Cinebois2Cinemen

Ben and Danny wade into the split-diopter-infested world of Brian De Palma - exploring his thematic kinks, his love of Hitchcock, and the operatic brilliance that has produced iconic moments across many different genres.

This week, Ben and Danny belatedly discuss 'Pressure' and the War-Room drama. They discuss the narrative parallels between them and the music biopic, and how the lives of pivotal background figures are remoulded to suit such drab, inoffensive narrative structures.

This week sees Ben and Danny discuss Resident Evil. Alongside the expected musings about video game adaptations and Zack Cregger, they also speculate that his rejection of a broader mythology may signal a shift away from cinematic universes.

After a short hiatus, Ben and Danny return to discuss Sex and Teenage Death at Cam Miasma and Jane Schoenbrun. They discuss how their work explores the simultaneous joy and peril that comes with readily immersing yourself in culture. They also discuss their reverence for the slasher and their career-long thesis on viewing potentially troubling films through a contemporary lens.

This week sees Ben and Danny discuss The End of Oak Street and the films of director David Robert Mitchell. After some initial confusion regarding Mitchell's transition to Blockbuster filmmaking, they identify key themes in his early filmography and how, even with a bigger budget, he (just about) manages to craft something meaningful.

This week sees Ben and Danny take advantage of the Odyssey's box office domination and return to the 'Director Deep Dive', kicking off the resurrection with 'Bloody Sam' Peckinpah. They rattle through the majority of his filmography chronologically, discussing key themes in each and how his characters are anachronistic archetypes weathering the storm of societal change. They al...

This week, Ben and Danny tackle Nolan's cinematic behemoth, The Odyssey. They also revisit Nolan's filmography and reevaluate his position as one of mainstream cinema's most revered directors.

This week sees a shadow-drenched Ben and Danny (we will be back in the usual space next week!) discuss the unreentingly gnarly Evil Dead Burn. This precedes a discussion on the Evil Dead films of the past and more recent present, the challenges that come with maintaining and changing a franchise in a different time, and New French Extremity Cinema - a subgenre whose nastiness has found its way int...

This week, Ben and Danny revisit action cinema to discuss the ideological and market imperatives that sculpt Eastern and Western narratives - and how the resulting violence finds justification in ever-familiar tropes. They also review The Furious and where it sits in the contemporary East Asian action canon.

What better way to celebrate England's dogged path to World Cup Glory than listening to two of the nation's finest sons discuss the spoof genre? They chat about Scary Movie, the appeal of the Wayan Brothers' puerile brand of cultural critique and how it manages to sidestep the comedic tendency to lament a different cultural landscape. We didn't expect to say the latter either.

This week sees Ben and Danny pause their endless wanderings through a liminal maze to rest up in a tastefully designed living room and discuss Backrooms. They also talk about how the internet has become a breeding ground not only for filmmaking but also for a new kind of horror mythology born from the darkness and uncertainty in everyday life.

This week sees Ben and Danny temporarily trade the masturbatory-tinged gloominess of the latter's living room for a slicker, more purpose-built affair. Spurred on by an uncharacteristic visual and auditory slickness, the boys wax lyrically about Mark Jenkin's Rose of Nevada. They also discuss films that centre on the loss of community, culture and identity in the face of technological inno...

This week sees Ben and Danny dig out the dimonte gloves before wading into the formulaic borefest that has become the musical biopic. They unpack how their narratively familiar nature exists to recontextualise the legacy of beloved musicians, often to the detriment of the artist's original intentions.

This week sees Ben and Danny eventually discuss Sci-Fi smash hit Project Hail Mary - how it reinvigorates the sci-fi genre with a sense of optimism that, although saccharine, is a welcome recalibration of ideas around human collaboration in geopolitically turbulent times.

This week sees Ben and Danny reflect on another gem from 2025: The Secret Agent. Alongside discussing films that focus on living in and resisting dystopian and authoritarian regimes, they also discuss another Brazilian Award Season favourite (and winner), I'm Still Here.

This week (or a few weeks ago, if we are honest) sees a shadow-drenched Ben and Danny discuss The Bride. Alongside discussing Gyllenhaal's previous film, they discuss the various genres that make up her attempt to modernise Shelley's seminal horror classic. They also quickly mop up the 2026 Oscars results, focusing especially on the fraccas surrounding the run-up to the best actor award an...

This week sees Ben and Danny venture into the sun-scarred pre-apocalyptic landscapes of Oliver Laxe's Sirat. The preceding discussion focuses on films that seek to foster nail-biting tension, from Sorcerer and Wages of Fear (two clear influences on Laxe), to wartime conspiracy thrillers and sweltering courtroom dramas.

This week sees Ben and Danny (rather belatedly) discuss Wuthering Heights. They discuss the thematic and formal preoccupations that make up her body of work before musing on the challenges of literary adaptations and just how beholden filmmakers should be to the text they are bringing to the big screen.

This week, Ben and Danny (and frequent guest Lee) celebrate their 100th episode by discussing "Send Help." They discuss Sam Raimi, charting his course from scrappy horror beginnings to a semi- reliable blockbuster director. They focus on how his brushes with the Hollywood establishment have had a sporadic impact on his work, forming a thematic foundation that laments humanity's obsession with prof...

This week, Ben and Danny discuss the Oscar front-runner (especially where the leading actress category is concerned), Hamnet. They also chat about director Chloe Zhao's cinematic stylings and thematic interests, ranging from lives on the fringes to the demystifying of a cultural titan.

This week sees Ben and Danny continue to mop up the last gems of 2025 with Marty Supreme. They discuss how the Safdie brothers' recent split has led to differing styles of filmmaking and how their different approaches to the sports biopic underscore just how special their anxiety-inducing brand of cinema is. They also discuss the allure of the Safdie Brothers' lead character, which prompts broader...

This week's episode sees Ben and Danny come full circle as they discuss Avatar: Fire and Ash. Alongside reflecting (with a mixture of fondness and dismay) on their maiden episode on Avatar: The Way of Water, they revisit topics of technological innovation, the resulting changes in Hollywood blockbuster narrative and Cameron's steadfast belief in old-school storytelling techniques.

With 2025 in the rear view mirror, Ben and Danny reflect on a year of cinema going. Alongside ranking their five favourites, they discuss how there may be more reason to be hopeful than they first thought.

This week, Ben and Danny discuss The Running Man. They also discuss the career of Edgar Wright, and how his transition from champion of English comedy to American blockbuster fare has yielded mixed results. They also sneak in a mention of Netflix's proposed takeover of Warner Bros.

This week, Ben and Danny discuss Die My Love, Lynne Ramsay's filmography, and cinematic portrayals of mental health struggles. They discuss how Ramsey's subtly fragmented narratives rely on a silence that engulfs the spaces in, around and between her characters.