Above the Title: A Colin Farrell Podcast

The year is 2007. Saoirse Ronan is thirteen years old and four years into her career and has just gotten her first Oscar nomination. This week, Mark Tilley returns to the podcast to discuss Atonement, Joe Wright's sweeping epic of forbidden love and overwhelming guilt. Listen as we heap praise on Wright, discuss the film's Oscar run, debate just how much of this movie is meant to be real, and perform some atonement of our own as we address this podcast's greatest shame. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

not gonna lie gang this one broke us Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Above the Title celebrates Age Gap April with a look at Amy Heckerling's misbegotten May December romcom I Could Never Be Your Woman, starring Michelle Pfeiffer as an aging, divorced TV executive and Paul Rudd as the younger actor she falls for. We talk the film's lengthy and disastrous production, its poorly aged conception of feminism, and the ways both resonant and unsettling it seems to reflect Heckerling's biography. Plus: a young Saoirse Ronan in her first actual role, deep dives on both Pfeiffer and Rudd, and a lot of MCU talk. A weird amount of MCU talk. I actually cut a good portion of the MCU talk so just remember that when you're listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, season 2 of Above the Title begins with a look at the early television work of our new subject, Saoirse Ronan. First, there's The Clinic, a long running gentle soap opera about the personal lives of healthcare workers. Then, there's the second season of Proof, a gritty and short lived drama about journalists uncovering corruption. Is Saoirse in either of these to any degree more than just being a kid who can pop into a few scenes? No, not really, but hey, it's a completionist podcast, that's what you signed up for. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After two long years, we've finally reached the end of Colin's filmography, and this week we're taking a moment to collect our thoughts on his career and where he's going from here. But first: we loop back around to cover 1999's The War Zone, Colin's first proper movie which fell outside our initial 21st century limitations. Then, we dive into everything he's done since, finally unveil the Colin Farrell Rushmore, and announce the subject of our next season. Thanks for the memories, kid.Please note The War Zone deals with sexual assault and incest in extremely bracing and explicit terms and we discuss it with the bluntness it deserves. If you would prefer not to listen to that portion of the episode, the discussion begins at 13 minutes in and ends at 54 minutes and 20 seconds. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, the great Jeff Sweeney returns to the show to put up a defense for the Reeves Batmanverse and talk HBO's The Penguin, the first time in Colin's career he's return to a role he's already played. Spoiler alert: two people on this episode thought this show was terrible and the third is just happy to be here. Topics include: live Golden Globes reactions, wildly out of date Oscar predictions, our frustrations with prestige TV storytelling, the show's disinterest in engaging with the larger Batman mythos, whether or not Colin should be winning awards for this, and our thoughts on Batman's rogues gallery. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're back! This week, the great Sadie Rose Darwish joins us (for an episode definitely not recorded six months ago) to discuss Sugar, a streaming miniseries/maybe TV show in which Colin does a warmed over neo-noir routine while viewers wait patiently for the twist that is the show's entire raison d'être. We discuss that twist and we would have executed it, along with detours into the show's TCM fetishism, the scorpion jacket from Drive, mononymous stardom, and forgotten Jason Isaacs cop show Awake. Did you ever watch that? God it was good. We used to be a country, a proper country.Apologies for the poor audio, we had technical issues with the recording and tried to salvage it as best we could. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

this was a mistake Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Mark Tilley returns to the pod to discuss 2022's The Banshees of Inisherin, Colin's reunion with Martin McDonagh, the source of his first Academy Awards nomination, and frankly one of the key reasons we did this podcast in the first place. Is this movie the true successor to Italian neo-realism? Have we as a society properly reckoned with the crimes of Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri? Two years on, is this movie's total shutout at the Oscars deeply embarrassing? Does the Brenan Gleeson Rushmore get so contentious it almost ruins a friendship? Do we all love Jenny the Donkey? The answers to these questions, and many more, can be found inside. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, the great Sean Fahey returns to the show and straps on his diving gear for a discussion of Ron Howard's Thirteen Lives. Starring Viggo Mortensen and our boy Colin as two of the divers instrumental in the famous 2018 Thai cave rescue, the film would have some of the best test scores in MGM history before being unceremoniously dumped by the new Amazon régime. But here's the thing about those test scores? They were right. We talk this movie's quiet sentimentality, the out of nowhere Ron Howard redemption tour, whether or not this is an apology for Hillbilly Elegy, and of course a Viggo Rushmore. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we inaugurate the year of Colin Farrell and return to the superhero mileu to talk Matt Reeves' dark reboot of the caped crusader, 2022's The Batman. Released to much acclaim as an exciting new vision, two and a half years later (well, June of 2024 when we recorded it) it's time to take a look back with clearer eyes and ask the question: wait, is this thing actually any good? No. The answer is no. Along the way, we talk the film's misguided politics, the crimes of Todd Phillips, Robert Pattinson the movie star, the vestigial nature of Colin's role, and touch on the elements of this that we do quite like. Ay! Take it easy sweetheart! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're back! This week, we explain what's going on with the show, and then the great Andrew Kinsella returns to discuss the 2021 miniseries The North Water, the story of two men pitted against each other on an ill-fated whaling voyage. Topics include: the career of director Andrew Haigh, the state of the contemporary prestige miniseries, the failed attempt to turn Jack O'Connell into a star, just what voice Colin is doing here, and the shameful secret behind our show's methodology. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we are taking a look at 2020's The Gentlemen, Guy Ritchie's return to his trademark type of ensemble crime films after a decade of franchise fare and a movie that one of your cohosts thinks is the worst thing we've ever discussed on the podcast. Topics include: the diminishing returns of Ritchie's whole deal, this movie's rancid racist and nationalist politics, the dying art of studio fanfare, and the weird legacy of Colin's "pull up your pants" performance in this film. Plus: he's not very good in this, but we still go long on the career of star Matthew McConaughey. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, the great Stuart Elmore joins us to talk 2019's Dumbo, a somewhat misbegotten entry in Disney's attempts to remake their animated classics and, to date, Colin's last starring role in a major studio film. We get into our feelings on director Tim Burton and his body of work, the complicated history of the original, Disney's monstrous 2019 and the broader wave of live-action remakes, and the difficulties of integrating subversive or progressive ideology into works released by major conglomerates. Plus: Stuart, no stranger to tackling full actor filmographies himself, prods us to answer the question we've been dancing around for weeks: what is going on with Colin's career and why does he keep snatching defeat from the jaws of victory? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, the great Johnny Buse joins us to discuss Steve McQueen's 2018 Windy City heist epic Widows. As anyone who's seen it knows, this movie is a very rich text, and as this is a Colin Farrell podcast (and with two Chicago boys on the recording), we mostly focus in on his subplot regarding a contested alderman race for a South Side ward, and the film's broader understanding of Chicago's political structure, racial tensions, and social boundaries along neighborhood lines. But we also do touch on other aspects of the film at large, including its misbegotten Oscar chances, the star-studded cast and how it plays with their receptions, the legacy of Chicago in film, the cosmopolitan concerns of an English television series being remade in the United States, that one scene where Michelle Rodriguez makes out with a stranger, and, of course, a Viola Davis Mount Rushmore. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Here on Above the Title, we're completionists. We've made the pledge that we are going to discuss every Colin Farrell performance of the 21st century. And if that means we have to talk about a 40 minute Game of Thrones knockoff ad for a quartz company that never mentions quartz, well, that's the task we've set for ourselves. But you, dear listener, you have not made this pledge. You have a limited time on this Earth and are under no obligation to listen to this discussion. The subject is Legend of Cambria. The guest is Jeff Sweeney. We have fulfilled our obligation and wash our hands of whatever choice you make with this information. Godspeed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, the great Justin Stillmaker returns to the show to close out our look at Colin's run of prestige projects in 2017 with the misbegotten but still Oscar nominated legal drama Roman J. Israel, Esq. The sophomore film from Nightcrawler writer/director Dan Gilroy, the film stars the god Denzel Washington as the titular lawyer, a civil rights activist struggling with a crisis of faith, and Colin the corporate lawyer he inspires to action. We get into Colin's penchant for taking unremarkable supporting roles in higher profiles of this ilk and his difficulties connecting with strong directors, and discuss the film's well intentioned but misguided politics, its muddled narrative resulting from post-production woes, and its frankly shameless similarities to Michael Clayton, a film originally pitched to Washington and written and directed by Gilroy's older brother. But mostly, we are here to valorize Denzel, the man all three of us think might just be the best movie star of all time. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, the great Jake Mueller (Cinebums) returns to the show to talk Sofia Coppola's The Beguiled. A remake of the Clint Eastwood/Don Siegel film of the same name, the film stars Colin as a Union soldier in the waning years of the Civil War who is injured and taken in by a Confederate girl's school and all the sexual tension and various romances that follow. We talk the film's racial and gender politics and its complicated reception, along with our broader feelings on Coppola, the remaining context from the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, and the wildly different approaches between this film and the original. Plus: two difficult, contentious Rushmores on two of our absolute favorite actresses.Listen to Cinebums! https://cinebums.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, the great Andrew Jagielski joins us for the second and (sadly) final collaboration between Colin Farrell and Yorgos Lanthimos. That's right, it's 2017's postmodern Greek tragedy The Killing of a Sacred Deer, in which Colin plays a hypocritical surgeon whose family is placed under a curse by a teenage boy he once wronged. We delve into how this film works as an expression of Lanthimos' style and as a star vehicle for Colin, and sort through our feelings on the uglier side of Lanthimos' obtuse worldview on the edge of a populist reinvention. Along the way we touch on the birth of movie star Barry Keoghan, A24's off kilter 2017 and the development of their house brand, and Colin and Nicole Kidman's big Cannes film festival and the tumultuous events that occurred on the Croisette (with a little tease for next week). Plus, somehow, we get into a knock down drag out fight about Taylor Swift, the most Lanthimosian of pop stars. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week the great Colin Hamingson AND the great (and returning!) Saneesh Feisal join us to talk 2016's Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the biggest hit of Colin Farrell's career and, seven years later, the most toxic and complicated movie he was ever in. We dig into Warner Brothers' attempts to transform Harry Potter into an MCU of their own, and the weird ways that experiment was both a success (for this movie) and a disastrous failure (in what followed). Along the way we touch on director David Yates' attempts to (sorry) recreate the magic of the mainline Potter films, Eddie Redmayne's brief movie star run, the film's notorious twist, how the movie's disinterest in a great Colin performance ending up being the best thing that could have happened to him, and all the controversies that have become attached to this film in the years since - including, yes, all our feelings on the Potter franchise and J.K. Rowling's now dead legacy. Trans rights are human rights. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Just when we thought we were out, they pull us back in. That's right, this week we're taking a look at Solace, a cat and mouse thriller about a psychic cop (Anthony Hopkins) pursuing a psychic serial killer (Colin Farrell), which had sat on the shelf for several years before getting a quick festival run and alleged theatrical release to cash in on Colin's newly reclaimed stardom. We talk about the film's protracted production (including a decade where they were, swear to God, trying to retool it as a sequel to Se7en), attempt to sort through its incoherent narrative, toast Hopkin's career, get into the weeds of Italian copyright law, and mostly just lose our minds as we take one last look back at the dredges of Colin's flop era. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, the great Morgan Garrity joins us to talk the second season of HBO's True Detective, Colin's first serious foray into American television and the continuation of his hot comeback summer of 2015. Playing one of four leads in the highly anticipated series, centering on a group of adrift cops stumbling their way through uncovering a conspiracy in a small California town, we get to see Farrell dip into an old bag of tricks as he attempts to grab onto the redemption narrative that had been so central to Matthew McConaughey in the first season. Did it work? We talk about it, along with its belabored by design narrative, the somewhat uncomfortable gender politics of both this and season 1, Vince Vaughn trying to reinvent himself as a serious actor, the failed Taylor Kitsch movie star run, and some wildly inaccurate, now months old speculation on both season 4 and this year's Oscar nominations. But the three of us are mostly here to do one thing, and that's fangirl over Rachel McAdams. There's truth that lives and truth that dies, we don't know which so never mind. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, the great Genevieve Jacobson joins us, after months in Colin's flop era, to talk about a good movie. That's right, we've finally arrived at The Lobster, Greek auteur Yorgos Lanthimos' Cannes winning and Oscar nominated English language debut. The film stars Colin as a man in a surreal future forced to find a partner or be turned into the titular crustacean, and we find a lot to dig into regarding the film's philosophical underpinnings, aesthetic oddities, and morbid sense of humor. Along the way we touch on the beginnings of Colin's comeback, the odd circumstances that led to his getting the role, the film's messy and delayed release, our broader feelings on Lanthimos' body of work, and, most importantly, what animal we'd each choose to become. The answers are very revealing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we're taking a look at Liv Ullman's 2014 adaptation of the August Strindberg play Miss Julie. Starring Colin Farrell alongside an ascendant Jessica Chastain as a servant and mistress engaged in an scandalous flirtation, the film sees Ullman move the location to Northern Ireland and update the narrative with a modern, feminist framing. We get into the psychosexual drama at play and the film's stylistic successes and failures (especially in relation to the more acclaimed 1951 Swedish adaptation), plus we take a look at the long cultural tail of Ingmar Bergman and try to sort through our feelings on Chastain's underwhelming career. Is this the final film in Colin's dark night of the career? Or does his performance here presage the major comeback to come? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, the great Charlie Schumann joins us for the tenth anniversary spectacular look at notorious bomb Winter's Tale. A sweeping epic in which Colin Farrell plays an immigrant street thief who befriends a magic horse (?) and discovers he's a pawn in the eternal battle between God and Satan (??) and then lives for a century so he can fulfil his destiny (?????????????), the film was received with much derision and quickly forgotten save for the odd meme or two. We touch on its reputation and general failures, and along the way discuss the legacy of so bad it's good movies, the artistic crimes of writer/director Akiva Goldsman, what remains of Colin's dreamboat status, and just how the hell they got Will Smith to play Satan at this point in his career. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, the great Jeff Sweeney (of the Travolting podcast) joins us to look at failed Oscar contender Saving Mr. Banks, the deeply Disneyfied (and maybe evil?) biopic of Mary Poppins author P.L. Travers and her feuds with Walt over the famous 1963 film version. We grapple with our complicated feelings about the legacy of the Disney corporation, have an oddly contentious debate over Paul Giamatti's entire body of work, and reckon with a moving and close to home Colin Farrell performance as Travers' alcoholic father. Plus: deep dives into the careers of Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson (and a shorter drive-by on Jason Schwartzman). Cole can't remember who voiced the gargoyle in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Connor outlines his plan for worldwide economic collapse. Jeff gets a lot of mileage out of his Elvis impression.Note: this is the second half of a two part episode, be sure to check your feed for the other half, dropping at the same time.Listen to Travolting's new series on the films of Winona Ryder! https://rss.com/podcasts/travolting/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, the great Jeff Sweeney (of the Travolting podcast) joins us to look at failed Oscar contender Saving Mr. Banks, the deeply Disneyfied (and maybe evil?) biopic of Mary Poppins author P.L. Travers and her feuds with Walt over the famous 1963 film version. We grapple with our complicated feelings about the legacy of the Disney corporation, have an oddly contentious debate over Paul Giamatti's entire body of work, and reckon with a moving and close to home Colin Farrell performance as Travers' alcoholic father. Plus: deep dives into the careers of Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson (and a shorter drive-by on Jason Schwartzman). Cole can't remember who voiced the gargoyle in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Connor outlines his plan for worldwide economic collapse. Jeff gets a lot of mileage out of his Elvis impression.Note: this is the first half of a two part episode, be sure to check your feed for the other half, dropping at the same time.Listen to Travolting's new series on the films of Winona Ryder! https://rss.com/podcasts/travolting/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we're shrinking ourselves down to insect size to explore a world of wonder (and mostly get distracted by tangents), as we take a look at Epic. A misbegotten franchise starter from now defunct studio Blue Sky (best known for the Ice Age franchise), the film stars Amanda Seyfried as an ordinary woman who discovers a microscopic adventure occurring in the forest by her house and Colin as a general attempting to protect a kingdom from a evil warlord. We talk about celebrity voice casts in animated films of the past twenty years, the project's relationship to Pixar, the film's willful embrace ofgeneric fantasy tropes, and the broader state of American animation at this point in history... but mostly we're just trying to figure out if Colin is literally supposed to be playing a leaf in this thing. Like an actual leaf on a tree. It's very unclear. Connor talks through his feelings regarding Killers of the Flower Moon. Cole has the upmost respect for the owls of Ga'Hoole. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we continue our journey into the doldrums of Colin's middle period with a look at Dead Man Down, a muddled attempt by original Girl With the Dragon Tattoo director Niels Arden Oplev to inject European art film flair into the DTV crime thriller mold. We discuss the film's incoherent plotting and tone, once again tackle the question of Colin Farrell in action hero mode, and break down co-star Noomi Rapace's odd run as a failed Hollywood leading lady. Plus, because you try talking about this movie, we get very loopy and really just drift off into whatever tangents cross our minds. But, like, more so than usual. Cole wants Tommy Wirkola to chill. Connor debuts his Justin Timberlake impression. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on the podcast it's the Oops! All Rushmores special! The great Sean Fahey joins us, and he wanted to spend the episode playing everyone's favorite game. So join us as we delve into a multitude of careers, from luminaries like Christopher Walken all the way to beloved character actors like Kevin Corrigan. Also we briefly find time to discuss Seven Psychopaths, Martin McDonagh's 2012 follow-up to In Bruges, and try to figure out just what's going on with Colin Farrell's career. Connor feels bullied. Cole holds several grudges. Sean executes a master plan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we are very grouchy because we have to talk about the 2012 remake of Total Recall. Join us as we ruminate on Len Wiseman's weirdly short career, rant about the fetishization of fidelity, and remember we have free license to talk about the Paul Verhoeven original. Spoiler alert: we mostly just talk about that one. That movie rocks. How could you not? Cole has a take so spicy he had to cut it out of the episode. Connor can't stop thinking about Arnold Schwarzenegger's body. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on the podcast, we're ostensibly talking about Fright Night, the 2011 vampire action thriller remake starring Colin Farrell and directed by Craig Gillespie. But here's the thing: that movie very bad and we don't want to talk about it. You know what movie is good actually? Fright Night, the 1985 vampire horror movie starring Chris Sarandon and directed by Tom Holland. That's the one we want to talk about. Along the way we'll survey the history of vampire movies, eulogize Anton Yelchin, and try to decide if Dave Franco is a good actor. Connor doesn't understand the American West. Cole has memory issues. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, the great Dan Moore joins us to begin our descent into the real nadir of Colin's professional career with Horrible Bosses. A hit ensemble comedy from 2011, we dig into who among the cast is bad (most of them), who among the cast is good (contentious), and just how much worse the cultural landscape was twelve years ago. Plus, long-awaited Rushmores for Donald Sutherland and Jamie Foxx, and a whole lotta tangents - listen, you wouldn't wanna talk about this movie either. Don't get mad at us. Cole is looking forward to Chris Pine's directorial debut Poolman. Connor very much wants to see Chris Pine's directorial debut Poolman. Dan is tentatively curious to check out Chris Pine's directorial debut Poolman. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we're diving into London Boulevard, the directorial debut of The Departed Screenwriter William Monahan. Despite being familiar territory, the film, in which he plays a reformed gangster who falls for a movie star (Keira Knightley), mostly just vanishes the second it's released, and we dig into why, talking the baffling lack of chemistry between the leads, the generic nature of everything onscreen, and the film's callous use of sexual assault. Along the way, we're also praising Colin's fits, looking at the long career of Ray Winstone, and, for some reason, just chatting about James Bond. Connor can't stop talking about Albert Finney. Cole acknowledges a fault in The Fast & The Furious: Tokyo Drift. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Mark Tilley returns to the pod to help us discuss Peter Weir's final film, The Way Back, the ostensibly true story of an escape from a Siberian gulag and the long march to freedom. We can't agree if this movie is any good or not, but we can agree that flash in the pan star Jim Sturgess has nothing on Colin's scene stealing Russian gangster. Along the way, we're talking Ed Harris, we're talking Saorise Ronan, and we're arguing over what this movie's politics are. Cole thinks people are pretending to like Master & Commander. Connor tells a bald faced lie. Mark has a shocking blind spot. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we're taking a look at the beloved, Oscar-winning drama about an aging, alcoholic country singer finding salvation through the love of a single mother - it's Tender Mercies Crazy Heart! The debut film from Scott Cooper, this was sold and received as a powerhouse comeback for Jeff Bridges and, accordingly, that's who we're mostly talking about this week, delving into the ups and downs of his career, and why this movie landed like it did. Along the way we're gonna try to figure out if Cooper actually likes country, how Maggie Gyllenhaal got an Oscar nomination for this, and whether or not Colin Farrell is supposed to be playing Tim McGraw. Connor is tired of movies about addiction. Cole slanders the DPRK. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're back! The SAG-AFTRA strike is over, and the boys have returned from hiatus to bring you the light hearted look into Colin Farrell's career that you've come to love. This week, we're taking a look at Colin's forgotten 2009 collaboration with acclaimed Bosnian filmmaker Danis Tanović Triage, a... dour and miserabilist mediation on the traumas of war and the 1988 Anfal genocide. Well, not everything can be light hearted. Frankly, as dumb as we are, we probably still handle the subject matter with more respect than the movie does. Cole grapples with his feelings on James L. Brooks. Connor somehow compares Zero Dark Thirty to baseball. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The show will be going on hiatus for the duration of the SAG-AFTRA strike. Solidarity forever. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we're shuffling the release order a little bit to talk about 2009's Ondine. Directed by acclaimed Irish filmmaker Neil Jordan, the film stars Colin Farrell as a reclusive fisherman who rescues a mysterious and possibly magical woman from the sea. We talk about the film's origins as a Writer's Strike project, Colin's real life romance with co-star Alicja Bachleda-Curuś, the legacy of mermaids in films, and the career downturns that befall both Jordan and cinematographer Christopher Doyle after this film. Plus - we recorded this on the eve of Barbie and Oppenheimer's release, so you'll get a lot of our surely out of date thoughts on those and a bunch of nervous excitement. Connor pitches a Ben Mendelsohn podcast. Cole breaks down the history of Splash Mountain. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, the great Rebecca Sweeney joins us for a trip into the mind as we discuss 2009's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. An attempted return to form for Terry Gilliam after a rough decade, this film's production would be halted when Heath Ledger died halfway through filming, with Colin Farrell being one of several actors bought in to replace the star. We talk about the film's difficult production, other actors who were in the mix, and the muddled but interesting work that results. Along the way we're gonna look at Gilliam's complicated legacy, the form and fiunction of CGI in the immediate wake of Avatar, and knock out four separate, increasingly contentious Mt. Rushmores. Cole tells his Scott Speedman story. Connor almost watched Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium. Rebecca is a recovering Johnny Depp stan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we take a look at Pride and Glory, Colin's follow-up to the smash success of In Bruges. A New York City crime thriller about a family of cops tested when one of their own turns out to be corrupt, the film comes from journeyman legend Gavin O'Connor, in between his two sports classics Miracle and Warrior. Unfortunately, the movie doesn't live up to the heights promised by the premise and the director, and is mostly just a muddled, boring mess. We talk about Colin's underbaked performance, the complicated career of his co-star Edward Norton, place this movie in the lineage of NYC crime films, and discuss how the success of In Bruges ended up destroying this movie's prospects... but really we just want to talk about Warrior. Have you seen Warrior? Warrior's the best movie ever made. "Warrior but with cops" is the best pitch of all time, what even happened here? Connor pits John Klute against the Babadook. Cole explains the QAnon action movie that's the new Christian exploitation sensation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, the great Maya Dawit joins us for a freewheeling discussion of the defining film of Colin Farrell's career, In Bruges! A small, talky crime comedy from a first time director, the film would come out of nowhere and deliver Colin the best reviews of his career and major awards buzz, including a Golden Globe. We have a lot of praise to heap on his revelatory performance and why we think this is the one that made all the difference, and we have a lot of... mixed feelings about the movie at large and its blend of postmodern farce, existential dread, and very of the moment anti-PC shock humor. Along the way, we're gonna get into nepo babies, industry plants, Netflix originals, the Premiere League, and why 2008 is the year that broke Hollywood. Cole remembers when he went to Bruges. Connor hates all actresses under thirty. Maya has unsolicited career advice for Colin. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In early 2008, after a stint in rehab and a year and a half off screens, Colin Farrell would return by pairing up with another titanic actor for a fatalistic, offbeat European crime film. But this isn't that one, this the other one, the one that fully doesn't exist - it's Cassandra's Dream! The third in Woody Allen's trilogy of London-set thrillers, this movie, about two brothers asked to commit a murder, sits so firmly in the shadow of Match Point that it never really had a chance, and mostly exists as an odd footnote in the lead-up to, well, what Colin's about to do. We get into the weird, inert, half-formed nature of this movie, but because it really isn't very interesting we mostly just touch on some Miami Vice stuff that we somehow didn't get to on that episode and take a look back at Colin's blockbuster era. Connor has basically never seen a Woody Allen film. Cole has a hot take about Matt Damon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Above the Title, it's the big one, it's the 2006 Michael Mann film Miami Vice. Frankly, we're both nervous to tackle it and probably don't have enough time in three hours to get out all our thoughts. But this is the hand we've been dealt at 11:47 o'clock on a Friday morning, so we're just gonna have to take it to the limit one more time. Cole wonders if he can pull of Crockett's look. Connor has some harsh words for Michael Bay. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we take a look at the 2006 drama Ask the Dust, a film we at varying points compare to Moulin Rouge, Calvin & Hobbes, and Sophie's Choice. The final directorial effort of acclaimed screenwriter Robert Towne, the film stars Colin as Arturo Bandini, a struggling writer in 1930s Los Angeles who has a tempestuous relationship with a Mexican waitress (Salma Hayek). We debate the successes and failures of Colin's casting (and performance), wonder about the timelessness of his face, and begin to put an end to his bad boy era. Along the way we also wonder why Donald Sutherland doesn't have an Oscar nomination and just what Idina Menzel is doing in this dang movie. Connor sticks up for his Italian cousins. Cole is still in love with one particular shot from Jack Reacher. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, the great Andrew Kinsella joins us to talk about Colin's return after a year long break from movies and Terrence Malick's return from an eight year break from movies, 2005's The New World! A dreamlike and mystical retelling of the Pocahontas story, the film finds Colin in full elemental force as a conflicted John Smith. Two of the people on this podcast adore this movie, the third is more conflicted, but amidst all the debate as we try to get our heads around this film's massive scope, beguiling structure, and (again), multiple versions, we still find time for a deep, deep dive into Christian Bale's career. Cole thinks The Artist gets a bad rap. Connor draws connections between Malick and the avant-garde. Andrew walks us through his favorite historical epics. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, the great Jeff Sweeney joins us to take a trip to Sacred Heart Hospital and discuss Colin's one-off appearance on Scrubs! The only real guest appearance in his career, Colin's role as the brother of a patient is primarily an excuse for warmed over Irish jokes, but we're mostly interested in the way it interrogates his tabloid bad-boy image in a way none of his movies ever did. Along the way, we salute New Jersey, debate John C. McGinley's legacy, and try to figure out why so many people find Zach Braff so annoying. Connor unveils his grand theory of television pacing. Cole pledges allegiance to Joey King. Jeff has watched six TV shows.Note: Our apologies about the poor audio quality this week. The original recordings were unsalvageable and we were forced to rely on a low-quality, single track backup so as to have the episode come out at all. This has already been resolved for future recordings. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we make tenuous forays into covering television with the one and only episode of Saturday Night Live Colin ever hosted, fresh off the disaster that was Alexander and folks, it's a stinker. We delve into Colin's strengths and weaknesses as a sketch comedy performer, the running on fumes nature of the 2004 cast, the rampant sexism of the era, and run through each sketch to try to figure out what works (some diamonds in the rough) and what doesn't (pretty much everything). Cole is worried for the future of the Please Don't Destroy boys. Connor watched this three times for some reason. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It was supposed to be the culmination of the first few years of Colin Farrell's career: playing one of the most famous people of all time in a sweeping epic directed by one of the most acclaimed directors of the era. Yet rather than a smash hit that catapulted Colin towards Oscar glory, we are left with a six-time Razzie nominated disaster that almost completely killed his career as a leading man. That's right, this week we're talking Oliver Stone's Alexander, and we mostly have questions, such as: Does Colin manage to wrangle a good performance out of the material here? What's the deal with all the different cuts? Why is this movie so blasé about Alexander's homosexuality? What movie are Val Kilmer and Angelina Jolie in? Is Oliver Stone a great director or just someone who has made great movies? And most importantly, what is even the point of this movie? Connor is ride or die for Todd Haynes. Cole wonders if Eternals is secretly good. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we're starting our look into Colin's 2004 and his turn towards prestige dramas and spoiler alert: it's not gonna turn out well - it's A Home at the End of the World! The film debut of acclaimed Broadway director Michael Mayer and Michael Cunningham's follow-up to the major awards success The Hours, this film follows an ill-fated bisexual throuple over the course of several years in the early days of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Does it work? Not really, but there's a lot of interesting ideas surrounding intimacy and the meaning we can find with other people batted about that we very are excited to dig into. Along the way we talk about a truly disastrous wig, the career of Robin Wright, and a notoriously excised Colin Farrell nude scene. Cole breaks down Jude Law's similarly rough 2004 slate. Connor gets into name dropping. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, the boys take another trip to Dublin to close out Colin's stacked 2003 (or maybe inaugurate his disastrous 2004) - it's Intermission! The debut of John Crowley (director of Above the Titled endorsed masterpiece Brooklyn), this very of the moment crime comedy of interlocking narratives features an insanely stacked cast and great a Colin Farrell supporting turn, yet seems to have been forgotten the second it came out. Is it a forgotten gem, or just another entry in the post-Magnolia haze? Spoiler alert: It's the first one. This thing rules. Connor has a secret message for the fans of the pod. Cole gets emotional about The Beach Bum. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.