Weekly Movie Throwdown

Fictional American Presidents Month rolls on this week with 1995's The American President, directed by Rob Reiner. This film stars Michael Douglas as a Commander In Chief with a conscience and a new girlfriend, played by Annette Bening. It's a charming story of love from a time when politics were simpler.____________________ STILL TO COME DURING FICTIONAL AMERICAN PRESIDENT MONTH:3/31 Air Force On...

On this week's episode we're taking a break from our Fictional American Presidents theme to do another installment of our Rewatch & Reconsider series where we dig up something that at least one of us liked in the past and watch it again to see if it's still any good, or if it failed the test of time. This time around we're moving away from presidents but sticking with politics as we watch 1992...

This week Fictional American President Month continues with Dave, the Ivan Reitman-directed comedy from 1993. Kevin Kline gives two performances in this film as the president and the man asked to stand in for him after he suffers a stroke. It's a charming story filled with light-hearted political intrigue (at least by today's standards) and featuring an all-star cast from both Hollywood and Washin...

This month on the podcast we're all about the American President. And while that might be a dicey subject in real life, the ones we're looking at harken back to a simpler time—one that didn't actually exist. These are all made-up presidents in films that span the past thirty or so years. The office has changed a lot in that time, and so has how it's portrayed on screen. We'll talk about rom-coms,...

This week we wrap up R-Rated Rom-Com Month with an indie darling: 2020's Dinner In America. This film, directed by Adam Rehmeier and starring Kyle Gallner and Emily Skeggs, is an unconventional love story set against the backdrop of suburban malaise. It's punk, it's sweet, and it's a lot of fun.____________________ NEXT MONTH:Fictional American Presidents On Letterboxd? Follow along with this mont...

R-Rated Rom-Com Month continues this week with 2010's She's Out of My League, a really fun story of a mid guy (Jay Baruchel) who catches the eye of a stone-cold ten (played by Alice Eve) and he—along with everyone around him—can't understand it. Hilarity ensues, but there's a lot of heart underneath the comedy.____________________ STILL TO COME DURING R-RATED ROM-COM MONTH:12/24: Dinner In America...

In this episode we continue R-Rated Rom-Com Month with Nicholas Stoller's You're Cordially Invited, starring Reese Witherspoon and Will Ferrell. It's currently streaming on Amazon Prime. ____________________ STILL TO COME DURING R-RATED ROM-COM MONTH:12/17: She's Out of My League (2010)12/24: Dinner In America (2020) On Letterboxd? Follow along with this month’s movie list  here ._________________...

This week kicks off R-Rated Rom-Com month with a real banger. 2011's Bridesmaids might be the best of the bunch when it comes to this genre and we have a lot of fun talking about it. ____________________ STILL TO COME DURING R-RATED ROM-COM MONTH:12/13: You're Cordially Invited (2025)12/20: She's Out of My League (2010)12/27: Dinner In America (2020) On Letterboxd? Follow along with this month’s m...

This week, we wrap up Gerard Butler Action Month with 2023's Plane, in which Gerry plays an everyman who's called to action when the flight he's piloting is forced to crash-land on an island run by guerillas. It's a great way to round out the month! ____________________ WE’D LOVE TO CONNECT!Please drop us a line at  moviethrowdownpod@gmail.com , and follow us on social media: Letterboxd:  https://...

Gerard Butler Action Month continues this week with Den of Thieves 2: Pantera, which is currently in theaters. It's an action-packed heist film that re-teams Butler with O'Shea Jackson Jr. in the south of France. We also discuss the passing of legendary director David Lynch. ____________________ STILL TO COME DURING GERARD BUTLER ACTION MONTH:12/27: Plane (2023) On Letterboxd? Follow along with th...

This week on the show Gerard Butler Action Month continues with 2021's Copshop. This Joe Carnahan-directed jail film features Butler at his best as a witty hitman, along with great performances from Frank Grillo and Alexis Louder. ____________________ STILL TO COME DURING GERARD BUTLER ACTION MONTH:12/20: Den of Thieves 2: Pantera (2025)12/27: Plane (2023) On Letterboxd? Follow along with this mon...

Happy New Year! We're coming out of the gate swinging in 2025 with an action-packed month of Gerard Butler films to get you motivated. Over the past decade, Butler has made a living kicking ass and taking names in the mid-budget action genre, and we're here to celebrate it, starting with the film that got this era going: 2013's Olympus Has Fallen. ____________________ STILL TO COME DURING GERARD B...

This week, we not only bring Offbeat Holiday Films Month to a close, but we also say goodbye to 2024. We're going out with a touching little film from 2019 called Feast of the Seven Fishes, directed by Robert Tinnell. It's a really fun story about an Italian-American family in a blue-collar Pennsylvania town, preparing for their Christmas Eve dinner. With lots of drama and the right amount of swee...

Offbeat Holiday Films Month continues this week with Carry-On, the newly released airport thriller starring Taron Egerton and Jason Bateman. This Netflix thrill ride is definitely one to watch this holiday season.____________________ STILL TO COME IN OUR OFFBEAT HOLIDAY FILM SERIES:11/25: Feast of the Seven Fishes (2019) On Letterboxd? Follow along with this month’s movie list  here ._____________...

In this week's episode, we take a break from holiday films and dive back into our Rewatch and Reconsider series with a quiet and lovely little story from 2009: City Island. Directed by Raymond De Felitta, this heartfelt dramedy follows a family full of secrets as they discover how to finally live out loud with the help of an ex-con interloper who comes to live with them and shakes everything up.__...

This week, Offbeat Holiday Film Month continues with 2020's Happiest Season from writer/director Clea Duvall. This modern meet-the-family rom-com is full of the usual Christmas film tropes, but puts a unique spin on them through smart writing and great performances. ____________________ STILL TO COME IN OUR OFFBEAT HOLIDAY FILM SERIES:12/16: Rewatch and Reconsider: City Island (2009)12/23: Carry O...

It's December, which means a lot of holiday programming. This month, we're discussing Offbeat Holiday Films that are just a little left of the usual classic fare, starting with Shane Black's Christmas-adjacent noir comedy Kiss Kiss Bang Bang from 2005. Robert Downey Jr., Val Kilmer, and Michelle Monaghan star in this fun—and funny—thriller that you're going to love if you don't already.___________...

We close out November Noir month this week with another modern-day take on the genre. Rian Johnson's Brick from 2005 is an inventive homage to classic noir that combines its unique language with an updated setting: a 21st-century high school. With great performances across the board and some very creative choices from the production team, this first feature from Johnson is a hell of a calling card...

This week, we delve into the world of neo-noir with 1981's Blow Out. This thriller from filmmaker Brian De Palma has a lot of the hallmarks of classic noir but with a lot of modern-day flair. It's edgy, paranoid, and masterfully made. ____________________ STILL TO COME IN OUR NOVEMBER NOIR SERIES: 11/25: Brick (2005) On Letterboxd? Follow along with this month's movie list here . _________________...

In this week's episode, we delve into the world of Technicolor noir with 1953's Niagara. This story of love and betrayal includes a lot of the classic tropes of the noir genre and includes a fantastic early performance from the great Marilyn Monroe. ____________________ STILL TO COME IN OUR NOVEMBER NOIR SERIES: 11/18: Blow Out (1981)11/25: Brick (2005) On Letterboxd? Follow along with this month'...

This week, we kick off November Noir month with one of the genre's quintessential titles: 1946's The Postman Always Rings Twice. This tale of desire, betrayal, and fate is one of several films adapted from the writing of James M. Cain that set a standard for everything that came after it. ____________________ STILL TO COME IN OUR NOVEMBER NOIR SERIES: 11/11: Niagara (1953)11/18: Blow Out (1981)11/...

This week, we wrap up Stephen King Adaptations Month with 1986's Maximum Overdrive. This is the only film that Stephen King has directed to date, and it's quite a ride. The set was plagued by turmoil, and what ends up on-screen shows that it was a difficult shoot. We go deep into the lore around this cocaine-fueled odyssey and, of course, try to figure out how what we watch actually got made. ____...

On this week's episode, Stephen King Screen Adaptations Month continues with the recent remake of Salem's Lot. We welcome Mike's librarian friend and horror aficionado, Andy Remondino, to help us make sense of what we watched. ________________________________ Follow Andy on Instagram here , and check out his Letterboxd profile here . ________________________________ STILL TO COME THIS MONTH:10/28:...

This week Mike and Steven discuss Mike Flanagan's Stephen King-approved adaptation of Doctor Sleep, the 2019 follow-up to The Shining. ________________________________ STILL TO COME THIS MONTH:10/21: Salem's Lot (2024)10/28: Maximum Overdrive If you'd like to follow along with what we're doing this month, check out this Letterboxd list: https://boxd.it/zgUKi ________________________________ WE'D L...

This week, we kick off Stephen King Big Screen Adaptation Month with one of the writer's stories that doesn't get as much love as some of the others. 1983's The Dead Zone, directed by David Cronenberg, is a psychic thriller that stars the great Christopher Walken and Martin Sheen. Joining us to break it all down is author Laura Carney, whose literary insights really class up the show and give us s...