Kicking & Streaming

It's all Robin Williams all the time this August! The siblings kicking off Carie's birthday month with a film about a  charmingly funny and outrageously sad tale of a medical student whose treatment philosophy included a clown nose and laughter, Patch Adams (1998). Ross finds the ethical implications of some of his practices troubling, while Carie gets fussy over certain Hollywood revisions to the...

Ho-boy, major TRIGGER WARNING this week, lil onions. A lot of this is far from palatable. This week, we close out our theme of war-adjacent films with the political action thriller, Zero Dark Thirty (2012). Ross has the down low on Osama Bin Laden, his minions, and their tradecraft. Carie constantly vacillates between boredom and horror. Worst of all, the siblings have the unpleasant experience of...

The technology nostalgia is aging us today, lil Onions. This week, we go down another rabbit hole of information technology and artificial intelligence in the suprisingly dated film, War Games (1983). In addition to the archaic methods of hacking and computer science in this film, Ross is also deeply affected by the existence of Matthew Broderick. Carie cautions listeners about the dangers of beco...

This week, the siblings are disenchanted with the sequel to a much beloved film, Elizabeth (1998), Elizabeth: the Golden Age (2007). Not only does Sir Walter Raleigh leave much to be desired in Elizabeth I reign, but we're just not sure about the fact that this is three films haphazardly sewn together. Yes, it's Return of the Jesuits, but is it really the same commentary about a woman's hard-earne...

Ross is kicking off his war-related film theme this week with Olympus Has Fallen (2013) in which he bends over backwards to pay compliment to Angela Bassett and her solitary competency with running the secret service. Carie can't take the lack of writing in the principle project, and the siblings are reminded that it should always be substance over shooty shooty mcbang bang....] SUPPORT US ON PATR...

This week, the siblings finish off #JukeboxJune with one of Carie's sentimental favorites, Baz Lurhman's Moulin Rouge (2001). The siblings dive into the tale of burgeoning love in bohemian Paris at the turn of the 20th century. Carie is immediately caught up in the biconic nature of Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman's touching performances. Ross is moment to moment on what aspect of the film he disl...

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, LIL' ONIONS! This week we're continuing #JukeboxJune with a movie that is the epitome of drama and good, low-stakes fun, Mamma Mia (2008). Today, we follow the journey of young bride-to-be, Sophie, on her journey to find her birth father before she gets married. Ross is practically writing a love letter to Meryl Streep throughout the movie, Carie completely ignores Pierce Brosn...

*#JukeboxJune continues this week with one of the only non-Disney or Dreamworks animated films to win an Academy Award for Best Animated Film, Happy Feet (2006). Ross has more feelings than predicted about our favorite tap-dancing penguin with Elijah Wood's eyes. Carie is traumatized all over again by the mere existence of elephant seals. Furthermore, the siblings observe what happens when you sto...

To kick of a jukebox musical marathon, Carie and Ross attempt to understand how a visually stunning film with fantastic musical arrangements can lose THIRTY MILLION DOLLARS. That's right, it's Across the Universe (2007), a story about a cluster of bohemians navigating the turbulent world of 1960's America. Carie gets excited about Eddie Izzard's fabulous cameo, and less excited about Bono. Ross st...

To finish off AniMAY, we're talking about one of Carie's emotional favorite Ghibli films, Kiki's Delivery Service (1989). Ross is full of ennui about the fact that he's not living in a Studio Ghibli postcard, Carie addresses how the movie helps her cope with creative burnout and feelings of helplessness, and the siblings are blessed finally with an anime movie with little to no conflict that is a...

This week, Carie made Ross feel something with Belle (2021). We are following the tale of insecure teenager Suzu as she navigates the instant fame her singing voice earns her on the social media site known as U. Ross is moved by the music but cannot get over the logistics of LOGGING ON. Carie is filled to the brim with emotions at the prospect of someone being real on the internet. The solar eclip...

Calling all WEEBS! This week, lil' onions, we are covering one of Hayao Miyazaki's best films, Princess Mononoke (19  ). Admittedly, Ross did fall asleep in the middle of the movie, and yes, Carie does not have all the answers at the end of the day, but the film is still rife with valuable messages about environmentalism and empathy. Ross is a Yakul the Elk stan from the jump, and Carie tries to u...

HAPPY ANI-MAY LIL ONIONS!! Ross is very upset, because Carie is putting him through the visual feast of AKIRA (1988). Carie is committed to trying to make this mess of an anime adaptation make sense with Ross pointing out how NOTHING MAKES SENSE. Ross regularly struggles with keeping track of all the many characters—and Carie tries to make a larger metaphor to the idea of energy everlasting. Today...

To finish off Brat Pack month, the siblings break down one of the genre's most iconic titles, St. Elmo's Fire (1985). Carie is plagued by the dichotomy of attraction and revulsion to Rob Lowe's character. Ross wants answers for the injustices visited upon Dale Beiberman. By the end, neither sibling was clear on the exact message of the film, and they really hate that Rob Lowe gets exactly what he...

*LIL' ONIONS!* This week we're breaking down one of the greatest classics, John Hughes' iconic film about high school social structure and the effects of clique culture. It's The Breakfast Club (1985), everyone.  Carie recalls fawning over Judd Nelson as a teenager, Ross lays into the walking phallus known as Mr. Vernon, and the siblings remember the valuable lesson the film taught them about judg...

OOOF, we are ANGRY this week, lil onions. Ross and Carie have now seen John Hughes' 16 Candles (1984) for the very first time, and WE HAVE SOME NOTES! Carie is indignant on behalf of Molly Ringwald's character, Ross is beside himself over the horrifically unfunny comedy, and the siblings realize that when push comes to shove, they really should have covered Pretty in Pink instead.  SUPPORT US ON P...

We're kicking off Brat Pack month with the film that is said to have sparked the genre, The Outsiders (1983). The siblings re-examine one of the most central young adult dramas of their school years. Carie experiences the film with a completely different set of eyes, Ross makes a good point regarding the characteristics of the writing, and there will be far too much talk about Gone with the Wind f...

APRIL FOOLS, lil onions! We're actually off this week, but wanted to rerun a favorite episode from our Fool-Ass Films month a few years ago. Please enjoy a rebroadcast of Horrible Bosses or: How I Learned About Hostile Work Environments! If you're starved for new content this week, don't forget you can go support us on Patreon and INSTANTLY get two years of content for just $5 at the Lil' Onion ti...

Lil' onions, are you ready to hear Ross get emotional? This week we're ending dinosaur month with his favorite pre-historic film, Disney's Dinosaur (2000). Ross gets super juiced up by the James Newton Howard film score, Carie manages to draw comparisons to Sonny & Cher in relevant context somehow, and the siblings remark on how important the film's theme is to how we should all treat each oth...

This week, Carie and Ross break down an old favorite, The Flintstones, in which Ross comments more than once that this is a dinosaur story based on the labor of dinosaur characters in the narrative, and also the movie. Carie comments on the biconic nature of the film, mostly via John Goodman, and the siblings remember the value of a good prehistoric pun... PATREON!!!!!!!!!!!!

This week, we're weeping, lil onions! We're breaking down The Land Before Time (1988), a Don Bluth Stephen Spielberg George Lucas(?) animated feature about a mixed family of dinosaurs journeying to the promised land known as The Great Valley. Carie outlines some of the themes of the larger franchise, Ross is all in his feelings about how the movie plays his emotional strings, and the siblings are...

Who's ready to talk about DINO DNA, lil onions? We're kicking off the 2024 season with an absolute banger classic, Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park (1993). Carie is absolutely fascinated with the pseudo-science around gene manipulation in the film, Ross experiences a rollercoaster of visceral emotions from amorous to icked, and the siblings reflect on how the film is a commentary upon man's hubris...

To finish off the year, lil onions, Ross and I are unpacking Robert Zemeckis' truly terrifying adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic holiday tale, A Christmas Carol (2009). In addition to welcoming back a number of well-honored players to Kicking & Streaming, Carie remarks on what a surprise the movie was to her in theaters, Ross revels in the literary genius of Charles Dickens, and the sibli...

*This week, we unpack one of Tim Burton's finest films, Edward Scissorhands (1990). Ross gets a good boop of serotonin from a film he's not seen in many years, Carie has a less than charming head cannon about who Edward might have been modeled after, and the siblings examine the contrast of the beautiful and the spookable, and how the film's motif makes them less than mutually exclusive... SUPPORT...

This week, we're talking about Joe Dante's classic horror comedy, Gremlins (1984). Ross rediscovers his need to fight and die for the Mogwai, Gizmo, Carie derails the entire recording by making an unfortunate visual comparison, and the siblings debate whether or not the message of Gremlins is one of xenophobia, or simply one of horrific Yuletide silliness. SUPPORT US ON PATREON!