Updated: June 8, 2023
Still Need to Watch: Please Give
Nicole Holofcener specializes in empathetically capturing the loves in self-involved upper middle class whites stuck in a bubble and going through it. No one going today is able to explore stuff like that and make you it seem so true to life. Continue reading Ranking the Nicole Holofcener Films
In this introductory mini-episode, Ben & Matt talk through their mission statement for the podcast as well as their history with the Transformers franchise.
If you’d like to watch and read along with us then you need to watch Transformers (2007) before the next episode, and read More Than Meets the Eye Issues 1-8 before Episode 2.
Continue reading More (And Less!) Than Meets the Eye – Episode 0: “Our Most Unlistenable Podcast Idea Ever”
Jerome and Brian begin their month long look at Harrison Ford with the only film he was nominated for an Oscar, Witness.
Find out what makes this an almost underrated movie and why we probably should talk more about Peter Weir. They describe the greatness of both the world building first act and climaxing in the third act.
Continue reading Pantheon Plus – Harrison Ford Month: Witness
The Star Trek films are truly fascinating. There are three different and distinct eras of films but there are deep connections to what came before them in some way. These different eras are not just different in terms of the casts but also in the vision and tone of what Star Trek looks like. It was a very unexpected pleasure to go back to the beginning and watch them all in order. Continue reading Ranking the Star Trek Films
As I have probably mentioned a few times (if you are a semi-frequent reader or listener of the website), I am an English teacher in the Bronx. My students have to pass a series of state exams in order to graduate from high school. One of them is an English Language Arts exam which contains an essay prompt that asks them to analyze the “central idea” of a text. To the state of New York, “central idea” is the life lesson of a text. It is a childlike way of approaching art.
I say all of this to say that this is what I think of when I think of Ted Lasso. Not only could one easily analyze the “central idea” this show’s episodes, I would say that it almost feels like this show’s purpose IS to give life lessons. It feels like an after-school special that is seeking to spoon-feed ADULTS lessons about the right way to live their lives. Listen, we all need to turn our brains off sometimes and watch some crap. What does it say though that this particular piece of crap because such a hit and awards powerhouse? (Nothing good.) And are there glimpses of something better throughout? (Not really.)
Brian and Jerome have wrapped on the Ip Man series, and what better way to end the month than with a special bonus “Easter” episode. We celebrate Michelle Yeoh’s Oscar win by briefly taking a look at two of her sequels, “Royal Warriors” and “Heroic Trio 2: Executioners“. One is really good. One is not. It’s a fun way to end “Punchy Kicky (Ip) Man” month.
Continue reading Pantheon Plus – Punchy Kicky (Wo)Man: Michelle Yeoh Bonus Episode
Succession was The Last Television Show, and now it is over. And I am sad.
Jerome Cusson and Kevin Ford have been our point people for covering Barry on the website. Make sure you check out their coverage!
Jerome and Kevin Present: Barry (Season 1)
Jerome and Kevin Present: Barry (Season 2)
xXx has taken an unlikely path towards franchisedom. Or maybe it would be more accurate to say that the franchise ended up in a radically different location than planned.
The series started in a downswing period for the James Bond franchise, and it seemed like someone wondered, “What if we made an American James Bond and combined him with the X-Games?” and then boom: new franchise.
They even found the perfect lead: Vin Diesel, fresh off the first Fast and Furious film. The only problem was, much like the sequel to Fast and Furious, Diesel refused to make it over script issues that they would not change on his behalf. Again like the Fast franchise, the studio eventually came back to Diesel when they knew it was better off with him and gave him much power over what happens on screen.
As a result, we have an endlessly uneven but sincerely fascinating in-progress franchise centered around one of the handful of new Hollywood stars from the 21st century.
Noah Baumbach has evolved over the last three decades into one of the best modern writer/directors in the United States. He knows his voice. He knows his lane. He knows what he knows. And he does it all very well.
The Reel World 