In the Loop
We kick off our Institutions Eating Themselves series by digging into In the Loop, Armando Iannucci’s razor-sharp satire of British and American political maneuvering.
Bulworth
We close out our Smoke and Mirrors series with Bulworth, digging into Warren Beatty’s rapping-senator satire on race, wealth, and truth-telling in politics.
Wag the Dog
We continue our Smoke & Mirrors series with Wag the Dog, unpacking the machine that manufactures a war to save a president’s re-election bid.
Bob Roberts
Bob Roberts (1992, USA/UK) is a satirical mockumentary from writer-director Tim Robbins, marking his feature directorial debut. Robbins stars as the title character, a wealthy folk-singing conservative running an insurgent U.S. Senate campaign, alongside Giancarlo Esposito as the journalist trying to expose him, Alan Rickman as his campaign chairman, and Gore Vidal as the incumbent senator […]
Sorry to Bother You
We unpack Sorry to Bother You, closing our Platformed Lives series with Boots Riley’s overdubbed white voices, code-switching satire, and a wild turn into science fiction.
Nightcrawler
Lou Bloom doesn’t stumble into the stringer world—he’s always been exactly this person. Pete and Andy dig into Nightcrawler, Dan Gilroy’s darkly funny American classic.
The Truman Show
We kick off our new Platformed Lives series with The Truman Show, unpacking consent, hidden cameras, and a life lived entirely on camera for the world to see.
Talk to Me
A cursed hand. A grieving teenager. A party trick that goes terribly, supernaturally wrong. Pete and Andy close out Horror Debuts with the Philippou brothers.
Gun Crazy
Bart loves guns. Laurie loves crime. Together they’re inevitable—and doomed. Andy and Pete dig into Joseph H. Lewis’s scorching 1950 film noir Gun Crazy.
Shadow
Zhang Yimou’s ink-wash wuxia epic Shadow features a secret double, bladed umbrellas, and one of the most visually committed films of his career.