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 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.”