The Goods: A Film Podcast

Elaborate illusions! Fake identities! Bad CGI! It's what magic is all about. Join as Dan and Brian review the 2013 magician heist thriller and its more comedic 2016 sequel, which has 100% more Lizzy Caplan quips (always a good thing in Dan's eyes). Brian shares his 8-year brewing curiosity with these movies as he and Dan try to pull a rabbit out of an ever-growing pile of twists and misdirection....

Dan and Brian dive deep into nostalgia for one of their first pop culture loves: Power Rangers. Join as they fondly remember must-see daycare TV, profess formative young love for the Pink Ranger, and realize that Tommy is kind of a jerk. Then, they review the franchise's 1995 feature film and enjoy the campy Ivan Ooze fun but reckon with some dire CGI. Will rose-colored nostalgia win out, or shoul...

Join Dan and Brian as they review the classic Titanic adaptation... and revisit James Cameron's 1997 blockbuster just for the hell of it. Dan complains about the Britishness of A Night to Remember and does a truly horrid Celine Dion impression, while Brian admires the production values of both films. And when it comes time to answer Is It Good, one of the hosts surprises the other. Music credits:...

With a new monster movie out on streaming, Dan and Brian decide to go back to the roots of Japanese kaiju, aided by a fascinating book Brian got Dan for Christmas. Join as the pair relive the atomic, unstoppable horror of Godzilla. Dan shares some anecdotes about the movie's filming and praises the film's tone and aesthetic, while Brian tries to parse out the science behind the "oxygen destroyer."...

It's April Fools Day, and Dan and Brian have decided to rework their podcast into a YouTube review show for one episode. Join as each brings a personal favorite clip you can find on YouTube. Brian shares the bizarre hourlong monologue about Garfield's "Pipe Strip" in 07/27/1978 from the Lasagna Cat channel. Meanwhile, Dan shares the cult classic Heavy Metal Parking Lot, a videotaped documentary ab...

It's nearly April Fools Day, so Dan and Brian decided to visit Orson Welles' prankster quasi-documentary about art forgery. Join as they take a quick stroll through the famed filmmaker's life and drunken outtakes. Dan praises the film's elliptical continuity, and Brian commits fakery of his own by narrating some of the movie's best quotes in a half-decent Welles impression. Music credits: RetroFut...

The Goods is back with its "Violent Ends" feature -- a comparison of two movies with similar setups but very different conclusions. This week, Dan and Brian review two movies centered around unconventional teachers at prestigious private schools with secret groups and surprised parents at performances. Join as Brian confronts his own feelings on nonconformity and wonders how Dewey Finn wasn't arre...

Time Loop "Month" cycles for the final time as Dan and Brian review alien-blasting looper Edge of Tomorrow. Join as they debate the film's title, imagine what Slurp time blood tastes like, and wonder why the alien invasion feels just like World War 2. Brian mocks the ineffective mech, while Dan teases out the movies feminist and not-so-feminist themes. Music credits: RetroFuture Clean by Kevin Mac...

We made it to our quarter-centennial, almost half a year, listeners! Join Brian and Dan in looking back at their roots in analyzing culture, loving movies, and podcasting. They also look ahead at some possible tweaks in format. In the second half of the Spectacular, Dan and Brian delve into The Goods By The Numbers, a mathematical breakdown of what we watched and discussed. Lastly, join in celebra...

In the fourth (and final?) outing of Time Loop Month, Dan and Brian review the 2007 Nickelodeon TV movie The Last Day of Summer, in which Jansen Panettiere relive the titular day over and over. Join as Dan and Brian pay tribute to local festivals and awkward middle school years. Brian sings praises to skater-savant Snake while Dan considers alternate castings for the lead character. (Also the bull...

Time Loop Month reaches its "climax" as Dan and Brian "beat" into Premature, the raunchy teen comedy where orgasms cause the time loop to repeat. Join as they "come" to the conclusion that Craig Roberts is a breakout star, look "hard" at comparisons to previous Goods subject Some Kind of Wonderful, and "finish off" with a theory about brunettes in time loops. We hope you'll listen to this episode...

Time Loop Month continues on The Goods as Dan and Brian watch the slasher/looper Happy Death Day and its sequel Happy Death Day 2U. Join as they consider whether these movies really fit into the "horror" genre, praise the protagonist Tree (minus her dumb name), and try to parse out the series' alternate dimension and looping rules. Brian derides the big baby mascot, while Dan brainstorms ideas for...

Wake up! In their first episode of Time Loop Month, Dan and Brian honor the origin of the film trope by considering Groundhog Day before visiting the early pandemic hit Palm Springs. Join as they dissect the ups-and-downs of reliving the same day, try to make sense of Palm Springs' ending, and question the moral implications of romance in a time loop. Brian ties it all to a Japanese dating sim, wh...

Brian shares with Dan a poorly-titled, personally-resonant Roger Corman deep cut telling a story of death turned to art. Join as Brian shares his connections to the story and Dan recites some updated Beatnik literature. Dan and Brian ponder the film's dark meditations on art and creativity, Leonard's amusing complicity, and parallels of 2010's hipsters in this forgotten classic. Music credits: Ret...

In our first ever birthday episode, Brian's brother Andrew joins to discuss the documentary of the proto-Chuck E. Cheese animatronic band The Rock-afire Explosion, the band's creator, and its hardcore devotees. Join as they probe Andrew's intense dedication to the band, ponder the pathetic-sweet dichotomy of pursuing childhood fancies, and consider the ramifications of a Mountain Dew-only liquid d...

Nate, a friend of the pod, brings satirical romcom and Best Picture winner The Apartment to The Goods for consideration. Dan, Brian, and Nate cringe at Jack Lemmon's snotty cold in the age of COVID, admire Shirley MacLaine's modern sensibility, and debate the storytelling merits of the film's dark turning point. Dan gushes over "Auld Lang Syne," Nate wishes for more black-and-white movies, and Bri...

Dan and Brian explore the seedy side of cinema with a look at the styles of film noir and hardboiled detective stories. Join as they attempt to parse the twisty plot of noir gem D.O.A., in which a man tries to solve his own murder. Dan dissects some of the weird gender roles depicted and pitches a new ending for the film, while Brian ponders how magical pirates could have fit in. Music credits: Re...

Dan and Brian watched four different musical adaptations of Dickens' A Christmas Carol and are ready to dive in deep. In addition to the Albert Finney-starring Scrooge, they break down Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol, The Muppet Christmas Carol, and the one with Frasier from 2004. Join for their fantasy draft of the best songs, reviews of the highs and lows of each iteration, Dan's dream casting of an...

718 minutes. That's the length of the High School Musical saga to date: three movies, a spinoff movie, and the first season of a Disney+ series. Together, Dan and Brian climb Mount Efronest as they break down the strengths and weaknesses of each of the movies before digging into the soapy, uplifting, and "woke AF" (to quote Brian) High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. What's Ryan's deal? W...

Join Dan and Brian as they revisit a forgotten time-travel romcom from a simpler time. Brian, an avowed Hugh Jackman fanboy, praises his charm and silky accent, while Dan ponders if Meg Ryan was the right casting for his counterpoint. They pick apart the film's time loops and elevator paradoxes as Dan pitches a Kate & Leopold cinematic universe and Brian shares his movie rating framework. Music cr...

Dan and Brian take a deep dive into the sci fi film 12 Monkeys and the pros/cons/paradoxes of various types of time travel. Join as they celebrate the film's dedication to interlocking timelines, its striking post-apocalyptic visuals, and Brad Pitt's bug-eyed insanity. Meanwhile, Dan makes the case for 12 Monkeys as the ultimate movie about 2020 and Brian tries to argue it's a Christmas movie. Mus...

Does Brian love Pee-wee's Playhouse because he's weird? Or is he weird because he loves Pee-wee's Playhouse? Celebrate the season with Brian and Dan as they break down one of Brian's childhood favorite Christmas specials in all its hyperactive glory. Brian greets us with a holiday tune while Dan re-casts the guest celebrities for 2020 in The Goods' merriest episode yet. Music credits: RetroFuture...

Dan has a weird obsession with a specific kind of romantic comedy in which best friends fall in love. Hear him analyze this specific set of tropes, and then dissect John Hughes' example of the format, as Brian discovers Back to the Future parallels and embraces the almighty butt chin. Dan admires Watts and her ambiguous sexuality, while Brian stands up for Lea Thompson. Music credits: RetroFuture...

Join Dan and Brian as they view the seminal '70s satire Network for the first time, admire its almost Shakespearean devotion to monologues, praise its award-winning cast, bask in Faye Dunaway, and ponder just how much it predicted the 21st century media landscape. Dan narrates his own Howard Beale rant for 2020 while Brian notes the film's many connections to his favorite movie, UHF.  Music credit...

Dan had high hopes when he saw Step Brothers in 2008, but found it underwhelming. Join revisiting and Brian watching for the first time, as they parse whether this very funny movie is also a very good movie. Dan gives a shout out to the joke most directly catered to him in cinema history, Brian wonders how we're supposed to feel about Brennan and Dale's mental health, and both agree on the film's...