Optimism Vaccine

A lesser podcast might do a special Father's Day episode by curating a selection of DAD DAY FAVS and reminiscing about bygone moments with pops. Fuck that. We take Father's Day very seriously and ver…

Charles Grodin was one of the greatest comedic minds of the 20th century and the king of deadpan humor. This week, we're honoring the life and times of the almighty GRODES by revisiting some of his b…

We're wrapping up the To-down with four films that cover the full spectrum of Johnnie To cinema, from a classic Hong Kong crime thriller to an anti-capitalist musical.

THIS WEEK: Running Out of Time (…

The OV Johnnie To-down continues with four of the Hong Kong director's most acclaimed crime films.

THIS WEEK: PTU (2003), Breaking News (2004), Election (2005), Drug War (2012)

Rate and Review Optimis…

This week, we're joined by Ryan Swen (The Film Stage, Reverse Shot, Catalyst and Witness) and taking a detour away from Johnnie To action flicks to look at how To's style translates to comedy, romanc…

Johnnie To is one of the most prolific filmmakers in the world. For four decades he's written, produced and directed everything from lighthearted romantic comedies to bleak and bloody action, creatin…

Promising Young Woman just took home the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay and critics can't stop telling us how IMPORTANT it is. But is Emerald Fennell's brand of sanitized lily-white feminism trul…

Kan you believe it's been over 25 years since the first Mortal Kombat film hit your lokal multiplex? Since then, we've had more games, kartoons, live aktion series, and films than any reasonable pers…

The glitz! The glamor! The discourse!

That's right, it's Oscar season, and we're contractually obligated to discuss all of the bland prestige films that you'll completely forget about in another week…

There's plenty of knockoff James Bond films, but how many have a filipino agent 007 under three feet tall?

Join us as we take another detour from the mainline Bond series and dip our toes into the wor…

Nothing brings us more joy than watching a big monkey and his lizard pal beat the shit out of some weird bugs, a dinosaur bird and maybe a robot. Plus, as true believers in the Hollow Earth Theory, i…

For two long years, the Snyhard masses cried out to Warner Bros. for justice, and, against all odds, the impossibly dumb has become improbably real: #ReleaseTheSnyderCut has delivered us Zack Snyder'…

Some might call it confusing meta-fiction, others a smart cash-in. Either way, Neil Connery did what any of us would have done in his situation. Ignore the fact that you're shorter, less handsome, an…

Tim Thomerson is one of the finest character actors to ever live and a "guys who look like sexy stepdads" hall of famer. No one this side of Tom Atkins can convincingly romance a young Helen Hunt the…

We're going on a journey to find your inner brooding teen. Close your eyes and think back to when you believed girls would talk to you because you watched Donnie Darko a dozen times and had THINGS to…

Throughout the 80s and 90s, David and Peter Paul, The Barbarian Brothers, were the ultimate Hollywood triple threat; acting, singing and flexing their way through the world of film and television. Sa…

It's hard out there for an obscenely rich lady with unchecked power and limitless resources. Sometimes you just need to make an utterly tone-deaf film and call it Music. Sometimes you make your main …

When Albert Pyun's Cyborg was ripped away from him by the studio he did what any self-respecting auteur would do: Re-cut the original film and make his own unofficial sequels. Sure, they're all bogge…

The occasionally great, always ambitious, frequently derided films of Albert Pyun have been a mainstay of late-night premium cable and dusty video store shelves for decades. But who is the man behind…

We're officially squashing all rumors that we antagonize our listeners and never listen to feedback by doing a very special request episode. That's right, we're men of the people. And what do the peo…