The Goods: A Film Podcast

It's spooky season on The Goods (and everywhere else, we suppose). Dan and Brian kick off the podcast's fourth October with the 1990's teen witch horror film, The Craft. Join as they discuss the merits and risks of "blind picks," the imbalanced power of Manon's wish-granting abilities, the goofy fun of practical effects, and the bewitching screen presence of Fairuza Balk. Check out Dan's movie rev...

At long last, the grand finale for Movies About Making Movie Month: Part 2 of a Room-stravaganza, a review of James and Dave Franco's comic biopic of Tommy Wiseau, the "visionary" behind The Room, discussed in Part 1 of this episode. Join as Dan and Brian talk through the many bizarre twists of Tommy Wiseau's life, relive the amusing behind-the-scenes anecdotes from the film, and conclude their ep...

Dan and Brian gather for Part 1 of 2 of the epic finale to Movies About Making Movies Month. They talk about some other movies on the topic they'd like to discuss in the future, then dive into the disasterpiece of cinema that breaks even the strongest viewers. Join as they describe the bizarre Tommy Wiseau, the baffling cast of characters and continuity in the story, and recount some of the most u...

This is the movie. In the penultimate episode of Movies About Making Movies Month, Dan and Brian discuss David Lynch and his mind-bending opus from 2001. Join as they discuss Lynch's career, his visual style and tics and recurring themes, the obtuse narrative threads of Mulholland Dr., and theories about its ending. Check out Dan's movie reviews: http://thegoodsreviews.com/ Subscribe, join the Dis...

Dan and Brian continue the seemingly-eternal Movies About Making Movies Month by looking at one of the most famously-bad movies of all time and the biopic of its unusual creator. Join as they discuss their "so-bad-it's-good" philosophy, the hilarious incompetence of Plan 9, the compelling look Tim Burton uses to honor Wood, and the infectious enthusiasm of the troubled director. Check out Dan's mo...

Dan and Brian continue Movies About Making Movies Month to look at two Wes Anderson films. (One of them is, admittedly, about making a play.) They talk through the whole Wes Anderson experience, some of his stylistic features and tics, and where he ranks among directors of the recent past. Then they talk through two of his films: First The Life Aquatic and its troubled father-son story, then the d...

Movies About Making Movies Month marches onward with a look at two films that might (or might not) be parallel portraits of weirdos undergoing episodic crises and flitting in and out of dream sequences. Join as Dan and Brian share their thoughts on Federico Fellini, try to make sense of the meta-narrative and weird sexual politics of 8 1/2, and ponder strange Italian film-dubbing practices. Next,...

Dan and Brian are back with Movies About Making Movies Month(s). This time, they discuss four movies: all the iterations of the showbiz melodrama A Star is Born. (Technically, two of them are Movies about Making Music.) Join as they break down the similarities and differences between the four iterations, what each says about filmmaking and American culture of their respective eras, and their ranki...

Dan and Brian continue Movies About Making Movies Month with a discussion of the fan-made, shot-for-shot recreation of Raiders of the Lost Ark as well as the 2015 documentary about its making. They start with a rapid-fire recap of the Indiana Jones franchise and their feelings towards the series. Then they spend some time pondering the ingenuity and dedication of three teenagers, and how it makes...

Dan and Brian resume Movies About Making Movies Month after a brief hiatus by discussing the classic comedy Sullivan's Travels. Then, Dan takes another look at struggling Hollywood creatives in the Party Down episode "Steve Guttenberg's Birthday." Join as Dan and Brian celebrate Veronica Lake's incredible charisma, consider the film's prescient tone of realism, and rehash the production history an...

Dan and Brian kick off Movies About Making Movie Month (MAMMM... or something) by discussing the JJ Abrams-Steven Spielberg collaboration that bears strong fingerprints of both. Join as they discuss Cloverfield, the Spielberg nostalgia factor, the mishandled nostalgia vibes, the surprisingly charming cast of kid actors, zombie makeup sexual tension, and many other topics on the pilot of this new t...

Dan and Brian are back for a rare Part 2 discussing a single movie. In this case, it's Dan's favorite movie, That Thing You Do!, the Tom Hanks-written and -directed comedy. Join as Dan and Brian dig deep into the movie's extended cut, the soundtrack, the cast, Adam Schlesinger, and so much more. Check out Dan's discussion of songwriter Adam Schlesinger as a guest on the podcast Books Shows Tunes &...

At long last, Dan and Brian discuss Dan's favorite film of all time: the Tom Hanks-written, -directed, and -starring That Thing You Do!, a tale of a one-hit wonder band from 1964. Join as they talk through the band's rise and fall, it's loaded cast, its affection for small-time and big-time music scene, and the all-time great title track. Coming soon: Dan and Brian's supplementary follow-up to dee...

It's not Circus Month or Train Month but that doesn't stop Dan and Brian from revisiting the 1952 Cecil B. DeMille Best Picture Winner about the traveling Ringling/Barnum/Bailey circus. Join as they parse out the romantic melodrama quadrangle, celebrate sad-clown Jimmy Stewart, and bask in a phenomenal train crash. Check out Dan's movie reviews: http://thegoodsreviews.com/ Subscribe, join the Disc...

To celebrate his birthday ("choose life"), Dan brings his strong feelings for Trainspotting to the pod and talks through it with Brian. What exactly makes the film elicit such strong reactions? How do we feel about upsetting and bleak cinema? What's Tarantino's role in late-90s indie cinema? Join as Dan and Brian try to answer these questions and more. Check out Dan's movie reviews: http://thegood...

Join as Dan and Brian gather to discuss one of Brian's all-time favorite films, The Court Jester, a witty medieval comedy musical. Join as they parse out the layers of deception and dramatic irony, celebrate Fisher Price's Great Adventures line of toys, and marvel at the "pestle with the poison" sequence. Get it? Got it. Good. Check out Dan's movie reviews: http://thegoodsreviews.com/ Subscribe, j...

Dan and Brian cap off their discussion of Recess by breaking down their Top 5 favorite TV theme songs. Join as they break down theme song "genres," the dominance of cartoons for catchy ditties, the relationship between great TV shows and great theme songs. And then (at 45:30), Dan shares a surprise with Brian and the audience about the show going forward. Check out Dan's movie reviews: http://theg...

Summer's here and the time is right for celebrating Dan's birthday. Dan and Brian kick off the summer with part 1 of Dan's extended birthday celebration and a review of the classic Disney Channel cartoon Recess plus its series finale, Recess: School's Out. Join as they discuss their reversed entry points on the delightful series, the show and movie's blend of genre fun and childhood insight, and a...

Brian might be isolated for a case of COVID following his own epic quest, but that didn't stop him from discussing the two-part TV mini-series adapting Homer's classic epic, The Odyssey. Join as Dan and Brian try to make sense of the quirks of Homer's long-winded story, debate the quality of the special effects, and wonder why Odysseus sleeps with so many goddesses. Check out Dan's movie reviews:...

Dan and Brian finally sit down to catch up with a film Dan has been itching to talk about since the pod started almost three years ago -- the raunchy '90s teen comedy and box office flop Trojan War starring Will Friedle and Jennifer Love-Hewitt as best friends-to-lovers. As a bonus, we got the film's star Will Friedle to record some thoughts on the film and send them our way. Join as Dan and Brian...

Brian's brother Andrew joins The Goods to discuss the unhinged, weirdly horny Chuck E. Cheese VHS space-racing film from 1999. Join as they celebrate the the film's memorable antagonist and theorize on his motivations, parse out the plot's convoluted tractor-repair logic, rate the hit-and-miss musicals and culture references, and explore some of the broader Chuck E. Cheese media empire. Then, Dan...

Brian, Dan, and Dan's brother Will continue their discussion of four anime films from the 2000s and 2010s, this time taking a look at the Oscar-winning short The House of Small Cubes and the hyperkinetic racing story Redline. Join as they ponder flood as a literary symbol, comparisons between House of Small Cubes and Up, Redline's massive cel count, and the merits of Funky Boy. Then, they give an...

Dan's brother Will returns to The Goods, this time to bring a collection of anime films for discussion. In part one of this conversation, they discuss the kinky wrestling short Kick-heart and the teen drama A Silent Voice. Join as they discuss Starburst personalities, impressionable young adult years, sports hecklers, first name-last name mixups, and the merit of high school reunions. Part 2, incl...

Violent Ends returns to The Goods -- two movies with similar premises but very different tones and outcomes. This time, Dan and Brian watch the MGM Technicolor classic, Singin' in the Rain, and the Damien Chazelle critical and financial flop from last year, Babylon. Join as they ponder the movies' twin theses about sound and silent cinema, mourn the tragedy of Lina Lamont, decode the films' histor...

Spring is a busy time for traumatic American events, so Dan and Brian parse through a few memorable ones, including the death of Abraham Lincoln. Then they talk through the Steven Spielberg-helmed biopic-slash-political drama about the passing of the 13th Amendment. Join as they talk through the contributions of some of Spielberg's late-era collaborators, the wonky horse-trading politics of the Ci...