Overinvested

This week, Gavia and Morgan discuss millennial children's classic "The NeverEnding Story," Wolfgang Petersen's adaptation of Michael Ende's bestselling novel. They delve into the making of the film, critique its wobbly plot structure, compare it to other beloved fantasy films of the 1980s, and more.

This week, Gavia and Morgan discuss "The Empty Man," an under-seen horror gem from 2020 rapidly approaching cult status. Directed by David Prior and starring James Badge Dale and Marin Ireland, this film follows an ex-cop whose investigation into a missing teenager leads him deeper and deeper into a mysterious cult. Topics include the film's tortured production history and delayed release, its pro...

This week, Gavia and Morgan discuss the classic anime film "Akira" (1988), directed by Katsuhiro Otomo. Topics include the film's storied production history and rich worldbuilding, its influence and legacy, and its allegorical treatment of nuclear war.

This week, Gavia and Morgan discuss acclaimed German film "System Crasher," starring Helena Zengel as a traumatized girl living in a series of residential homes for troubled children. Topics include the film's sensitive handling of its young protagonist and the system attempting to help her, director Nora Fingscheidt’s approach to working with a child actor, other films about wild children, and mo...

This week, Gavia and Morgan discuss Rose Glass' critically acclaimed debut feature, the indie horror flick "Saint Maud," starring Morfydd Clark as an intensely religious hospice nurse and Jennifer Ehle as her terminally ill patient. Topics include the film's sensational technical accomplishments, superb performances from Clark and Ehle, the film's engagement (or lack thereof) with Catholic iconogr...

This week, Morgan and Gavia discuss Preston Sturges' gloriously cynical screwball classic "The Lady Eve," starring Barbara Stanwyck as a con artist and Henry Fonda as her gullible mark. Topics include Sturges' unique approach to romantic comedy, this film's place within the genre of films about competent women romancing dolts, Barbara Stanwyck's dazzling career, and much more.

This week, Morgan and Gavia discuss the first installment in Alan Pakula's paranoia trilogy, the 1971 film "Klute," starring Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland. Topics include Fonda's career and star persona, the film's relationship to both the paranoia thriller genre and to second wave feminism, its depiction of sex work, and more.

This week, Gavia and Morgan discuss the beloved 2011 alien invasion movie "Attack the Block," written and directed by Joe Cornish and starring John Boyega and Jodie Whittaker. Topics include the film's superb screenplay and slick direction, its smart fusion of genre and social commentary, Boyega's breakout performance and star persona, and more.

This week, Gavia and Morgan investigate what went wrong with David Lynch's adaptation of Frank Herbert's mammoth fantasy novel "Dune." They discuss the film's tormented production history, the peculiar and not tremendously good film that resulted, Lynch's disavowal of the finished product, and more.

This week, Gavia and Morgan take a critical look at Oscar darling "Promising Young Woman," the debut film from Emerald Fennell that stars Carey Mulligan and Bo Burnham. Topics include the film's dubious approach to rape revenge narratives, its generally lackluster screenplay, its hollow aesthetic, and more. (TW for discussions of rape and sexual violence)

This week, Gavia and Morgan revisit one of their favorite films, Tomas Alfredson's 2011 adaptation of John le Carré's classic novel, "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy." Topics include the masterful adaptation of the book by screenwriters Peter Straughan and Bridget O'Connor; superb performances from a cast including Gary Oldman, Mark Strong, and Colin Firth; stupendous production design and costuming; an...

This week, Gavia and Morgan dive into Wong Kar-wai's masterpiece "In the Mood for Love," starring Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung as star-crossed lovers in 1960s Hong Kong whose spouses are having an affair. Topics include the film's rich visual language, its influence on current cinema, stunning performances from Leung and Cheung, and much more.

This week, Gavia and Morgan discuss the 2019 anime film "Promare," from Studio Trigger. Topics include the film's queer subtext, its electrifying visuals, the many unexpected twists of its screenplay, and much more.

This week, Gavia and Morgan dive into the nineties classic "Men in Black," directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones as special agents tasked with supervising Earth's alien population. They discuss the film's political subtext, the star personas and winning performances of its lead actors, Sonnenfeld's visual panache as a director, and more.

This week, Gavia and Morgan break down "WandaVision," the MCU's first show on Disney+, starring Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany. They consider its place in the wider Marvel universe, critique its lack of depth, and much more.

This week, Gavia and Morgan discuss John Cassavetes' 1977 film "Opening Night," starring Gena Rowlands as an alcoholic actress struggling with a lead role in a Broadway play. Topics include Cassavetes' fascinating career, his collaboration with Rowlands, the film's treatment of the theater, and much more.

While we wait to discuss Wandavision next week, please enjoy this rerun episode from a couple years back about one of our favorite films, Todd Haynes' "Velvet Goldmine." Topics include our history with the film; its relationship to David Bowie, "Citizen Kane," and Oscar Wilde; career-defining performances from Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Ewan McGregor, and Christian Bale; and more.

This week, Gavia and Morgan discuss Warwick Thornton's film "Sweet Country," an Australian neo-Western examining colonialism and starring actors including Hamilton Morris, Sam Neill, and Bryan Brown. Topics include the film's engagement with the Western genre, its unflinching and intelligent depiction of racism, the role of women in the film, and more.

This week, Gavia and Morgan discuss Craig Roberts' indie dramedy "Eternal Beauty," starring Sally Hawkins as a woman with paranoid schizophrenia. Topics include the film's stylistic influences, its frustrating treatment of mental illness, performances by Hawkins, Billie Piper, and David Thewlis, and much more.

For their 200th (!) episode, Gavia and Morgan take a trip to James Cameron's celebrated epic "Titanic." They discuss the trope-laden but irresistible romance between Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron's dictatorial directing style, the phenomenon surrounding the film and its stars after its release, and much more.

This week, Gavia and Morgan discuss the 1993 animated film "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm," an extension of "Batman: The Animated Series." Topics include the film's relationship to the TV series, its homages to classic American and German cinema, its approach to the familiar cast of Batman characters, and much more.

This week, Gavia and Morgan discuss Sidney Poitier's highest-grossing film, "A Patch of Blue" (1965), in which Poitier stars as a man who befriends a young, blind white woman played by Elizabeth Hartman. They discuss Poitier's storied career, the film's complex treatment of race and disability, Hollywood in the 1960s, and much more.

This week, Gavia and Morgan revisit Kenneth Branagh's classic 1993 adaptation of William Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing," starring a glitzy ensemble of actors including Branagh himself, Emma Thompson, Denzel Washington, and many more. Topics include Branagh and Thompson's peculiar careers, Shakespeare on film, the influence of Shakespeare's comedies, and more.

This week, Gavia and Morgan share their picks for the top 10 films of 2020, highlighting a range of films that have sadly not gotten their due this year as a result of the pandemic shutting down theaters. They discuss their choices, which include indie features in a range of genres, documentaries, foreign language films, an animated movie for children, and more.

This week, Gavia and Morgan finally watch Christopher Nolan's much-delayed blockbuster "Tenet," starring John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, and Kenneth Branagh. They, alas, bemoan its incoherent plotting, lousy treatment of women, muddy sound design, and more.