Likes the Apes franchise but has only seen the first two; cares about filmography and box-office context. Hard on bloated, calculated star vehicles. Attributions to David are low confidence because the transcript is unlabeled.
Stances
The 2001 film is indefensible
Hype and release dates drove production
Studios chase sequels nobody wants
Humor: Dry, sarcastic tangents about box office and franchises.
Fact-checks on a laptop, pulling dates and biographical trivia (Kinnear's Indiana roots, box office facts); lines individually attributed to him are low-confidence.
Stances
Keeps the episode on movie facts via the computer
Doesn't wear glasses
Humor: Wry deadpan and pointed film-business commentary.
In their words
“I should just note for anyone listening, David has a computer and you're getting the dates with that.” (1:02:09)
“See, I'm not glasses wear.” (0:31:09)
Blank Check with Griffin & David: Flesh+Blood (host)
Likes this movie more in the first half and gets bored by the plague second half. Defends John Hughes, Planes Trains and Automobiles, Breakfast Club. Fond of box office trivia and the 1985 weekend. Cannot stand rambling.
Stances
Second half becomes boring chaos
Hughes's first film is gross
Verhoeven becomes an impressionist of blockbusters
Humor: Dry quips, wordplay and deadpan reactions.
In their words
“I do see, I like this movie more in the 1st half where I think it's more achieving what it wants to do.” (1:12:10)
“Uh, Plan Strans and automobiles is a masterpiece.” (1:34:21)
Loves box office history and the box office game, character acting, and a well-made Spielberg set piece. Cannot stand underwritten leads, miscast villains and nostalgia as a defense. Is a sucker for Austin Powers and a wrong-footed sequel pitch.
Stances
The sequel is dramatically inert
Jurassic Park is a one-movie concept
Nostalgia should not canonize bad films
Humor: Dry, sarcastic one-liners and exaggerated nitpicking, plus comedic fury about the Crichton island names.
In their words
“I just think it's a horrible screenplay full of bad ideas that are totally disjointed.” (0:31:15)
“I don't think there is a great Jurassic Park sequel that could possibly be made.” (0:33:30)
“We have to stop canonizing things just because we saw them when we were young.” (1:39:46)
A working film critic who respects the filmmaking craft but is unforgiving of incoherence; likes actors like Bob Balaban and Jeffrey Wright and notices careful details like casting and release data. Cannot stand a film he finds unwatchable or toxic, as with My Old Lady. A sucker for box office numbers and critic-baiting trivia.
Stances
Lady in the Water is awful and unwatchable
The scrunt looks terrible
Critic characters in movies are usually unfair
Humor: Dry, quick riffs and deadpan dismissals, plus pop-culture cross-references.
In their words
“Where you lose me is the idea that this is a watchable film.” (1:49:10)
The Atlantic film and television critic who adores RDJ's charm and will watch anything out of Oscar completism. Hates showy awards bait and the Dobkin comedy style. Fond of The Godfather, The Apostle, Sam Raimi, and spaceship movies, and says he'd take a dumb spaceship movie over a dumb adult drama.
Stances
Downey was hurt by Marvel; indies are risky for him
Duvall's nomination was a veteran's default, not a sign of quality
The Judge is worse than The Phantom Menace
Humor: Dry deadpan, quick pile-ons, and overdramatic dismissals of bad movies.
In their words
“I am a film and television critic for the Atlantic.” (0:04:50)
“I just want to say this movie is a lot worse than Star Wars episode one of the Phantom Menace.” (1:09:46)
“I'd rather take a dumb spaceship movie than a dumb adult drama.” (1:10:26)
David is an Atlantic critic and box-office nerd who has written about what Hollywood failed to learn from Avatar. He loves the movie as a sincere crowd-pleaser and compares it to Top Gun: Maverick. He is exasperated by writers' rooms and 'director bullshit' he loves.
Stances
Hollywood learned the wrong lesson from Avatar
Avatar and Way of Water should be bet on
Cameron is always right
Humor: Jokey and wry, trading gags about plagiarizing Griffin's takes.
In their words
“I lifted this right from Griffin.” (0:45:17)
“If James Cameron thinks I need 4 Avatar sequels, then I need 4 Avatars.” (1:42:09)
“I also write movie reviews of the Atlantic.” (1:49:02)
Film critic who writes for the Atlantic; likes Joel Kinnaman, For All Mankind and Michael Keaton's rhythms. He is hard on the film but follows the industry context closely. A sucker for box-office trivia and the Mets.
Stances
The film is humorless and a waste of its cast
The grounded Nolan-style reboot wave ended with this film
The suit and the lack of a physical villain are the failures
Humor: Dry asides and tangents, like his Lord of the Rings Gollum-hunt pitch.
In their words
“I wrote their obituaries.” (0:01:32)
“What if you made it about them looking for Golem when he's not around?” (1:36:15)
Fond of the Tom Cruise character-actor mode over movie-star mode; reads the film through its production history and cutting. Dislikes Mr. & Mrs. Smith and Road House. Admires the 2014 slate but ranks Edge near the top.
Stances
Edge is Cruise's unheralded fulcrum performance
The Liman-McQuarrie-Cruise triangle is why it works
Does not want a sequel
Humor: Dry, argumentative asides and cinephile one-liners.
A big Cronenberg fan and a video game kid (Game Boy Camera, Perfect Dark). Likes Villeneuve and Dune but is skeptical of Linklater and Soderbergh episodes that run thin.
Stances
Cronenberg is his Lynch
Dune and Villeneuve deserve an extended look
Skeptical of directors who just try stuff
Humor: Dry deflation and piling on Griffin's bits.
In their words
“Pronenberg is kind of my lynch.” (0:42:28)
“One of my favorite games, this is David Sims speaking” (0:23:16)
Reads the dossier and runs the box office game, with a film-historian's interest in distribution and Oscar history. Skeptical of calling things masterpieces. Has less Lynch background than Griffin and Ben, and is mostly seeing the filmography fresh.
Stances
Parent Trap is not a masterpiece
Lynch's career deserves the miniseries
The box office game gives context to a release
Humor: Dry corrections and pointing out others' mistakes, plus tangents like Grimace.
In their words
“I think a couple of the things you have as masterpiece are a stretch.” (0:09:19)
A Banderas devotee who logs everything on Letterboxd and is drawn to flops and Hollywood context. Finds this film dull and the lead miscast, but likes the idea. Sucker for 1999 box-office detail.
Stances
Banderas is miscast in a realism-minded part
The film is a middling watch
Humor: Dry sarcasm and mock outrage.
In their words
“I have never seen a performance that I feel he is phoning in because he has so much energy as a performer.” (0:47:56)
A working critic who saw the film at a guild screening with Fincher and Walker and relays the Q&A; ranks Zodiac first and Alien 3 high. He likes pulpy genre craft, Soderbergh and Hit Man comparisons, and box-office detail.
Stances
The Killer is Fincher doing a stripped-down genre exercise
Netflix business strategy hurts both Fincher films
Alien 3 is bleak and underrated
Humor: Dry, deadpan ranking-banter and tangents on the weekend box office.
In their words
“I think he said it was 5 days of shooting, but it was 5 weeks of rehearsal.” (1:18:08)
“He said it was Prometheus and Haywire, which makes sense.” (1:17:06)
Likes Mank and Fincher, calls it an airy delight, and interviewed everyone on the crew for his Atlantic story. Loves the Hearst-party scenes and the machinery of Hollywood development. Dislikes the Mank writing frame and The Offer's spirit.
Stances
Mank is more fun than its reputation
The writing frame is the least interesting part of the movie
He likes Mank but not Promising Young Woman
Humor: Sarcastic and deflating, with sudden bits like showing character posters during The Offer.
In their words
“This movie is fun.” (0:20:02)
“I interviewed everyone involved with this movie.” (0:02:09)
“I watched them both in the same night, so they're mushing together in my brain.” (2:01:06)
A working critic who loves Gone Girl as a stylish pulp thriller and keeps a running grudge about the Oscars snubbing it. Fond of craft detail (lighting, gaffers) and old-fashioned stardom talk, and a self-described soft touch on Netflix when they make something good. Wary of bad Netflix-Fincher imitations.
Stances
Gone Girl deserved cinematography, editing and score nominations
Netflix prestige now looks like a diluted Fincher
He is nice to Netflix when it makes something good
Humor: Dry, with groaners and name-mangling bits that the others pounce on.
In their words
“Look, if they make something good,” (0:30:56)
“And when I interviewed Michael Mann, which I just did.” (2:43:38)
“I also was deep in watching 8000000 lawyer movies for a big picture draft episode and I did not want to take on also trying to get through 2 seasons of Mindhunter.” (3:04:06)
Treats Dragon Tattoo as a comfort movie he likes more every rewatch; loves Christopher Plummer's 80s, cold murder, Fincher's craft. Dislikes hot murder and feel-bad-is-good-for-you talk. A sucker for Plummer, Muppets-era nostalgia and a rewatch-conversion story.
Stances
Best 80s of any actor
I want cold murder
Aloha now rules.
Humor: Dry, deadpan; lands the hot take then undercuts it.
In their words
“I like it more every time I rewatch it, which I think is true for a lot of people.” (2:24:32)
A critic who ranks The Social Network number one of 2010 and calls it one of the most rewatchable films of modern history. Likes tight genre craft and thinks the movie became a genre. Cool on The Big Short and the lesser Facebook-adjacent films.
Stances
The Social Network is the best film of its decade
The Big Short rips it off
The film is a harbinger of how culture works
Humor: Dry, with deadpan asides and long riffs on Hollywood business.
In their words
“I have the social network at number one of 2010.” (0:09:14)
“I mean, I think the big short, which is not a movie I love, is the most obvious movie that's ripping off the social network” (0:11:44)
Frames Zodiac against its 2007 competition and talks about its craft precisely. Coined the phrase 'a movie where the look of it makes your teeth hurt'. Treats Zodiac as a comfort-food movie despite the subject.
Stances
Zodiac is Fincher's masterpiece
Digital cinematography can be stunning
The 2007 slate was loaded
Humor: Gleeful, self-aware, quick to riff on bits (the squirrels).
In their words
“Those knives, Griffin, that I have, in my chair back there, they're covered in blood.” (0:01:03)
“This is a movie where the look of it makes your teeth hurt.” (1:10:47)
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 101–200 of 1,091 claims.
unmapped (song):
Up Close & Personal → Diane Warren.
The film's Oscar-nominated song was written by Diane Warren and sung by Celine Dion.
“written by Diane Warrenburg performed by Celine Dion”
career (career arc):
John Travolta → Matthew McConaughey.
Travolta was never in the wilderness; he was like pre-McConaissance McConaughey, a bankable rom-com star not respected.
“I think it is closer to pre-ma connaissance, Matthew McConaughey.”
career (career pivot):
Look Who's Talking Now → Pulp Fiction.
Now came out a year before Pulp Fiction; it is the sort of film you make before saying fine to a weird guy's script.
“Look who's talking now is the kind of movie that you make where you're like, fine, I'll be the heroin addict in that weird guy's fucking script, I guess.”
people (peak performance):
Get Shorty → John Travolta.
The speaker calls Get Shorty their favorite Travolta movie-star performance, quiet and controlled.
“I do think that is my single favorite Travolta movie star performance.”
lineage (sequel):
Look Who's Talking → Look Who's Talking Too.
The sequel keeps Willis, adds Roseanne for Joan Rivers, Damon Wayans, and Mel Brooks as Mr. Toilet.
craft (score should have won):
Hans Zimmer → The Thin Red Line.
The Thin Red Line score should have won the Oscar even though it is unusually deployed in the film.
“Hans Stimmer should have won for the thin red line, although I think that score is sort of oddly deployed in the movie.”
industry (same-year rival):
Empire of the Sun → Hope and Glory.
Hope and Glory, another child's-view war story that year, ate Empire's lunch with critics.
“is Hope and Glory not also this same year when it kind of eats this movie's lunch on this sort of or from the perspective of a child thing, at least at the time?”
unmapped (mentorship / elder filmmaker):
David Lean → Steven Spielberg.
Spielberg befriended old masters (Lean, Kubrick, Wilder) who handed him their projects.
“The sort of string of great older filmmakers who somehow, uh, collaborated with Spielberg, only for Spielberg to wind up directing their movies.”
career (career parallel):
Christian Bale → Henry Thomas.
Both were kid actors Spielberg discovered who had to escape that shadow before being safe as adult actors.
“Christian Bale had a bit of a parallel Henry Thomas arc where for a while it was like he can't come out from the shadow of him being a kid that Spielberg discovered”
unmapped (development history):
Interstellar → Steven Spielberg.
Interstellar was developed by Spielberg and Jonathan Nolan and is closer to Spielberg in its first script.
“Jonathan Nolan's script for Interstellar is interesting, but it's more Spielberg.”
what-if (Oscar what-if):
Planes, Trains and Automobiles → Wall Street.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles should have won best actor for Candy that year, over Michael Douglas in Wall Street.
“Yeah, the movie that should have won best actor this year.”
craft (craft):
George Lucas → Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Lucas directed much of the second unit, taking over a lot of the stunt-heavy truck chase work to get the movie finished.
career (career):
Clash of the Titans → Ray Harryhausen.
Clash of the Titans is described as the last work of Ray Harryhausen, a throwback where he does one last.
people (cast continuity):
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me → David Bowie.
Philip Jeffries, Bowie's character from Fire Walk with Me, is now a giant teapot directing an agency against Mr. C, since Bowie died in 2016.
“Philip Jeffries, the David Bowie character, who is now a giant teapot, is like directing an agency against Mr. C.”
“we're such a big part of Twin Peaks the return, but of course they're in Firewalk with me in this sort of kind of goofier way where they're like guys in flannel.”
unmapped (role growth):
Sheryl Lee → Twin Peaks: The Return, Part 8.
Laura Palmer began as a wrapped-in-plastic day-player prom photo and became so central that Part 8 treats her as the counterweight to Bob.
“But for like the the twin peaks the return to be like, yes, Laura Palmer is the fucking Iron Man to Bob Thanos.”
unmapped (black-and-white CGI):
Twin Peaks: The Return, Part 8 → Mad Max: Fury Road.
Fury Road in black and white, heavy on CGI and wordless, feels like a silent film, the same illusion as Part 8's black-and-white digital effects.
“The one I find entrancing is Fury Road for that reason.”
theme (theme):
Dune → Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.
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.”
industry (peer rivalry):
Decision to Leave → Bong Joon-ho.
Park constantly goes up against his buddy Bong, who has only been submitted twice for the Oscars.
“And his buddy Bong, he's got to constantly go up against.”
career (career context):
The Handmaiden → Stoker.
Handmaiden was partly Amazon-funded, so after Stoker and Drummer Girl the Hollywood door was open for Park.
“Right, and Handmaiden is Korean film, obviously, but that was partly funded, I think, by Amazon, right?”
theme (anecdote parallel):
Steven Soderbergh → David Fincher.
Soderbergh's story of Fincher's hyper-precise color notes is used to explain a protagonist who cannot turn off noticing.
“I cannot imagine the curse of being able to notice that.”
people (same actor):
Decision to Leave → Lust, Caution.
Tang Wei broke out in Lust, Caution, a film about a seduction that may turn real, a similar tension to this film.
“But it's a movie about, basically, she has to seduce a man as an act of political espionage and the whole movie hinges on like, is she falling in love with him?”
career (career placement):
Decision to Leave → The Handmaiden.
Handmaiden was the last Park film several of them had seen before this one; Griffin ranks it his number one.
“I haven't seen a Park John Rook film since The Handmaiden, which blew my mind.”
people (cast connection):
Tatiana Maslany → Eastern Promises.
Tatiana played the victim Tatiana in Eastern Promises, an early film credit that David had never connected.
“I had never put this together, that you are the victim in Eastern promises.”
craft (style comparison):
Decision to Leave → The Handmaiden.
Decision to Leave is more restrained than The Handmaiden but still has wild camera moves.
“I guess he means more restrained than the Handmaiden.”
unmapped (texting in film):
Steven Soderbergh → Decision to Leave.
Soderbergh is called one of the few major auteurs who head straight into the smartphone present, as Park does with texting.
“And Soderberg is one of the few guys who like head straight into it.”
people (standout performance):
Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile → Javier Bardem.
The movie is garbage but Bardem is called incredible in it as a failed circus entertainer.
“Yeah, that movie sucks, but Javier Bird has incredible in it.”
contrast (sentiment contrast):
Buster Keaton → Charlie Chaplin.
Chaplin can be accused of sentimentalizing and acting cute, which Keaton's understated style never does.
“you can accuse Chaplain of sentimentalizing, a chaplain of sort of acting cute.”
unmapped (canonical reference):
The Crowd → Jean-Luc Godard.
Godard reportedly said there was no need to make films about ordinary people because The Crowd already existed.
people (acting contrast within the film):
Sherlock, Jr. → Buster Keaton.
The rival and his crew do stereotypical heavy silent-film acting, which makes Keaton's modern performance stand out.
“those 2 guys are absolutely doing what most people think of as silent film acting.”
unmapped (ahead of his time):
Buster Keaton → New Hollywood acting.
Keaton acts like a talkie actor decades early, exploiting that nobody can hear the dialogue.
“he's acting like a talkie actor, but he's using the fact that you can't hear what he's saying.”
contrast (character contrast):
Buster Keaton → Charlie Chaplin.
Chaplin's tramp would pocket the money or even lift the wallet, while Keaton is not a scoundrel.
“which once again, Chaplin would not only not hesitate for a moment to pocket the money, he would pull the wallet out of the back pocket of someone.”
people (co-director):
Sherlock, Jr. → Roscoe (Fatty) Arbuckle.
Arbuckle was brought on as co-director and given the pseudonym William B. Goodrich, then edged out.
“this is the movie where he came up with uh, William B. Goodrich, which was his, like, nom de plume for directing, uh, Freddie Arbuckle.”
unmapped (reassignment):
Roscoe (Fatty) Arbuckle → The Red Mill.
Keaton's memoir says he and others conspired to get Arbuckle a job on The Red Mill, though historians say the dates do not fit.
“conspired to get him a different job on a different movie called the Red Mill.”
unmapped (comedy opening):
Sherlock, Jr. → Kumail Nanjiani.
Nanjiani says a comedy should open with a guy spilling hot coffee, and Keaton opens with a guy under the boot.
“the opening of any comedy movie should be a guy accidentally spilling hot coffee on himself.”
people (cinematographer collaboration):
Sherlock, Jr. → Elgin Leslie.
Keaton and his long-term DP set up the black-velvet and matched-position effects together.
lineage (homage):
Sherlock, Jr. → What's Up, Doc?.
The Chinese-dragon bicycle chase in What's Up, Doc? is a complete homage to the stag-party sequence.
“The bicycled Chinese dragon sequence and what's up dog is complete homage to this sequence.”
unmapped (same hook):
The Navigator → The General.
Both started from Keaton getting hold of a vehicle and building the movie around it, but The General is a real movie while The Navigator is a series of bits.
“It is so similar to what the general eventually is where he's like, vehicle?”
unmapped (boat movie):
The Navigator → Steamboat Bill Jr..
Steamboat Bill Jr. is another boat-bit movie but with a real emotional spine about the father.
“is another boat bit movie, but it's a boat bit movie that's more about the father.”
unmapped (period-accuracy obsession):
The General → Stanley Kubrick.
Keaton's obsessive uniform and detail accuracy on The General was Kubrickian, a push as a director beyond comedy.
“he was so obsessed with like fucking, you brought it up, James, but like Kubrickian, every fucking uniform has to be period accurate.”
unmapped (critic's reading):
The Navigator → Dennis Schwartz.
A modern reviewer says its theme of civilized man versus the machine explains why it was a hit.
“its theme of civilized man versus the machine, seen as making life difficult for modern man because we have become so dependent on it”
people (acting credit):
Noble Johnson → The Thief of Baghdad.
Johnson plays the Prince of the Indies in The Thief of Baghdad, another indigenous potentate in his long list of credits.
career (comeback context):
Monkeybone → Brendan Fraser.
Monkeybone is the film being skipped in the Brendan Fraser comeback conversation.
“It truly feels like the one that is being skipped.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Wendell & Wild ·
0:04:59 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
unmapped (viewing schedule):
Wendell and Wild → The Whale.
David planned to see The Whale right after Wendell & Wild at TIFF but skipped it after the Airbnb ordeal.
“I was supposed to see the whale next.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Wendell & Wild ·
0:28:36 ·
David Sims
(0.70 sure it was them)
unmapped (Netflix algorithm):
Wendell and Wild → Wednesday.
Typing 'Wen' brings Wendell & Wild up because of Wednesday's popularity, though JD Amato says Netflix never recommended it.
“Surely the algorithm's like, hey, you know, you might like Wendell and Wild.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Wendell & Wild ·
0:36:43 ·
David Sims
(0.50 sure it was them)
industry (parallel Disney deals):
Guillermo del Toro → Henry Selick.
Disney gave del Toro a spooky-movie imprint and Selick his own animation studio, investing in artists to form new Pixars.
“And there was that Gimbla Toro Disney double dare you where they were like, we're giving you your own imprint to make spooky movies.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Wendell & Wild ·
0:45:17 ·
David Sims
(0.50 sure it was them)
unmapped (story note):
Jordan Peele → Wendell and Wild.
Peele pushed to make teen Kat the protagonist instead of the nun, to make the movie accessible to kids.
“And Jordan Peele was like, cat should be the protagonist.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Wendell & Wild ·
1:01:45 ·
David Sims
(0.50 sure it was them)
industry (studio-notes buffer):
Tim Burton → Henry Selick.
Burton played the calming intermediary on Nightmare and, less so, James and the Giant Peach; Monkeybone had no such figure.
“Burton doing that for him to a far lesser degree on the 2nd movie.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Wendell & Wild ·
1:03:28 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
unmapped (absent protector):
Bill Mechanic → Monkeybone.
Mechanic, who shielded Selick, was gone by Monkeybone, so it was chaos.
“He had Bill Mechanic and the Bill Mechanic was gone.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Wendell & Wild ·
1:03:32 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
verdict (freedom made best film):
Coraline → Henry Selick.
Coraline was made with Laika hands-off, and it is his best film, so maybe studio notes are not needed.
“It does seem like he was pretty unfettered, and that is his best film.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Wendell & Wild ·
1:03:53 ·
David Sims
(0.50 sure it was them)
unmapped (Pixar brain-trust meddling):
The Shadow King → Brave.
Both were cases of the Pixar brain trust pressing a filmmaker's personal story into Pixar principles.
“which this is the same time that the brave thing goes down.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Wendell & Wild ·
1:04:06 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
people (caricature casting):
Wendell and Wild → The Incredible Mr. Limpet.
Making the characters caricatures of Key and Peele is likened to the Mr. Limpet trick of putting the star's face on the animated character.
“Like we have to make the characters caricatures of them, almost like it's the incredible Mr. Limpet or something”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Wendell & Wild ·
1:14:59 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
lineage (design lineage):
Lou Romano → The Incredibles.
Romano's Incredibles work has a similar 2D/3D look, which made him right for Wendell & Wild.
“Right, particularly because of the Incredibles, which has that similar kind of like 2D 3D thing.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Wendell & Wild ·
1:15:54 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
craft (tone and structure):
Wendell and Wild → Beetlejuice.
Wendell and Wild are Beetlejuice-like in that the story is really about the human teen (Lydia/Kat) and they are the colorful characters.
“They're Beetlejuicy in the movie in that it's like, well, it's really about Lydia.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Wendell & Wild ·
1:16:53 ·
David Sims
(0.50 sure it was them)
unmapped (same dynamic):
Keegan-Michael Key → Toy Story 4.
Toy Story 4 gives Key and Peele the same high-strung idea man / good-natured stoner dynamic as Wendell and Wild.
“Toy Story 4 gives them basically the exact same dynamic where the one guy's the motor mouth”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Wendell & Wild ·
1:21:20 ·
David Sims
(0.50 sure it was them)
craft (tone):
Wendell and Wild → Coraline.
The kindness shown to Kat, with quiet sadness, is likened to the boredom sequences in Coraline.
“it's it's similar to the sort of the boredom sequences and core line where, uh, Everyone's kind to cat.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Wendell & Wild ·
1:28:33 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
contrast (contrast of setup):
Wendell and Wild → The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Imagines Nightmare's Halloween Town opening as ten minutes of dialogue introducing each denizen as a plot function, to describe how Wendell & Wild feels.
“It feels like if in the opening, this is Halloween sequence of nightmare before Christmas.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Wendell & Wild ·
1:31:00 ·
David Sims
(0.50 sure it was them)
“We don't ask these same questions of someone like Oogie Boogie.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Wendell & Wild ·
1:36:33 ·
David Sims
(0.50 sure it was them)
unmapped (accept the lore):
Wendell and Wild → Kingdom Hearts (game series).
The hellmaiden rules are like Kingdom Hearts lore: you just accept them because those are the rules.
“Those are the rules because those are the rules.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Wendell & Wild ·
1:42:42 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
industry (oscar ballot):
Wendell and Wild → Mad God.
A host voted Mad God first and Wendell & Wild second on the Critics Circle animation ballot.
“I voted for Mad God of the Critics Circle because I was like, well, that's the thing I really think.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Wendell & Wild ·
1:59:08 ·
David Sims
(0.50 sure it was them)
industry (box-office rivalry):
Smile → Halloween Ends.
Smile, headed straight to Paramount+, outgrossed Halloween Ends, which was day-and-date on Peacock.
“Got crushed by smile.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Wendell & Wild ·
2:06:51 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
Their fun items
Showing 301–378 of 378 fun items.
fun, about
Meg Ryan:
The film has Meg Ryan hit by cars repeatedly; her family notes it is the third time this year.
“And then later, her husband and kid are like, what's that, like, the 3rd time this year?”
fun, about
Force Awakens press screening:
David missed the Force Awakens critics' screening while at the Atlantic Wire, after a year of weekly Star Wars podcasting.
“I didn't get in to that screening, I was still working at the Atlantic Wire.”
fun, about
Rebecca Ferguson in Doctor Sleep:
Plays the most evil force in the world like a middle-aged woman at the Litchfield Jazz Fest, Tanglewooding out of control.
“Her decision to play the most evil force in the world, like a middle-aged woman at the Litchfield Jazz Fest.”
fun, about
Richard Schiff and Joe Pantoliano:
'The 2 benchmarks I'm setting for the next 30 years of my career': Schiff in Clemency and Pantoliano in Bad Boys for Life; Pantoliano has a 'guess the horse' scene.
“Those are the 2 benchmarks I'm setting for the next 30 years of my career.”
fun, about
Avengers: Infinity War:
Look at the chip shop in the Edinburgh scene: a sign says they will deep fry your kebab, which leads to Scottish deep-frying and a prank-call album bit.
“there's just a sign in the chip shop that just says, we will deep fry your kebab”
fun, about
Avengers: Infinity War:
Kevin Smith screamed 'no' at the press screening the second Tony was stabbed, and posted a tearful selfie; later he cried again at Cap shaving his beard in Endgame.
“And that person was Kevin Smith, who was in our audience”
fun, about
Thor: The Dark World:
The climactic portal fight, set up as a gimmick for forty-five minutes: characters zap between Greenwich, Vanaheim and Frostland; a Frost Beast turns up; Thor throws a car at Malekith.
fun, about
Max Landis:
The sun-sets-multiple-times 'one day' fight: host argues Christmas is a season.
“This was the movie I got in the fight with Max Landis.”
Blank Check — Patreon ·
Iron Man 3 ·
2:13:18 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
fun, about
The Avengers:
Paramount still has its logo on a film Disney bought; they joke Paramount staked its territory and Disney got the last laugh by earning more.
“Paramount made so much money for selling these movies, but Disney got the last laugh because they made even more money buying these movies.”
fun, about
The Avengers:
Whedon's addition that was not in the Penn draft: the heroes must fight each other first; see the Thor/Iron Man/Cap forest fight at 0:47-0:50 and Cap's shield versus Mjolnir.
fun, about
Jeremy Renner:
Renner's defense of Hawkeye: he's there to tranquilize the Hulk; they find that depressing. Also Renner complained about being brainwashed for ~1:50.
“he's got the arrow so they can tranquilize Hulk.”
fun, about
Harry Dean Stanton:
See the scene (1:32) where Harry Dean Stanton talks Banner round: shot as a nine-page conversation, trimmed hard; the full version is on the DVD.
“So there's like a very long version of this on the DVD”
fun, about
Robert Downey Jr.:
Downey asked to pick the magnetic bracelets in the final suit-up and ad-libbed the Gallagher-at-the-computer riff that became a real shot.
fun, about
Grand Central / New York:
They scanned every building from 34th to 45th Street for the battle and 'make sure it doesn't get bigger than this' keeps the geography clear; the worm goes through Grand Central at 1:58.
“they scanned every fucking building in this area and just rebuilt like a perfect, like, grid of like 34th to like 45th.”
fun, about
Ashley Johnson:
Cap's original introduction was a cafe scene with a waitress (Johnson) flirting; the cut payoff is her looking up at the Avengers.
“So it's supposed to be payoff for that, but it still works”
fun, about
Marvel studio:
The Chitauri were minor aliens invented for this movie; Thanos reveal in the credits left a Paris friend asking who the purple guy was.
fun, about
The Avengers:
Opening weekend box office: $207 million (May 4), then Think Like a Man, The Hunger Games, The Pirates! Band of Misfits, The Lucky One in the top five.
“Avengers breaks the box office record makes 207.”
fun, about
Bucky death:
The classic comic Bucky death is on a rocket Cap can't disarm; the film instead has Bucky fall from the train. David calls the movie's version lamer.
“The classic Bucky death is so good, which they're on the rocket.”
fun, about
Dum Dum Dugan:
See the scene where Neal McDonough walks on in a bowler hat and mutton chops; the hosts cheered because the film embraced the silly comic look rather than toning it down.
fun, about
Bucky (comics maxim):
Old comics maxim: Uncle Ben, Gwen Stacy, Jesus and Bucky are the characters who would never be brought back; Bucky stayed dead about 64 years.
“Spider-Man's Uncle Ben. Spider-Man's girlfriend, Gwen Stacy. And Jesus. And Bucky.”
fun, about
Peggy Carter red dress:
At the Times Square opening night, when Peggy walks in wearing the red dress amid drab fatigues, the whole audience yelled holy shit in unison.
“she comes in with this burst of color and the whole audience went, holy shit.”
fun, about
Captain America (title):
Marvel feared the name Captain America would hurt overseas in 2011 and retitled the film The First Avenger; almost every territory passed on that and only about one country released it under the alternate title.
“Captain America won't be in the title, and almost every territory passed on that.”
fun, about
Thor:
The hosts open on how every cut in the lab scene swings the camera 45 degrees the opposite way, a literal seesaw; Branagh's one idea is the tilted world, and they keep returning to the Dutch angles throughout.
“Isn't this crazy, though, that every time they cut, the camera is 45 degrees in the opposite angle of the previous...”
Blank Check — Patreon ·
Thor ·
0:03:17 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
fun, about
Chris Hemsworth:
Casting lore: Hemsworth beat Hiddleston, who thought he was ripped but looked narrower beside him, because he absorbed muscle better and looked broader on camera.
“Hemsworth is just broader shoulder.”
Blank Check — Patreon ·
Thor ·
0:11:50 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
fun, about
Thor:
Hemsworth's dyed eyebrows in Thor are Kevin Feige's biggest regret in the whole MCU; watch Thor in Asgard where he almost looks to have none.
“Do you know that Kevin Feige said his, what his number one biggest regret in the entire Marvel cinematic universe is?”
Blank Check — Patreon ·
Thor ·
0:14:42 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
fun, about
Thor:
Loki's hand turns blue on touching the Frost Giant king's forearm in the Jotunheim fight; the hosts note the film forgets it and later reveals he is a Frost Giant.
“one of the blue guys, the king, touched Loki's forearm, and then Loki's hand turned blue, and they don't know why.”
Blank Check — Patreon ·
Thor ·
0:24:56 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
fun, about
Thor:
Thor's development hell: Raimi, a UPN TV show, Sony and Goyer, Paramount, Vaughn, del Toro, DJ Caruso, Daniel Craig offered it before Hemsworth took it.
“Then, as we all know, DJ Caruso is hired.”
Blank Check — Patreon ·
Thor ·
0:26:36 ·
David Sims
(0.45 sure it was them)
fun, about
Thor:
Mjolnir is cast as Excalibur: the lifting-the-sword-from-the-stone scene is the hammer in the New Mexico crater that nobody is worthy to move.
“So, you know, the hammer becomes like Excalibur.”
Blank Check — Patreon ·
Thor ·
0:37:54 ·
David Sims
(0.35 sure it was them)
fun, about
Thor: The Dark World:
After the nudity-search tangent, they recall Skarsgard is naked in Dark World but the film blurs it out.
“I forgot he's naked in Dark World, but they blur it out.”
Blank Check — Patreon ·
Thor ·
1:06:47 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
fun, about
Thor:
See the scene where Thor finally gets Mjolnir back: the hosts shout over the Patrick Doyle score and say the transformation is the film's biggest success.
“I will say, I think that is the biggest success of this movie is they do sell you on the importance of the hammer.”
Blank Check — Patreon ·
Thor ·
1:29:29 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
fun, about
Thor:
See the scene where Thor flies by holding on to the thrown hammer; the speaker loves that the hammer does the flying and Thor grabs on.
“I like how Thor flies with his... The hammer is what's flying.”
Blank Check — Patreon ·
Thor ·
1:34:42 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
fun, about
Thor:
Loki's illusion trick works in the Frost Giants fight; the hosts see the fake Loki, praise it, and grumble it plays worse in green screen CGI goopland.
“I think that type of effect doesn't play as well when they're in just like green screen CGI Goopland.”
Blank Check — Patreon ·
Thor ·
1:39:38 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
fun, about
Thor:
Thor smashes the Bifrost to cut off the Frost Giants; the hosts say the comics have a literal rainbow while the film makes a prismatic Tron light-cycle runway.
“they just try to make it like a weird, like, sort of glassy Tron light cycle runway that's a little prismatic”
Blank Check — Patreon ·
Thor ·
1:41:33 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
fun, about
Thor:
Watch the end-credits stinger: Selvig with Fury and the Tesseract, a scene Whedon wrote and directed; Branagh reportedly claimed not to have seen it.
“Right, because Bran was like, I haven't seen this scene.”
Blank Check — Patreon ·
Thor ·
1:55:57 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
fun, about
Ang Lee:
Grosses compared: this grossed 128 domestic vs Hulk 132 and Life of Pi 124; worldwide Life of Pi 609, this 213, Hulk 245.
fun, about
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon:
The four leads speak different accents on camera; Yeoh learned her Mandarin lines phonetically and took a year of no other work.
“Right. One of them is one of them is essentially speaking lines phonetically.”
fun, about
Michelle Yeoh:
Debilitating knee surgery at the start of filming; she flew back and forth for surgery, action pushed to the end.
“Right. And she had to keep on flying back to the States for surgery and then she'd fly back to set, do dialogue scenes while she was recovering, fly back to the States for further surgery.”
fun, about
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon:
Bar fight trivia: the stuntman who falls off the banister is the same man later holding an abacus because he broke his arm.
“how the guy who does that immortal fall off the banister is the same guy who has the abacus”
fun, about
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon:
Nominations: Gladiator got 12, CTHD 10; CTHD won score, art direction, cinematography, foreign language film.
“Best art direction, best cinematography, and foreign language film.”
fun, about
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon:
Sony Pictures Classics co-president Michael Barker realized they'd crossed $100M when two kids at a mall raved about the cool subtitles.
“they were like, man, the fucking subtitles were so cool.”
fun, about
How the Grinch Stole Christmas:
The number one movie the weekend CTHD opened; top five: Grinch, Vertical Limit, Proof of Life, Unbreakable, Dungeons & Dragons.
“It's the number one movie of 2000, and it is called Dr. Seuss is How the Grinch Stole Christmas.”
fun, about
Kevin Kline:
Kline's story: he saw Joan Allen intensely preparing on location and went to the craft service table.
“Kevin Klein tells this story on like one of the retrospective criterion documentaries where he walked by Joan Allen and she was sitting somewhere around location”
fun, about
Blue Steel:
Opened number five with 2.8 million dollars and made 8.2 on a roughly 16 million budget; debuted at Sundance and came out through MGM after Vestron went bankrupt.
“It opens number five at the box office with 2.8 million dollars.”