First-time viewer of the series; expected Jason and was thrown by Mrs. Voorhees. Rates the film a 4 or 5 and singled out the canoe ending as the best scene. Prefers the Chain Saw's intensity.
Stances
Rug-pulled by the killer-mom reveal
The ending saves the movie
Humor: Deadpan, makes sports-style jokes about the final fight.
In their words
“I'd give it like a 4 or 5 and then that scene at the end is genuinely great and bumps it up 2 points.” (1:42:32)
Horror newcomer who just saw it for the first time; was scared by the late-90s VHS memory of Blair Witch and now finds humor in horror. Prefers reality-based horror over supernatural.
Stances
Expected to hate it but didn't
Prefers realistic horror to Insidious or The Conjuring
Wants nightmare shoots back
Humor: Hottest-take proposals and picks-nits deadpan; the producer who has Leatherface moving like Warren.
In their words
“I expected to hate it.” (1:31:47)
“I think we need to go back to nightmare shoots.” (1:04:45)
Loves Talladega Nights above Will Ferrell's more famous comedies and treats it as his definition of Ferrell. Likes quotable ensemble comedies, fake ads and bloopers. Can't stand overthinking plot holes, and is a sucker for sports and NASCAR spectacle.
Stances
Talladega Nights sticks with you and has aged beautifully
Sets categories and keeps the episode moving, defers to Bill Simmons's absent structure
Wants the NASCAR pod
Humor: Running the room with dry callbacks, the Chris Ryan impression jokes and quick question-and-answer setups.
In their words
“when I think of Will Ferrell, I think of Talladega Knights.” (0:04:32)
Producer on the pod who gets pulled into the bits; likes a turn-your-brain-off summer movie and is fascinated by Travolta. Is fascinated rather than annoyed by Travolta's strangeness. A sucker for a movie that can be watched at noon on a Monday.
Stances
It's a great summer selection
Travolta is like an extraterrestrial in this movie
Humor: Self-deprecating, deadpan, and the butt of the hosts' electrocution jokes.
In their words
“Um, it's a great summer selection.” (1:31:22)
“Got electrocuted for like, from what I was told 10, 15 seconds.” (1:15:58)
A producer-turned-host with a taste for comedies and crime movies, loves Ryan Gosling and Days of Thunder, and spares no love for outer space movies. Comic foil who gets teased as a future serial killer and an AI.
Stances
Prefers Accepted with Justin Long
Would do Days of Thunder
Doesn't like space movies
Likes Toy Story 3 and Lion King
Humor: Deadpan one-liners and getting teased by both hosts.
In their words
“Probably some sort of 80s, some 00s comedy.” (0:03:11)
“I was just kind of hoping nobody would ask.” (1:29:34)
“I'm trying to trim an hour out of zodiac right now.” (1:26:53)
Younger producer who joins by Zoom, calls the movie one of the most 80s movies ever and the unusual scenes inexplicable. Expected R-rated content and was slightly disappointed by PG-13, yet thinks LeBrock crushed it.
Stances
The movie is in the running for most 80s movie ever
Hall was sweet where Jonah Hill was angry
Humor: Deadpan reactions, like his shock at learning LeBrock married Seagal.
In their words
“Anthony Michael Hall was sweet, and I think a lot of the guys who wanted to get laid in the later movies are angry.” (0:23:42)
“I think it's in the running for the most 80s movie ever.” (1:42:05)
A younger viewer (producer Craig) who loves rom-coms with edge and unpredictability and finds today's glossy ones bland; praises 80s and 90s rom-coms where nobody is bland. Likes Working Girl a lot (Liz, per Craig, called it the best movie ever made). Calls Jack Trainor a little creepy at the start.
Stances
Old rom-coms are edgier than recent ones like Anyone but You
Jack Trainor is a little creepy at first
The movie saved Liz's relationship with the show after Death Wish
Humor: Gentle, a little sheepish; the youngest voice, teased by the hosts.
In their words
“And these have, no one's really bland.” (2:07:20)
“I think he's a little creepy in the beginning of this film” (1:41:58)
Producer Craig Horlbeck loves football and story and has seen neither the film nor the show. Was moved by the realism and surprised by the grim, serious tone; Remember the Titans is his favorite film.
Stances
The film was far better and more serious than expected
He wants to see the losing ending, not a Hollywood one
Hanks over Cruise for Gaines
Humor: Dry, sheepish newcomer taking jabs from the hosts.
In their words
“This movie was way, way, way better than I thought it was going to be.” (1:46:20)
“I remember the Titans is my favorite movie.” (1:47:03)
A Ringer producer who admits he had not seen Twister and now calls it everything he wants in a movie: tight, simple, one storyline, a perfect CGI and practical blend. He is a sucker for 90s nostalgia and likes Dr. Jonas as a punching bag. He is the lone skeptic on Hoffman.
Stances
Twister is the ice cold beer of movies
Hoffman is the same weird supporting guy in every movie
Earthquakes are scarier than tornadoes
Turbulence on a plane improves the movie
Humor: Gets teased by the hosts for needing a plane to feel something, and for hot takes late in the show.
In their words
“the ice cold beer of movies.” (1:50:35)
“I kind of feel like he's the same guy when he's playing this supporting character in all these movies” (1:51:54)
This Is the End is one of his favorites; he's a fan of the era's cast and thinks the movie is better than Knocked Up and Superbad. He's a sucker for the movie's improvised party.
Stances
Best Apatow-adjacent movie because it doesn't affirm the nuclear family
Would watch a longer party
Nitpicks Seth Rogen picking anyone up from the airport
Humor: Self-deprecating, playful.
In their words
“Craig, this is one of your favorite movies and you're getting married next month.” (0:00:12)
“There's no way Seth Rogan is picking anyone up from the airport.” (1:02:31)
Loves the guys-hanging-out half of the movie and the ensemble cast he grew up with, plus nightclub banter and Segel. Dislikes the 'too much' improv characters like Ken Jeong's doctor. Relates Apatow to his generation as the only reference for how young people acted.
Stances
Apatow is why every kid in his 20s thought they could write a script
This Is 40 is basically the last hour of Knocked Up stretched out
Wants a Jason Segel movie after seeing him here
Flesh of the Stars is a better name than Mr. Skin
Humor: Earnest and self-aware, with a producer-turned-host sense of the bit.
In their words
“I love it, because it's instead of a romance that has comedy, it's comedy about romance.” (0:04:02)
“that entire movie is like the last hour of knocked up, but for 2.5 hours.” (1:21:08)
“Flesh of the Stars is a better name than Mr. Skin.” (0:56:12)
unmapped (feels real):
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre → Green Room.
Chainsaw scares because the evil is not supernatural, unlike Jason, Freddy, Myers or The Exorcist; Blair Witch and Green Room are the modern realistic ones.
“there's a bunch of movies that are scary, but this is, this scares me because it feels so real.”
theme (theme):
Fargo → The Shining.
A carpeted-restaurant joke leads to Kubrick's carpets and a Palm Springs hotel with the same carpet as the Shining hotel.
“I was at a hotel in Palm Springs a few months ago and it has the exact same carpet as the Shining Hotel.”
programming (programming):
Species → Amanda and the Alien.
Double-feature pick: a 1995 Cinemax-style movie about an alien learning its body and having sex.
lineage (lineage):
Melanie Griffith → Dakota Johnson.
Craig names Dakota Johnson, Griffith's daughter, as the modern equivalent, with shared smile and hair.
what-if (what-if):
Tom Hanks → Friday Night Lights (2004 film).
Producer Craig breaks the tie: Hanks can pull off the southern personality; Cruise is too small.
theme (theme):
Twister → Fast & Furious (series).
Craig says some movies, like Twister and the Fast and Furious films, are better when watched on a plane because turbulence heightens them.
“I feel like all the Fast and Furious movies are like that.”
verdict (verdict):
Philip Seymour Hoffman → Boogie Nights.
Craig's contrarian take: Hoffman is the same weird, goofy loner supporting guy in Boogie Nights and Twister, though he excepts The Master and Ripley.
“I could see the Boogie Knights Twister. That connection...”
lineage (lineage):
The War of the Roses → Gone Girl.
Roses is described as a prequel to Gone Girl; it could have pivoted to Turner killing Douglas and going on the run.
verdict (verdict):
This Is the End → Superbad.
Hottest take: This Is the End beats Knocked Up and Superbad because it does not end by affirming the nuclear family.
industry (industry):
Margin Call → Succession.
Producer Craig says it is indistinguishable from an HBO show like Succession, and would be a 10-part series now.
“I couldn't believe this was a movie, and I think if it did get made today, it would easily be a 10 part TV show”
career (career):
Jason Segel → Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
Craig says he wants a Segel movie after seeing a glimpse of him, so would double-feature Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
fun, about
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby:
Needle drops: King of the Road, Paint It Black in French, Faithfully, TNT, Audioslave's Cochise, Saliva's Click Click Boom; the best pick is 'We Belong'.
“I kind of think that is the best needle drop in the movie.”
fun, about
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby:
Alternate titles during development: High, Wide and Handsome and Red, White and Racing; NASCAR did not like the name.
fun, about
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby:
Casting what-ifs: Cal was shopped to Jack Black, Billy Crystal, Dennis Quaid; Jean Girard to Michael J. Fox, Seth Green and John Stamos.
fun, about
Gary Cole / Reese Bobby:
Reese gets the first fifteen jokes of the movie, vanishes for an hour, and is argued to be too important to be a Dion Waiters pick; the hosts want a Reese Bobby spinoff.
“The 1st 15 jokes of this movie are just Gary Cole.”
fun, about
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby:
The dinner scene took a full day to shoot; Ferrell fed lines to the kids and the camera operator had to say cut because he was shaking from laughing.
“The camera operator had to say cut. because he was laughing so hard.”
fun, about
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby:
Sequel idea: McKay once thought of Ricky Bobby going to Europe for Formula One; hosts say it should stay untouchable.
“McKay said they had an idea where Ricky Bobby goes to Europe to do Formula One.”
fun, about
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby:
Memorabilia wish list: Wonder Bread hat, Crystal Gayle shirt, the stuffed cougar, Reese Bobby's wardrobe, six-pack of Laughing Clown malt liquor.
fun, about
Craig (producer):
The producer was once electrocuted for 10 to 15 seconds while checking a stage light at a film rental house, which backs up that the movie's death by crowbar would not be instant.
“Got electrocuted for like, from what I was told 10, 15 seconds.”
fun, about
Craig Horlbeck:
Craig watched Twister on a plane on an iPad and says turbulence took the movie from a 9 to a 10; asks for a list of movies enhanced by turbulence.
“this is making this movie go from a 9 to a 10 for me.”