Movie Gumshoes

When a string of bizarre disappearances and grisly discoveries leads the Gumshoes to investigate the events of Barbarian , Detective Jonathan becomes convinced he's cracked the case after reading only half the file. Despite his endless list of red flags, terrible instincts, reckless confidence, and an uncanny ability to make every situation worse, the Captain inexplicably leaves him in command of...

Assigned to give an anti-drug presentation to a class of impressionable third graders, rookie detective Jonathan "Sourdough" Manno makes the catastrophic mistake of preparing by watching Warriors of Virtue (1997), a fantasy film about a disabled boy who is transported to the mystical land of Tao and learns lessons about virtue, self-discipline, and resisting evil from a band of kung-fu kangaroos....

In this thrilling episode of Movie Gumshoes, the detectives crack the case file to investigate Prey, the explosive 2022 science-fiction action horror film directed by Dan Trachtenberg and written by Patrick Aison. Set in the Northern Great Plains in 1719, the film serves as a gripping prequel to Predator and follows Naru, a fierce young Comanche played by Amber Midthunder, as she hunts a deadly al...

In this episode of Movie Gumshoes, Jared and his overeager rookie partner Jonathan “Sourdough” Manno crack open the case file on The Black Phone, which Jonathan insists isn’t just a movie, but “evidence hiding in plain sight.” As they investigate the film, Jared lays out the facts: it’s a 2021 American supernatural horror film directed by Scott Derrickson, co-written with C. Robert Cargill, and ba...

In this episode of Movie Gumshoes , Jared and Jonathan investigate Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves starring Chris Pine, zeroing in on Edgin’s tragic mistake of stealing cursed gold from the Red Wizards, a decision that ultimately cost him his family. As they dig deeper, they’re sidetracked by the bizarre late-added cameo from Bradley Cooper, filmed after production wrapped, which Jared...

In this episode of Movie Gumshoes , tensions flare when veteran detective Jared grows increasingly irritated with his rookie partner, Jonathan “Sourdough” Manno, who is more focused on perfecting his tap dancing routine for the precinct talent show than on their cases. The constant clatter of tap shoes echoing through the station pushes Jared to his limit, sparking a plan to regain Jonathan’s atte...

Jared and Jonathan are settling in for a quiet night at the precinct when the phone rings. On the other end is a calm but unsettling voice belonging to a man who calls himself Mobius . The caller gives them a strange demand: watch the 1997 film Lost Highway , directed by David Lynch. The gumshoes initially brush the call off as a prank from some late-night movie crank. But before hanging up, Möbiu...

Veteran movie detective Jared “Ballistic" Jackson and overeager rookie Jonathan “Sourdough” Manno uncover a bizarre cinematic case involving the chaotic cult project Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie . What begins as a simple investigation quickly spirals into a tangled reality involving multiple timelines and failed ambitions. Jonathan becomes convinced the film is less a movie and more about...

The Gumshoes roll into the Feed Bag Diner just after midnight, neon buzzing, grill still hot, and the air thick with secrets and grease. They’re supposed to be laying low, but trouble finds them fast when a panicked short-order cook reports a noise coming from the walk-in freezer. Inside, they find Dirty Deborah , shivering, while locked in the deep freeze alongside a suspiciously untouched meat d...

The night the Gumshoes planned to clock out early and celebrate Jonathan's birthday was the morning the precinct locked them in. Rookie detective Jonathan “Sourdough” Manno, chasing what he swore was “just a cultural research link,” accidentally downloaded a rogue virus from an Estonian mail-order bride website, corrupting Clippy, the precinct’s overworked AI computer. Within seconds, the windows...

When the precinct is suddenly “restructured” and every desk, badge, and filing cabinet is handed over to chimpanzees, veteran gumshoe and his overeager partner Jonathan “Sourdough” Manno find themselves fighting for their jobs in a department that has gone completely bananas. At first, it seems like just another ill-advised pilot program, until the chimps begin contracting rabies and the station d...

In this week’s case file, the Movie Gumshoes investigate Bullet Train (2023) , a slick, neon-splattered hit job starring Brad Pitt as a world-weary assassin who just wants a quiet shift. Detective Ballistic slams the brakes early, arguing Pitt, Hollywood royalty with an Oscar on the mantle has been reduced to punching tickets on a hyper-stylized popcorn express, a flashy cash-grab racing on charm...

In this week’s case file, Jared and rookie detective Jonathan “Sourdough” Manno investigate Jeepers Creepers: Reborn , a movie so cursed it’s still trapped in an active crime scene. What starts as a routine reboot quickly turns into a legal nightmare involving an ongoing lawsuit between Myriad Pictures and Infinity Films over who actually owns the franchise, with both sides arguing over rights, co...

The precinct is quiet, too quiet, until Captain storms into the bullpen holding a Blu-ray copy of Evil Dead Rise like it’s Exhibit A in a homicide trial. Turns out there’s a special event tonight: a father–daughter movie night. His kid wants to watch Evil Dead Rise (2023)… and the Captain, proud but deeply concerned, wants to know if the film is child appropriate . The Captain, never one to read a...

Chaos hits the precinct when the Captain finally takes his first vacation in twelve years, leaving behind an empty office, an unwatered ficus, and a mountain of overdue paperwork. But before the Gumshoes can enjoy a rare moment of peace, something far more sinister slinks out of the shadows: Dirty Deborah. Deborah the precinct archivist breaks into the captain’s office, swipes his entire wardrobe...

In this episode of Movie Gumshoes , Jonathan storms into the precinct with breaking news: the owner of The Skin Job —Tortilla Flats’ most questionable strip club—has allegedly landed on the Epstein list , and the FBI needs them to detain him. Jared, sensing immediate danger, complications, and probably glitter, decides they need a training refresher on how to apprehend a high-profile suspect witho...

In this episode of Movie Gumshoes , the detectives dive into the neon world of Tron: Ares , which is the third film where Jared Leto stars as Ares, a program sent from the digital realm into the human world, directed by Joachim Rønning and filmed under the codename “Dust Bunny” in Vancouver. But while they investigate, Jonathan quietly battles his own crisis: his AI girlfriend, Synthia.exe, has le...

The precinct is in chaos. Detective Santiago the precinct's top detective, legendary for solving three cold cases before his morning coffee, has vanished without a trace. The Captain calls in the only dimwitted duo reckless enough for the job: Detectives Jared “Ballistic” and Jonathan “Sourdough” Manno. The Captain delivers the bad news: Santiago has been spotted in the Junk wearing a velvet robe...

When a battered Atari cartridge turns up at the precinct labeled “Top Secret — Project Cloak & Dagger,” veteran detective Jared “Ballistic” Jackson and partner Jonathan “Sourdough” Manno are called in to decode it. What starts as a simple nostalgia trip soon spirals into a full-blown Cold-War mystery — complete with imaginary operatives, vanishing fathers, and a kid convinced he’s living insid...

A string of bizarre restaurant robberies leaves staff tied up like Sunday roast, Detectives Jared “Ballistic” Jackson and Jonathan “Sourdough” Manno stake out the Feedbag Restaurant to catch the elusive Tangler — a criminal with a flair for knots and perfect timing. But when Dirty Deborah joins the operation with her case files (and questionable expertise in ropework), tensions rise faster than fr...

When the Movie Gumshoes set out to investigate Ben Leonberg’s haunted-house dog flick Good Boy (2025) , things go sideways before the opening credits roll. Rookie Jonathan shows up with what he proudly claims is a new K-9 recruit named Ballistic —Jared’s old nickname from his wilder days. Trouble is, the “dog” turns out to be a rabid coyote swiped from behind the Feed Bag dumpster. Within minutes,...

In this hard-hitting case of Movie Gumshoes , Jared and rookie detective Jonathan lace up their boots to investigate The Long Walk (2025), Stephen King’s chilling dystopian tale brought to the screen by Francis Lawrence. The precinct archivist Dirty Deborah joins the case file, adding her broken moral compass to the mix. Together, the trio dissect the film’s oppressive atmosphere, Cooper Hoffman’s...

Back at the precinct, Jonathan can’t help but strike up a conversation with the Captain. He explains that he sees himself and Jared like Harrison Ford and Josh Hartnett in Hollywood Homicide —two detectives with double lives. “They’ve got homicide,” Jonathan says, “we’ve got movies. We clock out of real cases and moonlight as movie investigators. Same thing, just cooler jackets.” The Captain humor...

Jonathan and Jared hit the Dinoplex theater to catch the pint-sized Toxic Avenger reboot. But before the mop-wielding mutant can even clean house on-screen, a disgruntled patron stands up mid-show. He tells the whole crowd they’re “better than this movie” and urges everyone to walk out, claiming it’s nothing but a waste of time. Now back in their office, the Movie Gumshoes sift through the fallout...

The precinct is in chaos after a bizarre night at the movies. Detectives Jared Jackson and rookie Jonathan “Sourdough” Manno were assigned to investigate the latest cinematic crime scene: Zach Cregger’s Weapons . But their field operation was sabotaged by none other than precinct archivist Dirty Deborah , who, instead of quietly enjoying the screening, orchestrated an impromptu orgy in Row G. Amid...