Movie Schmovie

This week, the guys sink their teeth into Jim Jarmusch’s Only Lovers Left Alive (2013), then bounce from Project Hail Mary to The Super Mario Galaxy Movie with their usual graceful lack of restraint. Along the way, they also check in on the final season of The Boys and Hulu’s two new comedies - Pizza Movie and Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice. Moody vampires, outer space, superheroes, time travel, and pizza: just another totally normal episode!

Every now and then the episode title itself is such a thing of descriptive beauty, it’s a shame to elaborate in paragraph form. But indeed, this dose of Schmovie includes discussion of Luc Besson’s Dracula, this year’s Oscar ceremony, the second season of Jury Duty, and… MORE.

The guys sign up for duty with Night Patrol, a tale that dares to ask the question if being undead bloodsuckers actually makes corrupt, racist cops any worse; then they cover a bit of recent entertainment news before sharing brief thoughts about two new-ish releases: Scream 7 and Netflix’s War Machine. 

Ron, Steve, and John discuss Robert Townsend’s trailblazing indie classic, Hollywood Shuffle, break down the incident at the BAFTAs, and do an old-fashioned Schmovie round robin with some upcoming 2026 movie picks.

Before discussing Steve’s Required Viewing pick, the dark indie dramedy Twinless, the guys check out a batch of recent trailers and pay respects to a few freshly departed icons. Then it’s a round of everyone’s favorite game, “What Else Did You Watch?”, including quick thoughts on some great stuff in theaters now, like Crime 101, Marty Supreme, and Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie.

It’s a freeform episode, meaning the guys had Ron’s Required Viewing pick—last year’s psychological thriller The Dutchman—and not much else planned. So it’s time to cover a bit of industry news and whatever other topics come to mind, including a tribute to some of the folks who influenced your humble hosts to become the people they are today.

The guys drive around all night in a stolen car trying to unravel the picaresque adventures of Michael Douglas, Tobey Maguire, and Robert Downy Junior (before they became superheroes) in journeyman director Curtis Hanson’s Wonder Boys. Then they  discuss some recent releases, including Netflix crime thriller The Rip, and Sam Raimi’s return to madcap gore, Send Help.

Steve’s Required Viewing pick, the heartbreaking father-son crime drama Sovereign, puts the guys in a morbid mood, so maybe the rage zombies and psychopathic cults of director Nia DaCosta’s 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple will perk things up! Also: other things!

Ron, Steve, and John indulge in a little obsessive list-making in order to share their respective top ten favorite films from last year. What a night for the movies! 

In this episode Ron, Steve, and John dance to the music of Sly and the Family Stone by digging into the star-studded, Questlove-directed documentary about the band (and the tumultuous arc of the genius behind it), Sly Lives! Then they chat about some other non-fiction films and series they’ve been watching.