Unclear and Present Danger

And not just because it makes me feel smart for enjoying Broken Arrow, Bulworth, and worse.

If you are expecting in depth review of the films (which it seems like a few of the low reviewers were), this podcast will probably disappoint you. They are interested in how the films provide a window into their contemporary political world. Hard to find two better guides for that than these two! Go elsewhere for pop culture analysis.

I’ve listened to 5 episodes and have yet to find one that the hosts don’t find some reason to overly criticize and throw blanket terms like all of these great dad thrillers were “subliminally mediocre”. I would be so enthused to talk about these great films but we all know that negativity garners the most engagement on the internet. One saving grace is the both of the hosts political knowledge and finding ways to segue it (sometimes) to the film. It’s one thing to have constructive criticism but to bash every film or rank them all as “meh” has me wondering why are you even here doing this podcast ? Did the A24 podcast send you both a rejection letter. Or maybe there wasn’t enough room at Joe Rogan’s table? And for the love of all things that were holy in the 90’s, please do not eat during a podcast. Listen to U.S. Marshals ep for some wet lipsmacking and munching and the cardinal sin of talking while eating. You realize this is an auditory form of entertainment, right? No one wants to hear food stretch and mush while you talk about how bad all these fun nostalgic films were.

Politics, history, and movies. 3 of my favorite things all brought together in an entertaining fashion by the two hosts.

I really expected to like this, it’s right up the alley of the type of movie podcast that I usually love. The problem is that one host seems to not understand story pacing, culture, or conflict. I knew it ultimately wasn’t going to be for me when he said the movie a few good men did not have any compelling drama, interesting characters, or moral complex. Then it seemed like it just turned into the other host trying to sway him, so there was no real intelligent commentary. He’s welcome to his opinion, but when I’m listening to something that just feels devoid of understanding then I get annoyed.