We Love the Love

We're dancing with the devil as we look at the romance between Brendan Fraser and Elizabeth Hurley in Harold Ramis's 2000 remake of Bedazzled ! Join in as we discuss Hurley's many impressive costumes, the 2000 SAG-AFTRA strike, and the devil's questionable strategy for acquiring souls. Plus: Why is Elliot so unlikeable? How does the Big Mac count as a wish? And what exactly is this...

We're taking a look at one of the most widely panned films of 2019, Steven Knight's misbegotten noir Serenity ! Join in as we discuss this reunion of Anne Hathaway and Matthew McConaughey, the yearslong political scandal it caused, the ignominious collapse of Aviron Pictures, and the various games on Plymouth Island. Plus: Why did this movie receive such little marketing? How old are Karen...

We're taking a look at one of the biggest financial and cultural hits of the early 90s with Chris Columbus's comedy sensation Mrs. Doubtfire ! Join in as we discuss Robin Williams's iconic performance, revisiting the film in an era of greater trans visibility, the movie's subversion of obvious narrative routes, and of course Arrested Development 's Mrs. Featherbottom. Plus: Was there really an NC-...

We're starting 2025 with a look back at our favorite movies of 2024, plus a look at the romance of Deadpool & Wolverine director Shawn Levy's feature debut, Big Fat Liar ! Join in as we discuss Levy's career, the film debut of Amanda Bynes, the film-within-a-film's rapid production timeline, and Christopher Nolan's upcoming adaptation of The Odyssey . Plus: Was 2024 an especially good year for...

We're finishing out the year with a look at the romance of the 2011 Kevin James comedy Zookeeper ! Join in as we discuss celebrity voice roles, gorilla prison, the movie's ever-shifting release date, and a standout performance by Rosario Dawson. Plus: Did this movie kill an elephant? What about a giraffe? Why was Leslie Bibb invited to that wedding? Why wasn't Shane fired for beating animals? And,...

We're here with a Christmas bonus covering the romances of five DreamWorks holiday specials: Shrek the Halls, Merry Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda Holiday, Dragons: Gift of the Night Fury, and Trolls Holiday . Join in as we discuss our favorite non-DreamWorks specials, the 2024 holiday movie slate, and Troll cultural imperialism. Plus: Has Shrek ever heard of Christmas before? Why is the Golden Ladle s...

We're finishing out the holiday season with a look at the disastrous romances of the 2012 Lifetime film Christmas Twister (also known as F6: Twister or as Christams Twister )! Join in as we discuss local news, Ethan (Casper van Dien)'s climate change theories, local news, and a handsy mall Santa. Plus: How long has the family been in Texas? What great wrong did Ethan wreak in Chicago? Why does eve...

We're gathering together this holiday season to talk about the romance of 1989's National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation ! Join in as we discuss lip fungus, the film's large cast, our favorite jokes, and its relationship to Home Alone (also written by John Hughes). Plus: How is the movie different from Hughes's short story "Christmas '59"? Why does Clark (Chevy Chase) wait so long to start hanging h...

Yes, we're doing the Taylor Swift / Travis Kelce fanfic Christmas movie that aired on Lifetime this year. Obviously! Join in as we discuss pop star Christmas albums, Swift-analog Bowyn's selfless activism, a cornucopia of Swift references, and Discount Tire. Plus: How does the movie stack up against this year's slate of made for TV movies (including Netflix's Hot Frosty and Our Little Secret , and...

We're kicking off the Christmas season with John McTiernan's 1988 action classic Die Hard ! Join in as we discuss the film's confused gender politics, Al Powell's troubling redemption, the starmaking of Bruce Willis, and that troublesome watch. Plus: Who did novelist Roderick Thorp envision in the starring role? Why is this party so late on Christmas Eve? What are bearer bonds? And, most important...

We're wrapping up our month of Moore with a look at the postapocalyptic romance in Alfonso Cuaron's Children of Men ! Join in as we discuss our favorite near futures, Emanuel Lubezki's cinematography, Theo's passivity, and hippie Michael Caine. Plus: Why doesn't the movie have cool future technology? How does it compare to P.D. James's novel? How'd they film that car chase? And, most importantly,...

Our month with Julianne Moore continues as we look at her Hollywood rom com debut in Chris Columbus's 1995 film Nine Months ! Join in as we discuss Columbus's 90s career, a two-scene performance by Robin Williams, the film's tonal whiplash, and our favorite childhood toys. Plus: Why was this movie changed after its preview screenings? Why are Marty (Tom Arnold) and Gail (Joan Cusack) buying so man...

We're continuing our look at the career of Julianne Moore by looking at her first lead performance, in Todd Haynes's 1995 indie classic Safe ! Join in as we discuss cults, color schemes, environmental illness, and milkaholism! Plus: How did Carol and Greg get together? What's Chris's deal? Is Rory the worst kid ever? And why did the New York Times think the movie was set in the future? Make sure t...

ELECTION DAY BONUS!!! We're dropping in on our Julianne Moore-athon with a special look at her Emmy-winning portrayal of Sarah Palin in the 2012 HBO film Game Change ! Join in as we discuss our favorite election movies, Palin's post-2008 career, other HBO ripped-from-the-headlines movies, and our memories of the 2008 campaign. Plus: Could an Alaskan become president? How did the real people feel a...

We're spending this month looking at the career of Julianne Moore, and to kick things off we're looking at her performance in Lisa Cholodenko's 2010 Best Picture nominee The Kids Are All Right ! Join in as we discuss our first encounters with Moore, her lack of a conventional star persona, the film's family dynamic with a lesbian couple played by Moore and Annette Bening, and Laser's dumb friend C...

We're finishing out the Halloween season with a look at the romance of Gore Verbinski's 2002 horror classic The Ring ! Join in as we discuss our introductions to Verbinski, comparisons to the Japanese original, Chris Cooper's cut role, and the horror of recommending movies. Plus: Is Rachel (Naomi Watts) good at her newspaper job? Why does Noah (Martin Henderson) own a copy of Shrek ? Who edited th...

We're taking a look at horror in the 1970s with Nicolas Roeg's 1973 classic Don't Look Now ! Join in as we discuss the movie's handling of grief, its (in)famous sex scene, Pino Donaggio's score, and Donald Sutherland's near-death experience onset. Plus: How did they make Venice look so unappealing? Why does Donald Sutherland's hair look like that? How did the movie avoid further censorship? And, m...

We're continuing our spooky season with a look at the romance of Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 classic, Psycho ! Join in as we discuss movie hotels, Hitchcock's extensive anti-spoiler campaign, the life of star Anthony Perkins, and that controversial final scene. Plus: How did this movie get past the Hollywood Production Code? How easy is taxidermy? What's Sam's job? And will Sam and Lila get together i...

We're kicking off the spooky season with a look at the romance of Alex Garland's 2018 sci-fi horror quest Annihilation ! Join in as we discuss Natalie Portman's underrated performance, the movies differences with Jeff VanderMeer's Southern Reach trilogy, the various controversies that came up on the film's release, and, of course, that freaky bear. Plus: Why didn't the movie shoot in the US? Why d...

In honor of his new movie Megalopolis (now in theaters!), we're taking a look at Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 horror romance, Bram Stoker's Dracula . Join in as we discuss our favorite vampires, Keanu's infamous accent work, the movie's incredible costumes, and the most important vampire rules. Plus: Is it possible to make Jonathan Harker interesting? How many voyages does the Demeter go on? What i...

We're staying up all night as we dig into the romance(?) of Sofia Coppola's 2003 indie hit Lost in Translation ! Join in as we discuss the 2003 Oscars, celebrity product endorsements, the film's handling of Japan, and our own weird hotel experiences. Plus: How romantic is this central relationship? What's up with the first shot? Is Giovanni Ribisi playing Spike Jonze? And exactly h...

To herald the release of Transformers One , we're looking back at the fourth entry in the convoluted franchise: 2014's soft reboot Transformers: Age of Extinction ! Join in as we discuss the history of the Transformers franchise, Hollywood's attempts to court Chinese audiences, Chekov's football, Disney's Animal Kingdom, and of course Romeo and Juliet laws. Plus: How does Shane...

We're puzzling over a romance that's either completely believable or not at all plausible in Adam McKay's 2006 NASCAR comedy Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby . Join in as we discuss Will Ferrell's parallel careers for kids and adults, a top-tier Amy Adams performance, the scam of a mid-00s unrated cut, and inevitable comparisons to Vice . Plus: Did France invent the mena...

We're taking a look at the romance of the first ever Best Picture winner, William Wellman's 1927 World War I film Wings ! Join in as we discuss the formation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the film's eight-month shoot, the famous nightclub shot, and the importance of a good luck charm. Plus: Why was The Jazz Singer disqualified at the Oscars? What changed between 1...

We're traveling back (or maybe forwards?) to 2016 to talk about the nonlinear romance between Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner in Denis Villeneuve's Arrival ! Join in as we discuss Villeneuve's career in Hollywood, Adams's quest for an Oscar, the nature of free will, and AMC's current Nicole Kidman video. Plus: How does the film compare to Ted Chiang's short story/novella/novele...