Obsessive about Color of Money since childhood and fascinated by working vocabularies, hustles, and movie-star craft. Loves Newman's ease, Scorsese camera movement, Warren Zevon, and 80s-90s prestige crime. Is a sucker for the lost American third space of bars and pool halls and distrusts phone gambling.
Stances
Sports betting on phones is bad; real gambling is better
The Hustler is the best young Newman performance
Color of Money's first hour peaks and the back half is a comedown
Warren Zevon's second album is the greatest rock album of the 70s
Humor: Conversational and self-deprecating, with long riffing monologues and pop culture hot takes.
In their words
“I think similarly any movie that introduces its own vocabulary immediately has me leaning in.” (0:38:33)
“I know this is gonna sound really corny, but it is a celebration of a certain kind of American 3rd space that is disappearing.” (2:47:05)
A franchise and genre scholar who likes Jason, the early sequels, and Manhattan; attention to trivia, tropes and critic reception. Treats slashers as a canon with tiers.
Stances
Parts 1, 2, 4 and Manhattan are the good ones
The series finds its legs at 4
Humor: Dry, listing, comfortable with riffing on tropes.
In their words
“But I think it finds its legs at four.” (0:03:55)
Loves 1970s realism and the film's patience and craft; admires Daniel Pearl's cinematography and the era's location shooting. Likes reality-rooted horror over supernatural. Gets to the research and context.
Stances
The film is a perfect achievement with intention and accident both
1970s films feel real
Reality-based horror beats demons
Humor: Dry, deadpan riffs on the research and film-school asides.
Defends movies that are entertainingly bad and invests in actors' career trajectories (Vaughn, Travolta). Loves From Hell staples and a good scumbag name. Sucker for supporting-cast pops.
Stances
Vaughn's drama phase explains the movie
Travolta is giving 10 out of 10 for the first hour
The movie needed an R rating and more Buscemi
Humor: Deadpan observational jokes and absurd movie-logic nitpicks.
In their words
“I think Vacuum Vince Vaughn's not bad in this movie as like a villain.” (0:12:55)
Loves the 80s/90s crime and Michael Mann-style movies of CR month (To Live and Die in L.A.), and Eyes Wide Shut-style deep dives. Can't stand Fever Pitch and animated films. A sucker for category nitpicking and detailed lineage stuff.
Stances
Dislikes Fever Pitch as inauthentic
Wants the Cruise Eyes Wide Shut pod
Would sit out all animated movies
Proud of his Peter North pod
Humor: Dry, theatrical self-mockery about CR month and about being load-managed.
In their words
“Just like, uh, it's like attending my own funeral.” (0:00:58)
“I think it's excitement for the Wayne Jet category.” (0:05:14)
“Yeah, anything animated, you might as well put me on the bench.” (1:31:49)
Gets sold on craft, character introductions and star careers. Loves Kerry Condon's character and the opening scene; dislikes a weak villain turn. Sucker for pubs, big-pint scenes and Tony Scott-style filming.
Stances
Kosinski inherits Tony Scott's style
Pitt and Damon are close but Pitt is a bigger star
Weak link is JP's manager
Baja ending is too much
Humor: Runs on running bits (Ebert, hottest take) and teases with ironic asides.
In their words
“he really is an inheritor of some of like his Tony Scott's like stylistic revelations.” (0:10:32)
“Give that character something. Make him a little sinister.” (1:11:36)
Craft-minded movie nerd who loves directors (Weir, Linklater) and categories like the rack-focus movie and death at sea. Loves a character actor roll call. Can't stand a movie that overexplains.
Stances
Weir is an actor's director with no overbearing visual style
Hanks or De Palma would make a different film
Ordinary People beats the rest for death at sea
Humor: Dry movie-obsessive asides, like mock-pitching a Ryan Murphy series.
In their words
“I always love like the category of like the rack focus movie.” (0:26:04)
“The 1st director attached, this movie was Brian DePalma.” (1:05:34)
Loves Michael Madsen, Sizemore-versus-Madsen debates, and scientist-fiction. Cares about craft facts: cinematographers, editors, who wrote it. Sucker for a TV-series what-if.
Stances
Species should have been an HBO show in 1995
Madsen could have played Shooter and Basic Instinct parts
Film camp taught him the editor matters most
Humor: Reporting production trivia with a straight face, then goofy.
In their words
“I just think this should have been a TV show.” (1:06:22)
“The movie should have had more fucking.” (1:05:36)
Admires Rocky's craft and the supporting cast, especially Gazzo and Joe Spinell; digs the history details of the Steadicam and Oscars. Despises Rocky V and Paulie. Sucker for the movie's structure and franchise lore.
Stances
Wants two more Gazzo scenes and two fewer Paulie scenes
Rocky 2 is the least original; Rocky 1 is superior
Despises Rocky V but likes its final 30 minutes
Cruise over Hanks as the challenger
Humor: Dry, riffs on the movie's absurdities with quick asides.
In their words
“If we had 2 more gazo scenes and 2 less poly scenes.” (1:16:50)
“I despise five, but I will admit that the last, like, 30 minutes of five” (1:45:20)
Loves Tarantino's character work, bits of editing and sound, and the lived-in nostalgia of drinking and cheeseburgers. Is skeptical of Cruise as Vincent and of Tom Hanks. Cares about detail of the heroin scene and the McGuffin.
Stances
Cruise as Vincent doesn't work
Foot massage is an intimate act
The briefcase is best left a McGuffin
Humor: Dry sideline commentary and deadpan nitpicks, plus 'Junkie Chris' running gag about being the heroin purchaser.
In their words
“Where'd you stand on the foot massage argument, CR?” (0:10:25)
“I would not give my mom a foot massage.” (0:10:32)
He loves a tight 90s studio movie, directors and craftspeople like Jan de Bont, and character actors such as Hoffman and Paxton. He is a sucker for the lived-in world, with the Aunt Meg meal, the drive-in and the crew of weirdos. He cannot stand blockbusters with stars too pretty to be believable.
Stances
Jan de Bont is his guy and the chaotic production still looks seamless
Hoffman is the most fascinating part of the film long term
Paxton could have led Out of Sight
Twister is closer to Jurassic Park than to superhero movies
Humor: Cinephile deep cuts and film-bro bits, with the others joking that he would live in the drive-in town.
In their words
“I think it's more aesthetically closer to like Jurassic Park.” (0:05:47)
“I think he could have been the lead guy and out of sight instead of Clooney and out of sight.” (0:19:37)
Chris is the film scholar of the group, reaching for 70s dirty-cop touchstones and the story of how the film was cast and cut. He loves a methodical bit, like the murders-to-sex ratio. He is a sucker for an attractive villain and a story told in the middle of the movie.
Stances
Internal Affairs is a one-of-one
Dirty cops as popcorn entertainment ended after this era
Gere's elevator and burger-joint scenes are the peak
Humor: Dry, stats-driven bits such as the John Hollinger advanced analytics award.
In their words
“I have the elevator fight just because it's almost like a horror movie scene.” (0:43:31)
“I have the John Hollinger Advanced Analytics Award.” (1:04:10)
Chris is the host of this installment and a Michael Mann devotee who frames the film's craft and context: the Pacino and Crowe careers, Mann's formal progression, the end of broadcast news dominance. He likes the exposition scene, Plummer and Pacino together, and the wild formal choices. He tends to read films through the movie business and what they say about their era.
Stances
The Insider is Mann's most restrained film
Pacino's best, finely calibrated performance may be in The Insider
1999 is a last year of a kind of movie being made
Humor: Dry and hosting-minded, steering the discussion with sports riffs and deadpan film trivia.
In their words
“It's his most restrained film in a lot of ways.” (0:08:50)
“Pacino gets 3 decades to be Al Pacino.” (0:18:33)
Sentimental about the film as his mom's movie and the Motown soundtrack. Loves American Flyers and ensemble friendship movies. A sucker for needle drops and domestic details like Nick's Porsche.
Stances
It's an inherited rewatchable from his parents' generation
Wants a cycling month
Cast what-if bits
Humor: Deadpan ribbing and long riffs on fake sequels.
In their words
“I'm super happy because I fucking love American Fires.” (0:38:30)
“Maybe we should do cycling month on the rewatchable.” (0:38:39)
Prefers He Got Game; passionate about the Sopranos and about how Bronx Tale influenced it; likes De Niro's softer performance. Notes father-son themes across films. Likes the biker bar scene most.
Stances
Bronx Tale influenced the Sopranos more than any movie
Palminteri won the movie
Double feature with This Boy's Life
Sonny is Vito, not Sonny Corleone
Humor: Dry, riffing on his own image as a loved person who would be exposed in a tell-all.
In their words
“He got game is my favorite father-son movie.” (0:02:37)
“I actually have now you just can't leave.” (1:03:09)
Loves studio-era comedy craft and character actors; is a sucker for movies that play against type. Is bothered by plot logic like the murder charge being a weak link.
Stances
Courtroom movies are sports movies
The movie is 15-20 minutes too long but the last half hour is lights out
Humor: Deadpan nitpicks and long fond digressions.
In their words
“It's 15 minutes too long. And the last half hours lights out.” (0:09:17)
“You know, the murder charge is the weak link of the film.” (0:51:44)
Loves the Rogan-Apatow comedy era and the friendship dynamics; admires its screenwriting. Is over weed humor now. A sucker for Larry Sanders-style meta-comedy.
Stances
Weed culture has aged worst
Jonah Hill is underrated
The film is a pretty moral movie
Humor: Dry and deadpan, with nitpicky geography bits.
In their words
“I'm pretty over marijuana culture.” (0:46:30)
“It's like actually a pretty moral movie.” (0:19:35)
Appreciates the Tony Scott action-movie side of Cop II, Rosewood and Taggart, and big 80s excess, and hard-to-pull-off action comedies. Annoyed by the alphabet-killer logic holes and the cement truck edit. A sucker for what-if spinoffs like Rosewood and Taggart in Detroit.
Stances
Rosewood and Taggart are as funny as Eddie and deserve a spinoff
The alphabet crimes could have gone to J
Cop II is a showcase for Eddie bits
Cop III is an abomination
Humor: Builds long mock pitches and absurd hypotheticals and stacks them on Simmons's riffs.
In their words
“All of this movie is essentially built around, like, let Eddie Cook.” (0:05:38)
“Is an Amazonian blonde woman the best front man for those crimes.” (0:57:50)
Fan of Bruce Willis's blend of action and comedy and an affectionate watcher of that-guy character actors. Loves airport nostalgia and the chaos of Christmas travel; dislikes the callous plane crash. Sucker for Janine Turner and Die Hard with a Vengeance.
Stances
Die Hard 2 is a Christmas movie
Willis was uniquely good at both action and comedy
Die Hard with a Vengeance is a perfect movie
Die Hard 2 is more action-movie-ish than 1 and 3
Humor: Deadpan escalating riffs and nostalgia stories, quick to turn an observation into a bit.
In their words
“This captures the anxiety of traveling during Christmas.” (1:15:27)
“He was so good at both the, the, like the thriller action stunt stuff and also the one-liners” (0:07:08)
Gets excited by pure cinematic storytelling, Hitchcock-style filmmaking and compressed exposition; loves Leto's overacting and House of Gucci; sucker for bearer bonds as a heist device. Hates unrealistic plotting only in passing.
Stances
Panic Room is a thrilling rewatch of pure cinematic filmmaking
Leto in House of Gucci is great
Takes the propane scene as the best in the movie
Fincher wins the movie
Humor: Self-deprecating and absurdist: jokes about being childless and going Krav Maga on burglars.
In their words
“Yeah, and I also would say just like coming out of Fight Club, and it was like the star making performances for Ed Norton” (0:22:37)
“I'm going to take the propane tanks.” (0:56:30)
“I'm going to say Noah Pacino.” (1:17:27)
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 701–800 of 854 claims.
lineage (lineage):
Life Is Sweet → Hard Truths.
Fans of Mike Leigh's Hard Truths should seek out Life Is Sweet.
“if people liked hard truths, they should seek that one out”
industry (industry):
Gladiator → The Lord of the Rings.
Gladiator came right before Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and Spider-Man changed summer blockbusters.
“And it's right before Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and Spider-Man.”
industry (industry):
Gladiator II → Top Gun: Maverick.
Chris expected Gladiator II to be a Top Gun: Maverick-level event with repeat viewings, and is only halfway right.
“I remember earlier this year just being like, this is going to be Top Gun Maverick.”
career (career):
Denzel Washington → Training Day.
Macrinus is a rare outlandish, fun-having role for Denzel, with Alonzo in Training Day the nearest earlier cousin.
“You could say like Alonzo a little bit in training day is this”
lineage (lineage):
The Exorcist III → The Exorcist.
Blatty returned to the world of The Exorcist thirteen years after the second film, with the original's evil.
“William Peter Blatties, you know, returned to the World of the Exorcist with a lot of the original kind of evil of the 1st one.”
contrast (contrast):
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga → Mad Max: Fury Road.
Furiosa is just okay, better on rewatch, versus Fury Road as one of the greatest movies this century.
“Fury Road is one of the greatest movies this century.”
what-if (what-if):
Gladiator II → Before Midnight.
Chris wanted Gladiator II to have the guts of Before Midnight, with the couple together and unhappy.
“Everything that I'm kind of like asking for from Gladiator 2 where I was like, have some guts”
contrast (contrast):
Mad Max: Fury Road → Top Gun: Maverick.
Fury Road dispenses with franchise mythology while Top Gun: Maverick is the opposite, built on the original's story.
lineage (lineage):
The Color of Money → The Hustler.
The Color of Money revisits Eddie Felson years later, with Paul Newman in his twilight and a new protege.
“Now we find Paul Newman bringing up like a new protégé.”
craft (craft):
Hoita → Oppenheimer.
A speaker relays that on Oppenheimer, per Downey, the actors had no marks and the camera side and Nolan followed their movements.
“Downey makes it sound like they could just like walk into a room and do all sorts of things and it was like Hoita and Nolan were like, we'll follow you.”
craft (craft):
Ferrari → Steve Jobs.
Steve Jobs did the compression idea best among recent biopics, and Mann's compressed 1957 setting for Ferrari is ingenious.
“Steve Jobs obviously had, maybe, maybe did the best job of this by kind of splitting the, the atom”
lineage (lineage):
Thief → Ridley Scott.
On the Rewatchables they joked about whether Mann invented wetting the streets, with Ridley Scott dumping water.
“Remember Ridley Scott just dumping water on the streets.”
career (career):
The Last of the Mohicans → Michael Mann.
Mohicans becomes an outlier in Mann's filmography because of the direction he took afterward.
“it winds up becoming more of an outlier because of the direction he went in afterwards.”
craft (soundtrack irony):
The Killer → Morrissey / The Smiths.
Longing, emotional Smiths songs soundtrack a movie about closing down; the choice is both deeply felt and a joke.
“All of those songs that play in this movie, from those Smith's records, are so deeply felt and intense and laid bare in a movie that is about the opposite of that.”
verdict (ranking):
Barbarian → Top Gun: Maverick.
Chris says Barbarian was the most fun night of the year at the movies, barring Top Gun: Maverick, which is his number one.
“Also, just the most fun night. I think I had at the movie is barring maybe Top Gun Maverick all year.”
verdict (genre ranking):
Speak No Evil → Barbarian.
Chris notes his list is horror-centric, with Barbarian at five and Speak No Evil at four, calling Speak No Evil the most effective horror film of the year.
“it's probably the most effective horror movie I've seen this year.”
verdict (ranking):
Tár → Nope.
Chris puts Tar at three and Banshees at two; Adam has Nope at three; the four lists overlap on Tar (Chris 3, Amanda 2, Sean 2) and on Nope (Adam 3, Sean 1).
people (performance comparison):
Tár → Daniel Day-Lewis.
Chris says watching Blanchett is like watching a Daniel Day-Lewis movie, something you need front row seats for.
“This is like when you're watching a Daniel Day-Lewis movie.”
theme (comparison):
Tár → Lincoln.
Chris contrasts Blanchett's level of performance with a Lincoln-style historically resonant part, as a box-office draw for older audiences.
“I guess it's not Lincoln where she's like doing this historically like sort of resonant part, but it's in that kind of level of performance”
theme (analogy):
Top Gun: Maverick → Led Zeppelin.
Chris says the movie is what happens on the one in 137 listens when the second half of Stairway to Heaven hits.
“This movie is what happens when the 2nd half of Stairway to Heaven hits”
theme (comparison):
Tom Cruise → Dwayne Johnson.
Cruise treats himself like the Rock: put him in a legal thriller and you wait for him to punch through a table.
“what's happened to him over the last 10 years or so is he is treating himself as if he is the rock.”
career (career arc):
Eyes Wide Shut → Edge of Tomorrow.
Edge of Tomorrow is a blockbuster version of Eyes Wide Shut and Magnolia where the hero keeps failing and dying.
“Edge of Tomorrow, for example, is kind of like a newfangled,”
people (performance):
Born on the Fourth of July → Daniel Day-Lewis.
In Born on the Fourth of July Cruise shows he can be Daniel Day-Lewis; Chris calls it his best performance.
“This is him being like, I can be Daniel Day-Lewis.”
unmapped (TV comp):
Reacher → Magnum, P.I..
Reacher is described as a throwback to Magnum PI, closer to Sherlock Holmes who throws dudes through walls.
“it's Sherlock Holmes who then like throws dudes through walls.”
verdict (ranking):
Mission: Impossible → Mission: Impossible – Fallout.
Debate over which MI film to keep; one says Fallout is the better performance than the first, another prefers Fallout for stakes.
“I think he's better as an actor and his better performance than the 1st one.”
lineage (lineage):
The Cabin in the Woods → Scream.
The decade's tropes-aware strain starts with Scream-era 90s movies and culminates in Cabin in the Woods.
“I think that culminates with Cabin in the Woods.”
craft (craft):
Jonny Greenwood → Midsommar.
Chris describes the Midsommar experience as Ari Aster playing Greenwood's strings until his eardrums explode.
“Ari Astor stuffed me in a fucking bear carcass and played Johnny Greenwood strings in my, until my eardrums explode.”
verdict (verdict):
Adam Wingard → You're Next.
Chris argues Wingard may be the most consistent genre director of the decade; Sean pushes back and calls him both most creative and most disappointing.
“there's an argument to me that Adam Wingard is at least the most consistent R director of the decade”
people (people):
A Horrible Way to Die → The Guest.
Simon Barrett wrote A Horrible Way to Die, The Guest and You're Next, a Wingard trilogy that nods to earlier landmarks.
“written by Simon Barrett, who wrote the guest and who I believe wrote your next as well”
lineage (lineage):
The Invitation → Rosemary's Baby.
The Invitation, like Rosemary's Baby, is a realistic situation that keeps getting altered until pandemonium.
“that's the movie that I would compare it to in terms of this is a relatively realistic situation that just keeps getting altered more and more”
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.”