We Love the Love

This week we're looking at the most prominent of Hollywood's efforts to update a classic musical with Will Gluck's 2014 "cool" Annie , starring Quvenzhane Wallis, Jamie Foxx, Rose Byrne, and a raft of other famous faces. Join in as we discuss our own histories with the little orphan, the politics of Annie's various incarnations, Sia's reimagined musical numbers, and t...

Some movies have healthy relationships. Some movies have unhealthy relationships. Park Chan-wook's 2016 film The Handmaiden has a pretty sweet romance between two women in Japanese-occupied Korea, but they're also making some pretty nasty schemes about one another. Join in as we discuss the opening of Japan, poison cigarettes, the British novel on which the movie is based, and pooping in t...

We're kicking off Pride 2023 with a look at gay romances from 100 years ago in Terence Davies's 2022 biopic Benediction , about the many loves of World War I poet Siegfried Sassoon. Join in as we discuss Sassoon's biography, the Bright Young Things, handsome British boys, and casting characters at different ages. Plus: How autobiographical is this movie for Davies? Is Sassoon right to...

It's been too long since we had any #Wegtent on the show, so we're taking a look at Renee's turn in the Farrelly Brothers' 2000 comedy Me, Myself & Irene . Join in as we discuss Jim Carrey's dual performance (as Me and Myself), the Farrellys' recent careers, and their portrayal of disability. Plus: What conspiracy did Irene discover? Are Quibis a good watch? And, most i...

We're headed to the movies for a look at a brand new (and already nearly gone) romance: Love Again , starring Priyanka Chopra-Jonas, Sam Heughan, and, naturally, Celine Dion. Join in as we discuss our favorite celebrity performances, the differences between the trailer and the finished film, the German novel it's based on, smishing, and Rob's terrible and expensive plan to meet his mys...

Just in time for Fast X , we're going back to the midway point in the world's favorite vehicular franchise to talk about the varyingly developed romances of Fast Five ! Join in as we discuss our favorite chase sequences, director Justin Lin's career, the franchise's transition away from street racing, and early 2010s Facebook apps. Plus: Why is Dwayne Johnson's Hobbs so sweaty?...

By popular demand, we are covering the surprise hit of 2017, the feel-good musical The Greatest Showman , about the feel-bad circus magnate Phineas Taylor Barnum. Join in as we discuss Barnum's ties to slavery, the history of his various humbugs, the film's shocking box office run, and its enduring popularity in the running community. Plus: How much time passes in this movie? What year is...

Just in time for a coronation, we're moving on up to the English nobility with America's favorite feline as we look at the 2006 sequel Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties ! Join in as we discuss nwespaper comics, Paws Inc, Wishbone, and our complete lack of emotional response to the movie. Plus: What is the secret of Garfield's appeal? Why isn't Odie animated? Can pets really inherit a...

We're talking 90s sexual politics with a look at the gender-reversed harassment of Disclosure , based on the novel by the 6' 9" egomaniac Michael Crichton. Join in as we discuss Crichton's regressive gender views, the movie's attempts to complicate his narrative, enduring parallels to today's discourse, and needlessly complicated file storage software. Plus: What's up...

We're learning a surprising amount about insurance policies as we debate whether there's any love to be found in Billy Wilder's 1944 noir classic Double Indemnity , starring Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck. Join in as we discuss train crime, the history of life insurance, the 1945 Academy Awards, and some of the movies we're excited about this year. Plus: Should they have settl...

We're sneaking towards romance in one of Marc's favorite comedies, the 2015 Paul Feig film Spy , starring Melissa McCarthy as...you know, a spy. Join in as we discuss McCarthy's career with and without Feig, comedy Jason Statham, sequels we hope to see, and Jerry Seinfeld's forthcoming Pop Tart movie. Plus: Why are so many CIA agents British? What should the M3gan sequel be called?...

We're grabbing our swords, bows, and axes to quest in search of romance in the first installment of Peter Jackson's epic trilogy: 2001's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring ! Join in as we discuss our own backgrounds with Tolkien, the Scouring of the Shire, the film's famous fourteen-month shoot, and the surprising softness of the finished product. Plus: Why was the o...

We're looking at one of the biggest flops of all time as we talk about the interplanetary romance of Andrew Stanton's 2012 would-be sci-fi franchise starter John Carter ! Join in as we discuss digital sidekicks, multiple prologues, Barsoomian fashion, and the contentious afterlife of this box office bomb. Plus: Should the movie have kept "of Mars" in its title? Were Stanton and h...

We're talking about jobs we stumbled into as we look at the romance of the 2007 adaptation of The Nanny Diaries , starring Scarlett Johansson as a would-be anthropologist caring for a kid with a dumb name.  Join in as we discuss villain Paul Giamatti, a standout Laura Linney, and the best sequel titles.  Plus: Who was Mrs. X? Is Harvard Hottie a liar? And does Marc remember any of these...

The 95th Academy Awards are right around the corner, so it's time to get some definitive rankings on the believability of all ten Best Picture nominees!  Join in as we discuss Colonel Tom Parker, Jenny the Donkey, Sammy Fabelman's girlfriend, and our queen Lydia Tar.  Plus: Is Evelyn from Everything Everywhere All at Once deliberately committing tax fraud? Is George R.R. Martin responsib...

Just in time for Creed III , we're going back to the start of America's favorite boxing franchise for a look at the Best Picture winner that started it all.  Join in as we discuss the movie's real-life inspirations, Sylvester Stallone's original sequel pitches, the Philadelphia Rocky statue, and our good friend M3gan.  Plus: Why did they shoot the final fight sequence in reverse? How cou...

We're looking at one of the biggest romances of the 1990s as we spin the pottery wheel of Jerry Zucker's 1990 Best Picture nominee Ghost !  Join in as we discuss Zucker's career, the first trip of writer Bruce Joel Rubin, the 1990 box office, and the film's complete lack of ghost sex.  Plus: Is this set in the Ghostbusters universe? What's going on with the Saturn Awards? And, most impor...

We're singing songs and selling papes as we watch Kenny Ortega's directorial debut, the 1992 Disney musical Newsies !  Join in as we discuss the real-life newsboy strike of 1899, the Vatican newspaper, Kid Blink, and other musicals about orphans and labor.  Plus: What's Medda's deal exactly? Why can't the newsies go to school? What is Jack's plan when the movie ends? And where does Newsi...

In honor of Magic Mike's Last Dance opening this Friday, we're taking a look at the unlikely romance of Steven Soderbergh's 2012 original!  Join in as we discuss star/inspiration Channing Tatum, Matthew McConaughey's Dallas, balancing tones, and the MTV Movie Award for Best Shirtless Performance.  Plus: Is Mike's furniture good? Is The Boys the most "straight dude" show on TV? What happe...

We're rolling dice, spinning spinners, and filling out our character sheets as we look at the surprisingly grown-up romance of the 2018 comedy mystery Game Night , starring Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams.  Join in as we discuss our own favorite game night games, bringing food into the movies, and the past and future of MoviePass.  Plus: Why don't Max and Annie have cooler taste in game...

We're talking about movies that scared us as children as we look at Walter Murch's notoriously scarring 1985 film Return to Oz - Disney's first complete attempt to adapt L. Frank Baum.  Join in as we discuss Murch's storied career, the magical properties of chickens, the 2022 AARP Movies for Grownups Awards, and the trouble with trying to adapt Oz stories after 1939.  Plus: How did the chicken get...

Now that the holidays are over, we've got enough distance to look at one of the most stressful Christmases ever put to film: the awkward dramedy of The Family Stone !  Join in as we discuss movie allergens, the film's deliberate abrasiveness, and twin romance swaps.  Plus: Is Claire Danes the only normal person in this movie? Is it time to recast the Boss Baby? Should this movie be narra...

We're going all in on Municipal Darwinism as we climb aboard a traction city to talk about our favorite box office bomb of 2018, Christian Rivers's Mortal Engines !  Join in as we discuss cyborgs, the Big Tilt, writer-producer Peter Jackson, and our bff Shrike (the resurrected man).  Plus: How does everyone know Pandora Shaw? Why does Tom only want to date Valentine's relatives? Should this movie...

We're ending the year with a new direction for our frenemies at DreamWorks Animation as we look at their long-delayed Puss in Boots movie!  Join in as we discuss the new DreamWorks intro, assess the villains of The Last Wish, dig into the studio's new animation style, and bond over going to the bathroom during the trailer for Shazam 2 .  Plus: Is Elvis gonna win Best Picture? Should Top...

We're ending this year's Christmas series with a movie that came out in June: Tim Burton's surprisingly violent and horny superhero sequel, Batman Returns !  Join in as we discuss animal resurrection, the loose continuity of the 89-97 Batman movies, the evolution of the Penguin, our own favorite Batmen and Alfreds.  Plus: Why didn't Catwoman die? Can she reach the Heaviside Layer when sh...