Episodes
Sunday Jul 19, 2020
298. Best of the Year So Far
Sunday Jul 19, 2020
Sunday Jul 19, 2020
We're (supposedly only) six months into 2020, so Emily and Ed take the opportunity to take stock of the film, TV and other media from the year that they have enjoyed. They also talk about spending time in "the hell zone," E. Alex Jung's profiles of Michaela Coel and Thandie Newton, and the death of Naya Rivera.
00:00:00 - 00:29:04 - Intro & News
00:29:05 - 01:11:52 - Emily & Ed talk about their cultural highlights of the year so far
01:11:53 - 01:12:30 - Outro
Monday Mar 02, 2020
279. Uncut Gems Minisode
Monday Mar 02, 2020
Monday Mar 02, 2020
There's no full episode this week, but Emily and Ed still found time to have a quick chat about the Safdie Brothers' Uncut Gems, with spoilers aplenty.
Tuesday Feb 11, 2020
276. Bojack Horseman Finale
Tuesday Feb 11, 2020
Tuesday Feb 11, 2020
With Netflix's animated comedy Bojack Horseman coming to an end, Emily and Ed sit down to discuss the show's unique mix of visual gags, wordplay, and broad showbiz satire, which was often in service of a story that explored addiction, depression, trauma, and the brutal machinations of Hollywood. Spoilers abound!
00:00:00 - 00:24:58 - Intro & News
00:24:59 - 01:15:12 - Emily & Ed discuss Bojack Horseman
01:15:13 - 01:20:12 - SRS Recommends & Outro
Sunday Feb 02, 2020
275. The Good Place Finale
Sunday Feb 02, 2020
Sunday Feb 02, 2020
After covering the recent casting news for a pair of long-running franchises (#JusticeForHan #SureWhyNotBringBackKittridge) and the six-year anniversary of Philip Seymour Hoffman's death, Emily and Ed get discuss the series finale of NBC's The Good Place, and try to assess its impact as a sitcom and as a work of philosophy. They also cry a bunch because there's a lot going on right now, folks.
00:00:00 - 00:11:12 - Intro & News
00:11:13 - 00:51:32 - Ed & Emily discuss the end of The Good Place
00:51:33 - 00:57:28 - SRS Recommends & Outro
Here is Hbomberguy's video on Pathologic, as recommended by Emily
Here is Tyler, The Creator's Grammys performance, as recommended by Ed
Monday Jan 13, 2020
273. Little Women Minisode
Monday Jan 13, 2020
Monday Jan 13, 2020
Greta Gerwig's adaptation of Little Women is currently riding a wave of critical acclaim and commercial success, but Ed and Emily are both a little cool on the latest adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's classic novel. They discuss their issues with the film's non-linear structure, as well as the many things they do like about the film, on this minisode.
Tuesday Dec 31, 2019
271. Best Films of 2019
Tuesday Dec 31, 2019
Tuesday Dec 31, 2019
The whole gang is together to see out 2019, including discussion of the biggest films of the year, some news stories that stood out to them, and the Shot/Reverse Shot Top Ten Films of 2019. Happy New Year to everyone who has listened this year, and we'll see you in the next one.
Monday Sep 23, 2019
263. Hustlers
Monday Sep 23, 2019
Monday Sep 23, 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:
Sunday Jun 23, 2019
254. Barry
Sunday Jun 23, 2019
Sunday Jun 23, 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
Sunday Jun 02, 2019
252. Deadwood: The Movie????
Sunday Jun 02, 2019
Sunday Jun 02, 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
Sunday Mar 31, 2019
245. Us
Sunday Mar 31, 2019
Sunday Mar 31, 2019
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.
Sunday Mar 24, 2019
244. The Matrix at 20
Sunday Mar 24, 2019
Sunday Mar 24, 2019
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
Monday Jan 07, 2019
234. Bandersnatch
Monday Jan 07, 2019
Monday Jan 07, 2019
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
Sunday Dec 16, 2018
233. Best Films of 2018
Sunday Dec 16, 2018
Sunday Dec 16, 2018
It's the last episode of the year, which means it's Best Of time! Matt and Ed run down some honourable mentions before tagging Emily in to count down and discuss the Shot/Reverse Shot Top Ten Films of 2018, as determined by their eldritch ballot system. There's also way too much discussion of The Greatest Showman for an episode about a) good films b) films released in 2018 and c) good films released in 2018.
00:00:00 - 00:05:34 - Intro
00:05:35 - 00:17:22 - Honourable Mentions
00:17:23 - 00:30:23 - A rundown of the Box Office hits of 2018
00:30:24 - 01:47:48 - The Top Ten Movies of 2018
01:47:49 - 01:50:49 - Outro
Sunday Nov 04, 2018
228. The Other Side of the Wind
Sunday Nov 04, 2018
Sunday Nov 04, 2018
Matt and Ed celebrate the biggest cinephile event of 2018 on this week's episode: the release of Orson Welles' The Other Side of the Wind, which hit selected theatres and Netflix this past Friday. They detail the film's long journey to completion - its chaotic stop-start production in the early 1970s, myriad financial stumbles, Welles' death, and its eventual resurrection at the hands of several of his most high-profile disciples - as well as the film itself, how its approach to editing was decades ahead of its time (even as its story and themes were firmly rooted in not only the New Hollywood, but Welles' own life), and the effort that went into finishing a notoriously incomplete movie.
00:00:00 - 00:16:51 - Intro & News
00:16:52 - 00:53:32 - Matt & Ed discuss The Other Side of the Wind
00:53:33 - 01:02:07 - SRS Recommends & Outro
Dan Olson's Annihilation and Decoding Metaphor, as recommended by Ed
Sunday Jun 03, 2018
209. Arrested Development Season 5
Sunday Jun 03, 2018
Sunday Jun 03, 2018
Matt and Ed check in on the Bluth family and the goings in - get this - Beverly Hills in the fifth season of Arrested Development, the first half of which debuted on Netflix this week. Has the shift back to a more traditional format after the more experimental fourth season helped the show regain some of its pizazz? How does splitting the season in half affect the dense storytelling for which the series has always been known? Did the now-infamous New York Times interview cast a pall over the new season? They tackle all of these questions, and also find time to discuss the only slightly surprising cancellation of Roseanne.
00:00:00 - 00:27:04 - Intro & News
00:27:05 - 01:18:46 - Matt & Ed discuss Arrested Development Season 5
01:18:47 - 01:25:28 - SRS Recommends & Outro
Sunday May 27, 2018
208. Solo: A Star Wars Story
Sunday May 27, 2018
Sunday May 27, 2018
A Star Wars movie? In May? It's more likely than you think.
Matt and Ed check in on the LucasFilm saga, a whole five months after the last time, to discuss the totally fine Solo: A Star Wars Story. Which actors rise to the occasion and who lets the side down? What's up with those dice? How could it have been more like MacGruber? These are just some of the questions they address in their comprehensive, spoiler-filled rundown of the perfectly coherent product of a chaotic production.
00:00:00 - 00:16:34 - Intro & News
00:16:35 - 01:22:17 - Matt & Ed talk about Solo: A Star Wars Story
01:22:18 - 01:28:30 - SRS Recommends & Outro
Sunday May 06, 2018
205. Love (The TV Show)
Sunday May 06, 2018
Sunday May 06, 2018
Matt and Ed discuss Netflix's Love, the romantic comedy-drama starring Gillian Jacobs and Paul Rust. In addition to praising the show's command of tone and its sprawling, surprising cast, they explore how it compares to co-creator Judd Apatow's other work, highlight the ways in which it manages to capture the feel of modern dating and Los Angeles, and its abundant supply of funny theme songs for movies that don't actually have theme songs. They also wax poetic about Childish Gambino's "This is America".
00:00:00 - 00:10:13 - Intro & News
00:10:14 - 01:03:16 - Matt & Ed discuss Love
01:03:17 - 01:11:33 - SRS Recommends & Outro
Sunday Apr 29, 2018
204. Avengers: Infinity War
Sunday Apr 29, 2018
Sunday Apr 29, 2018
Matt and Ed have a very SPOILER-heavy conversation about Infinity War. That's pretty much it. For the love of all that is holy, don't listen if you don't want pretty much the entire film's plot revealed. Enjoy!
Sunday Apr 15, 2018
203. Jurassic Park at 25
Sunday Apr 15, 2018
Sunday Apr 15, 2018
That's right: Jurassic Park turns 25 years old this year and death will come for us all. Matt and Ed discuss the legacy of Steven Spielberg's groundbreaking blockbuster, the ways in which it changed how films are made and sold, and why it became a touchstone for an entire generation (even if they don't like it as much as a lot of people do). They also dig into the Netflix-Cannes feud, the Apu controversy surrounding The Simpsons, and pay tribute to Milos Forman.
00:00:00 - 00:36:30 - Intro & News
00:36:31 - 01:15:10 - Matt & Ed discuss Jurassic Park
01:15:11 - 01:21:08 - SRS Recommends & Outro
Sunday Apr 08, 2018
202. Ready Player One
Sunday Apr 08, 2018
Sunday Apr 08, 2018
When it was published in 2011, Ernest Cline's Ready Player One got a fairly warm reception as a diverting mashup of pop culture, gaming, and accessible quest narrative, wrapped up in a warm, comforting blanket of nostalgia for the ephemera of the 1970s and 80s. Over the past seven years, its reputation has proven much more divisive, in part because of Cline's subsequent work, but mostly because the kind of geek culture he celebrated has become much darker and more complicated. Matt and Ed talk about all that in regards to the film adaptation, directed by Steven Spielberg, as well as Amazon's big-budget TV gambles and the dystopian potential of Birmingham.
00:00:00 - 00:25:48 - Intro & News
00:25:49 - 01:09:15 - Matt & Ed discuss Ready Player One
01:09:16 - 01:17:06 - SRS Recommends & Outro