The Establishing Shot

What makes a great Christmas movie? This is a question we attempt to tackle this week as we review three Christmas movies elected by a few supporters of the show: The Star (2017), Eloise at Christmastime, and Die Hard. Through a brief review of each of these movies, each bringing their own unique Christmas vibes, we are able to see what really makes a good Christmas movie. Grab a cup of hot chocol...

In this special review/interview episode, we explore Stationed at Home, a new indie film that explores the connection of the cosmic to the everyday life of people in a forgotten town. Following cab driver Ralph as he awaits the passing of the International Space Station across the sky on a cold Christmas Eve, director Daniel Masciari and crew guide us on a journey through spaces and soul of Bingha...

Steven Spielberg is one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. Although his career started with a bang as he basically fathered the modern summer blockbuster with Jaws, it hasn’t been without its ups and downs. One thing that you can never take away from him, however, is both his genius behind the camera and his passion for his projects. In this bittersweet episode, we finish our Spielberg series...

The horror genre is a beloved one, and it is teeming with multitudes of subgenres. We explore all of these subgenres in this week’s movie draft. From slashers to paranormal to monster movies and more, the exploration of our fears and anxieties are taken on in these various forms. We draft everything from old classic Universal monster movies to modern horror hits and everything in between.  https:/...

Sometimes a new director comes out firing on all cylinders and puts out a great film with their very first feature film. In this week’s movie draft, we explore some great debut films from directors, everyone from Sydney Lumet, Rob Reiner, and even Sam Raimi may get shoutouts amongst other great directors! The main stipulation: no directors with less than 4 films (at the time of recording). As we l...

In Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans, we get a wonderful gift toward the end of his career. We get a skeleton key that unlocks the reasons behind so much of what we know and love about Spielberg and his storytelling. This film is the culmination of a career in so many ways for Spielberg, and it is truly a key to seeing so many of his films with an even wider scope. Not only that, but we get all the...

Movie Musicals used to be a staple of the movie industry, but despite them being far from driving the industry in modern times, we still have plenty of great ones! In this movie draft, we choose from 21st Century movie musicals, a draft inspired by our discussion of Spielberg’s West Side Story (which is the main honorable mention for this one). We take everything from adaptations of stage musical...

It was a lifelong dream of Spielberg’s to direct a musical movie, and even more specifically, to adapt West Side Story. The question of whether we needed another adaptation of this beloved stage musical is a legitimate one. But with his mastery of staging, composition, camera movement, and visual storytelling, Spielberg makes the case that not only was a new adaptation ok to do but that it was nee...

Motion Capture technology has been around since the late 90s in feature films, starting with Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Spielberg has had his own run of utilizing MoCap in various capacities with The Adventures of Tintin, The BFG, and Ready Player One. In lieu of that, we took the opportunity to do a movie draft where we drafted our favorite MoCap performances. Spoiler: Andy Serkis w...

At the point in his career where Spielberg took on the adaptation of the popular novel Ready Player One, he was due for another technological challenge. While not a Spielberg favorite or master work, there is no denying his touch on the movie (without which this project might have been doomed). Although this was a financial success and looked impressive, it got mixed reception and is most likely a...

Whether it is journalism, novels, songs, or even emails, there are a plethora of films that celebrate writers. With this movie draft, we aim to do the same thing! In this draft, we take our favorite “writers in movies”, using that category with creative freedom. This draft was originally done to go with a discussion of Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch, but this release is in accordance with a di...

When The Post was released in 2017, it was released into a political climate that was fraught with distrust and an anxiety about the loss of the freedom to seek the truth. Many wondered then if this based-on-a-true-story political thriller by Spielberg starring powerhouses Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks was just a product of the cultural atmosphere it was made in. Little did they know that 8 years lat...

This fall, there are a lot of interesting movies being released! But don’t fret! I go through the entire fall winter movie slate for you in this episode to clue you in on what to mark on your calendar. We have everything from new entries from great directors (Paul Thomas Anderson, Kogonada, Kelly Reichardt, Edgar Wright, Noah Baumbach, Richard Linklater, Yorgos Lanthimos, Luca Guadagnino, Chloe Zh...

With fantastical giants, dreams you can catch and blow into the heads of sleeping children, and a child who is swept away in adventure beyond her imagination, The BFG is, in a way, Spielberg getting back to his roots. While there is plenty of charm in the imagining of this Roald Dahl adaptation and a ton of humanity in the Motion Capture (MoCap) performance of Mark Rylance, the story and character...

Cold War movies have been releasing since the end of WWII, and in this movie draft, we explore the plethora of options. There are spy movies, political thrillers, sci-fi metaphors, satires, sports movies, and so many more genres to choose from. We had a lot of fun discussing the nuances of these movies, what thematic aspects make them Cold War coded, and end up with a diverse spread of films.  htt...

Bridge of Spies might be one of Spielberg’s most underrated films, and an argument could be made for it being his best of the 2010s. Being his 4th collaboration with Tom Hanks and his 1st with Mark Rylance, this film supports top notch acting and a superb script with precise and interesting editing. We talk about all of this and whether James B. Donovan ever got over that darned cold in this episo...

Presidents are portrayed in movies in so many different ways: fictional presidents, real presidents, real presidents in a fictional role, satirical presidents, and so many more. Our movie draft this week, in which we draft both real and fictional portrayals of US presidents covers these wide varieties as we discuss what we love most about some of the best film versions of our commander in chief. T...

What do you get when you have one of our all time great directors in Spielberg with one of our all time great actors in Daniel Day-Lewis playing one of our all time great US Presidents? You get one of our all time great president movies in Lincoln! We talk about the incredible performances, the masterful script from Tony Kushner, the subtle camera moves, the top notch production design, and much m...

Animals in movies are great! When a character gets to ride a cool animal in a movie…even better! This week, we are doing a draft of “ridden animals” in movies in honor of our discussion of Spielberg’s War Horse last week. Horses, mythical creatures, giant lizard things…who knows what we will pick?! Listen to find out if we picked your favorite ridden movie animals! https://www.establishingshotpod....

This time it’s Spielberg but with horses! War Horse has its problems, such as the question of who it’s for (kids or adults) or its prolonged runtime, but overall, its beautiful cinematography and composition along with its sentimentality that toes the line of sentimental schlock without ever crossing it make for an enjoyable and even hopeful movie. Adapted from Michael Morpurgo’s children’s novel...

WE MADE IT TO 100! It’s been a great journey to get here. I’ve learned a lot along the way and met some amazing people. To celebrate, I share some reflections, have listeners and past/future guests share their favorite films covered so far, and I share my top 10 films of 2025 so far. You don’t want to miss this special episode! https://www.establishingshotpod.com/ Feedback: Email us at establishin...

In stop-motion animation, Wes Anderson found the perfect medium for his controlled, detail filled style while still being tangible enough an animation style to surprise you with emotion. To celebrate his Fantastic Mr. Fox and Isle of Dogs, we did a stop-motion animation movie draft! We talk about everything from Henry Selick and Jack Skellington to Chicken Run and more. This is definitely an artfo...

Tintin is a unique film in the Spielberg filmography as his only fully animated film. Because of this, this discussion is full of interesting topics like his forging into motion capture technology, the sense of playfulness felt in the film, and much more. I might even get into a bit of Movie-Dad talk with my guest Daniel Howat of Next Best Picture, talking about movies we have enjoyed showing our...

Desert settings always make for a great cinematic experience! This was just as true for Nolan’s Oppenheimer even if the desert was being used for something highly problematic. In this episode, we take turns drafting our favorite movies with desert settings. They span a wide variety of genres from sci-fi to thriller to classic epics to animated musicals! And as it turns out, talking desert movies i...

With Oppenheimer turning into a cultural phenomenon (aka Barbenheimer) in the lead up to its release alongside Barbie and its subsequent financial success and critical acclaim, Christopher Nolan has emblazoned his name onto the list of historically important filmmakers. We talk about the significance of a 3 hour experimental biopic making summer blockbuster levels of money, the incredible artistry...