At the point in his career where Spielberg took on the adaptation of the popular novel Ready Player One, he was due for another technological challenge. While not a Spielberg favorite or master work, there is no denying his touch on the movie (without which this project might have been…
Whether it is journalism, novels, songs, or even emails, there are a plethora of films that celebrate writers. With this movie draft, we aim to do the same thing! In this draft, we take our favorite “writers in movies”, using that category with creative freedom. This draft was originally done…
When The Post was released in 2017, it was released into a political climate that was fraught with distrust and an anxiety about the loss of the freedom to seek the truth. Many wondered then if this based-on-a-true-story political thriller by Spielberg starring powerhouses Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks was…
This fall, there are a lot of interesting movies being released! But don’t fret! I go through the entire fall winter movie slate for you in this episode to clue you in on what to mark on your calendar. We have everything from new entries from great directors (Paul Thomas…
With fantastical giants, dreams you can catch and blow into the heads of sleeping children, and a child who is swept away in adventure beyond her imagination, The BFG is, in a way, Spielberg getting back to his roots. While there is plenty of charm in the imagining of this…
Cold War movies have been releasing since the end of WWII, and in this movie draft, we explore the plethora of options. There are spy movies, political thrillers, sci-fi metaphors, satires, sports movies, and so many more genres to choose from. We had a lot of fun discussing the nuances…
Bridge of Spies might be one of Spielberg’s most underrated films, and an argument could be made for it being his best of the 2010s. Being his 4th collaboration with Tom Hanks and his 1st with Mark Rylance, this film supports top notch acting and a superb script with precise…
Presidents are portrayed in movies in so many different ways: fictional presidents, real presidents, real presidents in a fictional role, satirical presidents, and so many more. Our movie draft this week, in which we draft both real and fictional portrayals of US presidents covers these wide varieties as we discuss…
What do you get when you have one of our all time great directors in Spielberg with one of our all time great actors in Daniel Day-Lewis playing one of our all time great US Presidents? You get one of our all time great president movies in Lincoln! We talk…
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…
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…
WE MADE IT TO 100! It’s been a great journey to get here. I’ve learned a lot along the way and met some amazing people. To celebrate, I share some reflections, have listeners and past/future guests share their favorite films covered so far, and I share my top 10 films…
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…
Tintin is a unique film in the Spielberg filmography as his only fully animated film. Because of this, this discussion is full of interesting topics like his forging into motion capture technology, the sense of playfulness felt in the film, and much more. I might even get into a bit…
Desert settings always make for a great cinematic experience! This was just as true for Nolan’s Oppenheimer even if the desert was being used for something highly problematic. In this episode, we take turns drafting our favorite movies with desert settings. They span a wide variety of genres from sci-fi…
With Oppenheimer turning into a cultural phenomenon (aka Barbenheimer) in the lead up to its release alongside Barbie and its subsequent financial success and critical acclaim, Christopher Nolan has emblazoned his name onto the list of historically important filmmakers. We talk about the significance of a 3 hour experimental biopic…
The 1990s and 2000s were some of Spielberg’s most successful decades! We see him come into his own as a director and mogul of the movie industry. He solidifies his legacy as a household name, and silences his harshest critics by showing his ability to make both popcorn blockbusters and…
There is nothing quite like a scene that happens underwater. One of my favorites comes from The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou when Steve and the rest of his crew have a transcendent moment encountering the infamous Jaguar Shark that ruined Steve’s life. In this episode we explore other such…
Harrison Ford has been one of the most treasured American actors since his breakout role as Han Solo in Star Wars and was solidified as a film icon as Indiana Jones when Raiders of the Lost Ark released only a few years later. This week we talk about his Hollywood…
Nearly 20 years after Indiana Jones rode off into the sunset with his father, Spielberg returned to our favorite tomb-raiding professor of archaeology in his older years with Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. In the opinion of my guest and I, this film certainly has its flaws with some undercooked…
Hostage and kidnapping stories actually have a rich history in film. From serious dramas, to edge-of-your-seat thrillers, to comedies, there was a lot of great cinema to choose from for this week’s movie draft. This draft follows up our discussion of Spielberg’s Munich, and it is fully of fun discussion…
Munich is one of Spielberg’s least discussed movies and undeservedly so. It displays some of his best action set pieces, contains serious contemplative political and ethical questions, and has all of the iconic Spielbergian shots and framing. And that is not even to mention that its subject matter dealing with…
As a belated companion to our Catch Me If You Can episode, we are doing a movie draft of Leonardo DiCaprio performances! Leo is arguably the biggest movie star of his era. Making the turn from young heartthrob to a medium for auteurs to explore conflicted characters through was impressive.…
With his adaptation of the sci-fi classic War of the Worlds, Spielberg continues his 2000s science fiction fun with yet another 9/11 coded film with a broken family and troubled father. Join me and the Nerds & Jesus podcast as we talk about these themes, the Tom Cruise factor, Dakota…