Jason and the Movienauts

In the latest episode of their discussion of Robert Altman's classic Nashville , Bud steers Opal next door to Studio B, where Lily Tomlin's Linnea is singing with a gospel choir from Fisk University. Jason Sacks and Dan Story compare the loose, joyful energy there with Haven's tightly controlled session, unpack Opal's improvised missionary story and Bud's barely-straight-faced...

Jason and Michelle wrap up their series on Douglas Sirk, Hollywood's master of melodrama, by counting down all 13 Sirk films they covered, from the noir thrills of Lured to the towering tearjerker Imitation of Life . They agree on seven spots, including #1 and #13, but the biggest fight is over Written on the Wind: Jason puts it at #6, while Michelle, for whom it's her all-time favorite Si...

In the latest episode of their minute by minute discussion of Robert Altman's epochal film Nashville, Haven stops everything to have Opal thrown out of his studio, and Nashville gives us its first burst of overlapping dialogue. Jason Sacks and Dan Story explain the Lion's Gate 8-track sound system behind it, ask how far "I'm Opal from the BBC" could get you in 1975, and look...

Jason Sacks, Paul McCoy and Shawn Hill continue their journey through the films of John Carpenter with his late-’90s pair: Village of the Damned (1995) and Vampires (1998). Neither is anyone’s new favorite Carpenter. The verdict is “very, very okay.” But there’s plenty to dig into. Village of the Damned was a work-for-hire job. Universal offered it in exchange for a Creature from the Black Lagoon...

In the latest discussion of Robert Altman's brilliant Nashville , Haven Hamilton finally takes the mic, recording his bicentennial anthem "200 Years," and Jason Sacks and Dan Story ask whether it's the most pandering song in Robert Altman's Nashville. They read Joan Tewkesbury's screenplay description of Haven, size up Henry Gibson's controlling star and meet Bud and...

Jason Sacks and Michelle wrap up their Douglas Sirk series with his most personal film, 1958's A Time to Love and A Time to Die . Based on Erich Maria Remarque's novel, it follows a young German soldier on a three-week furlough through a bombed-out Germany in 1944, where he falls fast and hard for Elizabeth. Is Sirk imagining the life of the son he lost on the Eastern Front? Do American ac...

Twelve musicians. Four backup singers. One man in white rhinestones watching every one of them like a hawk. In episode 3 of It Don't Worry Us , Jason Sacks and Dan Story step into Haven Hamilton's dark, cramped recording studio. That's minutes 2:30 to 4:00 of Robert Altman's Nashville , where one elegant tracking shot tells you everything about the king of country music. Is "2...

Jason Sacks and Eric Haufman dig into Shohei Imamura's first and third films, both from 1958: Stolen Desire and Endless Desire . Made as Nikkatsu studio assignments with titles that have nothing to do with the movies, they're still unmistakably Imamura: energetic, earthy, darkly funny portraits of Japan's underclass. We compare Stolen Desire 's chaotic traveling theater troupe to F...

In this second episode of It Don't Worry Us , Jason Sacks and Dan Story dig into the opening scene of Robert Altman's Nashville , where Hal Phillip Walker's campaign van pulls out and winds through the city. They unpack the Replacement Party's populist, folksy rhetoric against the backdrop of Watergate-era distrust and 1970s inflation, comparing Walker to Ross Perot and modern outs...

Announcing a new podcast from the people who brought you Jason and the Movienauts ! Search for "It Don't Worry Us" in your podcast feeds! What happens when two movie obsessives decide that watching Nashville once—or even a dozen times—isn't enough? Jason Sacks and Dan Story begin their minute-by-minute journey through Robert Altman's sprawling 1975 masterpiece. Along the way,...

Douglas Sirk's movies look like glossy Hollywood melodramas—but what happens when you start looking beneath the surface? Jason and Michelle dig into Interlude (1957) and Imitation of Life (1959), examining Sirk's complicated relationship with stars who weren't necessarily great actors, his use of mirrors and reflections, and the devastating social commentary hiding inside seemingly con...

In this episode of Jason The Movienauts, the John Carpenter team tackles one of Carpenter'ss most enduring films: They Live . Jason, Paul, and Shawn discuss why the movie’s deliberately cheap-looking B-movie aesthetic, Roddy Piper’s unlikely leading-man performance, and Carpenter’s straightforward filmmaking make it so effective. They explore Piper’s chemistry with Keith David, the film’s icon...

In this episode of Jason and the Movienauts, Michelle and Jason dive into two beautifully similar Douglas Sirk melodramas: Written on the Wind and The Tarnished Angels . We talk about wealth, desire, obsession, and the damaged characters at the heart of both films—including the unforgettable performances of Rock Hudson, Robert Stack, and Dorothy Malone. What makes these characters so compelling—an...

Jason Sacks, Paul McCoy, and Shawn Hill dig into the second two-thirds of John Carpenter's Apocalypse Trilogy: Prince of Darkness and In the Mouth of Madness . With Shawn watching both films for the first time, the hosts unpack Carpenter's blend of theology, quantum physics, and cosmic horror in Prince of Darkness — from its "Jesus was an alien" mythology to its unsettling practi...

Is the web-slinger’s latest cinematic outing a masterpiece or a mismatched digression? Join hosts Jason Sacks and Eric Hoffman as they dive deep into the latest Tom Holland Spider-Man film. The duo breaks down why this blockbuster’s emotional core and stunning, real-world New York visuals represent a massive return to form. But it’s not all praise—the hosts pull no punches when dissecting the film...

In this episode of " Jason the Movienauts ," hosts Jason Sacks and Michelle analyze two classic melodramas by director Douglas Sirk: 1955's All That Heaven Allows and 1956's There's Always Tomorrow . They discuss how All That Heaven Allows tackles social hypocrisy, suburban conformity, and patriarchal expectations through a widow's romance with a younger gardener. Turning...

In this episode of "Jason the Movienauts," hosts Jason Sacks and Eric Hoffman contrast the kinetic fury of Shohei Imamura's 1961 satire Pigs and Battleships with the domestic claustrophobia of his 1964 film Intentions of Murder . Pigs and Battleships uses a post-war American naval base, corrupt yakuza, and a swarm of hogs to critique Western modernization. Transitioning to Intentions...

Jason, Paul, and Sean continue their John Carpenter journey with a sharp, funny double feature: the misfiring Memoirs of an Invisible Man and the beloved chaos of Big Trouble in Little China . They dig into Chevy Chase’s awkward bid for dramatic credibility, the movie’s impressive invisible effects, Sam Neill’s scene-stealing presence, and Carpenter’s flashes of style inside a frustratingly dull p...

Eric is back again, and the guys are digging into Japanese film again, continuing their look at two classics by the great Shōhei Imamura: The Insect Woman and History of Postwar Japan as Told by a Bar Hostess . Both films are fascinating portraits of Imamura's favorite topics: Japan as a member of the underclass, and as a woman, as the country went through massive change. The guys dig deep int...

Michelle is back and we're starting to move into the prime period of Douglas Sirk's filmmaking. Sirk was famous for his melodramas that played with identity, a place in a fixed society, and the balance of responsibilities and dreams. His films <i>Taza, Son of Cochise</i>, <i>Magnificent Obsession</i> and <i>All I Desire</i> each explore those ideas in df...

Paul and Shawn are back to talk John Carpenter movies. This time we're looking at two films that were more commercial for the master horror director: Christine and Starman . Shawn's husband has a tattoo of the car from Christine , so you can guess what Shawn's opinion of the film was. I was surprised by Paul's reacttion to Starman , which triggered a fun little debate among the guy...

Eric is back, and this time the guys are not discussing Japanese films! Instead, they decided to explore a pair of films directed by Alan Rudolph, a filmmaker mentored by Robert Altman and who directed some fascinatinhly odd films over his long career. Eric and Jason decided to take a look at two Rudolph films which explore interesting historical figures: Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle and The...

Michelle is back, after she and Jason finished their epic watch of Billy Wilder films -- make sure to go back and listen to their rating list of Wilder movies if you haven't heard it yet! So it was time to start a look at a new director for this pod, and who better than Michelle's all time favorite director, Douglas Sirk? Jason has enjoyed some of Sirk's melodramas, but never took the...

Carlos and Jason saw Backrooms together. After the film they got together for an in-depth conversation about that film, about the seeming transition of the film industry in America, and what that might mean for the future. Warning: this is an optimistic episode!

Carlos is back, and he's kind of burning up ready to share his comments about Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood , the Tarantino classic that has some deep and frustrating flaws according to Carlos. What are the flaws? Give the pod a listen, think about them, and then let us know what you think. Also, major warning about SPOILERS for this episode.