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 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”