At The Movies Archive

Project Hail Mary" has been a hit movie this spring, and so HCC film professors Marie Westhaver and Mike Giuliano consider the reasons why in this podcast episode. In this sci fi adventure, Ryan Gosling gives a fine performance as a middle school science teacher whose academic background prompts government officials to send him on an outer space mission to study a mysterious alien force that likes...

Emily Bronte's 1847 novel "Wuthering Heights" has inspired various film versions over the years, and now the latest iteration stars Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi as the ill-fated lovers on the Yorkshire Moors. In this podcast episode, HCC film professors Marie Westhaver and Mike Giuliano get all academic with their page-to-screen analysis. Although Marie and Mike have their share of negative obse...

The South Korean director Park Chan-wook made an international name for himself with "Oldboy," and he has continued to tackle edgy material. In this podcast episode, HCC film professors Marie Westhaver and Mike Giuliano talk about his new film, "No Other Choice." It's about a longtime paper company employee who is suddenly downsized and embarks on an extreme form of revenge. Marie and Mike agree t...

In this podcast episode, HCC film professors Marie Westhaver and Mike Giuliano go on at length about the lengthy "Avatar: Fire and Ash." They have mixed feelings about this latest installment in James Cameron's blue-hued franchise, because they think the immersive 3-D filmmaking yields wonderful action sequences, yet the dramatic scenes suffer from ponderous dialogue. Marie and Mike also discuss "...

The Broadway musical "Wicked" spawned a two-part movie version. Part I was a box office hit in 2024 and now "Wicked: For Good" is a box office hit in 2025. In this podcast episode, HCC film professors Marie Westhaver and Mike Giuliano take a long walk on that Yellow Brick Road as they discuss the things they like and the things they do not like about this colorful spectacle. They're in strong agre...

"Bugonia" is the fourth collaboration between director Yorgos Lanthimos and actor Emma Stone. If you've seen any of their earlier films, such as "Poor Things," you know that strange is the norm for this duo. HCC film professors Marie Westhaver and Mike Giuliano share their mixed reaction to the sci fi-themed "Bugonia" in this podcast episode. They're careful to avoid any plot spoilers, but it's sa...

In this podcast episode, HCC film professors Marie Westhaver and Mike Giuliano acknowledge that director Paul Thomas Anderson lives up to his reputation for making audacious films with "One Battle After Another," in which Leonardo DiCaprio plays a middle-aged former revolutionary who now lives as a recluse in the northern California woods. Loosely inspired by a Thomas Pynchon novel, this lengthy,...

As self-professed film nerds, HCC film professors Marie Westhaver and Mike Giuliano were primed to see "Highest 2 Lowest," director Spike Lee's reworking of the classic 1963 Akira Kurosawa film "High and Low." In this podcast episode, Marie and Mike talk about what's the same and what's different in the two versions. Although they often agree to disagree on the merits of the new version, they agre...

Genre-related questions link the two films discussed by HCC film professors Marie Westhaver and Mike Giuliano in this podcast episode. Writer-director Ari Aster, best known for the 2019 horror hit Midsommar, blends multiple genres in Eddington, where Joaquin Phoenix portrays a small-town New Mexico sheriff during May 2020. This contemporary Western, pandemic-era story, and political satire explore...

Brad Pitt is a 61-year-old movie star who is still a winner, as he proves in his formulaic Formula 1 star vehicle F1. Although this movie's 2-hour 35-minute run time has more Pitt stops than it really needs, HCC film professors Marie Westhaver and Mike Giuliano agree in this podcast episode that Brad Pitt has lost none of his movie star appeal, and the movie itself really immerses you in the high-...

Tom Cruise is a 62-year-old action movie hero still capable of dangling from airplanes and punching out bad guys. In this podcast episode, HCC film professors Marie Westhaver and Mike Giuliano talk about "Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning," and, of course, they wonder if it will indeed be the final reckoning for this venerable franchise. Marie and Mike carp about the 169-minute running tim...

Director Ryan Coogler already has "Fruitvale Station," "Creed," and two "Black Panther" films to his credit, and so his latest film, "Sinners," was greatly anticipated. As, HCC film professors Marie Westhaver and Mike Giuliano note in this podcast episode, it has been a critical success and major box office hit. Set in Mississippi in 1932, Coogler's fusion of a blues-based drama and a vampire stor...

South Korean director Bong Joon Ho received so much acclaim for "Parasite" (2019) that expectations were high for his English-language, science fiction film "Mickey 17." In this podcast episode, HCC film professors Marie Westhaver and Mike Giuliano acknowledge that the film has a nifty premise involving Robert Pattinson as a lowly employee on a distant space station whose dangerous work frequently...

Looking back on the 2025 Academy Awards ceremony, HCC film professors Marie Westhaver and Mike Giuliano devote this podcast episode to its two biggest winners. "Anora" won five Oscars: Picture, Director for Sean Baker, Actress for Mikey Madison, Original Screenplay for Sean Baker and Editing for Sean Baker. Marie and Mike agree that the central performance is strong, as is the basic story about a...

Colson Whitehead's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel has been adapted to the screen by director and co-screenwriter Ramell Ross, and "Nickel Boys" proves to be as compelling on screen as it is on the page. In this podcast episode, HCC film professors Marie Westhaver and Mike Giuliano share their admiration for a film that adroitly handles tough subject matter about a notorious Florida reform school tha...

Bob Dylan arguably remains "A Complete Unknown" in this impressive biopic about the iconic and, yes, enigmatic musician. HCC film professors Marie Westhaver and Mike Giuliano devote much of this podcast episode to sharing their admiration for Timothee Chalamet's performance as Dylan. As with others in the cast, he did his own playing and singing. They also praise Edward Norton for his portrayal of...

The 2003 Broadway musical "Wicked" has been turned into a movie musical, but the cinematic "Wicked" is just Part I and Part II arrives a year from now. Although HCC film professors Marie Westhaver and Mike Giuliano agree that the 2-hour, 40-minute run time of Part I is excessive and, indeed, Mike grouses about franchise expansion, they also agree during this podcast episode that this movie has cro...

As a papal thriller, "Conclave" is a very entertaining film. HCC film professors Marie Westhaver and Mike Giuliano talk about it during a podcast episode in which they are careful not to reveal any spoilers in the intrigue-laden plot about cardinals gathering at the Vatican to elect a new pope. There are excellent performances by Ralph Fiennes, Isabella Rossellini, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow and...

It's daunting to realize that Tim Burton's "Beetlejuice" was released as long ago as 1988, but he now returns to that ghostly material in the aptly titled "Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice."  In this podcast episode, HCC film professors Marie Westhaver and Mike Giuliano agree that it's nice to have actors including Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder back again, as well as the visual cleverness one expects fr...

On this episode of At the Movies, our hosts Mike and Marie discuss sci-fi franchise thriller, 'Alien: Romulus' and Zoe Kravitz's directorial debut feature film 'Blink Twice'. The two tackle new ideas revolving around AI's role in cinema, discuss whether or not the Alien franchise has lost its once terrifying shock factor it became so popular for back in 1979, and also give their opinions of optimi...

"Deadpool & Wolverine" is an R-rated superhero movie that breaks the fourth wall and makes fun of itself. Although Marie loves it and Mike thinks it quickly wears thin, they agree that "Deadpool & Wolverine" knows how to really please an audience. Marie and Mike also discuss "MaXXXine," which is a sequel to "X" and "Pearl." This grungy installment follows Maxine Minx, an ambitious young po...

Audiences sat in rapt silence as aliens attacked humanity in "A Quiet Place" (2018) and its 2021 sequel. HCC film professors Marie Westhaver and Mike Giuliano agree that the prequel, "A Quiet Place: Day One," is justified and that it is anchored by a strong performance by Lupita Nyong'o as a sick woman trying to survive on the devastated streets of Manhattan. Marie and Mike also discuss Yorgos Lan...

Considering that this franchise goes all the way back to 1068, the latest installment, "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes," still remains an interesting sci fi exercise in a near-future world in which the apes are civilized and the humans are, well, rather primitive. In this podcast episode, HCC film professors Marie Westhaver and Mike Giuliano discuss a movie that will satisfy its fans in both te...

Set in the near future, "Civil War" is about a messy conflict in a deeply divided United States. Sound familiar? In this podcast episode, HCC film professors Marie Westhaver and Mike Giuliano agree that the film does not fully realize the political potential of its premise, and yet fully realizes the visceral power of accompanying several photojournalists who take a risky road trip from New York t...

In 1938 a British stockbroker, Nicholas Winton, organized the rescue of 669 children from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia and these children were sent to safety in Great Britain. This true story is the basis for "One Life," which HCC film professors Marie Westhaver and Mike Giuliano discuss in this Podcast episode. Anthony Hopkins is terrific as the elderly Winton in 1987 thinking back on his life; J...