The Screen Companion

Sports! Not all of us can geek out over it, but how about when it merges with film? In Field of Dreams and The Sandlot, not only is there a strong baseball component, but also fathers and sons; for when you miss playing catch with the old man. Guests: Pat & Jon.

Anime movies! Argh. Why does the guest like it so much? Why does the Host dislike it so much? Will Andrew help the Host become a Japanese animated film fan? Find out via Perfect Blue and Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade! Even if you don't like anime, you might get to know the genre enemy better by listening to this episode. Guest: Andrew.

Another foreign film dive: West German cinema! The insightful guest--an Army veteran who was actually stationed in the Federal Republic of Germany at the same time the film, Lola (1981), was being made--recounts his time overseas and his impressions of the people and politics of the region. Guest: The Dad!

Are all movies with a strong romance angle lovey dovey, clunky affairs? Are there love stories that aren't just emotionally manipulative bear traps to be set on Valentine's Day? The Host and Jon would say two films that rise above overly simple romance plots are Witness and A Very Long Engagement. Guest: Jon.

How well do '90s animated kid's shows hold up? Were they much smarter than comedy cartoons aimed at kids today? We'll try to keep one eye free of the nostalgia glasses and see what—if anything—has changed in over two decades as we revisit Recess, Hey Arnold!, The Ren & Stimpy Show, and Johnny Bravo. How subversive were these shows really? Today's guest provides the dual perspective of a parent and child educator. Guest: Laura.

Marathoning Mission: Impossible! In part 3 of 3, we're talking Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation and Mission: Impossible - Fallout—the gasoline that stoked the fire of the franchise. Between the two movies, there's a shared villain and femme fatale, as well as the celebrated return of a character from M:I-3. Guest: Andrew. (Recorded in 2022.)

Marathoning Mission: Impossible! In part 2 of 3, the Host vents his frustrations over the lowest grossing film in the series, M:I-3. Also, recall the glorious phoenix that came next—Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol—and re-established master spy Ethan Hunt's box office viability. Whew. Close one. Guest: Andrew.

Marathoning Mission: Impossible! Tom Cruise has shaped it into a quintessential thriller / action series. He's played the protagonist, Ethan Hunt, more times than Roger Moore was Bond and surpassed Hugh Jackman's tenure as Logan. Let's track Cruise's ups and downs piloting this lucrative franchise. Guest: Andrew.

Every now and then, a flick comes along that does the whole, "Was it real, or was it a delusion / dream?" Only a few use that trope well, not least among them the Paul Verhoven classic Total Recall, from 1990, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger! We sit down and go beat by beat, looking at the story from both angles--you decide if Quaid was dreaming or not! (This episode is a redress of a pilot that went nowhere. Enjoy!) Guests: Mitch & Jon.

TSC is always pondering what themes viewers might be after when they're looking for content. You may have never searched for it before, but take note of War Dogs, Top Gun, and Star Trek III: The Search for Spock as movies with strong bromances. Guests: Stacey & Andrew.

More Westerns! We had an okay time watching '90s Westerns, so how about a couple even older examples of the genre to help us decide if it's for us or not? Between The Kentuckian and Shoot the Sun Down, we're bound to figure out what's behind this enduring genre. Guest: Max.

Every decade of cinema is known for particular highlights. In the '90s, one was kids' movies—the perfect blend of humor, heart, and danger. Flicks like Home Alone and Jumanji couldn't have come out in present day, so let's look back on what was special and perhaps incompatible with modern sensibilities. Guest: Stacey.

Budgets don't always have a proportional relationship to quality. The low budget flicks Cube and Texas Chainsaw Massacre prove that story and craft transcend spending copious amounts. (Copious amounts of blood notwithstanding!) Guest: Ian.

Using the power of cinema, one can visit new worlds. In the 2010s, there were plenty of sci-fi and fantasy environments to explore: Tron: Legacy, Dredd, and Mad Max: Fury Road; we crash through the silver screen into quite a range of made-up places. Guests: Max & Andrew.

Movies are mostly entertainment, but some can help us understand the past a little better. Never heard of feudal Japan? Watch Yojimbo! Want to see how dangerous escaping East Germany was when it was behind the Iron Curtain? Then Balloon is for you. Both are a taste of history with more zing than a documentary. Guests: Jon & Max.

For some, musicals are the bee's knees and honey for the ears. For others, every time people break into song is not a moment to be celebrated. Are there musicals that can bust through the barriers of anti-musical audiences? Let's find out as Pat—an everyman who's apathetic toward musicals—gets pummeled by La La Land and Viva Las Vegas! Guests: Andrew, Max & Pat.

Films can have many different versions: Some are made in the editing room before the premiere, while others are born during the home market phase to squeeze a few more disc and streaming sales. They really can be hit or miss as to whether they are better than the originals. However, the director's cut of Legend and Rocky IV: Rocky vs. Drago are new spins on old favorites and shouldn't be skipped. Guests: Andrew & Jon.

There are dozens of Bond flicks. If you're uninitiated and know you'll never want to watch all of the movies, does that mean you should ignore 007 completely? Heck no! There are plenty of mini arcs that can pare down the franchise into the essence of James Bond. Here are three truncated collections to enjoy. Guests: Jon & Andrew.

Celebrating paternity! Whether you have a great father, wish you did, or wish you were, there are flicks that give that warm, male parental figure feeling. Do Kramer vs. Kramer and Mrs. Doubtfire count? Perhaps! From comedy to drama, let's enjoy some films centered around dads.Guest: Max.

Where's the Far East love?! The Killer, Fulltime Killer, and Lady Vengeance. What do they seem to do really well? What's totally bonkers from a Western perspective? Let's break out the soju and get into it. Guests: Jon & Andrew.

Action flicks can be measured by the speed of bullets, fists, and feet. But how about cars? Spectacular, supersonic car chases on busy metro streets may be unreasonable, but not when they're on a track. Racecars are meant to zoom and increase the adrenaline with every gear shift. Between Le Mans and Rush, we celebrate the cars and the drivers. Guests: Max & Jon.

Martial arts and tournament fighting go hand in hand—or foot in ass! While never a mainstream subgenre of American action films, it's a setup that remains classic and a great fallback premise for low budget flicks that want to save on location shooting. Where does 99% of fighting take place in Enter the Dragon, Bloodsport, and Sidekicks? Why, in a ring! Guests: Pat & Jon.

Licensed music can feel really heavy handed and included just to sell albums (at the expense of the movie). However, inAirheads and Can't Hardly Wait, the song choices are a plus. Revisit the '90s from two different ends, two opposite trends.Guest: Jon.

Foreign languages can be barriers, but everyone can relate to childhood struggles like being the new kid or having trouble connecting with parents. Let's dig into El Sur and My Life as a Dog—youth trauma, here we come! Truly, universal themes that transcend cultural boundaries. Guests: Max, Andrew& Jon.

Are you searching for more teen flicks from the '80s that include smart, independent ladies? Well look no further than Just One of the Guys and Night of the Comet. In both films, the leads are capable women and are worthy cures for when male-centric fare gets tiresome. Guest: Andrew.