Shot/Reverse Shot

Following on from last week, in which they talked about the films of 1986, Matt and Ed spend this week digging into two of the biggest hits of that year: Tony Scott's Top Gun and James Cameron's Aliens. In addition to talking about the influence that the two films had on the blockbuster format (whilst also being unlike most contemporary blockbusters), Matt reminisces about an unusual Top Gun-adjacent present, and Ed disparages his 14 year old self's taste in movies.

Inspired by HBO's The Night Of, Matt and Ed spend this episode talking about the many varied ways in which law enforcement officials have been depicted in film and television. From slapstick dunces in silent movies to embodiments of systemic corruption, from dedicated public servants to sociopaths with authority, they run the gamut. They also discuss the ways in which England international games are like season two of True Detective, gawk in wonder at the complete implosion of the Divergent franchise (and its surprising fallout for the Marvel universe), and dig into the furore surrounding Edgar Wright's list of 1000 favourite films.

This past Saturday, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Leslie Odom, Jr. and Phillipa Soo left the cast of the Broadway show Hamilton, a wildly successful musical which has grown in prominence and cultural heft over the past year, to the extent that their departures were given the same treatment afforded to news surrounding popular TV shows and films. Since this represents an important transitional moment for the musical, Matt and Ed thought it would be a good time to take stock of the Hamilton phenomenon, their own thoughts and feelings about the play, and the way in which it addresses the difference between the past and history through a revolutionary mixture of Broadway, hip-hop, and actual history. They also mourn the passing of the great Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami, unpack the minor furore surrounding Sulu being gay in the latest Star Trek film, and talk about experiencing "Felicity Huffman-esque intensity".

ESPN's 30 For 30 strand has been producing great, fascinating documentaries about significant sporting events and athletes for years now, but the series may have reached its pinnacle with Ezra Edelman's seven and a half hour, five part miniseries about the life of O.J. Simpson. Encapsulating Simpson's football career, marriage, murder trial, slide into obscurity and eventual trial for burglary and kidnapping, Edelman's film also stands as a breathtaking examination of race, gender and celebrity in American society, the history of L.A. and systemic racism in the LAPD, and uses the prism of one man's life to tell the story of the society that created him. In short, it's excellent, and Matt and Ed thought it would be remiss of them not to discuss it.

Following a week of terrible sadness in the real world, this week's episode is about finding solace in art and entertainment. Matt and Ed discuss times in their lives when art helped them cope with heartbreak, bereavement and wrenching change, create a fictional Canadian basketball team, and try to describe one scene from Up without crying. 

After discussing disastrous movies last week, Matt and Ed talk about Disaster Movies this week. Specifically, they contrast the more human-centric stories of the genres '70s heyday against the inhumanity of the '90s force of nature entries into the genre, and the out-and-out disaster porn that has come to define so much of blockbuster filmmaking over the past decade. They also talk about Larry David maybe bringing back Curb Your Enthusiasm, the complexity of the Jack Frost series, and wonder which of his films Kevin Smith will cannibalise after he fails to make a Mallrats TV series.

In this slightly delayed episode, Matt and Ed complete their Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll trilogy with, funnily enough, an episode on Rock & Roll. They discuss films about musicians (both real and fictional), movies starring musicians, and take plenty of time to talk about the notorious 2000 gangster movie Honest, starring three quarters of All Saints and a Nazi lobster. They also pitch ideas for the latest Halloween film, reminisce about their youthful misunderstandings about Spinal Tap, and bemoan the dickishness of John Carney. Matt also provides compelling evidence for why Sexy Beast and OK Computer are basically the same.

The second part of the Sex, Drugs and Rock n' Roll trilogy finds Matt and (an intensely sick and croaky) Ed discussing representation of drug use in film and TV, how cinema reflects shifting attitudes to different substances, and the ways in which Requiem for a Dream and Reefer Madness are basically the same film. They also discuss the slew of TV cancellations that occurred last week, imagine a crazier version of Easy Rider than the one we have, and Matt discusses the less glamorous side of the Cannes film festival.

Inspired by the release of 10 Cloverfield Lane, which no one knew about until mere weeks before it was due to come out, this week's episode is all about secrecy, and the problem of maintaining a sense of surprise when it comes to filmmaking. Could someone make a film completely in secret and release it to the world the same way that Kendrick Lamar released an album unannounced? What's the best way to sell a film without ruining it? Is Dave Stewart from Eurythmics a serial killer? All of these questions get addressed in one form or another. There's also a lot of talk about Indiana Jones 5, some talk about Brett Gelman's iBrain routine, and a little talk about Oscar Isaac's dick. Typical show, basically.

To commemorate the release of Hail, Caesar!, which hit UK cinemas this week, Matt and Ed offer their thoughts on the film before going on to discuss the work of Joel and Ethan Coen more generally. In between talking about the brothers' pet themes, their relationship to classic cinema, and the notion of "moral authority" in their films, Matt describes a fever dream that maybe involves Dolph Lundgren, reveals an inside scoop on Harry Styles' acting experience, and the two discover/half-remember the most baffling film ever made.