I’ve known Gina Dalfonzo via social media for awhile; she often writes at Christ and Pop Culture, and that whole group is pretty great. She’s previously written books about singlehood in the church and the friendship between Dorothy Sayers and C.S. Lewis, but if you follow her online and read her CAPC work, you know she’s also a big film fan, and often posts about what she’s watching on TCM.

Gina recently published her first book about film, The Screen and the Mirror. As soon as I saw it was out, I did two things: Bought myself a copy and asked if she’d want to chat. I’m glad I did both. The book covers some of the most loved movies of all time, and is an insightful read. And the conversation that sprung from it was one I enjoyed.

I hope you enjoy this conversation! And I recommend following Gina’s Substack, Dear, Strange Things. The Screen and the Mirror is available in physical copy and e-book at Amazon, and the hard copy is also available for 20% off at Hearts and Minds Books online.

I hope you enjoy this conversation and seek out the book!

Previous Chrisicisms Conversations:

Note: I’ve also made these accessible on YouTube!

* Jeffrey Overstreet (Lost and Found in the Cathedral of Cinema)

* Anne K. Miranda and Scott Maggie (Creative Icons)

I caught Olivia Wilde’s The Invite about a week ago, and I was really disappointed time didn’t allow for me to write it up in detail. I’m sure I’ll draft something about it eventually as we get closer to the end of the year; this is a film I’m pretty certain I’ll be revisiting and will likely be very high on my year-end list. But my first thought upon leaving the theater was that this was the kind of movie Perry would enjoy, and so I’m glad we got to talk about it. It’s an awkward, very funny and surprisingly insightful look at long-term relationships, and it’s great fun to watch this cast make each other uncomfortable.

I’ve published my thoughts on The Odyssey already, and I knew talking about it with Perry would be an interesting conversation. He is far from a Nolan stan, and I’m higher on the film than he is. But I think we both dig into the film’s flaws, even if they don’t really do enough to harm it for me — I’m actually really looking forward to seeing Nolan’s epic again.

I hope you enjoy this lengthy chat! As always, you can also subscribe to We’re Watching Here on YouTube, Apple Podcasts and Spotify!

* Creative Icons website

Buy Lost and Found in the Cathedral of Cinema

Show notes: "David and Goliath" by Pauline Kael 

Aliens review by Roger Ebert 

"Formerly Dangerous" newsletter by Drew McWeeny 

"Note on Film Noir" by Paul Schrader

Jeffrey Overstreet's "All Thumbs Reviews" (To the Wonder, Iron Man 3, Before Midnight, Her) 

The Lone Ranger review by John Serba 

The New Biographical Dictionary of Film by David Thompson

But if it’s always fun to talk Oscars, I’ve found it even more fun to dive into the films of David Lynch. This month, we’re talking his 1999 film The Straight Story, a G-rated Disney movie that still feels like Lynch in all the right ways. I loved it. I admit I’m a bit sad that we’re nearing the end of this series — but I’m also excited that we still have a revisit of Mulholland Drive, my first Inland Empire viewing, and the entirety of Twin Peaks to come!

Give us a listen! You can also subscribe on Apple Podcasts and Spotify!

But in the meantime, Perry and I were able to get some time together to talk movies. We kicked off 2026 by sharing our thoughts on a few end-of-the-year movies and TV shows, including Mr. Scorsese, Death By Lightning, Song Sung Blue, Raging Bull and Is This Thing On? Then, we settled in for some more extensive conversations about Marty Supreme and (to keep the movie in conversation) Wake Up Dead Man. It was a great way to kick off the year, but I’m most excited about moving into February, when we’ll pick our David Lynch conversation right back up.

Remember, you can also subscribe to the We’re Watching Here on iTunes and Spotify.

Also, we’re only just over halfway through the month, but I’ve been keeping busy at Collider. Here’s a link to some of my most recent articles:

* 2026 Will Be a Crucial Year for Disney’s Two Megafranchises

* It’s Time for Marvel to Let the Original X-Men Die

* The 10 Greatest Movies Turning 25 in 2026, Ranked

* Sorry to ‘Good Will Hunting’ and ‘The Rip,’ But This is the Best Ben Affleck and Matt Damon Collaboration

* ‘28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’ Gives Zombie Films Something They’ve Been Missing for Decades

I’ll be back with…something! … later this week.

Ugh, I’m getting bad at this.

After a long period where Perry and I struggled to find time to record and often ended up going months without syncing up for We’re Watching Here, we finally have hit on a good rhythm. The problem is that my computer acts up or I get pulled into other obligations when it’s time to edit or post. We’ll get there someday.

But that shouldn’t affect your enjoyment of our latest episode. One Battle After Another is still in theaters and David Lynch’s Wild at Heart is evergreen. So, I hope you have as much fun listening as we did watching and recording.

I’ve got several things in store this week, such as a personal post on Sunday and then, hopefully, reviews of the latest from Guillermo del Toro and Kathryn Bigelow. So, stay tuned!

For reasons I describe in the podcast, Blue Velvet was one of the reasons I often hesitated for diving into David Lynch’s filmography. I’d heard it was unsettling, disturbing, a hard and weird watch. And…yeah, it definitely is. We’re not going to be watching it with a church group anytime soon.

But, as with I’m discovering with much of Lynch’s work, it’s also haunting, beautiful, and a bit more hopeful than I’d assumed. I’m loving this opportunity to discovery his films for the first time, and Blue Velvet has haunted me since I watched it, and I’m sure it’s a movie I’ll be returning to to delve deeper into its mysteries.

Look for a few more things this week, including my thoughts on two movies I’ll be screening in the next few days, including Scarlett Johansson’s directorial debut and the latest from Paul Thomas Anderson. And if you like We’re Watching Here, don’t forget you can subscribe on iTunes and Spotify!

First, in our “What We’re Watching” segment, Perry talks about the new indie drama Sorry, Baby and I chat about the documentary Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse. Then, we bother discuss some new horror movies, with Perry chatting about the Allison Brie/Dave Franco body horror Together and me raving a little bit more about Weapons.

Then, it’s a double feature main event — with two movies that have nothing in common but sand. First, Perry and I talk about Ari Aster’s Eddington — the first Aster movie to get a positive notice from Perry! Then, buckle up: we’re going back 41 years to continue our David Lynch retrospective with a look at 1984’s Dune — a movie that I can’t say is good but that I can say is fascinating!

We’re Watching Here is also available on iTunes and Spotify.

Also: I’m on Collider!

A few weeks back, I teased that I’d accepted a position as a freelance writer for a movie site. Now that my first piece has been published, I can proudly announce that I’ll be writing for Collider, one of the largest and most active entertainment news and features websites around.

I’m already working on several more articles, which I’ll make sure to keep you aware of. As I said, I’ll be writing features for Collider; new release reviews and personal musings will continue to post here. My first piece was an editorial about the misguided update of The Wizard of Oz that opens in Las Vegas later this month. I hope you enjoy!

Hey everyone. As I explain in the early minutes of this podcast, it took Perry and I a minute to continue our talk about David Lynch because his sophomore film, The Elephant Man, is off streaming and out of print. Thankfully, I was able to track down a copy at my library, and we talk a bit about Lynch’s stirring, emotional film.

Because it had been a sec’ since we recorded, Perry and I also decided to talk about James Gunn’s Superman, as well as some other movies we’d gotten around to this summer. And we’re hoping to be back really soon to talk about Eddington as well as Lynch’s attempt at Dune. Stay tuned! (This podcast is also available on Spotify and iTunes).

I might be taking a break from writing about movies, but that hasn’t stopped me from talking about them! Perry and I are back, as promised, with a new We’re Watching Here. My apologies that it’s coming a bit after the Oscars; Perry and I recorded this a week prior to posting, but I didn’t get a chance to edit it for a bit.

It’s a quick episode, but it’s jam-packed. We catch up on the Oscars. We pay tribute to Gene Hackman. And then we begin our 2025 journey through David Lynch’s filmography with a look at his debut film, Eraserhead. It was great for this Lynch virgin to talk with someone who holds a true appreciation of the artist, and I can’t wait to continue this journey soon with The Elephant Man.

I hope you enjoy! And if you don’t want to listen here, it’s also available on iTunes and Spotify!

There’s a lot to talk about here. How do we feel about an Anora/The Brutalist Best Picture matchup? Who was snubbed? What were our favorite movies from 2024 that received no Oscar love?

All that, plus a fun, Criterion-heavy “What We’re Watching” segment, Perry’s tribute to David Lynch, and more. This year, we’re looking forward to finishing our Robert Altman retrospective, weaving in Lynch’s filmography and more. Subscribe here or on Spotify or iTunes!

I’m tired.

As I write this, we’re two weeks out our critics group’s votes for the best movies of 2024. I have 14 days and roughly 20-25 movies that I’m still trying to plow through. Jumping into screeners, I’m trying to average at least a film a day. This weekend, I’m hoping to see at least four films somehow. The Monday and Tuesday after Thanksgiving, I’ll sit in a theater with my critic buddies and watch eight movies. It’s exhausting; it’s also some of the most fun I have all year.

I took a break from watching movies to chat with some new releases for a bit with Perry for the latest We’re Watching Here podcast. We chat about a lot. Wicked, Gladiator II, Anora, Memoir of a Snail, Ghostlight, A Real Pain, Conclave and We Live in Time. We had a great time, and I cant’ wait to have even more to chat about in a month!

It’s been a hot minute since Perry and I have been able to find time to record. Life’s just been a bit busy, with kids’ sports, work craziness, travel, illness and everything else you can imagine. So, when we sat down to record our latest We’re Watching Here episode earlier this week, there was a lot to talk about.

Perry and I start by catching up on some things we’d been watching on our own, including the latest from Francis Ford Coppola and Kevin Smith, as well as two potential contenders for the best movies of the year. Then, buckle up for an in-depth conversation about Jason Reitman’s Saturday Night (which I’ve also reviewed) and Todd Phillips’ Joker: Folie au Deux, a movie that surprised me and led to some good conversation.

We’re heading into the busy time of the year for film critics. Awards season favorites will start screening soon, and critics will start to get For Your Consideration screeners of the year’s films. So, in the coming weeks, get ready for the conversation to shift into a lot of catchups as I try to get my viewing in order for critics’ group votes. And, as I say in the podcast, Perry and I WILL be back before Thanksgiving to begin discussing some of the newest releases.

I’ll also say to stay tuned for our August episode. We have a hum-dinger of a movie picked out for review, and I’m really excited to get to it!

We decided to devote an episode to movies we hadn’t had a chance to chew on together in the past few months. So, we chat about Dune 2, Furiosa, Late Night With the Devil and Hit Man — all movies I like to varying degrees. Just a heads up that there are spoilers in our Hit Man discussion, but we do issue a warning and it’s near the end of the episode, so if you bail, you won’t be missing anything.

Like we say in the episode, hopefully it won’t be three months until we can record again. I hope we’re back in July. And I’d like to play around with some member-only podcasts, probably just posted by myself. I might play around with that in the next few weeks, so keep your eyes open.

Anyway, I had a great deal of fun recording this episode, and I hope you all enjoy listening to it!

Chrisicisms is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Hey everyone! Perry and I got together recently to record the first We’re Watching Here of 2024. We thought the best way to kick it off was to start out by talking about the best movies of 2023. Yes, you can read my list on this site, but I’ll just give you a quick heads up that my list for the podcast is just slightly different because of one film I saw near the end of 2023. Also, you don’t want to miss Perry’s top 10! The night we recorded was also on the day Oscar nominations were announced, so we chat a bit about that as well.

These monthly(ish) chats with Perry have been a highlight for me going on about five years now., and I look forward to them continuing in 2024. Give it a listen here or on Podbean and Spotify!

I’m going to keep this quick, but I’m excited to share the next episode of We’re Watching Here today. Perry and I take a look at the recent Michigan Movie Critics Awards winners, and then discuss two new Netflix releases: Todd Haynes’ May December and David Fincher’s The Killer.

It’s going to be a busy week here at Chrisicisms. On Wednesday, I’ll have my list of 10 runners up films from 2023, and then on Friday, I’ll have my top 10 non-movie choices for the year, which wraps up my thoughts on books, music, TV and more. After that, I’ll be taking a break until after Christmas, but there’s already stuff in the hopper for early 2024!

Again, thank you for listening!

It’s a national holiday for movie nerds: there is a new Martin Scorsese film opening!

Last time Scorsese released a film, it was The Irishman, which Perry and I both named our favorite film of 2019. Four years later, Marty is back with the epic and sprawling Killers of the Flower Moon, based on the non-fiction best-seller and staring Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone and Jesse Plemons.

Perry and I sat down earlier this week to discuss our reactions to Scorsese’s latest. Is it another must-watch, like The Irishman? Or does the three-and-a-half-hour runtime turn this story of American greed into a slog? Listen and find out! And then head to CinemaNerdz to read my review!

It’s been a minute, as the kids say, since Perry and I were able to sit down and talk movies, so I’ll keep the preamble short. But I was really excited to chat about the fall movie season with him. After the bombardment of blockbusters that takes up the summer, I usually enter fall a bit burned out on movies, so it’s refreshing to get to September and have the opportunity for the big prestige picks and festival favorites to make their rounds.

Perry and I each picked three movies to talk about that will be discussed between now and the end of the year; plus, there was a consensus pick that should surprise no one. All that, plus a really robust “What We’re Watching” segment.

Enjoy and subscribe!

After this, I promise I’m done talking Barbenheimer — at least until we get to the end of the year.

But what can I say? It was a huge weekend. The rare post-pandemic box office weekend where the numbers are truly astounding and the films are beloved by both critics and audiences.

So, of course, Perry and I are going to nitpick them to death. :-)

We say several times that both Barbie and Oppenheimer are really good movies. They both get our high endorsements from both of us! But like any great films, there’s a lot to engage with, and we probably nitpick the negatives more than the positives…mainly because it’s all the stuff that no one else is talking about. It was a fun conversation, as always. And at the end of it all, I’m glad that this was a weekend where legitimately good films found audiences. That’s encouraging.

I think I’m all Barbie and Oppy’d out for now. But I’ll be back on Friday with a new entry in my Summer of 1993 series!

But Perry suggested maybe we talk about FX’s acclaimed dramedy The Bear, which recently finished its second season on Hulu. And I was delighted to do just that. Like few other shows, The Bear has involved me on an emotional level. It’s smart, tense, brilliantly acted and manages to kick you in the feels when you least expect it.

And don’t worry: We’re also able to chat a bit about Asteroid City, which Perry has seen. And I rave a little about Nicole Holfocener’s You Hurt My Feelings, which I really enjoyed. So, there’s a lot to enjoy this week. Might as well just leave you to it! Enjoy!

I’m going to keep the preamble short because there’s a lot of fun talk for you to listen to and I want you to have the time.

As I explain in the episode, Perry and I had a bit of an unexpectedly long break from We’re Watching Here, mainly due to some crazy scheduling conflicts on my end. So, this episode is our first one since our Oscar episode in March, which is a bit crazy. Thankfully, I think that should be the last big conflict for a bit and we should be back up to doing one or two of these a month.

Our original plan was to continue our Robert Altman series with Short Cuts, but as I explain in the podcast, getting a copy of that has been a bit difficult (but it will happen!). So instead, we decided to do a mega “What We’re Watching” episode, and we hit a lot. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret; Last Action Hero; BlackBerry and Master Gardener. PLUS, some talk about TV and Quentin Tarantino’s latest book. I hope you enjoy it!

This is going to be a busy week here. Wednesday or Thursday, I’m going to have a fun piece about a recent pop culture adventure I had. And then Friday or Saturday, I’ll have my thoughts on Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. I’m taking bit of a break from Summer of 1993 this week, but next week I’ll be doubling up with two star-driven thrillers from that year.

Plus, a reminder: Beginning July 1, certain posts will be for paying subscribers only. Certain things (such as this podcast and at least one essay a week) will remain free. But others will be for subscribers only; my past archive will also be for subscribers only. If you’re enjoying what you read here, consider supporting this newsletter; every subscriber is greatly appreciated!

Our second "It’s My Favorite” episode is coming a tad later than we initially wanted, but I think it’s a fun conversation that goes longer than we anticipated.

The fun thing about talking TV lately is that it’s as much about discovery as it is analysis. There’s so much TV that I’m constantly having new things recommended to me; it might take me forever to get around to it, but it’s fun to constantly have new things to put in the queue.

And so, in this episode, Matt, Beth and I talk a lot about TV, but there isn’t one particular show where all three of us are totally familiar with it. Matt and Beth love Succession, but I haven’t seen episode one. Beth’s raves about Yellowjackets (which Matt hasn’t seen) reminded me that I need to go back and finish the first season. And Beth hasn’t seen Shrinking, and Matt and I are split on it. It’s a fun conversation, and a reminder of how much I enjoy talking pop culture with friends these days.

I’ll have another newsletter post on Friday, and Perry and I will do a We’re Watching Here later this month — I just have to clear out three hours to watch Short Cuts so we can continue our Robert Altman marathon. And keep your eye on CinemaNerdz; I’ll have reviews for Dungeons and Dragons and Tetris shortly, and plan to head out to see The Super Mario Bros. Movie with the kids this weekend and write a review for it.

We’ll have my typical weekly newsletter hitting in the next day or so (it’s been a busy week), but I wanted to make sure to get this latest episode of We’re Watching Here posted today while there’s still time to talk this week’s Oscars.

It should be no surprise that I was very happy with the results of Sunday’s 95th Academy Awards. My favorite movie of the year, Everything Everywhere All at Once, was the night’s big winner, taking home not only Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay, but also winning awards in three out of the four acting categories, as well as a trophy for editing. I still remember seeing this movie almost exactly a year ago and thinking “what a brilliant little movie — too bad it will be too weird for audiences and award bodies.” So, to sit here today and realize it was recognized as the best film of 2022 makes me feel pretty good.

No one I know loves the Oscars or is as knowledgeable about them as my co-host, Perry. And so, it only made sense that our latest episode of We’re Watching Here talk about our reaction to the show and the winners. Perry had the great idea for us to rank our preferences for Best Picture, and I found it to be a great way to talk about these films one last time.

I hope you enjoy this episode; it was a lot of fun to record! We’ll have another We’re Watching Here in April, continuing our look at the films of Robert Altman.

Like I said, more to come this weekend. But I hope you love this episode! (Note: There was a point where I made a flub and said I’d edit it out, but upon going through the recording, I couldn’t find it. In the interest of getting this up, I figured I’d just go ahead and release it as is).

I knew for awhile that I wanted to try incorporating a new podcast feature here. I spend most of my time telling you all about the movies and TV I love, and it’s great fun. But I thought it might be interesting to regularly chat with other people about the things they’re enjoying from month to month.

It got me missing the first podcast I ever hosted, called It’s My Favorite. I started that show back in 2015, when we were all in the midst of the Serial craze. I talked to my friend and former co-worker Matt, and he brought in his good friend, Beth, and we did that show — as well as a variation on it called Wasting Time — for about five years. I have so many fond memories of sitting around Matt’s apartment recording that show: Making sure our microphone balanced correctly on the pile of books we put in the center of the table, editing out his cat’s “meows,” editing the audio and knowing that a big spike in the volume meant we hit a portion where we all were laughing really hard.

I wanted to do a show like that again, and my instinct was to bring in some critics and guests to see what they were liking from week to week. And then I thought, “it would be fun to get Matt and Beth back in here a few times.” And then, the more I thought about it, the more I thought, “I really just want to do that show again.” (This is the same process that led to me asking Perry to join me for We’re Watching Here a few years after our first podcast, Far From Hollywood…and it was a good process, so why not do it again?).

So, that’s what this is. Me and some friends chatting about “pop culture, life and our favorite things.” I’m hoping we do this about once a month, supplemented by a few bonus episodes where I’m joined by guests. Anything we’re liking that month is on the table — movies, books, music, articles, funny stories. It’s just an excuse to hang out.

This first episode felt just like old times (except that we’re recording via Zoom instead of at Matt’s dinner table). We talk about HBO’s The Last of Us, Peacock’s Poker Face, and the films The Banshees of Inisherin and The Menu. It’s a fun discussion, and it was great to hang out with these guys again. I’m already looking forward to next month!

Right now, the podcast is a free component of this newsletter. And bear with us as we figure out our individual recording levels and the technology. I’m also mulling over a few subscriber-only newsletter options that I want to implement in the next few months, and it’s possible we might do a split where some episodes go behind a paywall. But I don’t envision that happening until spring/summer. I hope you enjoy! We’ll be back later tonight with my spoiler-filled thoughts on Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.

Thanks for reading Chrisicisms! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

There’s a new show I’m launching here on Friday that I’m really excited for you all to hear, and it was a ton of fun to put it together. Look for it to drop Friday morning!

But first, Perry and I are back with a new We’re Watching Here, and I think it’s one of our best discussions of a recent movie. We both are long-time admirers of director Sarah Polley; Take This Waltz was both of our number one movies of 2012, and for Perry, it was his top film of the last decade. So, you can imagine we knew early on that it was going to be a must to talk Women Talking (whether the world really needs two white men talking about this movie is highly debatable). I’ve reviewed it and written more about the spiritual reflections it prompted, but I found even more to say for this discussion.

Also, we talk the Oscar nominations and, as always discuss a few of the things we’ve been watching lately. I hope you enjoy this conversation! Next month, we’re going to do a bit more Oscar talk, I’m sure, as well as continue our ongoing Robert Altman retrospective. Listen and subscribe (also available on iTunes and Spotify).

Thanks for reading Chrisicisms! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

When Perry suggested doing an series on the films of Robert Altman, one of the movies I was most excited about finally getting around to was The Player, his 1992 satire of Hollywood. As I told Perry in this episode, it’s possible that Altman’s run of masterpieces in the 1970s might have slightly dinged this for me; while there is a lot I love in The Player, I probably to slightly prefer his run of films including McCabe & Mrs. Miller, The Long Goodbye and Nashville. But still, there is a lot to love here, and Perry and I dig into it. PLUS, a brief discussion of Decision to Leave, Chimes at Midnight and Glass Onion. I hope you enjoy it!

Real talk — when you have full-time jobs, young kids and several other responsibilities, time to record a podcast is at a premium. That’s why I’m so thankful whenever Perry and I can clear out some time to talk about movies. This was a big year for We’re Watching Here. We continued our Robert Altman miniseries and had our first live event, hosting Secret Cinema at the Maple Theater and introducing an audience to The Big Chill.

Because of the complexities of scheduling this (and recording on a personal computer that is about to go kaput), this will likely be the last episode of 2022. But we’ll be back in 2023 to finish our Altman series and talk about a whole new crop of great films (and a larger crop of old ones).

We’re going out with a big catchup article, as Perry and I first fill each other in on some movies we’ve been watching — like a parade of holiday-centric releases, a new horror satire, and one of the year’s best dramas. Then we dig in to talk The Banshees of Inisherin and The Fabelmans. It’s a fun conversation. I hope you enjoy, and tune in next year!

Thank you to everyone who’s given us a listen this year! We’ll be back with more in 2023!

This has been a busy week, capped off by several technical snafus when I was editing this podcast. So, I haven’t had time to write about all the things I’ve been seeing, which was my original plan for this week’s newsletter. And honestly, the things I saw this week (and there was A LOT) has been so good that I want to give it a little bit of time, because there’s a lot to talk about.

I was originally going to save this episode of We’re Watching Here for early next week. But we’ll start here. I had a great time chatting with Perry about two of Altman’s seemingly more minor works. I’d say Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean and Secret Honor are among my least favorite of the Altman films we’ve dived into this year. But there’s still a ton to talk about with these stage adaptations…I mean, one of them is a movie about Richard Nixon ranting alone in a room for 90 minutes with whiskey and a gun. How could there not be something to talk about? So, I hope you enjoy this conversation.

I’ll be back either later this weekend or early next week with a rundown of some of the things I’ve been watching lately, which includes The Banshees of Inisherin, Tár, After Yang, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Aftersun. So, enjoy this episode and I’ll be back with more shortly!

Thanks for reading Chrisicisms! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

For the uninitiated, Sight and Sound is a poll conducted by the BFI every 10 years, where they ask film critics and directors to vote on their 20 favorite films. Because the poll is conducted every year that ends in a 2, the last one was 2012 and then polls went out this summer, and I believe the results will be published next month. The last time the BFI released its list, Vertigo overtook long-time favorite Citizen Kane as the choice for best film ever made.

Perry and I are not asked to participate in Sight and Sound. But that’s okay; we have our own outlet. And we each came up with 10 choices of our own that we believe should be placed on the list. Spoiler alert: while Vertigo and Citizen Kane topped the last list, only one of those titles appeared on either of our lists.

As I told Perry at the start of recording this episode, this was the hardest list I’ve ever compiled, and I’m sure it’s not the list that I need to have. Picking the 10 best movies ever made is a much different task than picking your 10 favorite movies, and much of my picks were also colored by not having seen some legitimately great films in decades (the reason there’s no Kurosawa, Bicycle Thieves or picks from the French New Wave are because I haven’t revisited most of those since college). But I think the result is a list of 20(-ish; there was some overlap) movies that we love and had a great time talking about.

One day, I really want to sit down, re-visit some of the films that I haven’t seen in ages, and try to think about what my list of the best films ever made might truly be. So, this list could be in flux. Maybe we’ll discuss it again in 2033.

One of my favorite podcasts of this year was Downlow.D: The Rise and Fall of Harry Knowles and Ain’t It Cool News. This nine-part series chronicles the birth, dominance and downfall of the infamous film news and criticism website, and the allegations of sexual misconduct against its creator, Harry Knowles.

I’ve spoken many times about the impact Ain’t It Cool News had on my life. It was the first site I visited for almost a decade; I can still remember sneaking to a back computer in my high school journalism class to read the spy reviews of Batman and Robin and Titanic back in 1997. The site was the first one to make me realize film criticism wasn’t something for only the elite, and looking back on my older blog reviews from those days (which I will never share), I can see the influence of that site on my writing, for good and ill. I aged out of the site as I grew older and gravitated toward critics like Roger Ebert or the collectives of Birth.Movies.Death. and The Dissolve, but several of the AICN writers are still doing work I follow closely. The sexual misconduct allegations against Harry Knowles further diminished any interest I had in the site.

I was able to speak recently with Downlow.D writer and creator Joe Scott about his experience creating the podcast, the impact and legacy of AICN, and his recent interview with Knowles. If you’re a We’re Watching Here subscriber, this will also be posted as an interview there. I greatly enjoyed this talk with Joe, and I hope you do, too.

So, we’re going to push pause on Franchise Friday until Friday, Sept. 9. In fact, that post-Labor Day week is going to be a step into several new directions for this newsletter. I’ll announce more in the coming weeks, but in addition to Franchise Friday, I have some other series and miniseries to announce, and I’m planning on incorporating a few other bits into this now that my evenings and weekends leave me a bit more time and a clearer head.

But that doesn’t mean we’re going to pause this newsletter until then. I have several fun pieces in the works, and the slow theatrical release schedule over the next month is going to open up a lot of time for me to catch up on some 2022 releases I had to miss in all the busyness of the last few months. So, we have some fun stuff on the way!

In the meantime, Perry and I are back at it with We’re Watching Here, and this is an entry in our Robert Altman retrospective that I’ve been anticipating for awhile. Popeye has long been a film I’ve been fascinated with, mostly because of my attraction to cinematic trainwrecks. As we’ve delved into Altman’s filmography, I also became more curious about just how he would approach a musical grounded in a cartoon world. The result was something unexpected. I don’t know if I would call Popeye good, but I also can’t call it bad, exactly. It’s it’s own weird thing, and I had a great time talking to Perry about it all!

So, tune in and make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss a minute! I have some fun stuff coming in the next few weeks, and then this fall is shaping up to be something really special. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Ever since Perry and I started hosting We’re Watching Here in early 2019, I’ve wanted to host some sort of live event. Well, that time is here!

If you live in the metro Detroit area (or are up for a drive), this Thursday, July 21, at 7:30 p.m., Perry and I will co-host Secret Cinema at the Maple Theater in Bloomfield Hills. This is a fun event, where you’ll show up and won’t know what movie you’re seeing until the lights go down. I can’t give it away, obviously, but I can tell you that it’s a drama from the 1980s that features a great soundtrack. Also, if you’re a long-time listener to We’re Watching Here, it’s a movie that’s been mentioned at least once on our show before.

It’s going to be a fun night, followed by a brief discussion and Q&A with Perry and me. General admission tickets are only $6, and you can purchase them right now at the Maple’s website. If you’re there, come say hi!

In anticipation of this event, Perry and I dedicated the most recent episode of We’re Watching Here to our favorite cinematic surprises. What were the moments that left us dropping our jaws in the theater? What new voices left us shocked? What are some of yours?

I hope you enjoy this episode, and I hope we’ll see you Thursday at Secret Cinema!

But man, I’ve loved this miniseries (which is actually going to take us through most the year). From the politically incorrect shenanigans of M*A*S*H to the un-Western Western of McCabe and Mrs. Miller to the sheer awesomeness that is Elliott Gould in The Long Goodbye, this has been one of the most fun runs of film education I’ve had, and I’m excited to see we’re just getting started.

Nashville was always going to be a big milestone. It’s regarded by many as Altman’s masterpiece, and it’s truly the culmination of everything he was doing with the craft at that point. It’s a sprawling ensemble and a film that has very little plot but a hell of a lot of story. It’s a big mix of music, satire, politics and empathy. It shouldn’t work, and yet the result is one of the greatest films I’ve seen about America. It’s 50 years old, but aside from its more tactile elements, much of it is still completely relevant.

So, hit “play” and listen to Perry and I dive in on Altman’s 1975 classic. And if you want to hear our thoughts on something newer, we also briefly touch on Cha Cha Real Smooth, Crimes of the Future and Top Gun: Maverick.

Reminder for our Detroit-area listeners: Chris and Perry will co-host Secret Cinema at the Maple Theater on Thursday, July 21, at 7:30 p.m. Show up for a surprise movie and a Q/A afterward! 

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Doing something a bit different today and bringing you an audio interview. I’m hoping to do these a bit more, as a way to keep the content here fresh and engaging. And if you don’t want to listen on a desktop, you can download the Substack app…or I’ll also put them up as episodes of We’re Watching Here.

Today, I’m happy to bring you this interview with Cody Benjamin. Cody writes about football for CBS Sports, but he also is a prolific and talented film writer. His book Why We Need the Movies is a great collection of essays about the power of film and the theatrical experiences. His new book, Movies from the Mountaintop: 100+ Films that Express God, Explore Faith and Enlighten the Church, invites 25 authors to write about films that have spiritually impacted them. Full disclosure: I was invited to write an essay for this book, and I was honored to share my thoughts about Planes, Trains and Automobile as a reminder of loving our neighbor. You can buy the book on Amazon in a softcover or Kindle version.

Also, a reminder that my We’re Watching Here co-host, Perry Seibert, and I will be co-hosting the Secret Cinema at the Maple Theater in Bloomfield Hills on Thursday, July 21, at 7:30 p.m. We’ll be viewing a beloved movie from the New Hollywood era, but you won’t know what it is until you show up!

I hope you enjoy this interview, and I’ll be back Friday with another visit to Jurassic World for Franchise Friday!

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I’m so glad Perry had the idea for us to do a deep dive into the filmography of Robert Altman this year. Altman’s been a director who’s been a blind spot for me for decades, and I’ve been a bit intimidated to go back and sift through his work. Going through his movies with Perry has allowed us to take it film by film, talk through it, and wrestle with some of his work that isn’t always easily accessible (such as the sound design with McCabe & Mrs. Miller).

For this episode of We’re Watching Here, we’re diving into his private eye film The Long Goodbye. I hope you’ll give this a listen; it was great fun to discuss how damn good Elliott Gould is as Phillip Marlowe, the visual and aural design of this movie, and how Altman once again plays with our expectations when it comes to genre. And in a super-sized “What We’re Watching” segment, we discuss Perry’s recent Monkees/Eminem double feature, Steven Soderbergh’s latest, one of Gene Hackman’s best performances, two of this year’s best picture nominees, and the guys of Jackass. Give it a listen; it’s a fun episode! And then make sure to head to iTunes or Spotify to subscribe!

We start off this year with a some catch up, talking about Netflix’s Squid Game (which Perry has seen, and I haven’t) and Mass (which I have seen, but Perry has not). I talk about my no-trailer movie resolution, and we chat a bit about Adam McKay’s Don’t Look Up, which Perry and I both enjoyed but seem to be in the critical minority on. And then it’s time for the main event, as we continue our Robert Altman retrospective with a look at his 1971 Western, McCabe & Mrs. Miller. As someone who isn’t a huge fan of the Western genre, I was surprised how much I enjoyed this movie, which is anchored by gorgeous cinematography, innovative sound design, and great performances from Warren Beatty and Julie Christie. Perry and I have a great time talking about this, and I’m really excited about continuing our exploration of Altman’s career.

I hope you’ll give this a listen (it’s also available on most platforms, so be sure to subscribe!). Tomorrow, I’ll be back with my pick for the top 10 films of 2021!

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We’re going to do something a little different for this week’s Saturday coffee. Instead of giving you some writing, I’m going to grace you with my nasally Midwestern voice and rambling opinions and showcase two podcast appearances I made this week (they were actually recorded back to back on Wednesday night, which I don’t know that I really recommend after a rough day at the office, but oh well). I enjoyed them both, and you’ll get to hear my opinions on some movies I’ve either written about or will have more to talk about in the coming days.

First up is the podcast I co-host with Perry Seibert, We’re Watching Here, and the audio’s embedded right in here for your listening pleasure! Perry and I just finished a summer-long look at films from the 1970s and next up is going to be a deep dive into the films of Robert Altman, a shameful blind spot for me. This week, we offered a bit of a palate cleanser, talking about some recent releases, including Dune, Pig and The French Dispatch. I hope you enjoy it!

I also had the great opportunity to once again join Kevin McLenithan on Christ and Pop Culture’s Seeing and Believing podcast to talk about Edgar Wright’s Last Night in Soho. I’m a big fan not only of everything Christ and Pop Culture puts out, but particularly this podcast. I previously guested on it in the spring to talk about the Snyder Cut, and it was nice to get to go on and talk about a movie I actually enjoy!

I think we’ve made a nice transition over from the horror-centric emails of October to something new in November. This week, we’re going to have even more coming for you. I’ll be offering more fleshed-out thoughts on Last Night in Soho and The French Dispatch, and going into more detail on my thoughts than I did on the podcasts. We’ll also continue Franchise Friday and ask whether Ghostbusters II is really as bad as people attest. I’m looking forward to it, and I hope you are, too!