The Rolling Tape

Tim Burton's career is a journey through the surreal and the gothic, where the ordinary meets the bizarre in a visually stunning blend of emotion and imagination. Emerging in the mid-1980s, Burton quickly established himself as a director with a singular vision, blending elements of horror, fantasy, and humor to create unforgettable cinematic worlds. His signature style—marked by eccentric ch...

As part of our Birthday week extravaganza, we provide our first-ever live watch-along commentary to the Director's Cut editions of Zack Snyder's Rebel Moon franchise. We watch, discuss, and digress all things Zack Snyder and beyond across 6+ hours of the Snyder cut which follows the timeline of a peaceful settlement on the edge of a distant moon that finds itself threatened by a tyrannic...

As part of our Birthday week extravaganza, we provide our first-ever live watch-along commentary to the Director's Cut editions of Zack Snyder's Rebel Moon franchise. We watch, discuss, and digress all things Zack Snyder and beyond across 6+ hours of the Snyder cut which follows the timeline of a peaceful settlement on the edge of a distant moon that finds itself threatened by a tyrannic...

This month, in the wake of Gladiator 2 thirst traps, the ladies come back to the studio to break down “girl marketing” and the female gaze when applied to film distribution. They also tackle the micro-trend “older woman-young man” and how this trope has progressed since the 40s.  Listen Here: Spotify Apple Podcasts All Listening Platforms Follow our team online: Sara Ciplickas on Letterboxd , Inst...

With a World Premiere at Sundance in January, Sean Wang's Dìdi has now been capturing the hearts of audiences as the film has gone into wide release in theater. In 2008, during the last month of summer before high school begins, the film follows an impressionable 13-year-old Taiwanese American boy who learns what his family can't teach him: how to skate, how to flirt, and how to love you...

With three team members from The Rolling Tape going to TIFF in a couple of weeks time, we discuss an in-depth look at the TIFF lineup and detail our schedules and priorities for what we want to see and do while in Toronto starting September 4. Listen Here: Spotify Apple Podcasts All Listening Platforms Follow our team online: Danny Jarabek Website , Letterboxd , Instagram , X , TikTok , and Linktr...

In honor of our 100th main show episode of the podcast, we hosted a bracket on social media asking you all to vote between 32 films selected by our team, with the winner being the selection for this review episode. All of our team members were assigned by random draw one year within the last 32 years, and asked to choose between that year’s Best Picture, Palme d’Or, Golden Lion, TIFF People’s Choi...

The fall film festival cycle is gearing up once again with the major festivals announcing their lineup of films that will reveal to us many of the major awards players and flesh out the fall and winter 2024 theater schedule. We break down major lineup announcements from Venice, TIFF, NYFF, and speculate on what titles to expect in upcoming announcements. Listen Here: Spotify Apple Podcasts All Lis...

With a long line of auteurs lending their hand to the Alien franchise, Fede Alvarez takes a turn with the standalone effort Alien: Romulus. Taking place between the events of Alien and Aliens, while scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonists come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe. The film stars Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson,...

In director Austin Peters' debut feature film, famed aesthetician Hope Goldman's skincare business faces sabotage when rival Angel Vergara opens a boutique across the street. Aided by friend Jordan, Hope seeks to uncover who's trying to ruin her reputation. We discuss Peters' vision for developing the film and how he was able to cast stars Elizabeth Banks, Lewis Pullman, and Lu...

The Alien movie franchise, spanning over four decades, is one of the most iconic and enduring series in science fiction and horror filmmaking history. What began in 1979 with Ridley Scott's Alien has since evolved into a sprawling narrative universe known for its heroine Ellen Ripley, its groundbreaking visual effects, and the image of the eponymous Xenomorph. We explore the franchise's...

Originally premiering at Berlin International Film Festival before also showing at SXSW, Tilman Singer’s sophomore feature Cuckoo follows up his 2018 effort Luz. In Hunter Schafer’s first major leading role, 17-year-old Gretchen is forced to move with her family to a resort where things are not what they seem. She is plagued by strange noises and bloody visions until she discovers a shocking secre...

Originally premiering at TIFF in 2023, Greg Kwedar’s portrait of the titular maximum security prison and the Rehabilitation Through the Arts program that was instituted within its walls is now coming to theaters in wide release. The story follows Divine G, imprisoned at Sing Sing for a crime he didn't commit, who finds purpose by acting in a theatre group alongside other incarcerated men in t...

M. Night Shyamalan takes on his own eras tour as he continues on the comeback era with Trap, following a father and his teen daughter attending a pop concert only to realize they've entered the center of a dark and sinister event. Brat summer is over making way for Trap summer as the film has already generated as many memes as Rotten Tomatoes reviews. The film stars Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donog...

Born in India and raised outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, M. Night Shyamalan has received critical acclaim over the last 2+ decades as a director, writer, and producer. Best known for his films with supernatural plots and horror storylines, Shyamalan gained international recognition when he wrote and directed The Sixth Sense in 1999, which was nominated for six Academy Awards including Best...

Infamous and beloved characters, respectively, in their own timelines and universes, Deadpool & Wolverine features its two titular superheroes share the screen for the first time. Thanks to the 2019 merger of Disney and 20th Century Fox, the MCU now has the capability of bringing X-men into the MCU. In this first edition of that incorporation, Wolverine is recovering from his injuries when he...

Welcome to the launch of The Awards Tape! The Awards Tape is a dedicated episode series of The Rolling Tape podcast for coverage of all things awards season. With festival season just around the corner and conversations starting to heat up about potential contenders finding their world premieres in the fall festival cycle, today we are offering our first draft predictions for above-the-line catego...

Today’s major headline is the announcement of the full lineup for the 81st edition of the Venice International Film Festival where we can now expect an outpouring of celebrities to hit the red carpet on August 28th until September 7th. We share our first reaction takeaways from the in- and out-of-competition lineups. Follow our team online: Danny Jarabek Website , Letterboxd , Instagram , X , TikT...

As a standalone story within the universe of the 1996 film Twister, Lee Isaac Chung brings tornadoes back to the big screen with lega-sequel Twisters which follows a retired tornado-chaser and meteorologist who is persuaded to return to Oklahoma to work with a new team and new technologies. The Minari director assembles a cast composed of Hollywood’s favorite golden retriever and fake hitman Glen...

Dandelion is currently playing in select theaters from IFC Films and writer/director Nicole Riegel after her feature debut in 2020 with Holler. The film premiered earlier this year at SXSW festival and follows a singer-songwriter in a downward spiral as she takes a last effort gig at a motorcycle rally in South Dakota where she meets Casey, a guitarist who walked away from his dream long ago. Nico...

With the upcoming release of Lee Isaac Chung’s Twisters, we revisit the 1996 original Twister directed by Jan de Bont and starring Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton, and Cary Elwes. We discuss the significance and legacy of the film while musing on why revisiting the source material in 2024 may feel just right as a standalone story with the added ingredients of Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar Jones within the T...

Surrounded by one of the most viral marketing campaigns in recent memory, Longlegs directed by Osgood Perkins and distributed by NEON has set the stage to be one of the most terrifying films of the year. Longlegs follows an FBI agent who, in pursuit of a serial killer, uncovers a series of occult clues that she must solve to end his terrifying killing spree. The film stars Maika Monroe, Nicolas Ca...

The Rolling Tape reviews the first half of 2024 revealing each of our team member’s top 5 of the first six months. We look at the trends of the year and choose our superlatives before turning the corner into the ensuing festival and awards season cycle. We also discuss our most anticipated for the second half of the year. Follow our team online: Danny Jarabek Website , Letterboxd , Instagram , X ,...

Ti West’s ‘X’ Trilogy began just two years ago with an immediate follow up months later in the form of the prequel, Pearl. He has now rounded out the 80’s aesthetic slasher series with MaXXXine where in 1980s Hollywood, adult film star and aspiring actress Maxine Minx finally gets her big break. But as a mysterious killer stalks the starlets of Hollywood, a trail of blood threatens to reveal her s...

As the third entry into the post-apocalyptic universe of silence, A Quiet Place: Day One brings us back to the beginning and follows two previous entries, this time in a new location with a new set of characters to follow as they discover how to survive an alien invasion. The prequel follows a woman named Sam who finds herself trapped in New York City during the early stages of an invasion by alie...