Afterthoughts

It's recommendin' and refutin' time. John explores the Madonna starring sexy thriller  Body of Evidence (1993) , Ryan goes completely off the rails and talks about some fucking video game called Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (2025) , and Dixon dissects Orson Welles' favorite Fellini film  The White Sheik (1952) .

Take a journey with us to the small town of Virgil, Texas and meet its many quirky inhabitants. Like Louis Fyne, a big dancin' bear on the hunt for matrimony, Earl Culver, the bigwig in charge of growing tech company Varicorp, and The Lazy Woman, who's too rich to ever leave the comfort of her bed. The influential and unforgettable True Stories (1986) shows Texas at a turning point and David Byrne...

Freshly waking from the nightmare of Watchmen: The Ultimate Cut, the Afterthoughts crew is back with a more grounded, less rant-filled Recommend or Refute . Join John, Dixon, and Ryan as they try to push the trauma of Zack Snyder's vision from their mind's eye with some more digestible cinematic offerings.

It's a day late to publish, but it was truly the greatest April Fools prank to ever be played on Dixon. What do you get when you take a groundbreaking comic series (DON'T SAY GRAPHIC NOVEL) and adapt it into a hyper-stylized, bloated, overly simplified late-aughts superhero film? You get Zack Snyder's Watchmen! What happens when John picks this film for his episode? You get quality Dixon rants, pa...

Ryan's not with us for this episode (he's still alive as far as we know), so John and Dixon are doing our first ever Recommend AND Refute episode, in which they both bring one movie to recommend and one to refute. Can you guess which is which? Dixon discusses Emerald Fennell's new romance Wuthering Heights (2026) and Michael Winterbottom's hangout comedy The Trip to Italy (2014) while John dissect...

Ryan, John, and Dixon grapple with mortality, divinity, and the meaning of life as they piece together Ingmar Bergman's inconic masterpiece  The Seventh Seal (1957) .  Join us in our futile search for purpose as we await our inevitable dance with Death.

Dixon and John grab a quick cup of coffee and chat about a few films that didn't make it into the 2025 Retrospectacular episode. Grab your "Don't talk to me until I've had my movies" mug and add a few extra shots of cinema to your usual intake, courtesy of Afterthoughts' first pour over episode.

We've got some recommends and refutes hot and ready for you. Ryan breaks down the latest Disney animated film Zootopia 2 (2025) , Dixon reviews the Italian road buddy comedy Il Sorpasso (1962) , and John tackles the new horror film from Youtube sensation Mark Fischbach Iron Lung (2026) .

Just three wankers yammerin' on about a classic British comedy in the countryside.

We're back with a light and fun episode about cancer, bureaucracy, and the desperate search for meaning. I'm pretty sure we're gonna find it at the bottom of this next bottle of whisky, stomach pains be damned.

It's that special time of year again! Time for Dixon, John, and Ryan to reflect on all the good and bad media they can squeeze into 365 days. Join us for a roundtable recollection of 2025's highest points and Highest2Lowest points. We've got new categories and a lot of tangents to take you on, so check the charge on your headphones and settle in for a nice batch of afterthoughts to ring in the New...

We're not recording episodes as often as we used to, but Dixon saw this 1949 masterpiece from the great Yasujiro Ozu and just had to talk to somebody about it.  Ryan and John come along for the ride and attempt to place Ozu in the broader context of post-war and modern day Japanese cinema. Have you seen Late Spring or other Ozu films? Let us know what you thought. Check our podcast page for ways t...

Special guest Sean joins Dixon and John for one more go as we discuss another round of Recommends and/or Refutes! Sean, as a parent, subs in for Ryan bringing a family friendly mention in addition to The Boy and The Heron (2023) , Dixon has David Lynch on the mind and revisits Eraserhead (1977)  as a result, and John decided to join the theater going crowds and subject himself to Star Wars Episode...

Don't shoot people. Shoot whiskey.

On this special episode of Afterthoughts-- Dixon, Ryan, and John discuss a variety of short films they watched as part of a recent local Austin short film festival. Special thanks to Hyperreal Film Club, their volunteers, and the filmmakers who participated in the Film Fest --we promise to try and stay on topic as we discuss the shorts from this event. Even if you're not a resident of Austin, you...

After the conclusion of our Retrospectacular, we kept the mics rolling to capture a signature Dixon rant and review of Robert Zemeckis's latest film. There wasn't another episode we could fit it in, so it's submitted HERE for your enjoyment.

Should aaaaaaauld acquaintance beeeeee forgot, and neeeeeever brought to miiiiiiiiind, Should aaaaaaauld acquaintance beeeeee forgot, aaaaaand aaaaaaauld laaaaaang syyyyyyne. I have no idea what that means, but we're talking about the best and worst movies of 2024!  This is our favorite episode every year, and we'd love to hear about your favorite movies and most hated movies of the year.  Join ou...

With Robert Eggers's Nosferatu in theaters, Dixon thought it would only be fitting to revisit Werner Herzog's dream-like send up Nosferatu the Vampyr (1979) . John and Ryan are along for the ride on this horse-drawn carriage. Once we get to Dracula's castle all bets are off --or is it Count Orlok's castle?  Did you see Eggers's Nosferatu? Let us know what you thought. Check our podcast page for wa...

Ho ho ho! Join us for a merry Recommend or Refute Christmas Extravaganza! John reviews the Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire old Hollywood classic Holiday Inn (1942) , Ryan takes us on a journey through the year in Hallmark and Hallmark-esque Christmas movies, and Dixon accidentally watches a thrilling Christmas heist movie called The Silent Partner (1978) .

Through some mail mix up this year, Creators & Guests Michael Dixon - Host John Garcia - Producer Ryan King - Host received a letter to Santa from some kid named Billy. It described the hardships Billy was going through. His family had just moved into a small rental unit above a Sorority house, and little Billy is having a tough time adjusting to his new downstairs neighbors. He even invited o...

It's Recommend or Refute time!  Ryan talks about  Liar Liar (1997) and Jim Carrey's early career, Dixon reviews the underseen Alfred Hitchcock thriller  I Confess (1953) , and John takes us on a horrifying journey through his annual month of self-flagellation that he calls Schlocktober.

On this episode of Afterthoughts, Ryan leads the crew through the first season of Arcane --a stylishly impressive steampunk fantasy series based on the Riot games property League of Legends.  Do you have to love League of Legends to appreciate Arcane? Will Dixon ever remember Heimerdinger's name? What the hell is a rune? Will any of these questions be answered?

It's another Recommend or Refute extravaganza!  John geeks out on Vinegar Syndrome's first theatrical release  Riddle of Fire (2024) , Ryan talks about the tragic documentary  Take Care of Maya (2023) , and Dixon argues with John about the controversial new film  Strange Darling (2024) .

Dixon, Ryan, and John have decided to enter the cinematic colosseum of director Ridley Scott's Gladiator (2000) in an effort to reflect on the Academy Award winning feature before the sequel hits theaters this week. Are they not entertained?! Crouch down and grab some sand with us before diving into this one, we hope you'll give us a thumbs up once we're done.