Cows in the field

Crimewave summer continues with Sofia Coppola's film about celebrity thieves! We discuss the movie in the context of Coppola's filmography, her artistic motivations and the creative aspirations of the criminals the movie is about, criminal deniability, and, of course, Leslie Mann! It's all fun and games until someone gets a reality tv show. Follow us on Twitter! Buy a cows shirt on Thr...

DePalma, Stone, Pacino, Montana. We are joined by Glenn Kenny (author of The World is Yours: The Story of Scarface ) to discuss excess, capitalism, happiness, tigers, sunken bathtubs, cocaine economics, and also the movie Scarface! Is it "Scar-face" or "Scarf-ace"? Who knows! Join us! Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

The guys from Die Hard on a Blank are here to kick off CRIMEWAVE SUMMER and talk all things John Dillinger with us! Crime doesn't pay, but it sure is sexy, ain't it? We unpack several themes of the film: encroaching modernity, the birth of modern celebrity, looking to the past through the lens of the present. Also, we explore the magical look of the movie, due in large part to its unique u...

Let us all worship at the Church of Baseball! We are joined to talk Bull Durham by Noah Gittell , author of the recent book Baseball: The Movie. We discuss the film's love of the game, its exploration of life after retirement, parenthood, expiration dating, learning how to breathe out of our eyelids, Annie Savoy's timeless style, and Laura's newfound crush, Kevin Costner. Buy Baseball:...

Let's get it started, in the TUB! We sit down with Mitchell Beaupre (Letterbox'd) to discuss male friendship, regrets, the allure of youth, reliving our best and worst days, the comic genius of Crispin Glover, and what happened in Cincinnati! Follow Mitchell on Twitter! Follow us on Twitter! Buy a cows shirt on Threadless! Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

What's a moody anti-Western got to do with mythmaking, outlaws, celebrity, bold robbers, parasocial relationships, betrayal, guilt, capitalism, Roger Deakins, Brad Pitt, and Casey Affleck? A lot, it turns out! Join us and Edward Lewis to explore the contours of Andrew Dominik's retelling of the end of Jesse James' life. We on Twitter! We on the web! Advertising Inquiries: https://redci...

Nicolas Cage has been on a run of making several movies a year for decades now, and Sympathy for the Devil is one of his latest experiments, a pulpy chamber piece road trip mystery suspense film co-starring Joel Kinnaman. We sit down with the film's director Yuval Adler (who also happened to get his PhD in philosophy from Columbia in the 90s!) and welcome back Matt Strohl (Philosophy, U. Monta...

Today we explore the dark recesses of the human soul with Agnes Callard (Chicago). We discuss von Trier's minimalist staging, the movie's parable, the duality of human nature, the lies we tell ourselves and others, the film's political angle, and the role of anger in response to true evil. Cows on Twitter! Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

John Milius's 1984 film Red Dawn has a reputation as being a jingoistic conservative fever dream, but we talk with Nat Hansen, who argues that its political outlook is more complex and more interesting. Along the way, we also discuss the film's portrayal of masculinity, the toll of war, the film's many references, from The Battle of Algiers to Alexander Nevsky. Follow us on Twitter: @c...

We go BACK to Arrakis, desert planet, homeworld of the spice and the Fremen and keeper of Shai Hulud. We're joined again for the journey by major spice-head John DeVore to discuss Villeneuve's two films in relation to Lynch's 1984 version and Frank Herbert's book. Along the way, we consider the worm Uber, the possibility of bad trips with the Water of Life, the lack of St. Alia of...

Join us and critic Sean Burns to give out silly meaningless awards to our favorite films of 2023! Who will take home the top prize? Who will win best lisp? Tune in to find out! Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

We are joined by Fran Hoepfner (BW/DR, Fran Magazine) to experience the triumph and tragedy of the Von Erich family. We discuss wrestling (duh), Zac, brothers, fathers, bodies, cults, the American political circus, all while trying to figure out our wrestling names and signature moves. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Take the plunge with us and Veronica Fitzpatrick (BW/DR, Brown University) as we explore the moral complexities of narratives, relationships, and justice. Justice for Sandra? Justice for Samuel? Tune in to find out! Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

We're joined by two philosophers of art to discuss how they've helped each other come to a greater appreciation for this quirky but lovable entry into the Fast and Furious franchise. We discuss how art can change depending on the context in which it is embedded, and the ways the franchise could have gone after this film. We also compare notes on the different ways we've come to appreci...

The cows look back on 2023 with a Cows in the Field super-quiz -- how many questions can you get right?? Then, we reprise our Blair Witch episode, wherein we explore why the Blair Witch Project was the tenth highest grossing movie of 1999, why it took so long for Hollywood to capitalize on found footage horror, the nature of horror itself and why we desire to be horrified, as well as what makes th...

Join us and Emily St. James to discuss Fred Claus (streaming now on Max)! We marvel at the film's strange and unnecessarily complicated backstory about the cosmology of sainthood, discuss Santa Claus's moral epistemology, elf-yourself levels of CGI, why everyone deserves a second chance, and somehow spend five minutes discussing the phenomenon of "ugly hot". Advertising Inquiries:...

Time to get HUSH HUSH with Blake Howard ( One Heat Minute Productions ). Noir, moral compromise, postwar LA, the American Dream, police, the LAPD, Dante FREAKING Spinotti, and MORE! Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Joe is going to die. But he has a chance to be a hero, and live like a king. Only, that means he'll have to jump into a volcano. Is Joe's story all of ours? We sit down with Chad Perman (Founder of Bright Wall / Dark Room ) to dig into what makes this zany, existential, transcendent, hilarious, slapstick, profound movie so good. Along the way, we discuss the Kantian sublime, Heidegger'...

"The smaller the audience, the bigger the history." So, at least, said Tony Wilson, co-founder of Factory Records and larger than life character at the center of Michael Winterbottom's 2002 punk pseudo-music-doc, our topic today! We are joined by Professor of Italian Studies at Boston College to explore the pull of nostalgia, anticipated retrospection, how the film's blend of fact/...

James Cameron's terrifying and overwhelming sequel ALIENS is a rollercoaster that Roger Ebert called "absolutely, painfully and unremittingly intense." We sit down with Brendan Hodges to explore the film's power over us, what all that goo and slime means, the film's anti-bureaucratic "strong individualist" conservatism and second wave feminist ideology, its use of space...

It's just us for our one hundredth episode talking Sofia Coppola's The Virgin Suicides! We hit all the good stuff: suburban malaise, fear, control, parenting, childhood, Trip Fontaine's hair, memory, privacy, the joys of human connection, first loves, and Kathleen Turner! Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Have you ever wanted to know the TRUE story that inspired King Arthur? Did you know that Arthur was a freedom fighter battling for the independence of Britannia? Wait until you see what armor Guinevere preferred to wear into battle! And don't forget Tristan and his faithful falcon! Join us and Jon Gabrus ( High & Mighty , Action Boyz , 101 Places to Party Before You Die) to unpack this for...

Liam Billingham ( Die Hard on a Blank / OuevreBusters ) joins us to discuss Paul Verhoeven's meta-propaganda Brechtian war film Starship Troopers. We discuss the film's odd mixture of big budget VFX with soap opera stars, how it's three movies in one, the nature of meaning in a world devoid of conflict, and art that risks embarrassment. It's a squishy, gooey, fun time, so jump on t...

The Phantom Menace has weathered the highs and (mostly) lows of fan appraisal. Once derided, then reclaimed, where does it stand in 2023? We issue the definitive assessment: it is good (kind of). Matt Teichman (Elucidations Podcast) brings his colleague Jar Jar Binks along for the ride, as we discuss pod racing, queen wardrobes, lightsaber battles, Jedi Stoicism, ineffectual bureaucracy, and the a...

We sit down with my colleague Agustín Rayo (Professor of Philosophy, Dean of SHASS at MIT, and winner of the big number duel ) to discuss Alfonso Cuarón's autobiographical film, Roma. We discuss memory, dreams, guilt, class, background, lenses, digital formats, and, of course, Mexico City. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands