Your Favorite Movie

My guest today is Blake Altman. Blake is an educator and former scholar of textual studies at Bowling Green State University. One of my favorite pastimes is just saying, “Hey Blake, thoughts on…” and then the title of a movie. We go way back and I always appreciate how Blake's opinions are so detailed and thoughtful. As a textual scholar, Blake has years of experience analyzing film, media, and literature. His Letterboxd updates are always a delight in the feed. Blake's favorite movie is Martin Scorsese's 2016 religious historical drama Silence. Drawing on the history of Jesuit priests' ministry to the Hidden Christians of 17th century Japan, Silence tracks Fathers Rodrigues and Garrupe as they travel to Japan to search for their mentor Father Ferrera who is rumored to have apostatized, or publicly renounced the Christian faith. They must travel and worship in complete secrecy, for the price of faith is torture and death. Along their harrowing journey, the young priests are given a true test of faith and the audience is challenged to grapple with the totality of religious persecution, performative religiosity, and the depths of true fate. After the interview, Evan breaks down what this season has meant to him and what he has learned about the power of film.

My guest today is Max Glenn. Max is an artist and educator whose byline most recently includes a Reservoir Dogs retrospective for The Spool. Max is an accomplished theater actor and scholar with a deep devotion to both craft and theory. He is a former colleague of mine, a dear friend, and my go to guy when I want to head to the theater to see The Batman or Top Gun Maverick. Max's favorite movie is the 2007 action comedy Hot Fuzz. Hot Fuzz follows ambitious London police officer Nick Angel, portrayed with comedic rigidity by a career-best Simon Pegg, who wrote the script with Edgar Wright. Angel is too competent for his own good - his punctilious record is a threat to his sleepy superiors. His colleagues send him on a seemingly dull assignment to an idyllic country town, but Angel soon uncovers a web of murderous conspiracy that encourages viewers to consider the price of utopia as well as the conventions and contrivances of the buddy cop genre.

My guest today is John Compton. John and I initially bonded over a shared love of the show Community. We're kind of like Troy and Abed, although we might argue over which one is which. John comes from the more numerical world of economics and finance, but also harbors a creative side. He and I have worked on an unproduced TV pilot together, so if any agents listening are looking for a hot script, let us know. John has fantastic taste and is always apprised of what's trending. John's favorite movie is the 1987 romantic fantasy The Princess Bride. When an illness confines a young boy played by Fred Savage to his bed, his grandpa, embodied by the incomparable Peter Falk comes to read him a story, also titled The Princess Bride. Though at first skeptical, the young boy is quickly enraptured by the epic saga of farm boy Westly's journey to reunite with his true love Buttercup and save her from her villainous finance Prince Humperdink. The Princess Bride smoothly exposes the contrivances of fairy tales, while simultaneously glorifying true love's power to conquer all.

My guest today is Luke. Luke is a lifelong midwesterner with an ardent love of film. I met Luke in college on the speech and debate circuit. Although we competed for different teams, we forged a lifelong friendship. Over the years, Luke has taught me all about the joys of USL soccer and Regal Cinemas. As another friend once said, having Luke for as a friend is like having Confucius in the group chat. Luke brings a depth of philosophical thought to film analysis that I strive to emulate in my own work. Luke's favorite movie is the 1994 documentary Hoop Dreams. Hoop Dreams presents the story of two young Chicago basketball players, William Gates and Arthur Agee. William and Arthur are recruited to play basketball for an elite suburban high school with the promise that success on the court will change the trajectory of their young lives. Filmmakers Steve James and Frederick Marx follow the two boys and their families for several years, documenting their successes and failures both in and out of basketball. Their divergent paths question dominant narratives of status attainment and the American Dream. Hoop Dreams was lauded upon its release, becoming one of the most profitable documentaries of all time and one of the seminal films of the 1990s. However, it was controversially snubbed for the Best Documentary Oscar. The public outcry and subsequent investigation lead to sweeping changes in the historically sclerotic documentary branch of the academy. To elaborate on the lasting power of this deeply human story, here is my conversation with Luke.

My guest today is Sherrel McLafferty. Sherrel is a multi-genre writer from Ohio. Her fiction has been nominated for prestigious Pushcart and Best Small Fictions awards. Her poetry and nonfiction have appeared in a variety of literature journals. In addition to writing, Sherrel is also a reader with Split Lip Magazine and a poetry editor at Sundress Publication. She is currently working toward her PHD in Rhetoric and Writing with a focus on invention strategies when imagining black futures. If you want to connect with her, or discover more of her writing, positions, and commitments please feel free to visit her website at sherrelmclafferty.com. In addition to her impressive accomplishments, Sherrel has been a cherished friend of mine for many years. Sherrel's favorite movie is the 2006 quasi-romantic comedy Last Holiday. In Last Holiday, we meet open hearted retail saleswoman Georgia Byrd portrayed by a luminous Queen Latifah. Georgia always puts everyone else in her life first while embracing a personal asceticism. She is even too reserved to pursue a romantic relationship with her hunky co-worker, LL Cool J's Sean. Things change for Georgia when a tragic medical diagnosis leaves her with just weeks left to live. She resolves to finally start enjoying her life and splurges on a luxurious vacation to an exclusive French ski resort. Her carefree presence is a breath of fresh air for the crusty elites who frequent the resort, teaching them the importance of value alignment, self-care, and appreciating the beauty around us.

Hello and welcome to Your Favorite Movie. I'm your host Evan Kelly. I've always loved movies. I feel they have a unique power that isn't found in other types of media. So I've invited a few of my friends to come and talk about their favorite movies. This isn't a debate - I'm not trying to challenge anyone's rationale or determine the objective greatest movie of all time. My hope with these conversations is to begin to reach the heart of what makes film so resonant. My guest today is Cory Davis. I met Cory in grad school. Our friendship really took off when we ran into each other after a screening of The Killing of a Sacred Deer at the Art Theater in Champaign. Late nights at the Art followed by drinks and discussion with Cory at The Blind Pig became a ritual. Sadly, we couldn't recreate those days even if we tried as The Art Theater has since closed. That was my favorite theater. Cory always points out details I missed in movies and also has a brilliant analytical mind which can interpret those details to discern meaning. Cory's favorite movie is the 1986 mystery Blue Velvet. When his father falls ill, college student Jeffrey Beaumont returns home to his rosy suburban paradise. The veneer is soon punctured by the discovery of a severed human ear in a field by his house. With the help of girl-next-door Sandy, Jeffrey goes rogue to investigate, and uncovers a deadly web of kidnapping, rape, and murder that implicates a lounge singer and a nitrous huffing drug dealer just below the surface of American tranquility.

Hello and welcome to Your Favorite Movie. I'm your host Evan Kelly. I've always loved movies. I feel they have a unique power that isn't found in other types of media. So I've invited a few of my friends to come and talk about their favorite movies. My guest today is Jared Walter. Jared and I have been watching movies together for a long time. In high school, his taste was much more fully realized than mine. He exposed me to serious films like One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Taxi Driver at a pivotal time in my fledgling career as a cinephile. To this day, I can always turn to Jared to learn about interesting and artistically diverse films. Jared's favorite movie is the 1969 countercultural road film Easy Rider. After a big score, two hippies travel from Los Angeles to New Orleans in hopes of making it in time for the big Mardi Gras celebration. Along their route, they meet kooky commune members, violent rednecks, and everyone in between. The film paints an allegorical picture of the growing cultural divide of the era.

My guest today is Dylan House. Dylan is an avid fan of film who studied film at Bowling Green State University. He is a visual artist, writer and performer with a background in speech and debate as well as standup comedy. Currently, he is a member of The Sad Boys Social Club, a comedy ensemble that performs live and releases sketches on YouTube and TikTok. Dylan's favorite movie is the 1993 comedy Dazed and Confused. Dazed and Confused is a slice of life depicting one liminal day in a local high school community - the last day of school. Juniors become seniors and are tasked with initiating the new freshmen into the wild world of high school. The story is loosely organized around the actions of Randall “Pink” Floyd, played by Jason London. Pink is the star quarterback of the football team, but feels equally at home in all social groups - the jocks, the stoners, and the nerds. Faced with signing a pledge to abstain from drugs and alcohol during the upcoming football season, Pink contemplates his own moral code as he stands on the precipice of adulthood.

Hello and welcome to Your Favorite Movie. I'm your host Evan Kelly. I've always loved movies. I feel they have a unique power that isn't found in other types of media. So I've invited a few of my friends to come and talk about their favorite movies. My guest today is Pete Barlow, the creator of the popular web comic G. I. Low. Pete channels the humor of his military career into a series of lighthearted comics that have achieved great success within military and veteran communities and beyond. Pete has recently begun taking his act on the road by dipping his toes into the waters of standup comedy. In addition to his humorous endeavors, Pete has co-hosted The Dead Presidents Society podcast and is a frequent contributor to The Blanket Fortress of Solitude. Pete's favorite movie is American Beauty - sort of. Sam Mendes' 1999 suburban dramedy follows Lester Burnham. Lester is the typical American - he has a white collar job, a wife and daughter… and he couldn't be more miserable. The constraints of corporate America and domestic image maintenance have sapped Lester of all vigor. Until one day, a chance encounter sparks an awakening. Lester begins to take charge of his life, despite the ominous announcement from Lester himself that he is narrating his story from beyond the grave.

Spencer Coile stops by Your Favorite Movie! Spencer teaches communication and Popular Culture at Ball State University. In his classes, Spencer challenges his students to think critically about everything from representation and queer theory to reality tv and Real Housewives. Spencer is an accomplished writer on the subject of film. He has written for Film Inquiry and maintains a popular Letterboxd account for those in the know. Spencer was an incalculable influence on my burgeoning film taste in college, introducing me to so many fantastic films, including the one we will discuss today. Our trips to see movies like Gravity and Mad Max: Fury Road at the Small were absolutely formative for me. Spencer's favorite movie is the 2011 black comedy-drama Young Adult. Young Adult introduces us to Mavis Gary, a ghostwriter for a popular YA book series who begins to experience writer's block. Her solution? Return to her small Minnesota hometown and win back the affections of her high school sweetheart, Buddy. The fact that Buddy has a wife and infant daughter at home is of little concern to Mavis. This narrative raises thought provoking questions about mental illness, stunted adult development, and audience's acceptance of unlikeable female characters. Charlize Theron stars as Mavis and gives one of the most profound performances of her career - on par with her Oscar-winning turn in Monster. Patton Oswalt, Patrick Wilson, and Elisabeth Reaser also give career-best performances in supporting roles. Teaming up with the critically lavished Juno team of screenwriter Diablo Cody and director Jason Reitman, Young Adult was teed up to be another award season darling. However, it was ignored by most major awards associations and performed only modestly at the box office. Let's find out why...

Hello and welcome to Your Favorite Movie. I'm your host Evan Kelly. I've always loved movies. I feel they have a unique power that isn't found in other types of media. So I've invited a few of my friends to come and talk about their favorite movies. My guest today is Joe Hicks, writer of the substack Inland Nobody. His current writings cover urban development and public policy with a special focus on the community of Galesburg, Illinois. But that hasn't always been the case. Listeners will certainly remember Joe as my creative partner for over two years on our flagship podcast Adequately Informed where we focused on good faith discussion of politics, policy, and culture. Joe's favorite movie is the 2011 documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi. We are taken on an intimate journey behind the scenes to comprehend the day to day operations of octogenarian Japanese chef and restaurateur Jiro Ono, who runs the first sushi restaurant to ever receive three Michelin stars. The film also probes the man behind the fish, exploring his adult sons, his troubled upbringing, and his cooking techniques and philosophies.

Welcome to Your Favorite Movie - a new podcast that probes what makes film such an enduring cultural artform. Host Evan Kelly (Adequately Informed) invites guests to discuss their favorite movies in wide-ranging, insightful conversations. Today's guest is Derwin Lester II. Derwin is an author and publisher for his company Divided By Zero Books and a podcaster through his Blanket Fortress of Solitude and Derwin channels. Derwin's favorite movie is Stranger than Fiction, a 2006 film about IRS agent Harold Crick (Will Ferrell) whose life changes when he hears a mysterious voice narrating his life. CREDITS: Your Favorite Movie is produced and edited by Evan Kelly. Logo design by Walker Kelly. Music by Morgan Bennett. Special thanks to Lindsay Kelly. CONTACT: favoritemoviepodcast@gmail.com