Shot/Reverse Shot

Inspired by Spectre and its insistence on squandering the scenery-destroying talents of Christoph Waltz, Matt and Ed are talking about Wasted Potential this week. They discuss artists who don't fulfill their potential due to the actions of others (Orson Welles), because of their own choices (Marlon Brando), or just because they stopped trying (Robert De Niro, Al Pacino etc.). They also wonder if Jesse Eisenberg's awful-looking performance as Lex Luthor in Batman v Superman is secretly brilliant, share their #hottake on the recently announced BIFA winners, and accidentally create a mashup of Night of the Hunter and Shadow of the Colossus.

It's Matt's Birthday! In keeping with a recently established tradition, that means that this episode is a grab bag of topics decided by the birthday boy, including what films Matt and Ed loved as kids which they are wary of now, the odd experience of watching a film for the first time that has been referenced so much in pop culture that you know every detail about it, and whether or not Star Wars: The Force Awakens has any chance of being good.

There's a new Bond film out and, despite planning to, neither Matt or Ed were actually able to see it in time for this episode on Spies and espionage in cinema. Regardless of a lack of Spectre discussion, they still have plenty to talk about since 2015 has seen the release of a surprisingly large number of spy movies, ranging from the moodiness of Bond to the goofiness of Spy. They delve into the sociological and psychological underpinnings of spy movies, wonder why there are so few examples of realistic spy movies in a contemporary setting, and talk about Archer a lot.

It's a veritable Werewolf Bar Mitzvah this week as Matt and Ed tackle things both spooky and scary. After discussing some not especially frightening news (unless you find the prospect of an all-female Ocean's Eleven unduly threatening, in which case get over it), they talk about Charlie Lyne's new documentary Fear Itself (which is available exclusively on the BBC iPlayer), before engaging in a more general natter about terrifying moments in otherwise benign movies, their favourite horror films, and why foreign language horror films are sometimes more evocatively scary than English language ones. There's also some nonsense in there about Komodo dragons.

Matt and Ed are obsessed with the idea of Obsession this week, an interest which takes the form of a discussion of films about obsession, how directors' obsessions can manifest in their work, and the ways in which cinema is uniquely suited to exploring the topic. They also talk about the failure of Pan, unnerving audience responses to films, and pitch a Hans Gruber-centric prequel to Die Hard.

This week's episode is a sort of double A-side in which the first half is largely given over to a discussion of Paul Thomas Anderson's new documentary Junun, and what its release via the streaming service MUBI could mean for future idiosyncratic releases from major filmmakers (or major works from idiosyncratic filmmakers). The second half concerns the idea of High Concept filmmaking, and the many permutations of that term, from '80s blockbusters to indie films with interesting, easily sellable back stories.

In what will hopefully become a tradition for the show, this week dispenses with having a set theme in order to celebrate one of the hosts' birthday. In this instance, the host in question is Ed.

Marking the culmination of a long-running project for Matt, who has spent much of the last year watching most of Disney's animated movies, this episode focuses on the animated movies of Disney. In addition to that, Matt and Ed talk about Ian McShane going Game of Thrones, pitch a Disney take on the gunpowder plot, and the ways in which Disney's corporate elements make it surprisingly willing to take big risks.

We aren't able to provide a full episode this week as we had initially planned due to a scheduling conflict. However, since we've been away for a few weeks and there are stories that Matt and Ed want to talk about, we have prepared this minisode for your delectation.

This Friday sees the start of Sheffield Doc/Fest, one of the biggest and best documentary festivals in the world and a favourite of this show. Unfortunately, for the first time in years, neither Matt or Ed are able to tend this year due to other commitments and the Atlantic Ocean, respectively. To commiserate, they talk about what they love about Doc/Fest, then use that as an opportunity to talk about different strains of documentary filmmaking, such as activist docs like Blackfish and rock docs like Made of Stone, and the ways in which Netflix has altered the landscape for documentary distribution. They also introduce a new feature, whereby they recommend a different film or television related thing that they feel would enrich your lives.

This week, like a couple of Billy Pilgrims, Matt and Ed are looking backwards and forwards simultaneously as they talk about nostalgia, and how it has informed films like the marketing behind the recently released Mad Max: Fury Road and the forthcoming Jurassic Park and Vacation sequels. They discuss the unstable nature of nostalgia, which can bring fans onboard or completely alienate them if it isn't used correctly, how some films manage to subvert nostalgia in interesting ways, as well as the kinds of films that make them nostalgic. They also find time to talk about Cannes, the rumours that Marvel is looking to hire Ava DuVernay to direct one of their forthcoming films, and whether or not J.K. from Jamiroquai has connections to the U.S. Army.

Spoiler Warning: This episode contains discussion of specific plot points in Avengers: Age of Ultron, but also of a crucial plot point in the Civil War comics which may be a spoiler for the forthcoming Civil War film (but then again may not). If you want to avoid the Civil War spoilers, then please skip this timecode: 31:30-33:00.

Inspired by the very entertaining documentary Jodorowsky's Dune, about one of the most fascinating and influential films never made, this week's episode revolves around films that only exist in the minds of their creators, or in some magical pocket dimension where all possibilities happen at once. In exploring the topic, Matt and Ed talk about films that were made at some point but had a potentially more interesting version somewhere in their development, films that never made it past the script phase but wound up being scavenged for parts in other films that did, and the reasons why some films never come together, either because they're too expensive or too insane. If you want to hear about how Jurassic World could have been a lot nuttier (and probably more interesting) or why every film should be written by Nick Cave, then this is the episode for you.