The Movies that Move Us

Al Larson and Quince Van Orden discuss our man, Ethan Hawke, in another episode, this time talking about Ben Stiller's feature film debut, Reality Bites (1994). We talk about our favorite and least favorite scenes with Ethan as well as posethe question, "Is Ethan likeable in this movie?"

Al Larson & Quince Van Orden interview Andrew Klay, a French immersion teacher and film score appreciator, about Les Choristes (2004), a perfect movie to discuss both its Frenchiness as well as its amazing compositions.

Al Larson and Quince Van Orden sit down with filmmaker, K. Mykol Panti (Keenan) to discuss Punch Drunk Love, one of Keenan's favorite movies and one that he's placed in his top 30 movies that represent something he sees in himself. We discuss the humor and stress, the earnestness of love and if this movie is awkward or perhaps even "cringe" at moments. Following our discussion, we chat about Keenan's love of film, his career in filmmaking including his upcoming feature length film, Thin Walls (almost out, go check it out on social media: Thin Walls Movie (@thinwallsmovie) • Instagram photos and videos ) and even play a round of Remake/Reboot for another Adam Sandler movie.

You know what the people secretly yearn for? Musical episodes. We're joined by LA-based Art and Production Designer, Abbie Vance, known for projects like The Wolf of Snow Hollow, Deadstream and Nine Days, who speaks about the movie that pushed her from a path in film direction & writing to production design - The Phantom of the Paradise (1974). Aside from her experience with the movie, we have lots of unique trivia to share about The Phantom of the Paradise, even about one of France's most famous bands that credits their aesthetic and start to this movie. I highly recommend this episode and discussion. Don't miss out.

Al Larson and Quince Van Orden review our boy, Ethan Hawke, in the 2021 serial kidnapper/killer thriller, The Black Phone. Set in 1970s Denver, the latest kidnapping victim, Finney, attempts to flee The Grabber using help from the paranormal voices on the other end of a black phone.

It's your boys, Al Larson and Quince Van Orden, showing up to deliver their top 5 movies of 2023. We also give our Oscar nominee winner picks as well as do a fun draft game to select the definitive "The Movies That Move Us Awards that the Oscars Missed" winners.

Get to know co-host, Quince Van Orden's movie that moved him, the Cameron Crowe feature film starring John Cusack, Say Anything. Al Larson and friend of the show, Austin Najar, interview Quince and talk about Cameron Crowe's other films and ask what happened to him after directing 3 amazing movies, how Quince used this movie to help him find his wife, and also play Reboot/Remake for the spy thriller, The Bourne Identity.

Al Larson and Quince Van Orden speak with filmmaker and former Broadway actor, Josh Berrent, about one of the films that inspires his own writing and directing, The Apartment (1960). The Apartment is a comedy-drama starring Jack Lemmon as C.C. Baxter, a lonely bachelor who has escalated his position within an insurance company by renting out his apartment for illicit affairs to higher ups until one of these women attempts suicide in his home. We discuss the humor among its heavy drama, Al's controversial opinion about Fran Kubelik and the role this plays in Josh's filmmaking. Unfortunately, due to a technical issue with the recording, our game portion had to be left on the editing room floor, but it's still a great discussion of the film.

Quince Van Orden hosts this special episode with guest co-host Cassia Lawrence (from The Old Republic Podcast) to interview Al Larson about the movie that broke his innocence about R rated films forever - The Boondock Saints. They ask what made the movie so difficult to watch back then, ask "Is this peak Willem Dafoe?" and talk about what we'd expect in the sequel film. Of course, we play the Letterboxd game and joke around a bit too. Check out our guest's instagram - @Al_Whalehome as well as twitter @MahatmaBlondi online.

Al Larson hosts this episode with writer and friend, Russell Moser, about The Two Towers (2002). I originally thought the discussion would be about deciding to become a fantasy author from these books and movies, but it actually took a unique twist elsewhere. Of course, we also talk about The Hobbit trilogy and the cartoon adaptations and look over the Oscars from 2003 to see if this movie was snubbed or properly awarded.

Al Larson and Quince Van Orden bring you youtube creator and stand up comedian, Cullen Severance, and we talk about Wrongfully Accused (1998) starring Leslie Nielsen. We chat about our favorite scenes, what makes this movie so near and dear to Cullen and the state of comedy these days. We also play a bit of our Letterboxd guessing game.

Al Larson and Quince Van Orden speak with Chase Graves, a filmmaker, editor and actor, who was greatly influenced by Scott Pilgrim's unique editing and style. We talk about video game and comic book adaptations, the cartoon prequel, the editing and whether we actually like this movie still after all these years. Of course, we play some games as well - One Word Guessing Game. Join and listen to us talk about Scott Pilgrim! Chase Graves recommends you check out DinerGhoul.com or @DinerGhoul on Instagram.

Hosts Al Larson and Quince Van Orden host this week's episode of the podcast with comedian, Kyle Ayers (host of The Never Seen It Podcast) to talk about Kill Bill The Whole Bloody Affair. Kyle switched college majors to study film after taking a film/media studies course where he watched Kill Bill for the first time. We chat about his favorite scene, the impact it had on him, the potential for Kill Bill 3, and then the court case surrounding Ana De Armas missing from Yesterday. We play the One Word Guessing Game and The Letterboxd Game on the pod.

Al Larson and Quince Van Orden host for Tim Chizmar who discusses his own film, The Nudels of Nudeland and the film that inspired him to make it, Maslin Beach. Tim is a notable nudist, comedian, director, writer, and producer among many more roles. Listen in on our conversation about nudism, creating a better nudist film than Maslin Beach, producing and distributing his film and of course, we play our draft game and talk about other movies we like. You can follow Tim at https://nudisthumorist.com as well on twitter @TimChizmar or even on Jubilee's Nudist video on Youtube. You can watch his movies, The Nudels of Nudeland and Hell's Coming for You.

Al Larson hosts this episode with our first ever international guest, Reo Beaumont, to discuss Pulp Fiction. We talk about Reo's favorite scene in the film, if Quentin Tarantino has declined as a director, the music choices, Tarantino's unique dialogue and use of violence. We discuss a Mount Rushmore of film directors and in general have a good time talking about one of the all time greatest films. Reo Beaumont runs the film critic website, The Cinematique, and hosts The Cinematique podcast and R&M: A Conversation on Cinema and he can be found on twitter as well - @ReosPositivePOV

Al Larson and Quince Van Orden are joined by Sally Van Orden for a discussion about Gattaca (1997). We play the Letterboxd game, discuss sci-fi films that are similar, why Al thinks this movie is like a sports film, then talk about eugenics and the interesting ties to DNA that are built into the film set, title and even the credits.

Al Larson and Quince Van Orden speak with Michael Tanner, a graphic novelist and podcaster, about Dawn of the Dead (1978), the granddaddy of modern zombie films, as well as the Zack Snyder remake. Why are there Seventies Shenanigans in the flick, and what would another remake be like? We also talk about Michael's experience with Dawn of the Dead and how it led to him writing Junior Braves of the Apocalypse. Join us for another fun episode with interesting discussion and our Letterboxd game. https://www.amazon.com/Junior-Braves-Apocalypse-Vol-Brave/dp/1620101440

Al Larson and Quince Van Orden watch and discuss Juliet, Naked (2018). We talk about our favorite and least favorite Ethan Hawke scenes, the realism of his dad bod and his acting as well as if we think this could be part of the Before cinematic universe. We also create a new Letterboxd game.

Hosts Al Larson and Quince Van Orden have a fun chat with David F Peterson (from the band Can't Stop Won't Stop) about his favorite Ethan Hawke movie, Before Sunrise. We also play a few games, but most of all, we're excited to talk about the song he contributed to The Bad Guys (2022) for the action packed opening sequence. If you've ever been curious about the process to which music is used in movies, this is not an episode you'll want to miss. Check out Can't Stop Won't Stop on Spotify and other streaming platforms as well as their website, cswsmusic.com

Al Larson and Quince Van Orden discuss the Apple TV + film, Raymond and Ray (2022) starring Ethan Hawke and Ewan McGregor. They play a draft game of best streaming services and an Ethan Hawke anagram game.

Hosts Al Larson and Quince Van Orden are joined by previous guests, Austin Najar & Scott Carter, for their wrap up of 2022's best and most disappointing films. We play a draft game with a twist as well as share some of our picks for 2023 movies we hope to see. Check out Scott's Thoughts on Instagram: @Scotts__Thoughts (that's two underscores)

Al Larson is joined by Cassia Lawrence, the Co-Founder of "The Old Republic Podcast" & "Inspired A Galaxy" podcasts, where we talk about the 2018 Prehistoric Survival film, Alpha. We have a conversation about the message of the film, survivalism as a timeless theme of films and being the last of your kind. Then we play a game of Remake, Reboot, Recast for another familiar dog film - Marley and Me!

Quince Van Orden and Al Larson explore the catalog of movies of one of their favorite stars -- Ethan Hawk. In this episode, they talk about 2013's horror survival film - The Purge. Do you like action-y Ethan Hawke? The Purge has that. Do you like movies with casts of people with names like "Polite Leader" or "Bloody Stranger"? The Purge has that too. Let's talk about our American holidays that are similar to The Purge and then talk about Ethan Hawke's performance.

Quince Van Orden and Al Larson do a short dive into Ethan Hawke's catalog of movies to celebrate Ethan himself. On this episode, they discuss the 2009 vampire action flick, Daybreakers. Do you like piss filters on your movies? Daybreakers has it. Do you like unnecessary romance tacked on? Daybreakers has that too. But most of all, it has cool vampire lore in a futuristic society.

Welcome to another episode of The Movies That Move Us with your host, Al Larson. Al is joined by a guest co-host, Jonny Vance, and his guest Ethan Hagen to present The Iron Giant. Apologies for some of the randomly sped up parts in the show (issues with the recording software) but it still felt like a good discussion that can be enjoyed. We talk about Brad Bird's excellent direction of the movie, discuss the the film's protagonist, Hogarth Hughes, Ethan watching this movie as a baby and all growing up, and the our thoughts on a sequel film. Then we play Remake, Reboot, Recast. Enjoy!

Al Larson talks with University of Utah Linguistics Alumnus, Marz Petersen, about her enjoyment of the film, Frances Ha. We talk about the Marz's connection with the film, if she would be friends with Marz and we talk about the poetry of the film's title. Hear why this is Marz's most comfortable version of New York City!

Al Larson and Quince Van Orden are back for another fun and games episode. They play 20 Questions - Movie Edition, chat about the things they have been watching, and play Reboot, Remake, Recast with the movie, The Italian Job

Al Larson and Quince Van Orden come back for another episode of their podcast with Scott Carter, a BYU Information Systems student and amateur film critic, who has chosen to talk about The Way Way Back (2013). We discuss the film's show don't tell moments, our favorite scenes and the title to the movie. Then we play Reboot, Remake, Recast for the movie 500 Days of Summer. Follow our guest on instagram -- @scotts__thoughts

Al Larson and Quince Van Orden interview the director/writer/main actor of Rogue Life, Brady Flanagan, to discuss his podcast as well as the 1981 Disney film, Condorman. We talk about why his family was the unofficial “Blockbuster of his neighborhood,” look up Condorman trivia and discuss our edits to make the film better. Finally, we talk about Rogue Life, how it came to be written out of an indecision to write a single genre, and where it might go. Check out Brady's podcast, Rogue Life, wherever you get your podcasts. You can ever join the exclusive Rogue Life Facebook group for special trivia, sneak feeds and more.

Al Larson and Quince Van Orden bring on mutual friend, Aaron N Hall to discuss 1995's Toy Story. We discuss Toy Story and Pixar's impact on animation, the sequels to Toy Story and the new Lightyear film. Do graphics matter and should Toy Story be remastered with Pixar's 4th Toy Story graphics? Last of all, they play Remake/Recast/Reboot for the film Sleepless in Seattle. If you'd like to check out our guest's blog and published works, visit: Aaron N. Hall | Writer & Creator (aaronnhall.com)

Quince Van Orden and Al Larson discuss actor catchphrases and their favorite (and least favorite) films of 2021 and describe how they would make one of their least favorites a better movie in their Reboot/Remake game.

Al Larson and Quince Van Orden talk to Austin Najar about The Magnificent Seven - the 1960 John Sturges western based on Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. They talk about Austin's personal connection to the film as well as the near Shakespearean level of universality of the basis for the film and the films it inspired. They invent a new game called Vudu Presents Common Sense Media that they play, and have a variation of the Remake/Reboot Game.

Podcast host, Al Larson, interviews his long-time collaborator and brother, August Larson, about why Napoleon Dynamite is his favorite movie. The two explore the relationships of Napoleon, Uncle Rico and Pedro, the relatability of the film and whether or not it still holds up today. Finally, we discuss what MCU movie we'd like Jared Hess to direct.

Your hosts, Al Larson and Quince Van Orden, battle two of their favorite romantic comedies against one another - When Harry Met Sally (1989) vs. Roxanne (1987). They've been given strict categories for them both to shine in. Listen on for fun trivia at the end.

Hosts Al and Quince interview Nathan Barton about the Tom Clancy thriller, The Hunt for Red October (1990), and try to understand why he's watched the movie hundreds of times. They also play "Remake/Recast" for the movie The Fast and the Furious.

Hosts Al and Quince interview Nellie Ramirez, a Salt Lake schoolteacher, about one of her favorite movies -- Freedom Writers (2007). Following the true story of Erin Gruwell, a new high school english teacher in charge of the "rowdy" students at a voluntarily integrated high school in California, she does the first thing no other teacher has ever done and attempts to connect with them. Her empathy inspires the students and unites them in a bond tighter than most would've thought possible post-LA riots. We also play "Remake/Recast" of The Ten Commandments (1956).

Al Larson interviews co-host Quince Van Orden about Les Intouchables (2011 French) and what makes it so special to him and his wife. They play a trivia game about the movie and also introduce a game "Remake/Recast."