Films for Today

Following past discussions on individuality, intellectualism and the malleability of human attention, this week's episode examines Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton's 2006 tragicomedy Little Miss Sunshine to contemplate our proximity to satisfaction in spite our respective troubles. Contact Us Email: contact@jimmybernasconi.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/filmsfortoday/

This week’s episode seeks to consolidate previous discussions about intergenerational and inter-ideological solidarity in its examination of Sam Peckinpah’s iconic 1969 revisionist Western, The Wild Bunch . We also briefly discuss: The Leopard (1963) d. Luchino Visconti Predator: Badlands (2025) d. Dan Trachtenberg Contact Us Email: contact@jimmybernasconi.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/...

Following recent conversations about the apparent weaknesses of liberal democracies when confronting sudden crises, this week's episode examines Yorgos Lanthimos' newest film, Bugonia, and contemplates the necessity of alarmist sociopolitical rhetoric. We also briefly discuss: Save the Green Planet (2003) d. Jang Joon-hwan Contact Us Email: contact@jimmybernasconi.com Instagram: https://ww...

In light of Kathryn Bigelow’s new political thriller A House of Dynamite , this week’s episode explores how Steven Spielberg’s 1975 classic Jaws reveals the inherent weaknesses of democracy in times of crisis. We also discuss: A House of Dynamite (2025) d. Kathryn Bigelow Contact Us Email: contact@jimmybernasconi.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/filmsfortoday/?hl=en

In this week's special episode we are joined by director Ali Gill and producer Aimie Sullivan to discuss their new short film, Party Animal, an innovative satire exploring the structural absurdities that underpin contemporary communication. Contact Us Email: contact@jimmybernasconi.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/filmsfortoday/?hl=en

With LFF 2025 now coming to a close, this week's episode focuses on one of the most highly anticipated and beloved features screened at this year's festival: Joachim Trier's Sentimental Value . We also briefly discuss: Jay Kelly (2025) d. Noah Baumbach Love+War (2025) d. Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi & Jimmy Chin Hamnet (2025) d. Chloé Zhao Contact Us Email: contact@jimmybernasconi.com...

Building upon many past discussions about the seemingly hopeless pursuit of love in the modern world, this week's episode centres on Andrzej Żuławski's semi-erotic, unhinged horror from 1981, Possession. Contact Us: Emails: contact@jimmybernasconi.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/filmsfortoday/?hl=en

With the release of One Battle After Another, this week's episode revisits recent explorations of performance and false realities through the lens of Paul Thomas Anderson's 2012 psychological drama, The Master. We also briefly discuss: One Battle After Another (2025) d. Paul Thomas Anderson Contact Us Email: contact@jimmybernasconi.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/filmsfortoday/

Consolidating on last week's explorations on blame and pursuing true reality, but through a diametrically opposite aesthetic lens, this week's episode attempts to explore the infinite depth of Satoshi Kon's 1997 anime film, Perfect Blue. Contact Us Email: contact@jimmybernasconi.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/filmsfortoday/

With the release of the latest Stephen King adaptation, The Long Walk , this week’s episode on a landmark of Hollywood cinema that has held its place in the number 1 spot on IMDb’s Top 250 for 25 years straight: The Shawshank Redemption . We also briefly discuss: The Truman Show (1998) d. Peter Weir Contact Us Email: contact@jimmybernasconi.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/filmsfortoday/

With the release of Ari Aster's highly anticipated intense examination of the contemporary political landscape, Eddington , this week's episode discusses both the justifications for and the potentially detrimental risks of contemporary activism. We also briefly discuss: The Sweet East (2023) d. Sean Price Williams Contact Us Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/filmsfortoday/?hl=en Email:...

Following last week's brief mention of the neorealist movement in 1970s Los Angeles, this week's episode focuses on Charles Burnett's Killer of Sheep to explore the multidimensionality of social rebellion. Contact Us Email: contact@jimmybernasconi.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/filmsfortoday/

Following recent conversations on the importance of creating authentic art, this week's episode switches focus in discussing Thom Andersen's 2003 documentary, Los Angeles Plays Itself, and reflecting on how significantly inactive attention can not only obfuscate reality but impact society. We also briefly discuss: Bless Their Little Hearts (1983) d. Billy Woodberry Contact Us Email: contact@jimmyb...

In light of current intergenerational divides, mixed in with recent conversations about the ever-haunting burden of existential thinking, this week's episode focused on Nicholas Ray's 1955 classic, Rebel Without a Cause , to contemplate how comforting older generations might be when we face objective uncertainty. Contact Us Email: contact@jimmybernasconi.com Instagram: https://www.instagra...

Featuring friend of the show Christopher Smol, this week's episode focuses on Paul Schrader's 2017 psychological drama, First Reformed , among a few others that similarly explore the burden of moral imperatives felt by alienated individuals confronting wide-scale problems. We also briefly discuss: Winter Light (1963) d. Ingmar Bergman Diary of a Country Priest (1952) d. Robert Bresson Nigh...

In light of Matthias Glasner's new film, Dying, as well as recent conversations on the potentially transcendent nature of human identity, this week's episode focuses on Alexander Payne's 2004 romantic dramedy, Sideways , to contemplate why creative expression might be crucial to our relationships with others. We also briefly discuss: Dying (2024) d. Matthias Glasner Death in Venice (19...

Following recent conversations on love and the elusiveness of fixed human identities, this week's episode focuses on Krzysztof Kieślowski's highly-acclaimed The Double Life of Veronique to contemplate our seemingly inevitable and dynamic interconnectedness. We also briefly discuss: The Conversation (1974) d. Francis Ford Coppola Black Narcissus (1947) d. Emeric Pressburger & Michael Po...

Following recent conversations on the prospective emergence of novel formidable entities (namely AI), this week's episode examines John Carpenter's 1983 sci-fi classic The Thing , to contemplate what human societies might do when seamlessly infiltrated by evil. We also briefly discuss: Alien (1979) d. Ridley Scott Videodrome (1983) d. David Cronenberg Hellraiser (1987) d. Clive Barker Jura...

Following numerous references to Babylon on various past episodes, it feels necessary to dive deeper into Damien Chazelle's perceptive epic and contemplate how it may prove to be a masterpiece of tomorrow. We also briefly discuss: Singin' in the Rain (1952) d. Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly Boogie Nights (1997) d. Paul Thomas Anderson Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse (1991) d...

Following past discussions on confronting modern life through the eyes of children, this week's episode focuses on Michael Haneke's Palme d'Or-winning film, The White Ribbon , to contemplate the sinister art of making false claims to innocence. We also briefly discuss: The Innocents (1961) d. Jack Clayton Remains of the Day (1993) d. James Ivory The Zone of Interest (2023) d. Jonathan Glazer The C...

Following recent discussions on the lovelessness of modern society, this week's episode examines Jeff Nichols' 2012 coming-of-age drama, Mud , to contemplate how we might be able to overcome the apparent love-forsakenness of the contemporary Western world. We also briefly discuss: The Beach (2000) d. Danny Boyle 28 Years Later (2025) d. Danny Boyle Close (2022) d. Lukas Dhont Contact Us Em...

Following some fairly recent episodes on the persistence of subjective experience, this week's episode examines Elia Kazan's 1954 classic, On the Waterfront, to contemplate the interconnectedness of truth and the conscience. We also briefly discuss: Jerry Maguire (1996) d. Cameron Crowe The Insider (1999) d. Michael Mann Contact Us Email: contact@jimmybernasconi.com Instagram: https://www....

Following recent conversations on toughness, intelligence and love, this week's episode centres on Miguel Arteta's elevated coming-of-age rom-com, Youth in Revolt, to revisit (once again) Carl Jung's concept of "the shadow". We also briefly discuss: Me, Myself and Irene (2000) d. Bobby and Peter Farrelly Contact Us Email: contact@jimmybernasconi.com Instagram: https://www.ins...

Combining recent conversations about ambition and discovering hidden emotional depths, this week's episode contemplates how Gus Van Sant's iconic 1997 film, Good Will Hunting , considers what desires we have to fight the hardest for. We also discuss: Paterson (2016) d. Jim Jarmusch Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) d. Don Siegel Contact Us Email: contact@jimmybernasconi.com Instagram:...

Following recent episodes on subjectivity, postmodernism and beauty, this week's episode examines the manifestations of these concepts in the 2007 Disney Pixar film Ratatouille. We also briefly discuss: Inglourious Basterds (2009) d. Quentin Tarentino Licorice Pizza (2021) d. Paul Thomas Anderson Contact Us Email: contact@jimmybernasconi.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/filmsfortoday/