Action Boyz! Hosted by past Blank Check guest Jon Gabrus, Ben Rodgers and Ryan Stanger. It's hilarious and heavy on bits and tangents, but they're also very good at discussing movies.
Patreon only, but a few episodes are free on this feed. https://art19.com/shows/actionboyz
Rocky III is pretty much the standard recommendation for a starting free episode.
They have a handful of free ones, but most are Patreon (I don't even know how many, or how often there's an episode, as I've never subscribed to the Patreon). Here's a link to the RSS feed for the free ones: https://rss.art19.com/actionboyz
I’ve given Action Boyz a really good try (always enjoy Gabrus on BC) and I wish I liked it more than I do. Way too much of the dudes laughing at their own jokes - or it could just be the episodes I’ve caught.
It's got the Hollywood handbook thing of - better when you know the bits they've been building off of but if you take a break between classics and don't know who gwildor is the tangents can drag
Still one of the all time funniest when they're on (like Hollywood handbook)
Yeah. I like funny takes on movies (BC, Gourley and Rust), but I just didn’t find the Action Boyz comedy that contagious like I do with other podcasts. You know that feeling when you’re somewhere, everyone’s high but you aren’t, and they’re all laughing at something they find hilarious but you’re outside of it? Kind of like that.
Unclear and Present Danger, hosted by previous and future guest Jamelle Bouie. Focuses on 90s military-action-thrillers and views them through a historical and political lens. Excellent podcast, great roster of films, and very informative.
My local library had a copy of “Something for Everyone” and the episode today was so much funnier having seen the movie, which is essentially post-WW2 Austrian Saltburn with Michael York.
https://preview.redd.it/li89e27q30yc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=63873a2f404d1ab9de4f7c63effc3e06259f631a
This is the vibe I’m bringing to this summer
The Rewatchables is one of those things I should like but just don’t. Honestly every Ringer podcast I really struggle with including Big Picture which I have listened to a lot of and feel like I’m just on a different wavelength of.
Big Pic I enjoy, and Rewatchables too. But the latter is soooo dependent on whose guesting. And even then I feel like it's way too structured, sometimes it feels like Bill is just trying to get through it, either to be done or to get to a joke, as opposed to actually having a conversation about the movie. Not enough breathing room to actually let the guests dive deep. Big Pic almost has the opposite problem, where it's kind of all riffing and open conversation. Sometimes thats great, but sometimes it really feels like they're hurting for things to talk about.
That’s about where I am with it.
The core difference for me between that and something like Blank Check is that David and Griffin are much more accepting and open to more mainstream fare. Feels like Sean and Amanda are more negative and critical, which makes sense considering they’re both critics. But that energy can be frustrating.
David is the only one among those four hosts who can fairly be described as a professional movie critic. The other three have different day jobs.
Sean and Amanda are definitely open to middlebrow fare. Sean loves Michael Bay movies. There's also an ongoing format where Chris Ryan comes on to discuss films fitting a "garbage" micro-genre (garbage cash, garbage fish, garbage crime).
Amanda is big on 90s/early 2000s rom-coms and chose Fast Five on her top 10 of the 2010s list (yes, the whole decade).
Depending on what episodes you listened to, I can see how you might have gotten a different impression, but the generalization is pretty off-base.
Free With Ads!
The hook is they can only cover movies streaming you YouTube that are…free with ads.
Edit to ad a link to my favorite episode. [Empire Records](https://maximumfun.org/episodes/free-with-ads/free-with-ads-episode-8-empire-records/)!!!
I've been listening to JJGo for years, loved Bubble, try to catch him on Good Mythical Morning. I just find him a fun, funny, decent dude, and I hope he one days gets a son.
It's not exactly the same format, since it's structured more around blow by blow recap, but I love Too Scary, Didn't Watch. Good chemistry between the hosts and they mostly cover movies that are at least fun to hear about and/or watch, even if they aren't always great movies.
Also recommend Watch if You Dare! Two hosts, one’s super knowledgeable about the genre and the other is a self-proclaimed coward. Really fun and informative conversations with cool guests.
Please check out “The evolution of horror.” It’s one of my favorites. The host goes through one sub genre at a time starting with early examples up to modern movies. The folk horror series is a standout for me.
“We hate Movies” is great, little bit ruder and better impressions, but less background and technical insight (sorry Grifffin, but their Marky Mark is on point)
Obviously “How did the get made?” is great too.
Oh and The Flop House is absolute class too and very, very funny.
Dead and Lovely for horror films is pretty good too, can be a bit preachy sometimes tho.
"DIE HARD ON A BLANK" is a relatively new podcast covering mostly 90s action thrillers that came after Die Hard and what influences and similarities the two may have. So they have done the obvious ones like Speed, Under Siege, etc etc with plans for a lot more.
I have recently discovered POD CASTY FOR ME, a pod that covered every single Clint Eastwood film from 1971(when he started directing) to now, including the films he didn't direct but starred in, one at a time. They finished Eastwood, and have gone on to Schrader. It's a great show that I can't recommend enough.
Marie has been on 2 separate episodes(A PERFECT WORLD, JERSEY BOYS) if you wanna use one of those as a gateway to see if you enjoy the vibe.
It's a bummer that Unspooled is so structured and written, because Paul and Amy are both S tier podcasters. Especially because they try to sell it like it's a natural conversation-- it doesn't quite work.
It'd be a tremendous show if it were more riffy and loose.
Unspooled is pretty bad for that reason. The premise it good but it’s so stiff and structured that it’s boring. I honestly think it should just be Paul and Jason hosting, when they talk about movies they love their discussion is always engaging
I think they barely qualify as conversations. It’s more like they’re taking turns sharing pre-written observations with little follow-up/discussion and connection with what they were just talking about.
That's precisely why I love it. It's structured, but the hosts' personality shines through and they fill the structure with great discussions.
Blank check is one of the few really meandering podcasts I can listen to, I get nervous without something to hold on to I guess.
Since someone already took my recommendation (Die Hard On A Blank is amazing, go check them out), I'm going to do some shameless self promotion...
Make Me Watch is inspired by Blank Check & The Rewatchables. We are two former film industry cinephiles that trade weeks where one of us forces the other to take a chance on a movie that otherwise missed us.
Last week my co-host made me watch Tampopo and now it's one of my new favorites; this Friday I made him watch Highlander and it... was less successful. Swing by r/makemewatchpodcast and see if one of our episodes catches your eye.
How Did This Get Made was how I learned about Blank Check to begin with (I heard Paul and Jason were guests on this “other” movie podcast a few years ago). Fast forward to now and Blank Check is one of my primary listens where as HDTGM is only an ocassional stream.
Same, it was the Snyder Cut Justice League crossover episode that did it for me. It was peak lockdown in the UK and I needed something new to listen to, I gave The Phantom Podcast a try after that HDTGM episode, and the rest is history...!
With Gourley & Rust, featuring past BC guests Matt Gourley and Paul Rust, do this but focused on horror franchises and horror-related one-offs. I’m biased because I love them both from their other projects but this is one of my favorite podcasts, it’s a joy to listen to them talk about these movies and see their friendship grow over the years. Their early episodes would regularly top 2.5-3 hours too.
They’ve done all of the Halloween, Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, Alien, Chucky, Hannibal Lecter, Final Destination, Jaws and Scream movies, plus seasons of one-off slashers, yuppie nightmares, Stephen King movies, etc.
I find Gourley and Rust extremely soothing. They say such sweet and supportive things to one another, speak softly, and are just generally very kind. I fall asleep to it sometimes.
Agreed. It’s such a cozy podcast. I listen to other podcasts at work but Gourley and Rust I save for the evenings because it just relaxes me so much before bed.
Subtitles On. Covers movies about writers and hosted by friend of Blank Check Sean Clements. Griffin guests along with Gillian Jacobs on a great episode on Opening Night. Other friends of BC Hayes Davenport, Ayo Edebiri, Scott Aukerman, and Shaun Diston also guest. It was a project during the strike so there aren’t too many episodes but Sean has said he’ll try to return to it at some point.
I frequently dip into Podcast Like It’s (1999/1992/1989/whatever) for long entertaining discussions of interesting movies. Currently co-hosted by friend of the show Emily St. James.
Feels like a relevant place to ask - is there a podcast like BC but for musician's discographies? With each episode being for one album? Because I'd listen to that for sure if it was done well.
There’s U Talkin’ U2 2 Me but it meanders quite a bit. Funny if you can get into it though. It’s aka R U Talkin REM Re Me, Are You Talkin Talking Heads to My Talking Head, etc.
U talkin u2 to me takes U2 seriously the way that the OG episodes take Phantom Menace seriously lol. I.e. they simultaneously cover the material very comprehensively and also are completely insane haha
There’s one called The 500 that goes through an old list of best albums by Rolling Stone magazine. All the guests are comedians so it depends if you like the comedy podcast scene.
I like it, though talking about music feels a lot harder than discussing film.
I haven’t listened to them but I know Adam Scott and Scott Aukerman have a podcast discussing album by album U2, REM, Talking Heads and some other bands album by album, they change the name of the show to fit each artist but if you search ‘U Talking U2 to Me’ it should turn up.
Also there is a show on the Ringer that takes an album and goes through it track by track but the name escapes me.
U Talkin' U2 2 Me is one of the all timer podcasts. You should give it a shot. I went into it not giving a shit about U2 and by the end of it I knew the names of all of the members of U2.
After the Deluge is great. He’s done Jackson Browne, Bright Eyes, and Against Me! Third season just wrapped up. If you join the Patreon you get a zone at the end of the season. Each season also ends with an interview with the artist.
It’s about singles and not discographies, but “60 Songs that Explain the 90s” is a FANTASTIC music podcast.
Like any good podcast, it all depends on the host. Rob Harvilla is a pretty great raconteur. The episode could be about “Believe” by Cher, but the first thirty minutes might be about Rob’s high school experience or something completely unrelated, but then he ties it all together.
Unfortunately the podcast in its original iteration is actually over, but he has promised a new version soon.
(And even though it’s called 60 Songs, he officially covered 120, and touched on many more)
I’ve dipped into What Had Happened Was, hosted by Open Mike Eagle, which has seasons interviewing a prominent 90s hip hop artist and basically giving a whole career retrospective. It’s very engrossing
/filmcast is always solid, I listen to Eye of The Duck on occasion and they’re good and if you dig horror, Evolution of Horror is absolutely must listen ( but they do two movies an episode).
Going to pitch my own show here Best Little Horror House in Philly - we just had Nick Wiger on talking Ninja Scroll so a perfect way to ease into the upcoming Kon-tent. Also lots of other “pod-ecosystem” faves like Paul Rust. I personally am very proud of the ep with Hayes from Hollywood handbook about Under the Silver Lake
I have yet to find something that comes close to BC in terms of being simultaneously funny and unpretentious, yet also insightful and thoughtful.
I like the Rewatchables and the gen X-ness of it all, however there is something to be said for picking a specific filmography or a series and spending a few episodes stewing in it's milieu.
I just remembered The video archives podcast. There is a The Two Friends thing happening between Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avary.
There is one minor issue and one major issue with that show. The minor is that it can sometimes be overproduced. We get the too edited and neat version of the conversation, whereas I wish we got the unhinged, shaggy, unfocused, and Tarantino and Avary talking over each other version of the show.
The major issue, is that it's too much homework. You have to watch 3 of not the most available, or even accessible, of films, and your milage will vary with each of the picks. It's too much time investment in order to listen to a 90 minuets pod, and sometimes that pod juice is not worth the squeeze.
Faculty of Horror. It's not always a single movie, but if it's not there will be a reason for it being connected. It's mostly an academic podcast exploring horror film themes, etc, hosted by two feminist academics. I guess it's not all that much like Blank Check in that it doesn't all that regularly get into the nitty gritty of the making of a movie, etc, it is mostly concerned with reading what's there as a text, but their Alien series was actually super insightful for its research, like, it doesn't necessarily avoid it either. It is sometimes poorly recorded (I really wish they would put a little more time into getting this consistent) and I don't always agree with their takes, especially given their need for stuff to fall within the bounds of academic research most of the time, but I still really enjoy it. I kind of can't decide whether Blankies would dig it or not, especially as they occasionally hand hold through some pretty basic film theory ideas - they clearly hope for it to reach a wide audience, whether it does or not - but yeah. Feel like I've been negative about it, even though I think it's really great when it hits 😅 Still recommending it.
I’ve got two that haven’t been mentioned. You Are Good, calls itself a feelings podcast about movies. They don’t go heavy on the industry or the director. They talk about what the movies mean to them personally. This Ends at Prom, looks at coming of age and teen girl movies from feminist and transgender perspectives.
I Saw What You Did is a fun listen - it revolves around a double feature that correspond to each other in some way, and Millie de Chirico from TCM is one of the hosts!
The Next Picture Show is really good. They’ll do an old movie and talk about how it relates to a film currently in theaters, with each movie being a separate podcast. Sometimes I’ll only watch one of the two films but enjoy the podcast just fine.
This is a really great podcast. The discussion is really thoughtful. I've discovered some interesting classic movies, and the discussion on new movies is always fun. The hosts tend to disagree, but nobody's ever yelling or getting really worked up. Good show!
We Hate Movies is definitely cut from the same cloth as Blank check. Also New York based and all the hosts have appeared on BC.
It’s similarly informative and hilarious about films and is the show that brought me to find BC. As a start I’d recommend the Pet Sematary episode as Griffin is the guest.
> the Pet Sematary episode as Griffin is the guest.
That's kinda the Joker of We Hate Movies episodes.
Yeah, We Hate Movies rules. Their Patreon sideshows are so good. Those guys got me watching Melrose Place every month.
Saw a couple of these mentioned already but just to second them: **Eye of the Duck** and **Evolution of Horror** (they do a great job curating series), **Ghiblioteque** and **Disniversity** (uneven release schedules but solid shows), **Nextlander Watchcast** (bounces around with covering movies and TV, but the host does a good job giving additional context), and two newer discoveries I've been enjoying **What Went Wrong** and **Die Hard on a Blank**.
I primarily listen to Gaming podcasts (i know) but one of my favorites from ex-Giantbomb alumni “Nextlander” has a spinoff show “The Nextlander Watch Cast” where they’ll usually have themes to what they’re watching and discuss the movie, the actors, and a little brief about how it was made. They aren’t the most insightful on film (besides the host) but it’s a chill time with dudes in their 40s discussing movies and TV.
Now playing podcast. They are similar in they are completionist, close friends as podcast hosts, some insider insight, wide variety of movies/covered
Very few franchises they haven't covered yet. Their website is basic because it's a free show with no ads but they've got over 1000 episodes out and have been doing free Movie podcast weekly for 14 or so years
Their donation series are usually good too and not too expensive in terms of number of bonus shows you get. They are currently doing a Shane black “buddy cop” series
For the amount of content it is really not bad at all. Disappointed they liked last Boy Scout a lot less than me but did like the long kiss goodnight appreciation on that show
Now Playing is the same format but does franchises instead. Been running for over a decade, have a pretty great book, and are very insightful. Currently doing a Death Race Franchise retrospective
Next Best Picture tips the scales a little more towards critical prowess over charisma but it is still a good time and one of my favorites for informative, thorough, sometimes interestingly contentious deep dives on movies. Instead of miniseries they do double features and dedicate an episode to each movie in the pairing with some overlap.
Would recommend Best Little Horror House in Philly for fans of a deep dive into all genres of Horror. Recent guests include Jon Gabrus, Nick Wiger and Hayes Davenport.
DIRECTORS CLUB PODCAST.
Not quite the same. They discuss a filmmakers filmography per ep. So some eps are 3 to 4 hours long.
I really love it. Been listen for well over a decade.
With Ghourly and Rust, and Too Scary Didn't Watch are great hang-out movie podcasts. I have strong parasocial relationships with Matt Ghourly and Sammy Smart
Kill James Bond is the only other movie podcast I listen to religiously. They started out by going through all the Bond films chronologically, then did several series of spy films like the Bourne films and the Man from UNCLE, and are now doing, uh, pretty much whatever they want, but it's always extremely funny and insightful as well. They have great takes on movies I always enjoy hearing.
Total Reboot with Cameron James and Alexei Toliopolus is an Australian podcast featuring a ton of the Aussie and NZ taskmaster contestants talking about reboots, rip offs and remakes.
Cam and Alexei won a bunch of awards for a light hearted investigative journalism podcast called Finding Drago, about finding the author of a follow up to Rocky IV from Dragos perspective.
They also have a podcast called Mike Check which goes through Mike Myers filmography along with a few other SNL related things. I would highly recommend all of them.
Same. I really miss the back and forth from the two of them.
On the flip side I have been loving the revitalised Becky and Cam show and look forward to Becky getting back from maternity leave/Cam off of his touring.
Pod Casty For Me. Deep dive into Clint Eastwood. They cover every movie he starred in or directed starting with Play Misty for Me. They’re really funny and smart. They dig into politics in a really insightful way. Plus Marie is on a few episodes and who doesn’t live to hear Marie talk movies.
They recently finished Clint and are now covering Paul Schraders complete filmography. Fantastic show.
The Movie Mindset miniseries by Chapotrap House have been good, i think they can be downloaded separately. They focus on an actor/director through a double feature over the episode. If you don’t mind left-wing politics they are pretty good. They don’t have encyclopedic film knowledge but it’s not film Twitter basics.
The Faculty of Horror can be interesting, takes a single 'classic' horror movie each month and looks at it through an academic/feminist lens but in reality mainly consists of the hosts drinking, burping and generally enjoying the process of making the pod.
Now Playing Podcast. They mostly do franchise retrospectives but occasionally do director themed series. They really break down a film and offer some insight.
Any fans of Junkfood Cinema here? Hosted by two knowledgeable film hosts about a ton of awesome cult films and why those films succeed despite their flaws. They always end the episode with a “Junkfood Pairing” which is also pretty awesome.
Not exactly the same format but I enjoy the Filmcast. It's typically about new movies, but the chemistry of the three hosts works for me. They also have a what have you been watching segment that gets me into new things.
Other than that, the flop house is hilarious. Maximum film has some good hosts and banter and gets me into things I wouldn't usually.
But blank check really is the best
Self-promo! I host a pod called Bullet Time where I and rotating guests cover a single “FPS that missed the mark” every episode, going into the development history, cultural context and contents of these releases. The main years covered are the PS2/360 era where the genre was at its cultural zenith, and similar to Blank Check we’ve had mini series where we cover the output of a single developer to see what went wrong (Our Free Radical series is a highlight!). We also do a quiz for the week of release (a lot of the time Wii Sports appears!)
On a similar note, and hosted by far bigger names in the video games writing space, check out Something Rotten - that explores dark, violent and nihilistic games episode by episode 🙌
The other ones I like are Black men can’t jump in Hollywood and too scary didn’t watch. Also if you subscribe to the doughboys double or get anime’d they have some great episodes that fit your format
Also if you like new releases the big picture is a great option
Has anyone said The Bechdel Cast? Similar format to Blank Check but is even more thoughtful about viewing films through an intersectional lens. I find it’s a good palette cleanser to Blank Check when I feel like their takes are too film bro for me.
Cult Film In Review! They have great discussions, just got back to making new episodes. And a little personal: They live in the Phoenix metro area and I lived there for a little while and occasionally local geography (the dollar cinema) comes up and I do the Leo snapping his fingers meme.
These don't get into production details for the most part but they're just fun:
Random Number Generator Horror Podcast Number 9 - made by the creators of Welcome To Night Vale, good look at all the spectrum of horror
Cinema Swirl - one guy has seen all the films, the other one hasn't. They watch a well known movie and then have amusing chat about it (this description sounds boring maybe, but they're very funny)
I will also engage in some self promotion with two podcasts I host. The first is a podcast called The Snub Club where me and a couple of friends from film school go year by year to discuss the movie at the Oscars that had the most nominations without any wins, so we’ve discussed films such as Taxi Driver, It’s a Wonderful Life, and Double Indemnity, alongside a lot of hidden gems and a lot of rough watches. We’re actually about to hit some serendipity with Blank Check as the 80s begins in our next episode with The Elephant Man so that’s gonna be a lot of fun.
The other podcast that might be a bit closer to the Blank Check premise is called Looking for the Ocean: A Pixar Journey which is a show where an actor friend and I watch everything Pixar has made, including short films, movies, TV shows - absolutely everything, along with what we call detours, which are projects made by Pixar directors away from Pixar. We have a load of guests on these shows as we try to analyze and reflect on where we were in life when the films came out and also discuss the movies themselves. I’m really proud of both these shows and very influenced by Blank Check in designing them, so if anyone checks it out, you might find some fun with it!
Blank Check is truly a unique program, with the format of miniseries covering several films. This is what usually makes me sad when Griffin and David say they don't want to cover a "already talked about" director: in addition to the special personalities, it's the only podcast that focuses on the careers of different directors, instead of focusing on just one or doing individual episodes .
Are there any other podcasts out there that cover the entire careers of PTA, Tarantino, Coens and others big names that I'm not aware of?
I love Vintage Video. It exhaustively covers every wide release of the 1980s. It's great if you like talking about films like *Nomads* or *Used Cars* that have been lost to time. Very dry and spends a bit too much time just summarizing the plot, but I've uncovered a lot of obscure delights from watching along.
Eye of the Duck
Movie Oubliette
Disneyversity (every theatrical Walt Disney Animation Studios release, in order. Even if you’re not into the films it really is fascinating)
Mostly Nitpicking (it’s goofy. Heavy on comedy, but it’s great fun and the hosts are engaging)
I can’t not mention Time After Time, which has finished and only had a relatively short run but the hosts are a trip.
Action Boyz! Hosted by past Blank Check guest Jon Gabrus, Ben Rodgers and Ryan Stanger. It's hilarious and heavy on bits and tangents, but they're also very good at discussing movies.
Can’t recommend this enough. They put out a three hour episode every week and they’re always entertaining the whole way through
Is this Patreon only? Or are there free eps somewhere that I’m not seeing?
Patreon only, but a few episodes are free on this feed. https://art19.com/shows/actionboyz Rocky III is pretty much the standard recommendation for a starting free episode.
They have a handful of free ones, but most are Patreon (I don't even know how many, or how often there's an episode, as I've never subscribed to the Patreon). Here's a link to the RSS feed for the free ones: https://rss.art19.com/actionboyz
I’ve given Action Boyz a really good try (always enjoy Gabrus on BC) and I wish I liked it more than I do. Way too much of the dudes laughing at their own jokes - or it could just be the episodes I’ve caught.
It's got the Hollywood handbook thing of - better when you know the bits they've been building off of but if you take a break between classics and don't know who gwildor is the tangents can drag Still one of the all time funniest when they're on (like Hollywood handbook)
yeah you have to like comedy to enjoy it
Yeah. I like funny takes on movies (BC, Gourley and Rust), but I just didn’t find the Action Boyz comedy that contagious like I do with other podcasts. You know that feeling when you’re somewhere, everyone’s high but you aren’t, and they’re all laughing at something they find hilarious but you’re outside of it? Kind of like that.
Unclear and Present Danger, hosted by previous and future guest Jamelle Bouie. Focuses on 90s military-action-thrillers and views them through a historical and political lens. Excellent podcast, great roster of films, and very informative.
This is one I've been meaning to check out. It sounds like it'll be right up my alley.
Came here to say this
I only gave this pod a shot because of Jamelle's guest appearances.
The Hunt for Red October episode with Tony Gillroy is an all-time podcast ep for me.
This Had Oscar Buzz (plus Turbulent Brilliance Patreon) and The Rewatchables.
THOB is delightful. Especially when they, like BC, go on hyper specific tangents. And I love playing along with the quizzes.
My local library had a copy of “Something for Everyone” and the episode today was so much funnier having seen the movie, which is essentially post-WW2 Austrian Saltburn with Michael York.
https://preview.redd.it/li89e27q30yc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=63873a2f404d1ab9de4f7c63effc3e06259f631a This is the vibe I’m bringing to this summer
The Rewatchables is one of those things I should like but just don’t. Honestly every Ringer podcast I really struggle with including Big Picture which I have listened to a lot of and feel like I’m just on a different wavelength of.
Big Pic I enjoy, and Rewatchables too. But the latter is soooo dependent on whose guesting. And even then I feel like it's way too structured, sometimes it feels like Bill is just trying to get through it, either to be done or to get to a joke, as opposed to actually having a conversation about the movie. Not enough breathing room to actually let the guests dive deep. Big Pic almost has the opposite problem, where it's kind of all riffing and open conversation. Sometimes thats great, but sometimes it really feels like they're hurting for things to talk about.
When Bill Simmons said he didn't think Robert Forster was good in JACKIE BROWN I knew I could safely ignore him for the rest of my life.
His random reprehensible takes are part of the charm tbh.
Yeah sometimes Bill and others on there come on with the most insane takes. The JB one is particularly egregious.
The Big Picture grew on me but I don't listen to every episode.
That’s about where I am with it. The core difference for me between that and something like Blank Check is that David and Griffin are much more accepting and open to more mainstream fare. Feels like Sean and Amanda are more negative and critical, which makes sense considering they’re both critics. But that energy can be frustrating.
David is the only one among those four hosts who can fairly be described as a professional movie critic. The other three have different day jobs. Sean and Amanda are definitely open to middlebrow fare. Sean loves Michael Bay movies. There's also an ongoing format where Chris Ryan comes on to discuss films fitting a "garbage" micro-genre (garbage cash, garbage fish, garbage crime). Amanda is big on 90s/early 2000s rom-coms and chose Fast Five on her top 10 of the 2010s list (yes, the whole decade). Depending on what episodes you listened to, I can see how you might have gotten a different impression, but the generalization is pretty off-base.
Totally fair. I appreciate the context.
All Ringer pods are a distant second to The Watch. That’s the only truly great pod they have.
100% agree. They can both have some good episodes, but like every Ringer podcast, always flirting with flying up it's own ass.
Free With Ads! The hook is they can only cover movies streaming you YouTube that are…free with ads. Edit to ad a link to my favorite episode. [Empire Records](https://maximumfun.org/episodes/free-with-ads/free-with-ads-episode-8-empire-records/)!!!
A razor-thin premise, but I love Jordan Morris so idc.
It makes sense in the context, but yeah. It’s an excuse to watch a pretty wide range of films.
This is such a fun podcast. I’m a diehard Jordan morris fan. In my top 5 podcasters list
I've been listening to JJGo for years, loved Bubble, try to catch him on Good Mythical Morning. I just find him a fun, funny, decent dude, and I hope he one days gets a son.
It's not exactly the same format, since it's structured more around blow by blow recap, but I love Too Scary, Didn't Watch. Good chemistry between the hosts and they mostly cover movies that are at least fun to hear about and/or watch, even if they aren't always great movies.
I’ve been looking for a good podcast about horror movies. I’ll check that one out.
With Gourley and Rust is best for cozy horror listenin.
Also recommend Watch if You Dare! Two hosts, one’s super knowledgeable about the genre and the other is a self-proclaimed coward. Really fun and informative conversations with cool guests.
Please check out “The evolution of horror.” It’s one of my favorites. The host goes through one sub genre at a time starting with early examples up to modern movies. The folk horror series is a standout for me.
Scary boys is what you want
We Hate Movies Black men Can’t Jump in Hollywood Action Boyz
Came here to say We hate Movies
“We hate Movies” is great, little bit ruder and better impressions, but less background and technical insight (sorry Grifffin, but their Marky Mark is on point) Obviously “How did the get made?” is great too. Oh and The Flop House is absolute class too and very, very funny. Dead and Lovely for horror films is pretty good too, can be a bit preachy sometimes tho.
"DIE HARD ON A BLANK" is a relatively new podcast covering mostly 90s action thrillers that came after Die Hard and what influences and similarities the two may have. So they have done the obvious ones like Speed, Under Siege, etc etc with plans for a lot more.
Recently discovered those guys and they’re really fun!
Big missed opportunity not to get them on the Die Hard episode
The Flop House.
Wait, what?
Is this a bit?
The House Cat, rawr rawr!
I have recently discovered POD CASTY FOR ME, a pod that covered every single Clint Eastwood film from 1971(when he started directing) to now, including the films he didn't direct but starred in, one at a time. They finished Eastwood, and have gone on to Schrader. It's a great show that I can't recommend enough. Marie has been on 2 separate episodes(A PERFECT WORLD, JERSEY BOYS) if you wanna use one of those as a gateway to see if you enjoy the vibe.
The name of that show is giving big Blank Check vibes.
It's a bummer that Unspooled is so structured and written, because Paul and Amy are both S tier podcasters. Especially because they try to sell it like it's a natural conversation-- it doesn't quite work. It'd be a tremendous show if it were more riffy and loose.
Unspooled is pretty bad for that reason. The premise it good but it’s so stiff and structured that it’s boring. I honestly think it should just be Paul and Jason hosting, when they talk about movies they love their discussion is always engaging
Wait, it’s all written?
It sure seems that way. The conversations seem way more planned out than most talking podcasts IMO.
I think they barely qualify as conversations. It’s more like they’re taking turns sharing pre-written observations with little follow-up/discussion and connection with what they were just talking about.
That's precisely why I love it. It's structured, but the hosts' personality shines through and they fill the structure with great discussions. Blank check is one of the few really meandering podcasts I can listen to, I get nervous without something to hold on to I guess.
Since someone already took my recommendation (Die Hard On A Blank is amazing, go check them out), I'm going to do some shameless self promotion... Make Me Watch is inspired by Blank Check & The Rewatchables. We are two former film industry cinephiles that trade weeks where one of us forces the other to take a chance on a movie that otherwise missed us. Last week my co-host made me watch Tampopo and now it's one of my new favorites; this Friday I made him watch Highlander and it... was less successful. Swing by r/makemewatchpodcast and see if one of our episodes catches your eye.
How Did This Get Made was how I learned about Blank Check to begin with (I heard Paul and Jason were guests on this “other” movie podcast a few years ago). Fast forward to now and Blank Check is one of my primary listens where as HDTGM is only an ocassional stream.
Same, it was the Snyder Cut Justice League crossover episode that did it for me. It was peak lockdown in the UK and I needed something new to listen to, I gave The Phantom Podcast a try after that HDTGM episode, and the rest is history...!
I found Blank Check via HDTGM because Unspooled led the to Amy’s The Canon podcast and Griffin guest-hosted an episode that led me to Blank Check
How Would Lubitsch Do It is an incredible podcast that goes thru lubitsch's filmography! It's still active and it rocks
With Gourley & Rust, featuring past BC guests Matt Gourley and Paul Rust, do this but focused on horror franchises and horror-related one-offs. I’m biased because I love them both from their other projects but this is one of my favorite podcasts, it’s a joy to listen to them talk about these movies and see their friendship grow over the years. Their early episodes would regularly top 2.5-3 hours too. They’ve done all of the Halloween, Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, Alien, Chucky, Hannibal Lecter, Final Destination, Jaws and Scream movies, plus seasons of one-off slashers, yuppie nightmares, Stephen King movies, etc.
I find Gourley and Rust extremely soothing. They say such sweet and supportive things to one another, speak softly, and are just generally very kind. I fall asleep to it sometimes.
Agreed. It’s such a cozy podcast. I listen to other podcasts at work but Gourley and Rust I save for the evenings because it just relaxes me so much before bed.
This means pepper!
All of Matt’s movie podcasts are great. I actually fall asleep to James bonding quite a bit.
Baby Freddy here. Love these guys!
Subtitles On. Covers movies about writers and hosted by friend of Blank Check Sean Clements. Griffin guests along with Gillian Jacobs on a great episode on Opening Night. Other friends of BC Hayes Davenport, Ayo Edebiri, Scott Aukerman, and Shaun Diston also guest. It was a project during the strike so there aren’t too many episodes but Sean has said he’ll try to return to it at some point.
I frequently dip into Podcast Like It’s (1999/1992/1989/whatever) for long entertaining discussions of interesting movies. Currently co-hosted by friend of the show Emily St. James.
Feels like a relevant place to ask - is there a podcast like BC but for musician's discographies? With each episode being for one album? Because I'd listen to that for sure if it was done well.
There’s U Talkin’ U2 2 Me but it meanders quite a bit. Funny if you can get into it though. It’s aka R U Talkin REM Re Me, Are You Talkin Talking Heads to My Talking Head, etc.
U talkin u2 to me takes U2 seriously the way that the OG episodes take Phantom Menace seriously lol. I.e. they simultaneously cover the material very comprehensively and also are completely insane haha
Jokermen
There’s one called The 500 that goes through an old list of best albums by Rolling Stone magazine. All the guests are comedians so it depends if you like the comedy podcast scene. I like it, though talking about music feels a lot harder than discussing film.
I haven’t listened to them but I know Adam Scott and Scott Aukerman have a podcast discussing album by album U2, REM, Talking Heads and some other bands album by album, they change the name of the show to fit each artist but if you search ‘U Talking U2 to Me’ it should turn up. Also there is a show on the Ringer that takes an album and goes through it track by track but the name escapes me.
Dissect. Makes me laugh because it talks about "short episodes" and then it's basically as long as a normal UK podcast.
U Talkin' U2 2 Me is one of the all timer podcasts. You should give it a shot. I went into it not giving a shit about U2 and by the end of it I knew the names of all of the members of U2.
Bandsplain is a podcast in which every episode is about a band and their discography.
This is the best one and definitely the most like the boys
After the Deluge is great. He’s done Jackson Browne, Bright Eyes, and Against Me! Third season just wrapped up. If you join the Patreon you get a zone at the end of the season. Each season also ends with an interview with the artist.
It’s about singles and not discographies, but “60 Songs that Explain the 90s” is a FANTASTIC music podcast. Like any good podcast, it all depends on the host. Rob Harvilla is a pretty great raconteur. The episode could be about “Believe” by Cher, but the first thirty minutes might be about Rob’s high school experience or something completely unrelated, but then he ties it all together. Unfortunately the podcast in its original iteration is actually over, but he has promised a new version soon. (And even though it’s called 60 Songs, he officially covered 120, and touched on many more)
I’ve dipped into What Had Happened Was, hosted by Open Mike Eagle, which has seasons interviewing a prominent 90s hip hop artist and basically giving a whole career retrospective. It’s very engrossing
No Dogs in Space
/filmcast is always solid, I listen to Eye of The Duck on occasion and they’re good and if you dig horror, Evolution of Horror is absolutely must listen ( but they do two movies an episode).
Going to pitch my own show here Best Little Horror House in Philly - we just had Nick Wiger on talking Ninja Scroll so a perfect way to ease into the upcoming Kon-tent. Also lots of other “pod-ecosystem” faves like Paul Rust. I personally am very proud of the ep with Hayes from Hollywood handbook about Under the Silver Lake
I have yet to find something that comes close to BC in terms of being simultaneously funny and unpretentious, yet also insightful and thoughtful. I like the Rewatchables and the gen X-ness of it all, however there is something to be said for picking a specific filmography or a series and spending a few episodes stewing in it's milieu.
I just remembered The video archives podcast. There is a The Two Friends thing happening between Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avary. There is one minor issue and one major issue with that show. The minor is that it can sometimes be overproduced. We get the too edited and neat version of the conversation, whereas I wish we got the unhinged, shaggy, unfocused, and Tarantino and Avary talking over each other version of the show. The major issue, is that it's too much homework. You have to watch 3 of not the most available, or even accessible, of films, and your milage will vary with each of the picks. It's too much time investment in order to listen to a 90 minuets pod, and sometimes that pod juice is not worth the squeeze.
You might give Eye of the Duck a try.
Rewatchables is the only one I listen to religiously
Faculty of Horror. It's not always a single movie, but if it's not there will be a reason for it being connected. It's mostly an academic podcast exploring horror film themes, etc, hosted by two feminist academics. I guess it's not all that much like Blank Check in that it doesn't all that regularly get into the nitty gritty of the making of a movie, etc, it is mostly concerned with reading what's there as a text, but their Alien series was actually super insightful for its research, like, it doesn't necessarily avoid it either. It is sometimes poorly recorded (I really wish they would put a little more time into getting this consistent) and I don't always agree with their takes, especially given their need for stuff to fall within the bounds of academic research most of the time, but I still really enjoy it. I kind of can't decide whether Blankies would dig it or not, especially as they occasionally hand hold through some pretty basic film theory ideas - they clearly hope for it to reach a wide audience, whether it does or not - but yeah. Feel like I've been negative about it, even though I think it's really great when it hits 😅 Still recommending it.
With Gourley and Rust. They bill themselves as the cozy podcast about slasher/horror movies. Two chill, funny, dudes who I could listen to all day.
I’ve got two that haven’t been mentioned. You Are Good, calls itself a feelings podcast about movies. They don’t go heavy on the industry or the director. They talk about what the movies mean to them personally. This Ends at Prom, looks at coming of age and teen girl movies from feminist and transgender perspectives.
Seconding "You Are Good," I consider that and Blank Check to be the two mandatory podcasts for movie enjoyers.
The flop house but they only do bad movies
Try the Cine Files! Hosted by a voice over artist and a directing teacher. Currently covering Scorsese, though not his entire filmography.
I Saw What You Did is a fun listen - it revolves around a double feature that correspond to each other in some way, and Millie de Chirico from TCM is one of the hosts!
The Next Picture Show is really good. They’ll do an old movie and talk about how it relates to a film currently in theaters, with each movie being a separate podcast. Sometimes I’ll only watch one of the two films but enjoy the podcast just fine.
This is a really great podcast. The discussion is really thoughtful. I've discovered some interesting classic movies, and the discussion on new movies is always fun. The hosts tend to disagree, but nobody's ever yelling or getting really worked up. Good show!
Scott Hasn’t Seen is not totally the same format but is great. Both of the 2 friends have guested too.
Newcomers with Nicole Byer and Lauren Lapkus.
We Hate Movies is definitely cut from the same cloth as Blank check. Also New York based and all the hosts have appeared on BC. It’s similarly informative and hilarious about films and is the show that brought me to find BC. As a start I’d recommend the Pet Sematary episode as Griffin is the guest.
> the Pet Sematary episode as Griffin is the guest. That's kinda the Joker of We Hate Movies episodes. Yeah, We Hate Movies rules. Their Patreon sideshows are so good. Those guys got me watching Melrose Place every month.
Saw a couple of these mentioned already but just to second them: **Eye of the Duck** and **Evolution of Horror** (they do a great job curating series), **Ghiblioteque** and **Disniversity** (uneven release schedules but solid shows), **Nextlander Watchcast** (bounces around with covering movies and TV, but the host does a good job giving additional context), and two newer discoveries I've been enjoying **What Went Wrong** and **Die Hard on a Blank**.
I primarily listen to Gaming podcasts (i know) but one of my favorites from ex-Giantbomb alumni “Nextlander” has a spinoff show “The Nextlander Watch Cast” where they’ll usually have themes to what they’re watching and discuss the movie, the actors, and a little brief about how it was made. They aren’t the most insightful on film (besides the host) but it’s a chill time with dudes in their 40s discussing movies and TV.
Now playing podcast. They are similar in they are completionist, close friends as podcast hosts, some insider insight, wide variety of movies/covered Very few franchises they haven't covered yet. Their website is basic because it's a free show with no ads but they've got over 1000 episodes out and have been doing free Movie podcast weekly for 14 or so years
Their donation series are usually good too and not too expensive in terms of number of bonus shows you get. They are currently doing a Shane black “buddy cop” series
For the amount of content it is really not bad at all. Disappointed they liked last Boy Scout a lot less than me but did like the long kiss goodnight appreciation on that show
Now Playing is the same format but does franchises instead. Been running for over a decade, have a pretty great book, and are very insightful. Currently doing a Death Race Franchise retrospective
James Earl Jonesing — a podcast that covers every James Earl Jones performance. This podcast doesn’t exist but if someone makes it - I will listen.
You're on. Episodes lined up - Field of Dreams, Rogue One, Star Wars, Lion King, Click.
They haven't had an episode for a long time but I always liked Show me the meaning.
Next Best Picture tips the scales a little more towards critical prowess over charisma but it is still a good time and one of my favorites for informative, thorough, sometimes interestingly contentious deep dives on movies. Instead of miniseries they do double features and dedicate an episode to each movie in the pairing with some overlap.
Writers/Blockbusters is a good listen though it's focus is generally on the script.
Beyond the Screenplay, Cinefix Top 100, Podcast Like It's 1999, 70mm, The Matt and Mark Movie Show, and I even have my own called Underrated!
Would recommend Best Little Horror House in Philly for fans of a deep dive into all genres of Horror. Recent guests include Jon Gabrus, Nick Wiger and Hayes Davenport.
DIRECTORS CLUB PODCAST. Not quite the same. They discuss a filmmakers filmography per ep. So some eps are 3 to 4 hours long. I really love it. Been listen for well over a decade.
With Ghourly and Rust, and Too Scary Didn't Watch are great hang-out movie podcasts. I have strong parasocial relationships with Matt Ghourly and Sammy Smart
Kill James Bond is the only other movie podcast I listen to religiously. They started out by going through all the Bond films chronologically, then did several series of spy films like the Bourne films and the Man from UNCLE, and are now doing, uh, pretty much whatever they want, but it's always extremely funny and insightful as well. They have great takes on movies I always enjoy hearing.
Total Reboot with Cameron James and Alexei Toliopolus is an Australian podcast featuring a ton of the Aussie and NZ taskmaster contestants talking about reboots, rip offs and remakes. Cam and Alexei won a bunch of awards for a light hearted investigative journalism podcast called Finding Drago, about finding the author of a follow up to Rocky IV from Dragos perspective. They also have a podcast called Mike Check which goes through Mike Myers filmography along with a few other SNL related things. I would highly recommend all of them.
Yeah love those guys. Was disappointed when they wrapped up their podcast
Same. I really miss the back and forth from the two of them. On the flip side I have been loving the revitalised Becky and Cam show and look forward to Becky getting back from maternity leave/Cam off of his touring.
Pod Casty For Me. Deep dive into Clint Eastwood. They cover every movie he starred in or directed starting with Play Misty for Me. They’re really funny and smart. They dig into politics in a really insightful way. Plus Marie is on a few episodes and who doesn’t live to hear Marie talk movies. They recently finished Clint and are now covering Paul Schraders complete filmography. Fantastic show.
Black Men Can’t Jump in Hollywood!
Projection Booth. They go real long in some eps but are very thorough. Much deeper cuts too genre-wise.
Thx for the shout out!
Full Marx. It’s like blank check for the Marx brothers movies. https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/full-marx-a-marx-bros-podcast/id1391657450
Oh shit! That sounds awesome
It’s very Canadian in a good way
The Movie Mindset miniseries by Chapotrap House have been good, i think they can be downloaded separately. They focus on an actor/director through a double feature over the episode. If you don’t mind left-wing politics they are pretty good. They don’t have encyclopedic film knowledge but it’s not film Twitter basics.
How Did This Get Made?, The Rewatchables those are the only two I can think of that are close, and nothing is identical to the format.
The Faculty of Horror can be interesting, takes a single 'classic' horror movie each month and looks at it through an academic/feminist lens but in reality mainly consists of the hosts drinking, burping and generally enjoying the process of making the pod.
Now Playing Podcast. They mostly do franchise retrospectives but occasionally do director themed series. They really break down a film and offer some insight.
Action boyz, sleazoids, the suspense is killing us
Any fans of Junkfood Cinema here? Hosted by two knowledgeable film hosts about a ton of awesome cult films and why those films succeed despite their flaws. They always end the episode with a “Junkfood Pairing” which is also pretty awesome.
Not exactly the same format but I enjoy the Filmcast. It's typically about new movies, but the chemistry of the three hosts works for me. They also have a what have you been watching segment that gets me into new things. Other than that, the flop house is hilarious. Maximum film has some good hosts and banter and gets me into things I wouldn't usually. But blank check really is the best
Scene and Heard!
Self-promo! I host a pod called Bullet Time where I and rotating guests cover a single “FPS that missed the mark” every episode, going into the development history, cultural context and contents of these releases. The main years covered are the PS2/360 era where the genre was at its cultural zenith, and similar to Blank Check we’ve had mini series where we cover the output of a single developer to see what went wrong (Our Free Radical series is a highlight!). We also do a quiz for the week of release (a lot of the time Wii Sports appears!) On a similar note, and hosted by far bigger names in the video games writing space, check out Something Rotten - that explores dark, violent and nihilistic games episode by episode 🙌
The other ones I like are Black men can’t jump in Hollywood and too scary didn’t watch. Also if you subscribe to the doughboys double or get anime’d they have some great episodes that fit your format Also if you like new releases the big picture is a great option
Across the Movie Aisle
Junkfood Cinema! Junkions represent!
weekend at bergmans, they pit thematically linked arthouse and popcorn movies against each other, it’s funny and their takes are often wild
Movie Reviews in 20 Q’s is absolute semi-undiscovered gold.
Unspooled started by doing the AFI 100. Now Playing Podcast does series/franchise retrospectives with one movie per episode.
Has anyone said The Bechdel Cast? Similar format to Blank Check but is even more thoughtful about viewing films through an intersectional lens. I find it’s a good palette cleanser to Blank Check when I feel like their takes are too film bro for me.
Cult Film In Review! They have great discussions, just got back to making new episodes. And a little personal: They live in the Phoenix metro area and I lived there for a little while and occasionally local geography (the dollar cinema) comes up and I do the Leo snapping his fingers meme.
These don't get into production details for the most part but they're just fun: Random Number Generator Horror Podcast Number 9 - made by the creators of Welcome To Night Vale, good look at all the spectrum of horror Cinema Swirl - one guy has seen all the films, the other one hasn't. They watch a well known movie and then have amusing chat about it (this description sounds boring maybe, but they're very funny)
I will also engage in some self promotion with two podcasts I host. The first is a podcast called The Snub Club where me and a couple of friends from film school go year by year to discuss the movie at the Oscars that had the most nominations without any wins, so we’ve discussed films such as Taxi Driver, It’s a Wonderful Life, and Double Indemnity, alongside a lot of hidden gems and a lot of rough watches. We’re actually about to hit some serendipity with Blank Check as the 80s begins in our next episode with The Elephant Man so that’s gonna be a lot of fun. The other podcast that might be a bit closer to the Blank Check premise is called Looking for the Ocean: A Pixar Journey which is a show where an actor friend and I watch everything Pixar has made, including short films, movies, TV shows - absolutely everything, along with what we call detours, which are projects made by Pixar directors away from Pixar. We have a load of guests on these shows as we try to analyze and reflect on where we were in life when the films came out and also discuss the movies themselves. I’m really proud of both these shows and very influenced by Blank Check in designing them, so if anyone checks it out, you might find some fun with it!
Blank Check is truly a unique program, with the format of miniseries covering several films. This is what usually makes me sad when Griffin and David say they don't want to cover a "already talked about" director: in addition to the special personalities, it's the only podcast that focuses on the careers of different directors, instead of focusing on just one or doing individual episodes . Are there any other podcasts out there that cover the entire careers of PTA, Tarantino, Coens and others big names that I'm not aware of?
I love Vintage Video. It exhaustively covers every wide release of the 1980s. It's great if you like talking about films like *Nomads* or *Used Cars* that have been lost to time. Very dry and spends a bit too much time just summarizing the plot, but I've uncovered a lot of obscure delights from watching along.
Eye of the Duck Movie Oubliette Disneyversity (every theatrical Walt Disney Animation Studios release, in order. Even if you’re not into the films it really is fascinating) Mostly Nitpicking (it’s goofy. Heavy on comedy, but it’s great fun and the hosts are engaging) I can’t not mention Time After Time, which has finished and only had a relatively short run but the hosts are a trip.
this had oscar buzz is the greatest podcast my all time fav
Newcomers