Better Than Speed

Surf's up BTS fans! After an extended hiatus, we're back. To get us started off with a bang, we're going to pit Keanu against Keanu. That's right - we're going to see if the 1991 action classic POINT BREAK is better than, equal to, or worse than our beloved SPEED. Time to sit back, listen, and ask yourself: if you want the ultimate, you've got to be willing to pay the ultimate price. It's not trag...

The SPEED gang sinks their teeth into the 80s cult film THE HUNGER starring Catherine Deneuve, David Bowie and Susan Sarandon. Can Keanu Reeves and the careening bus take on seedy 80s New York, luscious billowing curtains in blue light and three absurdly attractive leads? Grab your Ankh and tune in to find out.   We are joined by extraordinary editor Alex O'Flinn (A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT,...

Never get them wet. Never feed them after midnight. Never go below 50. Make sure to take good care of your pet Keanus this holiday season. Special guest A.J. LoCascio (the voice of Gizmo in the upcoming HBO Max series Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai) joins us to compare Gremlins 2: The New Batch to Speed. How does this podcast even exist? Click here to check out Ted Turner's real world doomsday ta...

There's a chill in the autumn air, but we brought the fire! Join us for Stephen King's Bressonian slow cinema "classic" FIRESTARTER, starring Drew Barrymore. With special guest, the incredible Isla Hinck from Easy Allies ! She helps us decide if this gem is better than SPEED, or is simply a dumpster fire. Plus, we talk MATRIX RESURRECTIONS.  Happy Halloween! Thank you as always to Andrew Elmore fo...

Back in the Speed cave after a year, the gang venture into the nightmarish world of David Lynch's ERASERHEAD. Without Sandra Bullock's top-notch driving and Keanu Reeve's expert marksmanship, how will they ever find their way home? Hold onto your hats. It's another wild episode of Better Than Speed.

Better than Speed is Back from the Dead! The boys take a stab at George Romero's Dawn of the Dead. Does it rise to the occasion? Is it a dead-end bore? Lock the doors, board the windows, hide in the basement and listen in! Bonus - we offer our thoughts on the Kean'ews of 2020 - Bill & Ted Face the Music. (This episode was originally recorded in September of last year, so pandemic references and Bi...

Join us for a special episode with Carlos Carrasco, the actor who played Ortiz (aka Gigantor) in the film SPEED and Popeye in BLOOD IN BLOOD OUT, among many others (including THE FISHER KING and CROCODILE DUNDEE 2)! Hear all about SPEED's infamous script rewrites and death-defying stunts. Plus, Carlos gives great advice to young actors and filmmakers while discussing representation in Hollywood. T...

Never has the screen brought you a more shocking revelation. Out of World War III came ... The Creation of the Humanoids. Special guest Dawn Garcia joins us in the virtual Speed cave and gives Keanu Reeves a run for his money with an influential sci-fi cult film that asks the question: "How do you apologize to someone for killing them?" Next episode's selection is Dawn of the Dead , which is also...

For a refreshing change of pace, who's in the mood for a desert apocalypse? We crawl across the barren landscape of Ana Lily Amirpour's sophomore film, The Bad Batch, and perform our task once again: compare every movie to Speed. With Keanu Reeves as a charismatic cult leader nicknamed "The Dream," what could possibly go wrong? Looking for Ana Lily Amirpour's debut vampire film, A Girl Walks Home...

This is our podcast and its freaking us out! Join the BTS crew as they take a trip Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. Will they succumb to the film's pills and thrills? Do they love it when a beautiful woman licks between their toes?? Turn on, tune in, drop out and find out!   Check out the soundtrack to the film on Spotify .   Also, donate, join the protests if you can, stay safe and support Black L...

The BTS crew officially begins Season 2's look at cult films by taking a trip deep into the jungles of Werner Herzog's Aguirre, The Wrath of God . What lies down river for our explorers - fever, famine, COVID-19? Tune in and find out. Plus, hang around for a special reading of poetry written by Keanu Reeves. From Aguirre to Zatoichi, the bus boys are back. Uncensored. No holds barred.

Aaaaaaand we're back! Season 2 kicks off with a recap of the best and worst films of 2019. Looking for some off-the-beaten path movie recommendations? Want to understand all the buzz at the Oscars? We'll gently hold your hand, just like Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock, and walk you through the exploding bus fire that was 2019. For all your split diopter needs, check out Daniel's tumblr page full o...

War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Big Bus is strength. Celebrate an entire two years of laughter, love and heartbreak in our tumultuous season finale that will permanently alter Better Than Speed history forever. Here's George Orwell's doubleplusgood essay on Politics and the English Language . A huge thank you to all our listeners, guests and fellow hosts who have made this such a fun project ove...

Punch, kick, it's all in the mind. Join us as Zatoichi, the blind swordsman, slices and dices his way through the Edo countryside of Japan in the fan-favorite film Zatoichi Goes to the Fire Festival . If you've stuck with us through our very extended season 1 tour through the alphabet, you have our sincere thanks. You won't want to miss our season finale, when we take on the last remaining categor...

Fourscore and 7 days ago, the BTS crew decided to tackle John Ford's Young Mr. Lincoln. Is it a classic of the studio system era or a corny piece of hagiography? Lie down, let your mind stand up, and take a listen. Wanna find out what the critics from Cahiers du Cinéma thought of the film? Here's that essay we name dropped in the episode. And please join us next episode for the salacious samurai s...

Kaiju run amok when we discuss this campy cult classic. Will they subdue Speed, or can Keanu Reeves conquer them all? You can watch The X From Outer Space streaming on the Criterion Channel . You can also catch next week's selection, The Young Mr Lincoln, for free on Tubi . Check out the full backstory on Jan de Bont's unfinished Godzilla film at SciFi Japan . Also, be sure to watch the trailer fo...

We wish Ingmar Bergman a happy 101st birthday by comparing his elegiac masterpiece Wild Strawberries to the mortality pondering vehicular mayhem in Speed. Plus, get all your latest Keanu Reeves news in our new segment, KeaNews. Wild Strawberries is available streaming on the Criterion Channel, as well as our selection for the next episode, the kaleidoscopic Japanese kaiju film, The X From Outer Sp...

The man, the myth, the legend, Jan de Bont, invited the BTS team to come hang out at the original Speed cave to celebrate the film's 25th anniversary. The director spills the beans on all the production secrets, terrifying stunts, and classic Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock moments from the iconic film we've based our podcast on. Somebody pinch us, we can't believe this actually happened. Tune bac...

Finally: an episode dedicated to gratuitous torture and punishment. Better Than Speed investigates the truth behind Cronenberg's Videodrome, and discovers the graphic violence depicted may not be as fake as they thought. Plus, special guest Dawn Garcia professes her undying love for Keanu Reeve's Speed. Head's up: Videodrome is one of the more intense film selections we've featured so far, so we b...

Hope you brought your umbrellas, because we're about to shed projectile tears over this sentimental classic from the French New Wave: Jacque Demy's The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. You can catch the film streaming on the newly launched Criterion Channel, along with John Woo's The Last Hurrah For Chivalry. Be sure to join us next episode for David Cronenberg's Videodrome! Thanks as always to Erin Larson...

We give a Better Than Speed salute to Ernst Lubitsch's powerful and punchy anti-Nazi comedy from 1942. The only thing we hail at Speed HQ is that big blue bus going 50 miles an hour. Make sure to join us for our next episode where we tackle our first musical, Jaques Demy's The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. Plus, if you leave us an iTunes review or recommend our podcast to a friend online, you're automat...

The glitz, the glamor, the hype! The gold watches and the coveted Keanus! This year's awards ceremony goes off the rails when the best and worst films of 2018 duke it out in a balls-out battle. Plus, your burning questions answered... Was 1999 the best year in cinema history? Will David disown Predator? Will Daniel's popcorn populism save the day? Will Jessica coin a catch phrase? Remember to join...

"We give our Kurosawa Connoisseur, Morgan Hanner-Morfesis, the ultimate pop quiz: is Seven Samurai Better Than Speed? Is Mifune puny compared to killer Keanu? All will be answered as we test our mettle with the pedal to the metal." - Gene Shalit

Beverly Hills. Century City. Everything's so nice and pretty, but the ever acute Alex Cox turns his lens to the gritty underbelly of LA's punk scene. Special guest Dawn Garcia takes us on a tour of California counter-culture at the end of the century. Which is a more quintessential LA flick: Keanu Reeve's Speed or Emlio Estevez's Repo Man? Has Harry Dean Stanton been abducted by aliens? Will we al...

It's Halloween! So we rose from the grave with Clouzot's frothy potboiler Jenny Lamour. Have you missed us? Because we've missed you.  You can check out this week's film selection on Amazon Video .  Sign this petition to keep FilmStruck alive.  And join us next episode for Repo Man !