Loves close observation of performances, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ang Lee's restraint, Sigourney Weaver, and fussy period detail like anachronisms. Can't stand exploitative handling of kids. A sucker for casting what-ifs and Philly-childhood stories.
Stances
Ice Storm is a subtext movie that never fully announces its themes
Weaver is believable as a suburban housewife where Sharon Stone is not
Joan Allen is the best mom in movies
Humor: Dry and teasing, deflating Simmons's bits with an extra twist.
In their words
“I just so rationally love Sigourney Weaver.” (0:53:33)
“if we could have just worked Philip Seymour Hoffman into this movie somewhere, it would have been amazing.” (1:05:38)
“I think Chris is right that it's more believable.” (1:03:54)
Loves Kurt Russell, John Carpenter, character actors, and the craft of sports filming. Can't stand tacked-on love interests. A sucker for Noah Emmerich and Russell deep cuts.
Stances
Hanks and Costner wouldn't work as Herb
Kurt Russell carries a mediocre script
Miracle is number five on his Russell list
Blindside belongs in the one-star-poster era
Humor: Dry, pop-culture riffs and absurd hypotheticals.
In their words
“Hanks is almost too nice.” (0:16:31)
“I fucking love Tango and Cash, but there might be something wrong with me.” (1:07:18)
Loves 80s-era movie-star craft, New York crime novels (Price), and Scorsese's confined-space coverage; this movie resonates as a middle-aged sports movie. Can't stand the tonal ambiguity of the ending. A sucker for Cruise-Mastrantonio chemistry.
Stances
Rewatches this more than Raging Bull
Cruise should have played more flawed parts
Sees Newman as an anti-hero in The Hustler
Likes the continuation-sequel idea
Humor: Deadpan nostalgia and pop-culture one-liners.
In their words
“I probably return to this one more than, you know, honestly, I've watched it probably more than Raging Bull.” (0:17:12)
“I wish Tom Cruise had played more parts like that.” (0:08:37)
“I think this is my favorite on-screen romance for cruise.” (1:05:51)
Loves Wes Anderson's early run, Hackman's 70s work, needle-drop movies, and rewatchable detail. Suckers for performances that are controlled and specific, and for the gleeful moment a filmmaker shifts gear. Less patient with the Tenenbaums finale's slapstick and with backlash against Wes's tweeness.
Stances
Tenenbaums is a better movie than Magnolia
Richie is the heart and Christ figure of the movie
Hackman is irreplaceable and should win the movie
Soundtrack aged best
Humor: Dry banter, sports-fan tangents (Jaguars, Del Rio) and absurd hypotheticals.
In their words
“I think Ten of Bombs is a better movie than Magnolia” (0:22:05)
“I think Richie is the sin eater for this family.” (0:26:47)
Loves the car ride and the structural audacity of holding the killer back until the last third. Likes literary readings like Dante and hell, and the Hitchcock-adjacent craftsmanship. A sucker for the rain and the city.
Stances
Se7en's car scene is one of the best of the decade.
Pitt's Mills is an idiot Watson.
The setting is hell and John Doe is the ferryman.
Humor: Plays along with Bill's bits and drops quick riffs on small details.
In their words
“That whole 5 minutes is one of the best scenes of the entire 1990s, in my opinion.” (0:07:38)
“John Doe is the ferryman to hell, really, in a lot of ways.” (0:50:09)
Loves Dana Wheeler-Nicholson as Gail Stanwick, Ryan Gosling's smart-assery, and wiseass movie stars with a whole aura. Doesn't like Fletch Lives and thinks the franchise squandered its chance as a series. Sucker for the Pink Panther model and Joel McHale-style imitators.
Stances
Dana Wheeler-Nicholson is the greatest hang of all time
Fletch should have been a Pink Panther style series
Gosling is the modern Fletch
Humor: Passionate hyperbole defending his favorites and doing impressions like Dreyfuss.
In their words
“Gail Sandwick is the greatest hang of all time.” (0:50:46)
Loves 80s pop culture detail, Ferris as an idea, and the soundtrack. Is a sucker for the parade scene and Alan Ruck. Not a fan of the extended Twist and Shout and a bit of a ghoul about Cameron's dad.
Stances
The movie is Ferris's but more Cameron the more you watch
The parade scene is exultant
The pop music use is the revolutionary part
Jennifer Grey's Jeanie is a great underrated villain
Humor: Big, rambling, self-deprecating riffs and impressions, with a mock-dad-in-his-40s perspective.
In their words
“I think that we've analyzed this movie for enough decades now that we've come around to it being Cameron's movie.” (0:02:36)
“Is there a more exultant moment in a movie than when Twist and Shout kicks in?” (0:46:39)
Loves driving scenes, period music, and Tarantino's historical-correction project. Picks Leo as the winner. Can't stand the miscast Damian Lewis. A sucker for details like the radio and TV constantly on in the background.
Stances
It is a memory piece and a what-if movie
Leo DiCaprio won the movie
Rick and Cliff are not good guys
Humor: Gleeful and self-deprecating, with nervous live-show energy.
In their words
“I think it's a memory piece.” (0:12:30)
“I don't think at any time you're supposed to think those guys are like good guys.” (1:12:12)
Treats Skyfall as a rich text with real ideas about empire and trauma and loves a Bond that still delivers set pieces at the highest level. Cares about film lineage, Mendes' career arc, and Nolan. Enjoys the Connery-era films for their bite size.
Stances
Skyfall is the best Bond film
Mendes won the movie
Bond movies should take risks yet respect the formula
Humor: Dry, trades barbs about khakis and the Netflix Bond with the other hosts.
In their words
“I think that this is you're really seeing the best of what this series can be in this movie.” (0:18:44)
Is the movie connoisseur of dumb action; loves 80s cop-movie rival duos and the Taggart and Rosewood interplay, and the movie-stunt era. He is a sucker for the character-actor 'that guy' game and cannot abide implausible bodyguards.
Stances
Cop 2 is the better movie but Cop 1 matters more
Taggart and Rosewood have aged the best
Mid-80s action stunts are worth laughing at
Humor: Dry nitpicks and gentle needling about logic.
In their words
“I like how he's that whole era of mid 80s cop movies” (0:50:59)
“Is it that easy to bring guns in a strip joint?” (1:14:26)
Chris Ryan is the movie-nerd historian here: the video-store aesthetic, Sundance, the high-low marriage of Tarantino's influences. He loves the Roth commode scene and the three-way shootout and thinks of Tarantino as a postmodernist. He is a sucker for Madsen's Vic Vega and Chris Penn.
Stances
Tarantino as postmodernist
Reservoir Dogs changed his life
Bushemi, Penn and Madsen are the best of the ensemble
Humor: Deadpan and nitpicky, happiest when connecting a movie to a bigger tradition.
Cares about Gen X music and specifics; defends the Melrose Place AIDS scene and the soundtrack; skeptical of Troy but remembers cigarette-sharing friends.
Stances
Ethan Hawke 'won the movie' per Bill's phrasing but he sides with Ryder
Hawke's apex is Training Day
Humor: Dry back-and-forth with Bill and Chuck.
In their words
“I'm going to go with the U2 scene that I talked about.” (0:44:46)
Loves character-driven comedy stars, SNL, and a good unreasonable comp. Dislikes lazy TV-remake comedies like Starsky & Hutch. A sucker for Luke Wilson and for true-detective-style hype for his own show.
Stances
Luke Wilson could have been an action lead like Harrison Ford
Old School's strongest piece is earmuffs
TV-remake comedies failed when they were made as pure comedies
Craig Kilborn was best on the first-year Daily Show
Humor: Doubling down on deliberately outrageous takes and absorbing the pile-on.
In their words
“I think if Luke Wilson had stayed in game shape. I think there's a there is like an action movie path for him.” (0:50:30)
“I think 1st year Daily Show was what I would go for.” (0:46:15)
Loves Heat, Michael Mann, The Doors and Kilmer; defends odd roles. Fan of the Kasdan Earp movie more than the others. Sucker for Latin and big performances.
Stances
Tombstone is the Rounders of Westerns
Kilmer is why we remember it
Dana Wheeler-Nicholson is overrated in the Saul Rubinek award
The theater scene earns its place
Humor: Enthusiastic ranting with specific fan detail.
In their words
“Russell is the reason it got made and finished.” (1:12:44)
“I was like, this movie is the Rounders of Westerns.” (0:02:14)
Loves De Palma's playful visual style and Hitchcockian cat-and-mouse set pieces, and likes casts full of great supporting actors. Is a Henry Czerny enthusiast. Can't stand the sillier tech holdovers but defends the masks as the point of the franchise.
Stances
Mission: Impossible is the best of the series
De Palma is at his best when the sex is under the surface
The masks are what makes it Mission: Impossible
Humor: Dry, factual, with deadpan research-corner delivery and running show bits.
In their words
“It's rare to see something that's this stylish and also this one.” (0:31:34)
Film-nerd who loves ambitious Scorsese and Michael Mann movies, a good screenplay and thematic readings. Pushes the capitalism theory and defends flaws as the source of rewatchability. Can't stand the Costello role being unfun, or the rat; likes Leo's performance and Vera Farmiga's therapy scenes.
Stances
Flaws make a movie rewatchable
Departed is a greatest-hits Scorsese
Leo's role is nuanced
Heat is crafted where this is improvised
Humor: Dry riffs and bits that escalate with Simmons.
In their words
“I'm saying part of the reason why it's rewatchable is because it has flaws.” (0:56:18)
Loves gross, funny, tonally audacious horror that breaks rules and dispenses with redemption endings; adores Evil Dead 2, Carpenter, and video-game feel. Dislikes happy-ending cop-outs and self-serious reboots. A sucker for midnight-madness cinema, gore with comic timing, and director careers framed like trading cards.
Stances
Resident Evil is a tonal miracle that may land in his top five
Comedy is the release valve for gore
Cregger's career resembles Jordan Peele's
Wishes video-game adaptations get artist-driven directors, not studio hands
Skips cut scenes in games; prefers being dominated by a movie
Humor: Self-aware bits about podcasting overload, mice, rat kings, and gamer cliches.
In their words
“I feel like this is going to be in like my top five.” (1:38:28)
Letterboxd completist who watched all 309 films of 2022, drawn to rewatchable studio craft and old-school genre like Top Gun: Maverick, The Batman, Predator, Ambulance and Confess, Fletch. Loves McDonagh's Banshees and a cool 70s-style crime film such as Emily the Criminal. Skeptical of blockbusters and slop.
Stances
His draft process (chronological list of American theatrical releases) has him undefeated for five years
Top Gun: Maverick is perfect cinema in its final stretch
Avatar in Babylon's montage feels cheap
Ambulance is a great second-half chase movie
Humor: Deadpan roasting and long riffs, including Predator enactments and fake-quoting AI slop.
In their words
“It's 309 movies and it says you've watched 309 of 309.” (0:19:20)
“I'll take Top Gun at Oscar.” (0:28:57)
“I really do feel lucky to get to do this with you guys” (0:19:31)
“I have gone back to, and I think is one of the better crime films of the decade.” (1:23:38)
Loves gangster and noir movies (Goodfellas, Miller's Crossing, King of New York), 80s-90s action (Days of Thunder), and horror with an 8-percent-weirder bent (Exorcist III). He is newly into physical media and loves rap-era comedy. A sucker for Rewatchables tie-ins.
Stances
Goodfellas is an easy first pick
Exorcist III is one of the great horror movies
1990 was an incredible year for gangster movies
Humor: Rambling and self-aware; leans into his own obsessions, like physical media and trivia about the era.
In their words
“one of my favorite movies ever made, Martin Scorsese's uh, epic, darkly comic look at the rise and fall of the American mob” (0:26:39)
“it's essentially just Top Gun with cars” (0:49:49)
“I do like Godfather part three, but Exorcist 3 is one of the great horror movies I think ever made, honestly.” (1:19:48)
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 301–400 of 854 claims.
craft (score echo):
Harold Faltermeyer → Fletch.
A speaker hears Fletch in the score as the drums come in.
career (yanked off a project):
Larry Ferguson → Mike Solak.
Being pulled off The Presidio is compared to yanking Solak off the NFL show to join the BS pod.
“This is like when you yank Solak off of the NFL show.”
what-if (alphabet killer what-if):
Beverly Hills Cop II → Zodiac.
Fincher could have taken the alphabet-crimes concept further, and the idea is likened to a limited series with an endgame of Z.
“I think Fincher could have taken this to a whole other level.”
unmapped (later TV role):
Valerie Wildman → Beverly Hills, 90210.
The gun club receptionist later played Dylan McKay's father's fiancee who turns out to be an FBI agent.
“who we would later see five, six years later as Dylan McKay's father's fiancé.”
what-if (what-if plot):
Beverly Hills Cop II → The Last Boy Scout.
Simmons's Lisa Bonet revenge subplot is called a competition of 48 Hrs. and The Last Boy Scout.
“Essentially, I'm competition of 48 hours and last Boy Scout.”
theme (scrapped premise):
Beverly Hills Cop II → The Rock.
The abandoned England/Scotland Yard concept with Sean Connery became the backbone of The Rock a decade later.
“initially written Beverly Hills Cop 2 to be Eddie Murphy in England, solving crimes with Sean Connery, actually, which basically, I think, winds up being like essentially the backbone for what the rock is 10 years later or whatever.”
what-if (Detroit what-if):
Beverly Hills Cop II → Beverly Hills Cop III.
Both suggest cop three should have sent Rosewood and Taggart to Detroit, with Axel in a hospital bed.
“I kind of think they always missed out on sending Rosewood and Taggart to Detroit.”
verdict (who won the movie):
Beverly Hills Cop II → Tony Scott.
Ryan argues Tony Scott could win the movie for his distinctiveness, even though the answer is Murphy.
“I think you could make the argument that Tony Scott does because it's just so distinctively.”
career (career strategy contrast):
Bruce Willis → Tom Cruise.
Willis was erratic and high-volume, not a Cruise who picks the best material and promotes it to death.
“this is not going to ever be like a cruise or somebody who's just like, I pick the best material.”
lineage (sequel contrast):
Die Hard 2 → Die Hard.
Ryan says the first and third Die Hard are baked into their locations, while this one is more generic action movie-ish.
“the 1st Die Hard and the 3rd Die Hard are characterized by their, like, this is really baked in.”
unmapped (unintentional comedy):
Die Hard 2 → Regarding Henry.
Simmons jokes the lesson of Die Hard 2 might match Regarding Henry: get shot in the head and be nicer.
contrast (contrast):
House of Gucci → Contact.
Sean jokes about merging two terrible movies, House of Gucci and Contact, into 'House of Contact, Gucci'.
what-if (what-if):
Panic Room → Michael Douglas.
Michael Douglas would have been a great cameo as Steven, though he wouldn't have agreed to the beating.
“I think Michael Douglas would have been a great cameo”
people (people):
Kristen Stewart → The Runaways.
Foster appeared in Foxes with Cherie Currie, whom Kristen Stewart's Joan Jett played alongside in The Runaways, so Panic Room's mother-daughter pair circles back.
“And then Kristen Stewart played Sherry Curry's bandmate Joan Jett in the runaways.”
industry (industry):
The Ice Storm → Prestige TV (streaming series).
The film was made for adults in a pre-prestige-cable era; Ryan frames it as just before cable TV gets incredible.
“It's before right before cable gets cable TV gets incredible and you start to get this revolution going on on HBO.”
theme (theme):
The Ice Storm → JFK.
Ryan asks whether decades had to pass before America could tell the story, as Simmons said about Oliver Stone's JFK.
“when we did the JFK pod, you talked a little bit about needing some time to go by for America to be ready to hear about that story”
theme (theme):
The Ice Storm → Basic Instinct.
Ryan says mass media (Basic Instinct) taught him about sex, like the kids learning from TV in this film.
“mass media had taught me like the basic instinct and whatnot had taught me everything I needed to know.”
what-if (what-if):
Natalie Portman → Léon: The Professional.
Cast what-if: Portman turned down Wendy, which would have made a trifecta with Professional and Beautiful Girls.
“completing the trifecta of sexualizing Natalie Portman characters before she's turned 18”
what-if (what-if):
Sharon Stone → Sigourney Weaver.
Casting Stone instead of Weaver would not work because Stone reads as a vixen, not a believable suburban housewife.
“Sigourney Weaver works because she's obviously very attractive in this movie, but is still like believable as a suburban housewife”
lineage (genre lineage):
Miracle → Slap Shot.
Slap Shot and Mystery, Alaska were among the few hockey movies before Miracle, which was a different level.
what-if (casting what-if):
Taylor Kitsch → Friday Night Lights.
Taylor Kitsch, Tim Riggins, could have played a hockey player given his Canadian background.
theme (character arc):
The Color of Money → The Hustler.
Eddie in The Hustler is a loser and drunk with broken thumbs, an anti-hero rather than a golden god, unlike Cruise's Vincent.
“What do we know about Eddie Felson from the Hustler is he's a loser.”
career (late-career move):
Paul Newman → Clint Eastwood.
Newman and Eastwood both chose to age themselves into reflective roles before Hollywood aged them out; Cruise did the opposite.
“before they age me out, I'm gonna age myself out.”
what-if (what-if):
James Brown → The Color of Money.
A host says Price's script had James Brown, not Werewolves of London, as the song for Vincent's dance scene.
“Well, in the script itself, it's James Brown. Price has it as James Brown.”
career (career breakout):
The Color of Money → Fast Times at Ridgemont High.
In 1986 audiences knew Forest Whitaker only as the guy from Fast Times, and this was his 'I'm on the map' part.
“hey, the guy from Fast Times. That was the reaction”
people (collaborators):
Richard Price → George Pelecanos.
Price was part of the murderers' row of writers on The Wire season 3 and co-wrote The Night Of and The Outsider.
“he's also part of the murderer's row that worked on wire season 3”
lineage (callback):
The Color of Money → The Hustler.
The mentoring conversation Newman has with Vince and Carmen mirrors the one George C. Scott has with Newman in The Hustler; both films also go on the road.
“that's basically the George C. Scott has the same conversation with Paul Newman and the Hustler.”
craft (craft):
Warren Zevon → The Color of Money.
A host wonders whether Warren Zevon was really big at Chalkey's and why Werewolves of London was on the jukebox.
“was Warren Zevon big at Chalkey's for real? Like, why was that on the box? Why was that on the jukebox?”
people (supporting actor overlap):
The Color of Money → Cocktail.
A bar actor here is Cruise's uncle from Cocktail, supporting the theory Cruise pulls his supporting players from film to film.
“Just that Cruz is kind of grabbing all of his supporting figures over the years.”
verdict (best that guy):
Bruce A. Young → Cocktail.
Competing 'that guy' nominees: Bruce Young (Moselle/Jackie), Cruise's Cocktail uncle, and Paul Herman, who wins.
“Bruce A. Young. This is a candidate for best that guy.”
unmapped (on-screen romance):
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio → Tom Cruise.
Chris calls this his favorite Cruise romance, ahead of Zellweger, Kelly McGillis, and Cocktail's rich lady.
“I think this is my favorite on-screen romance for cruise.”
industry (Oscar context):
The Color of Money → Gandhi.
Gandhi, Chariots of Fire and Out of Africa were huge Oscar-era films that nobody discusses today.
“So was Chariots of Fire, which is another movie nobody has conversations about it anymore.”
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.”