Reads the Wikipedia tidbits and Fincher lore, loves Madonna and Fincher's glamorous Vogue-era work, and is a Dirty Dancing evangelist. Is the Brit in the room and a soft touch for pop. Sour on Justin Timberlake as a performer.
Stances
Vogue and Freedom 90 are the top two videos
Dirty Dancing is a masterpiece
Annoyed by Timberlake's visible effort
Humor: Dry insults and bossy-Brit bits.
In their words
“I think Dirty Dancing is a masterpiece.” (0:45:37)
“I just don't want to be German, okay?” (1:55:47)
“This, to me, is peak annoying Justin Timberlake.” (2:15:04)
Fincher fan from a 16-year-old Empire-reading start in England; loves Clint Eastwood late-career oddities and reads the dossier. Thinks Panic Room is deeper than a B-programmer.
Stances
Panic Room is a great director showcase movie
Fincher's craft is the point
Humor: Dry, dropping reads and recommendations mid-riff.
In their words
“I was a big 16-year-old film Empire magazine reading film nerd.” (0:27:35)
Loves the film's ending and admires the look; finds the last hour tiring and the philosophy trite on rewatch. Loves Limp Bizkit without irony, worked in video stores, and defends Fincher's craft.
Stances
The last hour sags but the ending is great
Gen X angst reads as stupid on rewatch
Fincher's later digital coldness is not all bad
Humor: Dry, exasperated reactions and unashamed pop taste.
In their words
“I love Limp Bizkit.” (3:03:38)
“the ending of this movie is so effective” (1:07:45)
Loves The Game (watches it yearly, loves the Criterion), is a Fincher interviewer, and gets the research in hand. A sucker for Douglas movie-star energy and the Christmas Carol reading.
Stances
The Game is better than Se7en
Fincher's 'Christmas Carol' reading is the key
Douglas is America's dark id of the 90s
Humor: Dry, precise, and ready with a quote from the dossier.
In their words
“I think this is better.” (0:07:49)
“I think it fucking rules.” (1:56:37)
“I think I said he was America's dark id for the 90s.” (0:25:42)
A critic who champions Fincher and wants the series done on the show; prefers the later half of Fincher's career. Grew up partly in England, where his dad described Se7en to him.
Stances
Pitched Fincher for the show
Se7en is great but not top-tier Fincher
Interested in the Spacey career arc
Humor: Dry, brittle one-liners and film-critic digressions.
In their words
“Sims, I have a question in the in the UK cut of seven.” (0:24:36)
Admires Goldenthal's 90s scores, Henriksen, and Fincher's control; fond of the Ridley Scott sequels. Uneasy with studios that sand a director down. Attribution is inferred.
Stances
Dutton's performance is in the conversation for the best non-Ripley Alien role
Ripley's shaved head is an incredible move
Humor: Dry asides and character-actor deep cuts.
In their words
“I love his Joel Schumacher Batman scores.” (2:00:04)
“Not only just visually striking, like it gives the whole Joan of Arc thing to the movie.” (1:30:33)
Loves tight genre moves, big visual invention, and box-office trivia; skeptical of Burton's recent output and studio notes culture. A sucker for Demolition Man and the Disney Renaissance era.
Stances
Selick is a more consistent stubborn experimentalist than late Burton
This is Elfman's masterpiece
Santa Claus is right to be mad too
Humor: Dry bluster and mock-outrage, with a taste for tangents.
In their words
“Oogie Boogie is the only person who seems to get pleasure out of torturing other people.” (2:05:58)
Loves Eyes Wide Shut and Barry Lyndon and is a proud texter. Likes Sidney Pollack as an actor and wants to age into him. Can't stand the idea of the film being dismissed as hermetic.
Stances
The film is open and inviting, not closed off
Pollack's performance is the film's engine
Humor: Dry riffs on pop culture and his son Asa's texting.
In their words
“Sims prides himself on being a top tier texter.” (1:32:51)
A critic who gave Doctor Sleep a positive-but-mixed review, then reversed within two weeks and now rates it highly, in the director's cut especially. Likes Ewan McGregor and, by his own account, enjoys Stephen King but is not a deep reader of him.
Stances
the theatrical cut was slow, the director's cut improves it
the conditions you see a film in shape your opinion
he reversed on the movie
Humor: Dry, cutting asides about celebrities and trailers, plus a weakness for a long filmography rundown.
In their words
“And my review is positive.” (0:03:21)
“I'm sort of like, I like praise the craft of it.” (0:03:28)
Film-historian type who places the film in the late-80s Vietnam cycle and the Oscar race, and reads Herr and Hasford material aloud. Likes the film's structure and its dark comic cuts.
Stances
Full Metal Jacket belongs to the late-80s Vietnam film cycle
Kubrick's humor lands in tension cutters
Humor: Dry, sets up pop-culture parallels and lets Jon escalate them.
In their words
“Well, I was just going to talk about like, it's, this is the time when Vietnam movies are suddenly everywhere.” (0:26:06)
“But it's the thing that like Woman King goes into a lot as well of like, how much you have to break your brain to survive an environment like this, right?” (0:56:40)
Rates movies by kills and gives The Shining a high grade; fond of Nicholson and Pacino performance analysis. Says he is less of a Kubrick guy than most, but this is top tier for him. Will go along with the weird bit and then defend it.
Stances
The Shining is a top-tier Kubrick film
Nicholson's performance is big but grounded
Skeletons at the end are slightly weak
Humor: Dry jabs and pop-culture trivia answers.
In their words
“I rate movies by many deaths?” (0:05:31)
“I feel like I'm less of a Cooper guy than most, but this is at the very top tier for me, even still.” (2:33:07)
Finds slow, adult, conversation-heavy pre-2000 sci-fi and mid-grade legal thrillers deeply relaxing. Holds a grudge against Don't Worry Darling and likes the movie's seriousness. A sucker for starry, grown-up casts.
Stances
2010 is a comfort-food movie
the plot is more confusing than 2001, which answers no questions
strong anti-Don't Worry Darling position
Humor: Deadpan nitpicks and fully committed rants on plot logic.
Plays the show's running Brit, leaning into a bit that he grew up in England and is the only one who can speak to the film's culture. Brings the research dossier and keeps trying to steer back to the movie. Jokes that he sympathizes with the authority figures like Mr. Deltoid. Is the target of the hip hop Sims joke.
Stances
Is wary of the long tangents and wants to keep to the movie
Sides comically with the authority figures against Alex
Reads the dossier aloud to anchor claims
Humor: Deadpan exasperation and mock-pedantry as the foil to Griffin and Alex.
Reads the film as a perfect alignment of hard sci-fi, psychedelia and Apollo timing. Respects but is cool on The Graduate, likes the box-office history, and enjoys the production design. Evidence for his lines is low confidence since the transcript has no speaker labels.
Stances
The film's design still holds up
Respects The Graduate more than loves it
Interested in how the film was marketed and received
Humor: Dry, quick riffs on the guest and cultural references.
In their words
“Like it's one of those movies I never revisited.” (0:34:25)
Reads the dossier and brings box-office lists, Oscar-year trivia and a spreadsheet of retroactive winners. Draws links to comedy lineage (the Zuckers) and to Fincher's collaborators.
Stances
Strangelove was a big influence on the Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker style
Kubrick was a real collaborator at his best
Frankenheimer's 1962 to 1966 run is underrated
Humor: Plays the pedant with a straight face, running the research like a game show.
In their words
“So George C. Scott is my winner in 1964 on my beloved spreadsheet.” (0:43:30)
“I did finally have the breakthrough watching this of how much of an influence this movie must have been on the Zucker Brothers and John Abrahams.” (0:53:55)
“And it really does remind me of Fincher.” (1:07:10)
A critic's frame of reference: star systems, box-office history and old reviews. Grew up in England and is tired of the British comedy canon. Likes the Sellers work in Strangelove more than in Lolita.
Stances
The film suffers from the Hays Code and cannot match the book
Sellers creeps him out here
Box-office trivia is part of the Lolita picture
Humor: Dry and self-aware, including deadpan wedding-speech bits.
In their words
“And I think that really has turned me against all the great British comic figures” (1:50:24)
“He creeps me out in this movie.” (1:51:04)
“I think Strange Love is a masterpiece and he's so funny in it.” (1:50:57)
Reads the dossier quotes aloud and defends Spartacus as a great movie despite Kubrick's own verdict; loves epics and Gladiator. (Speaker attribution inferred; moderate confidence.)
Stances
Spartacus is a great film, whatever Stan the Man thought
The Hollywood epics are a real era worth respecting
Humor: Dry readings of dossier quotes and quick pop-culture riffs.
Film-critic host who loves a legal drama and Practical Magic, knows the production dossier and the box-office lists. More drawn to war films than Griffin; fond of character actors and trivia about old Hollywood.
Stances
Practical Magic is a fantastic movie
Paths of Glory sits very close to Strangelove
Kubrick cared about commercial success more than critics
Humor: Dry, deadpan, quick with a pop-culture analogy.
In their words
“Practical Magic is a fantastic movie.” (0:15:30)
“I can give you some context, Griff, or do we want to talk about the plot?” (0:32:05)
Film nerd with deep catalog knowledge: Sinatra rights, Oscar oddities, the 1956 box office. Fond of noirs like I Wake Up Screaming and relishes obscure trivia; not a fan of Victor Mature or The Man Who Knew Too Much.
Stances
Hollywood in 1956 is bloated by epics
Kubrick wins on lens and style but fights Ballard
The movie is a psychologically lofty B movie
Humor: Sets up trivia as a bit and plays along with the jokes about his own name in Crime Wave.
In their words
“Oh, shout out to me.” (0:17:08)
“I just, I need to film nerd correct you.” (0:14:27)
“it is like a psychologically lofty, uh, uh, B movie.” (1:21:30)
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 801–900 of 1,091 claims.
career (career):
Winona Ryder → Girl, Interrupted.
Ryder's next film after Resurrection was Girl, Interrupted in 99, an underrated movie.
“After this, I guess she has girl interrupted in 99, which is an underrated movie.”
people (people):
Ron Perlman → Alphaville.
Alphaville took a marginal American noir actor and presented him as America's greatest star, like directors do with Perlman.
“this marginal American noir actor and was like, you are the greatest movie star America has ever produced.”
verdict (verdict):
Alien Resurrection → Alien: Covenant.
David walked out of the Covenant press screening hearing grumbling that it was not their Alien; he does not get that anger.
“I walked out of the press screening of covenant, and I remember one credit being like, I mean, that's just not my alien.”
craft (craft):
Alien Resurrection → Aliens.
In Aliens you see them fleetingly; in Resurrection animatronics let an alien stand in front of you for ten seconds.
“But this is the 1st one where it's like, yeah, an alien's just standing in front of you.”
lineage (lineage):
Alien Resurrection → Jurassic Park.
Aliens caged and taunted while hunting you feels like the raptors; raptors may be Alien rip-offs.
“the raptors have a bit of an alien rip off vibe, honestly”
contrast (contrast):
Alien Resurrection → Prometheus.
Prometheus has a stacked cast on one level; Resurrection puts a second movie star above the title with Weaver and loses balance.
“it's putting them above the title, it's kind of implying that it's going to be kind of a two-hander”
craft (craft):
Joss Whedon → Alien Resurrection.
The acid-blood tricks in Resurrection are Whedon-style fan service, while Jeunet is the better visual stylist.
“The stuff like using the acid in creative new ways.”
craft (craft):
Joss Whedon → Astonishing X-Men.
Kitty Pryde's bat-in-the-head interrogation shows Whedon's gift for finding a clever new angle in pre-established ideas.
“so emblematic of what he's good at as a writer, which is just using all the things that have been pre-established by other writers”
people (people):
Darius Khondji → Jean-Pierre Jeunet.
Jeunet brought his own French collaborators, cinematographer Darius Khondji and VFX man Pitof, plus his production crew, onto Alien: Resurrection.
“he brings all of his French people, right? Like he brings Darius Kanji, and he brings Pitoff, and he brings like his sort of, um, uh, production crew who all speak the same language as him”
people (people):
Jean-Pierre Jeunet → Alien Resurrection.
Jeunet brought his French crew and could not talk to the writers, producers or actors; the film is cohesive visually.
career (career):
Jean-Pierre Jeunet → A Very Long Engagement.
Jeunet's only other Hollywood-financed film was A Very Long Engagement, a Hollywood production made in France on his terms.
“Very long engagement's a Hollywood production, but in France on his own terms.”
industry (industry):
A Very Long Engagement → Warner Bros..
Warner financed most of it for distribution rights, so it was disqualified as a foreign film for the Oscars.
“And so it was disqualified as being a foreign film.”
contrast (contrast):
Winona Ryder → Alien.
Call is asked to do what Ripley does in the first movie, but Weaver makes it sing and Ryder punches the clock.
“what call is being asked to do here is not that different than what Ripley does in the 1st movie, except fucking Sigourney makes it sing.”
career (career):
Raymond Cruz → Breaking Bad (TV).
Raymond Cruz in Resurrection is Tuco from Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, and Detective Sanchez on The Closer.
“He's Tuco and Breaking Bad. And better call Saul.”
theme (theme):
Alien Resurrection → Saturday Night Live.
The creature too awful to live begging 'kill me' is a funny trope, like an Eddie Murphy SNL sketch.
craft (craft):
Alien Resurrection → Godzilla.
1998 Godzilla and the first Jurassic Park shot their CGI creatures in rain and night to hide the rendering.
“the 98 Godzilla is set in the rain constantly, and why in Jurassic, the 1st Jurassic”
contrast (contrast):
Alien Resurrection → Aliens.
In Aliens she rescues Newt and in Alien 3 the convicts find purpose; in Resurrection there is no purpose to the fight.
“in aliens, she's rescuing newt and like, you know, even in alien 3, they kind of, by the end of it”
theme (theme):
Alien Resurrection → Alien 3.
The alien-hybrid birth echoes Alien 3's mommy-child relationship; this one is treated as parent and child.
“But much like an Alien 3, it's like, oh, hey, mommy.”
industry (industry):
Alien → Die Hard.
Alien will be remade without its original star the way Die Hard will without Bruce Willis; the xenomorph design is too powerful to leave dormant.
“In the same way, they'll make another diehard without Bruce Willis.”
industry (industry):
Alien Resurrection → Flubber.
Flubber was number one on the Thanksgiving 1997 weekend; Resurrection opened number two with 25 million.
lineage (parallel origin story):
James Cameron → David Fincher.
Both lost control of a first film and reacted by vowing never to lose again; Cameron became a tyrant, Fincher says he will quit.
“He like, I'm never fucking losing an argument ever again.”
Blank Check — Patreon ·
Alien 3 ·
0:28:14 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
“And yeah, the studio was like, it'll be better if it's a dog”
Blank Check — Patreon ·
Alien 3 ·
0:43:25 ·
David Sims
(0.50 sure it was them)
career (career):
Meg Ryan → City of Angels.
The same year Ryan also made City of Angels, dismissed as a chick flick.
“This year she has, you've got Mail, and she has City of Angels, which, despite being a remake of a German masterpiece, is roundly just dismisses like, eh, Chick Flick, right?”
craft (craft):
You've Got Mail → Sleepless in Seattle.
Both Hanks-Ryan films are experiments on the rom-com: one withholds the couple until the last scene, the other puts them together and makes them unpleasant.
“sleepless in Seattle is obviously like, can you create a rom-com with chemistry between the 2 actors without them ever actually communicating until the last scene of the movie.”
what-if (what-if):
George Clooney → Jack Frost.
The Jack Frost snowman was built on George Clooney's likeness before he dropped out, and Keaton took the role.
“That is pointedly snowman George Clooney. It is meant to be George Clooney.”
programming (programming):
Hanging Up → The Whole Nine Yards.
The Whole Nine Yards was the comedy for the boys; Hanging Up opened with the same money as the female-led comedy.
“That's like the comedy for the boys and hanging up, which is opening with the exact same amount of money, is more of a female lead comedy.”
lineage (lineage):
Pitch Black → The Chronicles of Riddick.
Chronicles of Riddick is the big-budget sequel, and home video retitled Pitch Black as Chronicles of Riddick: Pitch Black.
“And on the home video releases, they then retitled it, the Chronicles of Riddick, colon pitch black.”
contrast (contrast):
Trolls: The Experience → Trolls.
David's text says the experience was practical, engaging and well performed, far better than the movie.
theme (theme):
Trolls → The Manchurian Candidate.
Joke that after watching Trolls he wanted to assassinate a presidential candidate, so maybe there is a Manchurian thing going on.
“I wanted to assassinate a presidential candidate, so maybe there's a whole Manchurian thing happening there too.”
contrast (contrast):
Trolls → La La Land.
City of Stars beat Can't Stop the Feeling and the speaker resents it as the La La Land song; the opening numbers are the film's best.
“I still am so resentful that that's the La La Land song.”
programming (programming):
Taron Egerton → Little Shop of Horrors.
Rumor: Warner Bros. wants Taron Egerton for Little Shop of Horrors; Griffin joked he can sing.
“Warner Brothers wants to hire Taron Egerton to do a little shop of horrors.”
contrast (contrast):
Rebecca Ferguson → Jane Krakowski.
Ferguson's Hat performance reminds the speaker of Jane Krakowski in 30 Rock (character name garbled in transcript).
“Rebecca Ferguson and Dr. Sleep is the most I've ever liked a performance that also made me think so much of Jane Krakowski”
contrast (contrast):
Florence Pugh → Jude Law.
Pugh's arrival as a star is the Talented Mr. Ripley-era Jude Law analog; Lopez is Tom Cruise in Magnolia, a star channeling her legacy into her best acting.
contrast (contrast):
Jennifer Lopez → Tom Cruise.
Lopez in Hustlers compared to Tom Cruise in Magnolia: a star pouring their entire legacy into the best acting they have done.
“someone finding the performance that channels their entire legacy as a star into the best piece of acting they've ever done.”
verdict (verdict):
Laura Dern → Marriage Story.
Dern is on Joe's ballot but none of the three would pick her to win; she's the Oscar frontrunner as a career-recognition win.
verdict (verdict):
Under the Silver Lake → Under the Silver Lake.
Griffin watched it on a train from Buffalo and half-believes it was a dream; it played better in a theater than on a plane.
“I watched Under the Silver Lake on a train back to New York from Buffalo.”
verdict (verdict):
Richard Schiff → Clemency.
Schiff's Clemency performance is the benchmark of what a speaker wants to age into as an actor, alongside Joe Pantoliano in Bad Boys for Life.
“Those are the 2 benchmarks I'm setting for the next 30 years of my career.”
verdict (verdict):
Alfre Woodard → Clemency.
Great performance with a long-shot showstopper; the drunk scenes are among the best drunk acting the speaker has seen.
verdict (verdict):
Jennifer Kent → The Nightingale.
Kent's film is 'the best movie of the year that I would never recommend to anybody' for how punishing it is; she's a discovery of the decade.
“I think that's the best movie of the year that I would never recommend to anybody.”
fun, about
Doctor Sleep (title):
The title comes from Danny's humane way of easing people dying in a hospice, a minor thread; some say it should have been Shining 2.
“It's funny that the title of the movie comes from like his very humane way of helping people be at ease before they die, a very sort of minor plot thread.”
fun, about
A Clockwork Orange:
Kubrick pulled the film from Britain a year after release and it stayed out until his death; it was banned in Ireland until 1999.
fun, about
A Clockwork Orange:
McDowell scratched his cornea during the eyedrop scenes and the numbing wore off in the car; a speed bump felt like a razor blade.
fun, about
Dr. Strangelove:
The release was delayed by the Kennedy assassination; a speaker also notes the President is the last reasonable president in an American satire, because Kennedy was in office.
“this movie was delayed because of the assassination of Kennedy.”
fun, about
Terry Southern:
Sellers gave Kubrick The Magic Christian, which brought Southern in; the dossier read is that Kubrick wrote it, George inspired it, and Southern made it funny.
“JJ's read on the screenplay, though, is that it's Dubrick wrote it.”
fun, about
Dr. Strangelove:
The first page of the screenplay says the story will be played for realistic comedy and the acting will never be so-called comedy acting.
“The 1st page of the screenplay says, the story will be played for realistic comedy”
fun, about
Gene Kelly:
The original plan for Jack D. Ripper was Gene Kelly. Kubrick then cast George C. Scott, who asked to play Turgidson instead, and brought in Sterling Hayden.
“You know who the original plan was to cast for Jack D. Ripper, the Sterling Hayden Row?”
fun, about
James Earl Jones:
Jones had a big role questioning the mission; Kubrick decided he did not want the protesting crew member to be a Black actor and cut it. Jones told him he took the part for the cut material.
“eventually Kubrick decided he didn't want the guy protesting to be a black guy and cuts everything out.”
fun, about
Dr. Strangelove:
Kubrick wrote down about thirty alternate titles, including Wonderful Bomb, Dr. Doomsday, and Dr. Strangelove's Secret Uses of Uranus.
“The weird one is Dr. Strangelove's secret uses of Uranus.”
fun, about
Kirk Douglas:
In Munich the rewritten script had a happy ending; Douglas threatened to walk. Kubrick calmly said he wanted a commercial hit.
fun, about
Kola Kwariani (Nick the Wrestler):
A former wrestler Kubrick met through chess circles, he died at 77 after fighting five teenagers outside his chess club.
“He was 76 years old and he was leaving his regular chess club where he played and he was jumped by 5 teenagers”
fun, about
Fear and Desire:
The poster sells a 'half animal girl' with an illustration of a kissed neck, making the war movie look supernatural.
“An illustration of, uh, Paul Mizurski kissing her neck that makes it look consensual, and says, fear and desire, trapped for desperate man, and a strange half animal girl.”
fun, about
Alien: Covenant:
Originally titled Alien: Paradise Lost; Damon Lindelof was going to write it before bailing, then John Logan, with a first script by the Transcendence writer and a Michael Green rewrite.
“Initially, it was going to be called Alien Paradise Lost.”
fun, about
Ridley Scott:
Scott gave interviews saying there would be no aliens or xenomorphs, then reversed; the hosts wonder if it was him or the studio telling him to put aliens in.
“initially Scott was giving these interviews where he was like, there won't be aliens”
fun, about
Alien: Covenant:
The online prologue with James Franco and Noomi Rapace is not in the film; the initial cut ran about 2.5 hours and Scott trimmed the franchise stuff.
“it was this thing with James Franco, who is not in this movie, although you see him in like photos.”
fun, about
Ron Perlman:
The basketball shot: Weaver actually sank it over her shoulder on a quick take and Perlman's reaction is real; no visual effects.
fun, about
Sigourney Weaver:
Weaver would not let toys be made with guns for years; Resurrection was the only time, and no collector figure for 15 years after.
“one of the key reasons was because she didn't want her action figures coming with guns.”
fun, about
You've Got Mail:
The box office for December 18, 1998: You've Got Mail at number one, ahead of Prince of Egypt, A Bug's Life, Star Trek: Insurrection, and Jack Frost.
“So number one, though, it's you've got mail, $18 million.”
fun, about
Jack Frost:
The animatronic Jack Frost snowman was built from the likeness of George Clooney, who dropped out late; Michael Keaton replaced him.
“But they built it off of the likeness of the actor who was supposed to play the title role who dropped out very late.”