Beer and a Movie

228: You Can’t Handle Joe’s Ram Jam - The Whale/The Wrestler

This week, we invite back returning guest Kailey Diaz to help us take on two films from Darren Aronofsky, a director who regularly plunges into stories about characters who struggle with addiction and obsession. His latest, The Whale, generated controversy even before its release for its casting and over concerns that it would be fatphobic. In wide release now, it is actually generating a lot of Oscar buzz for the controversially cast actor, Brendan Fraser, for whom this is being seen as a comeback moment akin to one that Aronofsky had earlier created with Mickey Rourke in the 2008 film, The Wrestler. With significant thematic overlap between these films, we go deep into discussing their characters' motivations and the successes (and failures) of the performances that bring them to life on the screen. We also drink some hazy IPAs for good measure.

227: New(ish) Releases - Babylon/Glass Onion

We pair two holiday releases this week, starting with our discussion of Damian Chazelle's audacious new epic meditation on stardom, excess, and the early days of Hollywood, Babylon. For our second half, our friend Sean McLain joins us to share our critical perspectives on Rian Johnson's Glass Onion, the second installment in his burgeoning murder mystery franchise. We warm up for the convos with two selection from Spoetzl Brewery's bonfire brewskis mixed 6-pack.

226: If You’re Going to Pour that Kind of Money into It... - Avatar: The Way of Water/The Fabelmans

With returning guest and former co-host Ethan Thompson back in the mix, it's a double new release episode this week on Beer and a Movie. We tackle films by two Hollywood directors with similarly major name recognition but who currently have projects of very different budget and scale. First up is James Cameron's long-gestating sequel to his long-gestating blockbuster Avatar, which has started off well enough at the box office but needs significant staying power to justify its costs. The second film is the comparatively more modest semi-autobiographical film from Steven Spielberg, The Fabelmans, which has been getting love from critics but not necessarily stoking the interest of general moviegoers.

225: Stop Motion Magic and Live Action Avarice - Pinocchio (2022)/Pinocchio (2022)

Joe and Dave invite back one of their favorite guests, Josh Deleon, to look at not one, but two(!), new cinematic adaptations of The Adventures of Pinocchio. A time-honored tale with at least a dozen film versions prior, are these two new entries essential viewing or are they titles you might as well skip in favor of something more original? Listen in as we taste a couple brews and discuss the merits of adaptation, this week!

224: Christmas Counterprogramming - Violent Night/Die Hard

It may be the most wonderful time of the year, but that doesn't necessarily mean that we all want to celebrate. There are times when all the Yuletide joy calls for some balance in the form of over-the-top action and silly catchphrases. For this episode, Joe and Dave are joined by first-time guest, Jim Fleury, to discuss the potential new subversive Christmas classic Violent Night along with a film whose controversial Christmas affiliation has become something of a dominant meme. Should there be space for these films in one's holiday viewing schedule? Listen to what we think, this week!

223: You Can Smell It from a Half Mile Away - Bones and All/Call Me by Your Name

What better to fill the screens of our multiplexes on Thanksgiving weekend than a teenage cannibal love story? Well, even if it isn't necessarily feel good family fare, Bones and All has an intriguing enough concept that we felt it necessary to take a look and report back. We've paired it with the prior Guadagnino/Chalamet effort, Call Me by Your Name, and brought in guest filmmaker/musician/multitalent Jimmy Willden to help us make sense of it all.

222: Please Don’t Say Mouthfeel - The Menu/The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover

We head to the kitchen this week to take on two films that take the world of fine dining as their settings. Our first course is a new release, The Menu, starring Ralph Fiennes as a legendary chef known for creating multi-course meals that tell stories for his elite clientele. The second is Peter Greenaway's notoriously decadent and stylized The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover, a film that succeeded with audiences in its initial release despite (because of?) the threat of an X-rating. Joining us for this cinematic feast is returning BaaM guest, Harold Ramos, an Executive Chef with a vast knowledge of food as well as movies and beer. Join us for this week's degustation, won't you?

221: Let’s Hope This Stays Inside Our Bodies - Triangle of Sadness/American Psycho

It's dark comedy and satire this week on Beer and a Movie with us taking on Ruben Östlund's Palme d'Or winning film Triangle of Sadness and Mary Harron's now-classic adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis's American Psycho. Joe and Dave are happy to welcome back past guest, Dr. Anthony Zoccolillo, to help them make sense of these provocative mediations on human nature, class, and power, and they all gain critical support from not one, but two, hazy IPAs on deck.

220: Cheap Imitations - Weird: The Al Yankovic Story/24 Hour Party People

When a "Weird Al" biopic was announced, the BaaM crew knew right away that we would need to cover such a monumental cinematic event. Now that it's dropped, Joe recruited a longtime film friend, Sean McLain, to join us for a fun conversation about films that play fast and loose with pop music history, including a look back at 24 Hour Partly People, a film that seeks to convey the energy of the punk/post-punk/"Manchester" scene. Somehow we make it all work despite some technical difficulties along the way.

219: Shut Down from Haze Overdose - Wendell & Wild/Alice

Coming off a full month of horror, we take a gander at something at least horror-adjacent, Wendell & Wild, a new Henry Selick stop motion animated feature - his first in 13 years - written with Jordan Peele and including the voice talent of longtime Peele collaborator Keegan Michael Key. Does this reach the heights of his past efforts such as Nightmare before Christmas and Coraline? We pair it with an earlier stop motion feature from Czech legend, Jan Svankmajer, which offers his unique interpretation of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. 

To make this all work, we bring in an original host from BaaM's past, Ethan Thompson, and we enjoy some hazy offerings, both of an alcoholic and non-alcoholic variety. There's a little something for nearly everyone in this episode!