The Essential Cut

While Deadpool & Wolverine were busy shattering R-rated box office records with a $211M opening weekend, Ian and Michael headed to the darker corners of the multiplex. In Part 1 of this two-part miniseries, we are joined by special guest Rosie Paige to dissect two of 2024’s most atmospheric horror entries: Longlegs and MaXXXine . Can indie horror survive the "Headliner" heat of the MCU? We’re...

In this Headliner episode, Ian and Michael step into the pottery studio to dissect the 1990 phenomenon that made "Unchained Melody" the anthem of a generation: Jerry Zucker’s Ghost. Despite being a supernatural thriller-romance-comedy hybrid that shouldn't have worked on paper, Ghost defied the odds to become a global juggernaut. But as the guys peel back the ectoplasm, they discover a production...

This week, Ian and Michael head back to the summer of 1990—a year where Hollywood wasn't just selling movies; it was selling aesthetics. We’re breaking down the primary-color police state of Warren Beatty’s Dick Tracy and the high-finance fairy tale of Pretty Woman . In this episode, we dive into: Skin and Rubber: Why Madonna’s Breathless Mahoney is the only human in the room in Dick Tracy . The P...

The New Casting Category: We discuss what the Academy's pick for best casting will mean for the future of the Oscars and cover how OBAA might have been the "safe" choice to kick off the award. PTA’s Triple Crown: Paul Thomas Anderson finally secures "Academy Award Winner" status, taking home Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. The Oscar "Snubs" & Shocks: We talk through w...

On November 22, 2013, the world was focused on the Girl on Fire—but in the shadows of the Capitol, two of the decade’s most intense survival stories were unfolding. In this episode of The Screen Hoppers, Ian and Michael break down The Catching Fire Weekend. We’re exploring the "Kessler Cascade" of Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity and how Hugh Jackman's descent into darkness in Denis Villeneuve’s Prisoners...

The Screen Hoppers are taking the Tribute Train back to 2012 and jumping right into the thick of the Cornucopia with The Hunger Games , Safe House , and The Raid: Redemption . While The Hunger Games was busy Reaping the youth of Panem for a televised spectacle, Safe House and The Raid: Redemption were teaching us a brutal lesson in tactical irony. We’re breaking down why a Mockingjay in the hand i...

Michael and Ian are back with season 2! They are flying back to 1986 and soaring right into the jet wash with Top Gun , Pretty in Pink , and Hannah and Her Sisters . While Top Gun was flying high, Pretty in Pink and Hannah and Her Sisters were grounding us in a different kind of turbulence. From the economic hierarchy of a Chicago high school to a mid-life crisis in a Manhattan loft, our hosts dri...

Ian and Michael wrap up the first season of The Screen Hoppers with a trip down memory lane. They chat about their favorite movies and discussions from the year of podcasts, revealing their top 5 among the movies they reviewed in 2025. an Up Left Media Production upleftmedia.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Holiday Season is upon us, and Ian and Michael are feeling festive. Instead of competing for movie-picking supremacy, The Screen Hoppers are embracing the Christmas Spirit and gifting each other something special: Christmas movies sure to bring yuletide joy to each other's hearts. an Up Left Media Production upleftmedia.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's May of 1996 and TWISTER is tearing through the cineplex on its way to becoming one of the highest grossing movies of all time. Ian thinks moviegoers should have seen THE BIRDCAGE instead, and Michael suggests PRIMAL FEAR. Did America make the right choice, or should they have followed the advice of The Screen Hoppers? an Up Left Media Production upleftmedia.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/...

Ian is in Disney World, hopping from ride-to ride-instead of screen-to-screen. Inspired by his trip, he and Michael take a peek at one of the early Disney attraction to movie adaptations, 2003's THE HAUNTED MANSION to see if it shares the charm of the ride, or deserves it's ghastly reputation. an Up Left Media Production upleftmedia.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's 1998 and Steven Spielberg is topping the box office again. This time, with his WWII epic, SAVING PRIVATE RYAN. Ian and Michael have tickets for a later showing, and have each picked a movie to screen hop in the meantime. Ian decided to spend time with Jim Carrey's Truman Burbank as he questions reality and existence in THE TRUMAN SHOW, while Michael went with Bruce Willis' team of oil driller...

It's Spooky Season and Ian and Michael are visiting 2013 to see one of the biggest horror hits of all time, James Wan's THE CONJURING. Before settling in for the scares, Ian and Michael are going to spend some time screen hopping to check out a couple of the other movies that are also playing: RIPD and PACIFIC RIM. an Up Left Media Production upleftmedia.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy...

It's 2003 and the finale of Peter Jackson's epic LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy is Sold Out. While Ian and Michael wait for a later screening, they kill some time with an unlucky William H Macy in Michael's pick, THE COOLER, and an odd-couple romance between Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton in Ian's choice, SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE. Who picked the better flick? Visit us @SoldOut_Pod on Instagram to vote!...

It's the summer of 1984 and Ivan Reitman's genre-bending GHOSTBUSTERS is sold out. So while they wait for an available screening, Ian and Michael spend the day seeing some other movies at the multiplex. Ian picks Sergio Leone's mobster epic, ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA, and Michael chooses Joe Dante's horror-comedy, GREMLINS. an Up Left Media Production upleftmedia.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.c...

Ian and Michael hop in the DeLorean and travel to 1985 to see BACK TO THE FUTURE. Of course, it's sold out. So, they spend the day at the theater checking out a couple other cinematic oddities while they wait for an available showing: LIFEFORCE and RETURN TO OZ. an Up Left Media Production upleftmedia.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ian and Michael are joined by a very special guest – star of "Nailed It Novels" and Harry Potter superfan, Rosie Paige – to discuss the biggest movie of Fall 2002, Chris Columbus' HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS. an Up Left Media Production upleftmedia.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As Ian and Michael await HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS, they explore the mysterious world of Studio Ghibli's SPIRITED AWAY. an Up Left Media Production upleftmedia.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ian and Michael travel to 2002, hoping to catch HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS. But since it is of course sold out, they lose themselves in the not-quite-an-Eminem-biopic, 8 MILE. an Up Left Media Production upleftmedia.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ian and Michael finally snag those elusive tickets for CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR! While all is not well among the Avengers, will our podcast heroes find themselves in similar disharmony? an Up Left Media Production upleftmedia.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's still 2016 and CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR is still sold out. To pass the time, Ian and Michael watch Key and Peele's KEANU. an Up Left Media Production upleftmedia.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ian and Michael travel to 2016 to see CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR, but before meeting The Avengers, they're trapped in a punk rock club's green room by some unfriendly skinheads in Jeremy Saulnier's aptly titled, GREEN ROOM. an Up Left Media Production upleftmedia.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ian and Michael give the Time Machine a week off and check out a current blockbuster: James Gunn's SUPERMAN. an Up Left Media Production upleftmedia.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After catching FIELD OF DREAMS and ROAD HOUSE during their visit to 1989, Ian and Michael see the movie they came for: Steven Spielberg's INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE. an Up Left Media Production upleftmedia.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Continuing their visit to 1989 to see INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE, Ian and Michael spend a night with Patrick Swayze at the Double Deuce as they watch Rowdy Harrington's ROAD HOUSE. an Up Left Media Production upleftmedia.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.