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Eighth Grade

Anyone who says they loved eighth grade is lying. It’s the perfect storm. Bullies, hormones, rejection, fear, doubt, and self-loathing. Rinse, repeat. But what was hell on earth is cinema heaven. Enter stand-up comedian Bo Burnham. Eighth Grade is Burnham’s feature film debut, and he couldn’t have picked a time in our lives more rife…
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Annihilation

Our podcast this month was originally on A Wrinkle in Time. Then we saw the movie… Tune in to the beginning for Jon’s epic rant, and then stay for a discussion of a movie that’s actually worth talking about: Annihilation. Alex Garland is a prolific writer, ranging from novels (The Beach) to screenplays (28 Days…
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Soundtracks: The New Music of Religion

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Dunkirk

As Hollywood obsesses over superhero movies, power has shifted from directors to producers. Just ask Edgar Wright and Patty Jenkins — two veteran directors who dropped blockbuster projects after learning Marvel Studios was in charge, not them. But there is one director who continues to buck the trend and maintain his legacy as a true…
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Baby Driver

We first crossed paths with Edgar Wright in the 2004 sleeper hit Shaun of the Dead. The film put Wright on the map, along with actors Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. Two sequels rounded out the “Blood and Ice Cream” trilogy, Hot Fuzz and The World’s End, continuing Wright’s style of paying homage to genre…
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Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

No one makes superhero movies like Marvel Studios. They’ve earned their big-screen domination with quality films, and Guardians of the Galaxy is at the top of the list. Released in 2014 after three Iron Mans, two Thors, two Captain Americas, and an Avengers team-up, Guardians was the breath of fresh air Marvel needed. The movie…
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Almost Famous

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Manchester by the Sea

We’ve been looking forward to Manchester by the Sea since January when it took Sundance by storm. Now, 11 months later, the film is everywhere and it was worth the wait. Writer/director Kenneth Lonergan, best known for 2000’s You Can Count on Me, has crafted a masterful meditation on grief and regret. Casey Affleck plays Lee,…
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Searching for Sugar Man

What if Bob Dylan had never sold a record? Imagine that. Imagine that none of us have ever listened to one of America’s greatest singer-songwriters. What if one our most iconic musicians had cut two albums — just two — but we’ve never heard the songs; we’ve never heard “Mr. Tambourine Man” or “Like A…
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Hell or High Water

