The Postscript Podcast

To merely label this as a podcast episode about the 2016 film Captain America: Civil War would be both misrepresentative and deeply reductive of what these three and a half (3.5) hours hold. What once started as a bit to unethically force our dear friend Chance Freytag to rewatch Civil War and watch the newest MCU entry, Captain America: Brave New World, with us evolved into something much grander. From Moby Dick to Stalker (1979, dir. Tarkovsky) to what a movie actually is and the impact it can have on someone's life, this episode is a sprawling piece of introspection and personal reckoning for Chris, Mateo, and Chance. This episode has more in common with an average telehealth appointment than a typical recorded MCU discussion. This release of this film was a pivotal moment in the moviegoing careers of all three of the fellas, and they reflect on everything that has transpired in the industry and their lives in film since. You don't have to have even seen the film to listen to the pre watch to this ep (clocking in at ~1.5hr itself). Come join us.

To continue the trend of covering this year's Oscar-nominated directors' previous features, Mateo, Chris, and Seb take a trip with Mikey Saber down to Galveston, TX to watch Sean Baker's (surprisngly underseen) Red Rocket. How does this one compare to Anora, which has now emerged as the clear frontrunner in the race? Why did people latch onto Anora but not Red Rocket? Was Simon Rex snubbed? Join us!

With The Brutalist announcing itself as one of the films to beat this awards season, we examine director Brady Corbet's previous feature film, Vox Lux from 2018, starring Natalie Portman. To set the table for this relatively underseen movie, we thoroughly discuss the production, context, and intention of the film (2:03) before all watching it for the first time ourselves (35:17). Did Corbet always have the juice? How does this film function as a companion piece to another 2018 entry with a similar setting, A Star is Born? Why isn't Jude Law in every single movie? Come watch this movie with us!

Mateo and Chris kick off the New Year by looking back at 2024 and assessing which released films are most likely to warrant an episode on the podcast 3+ years from now. What films will people sour on? What films will rise in our estimation? Did we miss any movies?

The fellas load up on sunscreen as they take a trip directly into the sun to shine some light on Danny Boyle and Alex Garland's hugely underseen space film, Sunshine. Chris shares some lore on the production and botched release of the film, detailing why this movie fell so hard through the cracks before Mateo and Seb both watch it for the first time. Is this a true buried classic of 21st century sci-fi?

Space Month continues as the boys gear up to go to the Moon. They are joined by their pal Riley to revisit what is perhaps Damien Chazelle's truly most underappreciated film, First Man from 2018. The fellas discuss how this movie fits into Chazelle's filmography, what makes it special, and why it ultimately wasn't a hit.

SPACE MONTH BEGINS with James Gray's divisive Ad Astra from 2019. Mateo and Chris are joined by returning guests Nick and Nikki on their voyage to Neptune. They discuss the reception and slightly troubled production of the film and why it deserves to be revisited before re-evaluating it themselves. Is this actually one of the most beautiful films of its decade? Would it have been a bigger hit in a different release year? Should one of the space monkeys be on Dancing with the Stars? All is discussed.

In honor of the release of Gladiator II, the boys travel to the Holy Land to experience the acclaimed director's cut of Ridley Scott's once-panned 2005 Crusade epic, Kingdom of Heaven. Is this the most substantial director's cut ever? Would this have been a hit if the theatrical cut wasn't so compromised? Is this actually one of Ridley's best movies? All is discussed.

We say farewell to Spooky Month by taking on Mike Flanagan's increasingly reclaimed, three-hour adaptation of Stephen King's Doctor Sleep with the one and only, Owen Ward. The fellas discuss why this film left people feeling a bit mixed upon release and how it has only grown in fans' estimations since then. What separates this film from the many other legacy sequels and trauma-core horror films? Does this film escape the shadow of The Shining? Is this actually the definitive Stephen King adaptation? All is discussed in this grand finale to our horror month.

We continue our month of horror with Guillermo Del Toro's Crimson Peak from 2015. Coming after a string of Del Toro's biggest commercial hits and right before The Shape of Water, this movie is often left out of conversations when determining Del Toro's best film. Which is why we've brought back Crimson Peak champion Vance Osteen to take us to Cumberland, England and show us the truth. 

Spooky Month continues as the boys enroll at the Helena Markos Dance Academy with their friend Jasmine to watch Luca Guadagnino's audacious Suspiria remake (but don't call it a remake). They discuss the extremely polarizing reception to this film upon release and how it's currently viewed within Guadagnino's filmography before watching it (all for the first time) and deciding for themselves how much of it works.

The fellas kick off their 1st Annual Spooky Month by taking a lil trip to ol' Silent Hill, accompanied by their travel agent, Craig Cardillo. Is this the only truly good video game adaptation? They discuss the turbulent reception to this movie and how people have warmed on it over time before diving into the foggy dimensions themselves and seeing how this movie holds up. Pyramid Head is real.

To prepare for the release of the most polarizing film of the year, Francis Ford Coppola's Megalopolis, Mateo and Chris are joined by Alex Franco to examine his most recent release, Twixt (2011). They discuss Coppola's career arc and what he aimed to achieve with these 21st century entries (1:00) before diving into the madness themselves. The Twixt Post-Watch discussion begins at (33:55). Afterwards, they are joined by Chance Freytag for the first-ever, emergency Day One Postscript Recording to discuss their immediate feelings and reactions about Megalopolis (1:42:52). 

And we're back! The boys kick off Year Two of the pod by viraling out on their blues and greens and revisiting the two Bourne entries post-Ultimatum, The Bourne Legacy (2012) and Jason Bourne (2016). Mateo and Chris are joined by Dylan Smith discuss the history of the Bourne films and why the creative schism within this franchise that manifested itself in these two movies is so fascinating. They compare and constrast Legacy and JB 2016 and how they display the virtues and shortcomings of the two primary authorial figures of the Bourne franchise, Tony Gilroy and Paul Greengrass, and how those two view the character and this universe. Also tune in for Dylan's review of Universal's The Bourne Stuntacular and his recently purchased Bourne Complete Collection (amongst various other thoughts). Post-Watch begins at (57:15).

To commemorate The Postscript's first birthday, Chris and Mateo reflect on their first year of podcasting and the dozens of films they've covered by giving their biggest surprises (8:08), disappointments (23:30), and Top 5s (43:23) of all the movies they've watched for the pod.

There appears to be an event happening. The boys' Shyamalan fever refuses to break, so they have decided to cover one of his most panned films, The Happening. Did this movie deserve the level of hate and mockery it has and continues to receive? Or is this movie an early instance of general audiences misunderstanding Shyamalan? Our guest Tommy helps make the case for why it may be the latter before they rewatch the movie and decide for themselves (31:54).

In honor of the release of Alien: Romulus, the boys rev up their chainsaws and re-examine Fede Álvarez's (largely forgotten) Evil Dead reboot from 2013. Owen makes a compelling case for the merit and importance of the film before Mateo and Chris both give it their first viewings (36:24). They later dive into Romulus and discuss how it's in conversation with Evil Dead and represents an evolution in Álvarez's filmmaking (1:20:28).

Something is going on with time on this podcast. Mateo and Chris are joined by their pal Ethan to rewatch the first ever Shyamalan film covered on the pod, the extremely polarizing Old. Was this film a stroke of brilliance and the mark of an exciting new era of M. Night, or a clunky mess? How will this stretch of films from Shyamalan be remembered? All is discussed on this episode.

Happy 7-29! As its 20th Anniversary draws near, Chris and Mateo assemble a crew, now known as The Postscript's Twelve, to celebrate and reappraise Steven Soderbergh's misunderstood sequel, Ocean's Twelve. This movie means a great deal to the pod, so it deserved the most ambitious episode to date.  The two are joined by 10 of their friends (who are also previous guests) to take turns discussing the film, be it their first viewing or 20th. Chris and Mateo are joined by Dylan Smith to (in spoiler-free fashion) set the table for the film and discuss its significance to us before bringing on the rest of the team to deep dive. Guests on this episode include Tommy Rosilio (37:20), Owen Ward (48:24), Nick Wibert & Nicole Americano (1:06:51), Nathaniel Cereceda (1:43:33), Leo Bergmiller, Cara Panarisi, & Katelyn Wahl (2:00:06), and Dylan Smith & Chance Freytag (2:34:39). Come hang out with us! 

Mateo and Chris are joined by resident Andy Samberg professor Cara Panarisi to show some love to the underseen and underappreciated 2016 mockumentary, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping. Is this the funniest movie of the 2010s?

After people went crazy for its "12 years in the making" premise a decade ago, the boys dive into 2014's Boyhood with their friend and Richard Linklater aficianado Brayden to determine how the film has aged. Did it earn its fabled 100 on metacritic? Is it really Linklater's magnum opus? Join us!

While being some of the most successful gimmick movies in recent memory, do the Quiet Place films hold up all these years later removed from the novelty of their theatrical experiences? The fellas discuss while also sharing their thoughts on the newest entry, Day One.

Mateo and Chris have returned from their travels and are BACK with their good friend Leo to revisit Pixar's Inside Out and also share their thoughts on its recently released sequel. How does the new one stack up against its predecessor, and how does it reveal the first's strengths and weaknesses? Should the original be considered one of Pixar's best? Or have people rightfully cooled on it? All is discussed on this new episode of The Postscript Pod. 

Chris, Mateo and their friend Jacob become perhaps the first people to revisit Marvel's Eternals since 2021 to assess whether the vitriol directed towards this film was justified. Is this actually a bottom 3 MCU films? Or perhaps one of the few strokes of auteur filmmaking to ever grace the MCU?

It's Monke Week on the pod, so Mateo and Chris bring in double-feature specialist Owen Ward to revisit the most recent Apes trilogy and hone in on Matt Reeves' two entries. The boys discuss what makes these films so remarkable and why they should be regarded as some of the best blockbusters of the 2010s.

With the recent announcement of a fifth Matrix film to be directed by Drew Goddard, Chris and Mateo are joined by returning-guest Nick to go back to where it all started: back to Jonathan Groff's office. One of the more divisive releases in recent memory, the boys revisit the fourth Matrix movie to see how it has aged removed from all the expectations placed upon it in 2021. Pre-Watch Ends/Post-Watch (spoiler-filled deep dive) begins at (31:40)

With the release David Leitch's newest blockbuster, the hugely marketed The Fall Guy, we are joined by our friend Nathaniel to revisit Leitch's first official directorial credit, Atomic Blonde. We talk about how it has held up as the sister movie to John Wick and how it provides a glimpse into what could have been Leitch's career since then. Pre-Watch ends/Post-Watch begins at (29:30)

Chris and Mateo are joined by their pal Adam to all dive into another hugely reclaimed film for the first time: Steven Spielberg's A.I.: Artificial Intelligence. What was once considered to be an odd clashing and hodgepodge of two auteur's visions is now considered to be one of the greatest works of the 21st Century. Is the film worthy of this level of reclamation? 

We are BACK with easily our longest episode title to date. In honor of Guy Ritchie's new spy action comedy period piece, we revisit another one of his spy action comedy period pieces that we believe to be one of the most criminally under-appreciated films this century and what the filmmaking of these two say about each other.

After his fourth film, The Zone of Interest, Jonathan Glazer is widely considered an auteur and true master of the craft, but why was his second film, Birth, panned upon release? Chris and Mateo are joined by their friend Seb Griffin to discuss why this film has been so fiercely reclaimed and where people misunderstood it in 2004.

Sofia Coppola's magnum opus? Chris and Mateo kick off April by eating some cake at Versailles with their pal and noted Marie Antoinette champion, Emily. They talk about the underwhelming reception to the film upon release and the fierce reclamation it has since undergone before giving the film a watch themselves (24:02).

Oscars Month comes to an end with one of the most dominant films at the Academy Awards in the 21st Century, Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire. Chris and Mateo are joined by their pal Tommy to all watch this movie for the first time and try to get to the bottom of what made it such an enormous hit. How does this Oscar juggernaut fare in 2024? As always, first section is a spoiler-free pre-watch, second is the deep dive post-watch.

Oscars Month continues with the infamous 2011 Best Picture Winner (and noted victor over Moneyball), the black-and-white silent film, The Artist. The boys become probably the first people since 2011 to watch this movie to determine whether it is worthy of the films it's paying homage to, or if people fell for a hollow, gimmicky imitation of this era of filmmaking. 

The boys watch their step as they continue Oscars Month with The Hurt Locker. They talk about the grueling production of this film in the name of authenticity and its David vs. Goliath dynamic with Avatar in the 2009 Oscars before watching the film and assessing how it stacks up against its competition and other modern war films.

The boys kick off Oscars Month by travelling to the suburbs to reassess the film that dominated the 1999 Oscars, American Beauty. Did the film deserve all the accolades it received? Is it half as clever as it thinks it is? Could Wes Bentley have played The Riddler? Listen to find out.

In honor of Dune 2 releasing this week, the boys come face-to-face with themseleves and revisit Denis Villeneuve's least-discussed English language film, Enemy. They talk about its reputation as a bit of an outlier in the past decade of films from the director before rewatching and seeing how it fits in Villeneuve's filmography, both stylistically and in terms of quality.

The boys go off the deep end with their good friend Nicole Americano to revisit Bradley Cooper's 2018 directorial debut, A Star is Born, to really hone in on what this movie brought to the table from a filmmaking standpoint, years removed from the hold it had on pop culture and tabloids. As always, the first section of the pod is the spoiler-free pre-watch, and the second section (31:45) is our full-blown deep dive. 

Perhaps the most dangerous banger covered to date on the pod, the boys revisit the global sensation that was Spider-Man: No Way Home to determine if the movie really was as good as they remember, or if all the anticipation and excitement surrounding its release covered up some of its potential flaws. 

We are no longer in control. In honor of the director's cut now being available worldwide, the boys are joined once again by Chance Freytag to discuss the misunderstood brilliance of Michael Mann's Blackhat, now in all of its properly edited glory.

The boys travel to The Green Chapel and hopefully learn something along the way as they revisit David Lowery's The Green Knight. While critically acclaimed, the trio felt this movie deserved further discourse after falling through the cracks over the past few years.

The trio takes a trip to see everyone's favorite negative asset manager by revisiting The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. They talk about Ben Stiller's quietly superb career as a director as well as the mixed critical response this film received upon release and the Walter Mitty Hive that has formed since before rewatching the film themselves to see where it truly stands.

The boys are here with their 1st Annual Tenet Rewatch! They talk about how this movie was the genesis for The Postscript Podcast and why this misunderstood masterpiece DESERVES a rewatch from everybody reading this. They then give the film another viewing and discuss what stood out to them most this time around, and how their feelings deepened or shifted about the film.

Happy New Year! The Postscript Boys are back and are here with a different type of ep to begin 2024. On this episode, the trio reflects upon the year in film in 2023 and discusses some selected films that they believe could be covered on the pod a few years from now, such as Barbie, The Killer, and Napoleon. This pod is also officially a safe space for Beau is Afraid-heads. 

It's time for Star Wars Month…to end. After reivisiting the entire sequel trilogy, the boys, as fairly as they can, attempt to assess how successful these three movies were in retrospect and breakdown all the arguments held against these movies upon release. Have they become stronger over time? Were the haters right? Join us for what we'd like to believe to be one of the more level-headed, diplomatic discussions of the Disney Star Wars Sequels all these years later. 

The fellas prepare for the grand finale of Star Wars month by taking a look back at the era of the Sequel Trilogy (2012-2019) and how the discourse surrounding these three films evolved (or devolved) over time before rewatching all three films themselves for next week's post-game episode.

The boys are joined by their good pal and local Solo salesman, Dylan Smith, to get back in the Falcon and revisit this film. They discuss the prejudice towards the film that existed before its release and as a result of following The Last Jedi before rewatching the film with fresh eyes and assessing what it truly brought to the Star Wars Universe and whether it deserved the treatment it received.

The boys book another AirBnB on Scarif and kick off Star Wars month by revisiting Rogue One. They discuss the production woes of the film as well as how it's become the most popular selection as "Best Disney Star Wars film" before rewatching the movie and assessing the true merit of the film all these years removed and whether the seams from the reshoots are still an issue.

The trio are joined by their good friend and most valiant soldier of the second Pirates of the Caribbean film, Chance Freytag, who has brought with him a jar of dirt with a three-hour pod inside of it. They discuss the film's more muted reception as compared to the modern classic of The Curse of the Black Pearl as well as the film's sublimely chaotic production before rewatching the movie (42:52) and assessing how it holds up all these years later as its own film and without the expectations as the follow-up to its predecessor.

Double feature time! The trio is joined by their friend and resident Alien expert Owen Ward to shine a well-deserved light on Ridley Scott's Alien prequel duology of Prometheus (2012) and Alien: Covenant (2017). They analyze the films' muted receptions in an age of legacy sequels and prequels and what makes these movies such anomalous blockbusters before watching the films and discussing why these are two of the most remarkable and ambitious films of the century. 

Chris, Seb, and Mateo can't seem to get any shut-eye as they watch Christopher Nolan's first studio film, Insomnia (2002). They discuss (spoiler-free) this film's place as the most (and only) forgotten Chris Nolan movie and the paradoxical reality that even people like Seb and Mateo haven't seen it before. They then watch the movie and analyze (33:20) where Nolan's DNA comes through most and how its divergences from the 1997 original inform its position in Nolan's filmography.

The trio de-ages in real-time as they revisit David Fincher's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) - the first film covered on the pod that not a single one of them had seen previously. They talk about how this is the least-discussed Fincher film even though it's not his most underseen (and also garnered great success upon release). They watch the film and analyze how it fits into Fincher's filmography and whether its falling through the cracks of movie culture was unjust.