We sit down with Phil Gawthorne (Die Hard on a Blank) to discuss our second Stallone flick, Cobra. We discuss how the film's absurdities make it endearing, the catharsis of comeuppance, aesthetic vibes, robot fashion, metanarrative love. 

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We sit down with Jim Miller (The New School) to discuss Pedro Almodovar's challenging film TALK TO HER. We consider the juxtaposition of beauty and horror, the duality of subjects and objects, the blurry lines around the moral, ballet, and friendship.

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Gilmore as populist disruptor, Grandma's tax situation, hockey vs. golf, anger, Chubbs, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and of course Shooter McGavin!

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We are joined this week by special guests Robert and Sheryl Khoo (parents of a co-host of this very podcast) to talk about Mike Judge's TPS-ridden middle-class satire, Office Space! We talk about our experiences working within soul-crushing bureaucracies, and also the surprising upsides of meetings. We consider the case for Lumbergh and the plight of the middle manager, and wonder whether it is possible to earn a living within a capitalist economy without losing yourself in the process. And we evaluate the movie and Peter Gibbons' plight with the hindsight of the ongoing computer science boom, which likely would have found programmers like Peter earning millions and sipping Maui Thais on a beach with Milton.

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We sit down at the poker table with Anders Schoubye to discuss perhaps the greatest poker movie ever, confronting our true calling, and what the movie gets right, and wrong, about poker and gambling. Who is team Damon and who is team Teddy KGB? Tune in to find out!

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We are joined by the writer, director, and producer of The Last Days of Disco, Whit Stillman, to talk about his film, his fascination with complex female friendships and group social life generally, as well as the appeal of shaggy narratives. Whit regales us with stories that inspired the film, his experience with disco, his days in publishing, and getting to know George Plimpton. If you haven’t seen The Last Days of Disco, you should check it out now! It’s truly a wonderful film and Whit is a hilarious and humble and articulate person. We hope you enjoy this special episode!

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We get into the ring with Blake Howard (One Heat Minute Productions) to discuss Michael Mann's incredible biopic of Muhammad Ali. Despite being a major box office failure, we make the case for revisiting this stunning and complex portrayal of the greatest boxer as he transitions from brash fighter to heroic inspiration for a social movement. We explore how Michael Mann and his astounding cast and crew (including a career-defining performance by Will Smith) manage to simultaneously humanize and glorify Ali without glossing over the details of his complex life and relationships. Where does Ali rank on your list of all time biopics?? 

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Join us for a noodle-filled extravaganza as we dig into Tampopo with Nick Riggle (Philosophy, University of San Diego). We explore the interrelations between film and cuisine, and why ramen makes an ideal subject for a food film combining elements of both high art and (so-called) low art. Our love of Guy Fieri comes up more than once as we wonder about the role of the film's many zany side vignettes and how they are used to celebrate pure aesthetic values, while Nick unpacks what it is to be awesome and teaches us how to suck just a bit less in life.  

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The cows are joined by author and film critic Tom Shone (The Nolan Variations) to discuss Christopher Nolan's epic dream-heist blockbuster, Inception. We discuss Nolan's obsessions with knowledge and self-deception and his ambivalent obsession with fantasy and escapism. We explore the film's central premise -- that the cinematic experience is akin to a shared dream -- and how Nolan weaves the premise into the core of Inception through repetition and intentional plot holes. And we finally close with a celebration of Inception's oft-overlooked emotional centerpiece -- its many-layered ending, which combines reconciliations with goodbyes and renewals of hope.

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The cows are joined by friend Edward Lewis to revisit one of the greatest films of all time, the shortest three hour movie, Milos Foreman's Amadeus. We witness genius through Salieri's eyes, marvel at his ability to appreciate and translate the beauty of Mozart's music to the uninitiated, and resign ourselves to our own mediocrities. We also discuss the relationship between historical accuracy and authenticity, and how it achieves ecstatic truth through fabrication. And we ponder the renewing possibilities of confession and absolution. This movie is not to be missed!! 

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The cows are joined by friend Adam Kane to talk about Tom Cruise's first outing as Ethan Hunt. We discuss what makes spy movies so appealing and fun, and situate the movie in the broader cultural context of the post-Cold War nineties. We explore the weird and wonderful career of Tom Cruise and how he managed to harness Brian DePalma's stylistic flourishes to create one of the tightest, most stressful, spy/heist movies ever. 

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Emily VanDerWerff (Vox) joins us to discuss Ari Aster's folk horror masterpiece, Midsommar. We discuss how the film subverts folk horror genre tropes to craft a compelling story about the loss of a relationship, self-discovery, and adoption into a new family. Emily articulates a trans reading of the film, and we discuss how it grapples with the challenge of accommodating our desires for individual autonomy alongside our impulse to find acceptance within a community. Bear suits and Taylor Swift also come up.   Read Emily on Midsommar: https://www.vox.com/culture/21307689/midsommar-trans-review-ending-spoilers Follow Emily on Twitter: https://twitter.com/emilyvdw

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The cows revisit True Lies with Van Lathan (The Ringer), discussing how James Cameron inverts the hero’s journey to tell a story about a spy struggling to connect emotionally with his wife and kids while saving the day and causing a lot of mayhem and destruction in the process. Is it the best action comedy of all time? Is it Arnold’s best performance? How does its portrayal of terrorism and American militaristic impunity play today? Tune in to find out! Follow Van on social media: @VanLathan Send us a voice message! 

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Merry Christmas to all, including THE GRINCH! We sit down with Emily St. James to discuss all three Grinch movies (How the Grinch Stole Christmas '66 + '00, and The Grinch '18). We inquire about what the Grinch story is all about, whether we really needed a Grinch backstory, what part of speech "Grinch" is, which of the movies is da best, and more!

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We crack open a few cold ones (figuratively) with Paul Keelan (Cinematic Underdogs) to unpack and disagree about the Oscar-nominated Another Round. How does the film experiment with existentialism, and how does it explore our complicated relationship with alcohol? Is it worthy of being recognized as among the best films of the year, or is it just Old School dressed up with Kierkegaard quotes? We also react to its portrayal of gendered divisions of labor and explore the film's attitude towards its characters. We hope you enjoy this unusually critical episode. Let us know what you think about the film!

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We head down to the Big Easy with Nicolas Cage scholar Keith Phipps (author of The Age of Cage: Four Decades of Hollywood Through One Singular Career) to discuss Werner Herzog's hallucinatory tale of a bad cop trying to do the right thing, of addiction in the swamp, of nature's ever-encroaching wildness into our staid lives. We dive deep into Cage and Herzog both, exploring why they make a perfect pair and how their take on Bad Lieutenant differs so radically from Abel Ferrara's original. We consider the possibility of absolution in a godless world and whether we can ever really escape our animalistic impulses -- two themes that seem to perfectly encapsulate the careers of Cage and Herzog. Listen to the end for a breakdown of various scenes and some recommendations of Cage movies to check out next!

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Do you suffer from intergenerational trauma that is manifesting itself in physical malformations on your body and raising red flags for your significant others? Then join us and Jed Shepherd (writer/executive producer of Host) to discuss David Cronenberg's self-described "more realistic Kramer vs. Kramer," a film about a couple working through some issues while plagued by demonic children in matching snowsuits. If you haven't seen the movie, listen to the first 13 minutes for our spoiler free pitch for the movie, and then after you've seen it, dive in to talk with us about the nature of body horror and physical media, the terrors of parenthood and why no one in a horror film acts the way you want them to. Along the way, Jed shares his vast knowledge of horror films, and offers up more than a few horrifying recommendations for the unafraid.  

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The cows take the 405 to Sherman Oaks with friend Andrea Rosen (Fleming Museum of Art) in this revisit of Amy Heckerling's totally wicked rom-com about modern girl friendships. We discuss the nature of Chers and Karens, how power relations structure what counts as knowledge, and who does and does not count as "clueless." We revisit our past selves in high school, reflect on the linguistics of Valley Girl speak, and laugh about which characters we were and who of them is most smooch-able. Dance along to No Doubt and the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, but keep an ear out for some surprise appearances by the Insane Clown Posse and Cannibal Corpse!

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The cows are joined this week by Dan Harris (Philosophy, Hunter College) on their journey through past lives to uncover and exorcise a few trillion-year-old traumas. We consider how Paul Thomas Anderson depicts a divided soul across three individuals struggling to find order and humanity in a chaotic, animalistic, world, and explore how trauma and masculinity intertwine to forge vulnerabilities, and even love, between two men whose life trajectories seem pointed in opposite directions. We can't pick just one favorite line, but we do note an homage to Nacho Libre and Anderson's debts to Kubrick and Huston.  [02:55] Dan's Introduction to the Master [09:59] Trauma and war [22:39] Freddie, Lancaster, and masculinity [33:26] Divided souls in Freud and Plato [1:02:32] Cults and demagogues [1:14:34] The significance of the ending [1:28:24] Favorite lines [1:41:08] Outro [1:43:25] Bass traps are not garbage!

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We are joined by Kieran Setiya (Philosophy, MIT) to discuss what makes life worth living, what's lost in an infinite time loop, and to what extent flourishing within such a loop is possible. Along the way, we explore grief, the midlife crisis, atelic actions, the Buddhist concept of Saṃsāra, Kierkegaard, female agency in a world dominated by the male perspective, and the metaphysics of time loops and time travel. Supervenience violations and imaginative resistance are considered, as is Bill Murray's career arc and also lessons for our current situation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Follow Kieran on Twitter: @KieranSetiya Read Kieran on the midlife crisis Listen to Five Questions How many days did Phil relive in the time loop?

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The cows reverse entropy to discuss Christopher Nolan's bewilderingly dense sci-fi masterpiece in this surprise bonus episode. Part one is a spoiler-free pitch for the movie, while part two explores themes and philosophical issues. Justin argues that the movie is a thematic trilogy with Inception and Interstellar about the evolving nature of parenthood, while Laura makes the case that Kat (Elizabeth Debicki) is the emotional core of the movie. Also covered are: what it is like to interact with time-inverted objects/people, the metaphysics of time and free will, and which confidently delivered obscure line is best. Listen to the end for a recreation of a pivotal scene! Justin's diagrams: 1, 2, 3.  Inspirational quote from Ives: "Don't get on the chopper if you can't stop thinking in linear terms."

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The cows are visited by longtime San Francisco resident and old friend Robert Pierce to discuss Francis Ford Coppola's 70s paranoia thriller. Situated in the tumultuous transition period of the mid-1970s, the movie captures the cynicism of a generation slowly being engulfed by the temptations of urban renewal and fears of privacy violations. We consider how Coppola and Hackman craft a compelling character study out of a protagonist riddled with contradictions by injecting elements of their own lives into the story. We also explore the pragmatics of focal stress and marvel at humans' ability to understand complex nuances of language and film conventions without conscious thought. Episode webpage, including Robert's photos of San Francisco: https://cowspod.wordpress.com/2021/01/15/the-conversation-1974/

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The cows revisit the Arthurian legend with Bilge Ebiri (New York Magazine and Vulture). We discuss how the film weaves together opera and Jungian  archetypes while exploring humanity's complex and often violent relationship with nature, the challenges of self-governance, the allure of a benevolent dictator, and the tragedy befalling the virtuous leader who desires not to lead. Thematic links to the rest of Boorman's filmography are considered, as well as how Excalibur compares with other portrayals of the quest for the Holy Grail. Follow Bilge on Twitter; read Bilge at Vulture!

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The cows hit the links with Tim Gilman (WMBR 88.1 FM Boston) to finish off 1996 with a comedy that just might be a bit deeper than it lets on. Why is Happy so angry? Could it be in reaction to the contempt shown by the moneyed elite to the working class, a response that reflects the current rise in popularity of populist demagogues across the world? Or might it be a reflection of his inner turmoil at being terrible at what he loves most? Along the way, we discuss our obligations to care for our elders, property tax rates in Connecticut, the joys of Christopher McDonald as Shooter McGavin, and the worst athlete commercials of all time. 

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Join us and Dan Harris (Philosophy, CUNY) to discuss HOME ALONE! We consider the film's permission structure for excusing parental negligence, humoring breaking and entering, the film's ideological implications about the nuclear family, and what Kevin really thinks he did to his parents. Christmastime begins with the COWS now!

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The cows watched Sofia Coppola's latest and came to very different conclusions, which necessitated an emergency episode to sort it all out. Join us for a maybe autobiographical discussion of the complexities of modern parenting, gendered divisions of cognitive labor, and not losing yourself when asked to shoulder the emotional labor of your friends and family. 

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The cows freeze in Minnesota with friend Molly Perkins in this revisit to the Coen Brothers' 1996 folktale noir. Themes of faith, deception, encountering the inexplicable, Scandinavian roots, and ecstatic truth are all discussed, along with highlights of favorite supporting cast members and a head-to-head comparison of psycho killers Gaear Grimsrud (Peter Stormare) and Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem).

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Join the two cows on their journey into the world of fantasy basketball-star-crossover vehicles, featuring guest Vishal Dave! It's 1996 and Michael Jordan is fresh back from retirement, ready to take on the Monstars and save the NBA from a bunch of talentless hacks. Is there a tragic emptiness at the core of Space Jam, marked by Jordan's self-destructive quest for dominance? And how does it compare to what might be its polar opposite -- Kazaam, a rapping genie movie about a child who comes to accept the imperfections of his parents, starring the ebullient Shaquille O'Neal? Tune in to find out and dig in to some mid-nineties pop classics! 

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The cows are joined by Mattia Acetoso (Italian Literature, Boston College) to discuss the feature debuts of Wes and Paul Thomas Anderson. What might we learn about these original and influential directors' first films? Both movies center around misfits who retreat from a random and often harsh reality to form their own surrogate families and find new ways of living. Along the way, genres are subverted, narratives obfuscated, and souls redeemed.

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The two cows discuss the social complexity of female high school friendships and the sexual politics of teen horror in their reappraisal of these two '96 classics. They explore how cliques can provide social insulation as well as opportunities for emotional manipulation, and consider how the "horror movie rules" encode a Puritanical ethics towards sex and drugs while also aiming to satisfy the male gaze by providing copious instances of such behavior.

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The two cows start their journey through 1996 at its blockbuster peak, revisiting Roland Emmerich's game-changing blow everything up alien disaster extravaganza, Independence Day. What made the 1990s such a fertile time for disaster flicks, and what makes ID4 one of the best movie star vehicles ever? The cows also explore neoconservative themes of US military dominance on the world stage, and discuss the case for Randy Quaid being the emotional center of the film. 

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The cows take a drive with Abe and Agnes Callard (Philosophy, U. Of Chicago) and Ryan Clark into David Lynch's fantastical and depraved version of Los Angeles. What mysteries will they find in Club Silencio, or on the set of the Sylvia North Story? What explains the continued appeal of Lynch's absurdist masterpiece? How does he deploy narrative and filmic tropes to subvert his audience's expectations and what are we to make of the often frustrating and contradictory results? Follow Agnes on Twitter and read her academic writing here; follow Abe on Twitter and Letterboxd.

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Things get scary when the two cows are stranded in a motel on a rainy night with James Mangold. What makes a good twist? What’s the appeal of Agatha Christie? Is this a movie about white guilt, or flaws in the criminal justice system? Tune in to find out!

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The cows revisit 1994’s Best Picture winner, Forrest Gump. Is it a conservative agenda piece, portraying Forrest’s racial colorblindness as the envisioned end of racism in America, or is it a sober reflection on the history of violence and racism baked into contemporary America and American cinema? Is Jenny’s the story of an entire generation’s complex relationship with shifting power dynamics and its reckoning with an inability to impart lasting social change? Tune in for this and much more in our longest episode yet!

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The cows go back to Titanic and explore how Cameron weaves together themes of love, memory, duty, and class into a massive scale disaster flick. Is Titanic, which was at the time the most expensive and highest grossing movie ever, secretly an anti-capitalist propaganda piece? Or is it just the pinnacle of Hollywood bombast? Tune in to find out!

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We sit down with film historian Joseph McBride to discuss George Cukor's 1944 film, Gaslight. We discuss Cukor's reputation among the great studio directors, his skill working with actors, the social and political dimensions of the film, including what makes diagnosing and resisting gaslighting so challenging.

After you listen, you should read Joseph's book on Cukor!

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The two cows journey into the madness of toxic masculinity, pairing the madcap Nicolas Cage classic “Vampire’s Kiss” with the recent Kitty Green masterpiece, “The Assistant.” How do artists use hyper-realism and non-realist expressionism to depict challenging and often elusive problems? What is the significance of using vampirism as the framing device to portray workplace misogyny? And how can we cope with the moral harms toxic masculinity imposes on those of us forced into the orbit of a serial predator?

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The two cows visit the chess hustlers in Washington Square Park to dive deep on one of the best sports/parenting movies, Searching for Bobby Fischer. What does the pursuit of excellence demand, and is it ultimately worth it? How should we as parents or mentors advise those who would strive for such greatness? Also discussed: the tragic and cautionary tale of Bobby Fischer, Jordan vs. LeBron, contempt vs. compassion for one’s opponents, and the fashion of IZOD polo shirts.

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The two cows are joined by friend Vishal Dave to visit humanity in its final days in Children of Men, a movie that seems in retrospect sadly prescient for our current times. What would knowledge of the imminent end of humanity mean for the final generation of humans and how might it affect what matters to them? How does Cuarón weave does art and iconography into the film and what themes does he use art to invoke? Why does Julianne Moore rule? And more!

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The two cows delve into the Black Hills Forest to sort out why the Blair Witch Project was the tenth highest grossing movie of 1999, why it took so long for Hollywood to capitalize on found footage horror, the nature of horror itself and why we desire to be horrified, as well as what makes the Blair Witch Project so especially horrifying.

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The two cows head to Texas with their pal Edward to consider one of the best film adaptations of a book ever. Topics discussed include encounters with the unintelligible, grappling with our shared fate of becoming lost to the passage of time, Sartrean bad faith, and Anton Chigurh’s quarantine haircut.

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The two cows revisit a more innocent time, when Facebook was just a silly site where people posted relationship statuses and the only concerns about it involved whether your mom saw that frat party photo your friend tagged you in. Is Sorkin overrated? Is this a breakup movie? Is it a movie about revolutions without ideals? What is Jesse Eisenberg like in real life?

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The two cows are joined this week by special guest Molly Perkins; together, they embark on an interstellar journey into the bureaucratic maze of academic funding. Join us for a discussion of aliens (where are they?), McConaughey vs. Fichtner (who best?), scrunchies (what do they signify?), our favorite first contact movies, and whether this is Robert Zemeckis's masterpiece! [0:02:08] Overview [0:25:31] McConaughey: good/bad? [0:44:57] Aliens!! [0:51:40] Laura's scrunchie breakdown [1:13:32] Talking Zemeckis [1:19:23] Favorite first contact movies

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The two cows go running with Tom Cruise and discuss the future as it was projected in 2002, the nature of middle knowledge, themes of blindness/control/justice, and give their top five Spielberg movies. 10.44: Future talk 28.34: Justin's philosophy corner 41.31: Theme and variation 67.22: Spielberg ranked

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The two cows recommend five double features, all streaming on either Netflix or Amazon Prime. The themes are: High and Low, Paranoia, Families Falling Apart, The Rules of the Universe, How to Win Friends and Influence People. . . . . Movies recommended: High and Low (0:59 Bringing out the Dead // 5:00 Inside Llewyn Davis) Paranoia (9:27 Clue // 12:53 The Conversation) Families Falling Apart (15:52 Suspiria [2018] // 20:03 The Squid and the Whale) The Rules of the Universe (25:13 Killing of a Sacred Deer // 29:34 Highlander) How to Win Friends and Influence People (33:14 Aguirre, Wrath of God // 37:16 Mitt) ++ Two bonus recs (44:22 // 51:04)!

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The two cows go back to high school to revisit this classic 90s teen comedy and discuss house parties, a real life Trip McNeely story,  and Siskel & Ebert's rating scale. 

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Cars, men, masculinity, westerns, scorpions, frogs, wanderers, conservative values, violence, very hot people, and more... it's Nicholas Winding Refn's DRIVE with Roxana Hadadi!

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The two cows take a road trip to discuss how a decade of bored contentment in America gave rise to both the gen-X slacker and prank culture, laying the seeds for a generational conflict that takes center stage in this highly rewatchable 2001 John Dahl thriller.

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The two cows discuss time travel, religious themes, and the nature of sequels in this action-packed episode. 

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The two cows go to confession with Martin Scorsese's Boston crime drama. 

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