A nuclear ICBM is headed toward Chicago. Nobody can figure out who fired it. Nuclear war is on our doorstep. Is this insanity? No, sir. This is BIRD PROTOCOL. This week, we’re chatting about the recently released (and fantastic) apocalyptic political thriller film from none other than the talented and military-obsessed Kathryn Bigelow, “A House Of Dynamite”. This movie rips and is possibly the scariest film released this Halloween season. Tense, fraught, procedural, and full of dread… nuclear war started the minute the missile was launched, and there’s nothing anyone could do about it. Sure, it has some issues. We definitely discuss and litigate them throughout the episode. Nonetheless, we both think this one is a banger, and we can’t wait to chat about it.

Starring Rebecca Ferguson (who is truly fantastic, even if her accent slips), Idris Elba, Gabriel Basso, Jared Harris, Anthony Ramos, Tracy Letts (also excellent), and more. “A House Of Dynamite” explores the twenty or so minutes before Chicago is wiped off the map and nuclear proliferation comes to a head through three separate but connected perspectives. The structure allows for more information to be unveiled slowly and the tension to build to a fever pitch. In the end, it doesn’t matter what happens, because it’s gonna be bad, and that’s the point. All it takes for the house of dynamite to blow is a match… doesn’t matter who lights it. Head to your nuclear bunkers ASAP, homies. It’s about to get really real.

In this episode, we discuss Bigelow’s direction, the cinematography, the editing, the narrative structure, the performances, and all the other stuff we love about the movie. We also discuss some of the parts that felt comparatively flat. Was Idris the right choice to play the president? Or is his casting an inspired choice? We unpack this in real time. We also have some bones to pick with the wider film audience and open-source film criticism. Some people didn’t like this movie, and we’re here to tell you that they’re wrong. Put down the phone, close the TikTok app, and pay attention. Your one-liner reviews might be funny, but if you didn’t even get the point of the movie (which was very clear, by the way)… it all feels kind of like a waste, no? Also, how could anyone think the ending of this movie is ambiguous? And what’s so weird about a modern president listening to podcasts? We talk about it.

We also briefly touch on some of the stuff we’ve seen recently including Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein” (apologies Mr. Elordi, PALMREADER wasn’t aware of your game), Joseph Kosinski’s “F1”, Julia Ducournau’s “Titane”, the new season of “The Vince Staples” show, the new hyper-pop inspired Danny Brown album “Stardust”, and more. We’ll see you next week.

As always…

INITIATE THE PROTOCOL!

Instagram: @palmreadr @otismorrisdude