Episodes

  • On the eve of yet another Academy Awards ceremony, the team here at Overlapping Dialogue is officially closing the book on 2024 with an affectionate look back at the highs, lows, and, above all else, the most memorable moments of the past year in cinema with our second annual Harry Dean Awards! Listen as we break down the defining "Cracker Barrel" performance of the past twelve months, roll our eyes- semi-affectionately, for what it's worth- at the latest work from Robert Zemeckis, decide on the year's best use of Willem Dafoe, crown our Comeback Player of the Year, and celebrate a host of other categories and distinctions, culminating in our picks for Filmmaker(s) and Film of the Year. Who needs the Oscars when you have the only film awards that truly matter?

    As always, please like, subscribe, rate, and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and wherever else you listen! Got thoughts or questions? Email us at [email protected].

    https://thebigwblog.wordpress.com/2025/01/25/visions-the-brutalist-is-an-unwieldy-epic-no-actually-it-really-is/

  • To mark the monumental occasion of our (can you believe it???) 100th episode, we turn the Bat-Signal toward one of the most iconic figures in all of pop culture—Batman. In true caped crusader fashion, we’re combining the best of what our podcast has offered with a one-time-only double feature commentary of two films that capture the darkness, complexity, and heroic resolve of Gotham’s protector: Tim Burton’s Batman (1989) and the animated classic Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993). These films hold a special place in our hearts, making this deep dive into the world of the Dark Knight a personal indulgence as we celebrate this milestone.

    But this episode also marks a turning point for us. While it’s not goodbye, it’s more like an ellipsis—a break before we return with something new and exciting. Stick around until the end for a very important announcement about an entirely new podcast project on the horizon. We can’t wait to see you there!

    As always, please like, subscribe, rate, and review us on all of our channels, which include Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube! Contact us at [email protected] with your questions, comments, and requests.

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  • Get ready for a whirlwind of emotions as we dive deep into Paul Thomas Anderson’s 1999 San Fernando Valley epic Magnolia with a full audio commentary! Join us as we explore the interconnected lives, chance encounters, and fateful events that shape this self-consciously indulgent narrative. But before we loose ourselves to frogs and familial strife, we kick off the episode with our Blue Plate Special segment, stirring up the latest updates on the ongoing Joaquin Phoenix and Todd Haynes drama- the story that *won't* go away- and dishing out our thoughts on the newly released Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. After revisiting the dark humor of Tim Burton’s world, we turn our attention to Anderson’s own symphony of chaos and emotion, breaking down how Magnolia blends melodrama and fate into one unforgettable cinematic experience.

    In addition to digging into Anderson’s masterpiece, this is a milestone for us—our 99th episode! Stick around until the end for a special announcement about our exciting plans for the big Episode 100 celebration.

    Feel free to skip to 1:58:12 for the beginning of our audio commentary.

    As always, please like, subscribe, rate, and review us on all of our channels, which include Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube! Contact us at [email protected] with your questions, comments, and requests.

    https://thebigwblog.wordpress.com/2024/09/10/someone-left-the-cake-out-in-the-rain-the-comeback-story-of-beetlejuice-beetlejuice/

  • Prepare your palate as we serve up a delectable two-courser, diving fork-first into the sumptuous delights of Juzo Itami’s Tampopo and Michael Winterbottom’s The Trip, two films that explore the art of food and the joy of eating in very different yet equally savory ways. But before we get to the main course, we’re sampling a few appetizers with our Blue Plate Special: we stir the pot with the latest update on the Joaquin Phoenix and Todd Haynes behind-the-scenes drama, review new releases Alien: Romulus and Blink Twice, and offer a heartfelt toast in memory of screen legend Gena Rowlands. Finally, we load up our plate and then some with our double feature, exploring how Tampopo’s ramen western blends humor with heart, and how The Trip serves up sharp wit alongside mouth-watering culinary-adjacent tours. Bon appétit!

    As always, please like, subscribe, rate, and review us on all of our channels, which include Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube! Contact us at [email protected] with your questions, comments, and requests.

  • Join us on a journey through the synthetic dreamscape of artificial intelligence, where we delve into how robots not just mimic life but seek to understand the human heart with our double feature: Bicentennial Man and A.I. Artificial Intelligence. Before exploring these narratives of manufactured souls and their quests for earned humanity, we’re munching on a jar of digital cookies with our Blue Plate Special, chatting about Joaquin Phoenix's surprising departure from what sounded like a promising Todd Haynes project, reviewing new releases Trap and Cuckoo, and dissecting the trailer for the upcoming fall release Saturday Night. After logging out of these side discussions, we finally access the core of our episode, diving into Chris Columbus's messy yet heartwarming narrative alongside Spielberg's ethereal realization of a science fiction epic originally drafted by the late great Stanley Kubrick.

    As always, please like, subscribe, rate, and review us on all of our channels, which include Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube! Contact us at [email protected] with your questions, comments, and requests.

  • When the night's quiet and you don't care anymore, come on in and stay awhile with a double feature dedicated to antiheroes looking to settle scores and perhaps stoically save their cities: Streets of Fire and The Crow. But before we get there, we work our way through a Blue Plate Special playlist of topics that has us questioning what exactly the collision between Michael Bay and Skibidi Toilet threaten to inflict upon audiences and talk about two new releases, Longlegs and Twisters. Upon finally arriving to our double feature, we find a lot to love in both films' excellent yet divergent exercises in style: listen as we discuss how Walter Hill's 1984 rock and roll fable fits into his larger cinematic oeuvre while celebrating and memorializing the late great star turn of Brandon Lee in Alex Proyas's 1994 gothic epic.

    As always, please like, subscribe, rate, and review us on all of our channels, which include Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube! Contact us at [email protected] with your questions, comments, and requests.

  • Tinseltown beckons as we delight in two modern classics poised to define for audiences the breadth of America's cinematic history: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Babylon. But before we pontificate on these recent epics, we enjoy a light Blue Plate Special sampling discussing new releases Kinds of Kindness, Horizon: An American Saga- Chapter 1, and MaXXXine, as well as paying tribute to the late screen legend Shelley Duvall. We eventually shuffle in to see the two splashy films located atop our glittering marquee: listen as we situate Quentin Tarantino's look at TV cowboys squaring off against hippies in 1969 Hollywood towards the top of his filmography, puzzle over where Damien Chazelle's boozy Jazz Age saga leaves him at this stage of his still young career, and generally revel in both films' literal and figurative rages against the dying of the light.

    As always, please like, subscribe, rate, and review us on all of our channels, which include Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube! Contact us at [email protected] with your questions, comments, and requests.

    https://thebigwblog.wordpress.com/2024/06/28/isnt-it-wonderful-kinds-of-kindness-the-wide-release-miracle/

    https://thebigwblog.wordpress.com/2024/07/03/the-last-great-open-spaces-applying-the-fat-in-horizon-an-american-saga-chapter-1/

    https://thebigwblog.wordpress.com/2024/07/07/a-lost-ball-in-tall-weeds-some-thoughts-on-ti-wests-x-pearl-and-maxxxine/

  • If you're looking for a bigger podcast, you came to the right place. This Independence Day, Overlapping Dialogue commemorates with a special bonus audio commentary episode celebrating one of not only America's greatest contributions to cinema but one that will undoubtedly rank among the medium's finest works: Jaws! Join us as we dive into Steven Spielberg's seminal 1975 classic, which set in motion both a masterful directorial career and a re-conception of how popular movies themselves function with the emergence of the modern blockbuster.

    Feel free to skip to 1:20:25 for the beginning of our audio commentary.

    As always, please like, subscribe, rate, and review us on all of our channels, which include Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube! Contact us at [email protected] with your questions, comments, and requests.

  • In this episode of Overlapping Dialogue, we take a look at two well-crafted antiques of cinematic yesteryear, one being a genuine article of the past and another as a vibrant reinvention of a dead artform, with 1939's The Four Feathers and 2015's The Forbidden Room. But before we dig into our double feature, we recognize there's no time like the present to indulge in a Blue Plate Special slate that celebrates the life and legacy of Donald Sutherland, speculates on what exactly the prospects of the "experiential attractions" Netflix House intends to offer, catches up on X and Pearl ahead of the trilogy-capping MaXXXine's release, warms up the half-baked yet edible tastes of Unfrosted, and takes comfort in the subtle pleasures of the newly released The Bikeriders. After ascending to hog heaven, we delight in our retro double feature: listen as we place Zoltan Korda's film into the larger canon of British adventure stories and marvel at Guy Maddin and Evan Johnson's truly transformational experiment in the lost craft, beauty, and perversity of silent cinema.

    As always, please like, subscribe, rate, and review us on all of our channels, which include Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube! Contact us at [email protected] with your questions, comments, and requests.

    https://thebigwblog.wordpress.com/2024/06/22/talkin-bout-my-generation-the-bikeriders-is-passing-through-your-town/

  • In this episode of Overlapping Dialogue, we eagerly head full speed into the danger zone with two thrilling disaster pictures intent on traumatizing their characters and relentlessly entertaining their audiences: Black Sunday and Twister! But before we masochistically chase storms of both the physical and emotional variety, we stock up on a Blue Plate Special selection focusing on some new releases (In a Violent Nature) and filmmakers (Jane Schoenbrun, director of We're All Going to the World's Fair and I Saw the TV Glow) that hopefully suggest that maybe the spirit of cinema isn't dead after all. Eventually, we abandon all decorum and good sense by embracing the chaos of our double feature: join us as we delight in the unabashed 70s-ness of John Frankenheimer's B-movie epic (we also take the opportunity to induct not one but *two* members into our Hall of Fame, the Immune) and celebrate Jan de Bont's fabulous piece of 90s nonsense, filled with more of its era's character actors than any act of nature could every whisk away.

    As always, please like, subscribe, rate, and review us on all of our channels, which include Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube! Contact us at [email protected] with your questions, comments, and requests.

    https://thebigwblog.wordpress.com/2024/06/05/chapters-skipped-over-on-a-dvd-i-saw-the-tv-glow-review/

  • In this episode of Overlapping Dialogue, we dive into the overwhelming abyss of past, present, and future techno sci-fi horror with THX 1138 and Possessor. Listen as we assess the ability, or lack thereof, to judge George Lucas's brilliant 1971 debut feature on its own terms and the also weighty pedigree inherent to any discussion of Brandon Cronenberg's 2020 messy assassin thriller.

    As always, please like, subscribe, rate, and review us on all of our channels, which include Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube! Contact us at [email protected] with your questions, comments, and requests.

  • Have no fear, we're back! Overlapping Dialogue returns after an extended spring break with a special Memorial Day Blue Plate Special Buy One Pay Double Buffet Extravaganza! Ahead of a proper episode with our usual format later this week, we kick back and relax with a survey of a great many things that have occupied our attention over the past month and a half. Topics range from thoughts on the bankruptcy of Red Lobster, the Mad Men cameos in Unfrosted, the buzz from this year's Cannes Film Festival, and Ryan Reynolds's disgraceful christening of our new Hall of Shame, the Enemies of the State. Then, we remember the lives of some noteworthy talents who our culture recently lost: Roger Corman, Dabney Coleman, Steve Albini, Paul Auster, and the notorious O.J. Simpson (don't worry, he's our second Enemy of the State). After that, we discuss some notable new releases with Civil War, Challengers, The Fall Guy, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. Finally, we wrap things up with a preview of this year's summer movie season by highlighting some of the titles we're most excited about. In case you couldn't tell, it's a jam packed episode that we're so happy to share with you this holiday weekend!

    As always, please like, subscribe, rate, and review us on all of our channels, which include Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube! Contact us at [email protected] with your questions, comments, and requests.

    https://thebigwblog.wordpress.com/2024/04/14/acoustic-shadows-cacophony-and-carnage-in-civil-war/

  • Pull over and keep your hands where we can see 'em: this episode, we take a look at two films' explorations of the dehumanizing nature law enforcement has on both its practitioners and recipients with RoboCop and Highway Patrolman. But before we throw the book at ya, we take a little joy ride through a Blue Plate Special discussion on pair of new releases- both of which act as extended homages to past eras of genre cinema- with Love Lies Bleeding and Late Night with the Devil. We eventually get around to our spotlighted double feature: listen as we dissect the extent to which director Paul Verhoeven either glorifies or satirizes the real life and cinematic violence of 1980s America (likely both!) and situate Alex Cox's earnest Mexican cop drama into his wild, volatile filmography.

    As always, please like, subscribe, rate, and review us on all of our channels, which include Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube! Contact us at [email protected] with your questions, comments, and requests.

  • Don't touch that dial, dedicated listener! On this edition of Overlapping Dialogue, we take a look at a pair of zany explorations of the state of filmmaking and television circa 1987 with Hollywood Shuffle and Amazon Women on the Moon. Prior to that, we dine out on a Blue Plate Special discussion of Dune: Part Two, the follow-up to 2021's adaptation of Frank Herbert's expansive science fiction epic. Upon arriving to this week's double feature, we delight in both films' contemptuous obsessions with the daily programming which dominates our lives: join us as we find a lot to like about director and star Robert Townsend's satiric takedown of the industry's use of African American talents before we adjust the volume to a high pitched endeavor (from a whole host of 1980s genre filmmakers) to recreate the pleasurable, and in some cases downright bizarre, joys of late night channel surfing.

    As always, please like, subscribe, rate, and review us on all of our channels, which include Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube! Contact us at [email protected] with your questions, comments, and requests.

  • In honor of Black History month, we decided to examine two disparate, albeit excellent, depictions of the African American experience with Mo' Better Blues and If Beale Street Could Talk. Ahead of our subjects, we sort through a premium selection of Blue Plate Special items, including our thoughts on the recently announced Sam Mendes' series of films on The Beatles, a pair of new releases in Bob Marley: One Love and Lisa Frankenstein, and the complicated legacy of departed country music superstar Toby Keith. We eventually turn the radio on over to the highest quality jazz station imaginable with our double feature: listen as we dive into the careers of auteurs Spike Lee and Barry Jenkins, discuss how their visions of blackness are translated into their respective films, situate the extent to which the former's 1990 work fit into his larger narrative and aesthetic interests, and question what the latter's future looks like in an age where personally expressive commercial cinema is harder and harder to come by.

    As always, please like, subscribe, rate, and review us on all of our channels, which include Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube! Contact us at [email protected] with your questions, comments, and requests.

  • As the world prepares to enter an ultra charged Super Bowl weekend, we kick off the festivities with the most special of appetizers, a pair of French New Wave classics from the late Jean-Luc Godard with Contempt and Pierrot le Fou! But before we explore the auteur's signature brand of cinematic nihilism, we preview the upcoming big game, try and make sense of the WWE's #WeWantCody phenomenon, get excited about the prospects of a contemporary-set Paul Thomas Anderson movie, and cautiously sort through our thought on the latest Jonathan Glazer film, The Zone of Interest. Have no fear though, we give Jean-Luc plenty of time and attention: listen as we celebrate his at once beautiful yet apocalyptic cinema, one that remains every but as vibrant as it did six decades ago.

    As always, please like, subscribe, rate, and review us on all of our channels, which include Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube! Contact us at [email protected] with your questions, comments, and requests.

  • Toss up the glitter and dust off that harmonica: that's right, we're celebrating two of Todd Haynes's most iconic films, a pair of musical dramas with Velvet Goldmine and I'm Not There. We do wade into the relatively shallow yet agreeable enough waters of the new horror flick Night Swim but primarily dedicate this episode to Haynes's explorations of fame, musicianship, fandom, the divergent yet similarly heavy legacies of glam rock and folk music, find joy in Velvet Goldmine's opaque approximation of David Bowie before puzzling over I'm Not There's narratively muddled yet aesthetically exceptional approach to adapting the Troubadour of Conscience. Come for some hot takes on the wildcard round of the NFL playoffs and predictions about the forthcoming Royal Rumble, stay for above average Bob Dylan impressions.

    As always, please like, subscribe, rate, and review us on all of our channels, which include Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube! Contact us at [email protected] with your questions, comments, and requests.

  • Another year gone, another year awaits...The team here at Overlapping Dialogue decided to ring in 2024 with an affectionate look back at the highs, lows, and above all else memorable moments of 2023 with our inaugural Harry Dean Awards! Listen as we discuss the many noteworthy performances of Oppenheimer, highlight our favorite aspects of Barbie, decide on the year's best use of Tilda Swinton, christen our Comeback Player of the Year, and dive into a great many more categories and distinctions, culminating in our recognizing of the Filmmaker and Film of the Year. The Academy "Awards" only grow all the more irrelevant with the arrival of the only film awards you'll ever have to pay attention to from here on out!

    As always, please like, subscribe, rate, and review us on all of our channels, which include Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube! Contact us at [email protected] with your questions, comments, and requests.

  • This holiday season, cozy up to the fire, feast on some figgy pudding, and join Overlapping Dialogue as we deliver a special bonus audio commentary for one of our very favorite Christmas movies, Home Alone! Listen as we dissect the endless entertainment value inherent to Chris Columbus and John Hughes's family comedy without the family, complete with discussions of the McCallister's stately suburban Chicago estate, appreciations of the downright genius of pairing Joe Pesci with Daniel Stern, and a general agnosticism on the question of polka as a worthwhile art form.

    As always, please like, subscribe, rate, and review us on all of our channels, which include Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube! Contact us at [email protected] with your questions, comments, and requests.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/20/movies/home-alone-mccallisters-wealth.html

  • As you sort through your Thanksgiving leftovers and start your Christmas shopping, let Overlapping Dialogue serve the role of comforting holiday companion. We ring in the series of occasions with a pair of football movies that tug on the heartstrings- albeit in wildly different ways- with Heaven Can Wait and Friday Night Lights. But before they settle their respective differences on the gridiron, we as humble color commentators devour a full fledged meal with a Blue Plate Special lineup: listen as we discuss the latest edition of the Call of Duty franchise (Modern Warfare 3...again) and ponder what the yet-to-be-released Coyote vs. Acme and its stalled fate means for the future of the motion picture industry, as well as find theatrical solace with an unlikely trio of satisfying new releases in Anatomy of a Fall, The Holdovers, and Thanksgiving. Upon finally arriving to our pigskin-themed main event, we delight in the multi-hyphenate nature of the 1978 romantic comedy fantasy sports yarn and try and catch our breathes from the insistent, stifling DRAMA in all caps (no cap, fr fr) of the 2004 high school sports saga. Appropriately, we even enshrine one of this episode's subjects into our very own Hall of Fame, the Immune.

    As always, please like, subscribe, rate, and review us on all of our channels, which include Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube! Contact us at [email protected] with your questions, comments, and requests.

    https://thebigwblog.wordpress.com/2023/11/19/update-makarov-goes-nuclear-call-of-duty-modern-warfare-iii-why-are-you/