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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

Jordan Peele's Us is still tearing it up at the box office and inspiring spirited debate online, so Matt and Ed decided to talk in-depth about the film's story, its themes, and its malleable allegory. Needless to say, there are spoilers. They also discuss Apple's latest move in the streaming wars, try to pitch long-forgotten game shows that deserve to be revived on the service, and pay tribute to Scott Walker and Agnès Varda.

00:00:00 - 00:30:43 - Intro & News

00:30:44 - 01:12:05 - Matt & Ed discuss Us (SPOILERS, I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH - Ed)

01:12:06 - 01:22:00 - SRS Recommends & Outro

Here is the opening scene to Letterkenny, as mentioned by Ed during Recommends.

Twenty goddamn years ago this week, The Matrix was released in the US, an event which launched the careers of the Wachowskis, spawned a briefly unavoidable and fitfully brilliant multi-media franchise, and had a seismic impact both on popular culture and how American action movies look and are made. To mark this anniversary, Ed and Emily discuss the enduring legacy of The Matrix, the Wachowskis' subsequent work, and some of the many, many parodies the films inspired.

00:00:00 - 00:12:40 - Intro & News

00:12:41 - 00:47:43 - Ed & Emily discuss The Matrix

00:47:44 - 00:54:46 - SRS Recommends & Outro

Inspired by a rewatch of the Mission: Impossible franchise, Ed and Emily discuss instances where they changed their minds about a work of art, how their relationships to specific filmmakers have evolved over time, and being able to admit when you don't like canonically "great" movies. They also discuss the college admissions scandal involving Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman, Netflix's weaselly cancellation of One Day at a Time, and James Gunn's surprise reinstatement to the MCU.

00:00:00 - 00:22:17 - Intro & News

00:22:18 - 00:49:31 - Ed & Emily discuss changing your mind about art

00:49:32 - 00:54:07 - SRS Recommends & Outro

Now that the dust has settled from last week's Oscars ceremony, Ed and Emily are ready to stir it up all over again by dissecting the winners of awards season, and what the victory of Green Book means for Hollywood more generally (assuming it means anything at all). They also discuss the controversy over possible changes to the Academy's bylaws that could exclude Netflix films in the future, and the best joke from long-forgotten 1990s animated anthropomorphic procedural Fish Police.

00:00:00 - 00:06:01 - Intro

00:06:02 - 00:35:44 - News

00:35:45 - 01:16:23 - Ed & Emily discuss the Oscars, Green Book, and awards season

01:16:24 - 01:23:39 - SRS Recommends & Outro

In a shorter than usual episode, Matt and Ed go without a theme and talk about some of the big film and TV stories of the week, including the Independent Spirits Awards, the sudden end of Netflix's Marvel TV universe, and the death of Stanley Donen.

Inspired by the absolutely stacked cast for the new version of Dune, Matt, Emily and Ed spend this week's episode talking about movies with notable ensembles, as well as which genres benefit from a deep bench and the factors, both commercial and artistic, that can compel filmmakers to work with a big cast. They also try to parse the latest Oscars broadcast drama and the Aladdin teaser.

00:00:00 - 00:01:34 - Intro

00:01:35 - 00:27:45 - News

00:27:46 - 01:05:06 - Matt, Emily & Ed discuss movies with notable ensembles

01:05:07 - 01:08:57 - SRS Recommends & Outro

Inspired by M. Night Shyamalan's Glass (which is mentioned briefly, but in a spoiler-free fashion), Matt and Ed discuss examples of long delayed sequels, particularly ones made by the same creators as the originals. They also talk about the dispiriting experience of watching the Super Bowl, the freshly completed BAFTAs, and the death of Albert Finney.

00:00:00 - 00:06:30 - Intro

00:06:31 - 00:29:35 - News

00:29:36 - 00:57:10 - Matt & Ed discuss Long Delayed Sequels

00:57:11 - 01:02:55 - SRS Recommends & Outro

In this episode, Ed and Emily cast their minds back to the golden age of physical media and misspent youths listening to Futurama audio commentaries, watching Lord of the Rings documentaries, and learning about the art and craft of filmmaking through special features and DVD extras. They also discuss the return of The L Word and the closure of Ultraviolet.

Here is where you can watch Original Cast Album: Company, as recommended by Ed

00:00:00 - 00:01:15 - Intro

00:01:16 - 00:18:43 - News

00:18:44 - 00:45:40 - Ed & Emily discuss Special Features

00:45:41 - 00:51:16 - SRS Recommends & Outro

The Oscar nominations were announced this week, so Matt, Ed and Emily sat down to talk about the generally mediocre slate, the specific nominees and categories they do like, and the surprising snubs. They also discuss the 4% campaign and the ethics of making serial killer movies.

00:00:00 - 00:03:00 - Intro

00:03:01 - 00:25:14 - News

00:25:15 - 00:58:33 - Matt, Ed and Emily discuss the Oscar nominations

00:58:34 - 01:04:10 - SRS Recommends & Outro

Having previewed the exciting movies of 2019 last week, this episode is all about the cool and interesting stuff coming to the small screen. Matt and Ed discuss some of the original ideas, long-gestating adaptations of great novels, and revivals that they're looking forward to, as well as the broader trends that continue to shift and roil the television landscape.

- Here is a link to H.bomberguy's charity Twitch stream, as mention in the News section

00:00:00 - 00:32:07 - Intro & News

00:32:08 - 01:29:24 Matt & Ed preview the year in TV

01:29:25 - 01:35:21 - SRS Recommends & Outro

All three hosts are reunited this week to look at what a new year in film has to offer. Matt, Ed and Emily each pick one movie from the first eight months of 2019 and advocate for why they think they could be good or interesting, and along the way they discuss their New Year's resolutions, the plot of the Clint Eastwood movie Space Cowboys, and the moral turpitude of Dr. Robotnik.

00:00:00 - 00:12:29 - Intro

00:12:30 - 01:40:49 - Matt, Ed & Emily preview the films of 2019

01:40:50 - 01:41:36 - Outro

Happy New Year! With Matt away, Ed and Emily catch-up on some of the news that broke over the holidays - including Louis C.K. going full right-wing whiner as an attempt to resurrect his career, the dismally small number of Hollywood films directed by women in 2018, and several dubious decisions made by Netflix - before digging into the Black Mirror movie/game Bandersnatch.

00:00:00 - 00:03:56 - Intro

00:03:57 - 00:45:57 - News

00:45:58 - 01:13:54 - Ed & Emily discuss Black Mirror: Bandersnatch

01:13:55 - 01:20:10 - SRS Recommends & Outro

- Here is a link to Shannon Strucci's series Fake Friends, which Ed mentions in Recommends