Death By Movies

Send a text Superman's arrival was the apotheosis of the contemporary comic book superhero, the character all superheroes after were measured against or reacting to. Yet for the character's massive pop cultural footprint across the decades, his cinematic legacy has been largely wonky at best and divisive at worst. What is it about the design of the character that makes him so tricky to a...

Send a text Jaws is one of the most effective and consequential motion pictures in this history of the medium, and an absolute staple around Fourth of July, so naturally we're giving the people what they want by devoting time to unpacking Jaws ' three widely dismissed and maligned sequels - Jaws 2 ,  Jaws 3-D , and  Jaws: The Revenge . Marnie Vinge ( Eerie Okie Podcast and author of  I R...

Send a text 1999 is regarded as one of the most consequential Hollywood movie years ever - bold films about identity and perception that play with the cinematic form ( The Matrix , Being John Malkovich , The Sixth Sense , just to name a few), and many from major studios connecting broadly with audiences. What a time! But a quarter century later, which major releases still hold up and admirably def...

Send a text James Oster (Jimmy O from JoBlo.com !) stops by on his spiky dirt bike thing and we ride away from the Podcast of Inaccessibility and across the wastelands of Internet movie discourse to talk George Miller's Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga , and have a wide-ranging conversation of topics including: How does Anya Taylor-Joy follow in the footsteps of movie stars like Lauren Bacall and Marl...

Send a text Marlena Williams (author of Night Mother: A Personal and Cultural History of The Exorcist ) shines in from across the country to talk about Stanley Kubrick's The Shining ! Are the conspiracy theories about the ghastly Overlook saga overblown, or is there any truth to them? Was Stanley Kubrick actually a cinematic puzzle maker, or was he actually more of a "vibes" guy? Wh...

Send a text How much sense does it make to try and recall Skinamarink a year and a half after seeing it? Is it truly a cursed film with the power to leave long lasting psychological scars or are these two grown-ass men just being little babies about it? What does it mean that filmmaking is entering a phase where filmmakers can now replicate and redesign basically any aesthetic from history? David...

Send a text After watching the 96th Academy Awards, Sanford flies solo to ruminate on and pontificate about one single question: are the Academy Awards a laughable and out of touch circle jerk or is there value to be found in one of Hollywood's oldest institutions? Nick on Instagram Nick on Letterboxd Elusive | Official Website Elusive | Stream Free on Tubi Elusive | Rent/Buy on Prime Video

Send a text The takes must flow! Actor/comedian Alex Sanchez ( The Praisedown ) and Dalton Stuart ( GoodTrash GenreCast ) stop by to talk about Denis Villeneuve's epic sci-fi film Dune: Part 2 with Nick Sanford, and shit gets WEIRD astonishingly quickly. What's the value of enjoying spectacle that gets real dark? Did this adaptation sand off too many edges from Frank Herbert's text,...

Send a text Nick Sanford flies solo to tell you why you should watch Rachel Lambert's Sometimes I Think About Dying , the new film starring Daisy Ridley from those space trek movies, by any means possible, be it at your local arthouse theater or renting it at home. This film and podcast episode deal peripherally with death and suicide ideation. If you’re thinking about suicide, are worried ab...

Send a text Scary movies aren't just for October. They can also be appreciated during the coldest month of the year - February! The Silence of the Lambs kicked off a Hollywood trend of releasing high powered horror films in the month of February, and Nick Sanford is joined by two distinguished guests - Keegan Parrish ( Monsterful Media ) and Dalton Stuart ( GoodTrash GenreCast ) - to draft an...

Send a text The Exorcist shocked audiences upon its initial release 50 years ago, but why and how? What made William Peter Blatty and William Friedkin the perfect dudes at the perfect time to bring this film to life? Is there a way to reverse-engineer the filmmaking of The Exorcist to find out why it was able to cast such a spell on moviegoers? Is that a worthy endeavor, or something only an idiot...

Send a text Godzilla Minus One sure is a good movie! What does it have in common with early Steven Spielberg blockbusters? Why is Godzilla such an enduring character? How do we fix Roland Emmerich's 1998 attempt at Godzilla? Keegan Parrish ( Monsterful Media ) stops by to talk the latest big lizard cinematic achievement as well as the history of the franchise. We also dive into Nick's &q...

Send a text Has Rotten Tomatoes ruined two decades worth of film discourse and reappraisal? Is Letterboxd the angel descended from movie heaven to save us all? How much do memes affect box office, and Jesus Christ how did we get here to even have to ask that question? Dalton Stuart (co-host of GoodTrash GenreCast ) and Nick Sanford hash out all of the above and plenty more, diving into the history...

Send a text Is it scientifically possible to become pregnant by looking at Burt Reynolds' mustache? Nick on Instagram Nick on Letterboxd Elusive | Official Website Elusive | Stream Free on Tubi Elusive | Rent/Buy on Prime Video

Send a text Is Margot Robbie the perfect movie star? What sets Barbie ’s approach to meta storytelling apart from other recent examples? What eye-rolling mental gymnastics can be used to connect Barbie to the 2019 film Joker ? If you love Barbie , this podcast is for you. If you hate Barbie , this podcast is for you. Nick on Instagram Nick on Letterboxd Elusive | Official Website Elusive | Stream...

Send a text Is there a science or psychology to the way we choose comfort movies, or are we insane and overthinking this? Is Titanic our generation's Star Wars ? Why does Regal Cinemas? Nick on Instagram Nick on Letterboxd Elusive | Official Website Elusive | Stream Free on Tubi Elusive | Rent/Buy on Prime Video

Send a text Does the non-linear structure help or hurt this film’s impact? What makes the Trinity test sequence feel so real and scary? Is Tom Conti the most important actor to ever happen in this history of the world? So put on your protective welder’s goggles and strap in, as we dig into all this and more, including the decision to not directly show the aftermath of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Oppen...

Send a text Can the "auteur theory" apply to actors like Tom Cruise? Is Rogue Nation the best of the franchise? Can an entire franchise be fairly covered in a single podcast episode? Was 1996 the best year to be John Travolta? Let's dive in (to the water server thing) and find out together! (Spoilers for all the M:I movies!) Nick on Instagram Nick on Letterboxd Elusive | Official We...