The Movies that Move Us

Al Larson and Quince Van Orden discuss our man, Ethan Hawke, in another episode, this time talking about Ben Stiller's feature film debut, Reality Bites (1994). We talk about our favorite and least favorite scenes with Ethan as well as posethe question, "Is Ethan likeable in this movie?"

Al Larson & Quince Van Orden interview Andrew Klay, a French immersion teacher and film score appreciator, about Les Choristes (2004), a perfect movie to discuss both its Frenchiness as well as its amazing compositions.

Al Larson and Quince Van Orden sit down with filmmaker, K. Mykol Panti (Keenan) to discuss Punch Drunk Love, one of Keenan's favorite movies and one that he's placed in his top 30 movies that represent something he sees in himself. We discuss the humor and stress, the earnestness of love and if this movie is awkward or perhaps even "cringe" at moments. Following our discussion, w...

You know what the people secretly yearn for? Musical episodes. We're joined by LA-based Art and Production Designer, Abbie Vance, known for projects like The Wolf of Snow Hollow, Deadstream and Nine Days, who speaks about the movie that pushed her from a path in film direction & writing to production design - The Phantom of the Paradise (1974). Aside from her experience with the movie, we...

Al Larson and Quince Van Orden review our boy, Ethan Hawke, in the 2021 serial kidnapper/killer thriller, The Black Phone. Set in 1970s Denver, the latest kidnapping victim, Finney, attempts to flee The Grabber using help from the paranormal voices on the other end of a black phone.

It's your boys, Al Larson and Quince Van Orden, showing up to deliver their top 5 movies of 2023. We also give our Oscar nominee winner picks as well as do a fun draft game to select the definitive "The Movies That Move Us Awards that the Oscars Missed" winners.

Get to know co-host, Quince Van Orden's movie that moved him, the Cameron Crowe feature film starring John Cusack, Say Anything. Al Larson and friend of the show, Austin Najar, interview Quince and talk about Cameron Crowe's other films and ask what happened to him after directing 3 amazing movies, how Quince used this movie to help him find his wife, and also play Reboot/Remake for the sp...

Al Larson and Quince Van Orden speak with filmmaker and former Broadway actor, Josh Berrent, about one of the films that inspires his own writing and directing, The Apartment (1960). The Apartment is a comedy-drama starring Jack Lemmon as C.C. Baxter, a lonely bachelor who has escalated his position within an insurance company by renting out his apartment for illicit affairs to higher ups until on...

Quince Van Orden hosts this special episode with guest co-host Cassia Lawrence (from The Old Republic Podcast) to interview Al Larson about the movie that broke his innocence about R rated films forever - The Boondock Saints. They ask what made the movie so difficult to watch back then, ask "Is this peak Willem Dafoe?" and talk about what we'd expect in the sequel film. Of course, we...

Al Larson hosts this episode with writer and friend, Russell Moser, about The Two Towers (2002). I originally thought the discussion would be about deciding to become a fantasy author from these books and movies, but it actually took a unique twist elsewhere. Of course, we also talk about The Hobbit trilogy and the cartoon adaptations and look over the Oscars from 2003 to see if this movie was snu...

Al Larson and Quince Van Orden bring you youtube creator and stand up comedian, Cullen Severance, and we talk about Wrongfully Accused (1998) starring Leslie Nielsen. We chat about our favorite scenes, what makes this movie so near and dear to Cullen and the state of comedy these days. We also play a bit of our Letterboxd guessing game.

Al Larson and Quince Van Orden speak with Chase Graves, a filmmaker, editor and actor, who was greatly influenced by Scott Pilgrim's unique editing and style. We talk about video game and comic book adaptations, the cartoon prequel, the editing and whether we actually like this movie still after all these years. Of course, we play some games as well - One Word Guessing Game. Join and listen to...

Hosts Al Larson and Quince Van Orden host this week's episode of the podcast with comedian, Kyle Ayers (host of The Never Seen It Podcast) to talk about Kill Bill The Whole Bloody Affair. Kyle switched college majors to study film after taking a film/media studies course where he watched Kill Bill for the first time. We chat about his favorite scene, the impact it had on him, the potential for...

Al Larson and Quince Van Orden host for Tim Chizmar who discusses his own film, The Nudels of Nudeland and the film that inspired him to make it, Maslin Beach. Tim is a notable nudist, comedian, director, writer, and producer among many more roles. Listen in on our conversation about nudism, creating a better nudist film than Maslin Beach, producing and distributing his film and of course, we play...

Al Larson hosts this episode with our first ever international guest, Reo Beaumont, to discuss Pulp Fiction. We talk about Reo's favorite scene in the film, if Quentin Tarantino has declined as a director, the music choices, Tarantino's unique dialogue and use of violence. We discuss a Mount Rushmore of film directors and in general have a good time talking about one of the all time greatest films...

Al Larson and Quince Van Orden are joined by Sally Van Orden for a discussion about Gattaca (1997). We play the Letterboxd game, discuss sci-fi films that are similar, why Al thinks this movie is like a sports film, then talk about eugenics and the interesting ties to DNA that are built into the film set, title and even the credits.

Al Larson and Quince Van Orden speak with Michael Tanner, a graphic novelist and podcaster, about Dawn of the Dead (1978), the granddaddy of modern zombie films, as well as the Zack Snyder remake. Why are there Seventies Shenanigans in the flick, and what would another remake be like? We also talk about Michael's experience with Dawn of the Dead and how it led to him writing Junior Braves of the A...

Al Larson and Quince Van Orden watch and discuss Juliet, Naked (2018). We talk about our favorite and least favorite Ethan Hawke scenes, the realism of his dad bod and his acting as well as if we think this could be part of the Before cinematic universe. We also create a new Letterboxd game.

Hosts Al Larson and Quince Van Orden have a fun chat with David F Peterson (from the band Can't Stop Won't Stop) about his favorite Ethan Hawke movie, Before Sunrise. We also play a few games, but most of all, we're excited to talk about the song he contributed to The Bad Guys (2022) for the action packed opening sequence. If you've ever been curious about the process to which music is used in mov...

Al Larson and Quince Van Orden discuss the Apple TV + film, Raymond and Ray (2022) starring Ethan Hawke and Ewan McGregor. They play a draft game of best streaming services and an Ethan Hawke anagram game. 

Hosts Al Larson and Quince Van Orden are joined by previous guests, Austin Najar & Scott Carter, for their wrap up of 2022's best and most disappointing films. We play a draft game with a twist as well as share some of our picks for 2023 movies we hope to see.  Check out Scott's Thoughts on Instagram: @Scotts__Thoughts (that's two underscores)

Al Larson is joined by Cassia Lawrence, the Co-Founder of "The Old Republic Podcast" & "Inspired A Galaxy" podcasts, where we talk about the 2018 Prehistoric Survival film, Alpha. We have a conversation about the message of the film, survivalism as a timeless theme of films and being the last of your kind. Then we play a game of Remake, Reboot, Recast for another familiar dog film - Marley and...

Quince Van Orden and Al Larson explore the catalog of movies of one of their favorite stars -- Ethan Hawk. In this episode, they talk about 2013's horror survival film - The Purge. Do you like action-y Ethan Hawke? The Purge has that. Do you like movies with casts of people with names like "Polite Leader" or "Bloody Stranger"? The Purge has that too. Let's talk about our American holidays that are...

Quince Van Orden and Al Larson do a short dive into Ethan Hawke's catalog of movies to celebrate Ethan himself. On this episode, they discuss the 2009 vampire action flick, Daybreakers. Do you like piss filters on your movies? Daybreakers has it. Do you like unnecessary romance tacked on? Daybreakers has that too. But most of all, it has cool vampire lore in a futuristic society. 

Welcome to another episode of The Movies That Move Us with your host, Al Larson. Al is joined by a guest co-host, Jonny Vance, and his guest Ethan Hagen to present The Iron Giant. Apologies for some of the randomly sped up parts in the show (issues with the recording software) but it still felt like a good discussion that can be enjoyed. We talk about Brad Bird's excellent direction of the movie,...