In a harmonious double feature, Close Watch continues venturing through the world of movie musicals with an in-depth breakdown of both the 1961 classic West Side Story and Steven Spielberg's 2021 remake. Does the Oscar-winning original still hold up, and was its update worth the creative risk? Darin Lundberg of NostalgiaCast joins us in this melodi…

Every episode, Close Watch gives us the chance to get to know our guest through the movie they love. But more recently, the show has sharpened its focus on the wide world of movie musicals. And after the man-eating plant of Little Shop of Horrors and the cultural celebration of In the Heights, musical icon Gene Kelly has officially entered the chat…

Way back in 2020, a few hardcore Hamilfans -- including this episode's guest -- united for the first-ever Crooked Roundtable to talk up the Disney+ release of Lin-Manuel Miranda's Tony-winning musical Hamilton. Now, at last, loyal listeners get the long-awaited spiritual sequel to that discussion. On this episode, Close Watch continues its year-lon…

It's 2023, and Close Watch has a song in its heart this year. For the next year, we're dedicating this podcast to movie musicals. Every month, the show will feature at least one episode in which Rob and a guest go in-depth on a beloved movie musical. And what better way to celebrate one of cinema's most beloved genres than with a man-eating plant f…

After UHF, "Weird Al" Yankovic fans faced a wait of more than three decades for another movie featuring the musical icon. And finally, along comes Weird: The Al Yankovic Story. Starring Daniel Radcliffe as "The Weird One" himself, the movie pokes fun at Yankovic's life and career as well as the very notion that someone would make a biopic about him…

Cate Blanchett might be poised to win a third Academy Award for her performance in Tár. But more than two decades ago, the actor -- who was already well on her way to becoming one of the best actors of her generation -- co-starred with Bruce Willis and Billy Bob Thornton in an under-seen crime comedy-drama. And unsurprisingly, she steals the film. …

Some movies are too big to cover in a single conversation. Cloud Atlas -- the 2012 epic directed by the Wachowskis and Tom Tykwer -- is definitely such a movie. So to celebrate the film's tenth anniversary, we invited Brian Skutle of the Sonic Cinema Podcast to help us dig into the movie and its ensemble cast, which includes Tom Hanks, Halle Berry,…

Unless superheroes, hobbits, or boy wizards are involved, fantasy films are all too rare these days. But in the 1980s, the genre was thriving on the big screen. Filmmakers coupled state-of-the-art visual effects with puppetry, make-up, and good ol' movie magic to create worlds fans could previously only imagine. Director Ron Howard's 1988 film Will…

Cinema -- like all art forms -- is wholly subjective. And within that, comedy is perhaps most subjective of all. That being said, 1980's Airplane! remains widely considered one of the funniest movies of all time. So as Close Watch emerges from a lengthy hiatus, we'll take to the skies for an in-depth chat. On this episode, film critic Albert Lanier…

It's showtime. Close Watch kicks off a new year with the "ghost with the most" himself. Tim Burton's 1988 comedy Beetlejuice made mega-stars out of both Burton and Michael Keaton ahead of their next film, Batman. On this episode, Bri Azmoudeh of the Geeky Waffle Network's new podcast, Killer Waffles, joins the show to talk about why Bri connected s…

The Dark Universe might have been dead on arrival, but 1999's The Mummy remains just as beloved as ever. More than two decades later, fans continue to revisit Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz's sweeping adventure. On this episode, Catherine Gonzales of Latinx Lens joins the show as we talk about the film's influence on modern blockbusters, its iconi…

Call him The Dude, His Dudeness, El Duder, or even El Duderino (if you're not into the whole brevity thing). Whatever you call Jeff Bridge's loveable hipster hero in The Big Lebowski, he's certainly become a cinematic icon. This episode, Kerri Jones joins the show to help us break down the ethos of The Dude, what it has to say about the culture (an…

Who needs parents when there's adventure? That seemed to be the philosophy of fantasy films in the 1980s. And as it turns out, 1981's Time Bandits might be the granddaddy of all those fan-favorite cult classics. JC from the Screen Fix podcast joins the show as we talk about how Time Bandits influenced fantasy-adventure films, what the movie really …

Spike Lee is without a doubt one of the most essential filmmakers of his generation. And 1989's Do the Right Thing is widely considered his masterpiece. So this episode, we're giving this indelible classic its due. David Snyder joins the show as we discuss Lee's ground-breaking use of hip hop in the film, his stellar ensemble cast, and how Do the R…

The Wicker Man has gotten a bad rap in recent years, thanks to the widely ridiculed 2006 remake starring Nicolas Cage. But this episode, we're setting aside the "not the bees!" jokes for a closer look at the original 1973 classic. Amy Otero joins the show to go in-depth on The Wicker Man. We'll discuss its representation of pagan culture, how it us…

Considering The First Wives Club earned $100 million in 1996, it's remarkable how little people seem to discuss it. This episode, Phoenix Clouden of the Film Code Podcast helps us fix that. As the movie celebrates its 25th anniversary, now is the perfect time to celebrate the iconic performances from Goldie Hawn, Bette Midler, and Diane Keaton. Eve…

General audiences might remember Alex Proyas' 1994 movie The Crow for the tragic on-set death of star Brandon Lee. Yet, despite that infamous incident -- or, perhaps, in part because of it -- the film -- based on the comics by James O'Barr -- inspired a cult following that endures today. And this episode, Brian Skutle of the Sonic Cinema Podcast he…

Shane Black is a name that tends to elicit either unbridled enthusiasm or consternation from moviegoers. Black started out as an actor before hitting it big as the legendary screenwriter of Lethal Weapon. Then in 2005, he made the leap to directing his own scripts. And this episode, Thomas Greene of Movies After Work joins us to discuss Black's dir…

Even some fans of animated films need to brush up on their anime. Such was the case when Rachel Wagner of Rachel's Reviews stopped by the show. A self-professed ambassador of Makoto Shinkai's 2016 film Your Name, Rachel joined us to discuss the film. And the conversation -- just like Your Name itself -- went some unexpected places along the way. Yo…

Everyone familiar with 1989's Field of Dreams knows that "if you build it, he will come." But is the same true if you podcast about it? Darin Lundberg of NostalgiaCast helps us test that theory with an in-depth chat about writer-director Phil Alden Robinson's iconic sports film starring Kevin Costner, Amy Madigan, James Earl Jones, Ray Liotta, and …

The era of the Crooked Table Podcast ends with a bang as we discuss Martin Scorsese's 1990 crime drama Goodfellas. Jason from Binge Movies joins the show as we break down the film's legacy, its place in Scorsese's legendary filmography, and Goodfellas' Best Picture loss to Dances with Wolves. Stay tuned in mid-July for the first episode of Close Wa…

Over the years, cinema and sports have crossed paths countless times. But it takes something very special to stand out in the genre. And for an entire generation, Rudy represents the ultimate underdog story. Starring Sean Astin (The Lord of the Rings), the film tells the inspiring true story of Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger. Philip Boone of Sports Flix, …

The final round of Crooked Table Podcast episodes -- prior to the rebranding, at least -- continues. And of course, we had to tap into the red-headed step-child of Marvel Comics movies: 1986's Howard the Duck. The first full-length movie based on a Marvel character, the movie was an infamous box office and critical disaster? But have its feathers b…

For years, CinemaSins has taken the movies to task with its popular videos cheekily tackling "everything wrong with" the movies. However, with billions of views and millions of subscribers, even critics can't deny the success of CinemaSins. Jeremy Scott -- the YouTube channel's co-founder and the "voice of CinemaSins" -- has found the perfect outle…

Few films released in the 21st century have as universal a reputation as David Lynch's 2001 thriller Mulholland Drive. To that end, a celebration of the film and its 20th anniversary hardly qualifies as "the world of film from a fresh angle." Yet, the movie's surrealistic tone and multi-layered tale likely flew under the radar for some mainstream m…