A family film that both Field and Butler can agree on. Yes, it does happen. And despite Butler's insistence to the contrary, sometimes it's his film choice that wins the day. Secondhand Lions is a story of a young boy in desperate need of some adult guidance, and while it comes in the form of two older uncles who dispense important lessons on what it means to be a man, any kind of responsible adult supervision would've been okay. But let's face it, we all want Robert Duvall to give us that big speech. (Rest in Peace, Good sir) Duvall is great (as always), Caine is solid, and Osment is displaying why he was on a tear in the early 2000s. (Even if he was whining a bit in this one) Take a listen to what we thought about the movie! Spotify  | Apple Podcasts  | Amazon Music  | More Links Miss our last episode? Don't worry! It's right here!

A new episode of Last Four is upon us! Mike Field shares his thoughts on the last four films he watched. We've got: Cold Storage | a killer fungus is among us War Machine | Jack Reacher versus a killing machine from space Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die | Sam Rockwell trying to save the world from a time-traveling AI Send Help | Rachel McAdams trapped on a deserted island and getting revenge on her boss. Enjoy! Spotify  | Apple Podcasts  | Amazon Music  | More Links

Unlimited. Unlimited.... (Sorry, wrong movie) We're trying to defy gravity this week, long enough to get Sandra Bullock into the Tiangong's Shenzhou capsule and get back to Earth...somehow. This movie looks awesome. Maybe they didn't shoot in space, but it looked like they did, right? Where's the Love for Gravity? Everyone we now likes this movie, but why don't we talk about it still? We know, we know...that's the whole point of the podcast. But we're in that weird gray area of time with this film. Gravity came out in 2013, and we're not quite far enough away for the nostaglia glasses, and we're not close enough to remember. That's what happens when you have loads of movies and television shows that come out year round now. But we digress. Sandra Bullock is great in this movie, and George Clooney is charming as hot-shot astronaut would be. If you've seen this movie, enjoy our conversation about it. Like space movies? Well, check out our latest Now Showing - Project Hail Mary. Spotify  | Apple Podcasts  | Amazon Music  | More Links

Now Showing: Project Hail Mary (2026) Space movies live or die by their emotional core. The spectacle is easy enough to manufacture with floating debris, impossible distances, and the cold silence of the void. What's harder to manufacture is the feeling that you genuinely care about the person floating out there. Project Hail Mary , directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, gets that part exactly right. And then some. We'll just say it up front: we loved this movie. What Makes Project Hail Mary  So Good? Ryan Gosling plays Dr. Ryland Grace, a middle school science teacher who wakes up alone on a spacecraft with no memory of how he got there, only to slowly piece together that he's light-years from Earth on a one-way mission to save the human race. It's a high-concept setup that could easily feel cold or mechanical, but Gosling makes it warm, funny, and surprisingly moving. His performance carries the film the same way his character carries the mission: through sheer ingenuity and an irresistible likability that makes you want to follow him anywhere. Butler's word of choice for this one was phenomenal , and he used it more than once. Ryan Gosling and Rocky: The Best Duo of 2026? The heart of the film is the relationship between Grace and Rocky, an alien he encounters whose planet, Erid, faces the same extinction-level threat as Earth. Rocky is a technical marvel, and the friendship that develops between these two very different beings is the film's greatest achievement. It's funny, touching, and sneaks up on you in ways you don't expect. If you've ever wanted to watch a man and a talking rock become best friends while trying to save two worlds simultaneously, this is your film. Does Project Hail Mary  Have Any Weaknesses? We'd be doing you a disservice if we pretended the film was flawless. Our main reservation is structural. The hero's journey framework occasionally makes the pacing feel a little too smooth for its own good, and a major development near the end would have landed with considerably more emotional weight had it come just a bit earlier. These are minor quibbles for a film that keeps you genuinely engaged for its entire runtime, but they're worth noting. Should You See Project Hail Mary  in Theaters? Absolutely and without hesitation. This is a film that celebrates curiosity, friendship, and what people, and apparently some aliens, are capable of when they decide to work together. It's smart without being cold, emotional without being manipulative, and uplifting in a way that feels genuinely earned. If you're looking for a film that sends you out of the theater feeling good about the universe, Project Hail Mary  is it. Spotify  | Apple Podcasts  | Amazon Music  | More Links

Is Soapdish  Still Funny? Yes! Daytime television has never looked quite as gloriously unhinged as it does in Soapdish (1991) . This week on Forgotten Cinema, we dive into the fast-paced backstage comedy and come out the other side thoroughly entertained. This is a film that earns its laughs through a stacked cast, sharp writing, and a genuine affection for the genre it's skewering. What Makes Soapdish Work: A Cast Firing on All Cylinders The secret weapon of Soapdish  is its ensemble. We both single out Kevin Kline and Sally Field as particular standouts. Kline is doing what Kline does best, finding the absurdity in every scene without winking at the camera, and Sally Field anchors the chaos with a performance that's as grounded as it is funny. Around them, the supporting cast (Elisabeth Shue, Robert Downey Jr., Whoopi Goldberg, Cathy Moriarty) keeps pace, making this a rare comedy where no one feels like they're working harder than anyone else. A Soap Opera Inside a Soap Opera What elevates Soapdish beyond straightforward parody is its layered premise. The film is set behind the scenes of a fictional daytime drama, but the off-screen lives of its cast are every bit as melodramatic as the show they're making. That self-awareness gives the comedy real depth. It's not just poking fun at soap operas; it's using the format to comment on itself, and doing so with enough affection that it never feels mean-spirited. Does Soapdish Hold Up for Modern Audiences? As many of us already know, soap operas are no longer the cultural juggernaut they once were. The genre that once dominated American afternoons has somewhat faded from the mainstream. Some of the satire in Soapdish lands differently as a result, and viewers with no frame of reference for the genre may find certain jokes less resonant than they would have in the early 90s. And yet the humor, performances, and sheer momentum of the storytelling carry it through. The specifics of soap opera culture may be dated; the comedy of ego, ambition, and workplace chaos absolutely is not. A Sharp, Joyful Comedy Worth Rediscovering We both come away from Soapdish  with a clear verdict: this one is a great time. It's fast, funny, and anchored by performances that make it easy to understand why the film deserved a bigger legacy than it got. If you've never seen it, this episode is a good place to start. If it's been a while, it holds up better than you might expect.   Spotify  | Apple Podcasts  | Amazon Music  | More Links

Field returns for Last Four: Episode 3 to share with you his thoughts on the last four movies he's watched. This tight ten-minute episode takes you on a journey through few different genres. We've got: Ella McCay | A James Brooks comedy-drama that can't quite figure out what it's about Shelter | Jason Statham doing exactly what Jason Statham does (and delivering) Nuremberg | A drama with Russell Crowe chewing scenary and Rami Malek in a completely different movie Les Misérables | Because sometimes you just end up watching Les Misérables. Enjoy the show! Spotify  | Apple Podcasts  | Amazon Music  | More Links

Welcome to the Time Loop Tourney! We've got 16 movies vying for the title of the ultimate Time-Loop movie. If you haven't figured it out, these films have a time-loop in its premise. Okay, that's out of the way. Here we go! The rules are as follows: Seedings (and rankings) were determined by the movie's ratings on IMDb . Any ties were broken by the ratings over at The Movie Database . As you see below (TMD ratings in parenthesis): Groundhog Day 8.0 Edge of Tomorrow 7.9 About Time 7.8 Source Code 7.5 Predestination 7.4 (74/100) Palm Springs 7.4 (73/100) Looper 7.4 (69/100) Deja Vu 7.1 Boss Level 6.8 Happy Death Day 6.6 Final Girls 6.5 Before I Fall 6.4 Arq 6.3 Until Dawn 5.7 (63/100) Repeaters 5.7 (58/100) 16. Christmas Do-Over 5.6 The matchups are below. Voting will be Mondays and Thursdays for Round 1 for the next four weeks. Voting will begin on our #1 vs. #16 matchup this voting Monday, March 23rd. Voting will take place on Instagram , TikTok , YouTube and Patreon .

Is Changing Lanes  Worth Revisiting? One bad day. Two men on a collision course. That's the deceptively simple premise at the heart of Changing Lanes  (2002) , and on this week's episode of Forgotten Cinema, we find a film that's more thoughtful, and more complicated, than its premise might suggest. Does the Setup Still Work? The film follows two men, a high-powered attorney and a recovering alcoholic, whose lives collide after a minor car accident spirals into a full-scale war of escalation. What makes it work structurally is the dual protagonist setup: each man functions as both hero of his own story and antagonist of the other's. It's a morally ambiguous premise that most studio dramas of the era weren't willing to sit with. Samuel L. Jackson and Ben Affleck Deliver Under Pressure We agree the performances are a genuine strength. Samuel L. Jackson brings intensity and real humanity to his role, grounding a character who could easily have become a simple victim archetype. Affleck matches him well, navigating the moral deterioration of a man who starts compromising his ethics and finds it disturbingly easy. Butler came into the rewatch already fond of the film and found the performances held up. Field appreciates that the filmmakers treated the material as genuine drama rather than pushing it toward conventional thriller territory, a restraint that pays dividends. Where Changing Lanes Falls Short The film isn't without its problems. There are noticeable contrivances that strain credibility, and the resolution tips a little too conveniently toward tidiness for a story that otherwise earns its messiness. Butler felt Affleck's character needed more development, a clearer window into what pushes him toward the darker choices he begins making. Without that groundwork, parts of his arc feel rushed rather than earned. Field found the dual protagonist structure more distracting than rewarding, a genuinely interesting concept that still made it harder to fully invest in either man's journey. The film asks a lot of its audience in terms of split emotional investment, and doesn't always deliver the payoff that would justify it. A Flawed But Compelling Early-2000s Drama Even with its flaws, Changing Lanes  holds up as a compelling, thoughtful drama anchored by two strong lead performances and a premise that still resonates. It's the kind of film that trusts its audience to sit with moral discomfort, and for the most part, that trust is earned.   New episodes of Forgotten Cinema drop every week. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. Spotify  | Apple Podcasts  | Amazon Music  | More Links

We're doing something different in this episode of Forgotten Cinema. We're reading! We interview author Nicholas Keating Casbarro about his sci-fi epic "Vitalerium: Descent into the Void". We may love movies, but we alos love storytelling in any form. The first chapter of a huge new series set in the far future. A novel filled with action, mystery, political intrigue, and more. Casbarro discusses what goes into creating his first story, planning out a universe, writing theory, and other light topics such as predictions on the future of humanity. The book has also inspired a comic book/graphic novel series (see image to the right) This is only the beginning of the Vitalerium universe, and we encourage you to give it a shot. Enjoy the moment when Field suddenly must leave the interview as he was recording while having no heat in his house, and the technician had just showed up to fix it. (Side Note: This was the first of 5 techs over the span of two weeks, all attempting to fix the furnace. Fun times.) Interested in checking out Vitalerium: Descent into the Void for yourself, Follow these links! Website | Amazon | Audible | BAM! | Patreon

Some movies arrive fully formed. Others feel like they're still figuring themselves out even as the credits roll. Maggie Gyllenhaal's The Bride!  falls somewhere in the middle. It's ambitious, visually arresting, and deeply strange in ways that will stick with you, even if you leave the theater unsure of how you feel about it. And honestly? That uncertainty is kind of the point of our conversation this week. What The Bride!  Gets Undeniably Right The film is Gyllenhaal's first major studio production, and as a showcase for her directorial voice, it's genuinely impressive. The visual design is lush, the filmmaking is confident, and the craft on display throughout is hard to argue with. Jessie Buckley is extraordinary as the Bride. It's the kind of performance that carries a film on its shoulders and makes you forget the machinery behind it. Christian Bale, playing the tortured and obsessive Frank, is equally compelling, and the film closes on one of the best end credit songs either of us has heard in recent memory. Butler left the theater singing it. So why does the whole thing feel just slightly out of reach? Does the Script Let The Bride!  Down? Butler came away disappointed, and his case is a strong one. Despite everything working on a technical and performance level, the screenplay simply doesn't hold up its end of the bargain. The story meanders in ways that feel less like deliberate ambiguity and more like genuine indecision as if the script never quite settled on what it wanted to say or what kind of film it wanted to be. For a story rooted in creation, identity, and autonomy, The Bride!  can feel surprisingly directionless. The foundation is there. The house just isn't fully built. Field walked out of the theater largely agreeing with that read. But after sitting with it for a day, something shifted. Not a reversal. He's not going to pretend the script problems aren't real, but more of a recalibration. What started to win him over was how fundamentally different  the film is from the kind of blockbuster entertainment we've grown accustomed to. There's no algorithmic fingerprint here, no focus-grouped safety net. Gyllenhaal made exactly the movie she wanted to make, and in an era when that kind of creative stubbornness is increasingly rare in big-budget filmmaking, that counts for something. Is Being Different Enough to Make a Film Good? That's the question that drove most of our conversation this week, and it's a genuinely tricky one. We don't think "different" should be a free pass. Plenty of films are odd or unconventional in ways that don't serve the story. But we also think there's real value in a film that refuses to look like everything else, even when it stumbles. The Bride!  stumbles. It stumbles noticeably. But it stumbles while swinging for something bigger than most films bother to attempt, and that has to mean something. Our Verdict on The Bride! Where you land on this one will probably say something about what you go to the movies for. If you need a script that earns every moment it asks of you, Butler's reservations will likely be your reservations. If you're willing to meet a film halfway when its ambitions outpace its execution, Field's experience might be closer to yours. Either way, The Bride!  is the rare studio film that actually sparks a conversation, and for us, that's never nothing. Now Showing is our ongoing series covering new theatrical releases. New episodes drop on YouTube and wherever you listen to podcasts. Spotify  | Apple Podcasts  | Amazon Music  | More Links