Seeing and Believing: Recent Episodes
Seeing and Believing
Every week, Kevin McLenithan and Sarah Welch-Larson search for the sacred on screen as they review the latest films and television shows.
Sarah and Kevin explore a dystopian sci-fi story in the form of Landscape with Invisible Hand, the latest movie from Cory Finley adapted from an M.T. Anderson novel of the same name, about a pair of teens who live under a vaguely benevolent alien occupation that's drained the planet of its jobs and resources. For the Watchlist, Sarah and Kevin talk about another story that has to do with finding love in a hopeless economy: Charlie Chaplin's 1936 film Modern Times.
Have thoughts about the movies we reviewed? Send us an email at seeingandbelievingcapc@gmail.com. Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Follow us on Letterboxd Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Sarah and Kevin explore a dystopian sci-fi story in the form of Landscape with Invisible Hand, the latest movie from Cory Finley adapted from an M.T. Anderson novel of the same name, about a pair of teens who live under a vaguely benevolent alien occupation that's drained the planet of its jobs and resources. For the Watchlist, Sarah and Kevin talk about another story that has to do with finding love in a hopeless economy: Charlie Chaplin's 1936 film Modern Times.
Have thoughts about the movies we reviewed? Send us an email at seeingandbelievingcapc@gmail.com. Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Follow us on Letterboxd Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Sarah and Kevin vs. Dracula...on a boat. This week, they review The Last Voyage of the Demeter, an adaptation of a chapter from Bram Stoker's novel Dracula. For the Watchlist, Kevin continues the theme of "danger on a boat" with his choice of Wolfgang Petersen's 1981 film Das Boot.
Have thoughts about the movies we reviewed? Send us an email at seeingandbelievingcapc@gmail.com Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Follow us on Letterboxd Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Kevin and Sarah dive into the sewers with the titular teens from the new animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. Then, Sarah and Kevin enter the magical world of Miyazaki's 2004 film Howl's Moving Castle. Have thoughts about the movies we reviewed? Send us an email at seeingandbelievingcapc@gmail.com Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Follow us on Letterboxd Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Mad science is afoot in this week's double feature. First up, Sarah and Kevin get to the bottom of the new Netflix mystery/comedy/science fiction thriller They Cloned Tyrone, starring John Boyega, Teyonah Parris, and Jamie Foxx as a trio investigating strange goings-on in their neighborhood. For the Watchlist, Kevin introduces Sarah to one of his favorite horror movies, Eyes Without a Face.
Have thoughts about the movies we reviewed? Send us an email at seeingandbelievingcapc@gmail.com Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Follow us on Letterboxd Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The heat of summer is here. Kevin and Sarah brave forest fires as they review Christian Petzold's latest movie Afire, about a writer who can't seem to finish his latest manuscript while on vacation. Then, they take on a listener Patreon pick by reviewing the 2022 Irish Best International Feature Oscar nominee, The Quiet Girl. Have thoughts about the movies we reviewed? Send us an email at seeingandbelievingcapc@gmail.com. Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Follow us on Letterboxd Support the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Barbenheimer is upon us. Sarah and Kevin review two new releases this week: Christopher Nolan's biopic about the father of the atomic bomb, Oppenheimer, followed by Greta Gerwig's romp about a Barbie having an existential crisis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Sarah and Kevin's mission, which they chose to accept, is to review the latest entry in the Mission: Impossible series. Will Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie pull it off once again? For the Watchlist, Kevin and Sarah square off over differing interpretations of Satoshi Kon's dreamlike movie Paprika.
Have thoughts about the movies we reviewed? Send us an email at seeingandbelievingcapc@gmail.com. Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Follow us on Letterboxd Support the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Kevin and Sarah don their adventuring gear and go exploring with Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny...but does this franchise belong in a museum? For the Watchlist, Sarah and Kevin discuss Peter Bogdanovich's 1971 film The Last Picture Show.
Have thoughts about the movies we reviewed? Send us an email at seeingandbelievingcapc@gmail.com. Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Follow us on Letterboxd Support the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Alien-invasion movies are perfect for exploring the question of who humanity is when they're at their worst. First up, Kevin and Sarah review Wes Anderson's latest movie Asteroid City, which juxtaposes lonely humans against an even lonelier universe as they try to make a connection with the unknown. For the Watchlist, Kevin introduces Sarah to the Steven Spielberg adaptation of H.G. Wells' novel of the same name, War of the Worlds.
Have thoughts about the movies we reviewed? Send us an email at seeingandbelievingcapc@gmail.com. Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Follow us on Letterboxd Support the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
This week, we review a pair of movies about coming of age and learning to live with yourself. Pixar specializes in stories that revolve around this topic, so naturally Kevin and Sarah were interested to examine their latest release, Elemental, to see if it holds up against the rest of Pixar's offerning. Then, Sarah introduces Kevin to Kelly Fremon Craig's directorial debut, The Edge of Seventeen, starring Hailee Steinfeld.
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Kevin and Sarah take on horror-adjacent movies in two different flavors this week. First up, they review The Blackening, a comedy that aims to puncture common tropes about Black characters in horror movies. Then, Kevin picks Jeremy Saulnier's much more serious film Green Room, about a punk band fighting for their lives, for the Watchlist segment. Have thoughts about the movies we reviewed? Send us an email! Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Follow us on Letterboxd Support the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
It's spring, and romance is in the air. Sarah and Kevin each fall for Celine Song's debut feature Past Lives, about two childhood sweethearts reconnecting decades later. For the Watchlist segment, Sarah introduces Kevin to the Merchant/Ivory adaptation of Edith Wharton's A Room with a View.
Have thoughts about the movies we reviewed? Send us an email! Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Follow us on Letterboxd Support the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Movie magic! Musicals! Axe murders! All in a day's work for Sarah and Kevin as they review a pair of movies that revolve around the power of cinema. First up is Steven Spielberg's semiautobiographical The Fabelmans, which presents pieces of Spielberg's legacy alongside a loosely fictionalized version of his own life growing up. For the Watchlist segment, Sarah introduces Kevin to Jacques Demy's musical take on Hollywood with a French twist, The Young Girls of Rochefort.Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePODSupport the Seeing & Believing PatreonLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
This week, we give thanks for whodunnits. Sarah and Kevin assemble in the drawing room to get to the bottom of the mystery at the heart of Rian Johnson's new mystery, Glass Onion. Then, Kevin introduces Sarah to Akira Kurosawa's masterpiece High and Low.
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Sarah and Kevin report on Maria Schrader's film She Said, a dramatization of the investigative journalism by Megan Twohey (Carey Mulligan) and Jodi Kantor (Zoe Kazan) that brought down Harvey Weinstein in 2017. For the Watchlist segment, Sarah introduces Kevin to Sandi Tan's 2018 Netflix documentary Shirkers, about the creation and loss of her 1992 student film of the same name. Both of this week's movies interrogate power imbalances and the places where women are made unwelcome in film; Kevin and Sarah discuss how both movies go about that task.
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Kevin and Sarah test the limits of friendship in their review of The Banshees of Inisherin, Martin McDonagh's movie about a friendship that suddenly vanishes. Sarah gives a capsule review of the latest Marvel movie, Ryan Coogler's Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Finally, for the Watchlist segment, Kevin introduces Sarah to the 1991 comic book movie, The Rocketeer. Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Support the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
In this bonus episode, Sarah and Kevin review the 2021 horror-drama movie Agnes, directed by Mickey Reece.
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Kevin and Sarah take a trip down memory lane with two deeply personal movies. First up is Armageddon Time, James Gray's memoir about growing up in New York City in the early 1980's. For the Watchlist segment, Sarah introduces Kevin to Andrei Tarkovsky's own semi-memoir film Mirror. Mirror can be watched on YouTube Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Support the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Kevin and Sarah take on a super-anti-hero in their review of Black Adam, the DC Comics passion project of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Then, in the spirit of Halloween, Kevin introduces Sarah to the Danny Boyle zombie movie 28 Days Later for the Watchlist segment. Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Support the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Kevin and Sarah spend some time with two spectacular performances in two separate movies about two singular women. First is Cate Blanchett as Lydia Tár in Todd Field's new film TÁR, which centers around a composer-conductor whose star is rising, but whose past might be catching up with her. For the Watchlist, Kevin and Sarah dissects Gena Rowlands' performance as aging actress Myrtle in the 1977 John Cassavetes film Opening Night.
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In this bonus episode, Sarah and Kevin review Andrew Dominik's Blonde, which adapts Joyce Carol Oates' 2000 novel of the same name. Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Support the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
This week, Kevin and Sarah review Chinonye Chukwu's film Till, about Mamie Till-Mobley's pursuit of justice after the 1955 lynching of her son Emmett. Then for the Watchlist, Kevin introduces Sarah to Charles Burnett's debut feature film, Killer of Sheep. Watch Killer of Sheep on Archive.org Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Support the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Whodunnit? And are these movies any good? Kevin and Sarah investigate David O. Russell's latest, Amsterdam, in which three friends (played by Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, and John David Washington) who delve deep into a conspiracy that mostly actually happened. Then for the Watchlist, Sarah and Kevin talk about Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye. Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Support the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
It's War Movie Week on the podcast. First up, Kevin and Sarah review The Woman King, a historical epic about the all-women Agojie warriors of the Dahomey Kingdom in 19th century West Africa. For the watchlist, they take on more recent fare, as they sort through Kathryn Bigelow's controversial 2012 movie Zero Dark Thirty. Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Support the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Kevin and Sarah take on two historical dramas this week. First, they look into Olivia Wilde's thriller movie Don't Worry Darling, starring Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, and Chris Pine. Along the way, they discuss the power of writing and metaphor, and whether or not Don't Worry Darling manages to maintain the tension in the midst of its gorgeous setting. For the Watchlist, Kevin and Sarah go exploring with Michael Mann's 1992 historical epic The Last of the Mohicans. Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Support the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Sarah and Kevin dive into the creative lives of June and Jennifer Gibbons, the women at the center of the new biopic The Silent Twins. But does the movie do justice to its subjects? For the Watchlist segment, Kevin introduces Sarah to Tamara Jenkins' 2007 movie The Savages, in which two siblings played by Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman find themselves suddenly and unexpectedly caring for their aging father. Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Support the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Sarah and Kevin, two unabashed Tolkien nerds, discuss the first two episodes of the new Lord of the Rings TV series, The Rings of Power. Then, they embark on a journey into the Cartoon Network TV miniseries Over the Garden Wall. Along the way, they talk about the importance of myth and fairy stories, and whether or not the two TV shows live up to Tolkien's ideals. Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Support the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
In this bonus episode, Sarah and Kevin count down the movies they're most looking forward to in the upcoming awards season. Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Support the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Sarah is joined by guest host Abby Olcese to talk about George Miller's fantasia Three Thousand Years of Longing, in which a narratologist played by Tilda Swinton meets a djinn played by Idris Elba. For the Watchlist segment, Abby introduces Sarah to the 1977 Peter Weir film The Last Wave. Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Support the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Lions, no tigers, and bears, oh my. Kevin and Sarah take on Beast, a movie in which Idris Elba fights a lion. After tangling with the latest blockbuster (and each other), they then turn their attention to the Werner Herzog documentary Grizzly Man. Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Support the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Kevin and Sarah tackle Bodies Bodies Bodies, Halina Reijn's Gen-Z satire about 20-somethings at odds with each other… but will Kevin and Sarah split over their review too? Next up, Sarah introduces Kevin to Peter Weir's 1975 film, Picnic at Hanging Rock. Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Support the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Kevin and Sarah return from a restful vacation to review a high-octane action movie, Bullet Train. Will the movie hit its target, or is it really a slow train to nowhere? Then, Kevin and Sarah turn their sights toward another high-adrenaline movie premise for the Watchlist segment. This time, it's the bank robbery in Sydney Lumet's 1975 movie Dog Day Afternoon. Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Support the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Kevin and Sarah saddle up and get spooky with Jordan Peele's latest movie, Nope, about two ranch caretakers played by Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer who investigate mysterious goings-on with their horses. Then, our intrepid hosts follow a wagon train west as they discuss Sidney Poitier's 1972 western, Buck and the Preacher. Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Support the Seeing & Believing Patr Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Kevin and Sarah take on a pair of buddy movies this week. First up: the Tollywood smash hit RRR, which features a friendship for the ages at the center of India's fight for independence. Then they discuss Shane Black's 2005 movie Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, a black comedy noir set at Christmastime in L.A. Along the way, Kevin and Sarah ask themselves: which one of the hosts is the straight man, and which one's the loose cannon? Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Support the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The god of thunder and director Taika Waititi both return to the MCU in Thor: Love and Thunder. Kevin and Sarah decide whether the series has managed to harness lightning again, or if the romance has finally fallen flat. Next up, they take on romance of a different kind in Jonathan Demme's screwball/road trip movie Something Wild. Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Support the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On is a feature-length take on the YouTube shorts about a tiny sentient shell. Kevin and Sarah discuss whether the movie is a successful adaptation. Then, they talk about the 2010 French animated film The Illusionist, a lovely movie about magic and maintaining a sense of wonder in a world that doesn't value either one.
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Does The Black Phone get a ringing endorsement from Kevin and Sarah, or is the line dead? They discuss Scott Derrickson's latest horror film, and whether it's successful in adapting the short story of the same name. Then they turn their attention to Hayao Miyazaki's Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. Apocalypse preparation scenarios make an unexpected appearance. Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Support the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
This week, Kevin and Sarah take on a David Cronenberg double feature. First up is Cronenberg's latest, Crimes of the Future, which presents a dystopian world that questions what it means to be human. Then, Kevin introduces Sarah to one of his favorite horror movies, the 1986 version of The Fly. Be afraid…be very afraid. Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Support the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Seeing and Believing 337 | Jurassic World Dominion & Frankenstein (1931)
Jurassic World Dominion asks: what if dinosaurs invaded modern-day Earth? Kevin and Sarah talk about whether or not the movie's answer to its own question is any good, or if the film was trying to do too much at once. Then, Kevin and Sarah explore another movie about a scientist grappling with hubris, the 1931 classic Universal monster movie Frankenstein.
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Are men okay? That's what Kevin and Sarah want to know after recording this week's episode. First up is Alex Garland's latest movie Men, which takes on questions about sin and gender for better or worse. Then for the Watchlist, they discuss Charlie Kaufman's 2015 stop-motion movie Anomalisa. Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Support the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Kevin and Sarah feel the need…the need for speed…and for Dad Movies. First, in a review of Top Gun: Maverick, they ask whether a sequel 25 years in the making is worth it. For the Watchlist, they ask whether Philip Kaufman’s 1983 film The Right Stuff does, indeed, have the right stuff. Many dad jokes are made. Check out the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Kevin and Sarah take on a Patreon subscriber's pick as they review last year's melodrama WParallel Mothers, starring Penelope Cruz in an Oscar-nominated role. For the Watchlist, they discuss another family drama, Yasujiro Ozu's 1953 masterpiece Tokyo Story. The difference between drama and melodrama is hashed out. Check out the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Kevin and Sarah catch up on their indie movies with Jane Schoenbrun's debut, We're All Going to the World's Fair. For the Watchlist, they pivot to the 1984 dance movie JFootloose. Kevin has his doubts about Kevin Bacon. Check out the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Kevin and Sarah dive into another parallel universe with the latest Marvel movie, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Then, they keep the conversation going with feedback from listeners about past episodes. Finally, they bring on guest Elijah Davidson, who introduces them both to the French New Wave film Jules and Jim. Sarah has a grand unifying theory about the MCU. Listeners can sign up for Elijah's film devotional project Come & See at https://elijahdavidson.com/seeingandbelieving. Check out the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Kevin and Sarah discuss whether his new meta movie The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent manages to live up to its title. Then they have a standoff over the latest Watchlist pick, Face/Off. Kevin gets animated about doves. Check out the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Murder, mayhem, and revenge...just another episode of Seeing & Believing. Kevin and Sarah trade opinions about Robert Eggers' latest movie, The Northman. Then they turn their gaze toward a Patreon pick, Alfred Hitchcock's classic suspense movie Rear Window. Sarah does a passable Robert Plant impression. Check out the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
It's Holy Week. To observe Good Friday, Kevin and Sarah contemplate Andrei Tarkovsky's 1966 masterpiece Andrei Rublev for the Watchlist segment. But first, they discuss Michael Bay's latest action movie, Ambulance. Check out the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
This week, Kevin and Sarah sink their teeth into a pair of vampire movies. To her surprise (and Kevin's), Sarah had fun with the new Jared Leto superhero movie Morbius. For the Watchlist segment, Kevin introduces Sarah to the Swedish vampire film Let the Right One In. Musical interlude "We'll Be Fine" by The Surface of the Deep, used with permission. Check out the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Kevin and Sarah take on the multiverse in their review of Daniels' latest film, Everything Everywhere All At Once. Then they turn their attention to Barbra Streisand's grift in Peter Bogdanovich's 1972 comedy What's Up, Doc?/i> The leopard from Bringing Up Baby makes a surprise guest appearance. The You Must Remember This season about Polly Platt can be found here Musical interlude by Wayne John Bradley, "Blessed." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Check out the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
This week, Kevin and Sarah grapple with their complicated feelings about Mariama Diallo's feature debut, Master. For the Watchlist segment, they compare notes on Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda in the 1941 screwball comedy The Lady Eve. Sarah shares a fun fact about flowers. Music interlude by Wayne John Bradley, “Just Breathe.” Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Check out the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Kevin and Sarah find themselves in an animated disagreement over Pixar's latest movie, Turning Red. In the Watchlist segment, they reconvene over the Studio Ghibli film Kiki's Delivery Service. Woodland wildlife is discussed. Check out the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
This week: quiet, contemplation, and a pair of very good movies. Kevin and Sarah find themselves enamored of Kogonada's new film, After Yang. Then, they shift their attention to Hirakazu Kore-eda's 1998 film, After Life. Kevin waxes poetic about Ozu. Check out the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
This week, Kevin and Sarah discuss Matt Reeves' take on The Batman. Is it a good Batman, or is it the most Batman? In the Watchlist segment, they split over Cathy Yan's feature debut Dead Pigs. Sarah makes an argument for unexpected musical numbers at the end of movies. Check out the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Mid-February means romance movies, new and old. First up, Kevin and Sarah take on the new adaptation of Cyrano, directed by Joe Wright. Along the way they discuss whether or not the movie works as a musical, and they split over the merits of war scenes in romance movies. For the Watchlist, they turn their eyes toward Todd Haynes's 2015 film Carol. Kevin explains why the movie's worth a revisit, while Sarah is dumbstruck by Cate Blanchett. Check out the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Need an investigator? Kevin and Sarah are on the case! First, they unpack the mystery at the heart of Kenneth Branagh's latest movie, Death on the Nile. Then they go to the Watchlist for a discussion of James L. Brooks' 1987 movie, Broadcast News. It's detectives, reporters, and your intrepid podcast hosts all coming together on this week's episode of Seeing & Believing. Check out the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
It's family relationships week at Seeing & Believing. First, Kevin and Sarah discuss Maggie Gyllenhaal's directorial debut The Lost Daughter, and its use of ambiguity as a storytelling device. Then, they ramp up the tension by continuing last week's Asghar Farhadi discussion with a chat about his Oscar-winning masterpiece A Separation. Finally, the new segment is christened with a name. Check out the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
This week, we're playing catch-up! First, Kevin and Sarah discuss Asghar Farhadi's latest film, A Hero, and where it stands in relation with other 2021 releases. Then, they kick off a new segment with a turn to a villain from the distant past, as they consider the iconic Universal monster movie, Dracula. Check out the Seeing & Believing Patreon Music interlude is "Savior" by Pipe Choir. Used under Creative Commons license 4.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Westerns often pit humans against nature. This one features Benedict Cumberbatch as a force of nature himself. Kevin and Sarah discuss Jane Campion's latest, The Power of the Dog. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The Matrix has you (again) Neo...
Lana Wachowski, Keanu Reeves, and Carrie-Anne Moss return to the Matrix franchise for a remix of a beloved story. But does the remix work? Kevin discusses with Sarah Welch-Larson. Plus, an exciting announcement about the future of the podcast!
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Kevin and critic/author Sarah Welch-Larson reconvene to discuss their favorite movies of 2021. Along the way, they contemplate the state of the movie industry and of criticism at the end of a very strange year. Check out the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Seeing & Believing sends 2021 out with a bang by reviewing one of the biggest movie musicals of all time, remade by one of the biggest American directors of all time. Kevin is joined once again by Sarah Welch-Larson to talk about the new version of West Side Story, releasing 50 years after the original film brought the Sondheim/Bernstein/Laurents stage musical to the big screen. Steven Spielberg—at long last getting to fulfill his dream of directing a musical—has some new tricks on this go-round to make the story his own; Kevin and Sarah explore how successful he is. Get ready to rumble! Check out the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Kevin is joined this week by critic/author Sarah Welch-Larson to chat about a film that is on both of their most-anticipated lists for the year: Mike Mills's C'mon C'mon. The film stars Joaquin Phoenix as a radio journalist who finds himself unexpectedly charged with taking care of his precocious nephew (Woody Norman) when the mother has an unexpected emergency. Naturally, life lessons are learned and Phoenix and Norman have the chance to turn in some interesting performances, but how interesting are the results? Kevin and Sarah discuss! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
How do you imprint a memory onto celluloid? Kenneth Branagh attempts to answer that question with his latest film, Belfast, based on his own memories of growing up as a young boy during the Troubles in 1960s Northern Ireland. Kevin is joined once again by Chris Williams of We're Watching Here to examine whether Branagh succeeds. Together they discuss the performances from heavyweights like Judy Dench and Ciaran Hinds, the black-and-white cinematography, and the religious undercurrents of the film's conflict. Are the Oscar aspirations for Belfast justified?
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Put on your dapper clothes and be seated in the geometrically perfect room of your choice, because we're looking at a Wes Anderson film this week! Delayed due to COVID, Anderson's The French Dispatch is finally enjoying its theatrical release, and Kevin is joined by See/Hear Brother cohost and critic Joshua Wilson to talk about it. Framed as a series of stories in a fictional magazine modeled after The New Yorker, Anderson's latest explores art's place in our lives as it revels in the visually striking compositions that have come to define Anderson's aesthetic. Kevin and Joshua take a look to see how it fits into Anderson's career as a whole. Don't miss it! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Halloween is receding into the mists of the past, but it's never too late to enjoy a spooky movie, and this week's episode offers a doozy: Edgar Wright's Last Night in Soho. Thomasin Mackenzie (Leave No Trace, Jojo Rabbit) stars as a young woman nostalgic for the bygone era of the 1960s, who allows herself to be transported in her dreams back to that time only to find that the past has its share of darkness and horror. Allow yourself to be transported back into spooky season this week, as Kevin is joined by film critic Chris Williams to chat about Wright's foray into straight-faced genre filmmaking and what it has to say about violence, gender, and nostalgia! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
After myriad COVID-related delays, it's finally here: the long-awaited adaptation of Frank Herbert's sci-fi opus, Dune. Director Denis Villeneuve (Arrival, Blade Runner 2049) returns once again to the sci-fi genre with this new film starring Timothee Chalamet, Oscar Isaac, and Rebecca Ferguson as the leaders of House Atreides, the noble house that vows to tame the desert planet of Arrakis and control the most valuable natural resource in the galaxy. If that sounds complicated, buckle up, as Villeneuve has his work cut out for him in adapting Herbert's famously dense epic. Is the final product worth the wait, or is it the real mind-killer? Listen to find out! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
takes some time out to review another Patron Pick, the newly released indie drama Mass. The Cabin in the Woods star Fran Kranz makes his writing and directing debut with this film, which takes place almost entirely inside a single room in a small community church. As four grieving parents sit down in this room to sift through the wreckage left behind by a tragedy that affected them all, the film explores themes of grief, forgiveness, and the struggle to find meaning in the midst of pain and evil. Kevin is joined by special guest Steve Norton of Screenfish to sort through the questions raised by this modest film and discuss whether it will be counted among this year's best films. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
that's the way things have been for twenty-four films and nearly sixty years. The twenty-fifth film in the Bond franchise, No Time to Die, aims to shake up the Bond formula even as it serves as Daniel Craig's swan song portraying the iconic British superspy. Kevin is joined by special guest Don Shanahan to discuss Bond in general, Daniel Craig's Bond specifically, and whether this film is an effective close to the Craig saga that began with 2006's Casino Royale. Does this latest film leave them shaken … or stirred? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The day has unfortunately arrived: Wade is donning his hat and riding off into the sunset. We pull out all the stops to see Wade off in style, with a retro review of one of Wade's all-time favorite films, some reminiscences about memorable theatrical experiences and fun podcast moments, and even Wade's manifesto of art and moviegoing. Tune in for a fun extravangaza like none other the show has ever seen! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
This week's episode features a Patron Pick courtesy of James Hutton, and it's a doozy: Paul Thomas Anderson's complex, sprawling 1999 film, Magnolia. Wade and Kevin probe the depths of its spiritual undertones, discuss the film's controversial ending, and determine how kind the past two decades have been to what was one of the most critically acclaimed films of the '90s. Plus, an announcement about Wade's impending retirement, which has Kevin sadly lip-synching along to a non-diegetic Aimee Mann song… To read David Roark's essay on this film, click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The first stirrings of awards season make themselves felt this week with a star-studded biopic, and this one is right up Seeing & Believing's alley! The Eyes of Tammy Faye stars Jessica Chastain in the title role of Tammy Faye Bakker and follows her steps from obscure itinerant minister to the figurehead of one of the biggest televangelism programs ever to exist. Costarring Andrew Garfield as Jim Bakker, Michael Showalter's retelling of the Bakker saga digs into the lives and scandals of the most recognizable televangelist duo in America, exploring the hazy line that divides ministry from business and heartfelt spirituality from insincere posturing. Wade and Kevin take a look at how well the film captures a peculiarly American form of Christianity, warts and all. Plus, they make a big announcement about the future of the podcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Back when Destin Daniel Cretton was directing critically acclaimed indie dramas like Short Term 12, nobody would have thought to pair him with the biggest blockbuster franchise in history, but that's exactly what's happened with the latest entry in the MCU, Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. With cinematic luminaries like Tony Leung and Michelle Yeoh and an action-style indebted to the martial arts films of China and Hong Kong, Disney/Marvel take viewers into uncharted territory for the MCU. How successful are they in getting us there? Wade and Kevin take a look! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Interested in a musical starring Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard? How about a rock opera starring Adam Driver, Marion Cotillard, and a wooden puppet representing their child? That's what Wade and Kevin dig into this week as they discuss Annette, the Palme d'Or-nominated film from French director Leos Carax, now streaming on Amazon Prime. The guys talk opera, magical realism, the line between sincerity and irony, and the nature of sin as they dig into Annette's bold and strange world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
A common critic cliche is to say that watching a bad action movie feels like watching somebody else play a video game, but what Free Guy supposes is, “What if we treated that not just as an okay thing but as an actual goal?” Part Wreck-It Ralph, part The Matrix, part The Truman Show, Shawn Levy’s new film features Ryan Reynolds as a smiling, innocent person who finds out that he’s not a person after all but a background character in a video game. Or can he be both? Wade and Kevin log on to see how well Free Guy answers these questions! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The guys take a turn for the roguish with this week's episode, as they talk about the latest adventure for DC's #1 band of psychos and misfits, The Suicide Squad. Erstwhile MCU director James Gunn switches teams for this reboot of the much-reviled 2016 film of (almost) the same title, and the question on everyone's mind (or least Wade and Kevin's) is "Does Gunn manage to spin straw into gold?" Given Gunn's trademark taste for off-kilter third-string comic-book characters and amoral antiheroes, it certainly seems like a good match, but does everything go according to plan? Or is the stink of 2016's iteration of the Squad too hard to wash off? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
After his foray into creating a superhero cinematic universe, M. Night Shyamalan is back to his bread and butter — spine-tingling chillers — with Old, the movie about how seaside resorts and beach vacations are the absolute worst. A family goes on vacation, discovers a beach that causes everyone to age unnaturally fast, and encounters many other obstacles that can't be divulged due to spoilers. Wade and Kevin take a look to find out where Old fits into Shyamalan's checkered career and determine just how many years will be taken off their lives by the end of this week's episode. Grab your water wings and join them! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
A story about the spiritual realm and the souls that populate it. A quiet vibe reminiscent of Hirokazu Kore-eda. A cast including Winston Duke, Benedict Wong, Zazie Beetz, and Tony Hale. How could Seeing & Believing say no? Wade and Kevin take a look at the ethereal debut feature from Japanese-Brazilian director Edson Oda to see if these elements result in a film as wonderful as its constituent parts sound. Join them on their excursion into a world before life and death! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
After a long time away, the MCU makes its return to Seeing & Believing! Wade and Kevin take a look at Scarlett Johansson's swan song as Black Widow in a prequel that takes the superspy on a globetrotting adventure to reconnect with family members, stop an evil villain from using super-soldiers to control the world, and make peace with her checkered past. The guys discuss Black Widow's place among the Avengers cast, how well this new film serves as a sendoff to the character, and what the story signals about the future of the franchise. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
It wouldn't be summer at the movies without sci-fi action blockbusters. Director Chris McKay (The Lego Batman Movie) and star Chris Pratt fill that gap with The Tomorrow War, which imagines a near future where a near-apocalyptic conflict with an alien species forces humanity to recruit soldiers from the population of today's present. Threads of fatalism, family complexities, and hope are threaded through the film among action setpieces and time-travel shenanigans, and Wade and Kevin are on the case to discuss how well the film strikes a balance between heady themes and good old-fashioned blockbuster thrills. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Buckle up, put the pedal to the metal, and engage in various other vehicle-themed activities, because this week's episode marks the maiden voyage of the Fast and the Furious franchise on Seeing & Believing. Though familiar with the exploits of Dom and his gearhead crew, Wade and Kevin haven't found the opportunity to review one of their adventures on the air until now. With rocket-propelled cars and ultra-powerful magnets (how do they work?), this latest entry in the series continues its custom of upping the ante. But does the quality increase with the stakes? Listen on to find out! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The guys enter the sun-baked Mediterranean world of Pixar's latest film in this week's episode! Luca tells the story of a young boy named Luca (Jacob Tremblay) who, along with his best friend Alberto (Jack Dylan Grazer), dreams of acquiring a Vespa with the prize money from a big race and seeing the world. The only thing standing in their way? Luca and Alberto are secretly sea monsters. Wade and Kevin discuss where Luca fits into the ever-growing ranking of Pixar films and explore the film's themes of self-acceptance, ambition, and friendship. Come on in, the water's fine! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
In a lot of ways, the new musical In the Heights has finally hit theaters at the perfect time. As businesses fully reopen again and people prepare to get out of the house, what could be more of a fun summer activity than a fun summer musical. Crazy Rich Asians director Jon M. Chu helms this film version of the Lin-Manuel Miranda Broadway hit about an NYC neighborhood, its denizens, and their dreams of love, success, and belonging. Wade and Kevin dive right in to examine the hype and whether the film lives up to it! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Disney tries to drum up some sympathy for the devil with their latest live-action film to delve into the background of an animated villain. In Cruella, Emma Stone stars as the fabulous fashion magnate in her younger years, matching wits with the icy Baroness von Hellman (Emma Thompson). So is Cruella actually evil, or was she just drawn that way? Wade and Kevin are on the case, analyzing the film's themes and discussing the merits of this prequel romp to 101 Dalmatians. Plus: listener feedback on Saint Maud and weekly recommendations! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
What's the line between religious devotion and religious obsession? That's the question that Wade and Kevin explore with their review of Saint Maud, the religiously themed shocker from writer/director Rose Glass. Glass makes her feature debut with this story of a nurse named Maud (Morfydd Clark) providing hospice care to a dying professional dancer (Jennifer Ehle). Maud has a second mission on top of her duties as a nurse: in addition to caring for her patient's body, she also takes it on herself to save her soul. But do the disturbing visions that Maud is experiencing point to a darker element in her guileless belief? The guys take on these thorny issues in a discussion about how successfully Glass probes the depths of faith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
"Sicaro" writer Taylor Sheridan returns to the director's chair with "Those Who Wish Me Dead" starring Angelina Jolie. Wade and Kevin review this thriller where a fire watcher (Jolie) is on the run with a young boy who is holding evidence in a complicated mob trial while pursued by two assassins while outrunning an out-of-control forest fire. Does the film burn bright ahead of the summer blockbuster season or is it simply a pile of smoking ash? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
It's almost May, which means the action extravaganzas are finding their way to theaters and streaming for the blockbuster season. Warner Brothers kicks things off in a big, bloody way with its stab at resurrecting the Mortal Kombat franchise for filmgoers. This time, the story they build around the gory video game brawler involves a washed-up MMA fighter named Cole (Lewis Tan) who discovers that his dragon-shaped birthmark has landed him in the thick of centuries-old blood feuds and a high-stakes fighting tournament. Does this Simon McQuoid's film score a flawless victory, or is it another fatality in the history of misbegotten game-to-film adaptations? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
With a slight lull coming between awards season and blockbuster season, Wade and Kevin pause for a retro review of a film regarded by many critics as the best directorial one-off in cinema history. Charles Laughton's The Night of the Hunter offers an iconic villain in Robert Mitchum's Harry Powell, a corrupt preacher in Depression-era West Virginia who sets his sights on a widow and her two children in the hope of claiming a $10,000 windfall that is hidden somewhere in their home. Part thriller, part American fairy tale, and part expressionist visual feast, the film gives the guys plenty to dig into, from its shadowy cinematography to its unique commentary on religion at its worst and its best. Special thanks to show supporter Eric Johnson for selecting this film for us to review! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Wade and Kevin round out their Oscar coverage with a review of the final remaining Best Picture nominee: Emerald Fennell's scathing Promising Young Woman. Starring Carey Mulligan as a vigilante of unconventional methods, the film takes dead aim at sexual predators, their enablers, and the culture that empowers both groups. The guys also turn their attention to the upcoming ceremony and offer their picks for what will win, what should win, and the surprises of an unusual year for filmgoing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Oscar season may be long over, but the Oscars themselves are just peeking over the horizon. Wade and Kevin catch up with one of the Best Picture nominees that eluded them at the end of 2020: Florian Zeller's film adaptation of his own play The Father. Featuring Anthony Hopkins as an elderly man dealing with dementia and Olivia Colman as his long-suffering daughter, the film pairs its melodrama with slippery filmmaking that draws the audience into the protagonist's world, causing us to question our perceptions just as he does. Visit the Seeing & Believing Patreon page Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
With the coming of spring, there's a light at the end of the pandemic tunnel, which means two things: movie theaters are becoming an option once again, and blockbusters are being released to take advantage of them. One of the most anticipated of the season so far is Adam Wingard's follow-up to Godzilla: King of the Monsters and Kong: Skull Island, Godzilla vs. Kong, which pits the titular beasts against each other in a monster mash of epic proportions. Wade is back in the hosting chair to review the film with Kevin, as they examine whether the film delivers the giant-monster goods as well as whether it is successful in other areas. Break out the "Team Godzilla" and "Team Kong" t-shirts and get ready for a huge episode of Seeing & Believing! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
It's not every day that a franchise's fanbase is able to will a movie into existence, but that's exactly the rare occurrence that is under consideration on this week's episode. With Wade away from the hosting chair, Kevin is joined by Detroit critic Chris Williams to discuss Zack Snyder's Justice League (not to be confused with its predecessor, 2017's Justice League). After the 2017 film saw director Zack Snyder exit the project due to a family tragedy and Joss Whedon come on board to complete it, the finished product was greeted with tepid reviews from critics and widespread disappointment from fans. Rumors of a "Snyder cut" swirled, saying that Snyder's plans for the film were more ambitious and just plain better than the theatrical release. After numerous fan petitions, Zack Snyder and Warner Bros. reached an agreement where Snyder, working without a paycheck, could finish his cut of the film as he saw fit, premiering it on the brand-new HBO Max streaming service. That big day has arrived, and now Kevin and Chris face the question: Was the wait worth it? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Disney+ keeps the big releases rolling with Raya and the Last Dragon, an animated adventure about a fantasy world teetering on the edge of apocalypse, with magical dragons holding the key to saving humanity from encroaching outside evil ... and also from itself. Featuring Kelly Marie Tran (The Last Jedi) and Awkwafina (The Farewell) as the two title characters, the film celebrates the virtue of trust; Wade and Kevin dig into it to see if the film is also worthy of celebration. Also, don't miss the announcement of a new book giveaway: Chris Hayes and Cody Benjamin's Why We Need the Movies, published just this year, takes a look at cinema culture in the era of streaming and COVID, and we're offering the chance to win free copies for all Patreon subscribers! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
On this week's special double-length episode, we offer something for lovers of blockbuster sci-fi/horror and indie sci-fi dramas. Wade and Kevin sit down with fellow critic Sarah Welch-Larson to talk about her brand-new book, Becoming Alien: The Beginning and End of Evil in Science Fiction's Most Idiosyncratic Film Franchise. In a fascinating conversation, they discuss the intersection of the Alien film franchise, Christian theology, and the philosophy of evil, as well as the role of Christians in film criticism. The guys then turn their attention to Little Fish, the new film from Chad Hartigan (This Is Martin Bonner). Olivia Cooke and Jack O'Connell star as a married couple trying to survive a pandemic (sound familiar?). The nature of this pandemic? A neural disorder that gradually erases the victim's memories of past experiences, special skills, and relationships with loved ones. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Seeing & Believing closes out Black History Month with a look at the buzzed-about new film that is based on the true story of the death of Fred Hampton. Shaka King's Judas and the Black Messiah features two powerhouse performances from Get Out's Daniel Kaluuya as Hampton and LaKeith Stanfield as Bill O'Neal, the man who worked to bring down Hampton's revolutionary operation in Chicago from the inside. But do these powerhouse performances result in a good film overall, and does the film do justice to the life and political convictions of a man like Hampton? Listen to find out! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Valentine's Day is just around the corner, but the only love affair that Seeing & Believing has time for is that between Ralph Fiennes and archaeological excavations. Netflix's The Dig tells the true story of how a widow (Carey Mulligan) teamed up with a working-class excavation expert (Fiennes) to make one of Great Britain's greatest archaeological discoveries on the eve of World War II. Wade and Kevin dig into the film (heh) to examine its themes of time, the fleeting nature of life, and the ways in which the past can give meaning to the present and even the future. Todayís episode of Seeing and Believing is sponsored in part by The Good Book Company, publisher of Steve McAlpineís book Being the Bad Guys. The Good Book Company is giving away 5 copies of Being the Bad Guys to CAPC members! For a chance to win, become a member at ChristAndPopCulture.com by February 17. Theme music by Alexander Osborn and Lindsey Mysse. Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
It's not every day that a new Denzel Washington-starring film gets released, especially when that film has been a quarter-century in the making. John Lee Hancock's screenplay for The Little Things has been floating around since the mid-1990s, and it's finally been released now, on HBO Max, with Hancock himself at the helm and a freshly minted Golden Globes nomination under its belt. Washington stars as an erstwhile detective whose haunting past mistakes have relegated him to an exile as a sheriff's deputy in a small California town. But when a spate of serial killings in Los Angeles intersect with his path, he teams up with Rami Malek's star investigator for a cat-and-mouse game with a man (Jared Leto) who may or may not have something to do with those killings. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The show eases off the accelerator to focus on a single film this week. Acclaimed director Ramin Bahrani (Chop Shop, Goodbye Solo) is back with a new film for Netflix that positions itself as the anti-Slumdog Millionaire. Adapted from Aravind Adiga's novel of the same title, The White Tiger tells a story of a lower-caste servant in India (Adarh Gourav) who chafes under the yoke of his family's poverty and does what he thinks he must in order to get ahead. Part Goodfellas, part Parasite, Bahrani's latest takes aim at the wealth disparities of modern India and examines how festering class resentments can boil over into violence, anger, and injustice from rich and poor alike. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
In his continuing journey to give an award-worthy performance in every existing film genre, Tom Hanks is back in 2021 with his first crack at a Western, Paul Greengrass's News of the World. Based on the novel about a traveling newsreader in post-Civil War Texas, the film asks the question: can Hanks's persona as "America's dad" heal tensions in a divided country? Wade and Kevin also take a closer look at the family drama Minari, which placed on both of their top 10 lists of the year in last week's episode. In their deep-dive review, the guys explore the film's take on the American Dream and its effect on the American family. Music interlude by Onycs, "Together." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Back from his break, Kevin rejoins Wade on the show to count down their favorite films of a very unusual year. With most mainstream films either missing in action or forced into unconventional release strategies because of the pandemic, 2020 has provided an opportunity to highlight the films that might otherwise fly under the radar. Join the guys as they bid 2020 a farewell and recommend its hidden gems! Music interlude by the Fair Green Band, "Depth of Hollow (Oli Mix)." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
On this episode of Seeing and Believing, Wade is joined by Sarah Welch-Larson of Think Christian to discuss Pixar’s new film, Soul. Soul tells the story of a jazz musician named Joe (voiced by Jamie Foxx). A music teacher by necessity, Joe finally catches his big break when he lands a coveted gig that could change his life forever. His best day, however, turns into his worst day when Joe dies and is transported out of his body, eventually landing in the pre-life (Or “The Great Before”). There, he meets an infant soul (voiced by Tina Fey) and together they begin a journey to discover not only themselves but the meaning of life. In the second half of the show, Wade and Sarah talk about the newest film from the DC universe, Wonder Woman 1984. Trading the trenches of WWI for shopping malls and big hair, Wonder Woman 1984 seeks to build on the success of Jenkins’ first entry in the franchise. Find out what Wade and Sarah think of the movie on this episode of Seeing and Believing! Music interlude by Evan Schaeffer Music Studios, “Encomium.” Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Theme music by Alexander Osborn†and†Lindsey Mysse. Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
On this episode of Seeing and Believing, Wade is joined by Steve Norton of ScreenFish.net to discuss Nomadland, the new film from Chloé Zhao. Nomadland is being touted as one of the year’s best movies, and the duo discusses whether it lives up to the hype. In the second half of the show, Wade and Steve talk Season 2 of Disney+'s The Mandalorian. Or, maybe they just gush about Baby Yoda the entire time. Music interlude by Phantom Atlantic, “No Way to Live." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Theme music by Alexander Osborn and Lindsey Mysse. Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
With Kevin out this week, Wade is joined by Aaron White, co-host of the Feelin' Film Podcast, to discuss Mank, the new movie from David Fincher. Mank tells the story of Herman J. Mankiewicz and his tumultuous journey to write the screenplay for Citizen Kane. Spoiler alert: the movie does get made. In their second segment, the duo discusses Fatman, a new film starring Mel Gibson as Santa Claus. Need we say more? Music interlude by Rue Royale, “Snow on Snow (The Bleak Midwinter)." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Theme music by Alexander Osborn and Lindsey Mysse. Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Seeing and Believing heads to the British Isles this week with a pair of films poised to make their way into the end of the year awards talk. First up is Tomm Moore and Ross Stewarts's Wolfwalkers, the new project from the highly esteemed Cartoon Saloon. A mixture of myth and magic, Wolfwalkers uses stunning animation to tell the story of a young girl caught between the forces of prior allegiances and new friendships. After that, Wade and Kevin tackle Armando Iannucci's The Personal History of David Copperfield. Will this fresh take on Charles Dickens' classic work be an adaptation to remember? Find out on this episode of Seeing and Believing! Music interlude by David Crickett, "Confession." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Theme music by Alexander Osborn and Lindsey Mysse. Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
With family gatherings just around the corner (or not) for Thanksgiving, Wade and Kevin take a look at a couple of new family dramas that are just hitting streaming platforms this week! First up is Ron Howard's Hillbilly Elegy, starring Amy Adams and Glenn Close. How does the cinematic adaptation of J.D. Vance's bestselling memoir fare in its transition from page to screen? The guys also review The Nest, Sean Durkin's follow-up to his psychological thriller Martha Marcy Mae Marlene. In its story of a married couple (Jude Law and Carrie Coon) fighting the slow unraveling of their family, does Durkin's new film prove to be a worthy follow-up? Music interlude by Tymat, ìOut of Oxygen.î Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Theme music by Alexander Osborn and Lindsey Mysse. Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Dust off your chess sets and start reminding yourself of the difference between pawns and bishops because the world of competitive chess is the talk of the town again. Netflix's lends some midcentury glamour to the cerebral, famously nerdy pursuit with its new miniseries The Queen's Gambit, featuring Anya Taylor-Joy as a fiercely ambitious chess prodigy who strives to excel in a game that is well-known for being male-dominated. Does the literary adaptation from Scott Frank and Allan Scott succeed at making the think-iest of board games into an absorbingly cinematic experience? Wade and Kevin also turn in a retro review this week to commemorate the passing of Sean Connery. Connery's iconic screen presence often elevated the movies he starred in, and the guys take a look at the Rudyard Kipling adaptation The Man Who Would Be King to see whether they can define exactly what that screen presence consisted of. Tally ho! Music interlude by Vlad Gluschenko, "Warm Days." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Seeing & Believing spend some time on the HBO streaming service this week! First up is Robert Zemeckis's try at remaking Roald Dahl's classic children's book The Witches. Transplanting the story to the 1960s American South and featuring Anne Hathaway and Octavia Spencer, Zemeckis's new film aims to refresh Dahl's tale of grotesque witches plotting to transform the world's children into mice. Wade and Kevin also take some time with David Byrne's American Utopia, which records the Broadway show masterminded by Byrne, frontman of the Talking Heads. What does the show have to say about technology, divisions in American society, and human connection? And can it impress Wade, avowed Byrne enthusiast and fan of the Talking Heads concert film Stop Making Sense? Music interlude by Rasmus Soderberg, "Friends and Foes." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Sofia Coppola directs the first of several films for A24 and Apple+, On The Rocks which Wade and Kevin review first. The film reunites Coppola with Murray and brings in Office alum Jones as a Father/Daughter pair who are intent on catching Jones' fiancé in the act of betrayal while wrestling with Murray's own history of infidelity. The second half of the show reviews Ben Wheatley's remake of Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca starring Lily James and Armie Hammer. Does the film live up to the legacy or does the ghost of the titular character prove to be too daunting a task? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
As Election Day inches closer, Seeing & Believing devotes some time to a movie about the fallout from another chaotic election season: the riots that surrounded the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Aaron Sorkin writes and directs The Trial of the Chicago Seven with his usual verbal flair; does he find the cinematic flair to match? Wade and Kevin also look to the future of moviegoing over the next few months and do their best to identify the upcoming films that you should watch out for on streaming, on VOD, or even (if conditions are right) in theaters. Plus, Wade offers a capsule review of the latest Liam Neeson-starring action flick, Honest Thief. Music interlude by Evan Schaeffer Music Studios, "Mary Mood." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
It's documentary week here on Seeing & Believing, featuring two new films from Netflix. Wade and Kevin dig into Dick Johnson Is Dead, an intensely personal new film from Cameraperson director Kirsten Johnson. By turns irreverent, playful, and deeply emotional, Johnson's film explores the prospect of death and what it means to say goodbye. The guys also spend some time with The Social Dilemma, a sobering documentary about smartphones, social media, and the dark underbelly of the technology that powers them. Music interlude by Fuscation, "SHAI." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Detectives are the name of the game on Seeing & Believing this week. Netflix's new film starring Stranger Things' Millie Bobby Brown has arrived, adding to the Sherlock Holmes Cinematic Universe with Enola Holmes. Brown plays the famous Sherlock's younger sister, who embarks on her own sleuthing adventure involving the disappearance of her mother and political intrigue in late Victorian England. Corrupt detectives figure into the episode as well, as Wade and Kevin draw the curtain on their film noir review series with a look at the Orson Welles classic Touch of Evil. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
With Wade on vacation, Kevin calls on Sarah Welch-Larson this week to help make sense of Charlie Kaufman's latest brain-bender. I'm Thinking of Ending Things, now streaming on Netflix, features Kaufman's trademark metafictional flourishes and thematic concerns; does it stand alongside Synecdoche, NY and Anomalisa in pulling off the balancing act between "challenging" and "inscrutable"? Sarah also takes the time to talk about one of the all-time great noirs, Carol Reed's postwar mystery The Third Man. Music interlude by The Surface of the Deep, "We'll Be Fine" Used by permission. Theme music by Alexander Osborn and Lindsey Mysse. Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The calendar says that summer is drawing to a close, but Seeing & Believing refuses to accept it! Blockbuster season goes on as the guys take the plunge on the Disney+ exclusive Mulan, the latest live-action remake of a Disney animated feature. The "Summer of Darkness" also continues with a review of Brick, Rian Johnson's 2006 debut, which sets the familiar hard-boiled detective story in a high school. Music interlude by ALPH, "It's That Kinda Night." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Brush up on your air-guitar skills and get your SoCal dude-accents ready, because Seeing & Believing embarks on another excellent adventure this week. Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter may be getting a little long in the tooth, but that doesn't mean they can't bring their iconic slackers back for another victory lap around time and space. Wade and Kevin review Bill and Ted Face the Music to see if the Wyld Stallyns still have a spring in their step after all this time. They balance out the frivolity with the somber neo-noir classic Chinatown, the next installment in the Summer of Darkness. Music interlude by mad bello, ìBon Voyage.î Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Theme music by Alexander Osborn and Lindsey Mysse. Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
As election season spins up in earnest, the guys get into the spirit of the season with a new documentary. Boys State explores what happens when over a thousand bright high school boys from Texas get together to form their own two-party government: is it more Frank Capra or more Lord of the Flies? Also on the docket is the next installment in the "Summer of Darkness" film noir marathon, featuring the first major noir to be directed by a woman, the great Ida Lupino. Music interlude by Idyllic, "Cogitation." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Back from their one-week break, Wade and Kevin continue their Summer of Darkness series on film noir by crossing the Atlantic to check out Elevator to the Gallows, the Miles Davis-scored noir that launched the careers of director Louis Malle and star Jeanne Moreau. Also lighting up the screen this week is the new release Tesla, an unconventional, postmodern biopic featuring Ethan Hawke in the role of the enigmatic, withdrawn inventor.
Music interlude by h3h h4hgar, ìWater.î Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Two very different kinds of family melodramas are featured in this week's episode. First is actor James D'Arcy's directing/screenwriting debut, the Liam Neeson-starring Made in Italy, about a roguish artist, his estranged son, and the dilapidated villa in Italy they try to sell together. The other film this week is about a roguish salesman who gets involved in some family drama of his own when he tries to help a woman kill her husband for the insurance money. The "Summer of Darkness" series on film noir continues with one of the most famous noirs ever made, Double Indemnity! Music interlude by The Fisherman, "Summer." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
This week, Seeing & Believing kicks off a new series on film noir! Our "Summer of Darkness" begins in a slightly unconventional place with the Humphrey Bogart-starring In a Lonely Place, about a hotheaded screenwriter whose romance with a neighbor hits a rough patch when the police accuse him of murder. The thing is, maybe he is guilty? The guys also spend time with another dark story, the Dave Franco-directed thriller The Rental, about a group of friends who become the targets of a psychopath during a weekend at a seaside AirBnB. Music interlude by Kat, "Peak." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Whether your tastes run toward the blockbuster or the literary, there's a review for you this week. Wade and Kevin sit down with Netflix's superhero-adjacent action flick The Old Guard, starring Charlize Theron as the leader of a band of immortal, Wolverine-like warriors. They also take some time for Flannery a documentary chronicling the life and work of one of the foremost Christian fiction writers of the 20th century. Music interlude by SPELLWRKS, "Sirius." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Kelly Reichardt's latest film has finally made its way to a home release, and the guys are ready for it! First Cow, a period piece about two friends trying to eke out a living in the hardscrabble Oregon Territory by milking a rich man's cow on the sly, has a lot to say about our present moment. Listen to find out why Wade and Kevin think it's one of the best films of the year! Listen to find out why Wade and Kevin also like Palm Springs, the Hulu original film starring Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti. Listen to find out why Wade and Kevin enjoy the film's riff on the Groundhog Day premise. Listen to find out why Wade and Kevin are having a strange sense of deja vu all of a sudden. Listen to find out why Wade and Kevin are really committing to this bit. Listen to find out! Music interlude by the Grumbles, "Hard Drive Hero." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
In any other summer, a Tom Hanks-starring, Tom Hanks-written movie about World War II would be the biggest movie of the weekend. This is not a typical summer, but Wade and Kevin are still interested to see what Hanks serves up with Greyhound, a thriller about a naval captain braving the high seas of the Atlantic while fending off a swarm of German U-Boats. The guys then turn their attention to another period piece, Andrew Patterson's 1950s-set sci-fi flick The Vast of Night, about a sleepy New Mexico town that receives some unexpected visitors. Music interlude by Knos, "Daydream." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Whether you're in the mood for a quiet family drama or a silly over-the-top comedy, Seeing & Believing has you covered for the Independence Day weekend. First up is The Truth, Hirokazu Kore-eda's follow-up to his Palme d'Or-winning Shoplifters and his first non-Japanese-language project. With a star-studded cast that includes Juliette Binoche, Ethan Hawke, and cinema legend Catherine Deneuve, Kore-eda continues to examine the familial bonds that people forge or are born into. On the sillier side of things is the Will Ferrell comedy Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, about a hapless Icelandic duo that dreams of representing their country at Europe's most famous (and most flamboyant) song-and-dance event. Music interlude by Pacific Beach Vinyl, "Tambalan." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Seeing & Believing has a seasonal special for you this week! With the presidential election looming on the horizon, Wade and Kevin take a look at the latest cinematic political satire, this time from the mind of former Daily Show host Jon Stewart. The guys also celebrate the 45th birthday of Jaws with a retro review. In case you needed another reason to avoid going to the beach, Steven Spielberg's killer-shark classic just might do the trick. Music interlude by Kalle King Kong, "Victor." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Spike Lee’s latest film for Netflix has been causing a sensation, and this week Wade and Kevin check it out. Da 5 Bloods, a sprawling look at the legacy of the Vietnam War for black Americans, is Lee’s follow-up to his Oscar-winning BlacKkKlansman. The guys do a deep dive on Da 5 Bloods‘ themes and startling spiritual vision. On the more low-key side of things, Judd Apatow’s The King of Staten Island just hit on-demand streaming. Does it make SNL’s Pete Davidson a movie star? Listen to find out! Music interlude by cShri, “from my heart.” Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Ride of the Valkyries by Wagner from YouTube Audio Library Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Buckle up for terrible space puns, because they're in plentiful supply in today's episode. Wade and Kevin tackle Space Force, the new comedy series from Netflix, Greg Daniels, and Steve Carell. With Carell taking on the clenched jaw and jingoism of the first commander of America's fledgling outer-space military program, this series takes a stab at transplanting the workplace antics of The Office into a top-secret military installation. The guys also go on a voyage into the mind of famed writer Shirley Jackson with Josephine Decker's unconventional biopic about her, starring Elisabeth Moss. Music interlude by David Crickett, "Vegetarian." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, two favorite filmmakers of Seeing & Believing, have a new film out, so of course, the guys are on the case! Wade and Kevin take a close look at the Dardennes' story of a young teenager who is attracted to Islamic fundamentalism, and they discuss its spiritual underpinnings, its compassionate perspective, and where it falls in the Dardennes' body of work. The guys then turn their attention to Kitty Green's #MeToo drama, The Assistant, a riveting look at the struggles and compromises of a young woman who works for an unscrupulous executive. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Many people are still homebound these days, which means it's a perfect time for an escapist movie about two friends traveling to picturesque locations and eating at incredible restaurants. Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon are back for a fourth go-round with the Trip to... series, this time retracing Odysseus's steps through the Mediterranean paradise of Greece as they crack jokes, verbally spar with each other, and confront the specter of aging. The guys pair this rich meal with the modest indie drama Driveways, featuring one of the final film performances of the late, great Brian Dennehy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Fresh off their "2020 auteurs" series, Wade and Kevin get back to basics with a review of a freshly released film: Josh Trank's biopic of Al Capone. Trank returns to small-budget indie filmmaking by writing, editing, and directing this unconventional examination of the last year of the infamous gangster's life. Faced with his own physical and psychological deterioration, Capone has to deal with the consequences of his immoral past and his paranoia-laced present, and the audience is along for the ride. Music interlude by Idyllic, "Internal." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Theme music by Alexander Osborn and Lindsey Mysse. Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Wade and Kevin wrap up their series of director retrospectives with a look at the work of America's foremost purveyor of immaculately framed family dysfunction: Wes Anderson. The guys look ahead to the upcoming The French Dispatch by working their way through Anderson's filmography, from Bottle Rocket to The Grand Budapest Hotel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The first rule of David Fincher movies: you always talk about David Fincher movies. The second rule of David Fincher movies: you always talk about David Fincher movies. In this week's episode, Wade and Kevin look back at the career of the director of Fight Club, Zodiac, The Social Network, and more! Listen in to find out which of Fincher's films rise to the top in the guys' personal rankings. Music interlude by Logic Psychedelic, "Afternoon." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Theme music by Alexander Osborn and Lindsey Mysse. Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Wade and Kevin continue their series on modern directors with upcoming new releases with a retrospective on the filmography of Kelly Reichardt. Reichardt is a powerhouse of indie filmmaking whose quiet, unassuming style belies the sharpness of her storytelling and observational abilities. From River of Grass to Certain Women, Wade and Kevin rank Reichardt's films as they look forward to the day when they can catch Reichardt's 2020 release, First Cow. Music interlude by Only August, "The Rain." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Theme music by Alexander Osborn and Lindsey Mysse. Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
With the South Korean marathon in the rearview mirror, Wade and Kevin look to the future: specifically, the new movies coming in 2020 from some big-name directors! With Christopher Nolan eking out a win in the listener poll, the guys prep for his upcoming summer release Tenet by taking the long view of his career, from Following to Dunkirk. Listen in for their thoughts on Nolan's thematic concerns, signature filmmaking choices, and a ranking of his entire body of work! Music interlude by southfence, "Caught You Cold." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The guys bid a sad but fond farewell to their South Korean movie marathon this week, closing with Lee Chang-dong's Secret Sunshine. It is the story of a woman who turns to evangelical Christianity after suffering a loss, it's a very appropriate film to add to your Holy Week viewing. Plus: a preview of what's next for the show and a request for feedback! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
With spring approaching full flower, Seeing & Believing reviews a movie that's all about the passage of time and the seasons. Kim Ki-duk's critical favorite Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ... and Spring is next in the South Korean movie marathon! As the film quietly unspools the story of a Buddhist monk and his young protege over the course of decades, it attempts to capture the human condition of beauty, depravity, and all. Join Wade and Kevin as they explore the film's rhythms, spiritual vision, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Seeing & Believing keeps the South Korean movie marathon rolling with one of the fountainheads of South Korean cinematic history this week. Kim Ki-young's The Housemaid is often cited as one of the biggest cinematic influences on a whole generation of the nation's filmmakers. Wade and Kevin investigate a film that is simultaneously so famous in its country of origin but so little-seen in the United States. Join the guys as they experience the film's unpredictable story of an unstable housemaid who upends the lives of an ambitious music teacher and his family for the first time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Hot off the heels of Bong Joon Ho's Academy Award run, Wade and Kevin weather quarantine with the beginning of a South Korean cinema marathon. First up is Bong's 2010 film Mother, a story of murder, money, and parental obsession. The guys also offer film/TV recommendations for those who now face much more time at home. Join along with the marathon by tweeting us your thoughts about Mother and Bong Joon Ho's other work on Twitter at @SeeBelievePOD. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The guys explore more family-friendly realms in this week's episode! First up is Pixar's riff on fantasy tropes, Dungeons & Dragons, and fraternal bonding, the colorful Onward. Equally colorful is Autumn de Wilde's take on Jane Austen's airy Emma, starring Anya Taylor-Joy as the matchmaking socialite who faces a romantic reckoning of sorts when a match goes wrong. Do these movies offer quality escapism for turbulent times, or do they leave something to be desired? Listen and find out! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Two women filmmakers are highlighted on the show this week! First up is Celine Sciamma, whose critically acclaimed Portrait of a Lady on Fire has finally had its wide release. Do Wade and Kevin fall within the critical consensus on this one? Another acclaimed filmmaker, Dee Rees of Mudbound fame, offers her follow-up to that film with another Netflix release, an adaptation of Joan Didion's political thriller The Last Thing He Wanted. Music interlude by the Bright Skies, "Tokyo." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Theme music by Alexander Osborn and Lindsey Mysse. Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
After weeks of agonizingly paring their favorite films of the past decade down to a list of ten, Wade and Kevin are finally ready to share what they think are the finest examples of cinematic art to come out since 2010. Which films most closely captured the zeitgeist from this eventful decade? How did the guys weigh them against personal favorites? All those questions, and more, are answered in this long-in-the-making episode. Music interlude by Wayne John Bradley, "Blessed." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Theme music by Alexander Osborn and Lindsey Mysse. Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The guys are back on the comic-book beat this week! Harley Quinn isn't exactly a superhero or a super-villain in Cathy Yan's Birds of Prey, but the Margot Robbie-starring film still looks to have some anarchic fun. On the more serious side of things is Horse Girl, the Sundance-featured film (written by and starring Alison Brie) about a disturbed young woman trying to find solid footing in a life filled with difficulties. Music interlude by Scurvy Rickets, "Breaks Upon." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Theme music by Alexander Osborn and Lindsey Mysse. Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
It's an episode of dynamic duos this week! Director Os Perkins follows up his horror flick The Blackcoat's Daughter with Gretel and Hansel, a dark reimagining of the Grimm brothers' (already pretty dark) fairy tale about two intrepid youngsters and an evil witch. The guys also take some time to hang out with two of St. Peter's successors with their review of The Two Popes, the acting showcase that nabbed its stars, Jonathan Pryce and Anthony Hopkins, two Oscar nominations. Music interlude by madbello, "Tonight." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Theme music by Alexander Osborn and Lindsey Mysse. Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
It's a new episode of Seeing & Believing, innit? The guys review The Gentlemen, Guy Ritchie's return to the "verbose Cockney gangsters" genre. Is it a triumphant return? Also on the docket: Makoto Shinkai's animated follow-up to his trans-Pacific hit Your Name. Weathering with You is another teen romance, this time centering around a runaway and his relationship with a young woman who possesses the supernatural ability to control the weather. Music interlude by Bu, "Wind." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Theme music by Alexander Osborn and Lindsey Mysse. Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
We round out our coverage of the big Oscar players with this week's episode. First up is the World War I epic 1917, which has been wowing audiences by presenting all of its action as one single, unbroken take. Then Wade and Kevin take on Bombshell, which netted acting nominations for Margot Robbie and Charlize Theron for their portrayal of journalists fighting back against the harassment of disgraced Fox News head Roger Ailes. Are these two films worthy of the accolades they've been receiving?
Theme music by Alexander Osborn and Lindsey Mysse. Used under Creative Commons license 3.0 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Wade and Kevin have spent the last year watching movies, and now they're ready to share which ones they thought were the cream of the crop. With fellow critics Jeffrey Overstreet, Joel Mayward, Sarah Welch-Larson, and Steve Norton sharing their own number-one picks, the guys close out 2019 with a bang in this can't-miss episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Ring in the New Year (a couple of days late) with a new Seeing & Believing! This week, Wade and Kevin review a couple of films that had Christmas releases. Greta Gerwig's Little Women adapts Louisa May Alcott's much-adapted novel; does her perspective set her film apart from the crowd? Meanwhile, Josh and Benny Safdie's Uncut Gems casts Adam Sandler as a self-destructive jeweler who takes the audience on a tour of his attempts to score big, pay off his debts, and pull the wool over everyone's eyes. The guys contemplate whether Sandler's Oscar hopes are justified and whether the film provides roller-coaster thrills or just roller-coaster nausea. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
It is the end of an era as Wade and Kevin visit a galaxy far, far away to see the end of the Skywalker saga with J.J. Abram's return to Star Wars with The Rise of Skywalker. Then the duo takes a short hop back in time to examine the docu-drama from director Clint Eastwood Richard Jewel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Noah Baumbach's new film about a wrenching divorce carries the title Marriage Story, but the new film from Terrence Malick could be titled the same thing, with its narrative of an Austrian couple facing down burgeoning nationalism in their rural village and governmental oppression from the Nazis. Wade and Kevin tackle Malick's latest, probing at its spiritual explorations and discussing Malick's unique moral vision. They then relocate to sunny, modern-day California and its abundant open spaces for a discussion of Baumbach's film, examining what it has to say about family, divorce, fidelity, and understanding.
Music interlude by Jack Nash, "Under the Tracks." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
After a few weeks in theaters, Martin Scorsese's latest magnum opus is streaming on Netflix, and the guys are on the case. They examine where The Irishman falls in Scorsese's body of work and discuss the themes that arise in its story of regretful mobsters. Another awards-season hopeful, Trey Edward Shults's Waves, gets the Seeing & Believing treatment as well. Does Shults's story of an black family dealing with ambition, tragedy, and relational pressure sink or swim? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
What better way to celebrate Thanksgiving than with movies about dysfunctional families and the legacy of colonialism? Rian Johnson's crowd-pleasing whodunit Knives Out is first on the chopping block this week—can it live up to its star-studded cast and the promise of a throwback mystery? Johnson's film is followed by a sequel to the movie that launched a thousand memes and childhood singalongs: Frozen 2. Elsa, Anna, Olaf, and Kristoff are back for another adventure, this time in an enchanted forest that contains mysterious secrets from Elsa and Anna's past. Wade and Kevin dig into the songs, the ice powers, and the story of the follow-up to one of the biggest animated films of the decade. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Mister Rogers mania continues into 2019, as the Tom Hanks-starring A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood hits theaters this weekend. Seeing and Believing reviews Marielle Heller's new film and adds an interview with Joanne Rogers herself into the bargain. Wade and Ms. Rogers chat about what it was like to have known and loved the remarkable Fred Rogers, as well as see the outpouring of interest in him after his death. The guys then turn to something a little faster-paced, James Mangold's Ford v. Ferrari. Does the Matt Damon/Christian Bale film satisfy Wade and Kevin's need for speed? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
It's not Halloween anymore, but Seeing and Believing experiences a pair of hauntings all the same with the two films this week. First up is the Stephen King adaptation Doctor Sleep, a sequel to The Shining. Wade and Kevin also take a look at the Jim Gaffigan-starring Light from Light, director Paul Harrill's quiet drama about a paranormal investigator trying to help a widower find closure after his wife's death. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Seeing & Believing wades into some deep waters with today's pairing of films. Taika Waititi's Jojo Rabbit, set in Nazi Germany, is about a young boy who's a member of the Hitler Youth and has an imaginary friendship with Adolf Hitler. They also spend some time with The Lighthouse, from the director of the Puritan horror movie The Witch. Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe's 19th-century lighthouse keepers slowly go mad on a storm-scoured rock in the middle of the ocean, how can you go wrong? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Whether you like biopics of golden-age Hollywood stars or picaresque tales about people pursuing their pro-wrestling ambitions, Seeing & Believing's got you covered in this episode. Renee Zellweger makes her bid for an Oscar this year with her electrifying turn as Judy Garland in Judy. Smaller indies are represented this week as well, as Wade and Kevin dig into The Peanut Butter Falcon, about a young man with Down syndrome who has dreams of a career as a professional wrestler. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Seeing & Believing begins the transition into awards season with this week's episode. The guys review John Crowley's latest literary adaptation, this time of Donna Tartt's Pulitzer-winning The Goldfinch. They also offer a glimpse of their most-anticipated films of the upcoming Oscar season. Some heavy hitters are lined up in the wings for the holidays which ones have caught Wade and Kevin's eye? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
With Kevin out this week, Wade is joined by Grindhouse Theology's Blake Collier to discuss "IT Chapter Two." "IT Chapter Two" picks up 27 years after 2017's "IT," bringing the now grown up cast (which features Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Bill Hader, Isaiah Mustafa, Jay Ryan, and James Ransone) back to Derry, Maine to battle Pennywise once again. In their second segment, Wade and Blake discusses David Cronenberg's 1983 horror picture, "The Dead Zone." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Wade is joined by film critic Sarah Welch-Larson to discuss 'Ready or Not, the new horror-comedy from Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. In their second segment, the Wade and Sarah discusses 'The Last Black Man in San Fransisco,' the new drama from director Joe Talbot. It's a balance between deadly games and gentrification on Episode 215 of Seeing and Believing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Wade and Kevin review Blinded by the Light, from the director of Bend It Like Beckham. Based on the memoir by Sarfraz Manzoor, Gurinder Chadha's new film centers on a Pakistani teen trying to survive Margaret Thatcher's Great Britain with the help of Bruce Springsteen's music. Does it manage to do justice to the power of Springsteen's music? They also take a look at Richard Linklater's latest effort, and adaptation of Maria Semple's bestselling novel, Where'd You Go, Bernadette. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Seeing & Believing features something (slightly) old and something (very) new with the two semi-autobiographical films being reviewed on this episode. The guys take a look at Lulu Wang's quirky, touching The Farewell, a story about a family coming together to lie to their beloved matriarch about her diagnosis of terminal cancer. Also under review is Joanna Hogg's The Souvenir, the just-released-to-streaming film about a drug addict and an aspiring filmmaker and the stormy bond between them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Quentin Tarantino is back with another period piece, this time set in Hollywood during the closing days of the 1960s with Once Upon A Time.... In Hollywood. Wade and Kevin also offer their review of the indie film Them That Follow, which tells a story that is right up Seeing & Believing's alley: a pastor's daughter finds herself at a crossroads when it comes to her Appalachian community's Pentecostal snake-handling ways. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Join Wade and Kevin for an episode featuring the incredible heights that humankind is capable of achieving with technology! Witness the power of Disney to create all the wildlife of the savannah out of 1s and 0s in their remake of The Lion King! Thrill at Todd Douglas Miller's use of never-before-seen archival footage to retell the story of the historic 1969 moon landing in his new documentary Apollo 11! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jump in the way-back machine with Wade and Kevin and travel back to Hawkins, Indiana, as they review the latest season of Netflix's hit original series Stranger Things. If romantic comedies and the Beatles are more your speed, this episode also has you covered with a review of Yesterday, a high-concept comedy that posits an interesting scenario: What if everyone in the world except one person forgot about the existence of the Beatles' music? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Wade and Kevin do a no-spoilers review of Spider-Man: Far From Home to examine whether the post-Endgame world of superheroes is still worth visiting. They also continue with the fourth film in their series on Stanley Kubrick with A Clockwork Orange. Malcolm McDowell's depraved hoodlum Alex has been iconic ever since the film's release in 1971, and the guys examine whether Kubrick's plays on the audience's sympathies result in a muddled curio or a complex cinematic classic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
'Seeing and Believing' goes to infinity and beyond this week with two much-anticipated reviews. First up is their take on 'Toy Story 4'. Directed by Josh Cooley. In their second segment, the duo continues their "Summer of Stan" review series with a look at Stanley Kubrick's 1968 science-fiction classic, '2001: A Space Odyssey'. Does it still hold up after all these years? And, just what do we make of those apelike creatures? Existential questions abound on this week's episode of 'Seeing and Believing'! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Wade is off for the week, so Kevin gets Dave Canfield of Screen Anarchy and Mindframe(s) to help him plumb the depths of two complex films: Claire Denis's sci-fi experiment High Life and Penny Lane's documentary about the Satanic Temple, Hail, Satan? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame is here, resolving the events not only of Infinity War but also of the 21 Marvel films proceeding it. Wade and Kevin offer their (spoiler-free) thoughts on the film, examining how well it works as its own film as well as the culmination of an entire franchise. They pair this discussion with a look back at arguably the biggest action blockbuster of its own decade, The Matrix. How has the reality-bending sci-fi of the Wachowskis aged in the two decades since its release? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Terry Gilliam's The Man Who Killed Don Quixote is a movie more than two decades in the making, but it's finally out. With Adam Driver as a creatively frustrated film director and Jonathan Pryce as the eponymous crackpot knight, was this film worth the wait? The Jordan Peele-produced revamp of The Twilight Zone also gets a look this week. The guys examine how well the first three episodes of the new series fills the shoes of the beloved original. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
We interview authors Kutter Callaway and Craig Detwiler about the book they co-authored with Robert K. Johnston: Deep Focus: Film and Theology in Dialogue. Kutter and Craig discuss the intersection of their faith with their cinephilia, the often rocky relationship between Hollywood and the church, and what it means to be in conversation with a work of art. Wade and Kevin also offer their review of Tim Burton’s latest crack at directing a live-action remake of a beloved animated Disney film, Dumbo. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The guys lean into the rule of threes with this week's films. Triple Frontier, the first collaboration between director J.C. Chandor (All Is Lost), screenwriter Mark Boal (Zero Dark Thirty), and Netflix. Is this film's story of U.S. Army veterans turned heist thieves in South America successful? Wade and Kevin then take a look at the new film from Iranian master Jafar Panahi, 3 Faces. Panahi's penchant for metafictional gamesmanship is well established; how does his latest fit into that phase of his career? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Young men exploring outer space and old men robbing banks are the two most common varieties of male, at least in this week's show, as Wade and Kevin discuss the two newest movies from directors who have gotten a lot of love on the show before. First up is First Man, the Neil Armstrong biopic that takes a look at the personal costs of space travel. The guys then consider another biopic: The Old Man and the Gun, which may be Robert Redford's last role. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Seeing & Believing offers a little something for the auteurist with a review of a Spike Lee joint, BlacKkKlansman, which tells the true story of the first black detective in Colorado Springs and the 1979 sting operation he led against the Ku Klux Klan. We also take a look at the much-buzzed-about romantic comedy Crazy Rich Asians, based on Kevin Kwan's novel about an American economics professor who discovers her boyfriend is both the scion of a fabulously rich Singapore family. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
This summer marked the ten-year anniversary of the release of a film that reshaped the way filmgoers thought of superheroes: Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight. Wade and Kevin commemorate the occasion by revisiting that film with a review. Does it still hold up? The guys then keep the 2008 train rolling by offering their picks for the best movies of that year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
To celebrate Seeing and Believing's 100th episode, Wade and Kevin share some of their personal favorite moments. They also laugh over the bloopers of the past and put together a special top five list of their favorite films from the Sight and Sound Best 100 Films list. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Wade and Kevin are joined by ThinkChristian.Net and Filmspotting’s Josh Larsen to talk about how Christians should interpret film and television, as well as Terrence Malick’s new movie, Knight of Cups. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Wade and Kevin talk with director Joshua Overbay about his new film, As it Is In Heaven. Plus, they discuss their favorite best picture nominees for the upcoming 2015 Academy Awards. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices