Blockbusters and Birdwalks
At Blockbusters and Birdwalks, you’ll listen to reviews and conversations about all kinds of movies, from Academy Award winners to exploitation masterpieces with a mix of commercial hits and obscure favorites thrown in for good measure. The point is recognizing that movies present our culture with the building blocks of social memory, enabling each of us to enjoy ourselves because movies are fun.
Episodes
149 episodes
GATEWAY CINEMA, a conversation – Episode 2A: 6 Critical Questions: Alternatives to “Drum”
In this multi-part series, we’ve focused on just one movie to explore a key idea in film studies. But this one choice means we’ve left out multitudes. Here is the larger set of also-rans we wrestled with before finally choosing “Drum”.**...
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1:22
GATEWAY CINEMA, a conversation – Episode 2: 6 Critical Questions: “Drum”
GATEWAY CINEMA is a multi-part series of conversations centered on key ideas in film studies. In these conversations, we interpret and celebrate a set of eclectic feature films from across generations and from around the world, including “La Ha...
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49:39
GATEWAY CINEMA, a conversation – Episode 1A: Introduction: Alternatives to “La Haine”
In this multi-part series, we’ve focused on just one movie to explore a key idea in film studies. But this one choice means we’ve left out multitudes. Here is the larger set of also-rans we wrestled with before finally choosing “La Haine”.<...
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5:11
GATEWAY CINEMA, a conversation – Episode 1: Introduction: “La Haine”
GATEWAY CINEMA is a multi-part series of conversations centered on key ideas in film studies. In these conversations, we interpret and celebrate a set of eclectic feature films from across generations and from around the world, including “La Ha...
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28:58
2005, a conversation – “Kingdom of Heaven”
This is part of a series about overlooked movies from 2005. ***Referenced media:“Sin City” (Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller, 2005)“Crash” (Paul Haggis, 2004)“Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of...
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26:05
2005, a conversation – “Munich”
This is part of a series about overlooked movies from 2005. ***Referenced media:“Jaws” (Steven Spielberg, 1975)“The Color Purple” (Steven Spielberg, 1985)“The Brutalist” (Brady Corbet, 2024)...
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41:00
2005, a conversation – “The Puffy Chair”
This is part of a series about overlooked movies from 2005. ***Referenced media:“Baghead” (Jay Duplass and Mark Duplass, 2008)“CB4” (Tamra Davis, 1993)“Zero Dark Thirty” (Kathryn Bigelow, 2012)
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22:24
Romance, a conversation – “Warm Bodies”
This is part of a series about romance in movies. ***Referenced media:“28 Days Later” (Danny Boyle, 2002)“Shaun of the Dead” (Edgar Wright, 2004)“Dawn of the Dead” (Zack Snyder, 2004)“St...
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19:28
2005, a conversation – “The Proposition”
This is part of a series about overlooked movies from 2005. ***Referenced media:“Distant Sky: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Live in Copenhagen” (David Barnard, 2018)“The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship ...
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23:45
2005, a conversation – “Brick”
This is part of a series about overlooked movies from 2005. ***Referenced media:“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” (Gore Verbinski, 2006)“Shaft” (Gordon Parks, 1971)“Thelma” (Josh Margo...
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23:13
Romance, a conversation – “Harold and Maude”
This is part of a series about romance in movies. ***Referenced media:“Golden Girls” (Susan Harris, 1985-1992)“Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb” (Stanley Kubrick 1964)<...
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18:32
Romance, a conversation – “Fire Island”
This is part of a series about romance in movies. ***Referenced media:“Bros” (Nicholas Stoller, 2022)“Saturday Night Live” (Lorne Michaels, 1975-now)“Clueless” (Amy Heckerling, 1995)“Pri...
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22:38
2005, a conversation – “The New World” (The Extended Cut)
This is part of a series about overlooked movies from 2005. ***Referenced media:“The Emigrants” (Jan Troell, 1971)“The New Land” (Jan Troell, 1972)“The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the R...
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43:47
Romance, a conversation – “10 Things I Hate About You”
This is part of a series about romance in movies. ***Referenced media:“The Taming of the Shrew” by William Shakespears (~1590-1592)“Scream” (Wes Craven, 1996)“Some Kind of Wonderful” (Howard Deut...
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19:53
2005, a conversation – “Syriana”
This is part of a series about overlooked movies from 2005. ***Referenced media:“Michael Clayton” (Tony Gilroy, 2007)“Up in the Air” (Jason Reitman, 2009)“Good Night, and Good Luck.” (George Cloo...
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37:24
Romance, a conversation – “Some Kind of Wonderful”
This is part of a series about romance in movies. ***Referenced media:“Pretty in Pink” (Howard Deutch, 1986)“Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F” (Mark Molloy, 2024)“Ted Lasso” (Jason Sudeikis, Bill Lawren...
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18:31
2005, a conversation – “North Country”
This is part of a series about overlooked movies from 2005. ***Referenced media:“Promising Young Woman” (Emerald Fennell, 2020)“Spartacus” (Stanley Kubrick, 1960)“Marvel’s The Avengers” (Joss Whe...
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26:23
2005, a conversation – “Bad News Bears”
This is part of a series about overlooked movies from 2005. ***Referenced media:“The Bad News Bears” (Michael Ritchie, 1976)“Boyhood” (Ri...
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25:52
Comic Book Movies, a conversation – “30 Days of Night”
This is part of a series about movies based on comic books. ***Referenced media:“Twilight” (Catherine Hardwicke, 2008)“Interview with the Vampire” (Rolin Jones, 2022)“World War Z” (Marc Forster, ...
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24:52
Comic Book Movies, a conversation – “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen”
This is part of a series about movies based on comic books. ***Referenced media:“Hulk” (Ang Lee, 2003)“Justice League” (1960-now) by Gardner Fox“Promethea” (1999-2005) by Alan Moore, J.H. William...
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21:01
Comic Book Movies, a conversation – “Tank Girl”
This is part of a series about movies based on comic books. ***Referenced media:“Point Break” (Kathryn Bigelow, 1991)“Orange Is the New Black” (Jenji Kohan, 2013-2019)“Tank Girl” (1988-now) by Al...
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24:54
2005, a conversation – “Paradise Now”
This is part of a series about overlooked movies from 2005. ***Referenced media:“The Kingdom” (Peter Berg, 2007)“Lebanon” (Samuel Maoz, 2009)“Thank You for Smoking” (Jason Reitman, 2005)...
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31:11
Comic Book Movies, a conversation – “Superman II”
This is part of a series about movies based on comic books. ***Referenced media:“Superman” (Richard Donner, 1978)“Adventures of Superman” (Whitney Ellsworth and Robert J. Maxwell, 1952-1958)“Batm...
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28:24
