Butter With That

Butter With That is back! After a long hibernation, the gang has come together to once again give you folks insight into all things movies! This week, we (finally) round out our Oscar Spinoff theme (the '23 Oscars, that is! Oops!) with Sam's selection, 2022's Bullet Train! Tune in as we tease out if this is a genuine action film, a parody of one, or both! Does Brad Pitt disappear into his role, or is he Brad Pitt-ing once again? And how about all these origin stories, including an inanimate Fiji bottle's? Climb aboard as we break down Bullet Train as only Butter With That can!

The crew keeps Oscar Spinoff season alive as Chrystine presents 2017's Beast! What do we make of the complex push-and-pull of sympathy vs. morality in this tightly wound tale of love, murder, and abuse? What do we make of the title and the themes it evokes? And how about Jessie Buckley's as-usual relatable yet elusive performance and transformation? Tune in this week to find out!

Oscar Spinoff season continues, and Dave brings the posse together to see if his Worst Movie of '22 director (Andrew Dominik) is redeemed with 2007's The Assassination of Jesse James by the (exasperated breath) Coward Robert Ford! Does the nostalgia factor hold up upon revisit for Chrystine and Dave? What were Connor's first impressions of this sprawling western? How much did Sam hate it, and do her points ultimately win the crew over? Saddle up and find out!

We're following up our recent Awards Extravaganza with a new theme, Oscar Spinoffs! We're each selecting a 2022 Oscar nominee (or something connected to our own) and exploring more of their work. This week, in conjunction with Jamie Lee Curtis's Oscar win, Connor brings us 2003's Freaky Friday! What do we make of this classic 2000s body swap comedy? How do we feel about the chemistry between Curtis and Lohan? And what would our blasphemous freaky Friday body swap scenario be? Tune in to find out!

This week we're concluding our 2022 Awards Extravaganza! We cover our selections for Best TV Show, Best Director, the infamous Worse Picture, and, of course, Best Picture! Tune in for the curveballs, our recommendations, and find out if the 2022 Tar sweep continues!

Hey folks, Butter is back, and this week we're rolling out the beige carpet for our 2022 Awards Extravaganza! In Part I, we cover our selections for Best Performance, Best Sound Design/Soundtrack, Best Cinematography, and Best Screenplay! Tune in to see if, like the Oscars themselves, we have a bit of an awards sweep this year, and be sure to check in next week as we cover the rest of the categories in Part II!

The crew is still revisiting some of our old Butter Classics, and Sam is coming out swinging with 2011's Warrior! Cheer along with the gang as we talk about the film's fantastic performances, explore the themes of family and trauma at the core of this riveting sports drama, and all get pretty teary eyed along the way!

While on vacation for a few weeks, we've been revisiting some of our old Butter Classics, and this week Connor punches in with Episode 29: 1999's Office Space! Gather ‘round the water cooler with us as we discuss the late ‘90s, answer one of our old whiteboard questions, and go on a lot of tangents! Don't miss it, ya "walnut"(?)!

We continue our trek down memory lane this week with another Butter Classic, and Dave has dug up one of our first episodes on 1996's Fargo! Have Dave's thoughts on its ending changed over the years? Is it still his 2nd favorite film, or has it shifted? Listen in for answers, and the gang's thoughts on this Coens classic!

Hey folks! With the downtime we have as we take a break for the month, we've had an opportunity to revisit some of our older episodes! This week, Connor revisits our discussion of 1990's Misery (Episode 147)! Stay tuned as the month rolls on and we highlight some of our favorite past discussions!

Wow! We've made it, folks: EPISODE 200! What better way to celebrate this podcasting milestone than by diving deep into the beloved 1939 film The Wizard of Oz! Join us as we revel in the film's incredible design, discuss its iconic characters, and unearth the surprisingly grim production history of this classic. We also listen in on messages from some of our biggest supporters, and there's even a wild surprise at the end! Thank you for listening, and here's to 200 EPISODES of Butter With That!

As our Loooove Theme concludes, Chrystine serves up a surprise dish: 2017's Phantom Thread! What do we make of Anderson's vision of a twisted, kinky, and ultimately heartwarming romance? Among this fantastic wardrobe, which dresses/garments caught our eye respectively? And can you believe someone other than Dave picked a P.T. Anderson flick?! Tune in for answers to these questions, and much more! And don't miss next week's special 200th Episode!

Our Loooove Theme is still in the air, and Connor has exhumed 2013's Warm Bodies! What do we make of this zombie-filled adaptation of Romeo And Juliet (and how surprised are some of us by the not-so-subtle nods we missed)? How about these visually and conceptually poorly defined Boneys? And an age old question - do zombies need to use the bathroom? Stagger and groan along with the crew as we answer these questions and more!

The Loooove Theme continues with Sam's selection, 2017's Gifted! How well does this film explore familial love through the lens of education? Does it telegraph an informed or well-intentioned but misguided slant on advanced education and placement? And how about this adorable one-eyed cat? Take your seats and listen in this week to find out!

We're launching into our new Loooove Theme, and Dave pivots from his trademark Contrarian Corner to his newfound Sentimental Corner with 2022's A Love Song! Is this tale of widowers rekindling lost longing expectedly heartbreaking or surprisingly and soaringly optimistic? How well do seasoned character actors Dale Dickey and Wes Stuti carry their lead performances? And how about this cinematography? Hike up to the summit with us for answers!

Our Fun In Dysfunction theme concludes with Chrystine's selection, 2014's Force Majeure! Does the chance avalanche of emotion in the film portray a dysfunctional family, or perhaps dive into dysfunction's socially gendered roots, or both? What do we make of the film's ending: does it subvert or serve its themes? And how well does this original telling stand against its American remake, Downhill? Tune in to find out!

The Fun In Dysfunction theme continues with Dave's selection, 2001's The Royal Tenenbaums! What does the gang make of this ensemble cast of quirky characters colliding as a family unit? Does the film achieve a sense of grounded realism, or does Anderson walk us through a fairy-tale vision of New York City populated by larger-than-life figures? Which member of the titular Tenenbaum family do we each individually want to console with a hug? Throw on your signature red tracksuits and sprint through these questions and more this week! CW: This episode features discussions of incest and suicide that may prove difficult to some listeners.

The gang continues unpacking Fun In Dysfunction, our dysfunctional families theme with Sam's pick, 1989's Steel Magnolias! What do we make of the community of characters and the stellar cast playing them? Does this beloved classic juggle humor and melodrama while sticking the landing on both? And which of our moms has an incidental guest appearance while turning in for the night? Listen in to find out!

The holidays have come and gone, and the Butter Crew are kicking off the new year by putting the Fun In Dysfunction, exploring dysfunctional families within film! Connor sets the table with 2015's Krampus! How well does the movie juggle horror, humor, and the holidays all at once? How about these practical effects and creepy Christmas critter designs? What's the deal with this Krampus lore, and which of us would survive it? Tune in this week to find out!

As our Real Vs. Reel biopic theme draws to a close, Dave presents 2022's Elvis! ...this movie's insane. Tune in!

Our Real Vs. Reel biopic theme rocks on, and this week we're tappin' our toes to Chrystine's selection, 2014's Love And Mercy! How well does the film cover two very different periods of Beach Boys singer Brian Wilson's life, and how well do the two different actors (Cusack and Dano) embody him? Do the film's two different styles and perspectives cohere, or do they wipe out? How do our parents feel about the Beach Boys vs. The Beatles? How do YOU feel about the Beach Boys vs. The Beatles? Listen in and write in to let us know!

Real Vs. Reel, our biopic series, rolls on and this week the gang hit the slopes with Sam's pick, 2016's Eddie The Eagle! How well does the film tell the story of Michael “Eddie” Edwards, an Olympic ski jumper who set British records while finishing last? Do Egerton and Jackman bring proper depth to their subjects, or doesn't the tone make that depth necessary? And that Bo Derek scene? Listen in for answers to these questions and more!

This week we're launching our new biopic theme, Real Vs. Reel! Join us as we investigate Connor's selection, 2002's Catch Me If You Can! Should a biopic stick to the capital-T Truth, or is a biopic about a con artist justified in fabricating the details? How well do we feel Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio play off of one another? Is this one of Spielberg's classic bigger-than-reality stories, or does it stand out as a strange entry for this storied director? Catch the episode if you can for answers to these questions and more!

Roommate Revenge wraps up this week with Sam's selected movie, 2019's 1917! Does the continuous shot motif pay off as immersive or does it ultimate distance the viewer? What, if anything, does this movie have to say about WWI and/or war in general? Are the a-historic liberties the film takes functional or kind of an oversight? And milk in a canteen? AT WAR? We take to the trenches for answers to these questions and more, so tune in!

Roommate Revenge rages on as we take on Chrystine's assigned movie, 2013's Austenland! Does this rom-com/Austen satire come across as an affectionate ode or an ineffective farce? How well does it juggle a will-they-won't-they tension among its multiple relationship possibilities? And what does the gang make of yet another rom-com airport scene? Listen in this week for answers to these questions and more!

Roommate Revenge rolls on, and this week Dave has been assigned 2017's The VelociPastor! Does this self-styled "good-bad" cult/b-movie stick the landing, or wade too far into genuinely bad movie territory? Is the humor self-aware and snappy enough, or does it linger too long on underwritten bits? Was this ultimately an exercise in wasted potential, or does it rise to the status of a strong and considered genre parody? Tune in for these answers and more!

This week we're launching our special new theme, Roommate Revenge! Sam's housemates Heather and Kara have tuned in and watched our selections for years now and finally have the opportunity to weigh in and assign each member of the crew their own episode! Their selection for Connor is 1992's Encino Man! Join us as we try to establish a thru-line in a movie that basically amounts to a montage! Does Brendan Fraser carry the weight of the other lacking performances? Tune it to see how well the roommates' selection syncs with Connor's taste, and the rest of the crew's as well!

After a brief break, Butter is back! This week, we're concluding our Underrated Movies theme with an out-of-this-world movie, Chrystine's selection, 2018's Prospect! Blast off with the crew as we weigh in on the film's balance of sci-fi and western movie tropes, review the characters from page to screen, and tip our hats to just how much detail the filmmakers created on a shoe-string budget! And be sure to join us again next week when we launch into a brand new, long awaited theme!

Our Underrated Movies revival rolls on, and Connor digs through his case-files to present 2007's Zodiac! Does Fincher respectfully handle the material of this infamous true crime story? Who among this ensemble cast of character actors stand out, or do they all bring real talent to the table? How does the film handle the ambiguity of the as-yet/still unsolved case, and does that ambiguity lend itself to a successful screenplay? Decode this cypher of an episode to find out for yourselves!

This week the Butter crew takes their Underrated Movies theme back to the barnyard with Dave's selection, 1995's Babe! Does this film deserve more recognition than the go-to pop culture reference "That'll do, pig. That'll do"? Will Sam ever be able to move past the titular piglet being on the "business end" of a shotgun in one scene? Does this Chris Noonan film have George Miller's fingerprints all over it? And seriously, what was up with that shotgun scene?! We'll explore these questions and more, so tune in!

It's been four years on the air(!) and so the Butter crew is reviving its inaugural theme, Underrated Movies! Sam gives us the stick-count as we launch into Tom Hanks' screenwriting/directorial debut, 1996's That Thing You Do! Is this bubbly and peppy story of a one-hit-wonder band a little too light for its own good, or does that make it more charming? Does Hanks pull off his desired no-bad-guys/all-likable-characters vibe? Does the crew somehow tie this movie into the Forrest Gump cinematic universe? Crank up your dial for answers to these questions and more!

The gang takes their seats for the last entry in our Movies That Brought Us Back To The Theater theme, Chrystine's selection, 1998's Ever After! Does this fairy-tale genre-parody dramedy tell the true story of Cinderella? Does this telling subvert both the knight-in-shining-armor and damsel-in-distress archetypes? Did the real Cinderella need a fairy godmother, or was she actually aided by Leonardo Da Vinci? Listen in for answers to these questions and more!

This week's installment of Movies That Brought Us Back To The Theater is Sam's selection, 2021's blockbuster smash-hit Spider-Man: No Way Home! Which of the three Spider-Men turns in the strongest performance? How about the weakest? How well does the film handle its complex themes of justice and redemption? And what does the crew imagine the future holds for Holland's Peter Parker moving forward? Join us as we untangle this web of questions and more!

The gang continues their Movies That Brought Us Back To The Theater theme with Dave's selection, 2012's The Master! As we discuss this challenging and elusive work, what do we make of enigmatic cult leader Lancaster Dodd's (Hoffman) "mastery" of his protege Freddie Quell (Phoenix)? What is this film getting at in terms of theme and/or message, or should it remain opaque? Will Dave eventually drag the rest of the gang through ALL of P.T. Anderson's films? Go "back beyond" with us as we answer these questions and more!

This week the crew is serving up a fresh new theme, Movies That Brought Us Back To The Theater! This week, Connor's ordered up 2022's The Bob's Burgers Movie! How well did this long-running cartoon series make its transition onto the big screen? Does it do a good job of reaching new audiences while satisfying die hard fans? And what makes Bobs Burgers a stand out series: the Belchers themselves, the ensemble cast of characters, the songs, or all of the above? Answers to these questions and more coming out pipin' hot this week!

We've reached the bottom of the Movie Grab Bag, and Dave's pulled a pretty wild selection, 2000's Songs From The Second Floor. Did the Crew warm up to Roy Andersson's cold arthouse vision of full scale collapse? Is the film ultimately chilling and distanced, humorous and inviting, or somehow both? Did a sequence involving a corporate/ritualistic child sacrifice get a surprise laugh out of each of us? Listen in this week to find out!

Our Movie Grab Bag theme drives on as Sam presents a long awaited selection, 1986's Maximum Overdrive! How are author Stephen King's directorial chops in this, his sole directing credit? Do we spend way too long with these underdeveloped characters trapped in a diner and/or pumping gas? And what about the dog that gets choked to death by a remote control car? We speed through these questions and more in this week's action-packed-ish 80s gem!

The Butter Crew is wetting their beaks with their new Movie-Grab-Bag theme and discussing an assortment of films we enjoy! Connor kicks us off with the 2016 documentary Chicken People! Does this film portray the art of breeding and presenting show-chickens as maudlin escapism or with a tasteful tenderness? Would we eat the hypothetical chickens we would each hypothetically raise? And, when put to the test, which chickens would each member of the Crew be? Tune in to find out!

The Butter Crew concludes their trek through our Desert Movies theme with Sam's selection, 1977's A New Hope: Star Wars Episode IV! How spellbinding are the visual effects, characters, and pacing of this franchise-starter? If Rey of the sequel trilogy is a "Mary Sue", isn't Luke Skywalker? Has Star Wars course corrected some of its blindspots as its cinematic universe expands? Will Dave admit he was probably being a bit of a curmudgeon when trashing the prequels? Answers to all these questions and more as we look back on this sci-fi/cultural touchstone!

The Butter Crew is back from their summer sabbatical ready to dig their heels into bringing you a mix of recommendations! What have we been watching? What have we enjoyed in our time off? And how was our summer break? Spoiler alert: a few of us got Covid.

The Butter Crew is still making its way across the sands of cinema as our Desert Movie theme rolls on with Connor's selection, 2021's Dune! How did Villeneuve and crew create a movie with such a unique level of detail and such a huge sense of scale? How well does this ensemble cast bring their characters off the page and onto the screen, and could more time have been spent on them in this already long film? When will the world finally see Sam's Beetlejuice-Dune Sandworm crossover? We answer these questions and more, so tune in!

The Butter Crew reunite for their new theme: Desert Movies! This week, the gang put the pedal to the metal with Dave's selection, 1981's The Road Warrior (aka Mad Max 2)! How incredible are the practical effects, stunts, and production design of this cult classic? How riveting are George Miller's vision and world building of the post-apocalyptic Wasteland? And where, "in this blighted place", did the Humungous's gang get ahold of so much hair dye? Buckle up as we find out!

The Butter Crew wasn't able to assemble this week, which left Dave (Daves?) to his own devices! Join him as he tumbles headlong into the 1953 Merrie Melodies short Duck Amuck! Is this one of the best and most experimental shorts of the Looney Tunes catalogue? Can an iconic character such as Daffy Duck be recognizable even when stripped of not only their voice, but their physical form? Is Dave ok, or has discussing this classic cartoon warped his brain irrevocably? Tune in and find out if "it makes sense if you think about it"!

As our Movies We Dragged Our Parents To theme concludes, we dive into Chrystine's selection, 1995's Waterworld! Could the roles of antagonist and protagonist be any murkier? Why, in a movie that seems to hate everyone, does it hate women so much? Was this conceived as something of a "Mad Max goes surfing"? And do the spectacular technical elements and production design of this "water-flop" warrant a reassessment? We wade into these questions and more this week!

As our Movies We Dragged Our Parents To theme rolls on, we sink our teeth into Sam's selection, 2008's Twilight! Did we all find ourselves under the spell of this strange teen melodrama? Yes. Do the insane and disparate decisions and themes come together to make a memorable film? Yes! Baseball? YES! All this and more as we glisten in the light of this truly special picture!

This week as we continue our look back on Movies We Dragged Our Parents To, we're blown to smithereens by Dave's selection, 1996's Independence Day! This movie was a smash-hit blockbuster upon its release, but does it hold up? Can the practical effects hold a candle to today's CGI? Does its ensemble cast bring its best to the film? Is it still as captivating in spite of all its glaring plot holes? The answer to these questions (all yes!) and more, so tune in!

Nostalgia season has set in as we roll into our new theme, Movies We Dragged Our Parents To! This week, we're dissecting Connor's pick, 2001's Osmosis Jones! Who thought it was a good idea to let the Farrelly Brothers direct a kids movie? Who exactly was this movie made for and what is it driving at? Why, in a world where a man's interior anatomy becomes a bustling cityscape, does everything look like a sphincter? All this and more as we reminisce about this disgusting movie!

Our Thuds and Duds theme concludes with this week's episode and Dave's selection, 1999's American Beauty! Why were we supposed to like Lester Burnham? Why was this movie such a huge and celebrated phenomenon in a year of other fantastic films? Why were we supposed to like Lester Burnham? Does the film hold up today, or have shifting cultural attitudes and necessary social conversations aged it too much? And WHY...were we supposed to LIKE Lester Burnham? Seriously! Tune in as we "look closer"!

The Thuds and Duds roll on as we discuss Connor's pick, 2016's X-Men: Apocalypse! Even our tech couldn't handle this movie, leading us to rerecord the first half! Join us as we struggle to remember what we had already covered, and struggle to wade through this jumbled mess of a superhero flick! Do we really need this many characters and locations? Why did the same creative team behind the other films undercut their work in this prequel? And why doesn't anybody remember meeting Wolverine? All this and more, so tune in!

Our Thuds and Duds theme continues, and this week we're exploring the infinite abyss that is Chrystine's selection, 2004's Garden State! Was it a good idea to hand Zach Braff the keys to writing, directing, and starring in his own movie? Was Natalie Portman's character supposed to be written as a child? Did we all collectively age out of this movie, or was it actually just pretty bad to begin with? Tune in to find out!

The Butter Crew is sinking to the bottom of the barrel with our new theme, Thuds and Duds - films that haven't aged well, weren't that great to begin with, and/or just plain stink! This week we discuss Sam's likely controversial choice, 2010's Inception! Does this heist/action movie suffer from pacing issues? Are the aggressive subconscious projections a cool device or just plain goofy? And what's up with Christopher Nolan's League of Dead Wives? Tune in as we go several layers deep and decide if Inception is a modern cultural touchstone or just another dud!