All The Right Movies

Verhoeven, who grew up under Nazi occupation, made a film about fascism so straight-faced that critics at the time accused it of the very thing it was mocking. John, Westy, and Matt continue the story as the war turns desperate. We dig into the crew behind the film — the screenplay loosely drawn from Heinlein, Basil Poledouris's score, and the Oscar-nominated creature effects — before breaking dow...

Would you like to know more? John, Westy, and Matt begin the story of the bug-blasting blockbuster that a lot of people completely misread, and the satire hiding in plain sight. In Part 1 we cover the film's opening, director Paul Verhoeven, the cast, and the second act — including the chiselled young cast, the deliberately fascistic propaganda interludes, and the war against the bugs ramping up....

That station chase is one of the great set pieces De Palma ever staged, and the film's been quietly climbing the ranks of his work ever since. Luke, Westy, and Matt continue the story. We dig into the crew behind the film — the screenplay, Patrick Doyle's score, and the bravura cinematography behind the escalator finale — before breaking down the ending, the lukewarm initial reception, and its lat...

A reformed gangster just wants out, and the world won't let him go. Luke, Westy, and Matt begin the story of Brian De Palma and Al Pacino's elegiac crime drama. In Part 1 we cover the film's opening, director Brian De Palma, the cast, and the second act — including Pacino's quietly doomed Carlito, Sean Penn buried under a perm and glasses, and De Palma building the whole film around an ending you...

The film won Oscars for its sound and cinematography precisely because Weir's obsession with authenticity put you on the deck in the middle of the storm. John, Westy, and Matt continue the story, picking up as the Surprise closes on its quarry. We dig into the crew behind the film — the screenplay drawn from Patrick O'Brian's novels, the classical-led score, and the award-winning sound and visual...

Peter Weir built a working replica of a 19th-century warship and put his cast to sea on it, because half-measures were never going to cut it. John, Westy, and Matt begin the story. In Part 1 we cover the film's opening, director Peter Weir, the cast, and the second act — including Russell Crowe's Captain Aubrey, Paul Bettany's ship's surgeon Maturin, and the extraordinary, immersive recreation of...

That bus jump over the unfinished overpass was a real stunt, ramp and all, and it became one of the defining action images of the nineties. Luke, Westy, and Matt continue the story as the threat moves off the bus and onto the rails. We dig into the crew behind the film — the screenplay, Mark Mancina's score, and the stunt and effects work behind the set pieces — before breaking down the finale, th...

The pitch is almost stupidly simple: a bus that explodes if it drops below 50mph. Luke, Westy, and Matt begin the story of the lean, mean action machine that made Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock stars. In Part 1 we cover the film's opening, director Jan de Bont, the cast, and the second act — including the lift-shaft prologue, Dennis Hopper's gleeful villain, and the bus picking up speed with no w...

The film won an Oscar for visual effects while spending almost nothing, beating the year's biggest spectacles. John, Westy, and Matt continue the story, picking up at Ava's quietly chilling endgame. We dig into the crew behind the film — Garland's screenplay, the unsettling score, and the seamless, award-winning effects work behind Ava — before breaking down the finale, the reception, and the film...

Alex Garland's directing debut cost a fraction of most blockbusters and is smarter than nearly all of them. John, Westy, and Matt begin the story of his chamber-piece masterclass in artificial intelligence. In Part 1 we cover the film's opening, director Alex Garland, the cast, and the second act — including Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac, and Alicia Vikander locked together in a glass house, and t...

The third act turns a quiet English village into a full-blown action movie, and the gun fu was choreographed with total seriousness. Luke, Westy, and Matt continue the story. We dig into the crew behind the film — the Wright and Pegg screenplay, the score, and the famously rapid-fire editing that defines Wright's style — before breaking down the finale, the reception, and the film's place in the C...

Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg watched a frankly absurd number of action films as research, and you can feel every one of them in the result. Luke, Westy, and Matt begin the story. In Part 1 we cover the film's opening, director Edgar Wright, the cast, and the second act — including Pegg's by-the-book supercop exiled to a sleepy village, Nick Frost's Danny, and the murders that aren't accidents. The...

Waltz's performance was so good Tarantino said it saved a film he'd nearly given up on, and it won him an Oscar. John, Westy, and Matt continue the story, building to the night at the cinema. We dig into the crew behind the film — Tarantino's screenplay, the eclectic curated soundtrack, and Robert Richardson's cinematography — before breaking down the explosive finale, the Cannes and awards recept...

Quentin Tarantino sat on this script for years, convinced he couldn't crack it, before rewriting history entirely. John, Westy, and Matt begin the story of his audacious war fantasy. In Part 1 we cover the film's opening, director Quentin Tarantino, the cast, and the second act — including that masterful opening dairy farm interrogation, Christoph Waltz's star-making Hans Landa, and Tarantino's ch...

This was McDonagh's first feature, made by a celebrated playwright with no film behind him, and it announced a major screen voice instantly. Luke, Westy, and Matt continue the story as Ralph Fiennes's Harry arrives. We dig into the crew behind the film — McDonagh's Oscar-nominated screenplay, Carter Burwell's mournful score, and the cinematography that turns Bruges into a character — before breaki...

It's a fairy-tale town, and two hitmen are stuck there hating every minute of it. Luke, Westy, and Matt begin the story of Martin McDonagh's pitch-black comedy of guilt and gunmen. In Part 1 we cover the film's opening, director Martin McDonagh, the cast, and the second act — including Colin Farrell's restless Ray, Brendan Gleeson's contemplative Ken, and a job gone horribly wrong hanging over bot...

Alan Rickman's terrified fall was filmed by genuinely dropping him a beat earlier than he expected, and the reaction is real. John, Westy, and Luke continue the story, picking up at the rooftop showdown. We dig into the crew behind the film — the screenplay adapted from a novel, Michael Kamen's score, and the practical stunt and effects work behind the tower — before breaking down the finale, the...

Welcome to the party, pal. John, Westy, and Luke begin the story of how a film starring the guy from Moonlighting accidentally rewrote the rulebook for the action movie. In Part 1 we cover the film's opening, director John McTiernan, the cast, and the second act — including Bruce Willis as the reluctant everyman hero, Alan Rickman's screen debut as Hans Gruber, and Nakatomi Plaza becoming a charac...

The film was sold as an action movie and got someone so annoyed they sued, which tells you exactly how it subverts expectations. Luke, Westy, and Matt continue the story. We dig into the crew behind the film — the screenplay adapted from the novel, the synth-pop soundtrack that became a phenomenon, and the cinematography that bathed LA in neon — before breaking down the finale, the Cannes receptio...

A stuntman moonlights as a getaway driver, says almost nothing, and becomes one of the coolest characters of the decade. Luke, Westy, and Matt begin the story of Nicolas Winding Refn's neon-soaked thriller. In Part 1 we cover the film's opening, director Nicolas Winding Refn, the cast, and the second act — including Ryan Gosling's near-silent Driver, the dreamy LA atmosphere, and the sudden, shock...

A Bond film ends not with an explosion but with a broken heart and a famous final line, and it reset the whole franchise. John, Westy, and Matt continue the story. We dig into the crew behind the film — the screenplay with an uncredited Paul Haggis polish, David Arnold's score, and the stunt work behind the action — before breaking down the Venice finale, the reception that won the doubters over,...

How do you reboot the most famous character in cinema when half the audience has already decided your new lead is wrong for the part? John, Westy, and Matt begin the story of how Daniel Craig silenced everyone. In Part 1 we cover the film's opening, director Martin Campbell, the cast, and the second act — including the fan backlash before a frame was seen, the stripped-back take on Bond, and that...

Every spaceship, every space station, every convincing bit of weightlessness in cinema owes something to a film made before the technology to do any of it really existed. Stanley Kubrick simply invented what he needed. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), co-written with Arthur C. Clarke, gave us HAL 9000, the most famous match cut in film history, effects that still hold up half a century on, and an end...

One, two, Freddy's coming for the second half. Luke, Westy, and Matt continue the story of Craven's nightmare, turning to the people who built it and that wild, debated finale. We dig into the crew behind the film — the screenplay, the score, and the ingenious practical effects behind the rotating room and the bed geyser — before breaking down the ending, the box office that saved New Line, and th...

Whatever you do, don't fall asleep. Luke, Westy, and Matt begin the story of how Wes Craven took a real-life news story and turned it into one of horror's most enduring nightmares. In Part 1 we cover the film's opening, director Wes Craven, the cast, and the second act — including the birth of Freddy Krueger, a young Johnny Depp's debut, and the cash-strapped indie production that launched a horro...