Can We Still Be Friends? – A Movie Podcast

Nate and Ryan re-watch Everything Everywhere All at Once. In addition to being the top nominated movie at this year’s Oscars (11 nominations), Everything Everywhere All at Once is also one of our favorite movies from last year. Despite, or maybe because of its mind-bending multiversal action, audiences flocked to see it… Continue reading

For their annual Holiday episode, Nate and Ryan re-watch the ultimate Christmas movie: A Charlie Brown Christmas. It’s the first TV special on this podcast, and there couldn’t be a more fitting choice. A staple since it’s debut in 1965, A Charlie Brown Christmas has brought joy and melancholy to generations. Listen… Continue reading

Nate and Ryan discuss You’ve Got Mail to celebrate this year’s annual T. Hanksgiving! Rom-Com Tom Hanks won America’s hearts throughout the ’90s, so listen in as Nate and Ryan take a look at Hanks and Meg Ryan at the peak of their powers. Directed and written by Nora Ephron… Continue reading

Nate and Ryan celebrate their 9th Holiday Spooktacular by watching Get Out, Jordan Peele’s 2017 Oscar-winning horror contemporary classic. We’re continuing our Back to School series with another movie that Ryan teaches in his high school class. Listen in as we discuss the philosophical and social implications in Peele’s razor-sharp writing… Continue reading

Nate and Ryan revisit No Country for Old Men, the Coen brothers’ 2007 Best Picture Oscar winner. No Country for Old Men is one of the movies Ryan teaches in his high school class, so for our September episode, Nate wanted to go back to school and hear what Mr. Ebling has… Continue reading

Nate and Ryan invite long-time friend Andrew Johnson in to discuss 2001’s Josie and the Pussycats, a flop when it was released 21 years ago, but now a film that many are rethinking as its lasting impact is more apparent. Andrew has championed Josie ever since he first saw it in college,… Continue reading

Nate and Ryan invite Kris Hiew in to talk about Top Gun, the 1986 hit whose recent hit sequel has Tom Cruise wowing audiences again. Kris and Nate have a long history with Top Gun and bring all that childlike wonder into the conversation. With the sequel, Top Gun: Maverick proving to be… Continue reading

For their first volume of underappreciated movies, Ryan and Nate discuss Spencer and Happy Go-Lucky. Listen in as they discuss two powerhouse performances that are criminally underrated. While quite different in tone, both movies feature women who are trying to navigate worlds that don’t know what to do with their unique… Continue reading

For this episode, Nate and Ryan watch the most recent Best Picture winner, CODA. Its story of a deaf family portrayed by deaf actors is an important step in diverse representation and storytelling. Even before its historic Oscar win for Troy Kotsur – the first deaf man to win an… Continue reading

Nate and Ryan talk about Hayao Miyazaki’s Oscar-winning masterpiece, Spirited Away. Miyazaki is undoubtedly a legend of cinema, and with Spirited Away celebrating the 20th anniversary of its US release, the time is perfect to revisit one of the most iconic animated films of all time. Whether it’s the first time or… Continue reading

For their 100th episode, Nate and Ryan name the movies that have defined them as people and as movie-watchers. After a century of episodes over 8 years, Nate and Ryan haven’t really talked about how certain movies have shaped them over the course of their lives. With the help from… Continue reading

As Nate and Ryan prepare to share the five movies that define them in their 100th episode, they check in to share a few of their favorites from 2021. We also invite you to share the movies that define you (however you define that). Give us all 5 or just… Continue reading

For this year’s holiday celebration, Nate and Ryan watch a staple from their childhood, Home Alone, the 1990 smash hit directed by Chris Columbus and written by John Hughes. An annual tradition for many people, is Home Alone a movie people can even talk about objectively? Listen in as they discuss what … Continue reading

For this year’s T. Hanksgiving, Nate and Ryan watch Tom Hanks’ writing and directing debut That Thing You Do! Dripping in ’60s nostalgia, That Thing You Do! tells the story of The Wonders a fictional rock band who rise to the top of the charts with the titular song. Even though That… Continue reading

It’s our 8th annual Holiday Spooktacular and this year, Nate and Ryan are talking about a true horror classic: The Silence of the Lambs, celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. One of the rare horror movies to be nominated for Best Picture, The Silence of the Lambs is in even rarer company… Continue reading

Nate and Ryan welcome Watson Jones III to discuss The King’s Speech, 2010 winner of the Best Picture Oscar directed by Tom Hooper. The King’s Speech was a somewhat improbable winner in an especially strong movie year. It was in that backlash-filled atmosphere that many people watched Colin Firth act his way… Continue reading

Nate and Ryan are back with a brief update for the next episode and a response to a listener question about our 2014 episode about The Avengers. Listen in as they revisit their predictions and reactions from 7 years ago and reflect on how their ideas hold up now that the… Continue reading

Nate and Ryan welcome Ryan’s long-time friend Dr. Bradley Rettler to discuss Hamilton, the 2015 Broadway hit that made its film debut on Disney+ in 2020. Listen in as they discuss what there is to love about Lin-Manuel Miranda’s complex musical, what is different about watching the show 6 years later,… Continue reading

Nate and Ryan welcome Phil Vickers back to talk about Labyrinth, one of Phil’s favorite childhood movies, that also happens to be a Jim Henson classic that is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year.  Nate and Ryan don’t have the long history with the movie that Phil does, so they discuss… Continue reading

Nate and Ryan share that they took a small break and discuss what they’ve been watching so far this summer. Don’t forget to watch Labyrinth with us as we prepare for our next episode with special guest Phil Vickers! Labyrinth is available to stream on HBOMax or check your local library. Continue reading

Nate and Ryan welcome very special guest Kelsey Ebling (Ryan’s wife) to discuss The Tree of Life, Kelsey’s most recent favorite movie. In 2011, The Tree of Life was Terrence Malick’s long-awaited return after more than a decade, and his semi-autobiographical mediation on grief, God, and grace was highly praised by… Continue reading

Nate and Ryan welcome Andrew Milam and Nate Cox from the Two Beards Please podcast to discuss MASH and Pollock. Andrew and Nate each picked a movie that has been influential on their lives, and we give them the Can We Still Be Friends treatment. We help the Beards dig… Continue reading

Nate and Ryan discuss the 1988 Eddie Murphy classic Coming to America and its 2021 sequel, Coming 2 America. The original is held in high regard, but the sequel has received mixed reviews, even by ardent fans of the 1988 smash hit that cemented Eddie Murphy’s place as a comedy… Continue reading

Nate and Ryan presented an hour-long talk on the best movies available on the free streaming services Kanopy and Hoopla, which many people can access through their public libraries. The presentation was hosted virtually by Wauconda Area Library in Wauconda, IL. It was an honor to be asked to present… Continue reading

Nate and Ryan discuss Steve McQueen’s ground-breaking anthology series Small Axe. In a Can We Still Be Friends first, we watch and discuss 5 movies as one, and only a masterpiece like Steve McQueen’s Golden Globe nominated series could compel us to attempt something so monumental. Listen in as we break down… Continue reading