October 13th, 2019
Inspired by Ghosteen, the new album by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Emily and Ed discuss the artists they love who changed drastically over the course of their careers, as well as artists who tried to change but wound up falling back on old habits. They also talk about Martin Scorsese, the trailer for Dolittle, and the death of Robert Forster.
Here is Harry Brewis's talk from XOXO about his Donkey Kong 64 charity livestream, and here is Scout Tafoya's video essay on grief and Russian Doll (CW: discussion of suicide) as mentioned by Emily in Recommendations.
00:00:00 - 00:28:46 - Intro & News
00:28:47 - 00:56:24 - Emily & Ed discuss artists who changed over the course of their career
00:56:25 - 01:01:25 - SRS Recommends & Outro
September 30th, 2019
With awards season creeping around the corner, it's time for Matt and Ed to engage in the annual tradition of looking at the movies coming out in the final months of the year that they're really excited about. There's also a lot of talk about Tetris for some reason.
00:00:00 - 00:16:42 - Intro & News
00:16:43 - 01:18:28 - Matt & Ed Preview the Autumn and Winter movie season
01:18:29 - 01:23:40 - SRS Recommends & Outro
September 23rd, 2019
Matt and Ed are in the same bloody room this week, talking about Ed's time at the London Podcast Festival, Hustlers, and the ways in which Goodfellas is invoked in discussions about fairly disparate films based on real-life events.
Jon Bois' The Bob Emergency, which Ed mentions in recommendations, can be found on YouTube:
Part 1
Part 2
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
