Loves Marvel's cosmic, ragtag-team side and the animated Rocket/Groot heart; affectionate about the sillier comic characters. Dislikes humorless gray franchise filmmaking and bad needle drops. A sucker for a ragtag group, a Trek-style space comedy, and a Han Solo type inside an ensemble. Speaker attribution in this transcript is uncertain.
Stances
Gunn is a real filmmaker who won his arguments with Marvel
Quill is the best Han Solo since Han Solo
Rocket and Groot are one of the best big/small duos
Humor: Talks in self-aware bits (the countdown clock, chronic lateness) and makes dirty-minded pile-ons with the room.
In their words
“I just don't get how, like, people saw this movie who had not seen every Marvel movie for sure.” (0:24:45)
“That's the other big thing is that gun was a troma guy.” (0:36:18)
Marvel completist who loves the series' smaller character beats (Agent Carter, Peggy, Falcon, Sam Jackson's Fury) and defends Infinity War. Loves action built from hand-to-hand fights and movie-star dialogue scenes. Allergic to bad-faith villain motives and to the cheap CGI leaps. Suckers for old tech, spy-bureaucracy aesthetic and New Hollywood stars.
Stances
Winter Soldier is great until the final Helicarrier act
Prefers small-scale hand-to-hand action to CGI set pieces
Loves Agent Carter and wants it back
Mild on Bucky/Winter Soldier himself
Humor: Rapid riffs, character voices, self-deprecating anecdotes and overlong running bits that derail the commentary.
In their words
“I just love this sequence” (0:08:33)
“I think this movie's basically terrific until the final seppies” (0:12:41)
Loves lore-heavy, dorky, earnest sci-fi fantasy with real sets, tactile design and a spaceship in it; likes the Thor mythos and Sif. Dislikes things that mock their own source material (Ragnarok) and thinks the first Thor is too clean. A sucker for spectacle that dumps lore on a simple hero's journey.
Stances
Dark World is the most underappreciated Marvel film
Ragnarok disrespects the mythos
Practical, tactile design beats cartoony CGI
Humor: Rapid riffing wordplay and long running bits (Tony Lip as pizza), eagerly undercutting his own sincerity.
In their words
“I'm defenseless before any dizzyingly silly sci-fi epic that downloads gigabytes of lore into the viewer's brain by means of a simple hero's journey narrative.” (1:38:17)
Loves Iron Man 3 as his favorite MCU film for its character study and how it turns superhero loneliness into anxiety and panic. Collects $20 off-the-shelf action figures and Hot Toys Robocop, and cherishes buddy-cop 80s action and well-built set pieces. Dislikes suits that are just mush CGI and wet-cement final fights.
Stances
Iron Man 3 is a masterpiece and anyone who dislikes it is wrong
Tony should be out of the suit; the film works because he is not Iron Man for most of it
Marvel should have let the Rebecca Hall villain stand
Loves Whedon-era dialogue, Buffy and Firefly, Kenneth Lonergan, and character-driven ensemble action; sucker for actors having fun and clever setups paid off. Dislikes homogenized Marvel visuals, rock-song tags, and Grindelwald's Crimes. Allergic to a Christmas tree and moose.
Stances
Whedon's script is the star; the film is not visually distinguished
Ruffalo is the movie's best performance
Costume detail (neckcloth) bothers him
Grindelwald should be as fun as Loki
Humor: Spends bits on celebrity impressions (Downey, Timberlake, Tom Waits) and mock-pompous asides.
In their words
“I'm still like a big Buffy fan, a big old-fashioned Wii. I love Firefly, right?” (0:04:21)
“This is what I want Grindewald to be like...” (0:40:51)
He loves heightened-but-not-kitschy design, period movies, Peggy Carter, and actors who underplay. He is a sucker for old-fashioned adventure and a Fantastic Four fan. He doesn't like the reasonable-Nazi Zola or the digital-video look of early-2010s effects.
Stances
The film feels like it ends in the middle
Bucky does not work as an emotional anchor
Actors' behavior in food scenes reveals pros from novices
Humor: Self-deprecating personal stories, about being 90 pounds and eating four cheeseburgers at his Disney store job.
In their words
“I was so grossly underweight and I felt like it was a hindrance to my career because I looked skeleton.” (0:18:15)
A Masters of the Universe devotee who reaches for He-Man as the template for Thor, loves the hammer payoff, and is a sucker for Cat Dennings and Sif. Dislikes the desaturated palette and the cheap-looking Jotunheim. Has the clearest pop-culture and actor-career recall, with skits and personal anecdotes.
Stances
Thor is a remake of Masters of the Universe
The movie looks ugly and desaturated
Hemsworth's performance and chemistry work
Not yet sold on Thor as a character until Avengers and Dark World
Humor: Escalating bits that run for minutes, like the Skarsgard-nudity search and buried jeans.
In their words
“It's mostly just a remake of the live action masters of the universe movie.” (0:03:54)
“I'm searching Stellen Starsgard full frontal nudity.” (1:12:14)
Loves comic-book lore (Crimson Dynamo, Demon in a Bottle) and Iron Man 3, Galaxy Quest, Garry Shandling. Cannot stand a movie that pads out its middle with self-impressed banter. A sucker for Tartakovsky action.
Stances
Iron Man 3 is the great Iron Man movie
Iron Man 2 mistakes riffing for story
Dark World is a joke best American film
Humor: Riffs and impressions, pumps up bits like the Expo is an element.
In their words
“Iron Man 3 is the greatest movie ever made.” (0:25:19)
“I love Larry Sanders too, but it's Gary Shandling show is like my favorite.” (1:30:55)
Loves Ang Lee's Hulk and is quick to defend Iron Man 2's ambitions; hates bad CGI faces and generic action presets; a sucker for chain restaurants, pizza and Marvel lore.
Stances
Ang Lee's Hulk is good and this one is a corrective with no point
Edward Norton is miscast and unengaged
Iron Man 2 fails more interestingly
Humor: Absurdist riffing, sung bits, and escalating food and chain-restaurant tangents.
Loves Marvel comics deeply (Ultimate line, Ms. Marvel, Franklin Richards), actor-driven performances, and looseness; hates a studio-polished formula and a reporter sleeping with the subject trope. A sucker for comic-book film process scenes, the Comic-Con trailer era, and the Tick.
Stances
Iron Man is solid but not beloved; the post-credits Fury scene blew his mind
Prefers Iron Man's visible machinery to nanobite suits
Thinks Infinity War is a triumph, others disagree
Humor: Riffs and bits about his own history (Times Square apartment, 99-cent pizza, Avatar audition).
In their words
“I remember liking this movie. I didn't love it, but I remember feeling... Oh, I fucking loved this movie.” (1:13:42)
Obsessive about National Treasure and the minutiae of movie culture, and a Nancy Meyers admirer who frames her as a souffle filmmaker. Cares about Oscar-season lore and montages. Likes that Nicholson is vulnerable and unvain in this film.
Stances
Nancy Meyers is a souffle filmmaker whose perfectionism serves a fantasy for the audience (attributed at moderate confidence)
The film is a deconstruction of Nicholson's persona and aged better than It's Complicated (speaker uncertain)
Humor: Fast riffing and bits (Keanu impression, Transformers totems), plus running gags about Brenton Thwaites and National Treasure 3.
In their words
“Interesting bringing that up because I'm going to actually draw a big national treasure parallel in this episode to something that's got to give.” (0:11:12)
“And I feel like Nancy is like a souffle filmmaker” (1:33:22)
Loves high-concept, big-swing filmmaking and sees deep emotion in the fights of CTHD; adores sword-and-flight spectacle, dumb-sweet characters like Inspector Tsai, and Lady Bird comparisons. Can't stand Brett Ratner and tired-looking Marvel fights; a sucker for bit-heavy tangents.
Stances
CTHD's fights carry story and character
US action movies are bad because they lack talent and time
Disliked CTHD at 11, later realized it is great
Humor: Escalating riffs and callbacks, crude and silly puns, voices.
In their words
“I was so literal minded where I was like, but they don't explain why they can fly.” (0:17:40)
“11 year old Griffin was laughing and like 29 year old Griffin was crying.” (1:00:34)
Loves The Ice Storm and defends Hulk-era Ang Lee; treats it as a sad Fantastic Four movie. Hates the see-the-ending-first structure in general. A sucker for Elliott Gould and comic-book metaphors.
Stances
Ice Storm is a masterpiece and the best Lee film not starring a Marvel hero
Fantastic Four deserves a sad, isolated, family movie
Dislikes in-media-res openings but accepts this one
Humor: Dry riffing, running bits, and confessional anecdotes about his own near-misses.
In their words
“He put his hand on my shoulder and he went, you're family.” (0:29:17)
“this movie does make me wish that he gotten the chance to make a sad, fantastic four movie.” (1:34:30)
Loves Bigelow's tension and iconography, and Curtis's grounded, empathetic underplaying. Dislikes Mother!'s lack of an anchor. A sucker for character actors and the way a movie's scenes hold the whole thing in micro.
Stances
Blue Steel is top-tier Bigelow and a rediscovery candidate
The movie is about gender and tension, and every scene plays differently if she were a man
Humor: Riffs on nicknames and bits, running gags like 'David and I' variations.
In their words
“My father's a professor at NYU, and he needed guest speakers, and so we talked about podcasting to his class.” (0:26:44)
Loves the film's loneliness and the hardcore Crowe-ness; he's a defender of this movie after rewatching, gives it A minus or B plus. Can't stand the way Cruz is shoved into a romance with no chemistry. A sucker for Kurt Russell, Jason Lee and a good bit.
Stances
Vanilla Sky is the loneliest movie ever made
Defends the movie after first seeing it two years ago on Netflix
Is going through a breakup and keeps working it into the episode
Humor: Self-lacerating, prop comedy and long running bits (sunglasses, catchphrases).
In their words
“It's the loneliest movie ever made.” (0:34:00)
“I'm going through a psychological free fall.” (0:00:55)
Attribution to Griffin versus David is low-confidence (no labels). One host loves Muppets and puppetry and rewatched this on video as a child; the same side loses patience over CGI special-edition changes and the Marcia Lucas theory. Likes conclusions and wrapped-up stories; can't stand Lucas's digital embellishments.
Stances
Special-edition CGI additions hurt Jedi most
Puppets and practical creatures are the movie's strength
Lucas is a sympathetic, wounded figure
Humor: Escalating comic fury, bits about the Empire as a workplace comedy and Santa-hat table dressing.
In their words
“I fucking love Muppets, as you know.” (0:09:53)
“I think the puppetry's so good.” (0:57:07)
Their shows' recurring bits
Running bits, not opinions; a critic read aloud is cited, not present.
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.
Blank Check with Griffin & David
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.
Their claims
Showing 1,001–1,100 of 1,162 claims.
verdict (verdict):
Tommy Lee Jones → Ad Astra.
A 'sweater and a fretter': in space fretting while wearing a good sweater.
programming (programming):
Black Panther → Avengers: Infinity War.
Griffin loved Black Panther just before, then felt Infinity War was one Marvel movie too big.
“Having, you know, loved Black Panther, which came out right before this.”
verdict (verdict):
Avengers: Infinity War → Avengers: Endgame.
Griffin's frustration with Infinity War in theaters came from dreading what Endgame would do; having since loved Endgame he likes this film more on rewatch.
“I feel like a lot of my frustrations with this movie when I saw it were also based on me anticipating what I thought they were going to do with Endgame”
contrast (contrast):
Doctor Strange → Avengers: Infinity War.
Doctor Strange has the worst joke writing in any Marvel film, while the Avengers films do his comedy better.
“I think Doctor Strange also suffers from the worst joke writing in any Marvel film.”
lineage (lineage):
Jack Kirby → Avengers: Infinity War.
Kirby's cosmic creations at Marvel, Galactus and the Silver Surfer, are the ancestors of this material.
“he creates galactus and silver surf and all these parrots”
what-if (what-if):
Avengers: Infinity War → Avengers: Endgame.
Mantis proves Thanos can be mentally manipulated, so Endgame should have used Wanda against him.
“you have a very powerful mental manipulator in Wanda, and she doesn't do it.”
what-if (what-if):
Avengers: Infinity War → Avengers: Endgame.
Would have preferred Wanda going into Thanos's head in Endgame, a Mysterio-style nightmare sequence.
“I would have enjoyed her more going into his head”
contrast (contrast):
Avengers: Infinity War → Cobweb.
The movie is a glove thriller the way The Cobweb is a drape drama: a huge story about accessories.
“So they were filming this movie at the same time in Cleveland, Ohio, and the suburbs outside of Cleveland that we were filming a motion picture called Draft Day.”
what-if (what-if):
Thor: The Dark World → Patty Jenkins.
The film fired original director Patty Jenkins and replaced her with Game of Thrones TV director Alan Taylor.
contrast (contrast):
Thor: Ragnarok → Thor: The Dark World.
Ragnarok flushes nearly all the mythos out of Thor other than Thor and Loki, which the speakers dislike.
“And they flush almost everything out of the mythos other than Thorn Loke.”
craft (craft):
Michael Giacchino → Thor: The Dark World.
The speakers ask whether The Dark World is the first Marvel film to open with the Giacchino Marvel Studios fanfare.
craft (craft):
Thor: The Dark World → Thor.
The Dark World goes further in both directions on design (older looks plus more tech) while Branagh's Thor split the difference in a murky middle.
“I think, like, Branagh is splitting the difference too hard and staying in a weird murky middle ground.”
lineage (lineage):
Thor: The Dark World → The Avengers.
The Dark World is the correction to Joss Whedon cracking Loki: he becomes co-lead, Thor 1A to Loki 1B.
“This is the correction to Joss Whedon cracking Loki, where they're like, we get it now.”
theme (theme):
Thor: The Dark World → Crazy Rich Asians.
The fish-out-of-water romance with a world of high society and Frigga as the mother echoes Crazy Rich Asians.
“Well, because this is also her kind of crazy rich Asians where it's like, this is a world that I don't know.”
what-if (what-if):
Thor: The Dark World → Patty Jenkins.
What Jenkins wanted to make was a romance first and foremost, and the romantic comedy half of the finished film is read as that movie surviving.
“She kept on saying she really wants to make a romance 1st and foremost.”
career (career):
Stellan Skarsgard → Thor: The Dark World.
Skarsgard is naked in more movies than clothed; he must have negotiated a nude scene in his Marvel deal.
“Scott Scarsgard is naked in more movies than he's clothed.”
career (career):
Alan Taylor → Boardwalk Empire.
Taylor has long been a top HBO director (Boardwalk, Sopranos, Game of Thrones) before moving to blockbusters, and was tapped for the Sopranos prequel.
“Because he's sort of been a top HBO director for a long time.”
industry (industry):
Thor: The Dark World → Idris Elba.
Heimdall is where it shows Elba is too famous for the role; the franchise gives him an action scene to keep him.
“Idris Elba is officially too famous for this role.”
what-if (what-if):
Black Panther → Idris Elba.
Elba, stuck as Heimdall, could have played the Forest Whitaker part or the Daniel Kaluuya part in Black Panther.
career (career):
Idris Elba → The Wire.
Elba got very famous through The Wire's late-arriving HBO Go audience, so he is now too big for Heimdall's small part.
“The wire got really big around this time because of HBO Go.”
craft (craft):
Thor: The Dark World → Doctor Strange.
Doctor Strange does tactile magic well, with sparks, whereas Thor's magic read as CGI doodles elsewhere; the Dark World's has texture.
“I think Doctor Strange does really well, but they make magic look tactile, which is hard to do.”
contrast (contrast):
Thor: The Dark World → Black Panther.
Black Panther does Thor-style city-under-attack better than Asgard, which never reads as a city or a planet.
“You never really understand if Asgard is a city or a planet.”
industry (industry):
Christopher Eccleston → The Story of G.I. Joe.
Eccleston jumped in at the last second here as he did for G.I. Joe's Destro, replacing the originally cast Mads Mikkelsen.
“This was supposed to be Mads, and then it became Eccleston.”
industry (industry):
Joshua Dallas → Once Upon a Time.
Joshua Dallas played Fandral in Thor but could not return because Once Upon a Time was renewed, bringing Levi back.
“Then they hire Joshua Dallas. Then he can't come back for this because once upon a time gets renewed.”
people (people):
Jason X → David Cronenberg.
Cronenberg is claimed to appear in Jason X and is recommended as an actor in the Canadian film Last Night.
industry (industry):
Your Name → Marc Webb.
Marc Webb is directing an American Your Name remake about Native American culture; the speakers say it's a bad idea.
“Mark Webb is directing an American remake of your name.”
verdict (verdict):
Thor: The Dark World → Doctor Strange.
Doctor Strange fails on comedy, trying too hard to make Strange like Tony Stark; they should have owned being po-faced like this earnest film.
“That movie conclusively fails on the comedy front.”
people (people):
Thor: The Dark World → Don Payne.
Don Payne wrote the original draft, his last script; the portal-fight gimmick likely came from his comedy and Simpsons background.
“I wouldn't be surprised if this was a thing that Don Payne brought in.”
craft (craft):
Thor: The Dark World → The Fate of the Furious.
The London flat where Thor and Jane land looks like the penthouse where the Fast & Furious gang drinks Budweisers at the end of Fate.
“It sort of looks like the flat where they Fast and Furious gang gathers at the end of fate.”
what-if (what-if):
Benicio del Toro → Avengers: Endgame.
They hope Endgame has Benicio del Toro's Collector and Jeff Goldblum's Grandmaster together as the Space Brothers.
“If Endgame doesn't have Space Necio and Jeff Spaceblum together as the Space Brothers.”
people (people):
Ender's Game → Harrison Ford.
The box office game answer is Ender's Game with Harrison Ford in a supporting role and Gavin Hood directing.
career (career):
Joss Whedon → Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Speaker's Buffy/Firefly fandom is why Whedon's exposition and Fury's crackling lines register as his signature.
“I'm still like a big Buffy fan, a big old-fashioned Wii. I love Firefly, right?”
people (people):
Robert Downey Jr. → Joss Whedon.
Downey pushed to be the star of the team movie in his first meeting with Whedon, then admitted he was wrong.
“I know you think you're making a team movie, but I'm the big star.”
career (career):
Mark Ruffalo → 13 Going on 30.
After his illness he went for rom-com leads and got stuck as the nice pushover, the Bill Pullman of rom-coms.
“At this point, it's like he's becoming like the Bill Pullman of rom-coms.”
career (career):
Mark Ruffalo → Sympathy for Delicious.
His directorial debut, a low point (hosts disagree on degree) when he claimed he might quit acting.
career (career):
Mark Ruffalo → The Kids Are All Right.
A role of under 5 working days brought his first Oscar nomination and the comeback, then Shutter Island with Scorsese.
“I believe he worked less than 5 days on that film.”
people (people):
Samuel L. Jackson → Kong: Skull Island.
Jackson holding court about director Jordan Vogt-Roberts as an amateur, illustrating Jackson's professionalism standard.
“he was loudly holding court over what a fucking disaster Jordan Vote Roberts was on Kong Skull Island.”
career (career):
Samuel L. Jackson → Jungle Fever.
Jackson used his real crack addiction in Jungle Fever, which made his career and earned a first-ever supporting prize at Cannes.
“Right, which is the 1st time that the con film festival is ever given out a supporting award.”
programming (programming):
Kevin Feige → Inhumans (announced film).
Feige's Phase 3 keynote, staged like an Apple unveiling, announced Captain Marvel, Boseman, and a joke 'Inhumans movie with Vin Diesel'.
“Feige doing that weird keynote address where he was doing like his Steve Jobs impression and announcing the phase 3 films.”
programming (programming):
The Avengers → Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D..
Coulson was brought back for the TV show but kept out of the movies, signaling the TV show is only loosely connected.
“you can be in the TV show, like, because we need, you know, a star for the show”
craft (craft):
The Avengers → Idiocracy.
Black Widow's origin tangent: Tony's rushed Iron Man 2 pitch reminded Griffin of the endless slides gag in Idiocracy.
“Do you know what one of my favorite jokes in the history of movies is?”
fun, about
The Lego Batman Movie:
Robin has not figured out Batman and Bruce Wayne are the same person: Bruce Wayne lives in Batman's attic, and Batman says Bruce told him it's okay to hang out.
“he has to be like, uh, Bruce told me it's okay for you to hang out with me.”
fun, about
The Lego Batman Movie:
Animators keep the Lego limits: arms rotate and swing but never bend, though shoulders may dislocate to cross the chest.
“but they'll let the entire arm sort of like remove from the body and turn inwards.”
fun, about
Lego (company):
Lego ruled the 90s by building its own mythologies each year, with Johnny Thunder as its Indiana Jones hero, before the 1999 Star Wars deal.
“There's Johnny Thunder, who is their attempt to create like an Indiana Jones style hero”
fun, about
The Lego Batman Movie:
A listener built Lego versions of the hosts; the builder, Dave Colletta, became a top contestant on Lego Masters, which Arnett hosts.
“And the guy who built the figures of us became like one of the best contestants on this fucking show.”
fun, about
The Lego Batman Movie:
Phantom Zone includes Sauron as a talking tower, Voldemort turning people to fish, the Wicked Witch, a Gremlin crew, and a Creature from the Black Lagoon.
fun, about
The Lego Batman Movie:
Griffin argues the movie is a flawed pick for David because the IP cameos are shallow; the villains get little screen time.
fun, about
Doctor Who:
Griffin explains a Dalek: it's a garbage can with a plunger because, per him, an arm went missing and a bathroom plunger replaced it.
“they were missing an arm and they took a plunger out of the bathroom.”
fun, about
Old Dogs:
After Justin Long's scout troop shoots a statue's head off, they burn it down and get kicked out.
“After shooting the head off the statue, they stayed there long enough for the sun to go down to light the whole thing on fire, and then they were kicked out.”
fun, about
Griffin Newman:
Griffin's Supergirl bit: Burt Ward and other legends in the opening credits made viewers think Crisis would tie in The Tick.
“For 5 seconds, I think people thought Crisis on Infinite Earth was gonna tie in the tick universe.”
fun, about
Adam West and Frank Gorshin:
The legend that West and Gorshin went to a Hollywood orgy in character and were expelled for doing too many bits.
fun, about
Alien: Covenant:
The Franco footage cooks him alive and Griffin says the 10-second prologue would have made the film's emotional start stronger.
“you kind of really benefit from seeing him for 10 seconds alive, you know?”
fun, about
Danny McBride:
McBride went to film school wanting to write and direct, was cast in friends' films, never auditioned, and said Covenant was what he always wanted to do.
fun, about
The Tick:
Griffin recounts his hardest technical acting scene: Dr. Karamazov shrunk, shot against tennis balls on sticks then redone from his own recorded dialogue.
“the single most challenging thing I've ever had to do as an actor on a technical level is”
fun, about
Alien: Covenant:
Merchandise for the movie showed an earlier, practical-looking xenomorph design before the creature was redone in CGI late in production.
“All of the merchandise for this movie had an incorrect xenomorph design.”
fun, about
Alien Quadrilogy:
The 2003 DVD box set that David calls a word hardly used outside that box; Resurrection got a special edition about seven minutes longer.
“Quadrilogy, a word that has rarely been used outside of that one box.”
fun, about
You've Got Mail:
The fall leaves in the movie are CGI because they shot in the summer, per the commentary track by Ephron and Schuler Donner.
“They're like, all of the fall stuff is CGI, baby.”
fun, about
Dave Chappelle:
Chappelle delivers the odd line 'she has the same coloring as' that was written for an older Eastern European actor in the original.
“if you look up the actor who played the best friend role and shop around the corner, it's like an older Eastern European man with a mustache.”
fun, about
Tom Hanks:
The script supervisor fixed Hanks's block on the Lalo scene: he stays because he is trying to build the courage to say it is him.
“Your motivation, this scene, is you think if you stay longer, you'll finally build the courage to say it.”