Who Was This For?

Die Hard has long been an action flick fave for movie buffs and casual fans alike. But does it hit a little deeper than we like to let on? Elyse and Tanner discuss the traits of a good action movie, and poke a bit at the politics of "Die Hard" Show Notes: Die Hard As of recording, streaming on Amazon Prime WWTF Sweeney Todd Episode: https://youtu.be/zgqLDcKT3f4   John McTiernan on masculinity: htt...

Show Notes: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street References: FaceTime with My Mom https://youtu.be/_WJDio2lJwk?si=t7JuEEnpLLTNftBr   Sideways: How the Music Spoils Sweeney Todd (and why that's a good thing!) https://youtu.be/a4K-9Ekzc2A?si=CMk0cWku0wkd4g4k   Sondheim teaches ‘My Friends’ https://youtu.be/DBCVaFqGJwg?si=3j60NcxovdyecexF   Sondheim’s Philosophy:  https://www.nytimes.com/20...

Show Notes: The Nightmare Before Christmas As of recording, streaming on Disney+ Jack Skellington Easter Egg ( https://www.tiktok.com/@nostalgiamountain/video/7557034831608106248 )  Sideways ( https://youtu.be/w0GQlIOSi60?si=NLGH0xJ-M8M7Y9zO )  The Bunny Song: https://youtu.be/k1eSUsaIugE?si=sd04LGAg8u1vVmjw Tim Burton poem ( https://youtu.be/XbPCwc_Cdz0?si=933mgl8I8DP86yaU )  Frankenstein at Shak...

Show Notes: "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" was a dark horse success story. The studio was convinced it would flop and even tried to downsize the role of Jack Sparrow. What are the key ingredients that helped it succeed against all odds and revive the swashbuckling adventure drama? We dig deeper on Episode 9 of "Who Was This For?" As of recording, streaming on Disney+ Refe...

Show Notes : Elyse and Tanner discuss the role that Jane Austen has played in shaping romantic fantasy over the years. Find It: "Pride & Prejudice" 2005 As of recording, for rent on Amazon Prime References: Bridget Jones’ Diary Pride and Prejudice and Zombies Pride and Prejudice (1995) Little Women (2019) Las Culturistas Podcast ( https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/las-culturistas-with-matt...

Description: In today’s episode, Tanner takes on his first Jane Austen piece. Together, Tanner and Elyse make sense of the intricate character web, ask whether Emma Woodhouse is really just in it for the drama, and investigate what people really want from their leading men.  References: Education Matrix Character Diagram and Guide to Regency Romance: ( https://www.matrix.edu.au/mod-b-the-ultimate-...

Wake Up Dead Man As of recording, streaming on Netflix Murder on the Orient Express WWTF Episode Rian Johnson Charlotte Vassel on cozy mysteries Rian Johnson’s Personal Faith Noah Kahan: Out of Body Somebody Somewhere Bridget Everett's Big Titties, Big Dreams Tour Grantchester Columbo Fleabag Rian Johnson reveals how a dinner with 6 Catholic priests shaped his new Knives Out movie, Wake Up Dead Ma...

Show Notes: Murder on the Orient Express   As of recording, for rent on Amazon Agatha Christie (Author) Jamie Tartt The Lindbergh Case And Then There Were None “The Butler Did It!” Kenneth Branagh What is a Cozy Mystery? Miss Marple Richard Osman Thursday Murder Club David Suchet   Sydney Lumet ’s Murder on the Orient Express Michael Green (Screenwriter) Color Saturation in the 2010s Wes Anderson...

Tickets Available Now at: https://www.sterlingplaymakers.org/ Join the Sterling Playmakers for a thrilling production of "Anastasia: The Musical" Performance Dates: July 24-26, July 31-Aug 2, & Aug 7-9, 2026 Friday & Saturdays at 7:30 pm Sundays at 2 pm ​​ *Special Matinee August 1st at 2 pm ​ Performance Location:  Loudoun County High School 415 Dry Mill Rd SW Leesburg, VA 20175 Today we...

Regina King Malcolm X Muhammed Ali Jim Brown Sam Cooke The Nation of Islam Kemp Powers 12 Angry Men Folger Shakespeare Library Julius X Julius Caesar King Lear Macbeth in Stride Kunene and the King Apartheid Giuliani comments around Patrick Dorismond Regina King on One Night in Miami Kemp Powers Interview Beau Bridges The Boondocks Instagram Letterboxd YouTube Spotify Apple Podcasts Facebook whowa...

Show Notes: Tom Perrotta Damon Lindelof Lost Stephen King Book Review The Book of Job Damon Lindelof on the Apocalypse Amy Brenneman Matthew 24:36-51 Left Behind: The Kids I Wish We’d All Been Ready Dark Night of the Soul The Psychology of Kevin Garvey Michael Schur Does the Bible Predict the End of the World? How "Left Behind" Haunted a Generation of Evangelicals Devil and the Deep Blue Sea podca...

Blue Moon , a 2025 film directed by Richard Linklater and starring Ethan Hawke, Margaret Qualley, Bobby Cannavale, and Andrew Scott, follows Lorenz, or Larry Hart, on the night of his writing partner's greatest triumph. You've heard of "Rodgers and Hammerstein." Well, before Richard Rodgers changed musical theater in the 20th century with his infamous partner Oscar Hammerstein II, he actually had...

Episode 1: Wicked: For Good is the much anticipated second installment of the film adaptation of the Broadway musical, Wicked. Released in 2025, with a book by Winnie Holzman and music by Stephen Schwartz, the musical is itself an adaptation of Gregory Maguire's 1995 novel, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West . But wait, Maguire's novel is a twist on L. Frank Baum's The Wond...