The Summer of Postscript continues as the fellas journey to everyone's favorite honeymoon spot, The Grid. In honor of Joseph Kosinski's F1, we take another look at Kosinski's debut, Tron: Legacy. After discussing what we felt was an exemplary legacy sequel last week in T2 Trainspotting, we examine one of the first proper legacy sequels of the 2010s, coming over half a decade before the wave that later came. Was this movie far more influential that we've given it credit? Does this movie actually have juice, or is that our fifth grade nostalgia speaking? How do you appraise the value of aura and hype moments in the year 2025? Are Chris Pine fans being properly fed? Come get digitized with us.
The Summer of Postscript has begun! With the release of the audacious 28 Years Later in June, we are kicking off this miniseries by heading back to Edinburgh with the Rosilio brothers to examine Danny Boyle's T2 Trainspotting. How did a sequel to the first Trainspotting even come to be? How does this film fare as a legacy sequel? Why does this movie handle nostalgia better than almost all of contemporaries? Is Danny Boyle the best digital filmmaker alive? Come join us as we begin our farewell to summer.
To merely label this as a podcast episode about the 2016 film Captain America: Civil War would be both misrepresentative and deeply reductive of what these three and a half (3.5) hours hold. What once started as a bit to unethically force our dear friend Chance Freytag to rewatch Civil War and watch the newest MCU entry, Captain America: Brave New World, with us evolved into something much grander. From Moby Dick to Stalker (1979, dir. Tarkovsky) to what a movie actually is and the impact it can have on someone’s life, this episode is a sprawling piece of introspection and personal reckoning for Chris, Mateo, and Chance. This episode has more in common with an average telehealth appointment than a typical recorded MCU discussion. This release of this film was a pivotal moment in the moviegoing careers of all three of the fellas, and they reflect on everything that has transpired in the industry and their lives in film since. You don’t have to have even seen the film to listen to the pre watch to this ep (clocking in at ~1.5hr itself). Come join us.
To continue the trend of covering this year's Oscar-nominated directors' previous features, Mateo, Chris, and Seb take a trip with Mikey Saber down to Galveston, TX to watch Sean Baker's (surprisngly underseen) Red Rocket. How does this one compare to Anora, which has now emerged as the clear frontrunner in the race? Why did people latch onto Anora but not Red Rocket? Was Simon Rex snubbed? Join us!
With The Brutalist announcing itself as one of the films to beat this awards season, we examine director Brady Corbet's previous feature film, Vox Lux from 2018, starring Natalie Portman. To set the table for this relatively underseen movie, we thoroughly discuss the production, context, and intention of the film (2:03) before all watching it for the first time ourselves (35:17). Did Corbet always have the juice? How does this film function as a companion piece to another 2018 entry with a similar setting, A Star is Born? Why isn't Jude Law in every single movie? Come watch this movie with us!
Mateo and Chris kick off the New Year by looking back at 2024 and assessing which released films are most likely to warrant an episode on the podcast 3+ years from now. What films will people sour on? What films will rise in our estimation? Did we miss any movies?
The fellas load up on sunscreen as they take a trip directly into the sun to shine some light on Danny Boyle and Alex Garland's hugely underseen space film, Sunshine. Chris shares some lore on the production and botched release of the film, detailing why this movie fell so hard through the cracks before Mateo and Seb both watch it for the first time. Is this a true buried classic of 21st century sci-fi?
Space Month continues as the boys gear up to go to the Moon. They are joined by their pal Riley to revisit what is perhaps Damien Chazelle's truly most underappreciated film, First Man from 2018. The fellas discuss how this movie fits into Chazelle's filmography, what makes it special, and why it ultimately wasn't a hit.
SPACE MONTH BEGINS with James Gray's divisive Ad Astra from 2019. Mateo and Chris are joined by returning guests Nick and Nikki on their voyage to Neptune. They discuss the reception and slightly troubled production of the film and why it deserves to be revisited before re-evaluating it themselves. Is this actually one of the most beautiful films of its decade? Would it have been a bigger hit in a different release year? Should one of the space monkeys be on Dancing with the Stars? All is discussed.
In honor of the release of Gladiator II, the boys travel to the Holy Land to experience the acclaimed director's cut of Ridley Scott's once-panned 2005 Crusade epic, Kingdom of Heaven. Is this the most substantial director's cut ever? Would this have been a hit if the theatrical cut wasn't so compromised? Is this actually one of Ridley's best movies? All is discussed.
We say farewell to Spooky Month by taking on Mike Flanagan's increasingly reclaimed, three-hour adaptation of Stephen King's Doctor Sleep with the one and only, Owen Ward. The fellas discuss why this film left people feeling a bit mixed upon release and how it has only grown in fans' estimations since then. What separates this film from the many other legacy sequels and trauma-core horror films? Does this film escape the shadow of The Shining? Is this actually the definitive Stephen King adaptation? All is discussed in this grand finale to our horror month.
We continue our month of horror with Guillermo Del Toro’s Crimson Peak from 2015. Coming after a string of Del Toro’s biggest commercial hits and right before The Shape of Water, this movie is often left out of conversations when determining Del Toro’s best film. Which is why we’ve brought back Crimson Peak champion Vance Osteen to take us to Cumberland, England and show us the truth.
Spooky Month continues as the boys enroll at the Helena Markos Dance Academy with their friend Jasmine to watch Luca Guadagnino's audacious Suspiria remake (but don't call it a remake). They discuss the extremely polarizing reception to this film upon release and how it's currently viewed within Guadagnino's filmography before watching it (all for the first time) and deciding for themselves how much of it works.
The fellas kick off their 1st Annual Spooky Month by taking a lil trip to ol' Silent Hill, accompanied by their travel agent, Craig Cardillo. Is this the only truly good video game adaptation? They discuss the turbulent reception to this movie and how people have warmed on it over time before diving into the foggy dimensions themselves and seeing how this movie holds up. Pyramid Head is real.
To prepare for the release of the most polarizing film of the year, Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis, Mateo and Chris are joined by Alex Franco to examine his most recent release, Twixt (2011). They discuss Coppola’s career arc and what he aimed to achieve with these 21st century entries (1:00) before diving into the madness themselves. The Twixt Post-Watch discussion begins at (33:55). Afterwards, they are joined by Chance Freytag for the first-ever, emergency Day One Postscript Recording to discuss their immediate feelings and reactions about Megalopolis (1:42:52).
And we’re back! The boys kick off Year Two of the pod by viraling out on their blues and greens and revisiting the two Bourne entries post-Ultimatum, The Bourne Legacy (2012) and Jason Bourne (2016). Mateo and Chris are joined by Dylan Smith discuss the history of the Bourne films and why the creative schism within this franchise that manifested itself in these two movies is so fascinating. They compare and constrast Legacy and JB 2016 and how they display the virtues and shortcomings of the two primary authorial figures of the Bourne franchise, Tony Gilroy and Paul Greengrass, and how those two view the character and this universe. Also tune in for Dylan’s review of Universal’s The Bourne Stuntacular and his recently purchased Bourne Complete Collection (amongst various other thoughts). Post-Watch begins at (57:15).
To commemorate The Postscript's first birthday, Chris and Mateo reflect on their first year of podcasting and the dozens of films they've covered by giving their biggest surprises (8:08), disappointments (23:30), and Top 5s (43:23) of all the movies they've watched for the pod.
There appears to be an event happening. The boys' Shyamalan fever refuses to break, so they have decided to cover one of his most panned films, The Happening. Did this movie deserve the level of hate and mockery it has and continues to receive? Or is this movie an early instance of general audiences misunderstanding Shyamalan? Our guest Tommy helps make the case for why it may be the latter before they rewatch the movie and decide for themselves (31:54).
In honor of the release of Alien: Romulus, the boys rev up their chainsaws and re-examine Fede Álvarez's (largely forgotten) Evil Dead reboot from 2013. Owen makes a compelling case for the merit and importance of the film before Mateo and Chris both give it their first viewings (36:24). They later dive into Romulus and discuss how it's in conversation with Evil Dead and represents an evolution in Álvarez's filmmaking (1:20:28).
Something is going on with time on this podcast. Mateo and Chris are joined by their pal Ethan to rewatch the first ever Shyamalan film covered on the pod, the extremely polarizing Old. Was this film a stroke of brilliance and the mark of an exciting new era of M. Night, or a clunky mess? How will this stretch of films from Shyamalan be remembered? All is discussed on this episode.
