Afterthoughts

We've got a stacked Recommend or Refute episode this week. Ryan talks about his family's experience watching the David Bowie puppet movie Labyrinth (1986) , Dixon stays in the western genre with John Ford's epic masterpiece The Searchers (1956) , and John finally dives back into the wild world of David Lynch with Twin Peaks (1990) .

On this week's episode, John, Dixon, and Ryan are riding through your town to fuck shit up and rain down unholy vengeance upon your sinful head as they discuss Clint Eastwood's classic dark western HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER (1973) and the evolution of the western genre that began so innocently once upon a time.

We're talking about BARBENHEIMER: the phenomenon that's sweeping the nation and making the movies relevant again for the first time since the pandemic. (And we're also talking about some weird shit John watched.)

Damn... They Cloned Tyrone (2023) is out. It's got a hook so solid that they laid it out clear as day in the title, but does its bold tactic of giving away a would-be twist sacrifice any of the drama, thrills, and chills explored by its ensemble cast? What is this movie about beyond the clones of Tyrone? Who the hell even is Tyrone? Dixon, Ryan, and John are digging into this fresh new contemporar...

It's time for an eclectic, mainstream Recommend or Refute episode! Dixon could eat a peach for hours while he talks about Face/Off, but he'll have to settle for the time we give him in this ep. John investigates whether Hollywood's scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could add post-process 3D that they never stopped to think if they should. And Ryan brings us another Classic Ry...

In celebration of John's birthday this year, we're allowing John to wreck our Blockbuster movie streak with a big flop, so we're talking about The Astrologer (1976) . It's a passion project from director/star Craig Denney that paints Astrology and tangential practices under the confusing tone of a crime drama. Once thought lost for nearly 40 years, it somehow found its way into our resident trash...

Our special guest Mark Garcia is back to dissect the trauma induced by his son watching Sing (2016) on repeat. Dixon breaks down the shockingly awful Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part 1 (2023) , and John finally watches a Francis Ford Coppola film but for some reason settles on Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) .

This week we're continuing the summer blockbuster theme with the greatest Pixar movie of all time, Toy Story 4 (2019) . Has Dixon lost his mind (almost certainly), or is there a beautiful, indie soul to this franchise installment that raises it above typical studio fare?

We fell back into our usual roles this week and delivered the kind of varied Recommend or Refute episode you've come to expect from the Afterthoughts crew. Join us as Ryan analyzes the new Netflix animated movie Nimona (2023) , John breaks down the alien sex shlockumentary Love and Saucers (2017) , and Dixon puts aside his Tom Hanks hate to finally watch A League of Their Own (1992) .

On a belated 4th of July episode, Dixon, John, and Ryan dive head first into the dangerous waters of Jaws (1975) . It's a cultural touchstone that might be single-handedly responsible for modern Blockbusters, an entire week dedicated to fearing sharks, and Steven Spielbergs illustrious career, but in the cinematic world of ever-growing big shark movies how does it hold up? Join the Afterthoughts c...

This week's Recommend or Refute is 2/3rds science fiction, 1/3rd comedy, and definitely contains some more of John's usual schlock. Join us as Dixon takes us to the top of cinematic achievements with 2001: A Space Odyssey , John takes us to the bottom with Spanish knock-off of ET by the name of The Extraterrestrial Visitors, and Ryan talks about the upcoming comedy Theater Camp he saw at a mystery...

Seems like every week there's new evidence of alien life and elaborate government cover-ups, so we decided to watch the most whimsical alien movie of all time, Wes Anderson's latest creation Asteroid City (2023) .

This RoR is the most layered of our recent roundtable reviews. Join Ryan as he talks through Adam Sandler's filmography and highlights his first and worst feature Going Overboard (1989) , Dixon dissects the differences between a century of reimagined War of the Worlds adaptations, and John brings a mystery title and his most recent regrets to the discussion.

We did it, folks. Dixon finally got us to talk about the inimitable Robert Bresson. Join the Afterthoughts crew as we discuss his biggest commercial success, the thrilling prison break masterpiece A Man Escaped (1956) . We dive into Bresson's one-of-a-kind filmmaking style, his technical mastery, and his ability to build tension like no director before or since.

On this episode of Recommend or Refute, John wants to talk about some weird stuff he saw in the The Stuff (1985), Ryan moseys on through the retro-future dystopian western of Trigun Stampede (2023) , and Dixon throws us a curveball as he talks about the home run television comedy that is Brockmire (2017-2020) .

This week Ryan, Dixon, and John are talking about Steve Martin's 1979 breakout hit The Jerk . Join them for their afterthoughts on how the film holds up today both comedically and culturally, as well as its influence on the comedy genre over the past four decades.

Another week means another round of Recommend or Refute! Dixon is gonna tell us all about Spider-Man: Across The Spider-verse (2023) , Ryan's spilling the tea on his time with Milk (2008) and, Don't Panic , John is... talking about some 1987 proto-Malignant horror mystery movie he made his friends watch. Ready your watchlists for additional entries!

Dive deep into the shit with John, Dixon, and Ryan as we break down Ben Stiller's biting Hollywood satire Tropic Thunder (2008) . It's packed with industry commentary, controversial choices, and a solid ensemble cast, but how does it all hold up? Is it a cult classic if it was successful at launch? Does it have the best performance Tom Cruise has ever given? You want some [answers], get some in th...

Dixon and John are running the show on this episode of Recommend or Refute! John talks about the Swedish thriller Knocking (2021) , drawing comparisons to Invisible Man (2020) , but will he ultimately knock it? Dixon opens his film bible to a new chapter and verse with The Starling Girl (2023) and   its story of finding agency in a devout Christian community. After all is recommended and refuted,...

Fast-ten your seatbelts (get it?), crack open an ice cold Corona, and join the Afterthoughts family for a breakdown of the latest installment in Hollywood's most absurd action franchise. Does Fast X live up to the batshit insanity of the previous 9 movies, or is this series starting to slip away from Vin Diesel like a giant spherical bomb careening through the streets of Rome?

Dixon's off galavanting through the Scottish highlands, so Ryan and John are holding down the fort without him this week. Ryan breaks down Guardians of the Galaxy 3 (2023) with a brief flashback to the previous entries, John discusses the absurdist Soviet cultural satire Zerograd (1988) , and --with bureaucratic commentary fresh on the mind-- the two take some time to discuss the biting workplace...

In our first official Afterthoughts discussion episode around a television show, we decide to tackle a near impossible to describe cult anime Serial Experiments Lain (1998) . Join John, Ryan, and returning guest Mathew (aka Ginohino), as they talk about this psychedelic trip into the metaphysical and philosophical quandaries of budding internet culture in the late '90s.

On this episode of Recommend or Refute, John revisits True Lies (1994) after 20 years of maintaining a double life that prevented him from watching it, Ryan talks about his bonding experience sharing T2: Judgement Day with his son among a few other family firsts, and Dixon lights some candles at his Nic Cage shrine as he talks about the differences between Renfield (2023) and Vampire's Kiss (1988)...

Dixon, John, and Ryan are dropped off on the opposite side of The Warriors. Stranded with only their afterthoughts, they must talk their way through the grime of this 1970s New York City cult film, its influences on pop culture, and even the video game that revitalized it in the early aughts.

Hot on the heels of our Dirty Harry episode, the Afterthoughts crew brings some fitting titles to Recommend or Refute. Ryan decided to revisit Clint Eastwood's directorial debut with Play Misty For Me (1971) , Dixon slowed his heart rate down so he properly attune to Andrei Tarkovsky's sci-fi masterpiece Solaris (1972) , and John found another Loose Cannon Cop flick (nowhere near as good as Dirty...