Podcast
Movies imo
Hosted by Movies imo · EN
movies imo. is a pop culture podcast where Daniel Crooke, Ben Empey, and Brandon Kirby talk about the week in film and television.
13episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
The One Where They Discuss Lav Diaz’s Magellan and F. Gary Gary’s The Italian Job
2w ago01:42:53Tap to summarizeHad the Pope recently seen Lav Diaz’s latest picture before he formally blessed the art of slow cinema? What are EelPods? On a scale from one to ten, how homophobic was the real Ferdinand Magellan? How much misogyny can Charlize Theron overcome in order to successfully run her girlboss safe-cracking company? All these pressing questions (and more!) will be blasted wide open in this, another installment of the movies imo encore. What is movies imo? It’s a podcast. What’s a podcast? I don’t know! But this one is anchored by three gay guys who are known to most in the “podcasting space” as not merely being a little light in the loafers, but a little heavy on the crosstalk too. This week the crew (as in: Charlie Croker’s crew) break into the following topics:Brandon: See, We ARE Doing New Releases: All of Us Enjoying Lav Diaz's Magellan (2025)Daniel: Celebrating the D Line Extension with My Formative Metro Film Memory: F. Gary Gray's The Italian Job (2003)Beyond the act of plunder, what are the through lines between these two disparate films… Well, they don’t really get into that. But they do have a laugh along the way and hope you do too. EelPods!
Transcribe →The Redemption of Chip Sludge
4w ago01:52:59Tap to summarizeHow did they ever make a movie of revolutionary journalists falling in love amidst the whirlwind American communist movement of the 1910s? Why is Betty Buckley our greatest living vocal talent? Can you make a compelling drama without conflict? Will Sepideh Moafi win an Emmy for her indelible performance as the intrepid AI warrior-turned-valiant ER hero Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi? What is there left to even talk about now that The Pitt season two has ended?! All these burning inquiries will be grilled, chilled, and distilled throughout the near two-hour runtime of this, the latest audio missive from the living (but once dead) human triptych known in some professional quarters as movies imo but in other more personal quarters as a trio of active homosexuals. This week the comrades bring the following to discuss on mic:Ben: Remembering Bob Duvall with the titular tender mercy of Bruce Beresford’s Tender Mercies (1983)Daniel: Remembering the titular reds of Warren Beatty’s political epic Reds (1981)It’s time to dive into the sensitive Oscar-winning American cinema of Reagan’s first term! It’s time to laugh and cry! It’s time to forget the first name of every character in these movies! When it comes to processing all these occasions and more, to quote Barbra, the time has come…
Transcribe →Roach-Like Behavior
Apr 901:54:58Tap to summarizeWhy is Steven Spielberg so protective — much to Elaine May’s chagrin — of the franchising rights around that little alien they call E.T.? When you’re at the movie theater, how do you tell the difference between an actual ghost and just a plain old Laemmle matinee senior? And at what point must you stop cruising your fellow audience members and simply enjoy the film playing up there on that big screen? Is it safe to podcast in a tornado? Where did Brandon go? All these probing inquiries and more will be elucidated in this, the latest installment of the movies imo encore. This week, the resident film faguettes brought the following topics to discuss amongst themselves:Ben: Is The Princess Bride (1987) the single most beloved movie in existence today?Brandon: A double feature of Tsai Ming-liang blind spots: The Hole (1998) and Goodbye, Dragon Inn (2003)Fill me up!
Transcribe →Gay Crime in the High Desert
Mar 2602:07:36Tap to summarizeHave the most recent Academy Awards been so dissected to death that there’s anything left to pore over fagnostically? Which episodes of Lena Dunham’s Girls most stick in the brain, got stuck in the craw, and do or do not remain Brandon’s favorite episode of the series? Is it ever a good idea to fall in love if you’re a character in the Golden Age of Film Noir? What is a bee in a bonnet? All these questions and more will be picked apart by the yapping cultural excavators of movies imo in this, their latest encore installment of being “in community” in discussion of the fruity miscellanea in film and television that most recently caught their eyes. This week the ladies (Girls callback) brought the following to chat about:Brandon: A double feature of Girls episodes: S6E9 “Goodbye Tour” and S3E7 “Beach House”Daniel: A triple feature of “Third Wheel Noir”: Lewis Allen’s Desert Fury (1947), Anthony Mann’s Raw Deal (1948), Robert Siodmak’s Criss Cross (1949)What a laugh they have. They (Daniel) also insistently mispronounce the name of an iconic film auteur.
Transcribe →Actually Heathcliff and Cathy are brother and sister
Mar 1201:55:09Tap to summarizeWhat on earth is going on in St. Louis and who exactly is DTF in HBO’s newest original series? Why is this boorish gynecologist addressing the birds and the bees to a rowdy bunch of boys during the decline of the American midcentury? Did Heathcliff and Cathy go up to those Crags to fish? All these pressing matters - and more! - will be addressed by the talent: a murder of homosexual crows known as “movies imo” in this, their latest installment of talking to each other on microphones about the fruity miscellanea in film and teevee that caught their eyes this week. Here’s what the guys brought to chat about:Ben: The Plentiful Versions of Wuthering Heights on the Big Screen (1939 and 2011 edition)Daniel: Remembering Frederick Wiseman with two of his early ones: High School (1968) and Hospital (1970)[editor's note: Ben was right that the titular high school was in a predominantly Jewish area, despite the muted reaction from Brandon and Daniel]Moving forward, in an attempt to simplify the scope of “content” in a given episode, each film faguette will take a week off from bringing a topic to the table; this week Brandon gets to exhale now (Simon). Regardless of the shorter syllabus, they still had a whale of a time breaking the culture wide open and hope you do too.
Transcribe →Jean Renoir: Nepo Baby
Feb 2601:50:41Tap to summarizeIs every character on Industry bisexual? Which track off “Horses” is least likely to keep the party going til sunrise? And who is that creepy gay guy in the Bergdorf scarf standing outside the local high school in Holcomb, Kansas? All these questions and more will be answered in this, the latest cri de coeur from the noted trio of resurrected film faguettes known in some quarters as “movies imo” but known to each other, simply, as friends. This week the boys bring the following to discuss amongst themselves:Ben: Patti Smith's first album after the deaths of husband Fred "Sonic" Smith and best friend Robert Mapplethorpe: Gone AgainBrandon: Finally Gay! Watching Josie and the Pussycats (2001) for the first timeDaniel: Weighing the merits of Catherine Keener's Academy Award-nominated performance as Nell Harper Lee in Bennett Miller's Capote, 20 years laterOh what a fun time they had digging into these topics, finding treasured insights and a few laughs along the way. Alvin, get your pants on - they’re here!
Transcribe →Be Italian!
Feb 1202:11:53Tap to summarizeWho was the all-star stage-to screen adaptation of Nine even for? Can a Golden Age of Hollywood producer secure revenge by winning Best Picture? Which cast member of The Phoenician Scheme deserves the undying love and loyalty of an audience every day of the year no matter how “big” their other performances may get? All these questions and more will be answered across this week’s edition of the movies imo encore. This week the fellas bring the following to discuss:Ben: William Wyler’s The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)Daniel: Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest (2025)Brandon: The Mystery of Kate Hudson (Song Sung Blue (2025); How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days (2003); Almost Famous (2000); The Skeleton Key (2005); Le Divorce (2003); Nine (2009); others)They love to laugh and love to chat and love to have you around for a listen. This podcast rebooting season… Be Italian!
Transcribe →I wish you well.
Jan 2901:39:42Tap to summarizeWhat is Quills? Is the reigning Emmy winner for Best Drama Series actually good? Who was on the SAG (“Actor”) Awards nominating committee and why don’t they trust the Scandinavian ability to let life imitate art? All these answers and more will be revealed in the second episode of the movies imo encore… and so will the new show format! After digging into this year’s Oscar nominations, the boys bring the following topics to the table:• Ben! The Golden Age of Gwyneth Paltrow (1995–2005)• Brandon! The Pitt (2024 — )• Daniel! Hiroshi Teshigahara’s The Face of Another (1966)They have a really awesome time doing it and hope you have a really awesome time listening to it.
Transcribe →Blessings... I mean it
Jan 1501:33:52Tap to summarizeSomehow Ben, Brandon, and Daniel returned. And they’re old now! With an even looser and less ambitious format than ever before, we kick off the first edition of our movies imo encore by pledging allegiance to the state in which we were born and raised. Yes, you read that correctly, it's (for all intents and purposes) the Ella McCay episode - but after this we're burying the new movie-of-the-week podcast structure of the past and embracing something even more scattered and amorphous with an eye towards the future. But rest assured: like James L. Brooks, the cross-talk is back. But everything else is different this time. Friendship reigns supreme. Long Live Agnès Varda.
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Live! From Quar Brain
May 6, 202002:05:54Tap to summarizeDesperate times call for even more desperate measures, and your three fav film f*gz needed an excuse to catch up on a Z**m call! In this Very Special Quarantine Edition of movies imo., Ben, Brandon, and Daniel get together virtually to share and discuss three of their favorite films watched while sheltering in place amidst the global pandemic, and maybe share a few laughs while they’re on the line. Ben takes the celestial escalator down to Earth in Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH, Daniel rides the Eurostar through purgatory in Chantal Akerman’s THE MEETINGS OF ANNA, and Brandon cuts a rug with Ingrid Bergman at a groovy nightclub in Gene Sak’s CACTUS FLOWER. Together, they enjoy friendship and film f*ggotry from a safe distance apart. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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