September 16th, 2019
Ten years ago, Marc Webb's (500) Days of Summer was released to generally positive reviews from most people (and acute irritation from Ed). To celebrate(?) this milestone, Ed and Emily discuss the disconnect between the central performances and the movie around them, its queasy and unsuccessful attempt to make sexist jokes without being sexist, and whether it qualifies as an "elevated" romcom.
Here is Weighing the Value of Director's Cuts: Scanline, as recommended by Ed towards the end of the episode.
September 8th, 2019
Inspired by The Man Who Killed Don Quixote improbably now being available for all to see after decades of fitful progress, Emily and Ed discuss "wounded bird" movies: those flawed, mistreated, or merely strange films that they can't help but take into their hearts. They also try to make sense of the just announced awards from the Venice film festival, Ben Wheatley and Amy Jump making a Tomb Raider sequel, and the rise and fall of the Jeremy Renner app.
Here is Stefan Heck's piece on the Jeremy Renner app, as mentioned in the news section.
00:00:00 - 00:23:21 - Intro & News
00:23:22 - 00:52:04 - Emily & Ed discuss wounded bird movies
00:52:05 - 00:57:19 - SRS Recommends & Outro
September 2nd, 2019
After a quick catch-up, in which Emily talks about her experience doing a show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, she and Ed discuss themes, tropes and stories that always work on them. They also go over Disney's baffling approach to their repertory titles, Richard Linklater's exceedingly optimistic plan to spend 20 years adapting Merrily We Roll Along, and how great Kirsten Dunst is.
00:00:00 - 00:32:24 - Intro & News
00:32:25 - 01:02:51 - Emily & Ed discuss their Pet Themes
01:02:52 - 01:06:45 - SRS Recommends & Outro
August 25th, 2019
Since Disney's D23 fan convention occurred this weekend and they released a ton of new information about their forthcoming streaming service, shows and movies, Matt and Ed talk about the current cultural dominance of the company, what the next year or so looks like, and the quandary of being excited for things made by a company whose actions could be so damaging. They also discussion the sudden returns of The Matrix and Jesse Pinkman, and going too hard, too early at festivals.
00:00:00 - 00:27:58 - Intro & News
00:27:59 - 01:12:03 - Matt & Ed discussion D23
01:12:04 - 01:17:46 - SRS Recommends & Outro
August 18th, 2019
The death of Peter Fonda inspires Matt and Ed to ruminate on the legacy of the American counterculture that Fonda, thanks to his work on Easy Rider, came to embody. They also run through an all-Disney news segment, pretty much all of which is bad!
Here is Art Spiegelman's introduction to a Marvel collection which is mentioned in the News section.
00:00:00 - 00:30:03 - Intro & News
00:30:04 - 01:08:21 - Matt & Ed discuss the Counterculture
01:08:22 - 01:14:45 - SRS Recommends & Outro
August 11th, 2019
It was Ed's birthday this week, and as is tradition, he got to pick any topic for this week's episode. He chose Video Games, so he and Matt have a long chat about their own personal history with video games, the titles that resonated with them, and what genres elude them. There's also some teeth talk, and a breakdown of how and why Universal decided to cancel the release of the thriller The Hunt.
Apologies for the sound issues in this episode: Ed's mic had problems which only became apparent once the episode was recorded and being edited.
00:00:00 - 00:12:11 - Intro & News
00:12:12 - 01:08:22 - Matt & Ed discuss Video Games
01:08:23 - 01:14:12 - SRS Recommends & Outro
August 5th, 2019
Inspired by an article in the Hollywood Reporter about Leonardo DiCaprio, Emily and Ed discuss the changing nature of movie stardom in an age of social media and Constantly Being On. They also talk about Emily's time at the Edinburgh Fringe (where she is performing her show Big Wendy), CBS All Access taking big swings with its adaptations of The Man Who Fell to Earth and The Stand, and the first trailers for The Irishman, The Lighthouse and 1917.
00:00:00 - 00:34:07 - Intro & News
00:34:08 - 01:04:30 - Ed & Emily discuss movie stardom in the year 2019
01:04:31 - 01:08:34 - SRS Recommends & Outro
July 21st, 2019
Matt's back from holiday, and he and Ed had meant to do an episode on a specific topic, but they wound up talking about a packed news week for the duration. Stories include the Emmy nominations, behind-the-scenes drama on Big Little Lies, Netflix losing subscribers, Marvel's two-year plan, and, oh boy, the Cats trailer.
June 23rd, 2019
HBO's Barry wrapped up its second season a few weeks back, and Ed and Emily were both very taken with Bill Hader and Alec Berg's hitman comedy/drama. They talk about the ways in which it balances psychological insight with hilarious comedy, Hader's considerable skill as a dramatic actor, and the ways in which the show has deepened its ensemble in the second season, with plenty of SPOILERS along the way. They also discuss the debut of Neon Genesis Evangelion on Netflix, Bryan Singer being removed from the Red Sonja remake, and I Think You Should Leave being renewed for season two.
Here is the Google talk with Bill Hader that Emily references during the Barry discussion.
00:00:00 - 00:24:33 - Intro & News
00:24:34 - 00:52:21 - Emily & Ed discuss Barry
00:52:22 - 00:56:48 - SRS Recommends & Outro
June 17th, 2019
Whilst Ed has his trotters up in Florida, Matt and Emily hit the wonderful Sheffield DocFest - now in it's 26th year - for a few days of films, masterclasses and *checks notes* algorithmic perfumery. They muse over the wonder of the conversation with Werner Herzog, the sheer inventiveness of the Alternate Realities stranded and get thoroughly flumped by more Harvey Weinstein than they are prepared for.
June 2nd, 2019
Much like the cast of an all-time great television series, Matt and Ed reunite this week for a spoiler-filled talk about Deadwood: The Movie, the long-awaited follow-up/conclusion to David Milch's bleak, hilarious and profane Western series. They also discuss some recent trailers, pitch some fixes for Pixar's Onward, and reminisce about odd people they knew at University.
00:00:00 - 00:35:52 - Intro & News
00:35:53 - 01:02:39 - Matt & Ed discuss Deadwood: The Movie
01:02:40 - 01:07:58 - SRS Recommends & Outro
May 26th, 2019
There's no full episode this week, so Ed runs through some news stories from the week - including the success of Guy Ritchie's Aladdin, The Lonely Island pulling a Lemonade, and Sony deciding to just start making their own damn video game movies - in this minisode.
Here is Lindsay Ellis' video essay on the original Aladdin and Robin Williams' role in animation history, as mention at the end of the episode.
May 23rd, 2019
In a break from the usual format, Matt is joined by not one, but three special guests to discuss the final, divisive season of HBO's wildly popular TV show Game of Thrones. Suffice to say, there's spoilers, so don't listen unless you're all caught up.
May 19th, 2019
Continuing their run of music-themed episodes, this week finds Emily and Ed discussing iconic songs from movies and TV shows which transcend their origins and percolate out into broader culture, musical tropes that they personally respond to, and filmmakers who re-use music from other films and make it their own. They also talk about the news coming out of Cannes, R-Batz, and Disney consolidating even more control over culture.
Correction: At one point Ed incorrectly says that Kill Bill prominently uses a piece of Bernard Hermann's score from Sisters, when it is in fact part of his score to Twisted Nerve.
00:00:00 - 00:20:27 - Intro & News
00:20:28 - 00:43:24 - Emily & Ed discuss Iconic Music and Musical Tropes
00:43:25 - 00:49:34 - SRS Recommends & Outro
May 12th, 2019
Inspired by Beyoncé's Homecoming - and continuing the music theme started with their episode on Visual Albums - this week finds Emily and Ed talking about concert movies, specifically the ones that go beyond recording a band or artist performing live to really using the language of cinema to transport and immerse the audience. They also discuss the absolute mess that is the Sonic the Hedgehog movie, their excitement about seeing Renée Zellweger play Judy Garland, and the death of Peggy Lipton.
00:00:00 - 00:19:44 - Intro & News
00:19:45 - 00:48:42 - Emily & Ed discuss Concert Movies
00:48:43 - 00:53:17 - SRS Recommends & Outro
May 1st, 2019
In this special, spoiler-filled episode, Matt and Ed discuss Avengers: Endgame. It's a wide-ranging discussion that features key plot details from the start, so probably don't listen to it if you haven't already seen the film, and in addition to cataloging the good and bad in the movie, it also encompasses the impact of the MCU, Disney's increasing dominance of film and television, and the many ways in which the comics industry has screwed over writers and artists.
April 29th, 2019
Inspired by the recent release of Childish Gambino's Guava Island, as well as the success and acclaim in recent years of Beyoncé's Lemonade and Janelle Monáe's Dirty Computer, Emily and Ed discuss the visual album as a form of expression. They also ponder the goodness of Sigourney Weaver and Keanu Reeves, and the potential horrors of a live-action Rugrats movies.
00:00:00 - 00:24:57 - Intro & News
00:24:58 - 00:50:38 - Emily & Ed discuss visual albums
00:50:39 - 00:55:51 - SRS Recommends & Outro
April 22nd, 2019
The gang were unable to record together this week, so please enjoy Ed's recent appearance on the Big Questions podcast from Oxford Sparks at the University of Oxford. Host Emily Elias spoke to Ed about the science in films like King Kong, Pi, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Office Space and Superman III, and they listened to scientists assess just how feasible those "what if" scenarios might be. There's also a brief Recommendations segment at the end for good measure.
April 15th, 2019
MATT GOT A DOG!
Also, Disney revealed a bunch of details about their forthcoming streaming service which, in addition to a few other stories from this past week, paints an interesting/terrifying picture of the streaming landscape, one which could be fundamentally reshaped by Disney and its franchise menagerie. Matt and Ed discuss the potential Disney+ has to challenge Netflix, the debut of the Criterion Channel, and how streaming services relate to a Supreme Court Case from 1948. Also, dogs.
00:00:00 - 00:02:35 - Intro
00:02:36 - 00:47:25 - Matt & Ed discuss the present and future of streaming
00:47:26 - 00:52:10 - SRS Recommends & Outro
April 7th, 2019
Double Jeopardy, The General's Daughter, Payback. These are just some of the timeless classics that were released in 1999, alongside utterly forgotten duds like Fight Club, The Talented Mr. Ripley, The Blair Witch Project, The Matrix, The Sixth Sense, All About My Mother and Eyes Wide Shut. Matt, Emily and Ed assemble to discuss some of their favourite films from a vintage movie year, tease out some of the themes shared by a broad and disparate array of great films, and look at how Hollywood has changed over the past 20 years. Ed also enters some sort of fugue state at one point when the subject of the upcoming Cats movie comes up.
00:00:00 - 00:36:44 - Intro & News
00:36:45 - 01:30:51 - Matt, Emily & Ed discuss the films of 1999
01:30:52 - 01:36:34 - SRS Recommends & Outro
