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 401–500 of 854 claims.
verdict (verdict):
Thief → Running Scared.
Running Scared is an ardent personal favorite as a Chicago movie.
“I'm literally the number one fan of running scared.”
theme (cultural-impact-comparison):
Wes Anderson → Quentin Tarantino.
In 2001 there was a sense Anderson could be as significant a voice as Tarantino, who came slightly earlier.
“there was a feeling in 01 that I think he had a chance to be like as significant a voice as Tarantino.”
career (career-parallel):
The Royal Tenenbaums → Magnolia.
Each is its director's third film, where they hit both their emotional-trauma vein and big Hollywood budgets; both blessed by Scorsese.
“Magnolia and Tenna bombs were each of their 3rd films.”
craft (style-criterion-MTV):
The Royal Tenenbaums → Magnolia.
Both blend European-cinema love with music-video sensibility and lead with musical taste.
“it's basically like criterion MTV. They have the sensibility and the style of music videos”
contrast (franchise-contrast):
Wes Anderson → Jurassic Park.
Today's indie directors get drafted into franchises (Jurassic Park, Creed, Black Panther, Eternals); Anderson never would.
“you get drafted into franchise filmmaking incredibly fast now.”
lineage (literary-source):
The Royal Tenenbaums → Franny and Zooey.
The movie is a Salinger pastiche; Anderson would need a Salinger adaptation as IP cover today.
“he would have to make Franny and Zooey. Like he would have to make an adaptation of a Salinger novel”
career (career-decline):
Gwyneth Paltrow → Shallow Hal.
After Tenenbaums she did Shallow Hal and later became a celebrity rather than disappearing into parts.
“And after Tenbaum's, and she does shallow how, which is kind of a, I guess, a disaster, right?”
contrast (contrast):
Seven → Dead Man Walking.
Those movies felt like Oscar movies while bare-knuckle genre movies made by artists did not get recognized.
“They're bare knuckle genre movies that are done by artists and those weren't really getting recognized as much back then, I don't think.”
lineage (lineage):
Seven → True Detective.
Se7en's influence shows in True Detective from the title sequence to the characters, though True Detective's first season flinches at the dark ending.
“you can see the influence of of 7 on things like True Detective from the title sequence to the characters.”
theme (theme):
Seven → Sherlock Holmes.
Se7en works as a Sherlock Holmes story in which the Watson figure, Mills, is a fool who hits the ceiling of his intelligence.
“here's this is a Sherlock Holmes movie in which Watson is a fucking idiot.”
craft (craft):
Seven → The Silence of the Lambs.
Both belong to the era of thrillers where the killer is found by cracking a word code or a weird clue.
“There's also that vibe of a lot of some other thrillers from this time period.”
theme (genre revival):
Deal of the Century → War Dogs.
Deal of the Century and Best Defense killed the arms-dealer comedy until War Dogs brought it back.
“that movie and best defense quickly ended the arms dealer comedy genre that it was for some reason developing, just ended.”
career (career parallel):
Chevy Chase → Bill Murray.
Chase and Murray were the 70s guys who navigated into the Letterman sarcasm era; Chase was neck and neck with Murray in the mid 80s.
“I think him and Bo Murray specifically were able to navigate what came next with the Letterman era, the sarcasm era, basically.”
people (typecasting):
Dana Wheeler-Nicholson → The Fly.
Six-foot Wheeler-Nicholson was always cast opposite tall leading men such as Goldblum in The Fly.
“She always played against really tall leading men, you know, like opposite Goldbloom and the fly.”
unmapped (future Rewatchables pick):
Geena Davis → A League of Their Own.
Davis in A League of Their Own is where she marshals her power; a possible future episode.
lineage (what a sequel could be):
Beverly Hills Cop II → Fletch Lives.
Chris cites Beverly Hills Cop 2 as a sequel better than its original; Fletch Lives joins 48 Hrs 2, Godfather 3 and Caddy Shack 2 as disappointing late-80s sequels.
“a really good example is Beverly Hills Cop 2, which is better than Beverly Hills Cop one.”
unmapped (series model):
Fletch → The Pink Panther.
Fletch should have become a Pink Panther style detective series with a new case each time rather than a coherent saga.
unmapped (fan theory):
Ferris Bueller's Day Off → Fight Club.
The online theory that Ferris is a figment of Cameron's imagination is likened to Fight Club.
“this is Cameron's fight club, you know, that Ferris is a figment of Cameron's imagination”
people (auteur culmination):
Ferris Bueller's Day Off → John Hughes.
Cameron is the culmination of five years of Hughes teen movies trying to get that character right.
“the Cameron character is a culmination of 5 years of John Hughes teen movies, him trying to get this character correct, and then I feel like he finally did.”
what-if (career what-if):
Matthew Broderick → Tom Hanks.
Hanks had the ideal version of the adult career Broderick might have had, rom-coms and Punchline-type roles.
“I feel like Tom Hanks had the ideal version of Matthew Broderick's adult career.”
people (typecasting):
Alan Ruck → Spin City.
Ruck became so identified with Cameron that seeing him on Spin City with Michael J. Fox registered as Cameron.
“when he popped up on Spin City with Michael J. Fox in the mid 90s, just being like, Cameron.”
craft (soundtrack comparison):
Ferris Bueller's Day Off → Pulp Fiction.
Pulp Fiction, Goodfellas, Boogie Nights have better soundtracks, but none use music the way Ferris does.
“you can make the argument that like pulp fiction and um, Goodfellas and boogie nights and days all have like better soundtracks”
craft (editing to music):
Paul Hirsch → Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
Hirsch cut the movie to the rhythms of its songs, especially the final run set to The English Beat.
“I think Paul Hirsch basically cut this movie to the rhythms of these songs.”
unmapped (easter egg):
Ferris Bueller's Day Off → The Breakfast Club.
A Simple Minds Don't You Forget About Me poster appears in Ferris's room, a year after Breakfast Club, as Hughes building his own universe.
“the simple minds. Don't you forget about me, poster, one year after Breakfast Club, which I love like Hughes making his own universe.”
what-if (casting what-if):
Emilio Estevez → Repo Man.
Estevez turned down Cameron; coming off Repo Man he would read as punk-rock Ferris rather than Cameron.
“He seems more like the punk rock version of Ferris Bueller than he does like Alan Rock.”
what-if (casting what-if / archetype):
John Cusack → Say Anything....
Cusack was the backup for Ferris, and Lloyd Dobler is in the same vein as Ferris.
“I think Lloyd Dobbler is sort of in the same vein as Ferris.”
people (falling out):
Anthony Michael Hall → John Hughes.
Hall says Hughes wrote Ducky, Ferris and other roles for him, then they split after Weird Science.
“he believes Hughes wrote the roles of Ducky and Pretty and Pink and Ferris Bueller for him.”
contrast (style contrast):
Ferris Bueller's Day Off → The Breakfast Club.
Ferris is more new wave, with synths and funky outfits, than the more trad early-80s Breakfast Club.
“Ferris feels more new wave than breakfast club in some ways.”
people (that guy filmography):
Richard Edson → Do the Right Thing.
Edson appears in Stranger Than Paradise, Desperately Seeking Susan, Platoon, Good Morning Vietnam, Eight Men Out and Do the Right Thing.
“he's in Stranger Than Paradise, desperately seeking Susan Platoon. Good morning Vietnam, 8 men out, and then do the right thing.”
unmapped (shared choreographer):
Kenny Ortega → Dirty Dancing.
Ortega choreographed Ferris's Twist and Shout and also Dirty Dancing and High School Musical.
“the choreography was done by Kenny Ortega, who did Dirty Dancing, but then also like high school musical”
theme (genre: all in one day):
Ferris Bueller's Day Off → Inside Man.
Bill asks whether Ferris is the Apex Mountain of all-in-one-day movies; Chris names Inside Man as a favorite of the genre.
“my favorite all in one day movie is, I think, is inside man.”
theme (era marker):
Ferris Bueller's Day Off → Risky Business.
Chris notes Risky Business as the first modern 80s movie, a candidate for a future episode.
programming (iconic pairing):
Leonardo DiCaprio → Robert De Niro.
Ryan predicts Rick and Cliff will be tied to Brad and Leo as Michael Corleone is to Pacino and LaMotta to De Niro.
“we will like associate Rick and Cliff with Brad and Leo the way we do, you know, Michael Corleone with Al Pacino or, you know, like Jake Lamano with Robert De Niro.”
lineage (source of a detail):
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood → Lee Van Cleef.
The painting of Rick in the driveway came from Tarantino finding a giant Lee Van Cleef painting in the actor's garage while scouting.
“that's why I put a painting of Rick in the driveway.”
unmapped (reviver of stars):
Quentin Tarantino → Brad Pitt.
Tarantino revives superstars; Brad and Leo got best performances from Basterds, Django and this.
“He likes to revive superstars and he's the fixer.”
what-if (casting what-if):
Will Smith → Django Unchained.
Will Smith passing on Django is how Jamie Foxx got it, and Smith could have been the Brad Pitt of OUATIH.
“Will Smith decided not to do Django. Yeah. And that's how Jamie Foxx gets it.”
industry (industry):
Skyfall → Christopher Nolan.
Bond producers wanted their own critically acclaimed thriller since Nolan was having all the fun with Bond-esque movies.
industry (industry):
Cary Fukunaga → Spectre.
Fukunaga directs the next Bond and is formally dynamic, so might break things; Spectre didn't fulfill Skyfall's promise.
contrast (contrast):
Skyfall → Quantum of Solace.
Quantum has nothing like Skyfall's deep thinking about what Bond means, partly because it was written during the writers' strike.
“there's nothing that has that kind of Christmas, that kind of like deep thinking about what these movies mean.”
fun, about
Beverly Hills Cop II:
Best that guy winner: the gun club receptionist (Valerie Wildman), later Dylan McKay's father's fiancee on 90210, who turns out to be an FBI agent.
fun, about
Beverly Hills Cop II:
Apex Mountain: the cement truck shows up 12 seconds after Axel says go get us a car, which Ryan calls one of the worst edits in an Eddie Murphy movie.
fun, about
Beverly Hills Cop II:
Eddie's wearable memorabilia: Ryan picks the Detroit Lions jacket as the easy, era-defining choice; Simmons would take the Testarossa and Dean Stockwell's mustache.
fun, about
Die Hard 2:
Sadler did not realize the naked Tai Chi scene meant fully naked, asked to film it near the end of the shoot and trained for two months; the bureau is positioned to hide his package.
“He didn't realize he had to be naked, so the actor William Sadler was like, can we film this near the end?”
fun, about
Die Hard 2:
What aged best: airports at Christmas, with parkas, Jameson, chaos and misery; also what aged worst since nobody waits at the airport or smokes inside anymore.
“Everybody's just pounding away at Jameson's and waiting to get on the flight.”
fun, about
Panic Room:
The slow-mo phone scene: Whitaker talks in slow motion so you can't hear him but see the words mouthed while Foster searches the covers.
“You see the words being mouthed, which is amazing.”
fun, about
Panic Room:
Memorabilia: Chris and Sean pick the bearer bonds and the ski mask; the Blu-ray finally arrived on the 20th anniversary and Sean has the Superbit DVD.
fun, about
Jodie Foster:
Cherie Currie link: Foster costarred with her in Foxes (1980); Kristen Stewart later played Joan Jett to Currie in The Runaways.
fun, about
Forest Whitaker:
Winner of 'Best That Guy' / scene stealer: Whitaker as Amos takes over the movie for three minutes; Scorsese hands it to him.
“I need this guy to take over my movie for 3 minutes.”
fun, about
The Color of Money:
Streetlights pass Newman's windshield in time to Werewolves of London as he drives to Chalkey's; also no camera is visible in the final scene's room of mirrors.
“the fucking street lights go past in the windshield, like in time to the music.”
fun, about
Richard Price:
Chris's quick Price rundown: novelist of Lush Life and Clockers, writer of Sea of Love and Kiss of Death, Wire season 3, The Night Of. Bill says Kiss of Death would warrant raised ad rates.
fun, about
Child World:
Tangent: the hosts debate whether Child World was a real Toys R Us rival (it was, 1962 to 1992) and pitch a nine-part true crime podcast.
“We got to pitch our nine-part child world pod true crime.”
fun, about
Wes Anderson:
The cast's wrist bands and Margot costumes: after the movie every dude they knew started wearing wristbands; the movie shaped dress, music and eyeliner.
“every dude I knew started wearing wristbands after this movie.”
fun, about
The Royal Tenenbaums:
Production ran on scale pay: Paltrow gave three weeks, Stiller ten days; the line producer scheduled it to look like a family together.
“Is the MVP the line producer who scheduled this to make it seem like they were a family all at the same time.”
fun, about
The Royal Tenenbaums:
Most rewatchable scenes pick: opening character-intro montage over Hey Jude; Margot's play review; Royal meets grandkids at the Y; Eli on mescaline.
“The pre-credit character introductions that you mentioned is scored by, hey, Jude.”
fun, about
Kumar Pallana:
Dion Waiters Award pick: Pagoda, whose best moment is walking to the window during the intervention and saying 'there he goes'.
“Kumar just walks to the window and says, there he goes.”
fun, about
Gene Hackman:
Closing riff on Hackman's retirement: a posthumous 27-episode Jack Del Rio biopic, a one-man show at Santa Fe Rec called Del Rio Grande.
“It's called Jack of all trades. It's Del Rio Grande.”
fun, about
Fletch:
Rewatchable scene: Fletch as the buck-toothed airplane mechanic demanding a set of 30 weight ball bearings; Chris's favorite character.
fun, about
Fletch:
Chris notes the autopsy scene with the camera tight on the doctor's face, and the Rosen, Rosen, Rosen doctor gag; Sean loves Dr. Dolan and the Babar spelling bit.
fun, about
Fletch (what's aged worst):
Alan Stanwick's plan is ridiculous: scout a lookalike, have him shoot you, kill and burn him, with no DNA or dental checking.
“there's no such thing as DNA or dental evidence yet.”
fun, about
Val Kilmer / The Saint:
Bill's love of The Saint (budget 70M, grossed 169.4M, great Moby/Chemical Brothers soundtrack) becomes a running joke ending with power rankings of who cares.
fun, about
Ferris Bueller's Day Off:
The Cameron-destroys-the-Ferrari debate: Bill loves the car and sees no excuse; Chris in his 40s says Cam is getting executed by his dad; Sean sees it as angsty teen anger.
“Cam's gonna get a socket wrench to the eye if his dad is coming home, man.”
fun, about
Ferris Bueller's Day Off:
Hosts argue the film may be the best use of pop music in a movie: The Smiths-style museum cover, the English Beat chase, and the Yello opener.
“is this the best use of pop music in a movie ever?”
fun, about
Ben Stein:
Ben Stein ad-libbed the lecture off camera; the extras laughed so hard that the voodoo economics bit stayed in even though it was not in the script.
“the student extras were laughing so hard that they decided to actually just keep in the voodoo economics, that whole scene.”
fun, about
Ferris Bueller's Day Off:
Costume-change nitpick: nearly ten outfit changes in the first twenty minutes, Chris notes, which also strains the timeline.
fun, about
Ferris Bueller's Day Off:
Unanswerable question: Cameron in 2016 would have written first-person trauma essays and co-hosted Chapo; Ferris becomes a software billionaire in a hypothetical 2001 sequel.
fun, about
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood:
The Bruce Lee scene as unreliable narrator: the people around the fight vanish when the frame changes, signaling Cliff's false memory.
“you see that all of the people that were surrounding the fight have disappeared.”
fun, about
Boogie Nights house:
Chris tracked the Boogie Nights house price and its distance from The Ringer's office using Waze; it was 10 minutes too far.
fun, about
Lee Van Cleef:
Why there is a giant painting of Rick in his own driveway: Tarantino toured Lee Van Cleef's house, a museum with a huge painting of himself in the garage.
“this is fucking weird that this guy has a painting of himself in his garage.”
fun, about
Beverly Hills Cop:
Stunt doubles do not match: the truck driver has a mullet and the guy who jumps out has a bald spot, and Eddie going through plate glass is not Eddie.
fun, about
Victor Maitland:
Maitland's bodyguards: four huge guys carry Axel through the building while a fifth small guy just walks in front, apparently to open doors.
“One of those guys looks like a little mouse in the front.”
fun, about
Beverly Hills Cop:
Magazines stand in for mobile phones: Rosewood reads Time, Banks reads National Geographic, Maitland flips through one in the gallery.
“Jonathan Banks is reading National Geographic at one and it's just like, this is just what people did to pass time in 1984 was like, read a magazine.”
fun, about
Michael Madsen:
The ear scene cuts away to the 'watch your head' graffiti for about 10 seconds; the hosts like that Tarantino rarely shows violence.
“they pan and they just show the watch your head graffiti above the doorway for about 10 seconds.”
fun, about
Tim Roth:
The accent: dialect coach on set all movie, yet he sounds Dutch, Rhode Island or Minnesota: 'rare, bad accent, great performance.'
fun, about
Reservoir Dogs:
Most rewatchable scene pick: Roth's commode story, with its cut between the practiced script and the set; 'I didn't know you could do that with writing.'
“I was just like, I didn't know you could do that with writing.”
fun, about
Lawrence Tierney:
Bill's rewatch verdict: Tierney is bad and was reportedly fired after day three; you can see him blow a line during the naming scene.
“you can watch him in a take that's in the movie, miss the line.”
fun, about
The Dan Band:
Aged-the-best: the wedding band that swears its way through 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' and 'Every now and then I get a little bit terrified', with Ferrell and Reeves' faces worth freeze-framing. LA bar legends in the 2000s.
“If you freeze frame the look on Will Ferrell and Perry Reeves face.”
fun, about
Old School:
Category winner for most iconic and aged-best bit: 'earmuffs'. The guys realized the word entered everyday speech from this movie and are sure they owe Vince Vaughn royalties; Bill says it's like Kleenex.
fun, about
Seann William Scott:
Nominee for Dion Waiters Award: he plays Peppers, the animal trainer, yanking a goat's chain and telling it to shut up; 'You just took one in the jugular, man' after the dart-gun party.
fun, about
Mission: Impossible:
The film started shooting without a finished script. Premiere's Tom Friend described 4 a.m. faxes begging Towne for revisions. De Palma hated Towne's boxcar-reveal ending and pushed for the top-of-the-train chase, which cost millions. Cruise sided with De Palma.
“There were 4 a.m. last minute faxes volleyballed to town kept to town again, begging for revisions, and all were mostly Depalma's doing.”