ↔ Superman · what-if · That version would be like if Lex Luthor could control Superman. · "It would be like if Lex Luthor could control Superman."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo · 2:32:18 · unknown (0.30)] Trent Reznor ↔ Superman · craft · Reznor's pivot to a dark score is compared to John Williams cracking his knuckles for the Superman score. · "This is like John Williams in 79 cracking his knuckles to do the Superman score."

One hop out: what recommends the films most often joined to it (40)

[Blank Check — Patreon · Blue Steel · 1:24:23 · unknown (0.40)] Blue Steel ↔ Zoolander · programming · Zoolander's Blue Steel ruined the title of Bigelow's film. · "It is weird now that like this movie's title is totally ruined by Zoolander."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Guardians of the Galaxy · 0:59:57 · unknown (0.30)] Guardians of the Galaxy ↔ Captain Marvel · programming · Captain Marvel provides context for the Nova Corps Cree and a not-yet-crazy Ronan, and Jude Law's Yon-Rogg. · "But the idea in Captain Marvel is he's not crazy yet."
[Blank Check · Dune · 0:22:17 · John Hodgman (0.85)] Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope ⇒ Dune (the host's read) · programming · Dune was positioned and released as the studio's answer to Star Wars, the next big space epic. · "Uh, this movie is released with the energy of, here you go, here's the new Star Wars."
[The Rewatchables · ‘F1’ · 1:01:08 · Chris Ryan (0.40)] F1 ↔ Drive to Survive (series) · programming · Drive to Survive is the 2020s reference point for F1's popularity. · "I'll give you a drive to survive reference."
[The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:37:13 · Chris Ryan (0.40)] Gladiator II ↔ Wicked · programming · Gladiator II's CGI baboons made it feel like being dumped into Wicked. · "I actually felt like we got dumped into Wicked or something, you know?"
[Blank Check — Patreon · Blue Steel · 1:26:39 · unknown (0.40)] Blue Steel ↔ The Hunt for Red October · programming · The weekend Blue Steel opened, The Hunt for Red October was number one. · "It's a huge box on October, right? For Red October."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The Winter Soldier · 0:34:42 · unknown (0.40)] Samuel L. Jackson ↔ Captain Marvel · programming · Hosts are excited to see Jackson as a younger Nick Fury again. · "Can't wait for him to do stuff again in like Captain Marvel and shit."
[Blank Check · Dune · 2:50:47 · unknown (0.40)] Dune ↔ Dune: Prophecy · programming · An HBO Max Dune series is coming, which the hosts are excited for. · "10 hours at the HBO Max series coming?"
[The Rewatchables · ‘F1’ · 0:05:18 · Van Lathan (0.40)] F1 ↔ Gleaming the Cube · lineage · F1 revives the 80s star-plus-cultural-phenomenon movie like Gleaming the Cube and Over the Top. · "we used to do these movies, gleaming the cube, skateboarding over the top, arm wrestling"
[The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:06:45 · Sean Fennessey (0.80)] Gladiator ⇒ Gladiator II (the host's read) · lineage · The sequel is very similar in structure and story to the original. · "it's pretty well known that this movie is very similar in structure and story to the original."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Blue Steel · 1:28:23 · Jordan Hoffman (0.40)] Blue Steel ↔ Joe Versus the Volcano · programming · Number two that weekend was Joe Versus the Volcano, a critical bomb for Tom Hanks. · "Oh, Joe versus the volcano?"
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Avengers · 1:29:32 · David Sims (0.40)] Captain Marvel ↔ The Avengers · programming · Captain Marvel is a 1990s prequel in which Fury still has both eyes, bringing back Coulson/Fury; they predict nineties-reference gags. · "So in that one, Nick Fury has 2 eyes."
[Blank Check · Dune · 3:02:27 · Griffin Newman (0.50)] Dune ↔ Blue Velvet · programming · Next week's episode is Blue Velvet with Jamie Loftus. · "Tune in next week for Blue Velvet with Jamie Loftus?"
[The Rewatchables · ‘F1’ · 0:10:12 · Bill Simmons (0.60)] F1 ↔ Days of Thunder · lineage · Same kind of 1990 star-driven racing picture, but F1's camera work leaves it behind. · "This movie in 1990 was Days of Thunder, which was a very cool movie that I like a lot that we've done on the rewatchables, but it's night and day"
[The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:15:52 · Mallory Rubin (0.60)] Gladiator ⇒ Gladiator II (the host's read) · lineage · The sequel's plot, structure, approach and pacing mirror the first, forcing a one-to-one comparison. · "it's just the movie is so similar to the 1st one in terms of plot, structure, approach, focus, pacing."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Blue Steel · 1:29:17 · unknown (0.40)] Blue Steel ↔ Lord of the Flies · programming · Number three that weekend was the 1990 Lord of the Flies. · "The 1990 Lord of the Flies."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man · 2:01:42 · unknown (Griffin) (0.50)] Iron Man ↔ Captain Marvel · programming · Mentions Captain Marvel's upcoming 90s setting and Kamala Khan idolizing her as a possible future movie. · "And then like models herself after Captain Marvel."
[Blank Check · Dune · 0:19:09 · unknown (0.50)] Dune ↔ Dune · lineage · The episode cannot be done without comparing Lynch's film to the Villeneuve movies. · "We can't do this episode without comparing this movie to the Villanova films"
[The Rewatchables · ‘F1’ · 0:14:21 · Bill Simmons (0.60)] F1 ↔ Top Gun: Maverick · lineage · Same director and a broadly similar story of an aging star in the cockpit. · "this movie gets compared to Top Gun Maverick a lot, same director"
[The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:21:39 · Mallory Rubin (0.50)] Gladiator ⇒ Gladiator II (the host's read) · lineage · Because it mirrors the first film, outcomes for characters become predictable by inversion. · "I almost felt like it became impossible not to know what was going to happen to certain people"
[Blank Check — Patreon · Blue Steel · 1:30:22 · unknown (0.40)] Blue Steel ↔ House Party · programming · Number four that weekend was House Party. · "Oh, house party. house party."
[The Big Picture · ‘Captain Marvel’ Is a ’90s Nostalgia Play. Did It Work? | Exit Survey · 0:03:27 · Sean Fennessey (0.80)] Captain America: The First Avenger ⇒ Captain Marvel (the host's read) · lineage · The film goes back to the Steve Rogers style of origin story. · "here's how Steve Rogers became a super soldier style of storytelling."
[Blank Check · Dune · 0:22:22 · John Hodgman (0.70)] Dune ⇒ Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (the host's read) · lineage · The Dune book's messaging is credited as one of the things that inspired Star Wars. · "And not only that, the messaging of this is one of the things that inspired Star Wars."
[The Rewatchables · ‘F1’ · 1:41:07 · Bill Simmons (0.50)] F1 ↔ Grand Prix · lineage · Frankenheimer's 1966 racing picture is the double-feature pick. · "I'm going Grand Prix, the John Frankenheimer movie from 66."
[The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:52:34 · Sean Fennessey (0.40)] Gladiator ⇒ Gladiator II (the host's read) · lineage · Lucius's hand in the grain is a callback to Maximus's hand in the wheat. · "And it's an obvious callback to Maximus walking through the kind of afterlife feeling the wheat."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Blue Steel · 0:05:23 · David Sims (0.40)] Blue Steel ↔ Halloween · lineage · Calls Blue Steel a slasher with Ron Silver as Michael Myers and cites Ebert calling it the best Halloween sequel. · "I read back to Roger Ebert's review, and he said, this is actually the best Halloween sequel that's ever been made."
[The Big Picture · ‘Captain Marvel’ Is a ’90s Nostalgia Play. Did It Work? | Exit Survey · 0:09:03 · Sean Fennessey (0.85)] The Avengers ⇒ Captain Marvel (the host's read) · lineage · The Tesseract, the glowing box, was a MacGuffin in the first Avengers and in Infinity War. · "you may remember the Tesseract from the 1st Avengers film, and then, of course, the most recent Avengers film, Avengers Infinity War"
[Blank Check · Dune · 1:17:01 · David Sims (0.30)] Dune ⇒ Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (the host's read) · theme · Dune's Fremen/revolution material is the denser source that Star Wars abstracts; the Force is Dune without the drugs. · "the Force in Star Wars is like doom without the drugs."
[The Rewatchables · ‘F1’ · 0:07:16 · Bill Simmons (0.50)] F1 ↔ Chef · theme · Racing movies and Chef's cooking scene both beat watching the real thing. · "I love racing movies because they're basically awesomely edited."
[The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:47:12 · Sean Fennessey (0.40)] Gladiator II ↔ Conclave · theme · Both films feel resonant with the election cycle without mapping neatly. · "the same way that conclave, which is like so heavily leaning into like, hey, isn't this just like this election cycle?"
[Blank Check — Patreon · Blue Steel · 0:34:56 · unknown (0.30)] Blue Steel ↔ Dirty Harry · lineage · The after-shooting inquiry echoes the way Dirty Harry handled a cop's use of force. · "Dirty Harry done the same thing."
[The Big Picture · ‘Captain Marvel’ Is a ’90s Nostalgia Play. Did It Work? | Exit Survey · 0:09:16 · Sean Fennessey (0.80)] Captain Marvel ↔ Avengers: Infinity War · lineage · The film is connective tissue, dragging continuity toward the next Avengers movie. · "this movie is basically a connective tissue movie."
[Blank Check · Dune · 1:58:13 · unknown (0.35)] Jupiter Ascending ↔ Dune · theme · Jupiter Ascending shares the palace-intrigue, gilded sci-fi mode. · "I think it's a goofier movie, but Jupiter ascending has the same thing of like palace intrigue."
[The Rewatchables · ‘F1’ · 0:07:37 · Chris Ryan (0.50)] F1 ↔ Chef · theme · Cooking is cinematic in Chef the way racing is in F1: movies render the activity better than the real thing. · "I would say cooking movies or another one like that."
[The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:09:25 · Chris Ryan (0.50)] Gladiator II ↔ Anora · theme · Anora's idea that there is no dream undercuts Macrinus's rise from nothing to the top. · "one of the key ideas of Anora is like, There is no dream."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Blue Steel · 0:39:36 · unknown (0.30)] Blue Steel ↔ Prince of the City · lineage · Describes the cop-in-crisis strain of 70s cop movies, as in Lumet's Prince of the City. · "Right? So you Lumet's Prince in the city."
[The Big Picture · ‘Captain Marvel’ Is a ’90s Nostalgia Play. Did It Work? | Exit Survey · 0:18:39 · Sean Fennessey (0.70)] Pulp Fiction ⇒ Captain Marvel (the host's read) · lineage · Samuel L. Jackson driving around mid-90s Los Angeles evokes Jules Winfield, a clever but surface 90s nod. · "a Samuel L. Jackson character in the mid 90s driving around in a car in Los Angeles, a la Jules Winfield in Pulp Fiction."
[Blank Check · Twin Peaks: The Return (Episode 8) · 1:25:56 · unknown (0.30)] Twin Peaks: The Return, Part 8 ↔ Dune · craft · The purple sea gets a joke identification as Dune, with the worm floating by. · "The worm floats by. That's the planet Dune."
[The Rewatchables · ‘F1’ · 0:08:56 · Bill Simmons (0.50)] F1 ↔ The Color of Money · theme · Color of Money shows billiards as the most exciting cinematic thing; so racing movies work better than racing. · "if you watch Color of Money, you're like, Billiards is the most exciting cinematic thing"
[The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:06:38 · Sean Fennessey (0.85)] Gladiator II ↔ Gladiator · craft · Gladiator II brings back the original film's cinematographer, John Mathieson, as part of a returning crew. · "The cinematographer, John Matheson, is back."

Who said it, by their latest sketch (3)

[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] 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

The shows' running bits (3)

[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] Blank Check: The box office game (Guessing the film's opening weekend and what it was up against); The sung theme ("Blank Check with Griffin and David", sung; the transcriber garbles it)
[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 Superman (1978) 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 Superman (1978) 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.

[Blank Check — Patreon · Blue Steel · 1:05:28 · unknown (0.30)] Blue Steel ↔ Superman · craft · The helicopter date with aerial photography is a Superman thing. · "It's a Superman thing, and there are those amazing, like, the helicopter photography going around"
[The Big Picture · ‘Captain Marvel’ Is a ’90s Nostalgia Play. Did It Work? | Exit Survey · 0:49:46 · Amanda Dobbins (0.60)] Captain Marvel ↔ Superman · contrast · Captain Marvel is so powerful that Amanda wants her Kryptonite, like Superman. · "I'm sure she have her version of Kryptonite or whatever?"
[Blank Check · Dune · 1:39:19 · unknown (0.35)] Dune ↔ Superman · industry · Realizing a novel's iconography on screen risks looking dumb, like early superhero costumes before Reeve. · "Only Christopher Reeve could really do it."
[The Rewatchables · ‘F1’ · 0:43:56 · Bill Simmons (0.50)] F1 ↔ Superman · industry · F1 beat Superman at the 2025 worldwide box office. · "Take that fucking Superman."
[The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:23:40 · Sean Fennessey (0.40)] Gladiator II ↔ Superman · what-if · That version would be like if Lex Luthor could control Superman. · "It would be like if Lex Luthor could control Superman."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo · 2:32:18 · unknown (0.30)] Trent Reznor ↔ Superman · craft · Reznor's pivot to a dark score is compared to John Williams cracking his knuckles for the Superman score. · "This is like John Williams in 79 cracking his knuckles to do the Superman score."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Blue Steel · 1:24:23 · unknown (0.40)] Blue Steel ↔ Zoolander · programming · Zoolander's Blue Steel ruined the title of Bigelow's film. · "It is weird now that like this movie's title is totally ruined by Zoolander."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Guardians of the Galaxy · 0:59:57 · unknown (0.30)] Guardians of the Galaxy ↔ Captain Marvel · programming · Captain Marvel provides context for the Nova Corps Cree and a not-yet-crazy Ronan, and Jude Law's Yon-Rogg. · "But the idea in Captain Marvel is he's not crazy yet."
[Blank Check · Dune · 0:22:17 · John Hodgman (0.85)] Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope ⇒ Dune (the host's read) · programming · Dune was positioned and released as the studio's answer to Star Wars, the next big space epic. · "Uh, this movie is released with the energy of, here you go, here's the new Star Wars."
[The Rewatchables · ‘F1’ · 1:01:08 · Chris Ryan (0.40)] F1 ↔ Drive to Survive (series) · programming · Drive to Survive is the 2020s reference point for F1's popularity. · "I'll give you a drive to survive reference."
[The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:37:13 · Chris Ryan (0.40)] Gladiator II ↔ Wicked · programming · Gladiator II's CGI baboons made it feel like being dumped into Wicked. · "I actually felt like we got dumped into Wicked or something, you know?"
[Blank Check — Patreon · Blue Steel · 1:26:39 · unknown (0.40)] Blue Steel ↔ The Hunt for Red October · programming · The weekend Blue Steel opened, The Hunt for Red October was number one. · "It's a huge box on October, right? For Red October."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Captain America: The Winter Soldier · 0:34:42 · unknown (0.40)] Samuel L. Jackson ↔ Captain Marvel · programming · Hosts are excited to see Jackson as a younger Nick Fury again. · "Can't wait for him to do stuff again in like Captain Marvel and shit."
[Blank Check · Dune · 2:50:47 · unknown (0.40)] Dune ↔ Dune: Prophecy · programming · An HBO Max Dune series is coming, which the hosts are excited for. · "10 hours at the HBO Max series coming?"
[The Rewatchables · ‘F1’ · 0:05:18 · Van Lathan (0.40)] F1 ↔ Gleaming the Cube · lineage · F1 revives the 80s star-plus-cultural-phenomenon movie like Gleaming the Cube and Over the Top. · "we used to do these movies, gleaming the cube, skateboarding over the top, arm wrestling"
[The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:06:45 · Sean Fennessey (0.80)] Gladiator ⇒ Gladiator II (the host's read) · lineage · The sequel is very similar in structure and story to the original. · "it's pretty well known that this movie is very similar in structure and story to the original."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Blue Steel · 1:28:23 · Jordan Hoffman (0.40)] Blue Steel ↔ Joe Versus the Volcano · programming · Number two that weekend was Joe Versus the Volcano, a critical bomb for Tom Hanks. · "Oh, Joe versus the volcano?"
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Avengers · 1:29:32 · David Sims (0.40)] Captain Marvel ↔ The Avengers · programming · Captain Marvel is a 1990s prequel in which Fury still has both eyes, bringing back Coulson/Fury; they predict nineties-reference gags. · "So in that one, Nick Fury has 2 eyes."
[Blank Check · Dune · 3:02:27 · Griffin Newman (0.50)] Dune ↔ Blue Velvet · programming · Next week's episode is Blue Velvet with Jamie Loftus. · "Tune in next week for Blue Velvet with Jamie Loftus?"
[The Rewatchables · ‘F1’ · 0:10:12 · Bill Simmons (0.60)] F1 ↔ Days of Thunder · lineage · Same kind of 1990 star-driven racing picture, but F1's camera work leaves it behind. · "This movie in 1990 was Days of Thunder, which was a very cool movie that I like a lot that we've done on the rewatchables, but it's night and day"
[The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:15:52 · Mallory Rubin (0.60)] Gladiator ⇒ Gladiator II (the host's read) · lineage · The sequel's plot, structure, approach and pacing mirror the first, forcing a one-to-one comparison. · "it's just the movie is so similar to the 1st one in terms of plot, structure, approach, focus, pacing."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Blue Steel · 1:29:17 · unknown (0.40)] Blue Steel ↔ Lord of the Flies · programming · Number three that weekend was the 1990 Lord of the Flies. · "The 1990 Lord of the Flies."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man · 2:01:42 · unknown (Griffin) (0.50)] Iron Man ↔ Captain Marvel · programming · Mentions Captain Marvel's upcoming 90s setting and Kamala Khan idolizing her as a possible future movie. · "And then like models herself after Captain Marvel."
[Blank Check · Dune · 0:19:09 · unknown (0.50)] Dune ↔ Dune · lineage · The episode cannot be done without comparing Lynch's film to the Villeneuve movies. · "We can't do this episode without comparing this movie to the Villanova films"
[The Rewatchables · ‘F1’ · 0:14:21 · Bill Simmons (0.60)] F1 ↔ Top Gun: Maverick · lineage · Same director and a broadly similar story of an aging star in the cockpit. · "this movie gets compared to Top Gun Maverick a lot, same director"
[The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:21:39 · Mallory Rubin (0.50)] Gladiator ⇒ Gladiator II (the host's read) · lineage · Because it mirrors the first film, outcomes for characters become predictable by inversion. · "I almost felt like it became impossible not to know what was going to happen to certain people"
[Blank Check — Patreon · Blue Steel · 1:30:22 · unknown (0.40)] Blue Steel ↔ House Party · programming · Number four that weekend was House Party. · "Oh, house party. house party."
[The Big Picture · ‘Captain Marvel’ Is a ’90s Nostalgia Play. Did It Work? | Exit Survey · 0:03:27 · Sean Fennessey (0.80)] Captain America: The First Avenger ⇒ Captain Marvel (the host's read) · lineage · The film goes back to the Steve Rogers style of origin story. · "here's how Steve Rogers became a super soldier style of storytelling."
[Blank Check · Dune · 0:22:22 · John Hodgman (0.70)] Dune ⇒ Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (the host's read) · lineage · The Dune book's messaging is credited as one of the things that inspired Star Wars. · "And not only that, the messaging of this is one of the things that inspired Star Wars."
[The Rewatchables · ‘F1’ · 1:41:07 · Bill Simmons (0.50)] F1 ↔ Grand Prix · lineage · Frankenheimer's 1966 racing picture is the double-feature pick. · "I'm going Grand Prix, the John Frankenheimer movie from 66."
[The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:52:34 · Sean Fennessey (0.40)] Gladiator ⇒ Gladiator II (the host's read) · lineage · Lucius's hand in the grain is a callback to Maximus's hand in the wheat. · "And it's an obvious callback to Maximus walking through the kind of afterlife feeling the wheat."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Blue Steel · 0:05:23 · David Sims (0.40)] Blue Steel ↔ Halloween · lineage · Calls Blue Steel a slasher with Ron Silver as Michael Myers and cites Ebert calling it the best Halloween sequel. · "I read back to Roger Ebert's review, and he said, this is actually the best Halloween sequel that's ever been made."
[The Big Picture · ‘Captain Marvel’ Is a ’90s Nostalgia Play. Did It Work? | Exit Survey · 0:09:03 · Sean Fennessey (0.85)] The Avengers ⇒ Captain Marvel (the host's read) · lineage · The Tesseract, the glowing box, was a MacGuffin in the first Avengers and in Infinity War. · "you may remember the Tesseract from the 1st Avengers film, and then, of course, the most recent Avengers film, Avengers Infinity War"
[Blank Check · Dune · 1:17:01 · David Sims (0.30)] Dune ⇒ Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (the host's read) · theme · Dune's Fremen/revolution material is the denser source that Star Wars abstracts; the Force is Dune without the drugs. · "the Force in Star Wars is like doom without the drugs."
[The Rewatchables · ‘F1’ · 0:07:16 · Bill Simmons (0.50)] F1 ↔ Chef · theme · Racing movies and Chef's cooking scene both beat watching the real thing. · "I love racing movies because they're basically awesomely edited."
[The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:47:12 · Sean Fennessey (0.40)] Gladiator II ↔ Conclave · theme · Both films feel resonant with the election cycle without mapping neatly. · "the same way that conclave, which is like so heavily leaning into like, hey, isn't this just like this election cycle?"
[Blank Check — Patreon · Blue Steel · 0:34:56 · unknown (0.30)] Blue Steel ↔ Dirty Harry · lineage · The after-shooting inquiry echoes the way Dirty Harry handled a cop's use of force. · "Dirty Harry done the same thing."
[The Big Picture · ‘Captain Marvel’ Is a ’90s Nostalgia Play. Did It Work? | Exit Survey · 0:09:16 · Sean Fennessey (0.80)] Captain Marvel ↔ Avengers: Infinity War · lineage · The film is connective tissue, dragging continuity toward the next Avengers movie. · "this movie is basically a connective tissue movie."
[Blank Check · Dune · 1:58:13 · unknown (0.35)] Jupiter Ascending ↔ Dune · theme · Jupiter Ascending shares the palace-intrigue, gilded sci-fi mode. · "I think it's a goofier movie, but Jupiter ascending has the same thing of like palace intrigue."
[The Rewatchables · ‘F1’ · 0:07:37 · Chris Ryan (0.50)] F1 ↔ Chef · theme · Cooking is cinematic in Chef the way racing is in F1: movies render the activity better than the real thing. · "I would say cooking movies or another one like that."
[The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:09:25 · Chris Ryan (0.50)] Gladiator II ↔ Anora · theme · Anora's idea that there is no dream undercuts Macrinus's rise from nothing to the top. · "one of the key ideas of Anora is like, There is no dream."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Blue Steel · 0:39:36 · unknown (0.30)] Blue Steel ↔ Prince of the City · lineage · Describes the cop-in-crisis strain of 70s cop movies, as in Lumet's Prince of the City. · "Right? So you Lumet's Prince in the city."
[The Big Picture · ‘Captain Marvel’ Is a ’90s Nostalgia Play. Did It Work? | Exit Survey · 0:18:39 · Sean Fennessey (0.70)] Pulp Fiction ⇒ Captain Marvel (the host's read) · lineage · Samuel L. Jackson driving around mid-90s Los Angeles evokes Jules Winfield, a clever but surface 90s nod. · "a Samuel L. Jackson character in the mid 90s driving around in a car in Los Angeles, a la Jules Winfield in Pulp Fiction."
[Blank Check · Twin Peaks: The Return (Episode 8) · 1:25:56 · unknown (0.30)] Twin Peaks: The Return, Part 8 ↔ Dune · craft · The purple sea gets a joke identification as Dune, with the worm floating by. · "The worm floats by. That's the planet Dune."
[The Rewatchables · ‘F1’ · 0:08:56 · Bill Simmons (0.50)] F1 ↔ The Color of Money · theme · Color of Money shows billiards as the most exciting cinematic thing; so racing movies work better than racing. · "if you watch Color of Money, you're like, Billiards is the most exciting cinematic thing"
[The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:06:38 · Sean Fennessey (0.85)] Gladiator II ↔ Gladiator · craft · Gladiator II brings back the original film's cinematographer, John Mathieson, as part of a returning crew. · "The cinematographer, John Matheson, is back."
[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] 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
[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] Blank Check: The box office game (Guessing the film's opening weekend and what it was up against); The sung theme ("Blank Check with Griffin and David", sung; the transcriber garbles it)
[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 Superman (1978); name it the way the line names it. Don't recommend Superman (1978) 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.