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 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.”