Blank Check with Griffin & David

What if there was a 13th Warrior? What if there was a version of Beowulf so grounded in reality that the climactic battle with Grendel just kind of felt like a shrug? What if Antonio Banderas was the lead in Gladiator instead of Russell Crowe? We?re just asking questions! Filmmaker David Lowery makes his long-awaited return to the podcast to talk about John McTiernan?s Michael Crichton adaptation, a movie that should have kept the title of the original book - Eaters of the Dead. Such a sick title! Anyway, prepare yourself for plenty of Banderas talk, a loving deep-dive into the famous ?Banderas learns the Viking language? scene, and a reveal of some Blank Check-related easter eggs in Lowery?s filmography (!).

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A Fiji water bottle. ?Sinnerman? by Nina Simone. That Magritte painting with the bowler hat. A SCINTILLATING, AGE-APPROPRIATE ROMANCE WITH TWO OF THE GREATEST HEIST SEQUENCES IN MOVIE HISTORY. We?re talking Tommy C (1999), baby! The delightful Amanda Dobbins joins us for her long-awaited Blank Check debut, and this episode is about as fun as you?d expect. Do we think this movie is better than the Norman Jewison original? Yes. Do we go long on the filmography of Rene Russo? Yes. Do we explain how Pierce Brosnan fit the Monet canvas into his briefcase? Sort of. Does Amanda know the plot of ?Wicked?? Surprisingly, no!

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John McTiernan back with the Die Hard franchise after the spectacular flop of Last Action Hero. Bruce Willis and Samuel L Jackson back together after Pulp Fiction. Die Hard with a Vengeance is definitely part of the ?we are so back? canon. Shea Serrano (who owns every McTiernan movie on VHS) joins us to chat about this explosive action threequel that features a surprising amount of New York theater actors and a bunch of childhood games and riddles. Also, you don?t need us to tell you this but - Jeremy Irons hot. Also cool.

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You either love this movie or you hate it, and guess what - we?re landing all over the LOST ACTION HERO spectrum this episode! Paul Scheer & Jason Mantzoukas join us once again for a clock-busting, rip-roaring time, and we?re unpacking all of this movie?s meta madness.  Is John McTiernan able to parody his own work? Should the kid have actually killed people in this movie (as in the original, edgier script)? Will David have an aneurysm if this episode recording doesn?t end at a reasonable time?

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Oh baby, this one?s a STINKER! Sean Connery finds the cure for cancer but then he loses it (??). Lorraine Bracco delivers all of her dialogue like someone making a comment and not asking a question at a Q&A. They?re both playing scientists - but where?s the CHEMISTRY?? Comedian and writer Jamie Lee returns to Blank Check to talk about John McTiernan?s attempt at a serious adult drama, 1992?s MEDICINE MAN. We spend most of the episode trying to recast this movie to make it somewhat palatable. But the musical score is great!

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We love da submarinesh! Host of ?Unclear and Present Danger? Jamelle Bouie joins us this week to talk about middle aged white guys, airport novels, and naval recruitment propaganda. That?s right - we?re talking about John McTiernan?s adaptation of Tom Clancy?s THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER! Come for our thesis on why Alec Baldwin played the best version of Jack Ryan, stay for Ben and Jamelle?s impassioned pleas for a Highlander patreon series. And of course, there will be Connery impressions.

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The pomp. The pageantry. The awkwardness of trying to shoehorn any of this year?s Oscar nominees into ?Moon River? - that?s right, folks. The Blankies (and host Griffy Crystal) are back! Joe Reid of ?This Had Oscar Buzz? joins us once again to celebrate the momentous year in cinema that was 2023. We?re handing out fake awards, making outrageous claims, and we?ve got a special musical performance that brings the house down. Enjoy!

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Thirty-six floors. Thirteen (fake) terrorists. One perfect action movie. Kevin Smith - who was in a Die Hard movie AND directed Alan Rickman in DOGMA -  joins us again for a supersized episode on McTiernan?s signature film. We?re getting into Bruce's wine cooler commercials. We reveal the surprising Shakespeare play that influenced McTiernan?s direction of this story. We?re nerding out about the spatial and organizational PERFECTION that makes it such a classic. And we?re paying loving homage to two screen presences whose careers ended tragically too soon. 

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GET TO THE CHOPPA! Griffin attempts his best (actually, worst) Arnold voice this week as we head to the jungle with Jon Gabrus and some bic razors. For almost three hours, we?re dissecting every little bit of PREDATOR - the glow-stick goo alien blood, the Alan Silvestri score, Arnold?s calves, Arnold?s biceps, Arnold?s long red polo shirt, Arnold?s chiseled cheekbones, the way Arnold says KILL ME!!! - you can expect lots of Arnold talk. 

The filmed special of Blank Check on Broadway Live at The Town Hall will be available on VOD! The premiere will be on March 23rd 8pm ET. Get your ticket to watch it at: bit.ly/bconbway

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Okay, action freaks! We?re kicking off our John McTiernan miniseries - POD HARD WITH A VENGECAST - with a film that is not at all indicative of the greatness to come. Nomads! A movie where Pierce Brosnan attempts a garbage French accent and is terrified by some punks in a van. That?s kind of the whole thing. Anyway - get ready for a spirited conversation about plenty of other topics, like: the filmography of Tom Shadyac! John McTiernan?s super cool dad! Gerard Depardieu?s face! The strict rules of Julliard! The 1976 Academy Awards! And more! 

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If Yentl was about connecting with her absent father, and The Prince of Tides was about forgiving her difficult mother, The Mirror Has Two Faces is just about BARBRA! Who Weekly?s Bobby Finger and Lindsay Weber join us as we close out our Streisand series with her final film, a strange Frankenstein of a Judd Apatow, Albert Brooks, and Nora Ephron romcom. Should Lauren (?Betty?) Bacall have won the Oscar that year? Should Pierce Brosnan and Jeff Bridges have swapped roles? Is ?the perfect bite? the ideal romcom concept? Is Barbra Streisand actually lazy, as she claims she is? Do we have any listeners who keep snoballs in their drawers?

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Can you hear the crawdads sing? Or is that just our Nick Nolte impression? Our favorite Carolinian Katey Rich joins us to chat about Streisand?s 1991 adaptation of Pat Conroy?s bugnuts novel, a story that includes some serious ethical breaches made by alluring therapist Susan Lowenstein. Listen along as Katey shares some tidbits from the book that did NOT make the screen adaptation (a tiger, for example), Griffin relates to Jason Gould?s attempts to be sporty, and David offers his hot take that this is a better 90s therapy movie than Good Will Hunting.  

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Surprise! In a first for Blank Check, we're dropping a bonus main-feed episode featuring a conversation with an Academy Award-nominated star of the film we just covered. The great Amy Irving joins us for a fun conversation about her career highs and lows, the behind-the-scenes YENTL gossip, and Ben's buried jeans. That's right, we have to explain Ben's denim thing to Amy Irving.

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Plus, it's never too late to check out the Slow Xmas 2023 holiday music compilation now on Spotify, Apple Music, Bandcamp or wherever you get music!

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Podcast, can you hear me?? We certainly can, Barbra! The very menschy Jordan Hoffman joins us to chat about Streisand?s official directorial debut, a marvel of a film that makes anyone describing it sound insane. Yes, Barbra wrote, directed, produced, and starred in a period piece about a shtetl girl who crossdresses in order to study the Talmud. Yes, the film is a musical with songs composed by Michel Legrand. Yes, Barbra is the only person who sings in it, despite the male lead being Broadway legend Mandy Patinkin. Yes, Steven Spielberg called this movie ?the greatest directorial debut since CITIZEN KANE.? Yes, we think Barbra should enter the MCU and direct Ant Man 4. Wait, what?

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Hello Gorgeous! We?re kicking off our Barbra Streisand series (titled ?Podcastl,? naturally) with a look at her version of the classic Hollywood cautionary tale - 1976?s A STAR IS BORN. And who better to join us than our own songbird superstar - the lovely Rachel Zegler! While Babs didn?t technically direct this one, she and her partner Jon Peters (Bradley Cooper in LICORICE PIZZA, duh) exacted supreme creative control over the project - to mixed results. Join us as we trace the beginning of Streisand?s career, go down several rabbit holes of who else was considered for this movie (Elvis, Sonny and Cher), and speak fondly about Mariah Carey?s GLITTER. Because, why not?!

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Vroom vroom! Michael Mann is BACK. Bilge Ebiri is BACK. How do you say ?we?re so back? in Italian? Join us as we talk about cars that go fast (Ferraris), hair that grows long (Adam Driver?s, normally), faces that have seen smart phones (Shailene Woodley?s) and character actors that could have been in this movie (Paul Giamatti, but specifically as Pig Vomit). Masculinity is a cage, machines that work the best are the most beautiful, and we all think that the Mille Miglia seems like a bad idea. No grazie!

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We?re closing out 2023 with two words - Wet. Chocolate. Join us as we bid farewell to the DCEU, say ?hello fennel? to Timothée Chalamet, and bring our craziest unhinged, ?end of school year? energy to two very different new releases. Orm.

Check out Matt Singer?s Wonka Themed IHOP menu article.

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The music! The makeup! The MAESTRO! We?re diving into Bradley Cooper?s Leonard Bernstein biopic, the result of his post-A STAR IS BORN Blank Check, and we?re getting personal, emotional, and pretty ridiculous. Who does Griffin?s Bernstein impression sound like (because it certainly doesn?t sound like Bernstein)? What is Ben?s familial connection to the Maestro? Will Marie ever forgive Griffin for inviting Bobby Wagner on a date to visit Bradley Cooper?s Philly cheesesteak truck instead of her? Will David ever forgive Griffin for comparing the Maestro to Will Smith?

Theme music by Alex Barron

Music selection "We Three Kings" by Amy Irving, Goolis, Aaron Is Your Friend from Slow Xmas 3.

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It took seven years for Hayao Miyazaki and the artists at Studio Ghibli to make THE BOY AND THE HERON. What better way to honor that lengthy process than to invite JD Amato back for another clockbusting, context-loaded episode?! For a rather bit-free THREE-AND-A-HALF HOURS, we are diving into Miyazaki?s personal history, his creative process, the differing animation styles between the Ghibli greats, and the thematic implications of this beautiful new film. Because this is Blank Check, we?ve also got lots of thoughts on Robert Pattinson?s vocal performance, and a lot to say about some other, less-successful animated films released this year.

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Mamma mia! We?ve got-a some-a sleepy pasta for-a you to taste-a this-a week! In our latest, much-awaited installment of PORCH CLASSICS, we?re handing the reins to Producer Ben, who has chosen to spotlight a forgotten comedy about ?the world?s horniest pizza man who cannot die.? Lawrence Kasdan?s I LOVE YOU TO DEATH is a feast of bizarre performances (Italian-face Kevin Kline, Serb-face Joan Plowright, Stoner-face William Hurt) and tonal miscalculations. All this to say - it?s a very FUN movie to talk about.

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We?re wrapping up our Fincher series with his latest release - a stripped-down, gig-economy hitman thriller - THE KILLER. Is Michael Fassbender?s unnamed hitman actually good at his job, or a total goober? How do your friends at Blank Check feel about The Smiths? Where do the Two Friends put MANK in their final Fincher rankings? And - is Griffin okay, or has he fallen too deep inside the Gaylor Swift rabbit hole?

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Nerts! Are you folks ready to get MANK-PILLED? We advise that you start by ?mankro-dosing? David Fincher?s 2020 exploration of the life and times of cantankerous screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz. The Big Picture?s Sean Fennessey joins us to chat about Fincher?s first Netflix feature, and we?re asking all the important questions. Would this film have a better reputation if it had been titled ?manK!? ? Will there be a film made 40 years from now entitled ?SORK? about Aaron Sorkin, David Fincher, Mark Zuckerberg, and the making of THE SOCIAL NETWORK? Is Mank the ?Jabba the Hut of cynicism?? Will Griffin use this episode as another excuse to talk about The Offer?

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?Amazing Amy? meets ?Awkwardly-Smiling Affleck? in Fincher?s darkly comic masterpiece - an instant classic from that first shot of Rosamund Pike?s pretty head. The delightful Esther Zuckerman (who will definitely NOT ?gone girl? her boyfriend) joins us to discuss this impressive work of adaptation. We?re asking all the big questions - is ?Amazing Amy? actually a good children?s book? Did Tyler Perry take any directing tips from David Fincher when he made BOO! A MADEA HALLOWEEN? Would this movie work as well with Reese Witherspoon and Jon Hamm as the two leads? Why haven?t we gone long on the career of one Benjamin G. Affleck yet?

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The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo? More like The Girl Who Go On Computer! The Girl with the Fruit Tattoo - Fran Hoepfner - joins us as we dive into Fincher?s 2011 Nordic noir. How does Fincher?s take on Stieg Larsson?s international best-seller compare with the original Swedish version? What does Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander have in common with ET? Does Christopher Plummer have the greatest octogenarian acting decade of all time? WHEN WILL BEN HOSLEY MAKE HIS WITCH HACKER MOVIE?

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Let us take a walk down memory lane to when the Metaverse was but a twinkle in Zuck?s eye, to when Aaron Sorkin was just a much-respected writer and not yet a (groan) director?to when the idea of a prestige film about millennial tech bros seemed like a ludicrous proposition. My, how times have changed! THE SOCIAL NETWORK is one of the most influential and consequential films of the 21st Century - prescient, quotable, and eminently rewatchable. You know what?s cooler than a two hour podcast? A THREE HOUR PODCAST. You?re welcome, nerds.

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2007?s THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON is a film that dares to ask the question, ?What if he baby but old?? Despite the meme-ification of David Fincher?s trip to the uncanny valley, we are pleased to make our belated case for why this movie is GOOD, actually, and in step with the themes of Da Finch Man?s body of work - not a sappy outlier. Vanity Fair?s Richard Lawson returns to the podcast as we all grapple with mortality, wistfully opine about tugboats, and develop an absurd running bit about late character actor Orson Bean (who is not in this movie). Did you know Producer Ben has been struck by lightning seven times?

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This is the Zodiac speaking. I have recorded this podcast episode with Griffin, David, and the genius Leslye Headland because I am tired of the tangents on every other episode so far this Fincher series. With this episode, we?re getting into the CRAFT, the OBSESSION, the MADNESS, the MINUTIAE of David Fincher?s Gordian knot of a true crime mystery. What is the scariest scene in ZODIAC? Which of the three main actors gives the best performance? Are Aqua Velvas good? Like my identity, there is no definitive answer to these questions. The untangling is the juice, baby!

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We?re scootin? through some wild Manhattan real estate this week and locking ourselves into David Fincher?s PANIC ROOM with the wonderful Eva Anderson! Can you believe that Jodie Foster wasn?t even supposed to be in this movie? And that David Fincher was the one who braided Jared Leto?s cornrows? Just kidding about that last one. Come for Griffin?s formative crush on young Kristen Stewart, stay for the inexplicable amount of talk about ?Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip? - a show that has absolutely nothing to do with this movie.

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The first rule of Fight Club? Don?t talk about Fight Club. The second rule of Fight Club? DON?T TALK ABOUT FIGHT CLUB. For those of you who like following the rules, we have an edited version of this episode available on Patreon wherein we do NOT talk about the seminal 1999 film FIGHT CLUB. But for the rest of you sickos, we?ve got a supersized episode with Project Mayhem?s own Alex Ross Perry. In this episode, we discuss our picks for the iconic DVDs of the ?DVD era?, dive into the career of SERIOUS ACTOR Edward Norton, wonder what this movie would have been like with Janeane Garofalo as Marla Singer, and reveal the very dumb reason why Fred Durst is a playable character in the Fight Club video game.

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Congratulations! If you are listening to this episode, it means you?ve discovered the key in the mouth of the wooden clown we placed in your driveway. Actor, musician, and handsome man Brendan Hines joins us this week as we lead you on an immersive, life-changing experience through David Fincher?s The Game. We understand you may have some questions. How much did this whole thing cost? Is cocaine a requirement for every Michael Douglas movie? What?s Deborah Kara Unger up to these days? Did Charles Martinet say ?it?s a-meeee, daddio!? when he jumped off the roof? We will try our best to answer these enquiries, but please note that CRS is not liable to disclose all of its innerworkings to clients.

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Who loves Da Finchman? These guys do! MTV Movie Award-losing duo Mitch and Nick of the Doughboys join us to talk about David Fincher?s breakthrough hit - the nasty noir SE7EN. What can you expect from this episode? Lots of talk about ?playground rumors? related to what this movie does and doesn?t actually show, a full taxonomy of Kevin Spacey?s on-screen persona, the true identity of the Zodiac killer, and a VERY Doughboys description of the film?s ?gluttony? murder.

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The time has come for us to talk about one of the most successful, most influential, most respected American filmmakers of the past 30 years. That?s right, we?re talking about the director of ALIEN3, David ?Da Finchman? Fincher! We?re kicking off ?The Curious Pod of Benjamin Buttcast? in style, pressing play on our Alien Quadrilogy Blu-Ray with guest Matt Singer - and you better believe we?re watching the ?extended cut? in ?Mu-th-ur Mode?! Join us as we give some light background on young ?Dave? Fincher, alleged neighbor of George Lucas and director of Madonna music videos and smoking fetus PSAs. We?re going long on the troubled production of ALIEN 3 - a franchise film that has such disdain for its audience that we can?t help but love and respect it. No Newt? NO PROBLEMO. Do you want to do the dance with Charles Dance? So do we!

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Decision to Leave? More like, decision to watch a good movie! EMMY AWARD WINNER (but more importantly, David Sims Best Supporting Actress Nominee of 2017) joins us to discuss Park?s most recent film, a romantic noir that gets text messaging absolutely right. We?re getting into everything, from the complexities of Tang Wei?s performance, to the concept of ?sand beaching,? to S. Craig Zahler?s tight ponytail. Plus, we give our final Park rankings, and announce our next series, the worst-kept secret in podcasting.

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We couldn?t be more excited to talk about the film we consider to be Park?s masterpiece - the gorgeous, twisty, and ultimately moving THE HANDMAIDEN. ?Mother of the Blankies? Emily Yoshida joins us to unpack this puzzlebox of an erotic thriller, a brilliant adaptation of Sarah Waters? Fingersmith. Come for the coining of a new Blank Check phrase (thanks, researcher JJ!), stay for a very crucial ?touch of the Tucc? tangent. By the way - what does that octopus actually do??

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Remember when the star of TV?s Prison Break (Wentworth Miller, ?human map?) wrote a screenplay that landed on the Black List and ended up serving as the material for Park Chan-Wook?s only English film to date? What a time to be alive! Mia Wasikowska superfan Emily St. James returns to Blank Check to offer her take on 2013?s Stoker, a movie that is not NOT about vampires. Join us as we fawn over Park?s stunning directorial choices (that shot where Nicole Kidman?s hair transitions into grass!), go long on 2000s TV series (Prison Break obviously, but also In Treatment), and listen with delight as Emily shares some crucial David Sims lore.

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Move over, Dracula. Eat your heart out Edward Cullen. A new sexy vampire is in town, and he just happens to be a PRIEST! Park Chan-Wook reunites with the wonderful Song Kang-ho to put his own stamp on the popular genre with 2009?s THIRST. Inverse?s Hoi-Tran Boi joins us to chat about this darkly funny (and devilishly sound-designed) film, an adaptation of Emile Zola?s classic novel Thérèse Raquin. How do the rules of vampirism translate to a culture where everything is cooked with garlic?  

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From the twisted mind of Park Chan-Wook, it?s?a surprisingly sensitive romance set in a mental hospital? Writer and Comedian Karen Chee joins us to chat about 2006?s I?M A CYBORG, BUT THAT?S OKAY - a real outlier in Park?s career, and a commercial disappointment after the global success of his Vengeance Trilogy. Would it surprise you to learn that this film was inspired by, of all things, TOY STORY? Is this the best Park film to remake with a cast of Muppets? Are any of the film?s mental illnesses based in reality? All that, and more, in a very silly episode.

Follow Karen on Instagram

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DA MOVIESH ARE BACK, BABY! Film Director Barbie joins the gang to chat about Christopher Nolan?s latest and an historic weekend at the multiplex. What?s the best format for seeing OPPENHEIMER? Which of the many character actors in this film makes the biggest impression? Will David make his sexy Christopher Nolan voice a new recurring bit? Plus - we address the SAG strike (solidarity!), the social media discourse around this film (so dumb!), and Ben admits that science used to seem cool.

This episode is sponsored by: 
Factor (factormeals.com/check50 CODE: CHECK50)
AG1 (drinkAG1.com/blankcheck)
ExpressVPN (ExpressVPN.com/check)

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It?s 2023. An all-powerful AI program named ?the Entity? is sewing chaos and threatening the fragile equilibrium of the world as we know it. It is also throwing sick parties. Meanwhile, over at Blank Check HQ, the BENTITY has a few tricks up his sleeve to surprise Griffin, David, and Marie with a mission of their own as they break down Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie?s latest big-screen extravaganza.

Special thanks to IMF team members Teo Rapp-Olsson and Patrick Willems. Support their work!
Patrick Willems: https://www.youtube.com/@patrickhwillems
Teo Rapp-Olsson: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6231691/

Mission: Impoddible theme composed by Alex Barron

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Park Chan-Wook?s loosely-linked ?Vengeance Trilogy? comes to a starkly satisfying end with 2005?s LADY VENGEANCE - a normal flick?that?s all we have to say! Just kidding - we have LOTS to say about this one, with its stacked cast of lady convicts and grief-stricken parents. Our beloved Karen Han returns to the pod to correct our terrible Korean pronunciations and to tell us about ?Jump Like A Witch? - a Korean reality series wherein famous female celebrities attempt to form a basketball team. Plus - it should surprise no one that this episode contains plenty of Pirates of the Caribbean discussion.

Guest Links: 
Get Karen?s Book ?BONG JOON HO DISSIDENT CINEMA?
Follow Karen on Twitter 

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What is an Oldboy? How do you feel about Greek Tragedies? How did Choi Min-Sik achieve that iconic (and insane) hairstyle? Was giving the 2004 Palme d?Or to FAHRENHEIT 9/11 over this film one of the greatest mistakes in the history of arts and culture? All those questions answered and more as critic Alison Willmore joins us to talk about OLDBOY, the first major Korean breakthrough in the American filmbro canon. 

Guest Links: 
Read Alison's writing at New York Magazine
Especially ?Theory: Top Gun: Maverick Is (Mostly) a Death Dream? if you haven?t already
Follow Alison?s dog on Instagram

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Park Chan-Wook kicks off his famous ?Vengeance? trilogy and we kick off another episode where we talk about Ted Danson?s late 90s sitcom BECKER! Critic, friend of the pod, and Crystal Skull-apologist David Ehrlich joins us to chat about Park?s ?Sympathy for Mister Vengeance? - a film that shows that revenge is not a dish best served cold, but is actually kind of sad and futile. Come for Ehrlich?s story about his teen trip to Seoul (when he had lunch with Director Park!), stay for the throwback memories of ordering imported DVDs from YesAsia-dot-com and the often misleading branding of the Tartan Asian EXTREME label.

Guest Links:
Read Ehrlich?s writing at IndieWire
Listen to Fighting in The War Room
Watch Ehrlich?s Best of Videos

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Park Chan-Wook?s 2000 breakthrough and Korean box office juggernaut - JSA (Joint Security Area) - is the rare international murder-mystery that dares to ask the question??what if the real smoking gun was FRIENDSHIP??? Join us as we unpack this poignant and twisty thriller, and maybe some of you can unpack on your own time why Griffin chooses to bring up THE LITTLE RASCALS when talking about Korean geopolitics.

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It?s a brand new era for Blank Check - Griffin is in his ?arriving early to work? era. Ben is in his ?Bad Boy 2.0? era. And we?re all in our WORLD CINEMA era as we kick off our series on South Korean master (and March Madness champion!) Park Chan-Wook. Join us as we offer a brief overview of the evolution of Korean cinema - from 1960?s landmark THE HOUSEMAID up through decades of government censorship - and introduce the career of one of our finest filmmakers. However - we?re gonna be real with you all. Park?s first two movies are NOT GOOD. He has actively tried to erase them from the cultural consciousness. So - do things get really silly as we dance around talking about how bad these movies are? YES. Do we use this episode as an excuse to catch up with several series worth of Ben Nicknames? ABSOLUTELY.

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Our Buster Keaton series comes to a conclusion as his period of creative independence does, with his first two features for MGM: THE CAMERAMAN and SPITE MARRIAGE. The former? Debatably a meta-masterpiece, with a Chinatown setpiece for the ages and one very adorable monkey. The latter? Well, you can see the downward spiral start to take shape. In this episode, we fill in the later years of Buster?s life and career, give our final Keaton rankings, and attempt to cheer Ben up after a very demoralizing restaurant experience.

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After his ?blank check? for THE GENERAL bounced,  Buster Keaton found himself creatively and financially shackled. Thus, 1927?s COLLEGE lands on the lesser end of the quality spectrum (not to mention a very difficult watch with Buster putting on blackface for a scene - yikes). But, his follow-up STEAMBOAT BILL, JR. features some of the most memorable and dangerous stunts of Keaton?s career, and acts as a beautiful send-off to his period as a self-sufficient filmmaker. The wonderful John Hodgman joins us to chat about both films and his life-long love of Buster. Plus - as always with a Hodgman episode - we go down several delightful rabbit holes: Doctor Who, beans, Goofy?s ?George Geef? period, large pants, and more!

Guest Links: 
Get Vacationland: True Stories from Painful Beaches now in Paperback
Check out Up Here on Hulu 
Watch Dicktown on Hulu
Listen to the Judge John Hodgman Podcast

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One of narrative cinema?s earliest training sequences, and one of cinema?s most famous trains - that?s right, we?re covering Buster Keaton?s 1926 films BATTLING BUTLER and THE GENERAL. Gentleman, scholar, and action movie aficionado Jamelle Bouie joins us to unpack this week?s double feature, providing some essential historical context for THE GENERAL?s unfortunate Civil War  setting. Plus, Ben starts researching how one buys a train.

Guest Links: 
Read Jamelle?s writing at The New York Times
Listen to Unclear and Present Danger 
Subscribe to Unclear and Present Danger Patreon

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This week?s Keaton double feature sees our unflappable hero chased by two types of terrifying crowds: angry would-be brides, and a herd of cattle. How does he outrun them both? Jamie Loftus joins us to chat about Buster Keaton?s tremendous on-screen running (up there with Tom Cruise), his enduring sex appeal (we love a hot tired guy), and his compassion for animals (giving the bovine star of GO WEST a week off to have sex). Plus, because Jamie is THE Hot Dog Queen, we get into a very involved, very long tangent about the world of competitive Hot Dog Eating.

Guest Links: 
Get Jamie's book Raw Dog (The Naked Truth About Hot Dogs) out 5/23
Listen to The Bechdel Cast
Subscribe to The Bechdel Cast Matreon 

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Buster Keaton released two features in 1924 - ?Sherlock Jr.?, a film that was considered a commercial disappointment at the time but has grown in stature over the past century, and ?The Navigator'', a colossal box office hit that hasn?t aged nearly as well. Actor and lover of old-timey things James Urbaniak makes his long-awaited debut on the pod (originally promised back in our Shyamalan days!) and we?re getting into the billiards bits, boat gags, razor puns, and movie magic that make this double feature so special.

Guest Links: 
See James in The Country Club as well as Venture Bros: Radiant is the Blood of the Baboon Heart when they come out.

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The Great Stone Face?The Little Boy Who Couldn?t Be Damaged?whatever you call him, Buster Keaton is one of the most important figures in film history, and we couldn?t be happier to be spotlight him in our latest series PODCAST JR. Our beloved Dana Stevens - writer of the fantastic Keaton tome ?Camera Man? - joins us to set the table as we dive into the filmography of one of Griffin?s favorite artists. We?re going into Buster?s start as a vaudeville child star (sometimes in ?Irish face?), the qualities of his work that distinguish him from peers Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd, and we?re dissecting the gags and stunts featured in his first two feature films. Plus - Griffin gives one of his worst Box Office Game performances, and we all learn a bit about early child labor laws.

Guest Links: 
Get Dana?s book "Camera Man" now in paperback 
Read Dana?s film criticism 
Listen to Dana on Slate Culture Gabfest

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