Chase Ables

Animals in movies are great! When a character gets to ride a cool animal in a movie…even better! This week, we are doing a draft of “ridden animals” in movies in honor of our discussion of Spielberg’s War Horse last week. Horses, mythical creatures, giant lizard things…who knows what we will pick?! Listen to find out if we picked your favorite ridden movie animals! https://www.establishingshotpod.com/ Feedback: Email us at establishingshotpod@gmail.com Leave a voicemail from the button on t...

This time it’s Spielberg but with horses! War Horse has its problems, such as the question of who it’s for (kids or adults) or its prolonged runtime, but overall, its beautiful cinematography and composition along with its sentimentality that toes the line of sentimental schlock without ever crossing it make for an enjoyable and even hopeful movie. Adapted from Michael Morpurgo’s children’s novel of the same name, this movie has its magical Spielberg moments and those are enough. https://www...

In stop-motion animation, Wes Anderson found the perfect medium for his controlled, detail filled style while still being tangible enough an animation style to surprise you with emotion. To celebrate his Fantastic Mr. Fox and Isle of Dogs, we did a stop-motion animation movie draft! We talk about everything from Henry Selick and Jack Skellington to Chicken Run and more. This is definitely an artform that deserves way more recognition and celebration. (Also, I have since seen Phil Tippett’s Mad G...

What is better at Christmas time than cozying up with your family for a great Christmas movie?! While we can’t really do that on a podcast, I thought I would spend the next few weeks with my family hearing about their favorite Christmas movies. This week, I am joined by my wife’s side of the family for some great Christmas movie recommendations. I hope you enjoy their choices and make sure to watch some great holiday movies with your family this year! https://www.establishingshotpod.com/ ...

Spielberg ended his run of 80s movies with the romance-drama-comedy-fantasy Always. If that sounds like a confusing mish-mash of genres, it’s because it kind of is. While the movie is tonally confusing and has a plot that is strangely questionable at best, it is still beautifully shot with a really great performance from Holly Hunter. Also starring Richard Dreyfuss, John Goodman, and Audrey Hepburn in her very last role, this made for a really fun discussion even if we didn’t care too much for t...

To accompany our discussion of Wes Anderson’s short films including The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, we did a draft of our favorite short films. There are so many great short films from Maya Deren’s work to Pixar’s shorts. This was a fun draft and led to some great discussion. We hope this episode will work as a recommendations list for those of you who have never ventured into the world of short films! https://www.establishingshotpod.com/ Feedback: Email us at establishingshotpod@gmail....

Wes Anderson’s love for Roald Dahl’s storytelling pours out of the screen in his four short film adaptations of Dahl short stories that dropped on Netflix in 2023. This week, we discuss the unique pop-up book execution of Anderson’s The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, The Swan, The Rat Catcher, and Poison. With nonstop narration, a troupe of phenomenal actors, and stage play moving sets, these shorts are unlike anything I’ve ever seen on film. Our discussion ranges from our favorite set pieces t...

This week we discuss Isle of Dogs, Wes Anderson’s second venture into stop-motion animation. Full of beautiful sets, love for Japanese art, and of course dogs, this is a really enjoyable film to both watch and discuss. In our movie news section, we discuss Tom Cruise’s stunts in Mission Impossible films and how long action stars can last. Finally, we do a draft of stop-motion animation movies and share our recommendations of the week. https://www.establishingshotpod.com/ Timestamps: ...