The Undercurrent Movie Podcast

Invincible is a 2006 sports drama based on the true story of Vince Papale, a 30-year-old bartender and substitute teacher living in Philadelphia during a difficult time in the city. After the Philadelphia Eagles announce open tryouts, Vince decides to take a chance and pursue his lifelong dream of playing professional football. Despite having no college football experience, he earns a spot on the...

In this episode I sit down with Jeff Lubrant and we talk about the 2017 movie “Hostiles”.  “Hostlies” is a dark, emotional Western starring Christian Bale, Rosamund Pike, Jesse Plemons, Timothee Chalamet, Ben Foster, Jonathan Majors and Wes Studi. Set in 1892, it follows Army Captain Joseph Blocker, a hardened soldier with a deep hatred of Native Americans, who is ordered to escort a dying Cheyenn...

In this episode, I sit down with Rocco Landis and we talk about the 2013 movie “World War Z”.“World War Z” follows Gerry Lane, (played by Brad Pit) a former United Nations investigator, after a mysterious infection begins spreading rapidly across the world, turning people into violent, fast-moving zombies. As cities fall and governments struggle to contain the outbreak, Gerry is sent across severa...

On this episode I sit down with James Crouse and we discuss the movie “Powder”. “Powder” is a 1995 fantasy drama directed and written by Victor Salva, starring Sean Patrick Flannery, Mary Steenburgen, Lance Henriksen, and Jeff Goldblum. It follows Jeremy “Powder” Reed, a brilliant but sheltered young man with albinism, whose strange appearance and mysterious electrical abilities make him a target...

Would you do anything to protect your family? Even if it risked the trust they have in you? Which is more stoic? To stay in silent agony or bring the ones you love down into the rabbit hole of what could be your own delusions.  In this episode I sit down with Mark Stanley and we talk about the movie “Take Shelter”. Take Shelter is a slow-burning psychological drama about Curtis LaForche, played by...

What would you do if someone you loved was murdered right in front of you after you had just got mauled by a bear and left for dead. I’m sure its a question you ask yourself often. None the less. Would you spend the rest of your life trying to forgive that person or crawl through the cold vast wilderness of early America seeking your revenge.  In this episode I sit down with James, Jeff, Julian an...

“Unbreakable”, made in 2000 and directed by M. Night Shymalan, is a psychological thriller about a man named David Dunn played by Bruce Willis. David is a quiet security guard who survives a devastating train crash without a single injury and no one knows why.  After the accident, he is approached by Elijah Price played by Samuel L. Jackson, a man with an extremely rare condition that makes his bo...

"In the Line of Fire" is a tense political thriller about a veteran Secret Service agent (played by Clint Eastwood) haunted by his past failure to protect President John F. Kennedy. When a highly intelligent and obsessive assassin begins targeting the current president, the agent is drawn into a psychological cat-and-mouse game. As the killer taunts him and exploits his guilt, the agent must confr...

Anaconda is a modern reimagining of the classic jungle thriller, following a group of travelers drawn into the Amazon by a sense of nostalgia and adventure. What begins as a throwback-inspired journey quickly turns into a fight for survival when they become the target of a massive, deadly anaconda, forcing them to confront both the dangers of the wild and the illusion of the past they were chasing...

"Children of Men" is a gripping dystopian thriller set in a near-future world where humanity faces extinction after two decades of global infertility. Society has collapsed into chaos, and governments have turned authoritarian in a desperate attempt to maintain order. The story follows Theo played by Clive Owen, a disillusioned former activist, who is unexpectedly tasked with protecting a miraculo...

Welcome back to the undercurrent movie podcast season three. Now I’m Had kicking this season off by doing something a bit different this time. I’m going back to a movie that I’ve already covered but not for the reason that you think. In this episode, we are jumping back into the matrix but we’re not doing this to cover what we’ve already know. we’re actually going back in to find a completely diff...

Collateral Beauty (2016) is a drama about a successful New York advertising executive, Howard Inlet, who falls into deep depression after the tragic loss of his young daughter. As he withdraws from life, his friends and his work, he begins writing letters to Love, Time, and Death—abstract concepts he blames for his pain. Concerned for both him and the company, his friends devise an unusual plan th...

Would you steel a loaf of bread to feed your family?  Would you rob a bunch of little banks to end the generational poverty in your own family even though it could mean jail time or death.  Hell or High Water is a gritty, character-driven modern Western that follows brothers Toby and Tanner Howard as they rob a string of small-town Texas banks. Their crimes are not driven by greed, but by desperat...

What would you do if you stopped aging at 25 and could live for centuries but, everything you had to buy was charged in minutes. Would that make you pause with what you spent your time on? In Time is a sci-fi thriller set in a future where time has literally become the currency. People stop aging at 25 and must earn, borrow, or steal time to stay alive. The rich can live forever, while the poor st...

The Count of Monte Cristo. It’s an adventurous drama made in 2002 based on the classic novel by Alexandre Dumas. It follows Edmond Dantès (played by Jim Caviezel) a young sailor who is falsely accused of treason by his best friend (played by Guy Pearce) and betrayed by those he trusted. Imprisoned for years on a remote island, he uncovers a hidden treasure and escapes, reinventing himself as the w...

In this episode we discuss the movie “Signs”. “Signs” is a science fiction thriller written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. The 2002 film follows Graham Hess (played by Mel Gibson), a former priest living on a Pennsylvania farm with his two children (played by Rory Culkin and Abigail Breslin) and brother (played by Joaquin Phoenix). When mysterious crop circles appear in their corn fields, the...

In this episode we tackle the epic film “No Country for Old Men” made in 2007. This movie is a neo-Western crime thriller directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, based on a novel by Cormac McCarthy. Set in 1980s Texas, the story follows Llewelyn Moss (played by Josh Brolin) a hunter who stumbles upon a drug deal gone wrong and takes a suitcase filled with drug money. He is pursued by Anton Chigurh (playe...

Moneyball (2011) is a sports drama  based on the true story of Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland Athletics baseball team. Faced with a limited budget, Billy Beane takes an unconventional approach to building a competitive team by using something called sabermetrics. What it is is a data-driven analysis to evaluate and recruit undervalued players. With the help of a young Yale economi...

Contact (1997) is a science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis, based on the novel by Carl Sagan. The story follows Dr. Ellie Arroway, a determined astronomer played by Jodie Foster, who discovers a signal from an extraterrestrial intelligence. As she works to decode the message and navigate political, scientific, and personal obstacles, Ellie embarks on a profound journey that challenges he...

 In this episode, I sit down with my good friend Vitaly Prokopets to talk about the movie there will be blood.  There Will Be Blood (2007) is a dramatic epic directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, based loosely on Upton Sinclair’s novel Oil!. Set in the early 20th century, it follows the ruthless rise of Daniel Plainview, a silver miner turned oil tycoon, portrayed by Daniel Day-Lewis in an Oscar-winni...

What lengths would you go to escape tragedy?  What lengths would you go to protect your family?  Would you isolate yourself from the world to try to escape harm and is that even a possibility In this podcast I talk with my wife Tiffany about the movie “The Village” starring Joaquin Phoenix and Bryce Dallas Howard.    The Village” (2004) is a psychological thriller directed by M. Night Shyamalan. T...

What would you do if you could travel back in time to any moment in your life and change what happened.  Would that make your life better.  Would you take more chances  Would you have as much control as you think you do or would it force you to live the life you already have in a more intentional way.  These are the questions this movie forces you to ask.    I sit down with a life long friend Bran...

Limitless (2011) is a sci-fi thriller starring Bradley Cooper as Eddie Morra, a struggling writer who discovers a mysterious drug called NZT-48. The pill dramatically enhances his cognitive abilities, allowing him to access his brain’s full potential. As Eddie rises to success in finance and life, he attracts dangerous attention and faces deadly consequences as the drug’s side effects and the peop...

in this episode we talk about the movie Interstellar. Interstellar (2014), directed by Christopher Nolan, it is a haunting and beautiful science fiction epic that follows a team of astronauts who travel through a wormhole in search of a new habitable planet, as Earth faces ecological collapse. The film blends emotional storytelling with complex scientific concepts like time dilation, black holes,...

Would you choose a life of ignorance and bliss or a life of truth and hardship. We talk about the deeper symbolism of the film relates faith and humanity.    We discuss the film The Matrix. The Matrix (1999) is a science fiction film where a hacker named Neo (Keanu Reeves) discovers that the world around him is a simulated reality controlled by machines. He joins a group of rebels led by Morpheus...