Beer and a Movie

395: The Secret Agent/It Was Just an Accident with Guest Ethan Thompson

On this week’s Beer and a Movie, we go global — and uncomfortably current.

The Secret Agent and It Was Just an Accident, two Best International Feature Oscar nominees anchor the conversation. Both films wrestle with paranoia, authoritarian creep, and the slow normalization of fear — themes that feel disturbingly timely amid rising global tensions and the recent bombing of Iran. 

Joining us is Ethan Thompson — the original third co-host of BaaM — stepping back into the third chair to walk down memory lane. The rhythm snaps back quickly: old stories, early-show chaos, and the kind of shorthand you only get from building something scrappy together from the ground up.

The beers match the mood.

We start with New Belgium Brewing’s 1554 leaning into the historic zwert tradition, a centuries-old style that uses gruit (a blend of herbs and botanicals) for bittering instead of hops. 

Then David reaches into his Magic Bag of Beer and pulls out a decade-old bottle of Allagash Brewing Company’s Coolship Resurgam. Spontaneously fermented and oak-aged, it arrives tart, funky, and beautifully evolved.

Creeping fascism. Wild fermentation. A reunion years in the making.

It’s Beer and a Movie — and this one lingers long after the glass is empty.

394: Sentimental Value/F1 With Guest Adam Beam

This week, we attempt to find the hidden thread connecting Norwegian heartbreak with Brad Pitt's high-octane racing. Adam Beam returns to tackle two Oscar Best Picture nominees, Sentimental Value and F1. 

On the beer side, we’ve got a Banger Imperial Hazy IPA from Saint Arnold Brewing, juicy enough for a cinematic slow-mo montage, and from David’s magic bag of wonders, the 2025 Goose Island Bourbon County Double Barrel Stout, an imperial stout (17.4% ABV) aged in two sets of freshly emptied Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond bourbon barrels. Sip carefully, argue passionately, and maybe—just maybe—you’ll see why Sentimental Value and F1 kinda work together.

393: Wuthering Heights (2026)/Dangerous Liaisons With Guest Emily Suggs

Only 9 episodes left, and this one is all corsets, cruelty, and complicated desire.

Emily Suggs — our resident literary adaptation assassin — returns to the mic after publicly side-eyeing the marketing campaign for the new Wuthering Heights. The big question: did director Emerald Fennell deliver a fever-dream romance worthy of the Brontë chaos…or was this all perfume and no poison?

To keep the seduction simmering, we pair it with Dangerous Liaisons, the gold standard of powdered-wig manipulation. If you like your romance weaponized and your flirtation fatal, this double feature is basically a lace glove hiding brass knuckles.

On the beverage front, Emily zigzags expectations with two non-alcoholic canned mocktails from Athletic Brewing Company, proving you can keep your wits sharp even while discussing reckless passion. Meanwhile, David reaches deep into the magic bag and pulls out a 2017-bottled Oude Geuze from 3 Fonteinen — a spontaneously fermented, beautifully aged Belgian bruiser that’s as complex and unpredictable as the characters on screen.

It’s bodice-ripping. It’s sex-charged. It’s literary. It’s petty. It’s Beer and a Movie at its most unhinged and articulate.

Nine episodes left. Don’t miss the scandal.

392: Nuremberg (2025)/Come and See With Guest Harold Ramos

Only 10 episodes left!

Harold Ramos returns armed with two things we respect deeply: a massive film pick and an even more massive beer. This time, he brings a 19-year-aged Cantillon Lou Pepe — the longest-cellared beer we’ve ever poured on the show. It’s funky, complex, a little intimidating… which turns out to be the perfect pregame for 2025’s Nuremberg.

To pair it, we go even darker.

We discuss Elem Klimov’s Come and See — a film that isn’t just “disturbing,” it’s endure-it-and-process-it disturbing. The kind of movie that doesn’t feel watched so much as survived. Brutal. Unflinching. Historically suffocating in a way that lingers long after the credits roll.

To honor its Russian roots (and brace ourselves emotionally), we crack open a 7-year-aged Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery Illuminatos Russian Imperial Stout — thick, heavy, and appropriately brooding.

What unfolds is a conversation about World War II on film — but from wildly different cinematic angles. One film examines accountability and aftermath in courtrooms and ideology. The other drags you through the mud, fire, and psychological ruin of war itself. Same historical shadow. Completely different lens.

Big beer. Bigger history. Ten episodes left.

This one weighs something.

391: The Mastermind/Wendy and Lucy with Guest Pam Brouillard

With only 11 episodes left, Beer and a Movie is deep in the endgame—and David takes the wheel to program The Kelly Reichardt Episode. This week’s films are 2025’s The Mastermind paired with Wendy and Lucy, and David makes his case—again, and lovingly—for why Reichardt is one of the great American filmmakers. Her quiet precision, her empathy for people on the margins, her ability to wring devastating emotion out of the smallest moments… yeah, Dave’s in his bag on this one.

Joining us is Pam Brouillard, who made her BaaM debut on the now-infamous Talking Women episode. Pam brings three beers from Wisconsin, while David reaches into his Magic Bag of Beer to crack open a 9-year-old Jester King Spon, because apparently endings are for pulling out the good stuff. Emotions run high—people cry—but that’s kind of the point when Reichardt’s involved.

Plus, one long-running BaaM thread finally gets some closure: Joe revisits First Cow and is ready to eat some crow… and maybe a few milk-filled biscuits while he’s at it.

390: 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple/Hedda with Guest Josh Deleon

Clearly, we’ve been inspired by the completely bonkers ending of 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple as we wind down the podcast — and this episode follows suit. Things spiral fast, and you really should be listening to what happens after the episodes in After Hours as it all comes to an end: https://www.patreon.com/beerandamoviepodcast

How did it all get so out of control? Blame guest Josh Deleon, director Nia DaCosta, and David’s Magic Sack of Beer. We finally tackle 28 Years Later: Bone Temple alongside DaCosta’s 2025 release Hedda, and like Bone Temple’s Iron Maiden-blasting, upside-down-cross finale, the show is a blast.

The beers choose violence. We crack the brand-new Saint Arnold Brewing Eclipse IPA, then make a historically reckless decision by opening a 12-year cellared Firestone Walker XVIII Anniversary Ale. From there, responsibility exits the building. Notes get poetic. Memories unlock.

By the end, the episode is gloriously off the rails — late-run BaaM chaos earned after hundreds of films and nearly a decade of bad decisions. And somehow, it still isn’t the wild part. That honor belongs to this week’s After Hours.

The end is coming for Beer and a Movie, but we’re not fading out. We’re going full blast — Iron Maiden screaming, vintage beer flowing, daring the credits to roll. 🍺🎬

389: No Other Choice/Oldboy (The Good One) With Guest Anthony Zoccolillo

Well, here’s some big news: Beer and a Movie is ENDING, and we talk all about it at the top of this week’s episode.

But don’t panic just yet — there are 13 episodes left, and we’d love for you to join us as we close up shop as we go out the only way we know how: talking movies, drinking great beer, and probably getting a little unhinged.

This week, Anthony Zoccolillo joins us to dive into Park Chan-wook, tackling his latest awards-buzzy thriller No Other Choice alongside his all-time WTF masterpiece, Oldboy. We talk vengeance, obsession, craftsmanship, and why Park remains one of the most singular filmmakers working today.

On the beer side, we crack open Independence Brewing’s Be/Rad IPA, then follow it up with a true unicorn: a 2017-bottled Bourbon County Brand Barleywine, aged, boozy, and absolutely worth the wait.

The countdown has officially begun. Grab a beer, hit play, and stick with us till the credits roll. 🍺🎬

388: Is This Thing On?/Lenny with Guest Uncle Sam

Two movies. Two comedians. Two very big beers.

This week on Beer and a Movie, Dave and Joe bring on comedian Uncle Sam to dig deep into comedy on film with Bradley Cooper's newest, Is This Thing On?, and Bob Fosse's 1974 Lenny Bruce biopic, Lenny—two very different looks at life onstage, offstage, and the price of being funny. One film captures the awkward grind and personal fallout of chasing laughs, while the other revisits the myth, brilliance, and self-destruction of a Mt. Rushmore comic who changed the rules by breaking all of them. 

On the beer side, things get dangerously boozy. The guys start with Martin House Brewing’s Death by Chocolate Cake (a casual 12% ABV) before escalating to the heavyweight main event: Bourbon County Brand Stout 2025, clocking in at a staggering 14.6% ABV. It’s a lot of beer, a lot of alcohol, and maybe not the best idea—but definitely the right one.

High-proof stouts, iconic comedians, and two comics trying to keep it together long enough to finish the episode. What could possibly go wrong? 🍺🎤

387: We Bury the Dead/Together (2025) + Two From Martin House Brewing

No guest this week — just Joe and Dave doing what they do best: watching something bleak, talking about relationships, and washing it down with absurdly fun beer.

The main feature is We Bury the Dead, a zombie-adjacent horror film that’s less about the end of the world and more about what’s left when love, grief, and obligation refuse to die. 

We also finally circle back to a 2025 horror movie we somehow missed on the show: Together (2025). Another relationship-forward horror story, Together explores intimacy, dependency, and emotional rot with a very different tone, giving us the perfect excuse to compare how modern horror keeps turning romance into the real monster. 

Beer-wise, things get significantly less depressing. We crack open a mixed four-pack from Martin House Brewing, featuring their Extra Creamy Peanut Butter Blonde and Extra Crunchy Peanut Butter Stout. Naturally, this leads to experimentation, irresponsible mixing, and the accidental creation of our own peanut butter monstrosity — possibly the happiest horror creation of the episode.

Two horror films about relationships falling apart. Two peanut butter beers pushed past their limits. What could go wrong?

386: Marty Supreme/Good Time With Guest Rachel Clow

This week on Beer and a Movie, we go full anxiety mode with a Safdie Brothers double feature, diving into Marty Supreme and Good Time with returning guest Rachel Clow. One film is raw, chaotic, and relentless; the other somehow manages to be even more stressful—because that’s the Safdie promise. We talk obsession, desperation, handheld panic attacks, and why these movies feel like they’re yelling at you on purpose.

On the beer side, it’s all first-timers. We crack into Künstler Brewing out of San Antonio with their Black Swan Black IPA, then close it out strong with Great Divide Brewing’s Yeti Imperial Stout—a heavyweight beer for heavyweight vibes.

Indie films, bold brews, and enough tension to make you need another drink. 🍺🎬