The Sundae Presents

After months of broken promises and outright lies, it's here: Ciara and Dean finally dig into Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny. They talk about the origin of the titular band, its religious epic structure, and why Jack Black swore to never write another film. Visit The Sundae: ⁠⁠ https://thesundae.net/ ⁠⁠ Follow us on Twitter: ⁠⁠ https://twitter.com/sundaeblog/⁠ I Miss You More Than I Did Ye...

In a second back-to-back guest episode, the lads are joined by their friend Josh O'Reilly (@snowboiiii on Twitch!) to chat about Richard Linklater's romance classic Before Sunset. They talk about his collaborative creative process with stars Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, the transient nature of memory, and how much Jesse hates his wife. Visit The Sundae: ⁠⁠https://thesundae.net/⁠⁠ Follow us...

In the first of two more guest episodes, Ciara and Dean are joined by Dr. David Clare to discuss the Farrelly brothers' lost child, Outside Providence. They talk about its odd place in their filmography, its portrayal of Irish-American identity, and how much Gabriel Mann looks like James Spader in Pretty in Pink. Visit The Sundae:  ⁠⁠https://thesundae.net/⁠⁠ Follow us on Twitter:  ⁠⁠https://tw...

It's another emergency episode from our top secret vault! Dean finally got around to watching Top Gun: Maverick, so Ciara finally got to grill him about it. They talk about the original film, the death of the film star and how Tom Cruise saved cinema. Visit The Sundae:  ⁠⁠https://thesundae.net/⁠⁠ Follow us on Twitter:  ⁠⁠https://twitter.com/sundaeblog/⁠

Ciara takes Dean back to 1946 with The Best Years of Our Lives, William Wyler's kitchen sink epic about soldiers returning from World War II. They talk about Harold Russell's double-Oscar-winning performance as Homer Parrish, Gregg Toland's groundbreaking deep focus cinematography and why Ayn Rand tried to complain about the film in Congress. Visit The Sundae:  ⁠https://thesundae.net/⁠...

It's The Long Goodbye, and it happens every day! Dean turns the tables on Ciara and shows her a classic seventies film widely considered among the greatest ever made, Robert Altman's neo-noir classic, starring Elliott Gould as Philip Marlowe. They talk about its portrayal of post-Manson L.A., the many iterations of its title song and the security guard's amazing celebrity impressions....

The lads kick off season three with a classic rom-com as Ciara makes Dean watch James L. Brooks' As Good As It Gets. They talk about What It Gets Right About Mental Illness, the finer details of Jack Nicholson's performance and whether Melvin should have got the girl. Visit The Sundae:  https://thesundae.net/ Follow us on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/sundaeblog/ "Helen Hunt" by...

For the finale of Love at Worst Sight, Ciara showed Dean the (theatrical release of the) sole horror film by one-of-a-kind sexsploitation director Doris Wishman: A Night to Dismember. They talk about how she cobbled it together after the original cut was lost (and found), the purity (and perversity) of its auteurist vision and Wishman's place within (and outside) the history of cinema. Visit T...

It's part three of Love at Worst Sight, so Dean showed Ciara a legendary bit of trash: The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!? They talk about some fun stories from its production, the naive artistry of its best parts and whether the main character is the worst boyfriend of all time. Visit The Sundae:  https://thesundae.net/ Follow us on Twitter:  htt...

In the second episode of Love at Worst Sight, Ciara finally makes Dean watch Elaine May's iconic comic flop Ishtar. They talk about its legendarily troubled production, how it became a punchline and why it deserves to be reclaimed. Visit The Sundae: https://thesundae.net/ Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sundaeblog/ List of films considered the worst: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...

In the first episode of their new miniseries, Love at Worst Sight, Dean puts Ciara through the ordeal of M. Night Shyamalan's infamous flop The Happening. They talk about whether it's funny, whether it's meant to be funny, and how it could possibly have ended up like that. Visit The Sundae: https://thesundae.net/ Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sundaeblog/ List of films considered the wo...

For the first time ever, we have a guest! Darren Mooney of The Escapist and The 250 joined the pod to show Ciara and Dean a film neither of them had seen: Michael Mann's 2006 big-screen adaptation of Miami Vice . They talk about Colin Farrell's accent, Jamie Foxx fleeing the set mid-production and why a Miami Vice film barely takes place in Miami. Visit The Sundae: https://thesundae.net/ Follow us...

A year after Whedon v Snyder, it's another "versus" episode: Dean brought Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai and Ciara brought its US remake The Magnificent Seven . They look at how each film examines the cultural figures of the samurai and cowboy, what changed in adaptation (and what didn't), and how much craic they are. Visit The Sundae: https://thesundae.net/ Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.c...

It's an emergency episode! (Though maybe not released on an emergency schedule.) Ciara watched Zack Snyder's 2009 film adaptation of Watchmen , so she and Dean recorded an episode about it. They talk about the assassination of JFK, whether Rorschach is cool and the absence of a squid. Visit The Sundae: https://thesundae.net/ Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sundaeblog/ Episode 12, Whedon...

Happy holidays! For our second Christmas Special, Dean showed Ciara that timeless seasonal classic, Lynne Ramsay's 2002 suicide drama Morvern Callar. They talked about how funny it is, whether the main character is a psychopath and if it's even a Christmas film. Visit The Sundae: https://thesundae.net/ Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sundaeblog/ Ciara on Ms .45 in Crooked Marquee: https:...

For the last regular episode of the year, Ciara showed Dean one of her first favourite films, Best Picture winner Kramer vs. Kramer. They talk about whether it's balanced, whether it's antifeminist and which of the characters Dean wanted to kill at various points. Visit The Sundae: https://thesundae.net/ Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sundaeblog/ Teri Bach's review of Kramer vs. Kramer:...

Dean follows through on his longstanding threat to make Ciara watch a Harmony Korine film, the 2012 black comedy (?) crime drama (?) Spring Breakers. They talk about its grotesque visual excess, James Franco's repulsive performance and whether the whole film is just a big joke. Visit The Sundae: https://thesundae.net/ Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sundaeblog/ Avicii and EDM’s Promise o...

It's our second annual Halloween Spooktacular, so Ciara showed Dean the most appropriate movie possible, John Carpenter's 1978 slasher masterpiece Halloween . They talk about its genre-defining visual style, its iconic kills and whether Dr. Loomis is the worst psychiatrist in the history of cinema. Visit The Sundae: https://thesundae.net/ Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sundaeblog/ Pauli...

Ciara goes "full Dean" by showing him the controversial 80s racism drama White Dog . They talk about its bleak ending, Birth of a Nation , and why the studio sold it up the river. Visit The Sundae: https://thesundae.net/ Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sundaeblog/ Original trailer on Betamax: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kP9KXt2TE2k Armond White's Criterion essay on White Dog: https:/...

We have a film emergency! Dean watched The Deer Hunter, so he and Ciara recorded a bonus episode. They talk about its portrayal of Russian-American identity, the controversial Russian roulette sequence, and how much its director loved lying. Visit The Sundae: https://thesundae.net/ Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sundaeblog/ I Feel Far Away: Class (and) War in The Deer Hunter: https://th...

Dean shows Ciara his favourite film from 1994, Neil Jordan’s gay vampire fantasia Interview with the Vampire. They talk about how gay it is, the complexities of vampires as metaphors and Tom Cruise’s electric performance as Lestat. Visit The Sundae: https://thesundae.net/ Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sundaeblog/ Gender Troubles in The Crying Game: https://thesundae.net/2020/01/06/gend...

Ciara shows Dean the polarising first Star Trek film, Star Trek: The Motion Picture . They talk about why it's nicknamed The Slow-Motion Picture , whether Kirk and Spock are boyfriends, and the beauty of its abstract special effects. Visit The Sundae: https://thesundae.net/ Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sundaeblog/ Star Trek: The Motion Picture – re:View by RedLetterMedia: https://www....

Dean shows Ciara his actual favourite film of all time, Terry Gilliam's 1985 dystopian sci-fi comedy Brazil . They talk about its infamously tumultuous production, its nonideological dictatorship and its retrofuturist aesthetic. Visit The Sundae: https://thesundae.net/ Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sundaeblog/ The Battle of Brazil – A Video History: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHUE...

Ciara finally shows Dean one of the most absurd films he's never seen: Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen's musical classic Singin' in the Rain. They talk about the history of the movie musical, how funny Donald O'Connor is and whether or not the main characters are in a throuple. Visit The Sundae: https://thesundae.net/ Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sundaeblog The Mere Possibility of the Mo...

In their first ever bonus episode, Ciara and Dean continue discussing the Bourne Trilogy because, frankly, there's a lot to say about the Bourne Trilogy. Whenever the Bourne Trilogy isn't on screen, people should be asking: where's the Bourne Trilogy? They talk about mass surveillance, MKUltra and how much Paul Greengrass loves handheld cameras. Visit The Sundae: https://thesundae.net/ Follow us o...