Prizes practical blockbuster filmmaking, big star performances and Scorsese-era craft; an unabashed defender of late-period Ridley Scott. Dislikes messy modern blockbuster scripts and over-reliance on CGI. A sucker for Denzel and for horror and sci-fi legacy sequels.
Stances
Was entertained but rates Gladiator II well below the original
Denzel Washington is the reason to rewatch it
The film wanted the original's pyramid structure without doing something different
Wanted Gladiator II to have the guts of Before Midnight
Humor: Mock-aggrieved nitpicking and tangents about food, friends and money.
In their words
“I was entertained.” (0:13:17)
“I'm mostly in the bag for everything he does.” (1:12:12)
The most openly critical voice on Babylon: admires the virtuosity but says the opening party rings hollow, and that the film holds together less well than he remembered. Relates to P.J. Byrne's character. Fan of scene-level filmmaking, Brad Pitt's persona work, golf and public courses, and menswear (J. Crew, Uniqlo). Sucker for bits like Trump impressions and Zyn.
Stances
Babylon is a collection of great scenes that does not quite congeal
Hive-adjacent, not in the hive
Seeing movies in theaters with a crowd adds to the experience
Humor: Slow-burn self-deprecation and bit commitment (the Zyn pouch, Trump voice, the J. Crew detour).
In their words
“and it rings hollow to me, which is perhaps the point” (0:26:34)
“The scenes the individual scenes are popping, but the actual movie is maybe not holding together as well as it did in the theater that I remember.” (2:12:00)
Heat is his number one and Manhunter his yearly rewatch; likes messy reclamation projects like Miami Vice. Loves Ferrari and thinks Mann went out on a high note. Big on the 'fusion' of classical and digital Mann.
Stances
Ferrari is a deeply satisfying film in his top five of the year
Miami Vice's mess is the point
Mann's themes are men and their obsessions
Humor: Grand and self-mocking, with extended comic metaphors.
In their words
“I'll never give birth, but it's the closest. It's what I imagine it's like.” (0:03:50)
Loves being manipulated by filmmakers and Fincher's subjective craft; adores the Smiths-as-joke and the sound design. Reads the film as the ultimate control-freak movie and Swinton's character as the life the killer could not have. Dislikes nothing here and calls it possibly his favorite movie of the year.
Stances
Fassbender's killer is an unreliable narrator lying to himself
The film is about the fallacy of control
The killer kills Swinton because she has a normal life
Humor: Excitable and self-aware, jokes about shaking in his chair and fashion and food habits.
In their words
“I love being manipulated by filmmakers.” (0:05:42)
“I think he killed her because no loose ends.” (0:44:38)
Loves big-screen Hollywood entertainment and communal theatrical experiences, with a horror streak (Barbarian, Speak No Evil). Loves Cate Blanchett, Martin McDonagh and Top Gun: Maverick as his number one. Admits being a little embarrassed by how populist his list is.
Stances
Hollywood theatrical experiences fired him up this year
Speak No Evil is the most effective horror film of the year
Top Gun: Maverick delivered after two years of hype and is better than the original
Humor: Boisterous and profane; fond of analogies like Stairway to Heaven and quoting Boogie Nights.
In their words
“I'm almost like at once defiantly excited about my list, but a little bit embarrassed by it.” (0:23:50)
“And it still fucking rocks.” (1:26:04)
“it's probably the most effective horror movie I've seen this year.” (0:48:20)
Loves The Firm, Collateral, Edge of Tomorrow and a Hollywood ensemble movie; thinks Born is Cruise's best performance and Jerry Maguire his most appealing.
Stances
Pushes for The Firm
Cruise now treats himself as the Rock
Fallout is exceptional
Humor: Big physical impressions and dad-style tangents; keeps asking about the rules.
In their words
“I am going to say the firm just because I also think that that is in a lot of ways, like among the best casts he's ever been a part of.” (0:40:33)
He loves cheap, anxiety-heavy genre pieces, B-minus horror movies and anything that makes him squeeze the popcorn box. He picked events that freaked him out over big hits, leaving Get Out and the Blumhouse hits off his top five. He can't stand Black Swan-style foot-breaking discomfort and doubts that Cabin in the Woods is scary at all.
Stances
Horror should dominate the audience
Genre lines (thriller, horror, terror) matter
Directors drift away from horror naturally
The B-minus horror movie is the best B movie
Humor: Cheerful self-deprecation and tangents, such as confessing to spoiling Cabin in the Woods in an NBA post.
In their words
“The B minus version of a horror movie is my favorite kind of B minus movie.” (0:34:47)
“I like that, I like feeling things.” (0:52:03)
“I spoiled Cabin in the Woods in like an NBA blog post for like 1000s of people.” (0:41:38)
A TV-first critic who came to Disney through Marvel and Star Wars rather than the legacy titles, and who loves teen entertainment and character actors such as Mark Maron. Dislikes late revival movies and fan-service compression; a sucker for crowd-roar moments like the Endgame hammer.
Stances
Will send his streaming money elsewhere than Disney+
Skeptical of Eternals and of revival movies
Counterprogramming may be dead
Moviegoing is about circumstances and shared reactions
Humor: Wry and conversational, setting up riffs such as the 1992 podcast called Smells Like Teen Spirit.
In their words
“And I will be sending my streaming money elsewhere.” (0:02:08)
“I think he takes his craft really seriously.” (0:19:29)
Reveres Spielberg's craft (lighting, camera movement, editing, music) and calls him a film school; picks Empire of the Sun as a personal favorite. Loves rewatchable, tightly made movies like Jaws, Raiders, and Jurassic Park and likes Munich, A.I., and Tom Cruise in War of the Worlds. Cold on Spielberg's explicit kids' movies.
Stances
Spielberg is his film school
Jaws is the perfect movie
Spielberg's kid-targeted films (Tintin, BFG) don't work
Munich's opening is the best
Humor: Warm, enthusiastic riffing and impressions; walks the line between sincere and goofy.
In their words
“It's my film school.” (0:03:04)
“Jaws is a perfect movie.” (0:35:06)
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.
The Rewatchables
Apex Mountain: The moment a star peaks; where on the mountain a performance sits.
Who Won the Movie: The hosts name the person who came out of the film best off.
The Ebert review: Roger Ebert's original review and star rating read aloud. Ebert is cited, never on the show.
Casting what-ifs: Who was almost cast, or who should have been.
Most rewatchable scene: The scene each host would stop on while flipping channels.
Aged best / aged worst: What holds up and what does not.
Picking Nits: The little things in a film the hosts love that they don't think totally work: the nits.
Double feature: The film each host would pair it with; a programming pick.
Their claims
Showing 101–200 of 854 claims.
what-if (what-if):
Species → The Sopranos.
As a 1995 HBO one-hour drama, Species would have predated The Sopranos (99) and Oz (97).
what-if (what-if):
Arnold Schwarzenegger → Species.
Schwarzenegger was briefly interested, but the budget could not afford him; the panel imagines him as Press Lennox or the empath.
“Arnold Schwarzenegger was briefly interested in the script, but the budget wouldn't allow him.”
contrast (contrast):
Rocky → The Godfather.
Structurally Rocky is like Godfather if it were all Michael and Kay's dates and the Don dies only in the last minutes; boxing barely appears until the last 13 minutes.
“imagine if Godfather was entirely about Kate and Michael not in New York City.”
theme (theme):
Rocky → Top Gun.
Rocky's urban portrait of American life gave way in the Karate Kid, Hughes and Top Gun era to safer, cleaner suburban stories.
“It's just a much different portrait of like American life because this is so urban.”
what-if (what-if):
Sylvester Stallone → Good Will Hunting.
Asked whether Damon and Affleck's Good Will Hunting is the same make-your-own-movie story; the difference is they'd been in movies already.
“Would Good Wolf Hunting be in the same mode of a movie where the guys just went, fuck it, we're going to make our own movie and explodes?”
career (career):
Sylvester Stallone → On the Waterfront.
Stallone may have wished to make more movies like On the Waterfront than the franchises that became golden handcuffs.
“I would have liked to have made more movies that are like on the waterfront or whatever”
career (career):
Sylvester Stallone → Rocky III.
Stallone's best A-list run came with Rocky 3 and First Blood in the same year, a roughly six-year run.
“He has one of the best, probably 6 year A-list movie star runs ever.”
career (career):
Sylvester Stallone → Nighthawks.
After Rocky he tried to separate from the character: beard in Nighthawks, big weight loss in Victory.
“You know, like he's in Nighthawks, he grew a beard.”
lineage (lineage):
Rocky → Cinderella Man.
Rocky set up the idea that a victory transforms the supporting cast too, as in Cinderella Man where he fights for Giamatti.
“by the time you get to like Cinderella man, you realize that he's not just fighting for him, he's fighting for Giamatti.”
verdict (verdict):
Rocky → Network.
Network is also called really great in the 1976 best-picture relitigation; one host thinks Holden is better than Finch in it.
lineage (lineage):
Twister → Jurassic Park.
Twister is aesthetically closer to Jurassic Park than to superhero movies, prizing intelligence over strength and wonder over fixing things.
“I think it's more aesthetically closer to like Jurassic Park.”
people (people):
Twister → Steven Spielberg.
Spielberg executive produced and Amblin is a production company, giving the film a wide-eyed wonder-and-fear Spielberg feel.
industry (industry):
Twister → Industrial Light & Magic.
The movie was built out of an ILM proof-of-concept clip of a pickup truck driving toward a tornado.
“It was a proof of concept clip from Industrial Light Magic”
career (career):
Bill Paxton → Trespass.
Trespass, with Ice-T and Ice Cube, is cited as a high-concept treasure-hunt movie that feels important and is probably on Tubi.
what-if (what-if):
Bill Paxton → George Clooney.
Chris argues Paxton could have led Out of Sight instead of Clooney; Van counters that Paxton lacks the movie-star magnetism for the trunk scene with J.Lo.
“I think he could have been the lead guy and out of sight instead of Clooney and out of sight.”
career (career):
Helen Hunt → As Good as It Gets.
Helen Hunt's run from Kiss of Death and Twister to winning an Oscar for As Good as It Gets was an unexpected shoot to the A-list.
“And then she wins an Oscar for as good as it gets.”
career (career):
Philip Seymour Hoffman → The Talented Mr. Ripley.
Hoffman's trajectory: Scent of a Woman, then Boogie Nights, then Ripley as the exclamation point that confirmed a real actor.
people (people):
Twister → Jan de Bont.
De Bont is introduced as Chris's guy: DP on Die Hard, director of Speed, a hard-charging efficient director the crew hated.
people (people):
Jack Green → Jan de Bont.
Green, the replacement DP, was injured two days from the end and de Bont, the director, had to take over the photography himself.
theme (theme):
Twister → The Amityville Horror.
Going back for the dog in the opening scene echoes Amityville Horror, which Bill says has the best version of the leave-the-dog trope.
craft (craft):
Twister → Goo Goo Dolls.
The soundtrack was built from songs people were asked to make for the movie; the Goo Goo Dolls track is judged the better song than Tori Amos's contribution.
“Long way down by Goo Goo Dolls is the better song.”
theme (theme):
Twister → Sleepless in Seattle.
Dr. Melissa is the stable fiance archetype that rom-coms usually give to the guy, like Bill Pullman in Sleepless in Seattle and Greg Kinnear in You've Got Mail.
“It's like Bill Palman in Seattle and Greg Canair and you got mail.”
lineage (lineage):
Twister → The Poseidon Adventure.
Disaster movies had two golden runs, the 70s (Poseidon Adventure, Towering Inferno) and the 90s, and Twister belongs to the second.
“The 70s, we had this awesome run, Poseidon adventure and all those movies.”
what-if (what-if):
Twister → War of the Worlds.
A Tom Cruise Twister would be the grounded 90s movie he never made, until War of the Worlds years later.
“It's the movie Cruise never made in the 90s that he should have made.”
industry (industry):
Twister → Jurassic Park.
Marketing a disaster around unknown leads follows Jurassic Park, where Sam Neill and Laura Dern were known but not famous.
“coming off of Jurassic Park where it was like Sam Neil and Laura Dern were like well-known, but not famous.”
lineage (lineage):
Internal Affairs → The French Connection.
Dirty-cop movies trace back to the 70s classics, the French Connection and Serpico among them.
lineage (lineage):
Internal Affairs → Live and Die in L.A..
Bill places Internal Affairs alongside Live and Die in L.A. as a cool pre-Heat L.A. conflict movie.
“it's up there with like live and die in LA of like a really cool preheat LA conflict.”
contrast (contrast):
Training Day → Internal Affairs.
Training Day knows it is a different prism on dirty cops, while Internal Affairs treats a dirty cop as fun to watch.
“Yeah, training day is in a completely different prism and it knows that this movie is kind of like, ah, it's fun to watch Richard Gere be a dirty cop.”
contrast (contrast):
Internal Affairs → Bad Lieutenant.
Bad Lieutenant is the dirtiest cop ever but tries too hard to be deranged; Internal Affairs is deranged without trying.
“This movie is deranged, but it doesn't try too hard.”
career (career):
Mike Figgis → Neil Jordan.
Figgis is described as a provocative director working genre movies inside the system, like maybe Neil Jordan.
“There's not a lot of guys like him, like maybe Neil Jordan or somebody like that.”
lineage (lineage):
Internal Affairs → Bad Influence.
Bad Influence came out the same year and is similarly unhinged, part of an 89 to 91 run of dark sex-tinged movies.
“But there's like, because also bad influence with Rob Lowe and James Bader comes out this year.”
fun, about
The Color of Money:
Chris says the hosts' concept for a rep series: movies where you want to live the objectively stressful low life of the people in them.
“movies where you want to live the objectively, like, stressful low life of the people involved. Like you watch it and you're like, what's cooler than being a pool hustler who lives at bars?”
fun, about
Chris Ryan:
Chris Ryan's CR Month picks on The Rewatchables: Sicario, Fargo, To Live and Die in L.A., L.A. Confidential, The Nice Guys, a lineup that turned out to be all L.A. movies.
“Sicario, Fargo, to live and die in LA, LA confidential, and I feel like...”
fun, about
Paul Newman:
Chris praises Newman's ability to strike a pose: no overly expressive John Wayne thing, just sit and hold the frame, leaning 10 percent of his weight over.
“Also, man, Newman just fucking knew how to strike a pose and he could do it in a way where it felt natural.”
fun, about
Atlantic City:
Griffin and David riff on Atlantic City: ruined by plane travel and Indian casinos; Griffin visited for a birthday; Vegas is similarly hit by phone sports betting.
“it is a celebration of a certain kind of American 3rd space that is disappearing.”
fun, about
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre:
Leatherface's entrance: no music, a metal door opens, hammer to the head, convulsing like a fencer, a second hit, then the door slams. Chris and Bill call it one of the great scares and best character entrances.
“Metal door opens. The scariest guy you'll ever see in your life is just there.”
fun, about
Tobe Hooper:
Origin legend: Hooper was in line at a hardware store and thought it would be amazing to grab a chainsaw and cut through the line. The hosts debate whether it was that or Watergate and Vietnam, and settle on both.
“He was in line in a hardware store going, man, it would be so cool to grab one of those chainsaws and just cut through the line.”
fun, about
Marilyn Burns:
Burns got the Peter North Award for most effort: screams for 30 minutes, did her own stunts, jumped out two windows, real cuts, and her finger was actually cut for the grandpa scene.
“She does all of her own stunts. She jumps out of 2 windows.”
fun, about
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre:
Most rewatchable scene: Kirk getting killed, with the lead-up. Craig also points to the opening, the hitchhiker, the chicken room and the gas station.
“my most rewatchable scene is Kirk getting killed.”
fun, about
Gunnar Hansen:
Three Leatherface masks per Hansen: the killing mask, the old lady (domestic kitchen) mask, and the pretty woman mask worn to dinner, because in Texas you dress up for dinner.
“there was the killing mask. The old lady mask and pretty woman mask.”
fun, about
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre:
Best character name: Leatherface, who is only ever named when his brother calls him Leatherface; title debates note the film nearly went by Head Cheese or Saturn's Return.
fun, about
Marilyn Burns:
Unanswerable question: Burns died in 2014 at 65, found by her brother, no cause of death specified, which makes the hosts nervous.
fun, about
Craig / Fever Pitch:
Craig loved Fever Pitch growing up; Chris Ryan calls it one of the dumbest movies ever because a fan runs onto Fenway for five minutes with no security.
fun, about
Peter Weir:
Weir said making movies in 1970s Australia, with no good screenwriters, forced him to revise scripts and learn to work dialogue with actors.
“he said they had no good screenwriters in, in Australia.”
fun, about
Species:
Fitch's exposition: we decided to make it female so it'd be more docile and controllable; Madsen answers you guys don't get out much.
fun, about
Ralph Rosenblum:
Chris's film camp in Maine story: the editor showed the Real Men rough cut and the final, proving the editor is the most important person.
“oh my god, the editor is the most important person on the set”
fun, about
Alfred Molina:
Molina recalled Henstridge being nervous on their sex-scene day since neither had acted one; he had been in one with a man, which broke the ice.
fun, about
Twister (themes):
Bill's third take: the movie is more erotic than he remembered, essentially tornadoes getting people together; Chris says it should have been on the poster.
fun, about
Jan de Bont:
The crew revolted: scores quit, two DPs, funny T-shirts about him, a camera assistant knocked over; replacement Jack Green was hurt with two days to go and De Bont finished photography himself.
fun, about
Twister production:
Oklahoma was not stormy enough, so giant lamps burned Helen Hunt's and Bill Paxton's retinas and they wore elephant glasses for days.
“So they did these like giant lamps that burn the retinas of Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton.”
fun, about
Twister (drive-in scene):
The tornado tears the screen apart at a drive-in showing The Shining; the group wants a bigger Scatman Crothers moment.
“and then the one lightning strike, and you can see the tornado behind the screen, and it just fucking tears the screen apart.”
fun, about
Dr. Melissa Reeves:
A running theory that Bill the Extreme had a drinking and partying past, cleaned up in Dallas, and tried to be regular with Melissa.
“These stories about him being naked, throwing Jack Daniels at the storm.”
fun, about
Helen Hunt:
Hunt got concussed by a door De Bont had insisted she could handle, then he called her clumsy; she replied the guy burned her retinas.
“clumsy, the guy burned my retinas, but if I'm clumsy, I thought I was a good sport.”
fun, about
Philip Seymour Hoffman:
His Oklahoma Sooners hat and Baja are picked as the movie memorabilia; Chris says over the years his Dusty performance is the most fascinating thing about the film.
fun, about
Richard Gere:
His technique: he gets very close and holds eye contact; Garcia keeps looking away in the scene.
“Gear does this move and he does it in other movies where he gets super close to who he's talking to, male or female and he keeps the eye contact all the time.”
fun, about
Internal Affairs:
Rat Squad: a better title offered via a speaker's father, a former police officer, who said that is what Internal Affairs was called.
fun, about
Internal Affairs:
Casting what-ifs: the research list of actors offered Peck includes Nolte, Harrison Ford, Pacino, and Schwarzenegger.
“Alec Baldwin, Tom Barringer, Jeff Bridges, Pierce Brosnan, Kevin Costner, William Defoe, De Niro, Michael, Douglas, Harrison Ford, which is the one that I would nominate.”
fun, about
Michael Mann:
Mann shot the Mississippi, Louisville and the Middle East on location, taking Christopher Plummer to Israel for a 10 minute sequence.
“it's important for this 10 minute sequence that I take Christopher Plummer to Israel.”
fun, about
The Insider:
The Insider was budgeted at 68 million and made about 29 million, felt like a bomb, and Joe Roth said selling it was like walking up a hill with a refrigerator on your back.
“when Joe Roth talked to the Times right before the insider came out, he said, uh, in regards to selling the movie to the public, he said it's like walking up a hill with a refrigerator on your back.”
fun, about
The Insider:
Most rewatchable scene nominees: the car feel-out in the rain, the lunch exposition table, the Gulf, the golf range, Wallace at 5:30 am, and Hewitt versus Bergman.
“Most rewatchable scene, Lowell and Jeffrey in the car feeling each other out while it's raining”
fun, about
The Insider:
Remake idea: as a 10 episode Netflix show with an episode just looking at the Gulf, plus swapping Dead Can Dance for Rage Against the Machine.
“To make it truly 99 feeling we replaced Dead can Dance with Rage Against the Machine on the soundtrack.”
fun, about
A Bronx Tale:
Three great women: Sonny says they come along like great fighters (Marciano, Sugar Ray, Joe Louis), yet he got all three at 16. The hosts love the unprovable theory.
“I just love crazy theories like that that can't be proven.”
fun, about
A Bronx Tale:
Rewatchable scenes: bar introductions of Eddie Mush, JoJo the Whale, Frankie Coffee Cake; craps; the Mush horse-track scene; the biker bar 'Now you can't leave'; De Niro 'stay away from my son'; Sonny's shooting; the funeral. Ryan names the biker bar; the others pick the crap scene.
fun, about
A Bronx Tale / Who won the movie:
Who won the movie: Simmons and Ryan say Chazz Palminteri, the writer and star with his own life story; one host votes for Crazy Mario. The Oscar pick for best supporting is also Chazz.
“I think it's chess. You can make an argument for C, but it's chess.”
fun, about
This Is the End:
Most rewatchable scene: the McBride-Franco porno magazine fight, 'one of the 5 funniest scenes in 30 years', surely improvised and chopped from a 10-minute argument.
“I'm sure that was like a 10 minute argument that they just chopped down to too many.”
fun, about
Beverly Hills Cop II:
The fish tank fingerprint scene at Rosewood's apartment, with the Cobra poster; they could have spent 20 minutes in it.
fun, about
Beverly Hills Cop II:
The sequence climaxes with Eddie Murphy handing a cement truck to Chris Rock at the Playboy Mansion, called one of the most 80s scenes.
“it culminates with Eddie Murphy giving a cement truck to Chris Rock.”
fun, about
Beverly Hills Cop II:
Casting what-if: Bronson Pinchot and Lisa Eilbacher missing; Pinchot was filming Perfect Strangers, and Simmons says Don Simpson should have made two calls and called a drug dealer. Hopper was wanted for the Stockwell role.
“Yeah, seriously, all Donna had to do was make 2 calls and call one drug dealer.”