Small Beans

Here’s the premise. Maggie chose a movie for Adam and Adam chose a movie for Maggie. The goal was to choose a movie that encapsulates their co-host. Then, the chooser finds out if the other can decipher why they chose that film. For Adam, Maggie chose the 1998 British village film, Waking Ned Devine, about finding out who won a lottery. For Maggie, Adam chose the Kevin Spacey vehicle, The Life of...

Michael, Abe, and the current head of videos at Cracked.com, Jordan Breeding, take a look at 2012’s Seven Psychopaths. They discuss the similarities of Quentin Tarantino’s films and the films of director Martin McDonagh, the joy of writing, and problematic aspects of the movie. It’s like if Tarantino and Charlie Kaufman (Adaptation, Being John Malkovich) made a movie. After this episode we’ll prob...

Written and read by Michael Swaim. Score by Davey Francis. Table of Contents: 0:00 - Introduction & Acknowledgements 2:00 - The Show Must Go On... 25:30 - ...And It Goes Like This (A Fable) 1:04:10 - Dear Jane 1:39:30 - Cosmosis 2:05:40 - Cost Of Living 2:50:40 - Serenity Prayer 3:13:40 - Selected Poems

Yeah! Abe’s gonna talk about lines! Lines of Speed! Strap yourself into a chair and prepare to be lifted into the air at 50 mph! Alright, everyone calm down. It’s not that impressive. It’s just Abe talking about how the affinity of lines and visual motifs in this 90’s blockbuster classic are both thought out and thematically resonate. After which, you will hypothetically know how to frame camera i...

The Rough Stuff gang invites Adam Ganser to share his awkward stories from days past. As a bonus, Adam and Sarah unwittingly foster a therapy session for Bridgett. The gang discusses how effective, or ineffective, rather, the sexual education of their formative years were. In any case, be assured that Sarah’s mother will text her once she listens to this episode. Rough Stuff: https://twitter.com/r...

*We are releasing this show's pilot episode for public consumption. If you'd like to hear more, subscribe to our Patreon!* We here at Small Beans have reached out to Professor Scott Bug, Master of Ceremonies of Science at the Dumby Institute of Perfections, who kindly agreed to begin this podcast in the hopes of bringing scientific joy and wonder to all of us. Today, we discuss sound and have the...

Perhaps the most important evil car horror film you’ll ever see, John Carpenter directs the 1983 adaptation of King’s Christine. Michael and Abe talk about how they accomplished the car regeneration sequence and wax poetic about the simplicity of the story, albeit absolutely insane and dumb. Get up in this grill, ya shitters! Features: Michael Swaim: https://twitter.com/SWAIM_CORP Abe Epperson: ht...

A very special episode featuring the film that explodes the franchise into spin-off. This episode was recorded live on YouTube on Dec. 20th, edited now for your podcast format listening enjoyment. You can find the full version here, on the Small Beans YT channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDjt5fUlBCc&t=1s&ab_channel=SmallBeans. Bridgett and Sarah discuss the raw sex energy of the two leading...

Our patrons have spoken! This episode takes the family movies that were watched in their youth. Also, listen for a lengthy list of producers, so if you pay more than $10 here, hear your name read on the silver headphones. Maggie chooses a film from 1966 starring Don Knotts. Adam chooses an ice skating movie. So everyone’s all over the place. Lastly, ‘tis the season to take index of your life, so M...

Katie Goldin, host of the Creature Feature Podcast, joins the beans for an examination of the tropes of animated bug movies. Along with the absolute nonsense that is Bee Movie, the gang also talk about Antz and A Bug’s Life in order to see how these movies succeed or fail their basic premise and how their real life counterparts form socially. We ant to know: are you ready for bugstravaganza? Jerry...

Our long time bean and collaborator, Katy Stoll, the producer of Some More News stops by the pod and talks about westerns, Sam Raimi, the 1990s, and how long it’s been since we last saw each other. Sam Raimi’s 1995 film released right at the beginning of the 90’s western revival but is unique in its homage to spaghetti westerns. The film is undeniably a gleeful mix of 30-year-old tropes and Raimi’...

Thinner has 15% on rotten tomatoes. Is it that bad? Michael and I discuss how this film fails and how it actually succeeds, and they place it on their on-going ranked list of the Stephen King canon. Stephen King once again proves himself as the master of Americana horror, even though this film never resonated with audiences. Also, we talk about our thanksgiving dinners because we didn’t talk to ea...

Adam’s turn! He takes a look at the film Drive (2011) and examines how through the use of staging, editing, and deploying a clear tone, Nicolas Winding Refn took a mediocre script and made it worth watching. Drive demonstrates a mystique around its main character, a fast-paced story, and a truck-load of style. The soundtrack rips too. Abe sits back and cracks some yuks. Features: Adam Ganser: http...

In this episode, the franchise finishes its run with a $250 million movie and with it, the technical completion of this podcast. Bridgett and Sarah cover the movie and say farewell… OR DO THEY?! Actually, we have plans for Hobbes and Shaw, so it’s not really over, but let us all congratulate Sarah on becoming a fury-head like the rest of us. They both offer final thoughts on the main canon, look f...

Production note: This episode was recorded before the election. BOLD is a podcast about race and justice in America, and a collaboration between Small Beans and Showing Up For Racial Justice, produced by White People 4 Black Lives. In this special Mailbag Episode, co-hosts Dahlia Ferlito and Ivette Alé answer listener questions! Main Theme by Rachael Cantu and Melantopia. Art by Michael Vincent Br...

Our patrons have spoken! This episode covers films that are improved by a second watching. Adam’s approach examines how films seen in the right state of mind alters how it resonates with you. Maggie touches on how the marketing and expectation of a film will tarnish your initial viewing. This description writer’s takeaway is that we should never market films and only watch them when they’re releva...

Adam and Abe discuss Sam Raimi’s Drag Me To Hell. Abe walks us through a few sequences and the tactics Raimi uses to spook us time and time again. Adam asks the very important question: what’s with all the mouth stuff? Abe doesn’t so much answer as continue to talk about cool tricks one could use to make their own Raimi homage. Features: Adam Ganser: https://twitter.com/therealganz Abe Epperson: h...

In a rare TV-based Frame Rate, Alex Schmidt, host of the Secretly Incredibly Fascinating podcast, joins Michael and Abe to discuss the British sitcom Peep Show. We chose the secretly incredibly funny episode “Wedding.” The gang discusses how this show influenced their own comedy and why if you haven’t seen it, you probably should. Features: Alex Schmidt: https://twitter.com/AlexSchmidty Michael Sw...

Last month we talked with Bridgett’s parents so it’s only fair that we investigate Sarah’s youth by talking to the Griffiths. Bridgett takes over the podcast and discusses from whence Sarah was forged. We learn that all Griffiths are thespians, all very talented, and Sarah severely wanted to be a mail carrier before she found her true calling. Sarah’s parents determine that their child has no sham...

The Shining tale continues with writer/director/editor Mike Flanagan’s Doctor Sleep. We didn’t know all along it’s Stephen King’s X-Men! Seriously, Danny and Abra running around solving ghost crimes and killing psychic vampires would be amazing. Michael and Abe breathe deep of the delicious movie steam and discuss what makes this film a success, how it differs from Kubrick’s The Shining, and the l...

The Race Wars are back, baby! Join Sarah and Bridgett in their examination of the 7th installment of the Fast and Furious franchise: Furious 7. Sarah argues that these are Star Wars movies. Bridgett realizes the podcast is entering the final stretch and Sarah will be just as Furious-knowledgeable as she is. Also, they’re making 11 of these movies. THE FURY WILL NEVER STOP. Features: Sarah Griffith...

Jason “David Wong” Pargin joins Abe and Michael to discuss 2014’s Nightcrawler. Jason brings his knowledge of working for local news affiliates and the boys discuss the finer nuance of the sociopath Lou Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal). Written and directed by Dan Gilroy, the film takes a snapshot of pure ambition, opportunism, and ultimately how they benefit abusers and destroy those in their wake. Also,...

Abe walks us through the early 2000's and the development of that era’s neo-noir look, how technology facilitated its dominance over the box office, and why Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was both an adopter and a trailblazer in this visual movement. Also, Jim Broadbent was a chair in this movie. Name another movie that’s true. Thought so. The book that Abe references in the episode is “Th...

Maggie and Adam dig deep and muster a couple of films that they love to hate and explain why they deserve such vitriol. Do you agree or do you love the films they love to hate? Or rather, do you hate that they love to hate them? Wait, do you hate-love, no. That’s not it. Jeepers, you got it the first time. Listen in and find out what the films are! Adam’s is Signs! Dag, I screwed up again. Topic b...

Brooks returns to discuss Charlie Kaufman’s second film as a director: “Anomalisa.” The gang tries to decipher its thesis and stacks it up against his other work. There’s a lot to love in this film: the voice acting, the stop-motion, and the production design, but all take a back seat to the story and meaning of the film. Does it work? Did you enjoy watching it? Is Abe an absolute snob? Everyone:...