Cinematic Underdogs

We're back after a long impromptu hiatus with a discussion of The Smashing Machine. Enjoy!

Matt Belenky joins the pod to chat Josh Safdie's ping-pong hit, Marty Supreme. Enjoy!

Just in time for the '26 Olympics, we're back with a doc we should have covered the last round. Shaun White’s final Olympic run wasn’t really about winning; it was about giving it one more shot; it was about being in the halfpipe long enough to know the hard truth that greatness doesn’t last forever; it was about coming to terms with decline and age and the way a legacy is as defined by a timely r...

On the latest episode of Cinematic Underdogs , we’re diving into It’s In The Game: Madden NFL . This four-part documentary traces the unlikely collaboration between Trip Hawkins, a brilliant computer programmer, and the larger-than-life coach John Madden: an odd pairing that somehow ignited one of the most influential sports gaming franchises ever made. The series isn’t a traditional cradle-to-tod...

The legacy sequel to end all sequels with more cameos than minutes of runtime hit Netflix this summer. We have thoughts. Enjoy.

This week we ollie straight into a nostalgia inducing sports documentary: Pretending I’m a Superman: The Tony Hawk Video Game Story . On the surface, it’s a low budget tribute to a blockbuster video game franchise—underneath, it’s a wistful time capsule of late-‘90s counterculture, skateboarding’s rise from subcultural rebellion to mainstream phenomenon, and the way digital pixels reshaped half-pi...

We're back! This week we dive into the latest batch of Netflix’s Untold episodes where sports mythmaking collides with scandal, spectacle, and self-destruction. We break down The Fall of Favre , tracing how a football legend’s reputation unraveled; dissect The Liver King , a surreal portrait of fitness culture’s most theatrical fraud; and reflect on Shooting Guards , a more tragic story of loyalty...

On the latest episode of Cinematic Underdogs, we step back into the huddle and open our third eye—waxing philosophic about the NFL’s most enigmatic, mystical quarterback: Aaron Rodgers. Enigma isn’t your average sports doc. It’s a new age headtrip wrapped in a spiral. One-part ayahuasca retreat, one-part playoff heartbreak, and all parts quarterback controversy. From MVP highs to media feuds, dark...

This week on Cinematic Underdogs , we’re betting itall on a suburban fever dream of bad decisions, illicit blackjack, and cameo-toting blowtorches—that is right, we’re rolling our dice on The House , a 2017 comedy wherein Amy Poehler and Will Ferrell turn middle-class desperation into high-stakes chaos. The plot is as plain as poker; When their daughter’s collegefund vanishes, two mild-mannered pa...

Lace up the skates and tighten that chinstrap—because Faceoff: Inside the NHL isn’t just a docuseries, it’s a full-speed breakaway into the heart of the world’s toughest league. It’s Drive to Survive meets Slap Shot —minus the charm, plus theconcussions. Prepare yourself to go way beyond the polished post-game interview version of hockey. This is raw ice, open wounds, locker room chaos, and front-...

Grab your passports and sharpen your skates, comrades—because on the latest episode of Cinematic Underdogs, we’re defecting straight into one of the most Cold War-adjacent sports docs ever crafted: The Russian Five ! That’s right—we’re back and chatting about the real-life Red Dawn that hit the NHL when the Detroit Red Wings recruited five elite Soviet hockey players straight outta the Iron Curtai...

On the latest episode, we discuss the wild true-crime documentary about Kansas City Chiefs' superfan Xavier Babudar, who became a viral sensation on social media and football games for his extravagant wolf costume all the while leading a secret criminal life of multi-state bank robberies to fuel his fandom and risky sports betting appetite. We discuss what the doc does well (chronicling the ma...

It's been a good minute! We're excited to drop our latest conversation on Bookie, an underrated sitcom-series on Max created by Chuck Lorre and Nick Bakay. The show basically follows Danny (Sebastian Maniscalco), a bookie, and Ray (Omar Dorsey), his muscle, as they deal with an unorthodox profession in Los Angeles. Shenanigans ensue in the form of unstable clients, greedy family members, a...

The one and only Matt Belenky joins the pod to chat the Safdie's sports gambling masterpiece, Uncut Gems! We talk Adam Sandler's underrated brilliance, the ever increasing reach & budgets of A24 films, the long and winding creative development of this film, the split-up of the Safdie's, and why this film has captivated audiences of all ilk. Enjoy!

On this episode, we discuss Sean Durkin's American epic, The Iron Claw, which chronicles the Von Erich brothers as they make history in the burgeoning industry of entertainment wrestling and endure a series of tragedies under the hex of a family curse. Next up: Uncut Gems! Enjoy!

We're back and we're pile-driving into the dark, messy history of the WWE/WWF. Under the ownership of the polarizing Vince McMahon, wrestling went from feudal territories to cable TV mania. We examine the dueling identities of its greatest promoter, trying to unpack the Vince McMahon/Mr. McMahon split personality. You also want to tune in if you're interested in a nostalgic celebration of all the...

On this episode, we invite Mikey from Screen Nerds Podcast (an avid Tennessee Titans superfan since their arrival in Nashville) to discuss the return of Untold with "The Muder of Air McNair." Part crime-doc and part sports-recap, this episode felt vexingly conspiratorial and disjointed. We break down why we feel it is one of the weaker entries in the docu-series and wonder if it's an...

Join your friendly underdogs as we chat Bronx Zoo '90: Crime, Chaos and Baseball , Peacock's 3-part docuseries on one of the worst NY Yankee's teams in franchise history. Based around a series of Joel Sherman articles first published in the NY Post , the doc covers everything from the exile of George Steinbrenner to the downfall of Mel Hall. The 1990 season was one for the record books...

Welcome to the latest episode of Cinematic Underdogs (Or should I say, Cinematic Underska? Or is it Cinematic Under Sophisti-Pop? Perhaps Cinematic Under-Christian Jangle Pop?)... Whatever cinematic multiverse you choose to join us in, you're welcome to a frothy treat! We're joined by ska and sophisti-pop connoisseur Oye Oye Estaban for a look back at BASEketball, the 1998 sports parody di...

On this episode, Sarah Curci and Juan Hernandez join the pod to talk about the rise of Track & Field as a sport, and more specifically, how its uptick in popularity nicely coincides with teh arrival of Netflix's latest docuseries, Sprint , which follows Noah Lyles, Gabby Thomas, Fred Kerley, Marcell Jacobs, Sha'Carri Richardson, the Jamaican trio (Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Shericka Jack...

On this episode, we leap back to medieval times to cover the anachronistic, rennaisance-era, sports comedy and period piece A Knight's Tale with Seth Troyer, cohost of the Unwatchables pod and director of Vertigo II . Led by the romantic chivalry of Heath Ledger, the poetic panache of Paul Bettany, and some spicy pixie-girl charisma from Shanynn Sossamon, A Knight's Tale is a fun spoof fil...

We're back and we're championing Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby! On this episode, we talk about the satirical underbite of the film's rampant product placement, the sanctity of capitalist spaces, American vs. French tensions in the early 00's, Sasha Baron Cohen's pitch perfect casting, the odd conversion of Walker and Texas Ranger, and the backstabbing innocence of...

The Longest Yard is a total smorgasbord of tones, jokes, and cultural winks, whiffing at laughter from start to finish. We get a jail yard-sized salmagundi of half-baked jokes. Wet Willies. Terry Crewes peddling McDonald's cheeseburgers, fries, and McAssholes. Pegging the refs in the nuts. Dan Patrick cameo as a cop, clowning on Frodo. Goldberg rockin' an XXL jockstrap. Tracy Morgan as a p...

We're back with our Adam Sandler vs. Will Ferrell mini-tournament/bracket and covering the overlooked sports comedy, Semi-Pro . Chronicling the travails of Jackie Moon (Ferrell) as he tries to get his flailing minor league team, the Flint Tropics, promoted to the NBA, Semi-Pro is very much a byproduct of its era. Filled with bear wrestling, stoner humor, bantering broadcasters, a cuckolded sup...

Matt Belenky joins the pod to breakdown Luca Guadagnino's Challengers , a breakout 2024 hit about a steamy tennis threesome. We discuss Zendaya's star power, the nuanced dynamic of the film's central love triangle (in comparison to other love triangle movies: Vicky Christina Barcelona, Yu Tu Mama Tambien, The Dreamers, Bull Durham, etc.), Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross's thumping an...