Fighting In The War Room: A Movies And Pop Culture Podcast

This week, we have replaced a still-absent David with Ben Hosley from the Blank Check podcast and producer/creator of the Slow Xmas music project or “bit” that we also discuss on this episode. If you want to buy a vinyl copy of SLOW XMAS 5 head to madebymutant.com You can also buy it digitally at outlets like Bandcamp! Ben also saw (pun not intended) the Chainsaw Man movie and informs Katey, Da7e, and Patches about this anime hit that beat out Bugonia at the box office when it was released. Then, your three regular co-hosts talk about Hamnet and if their hearts were ripped out of their bodies by pure emotion or not. We talk about the end, I guess, but even the director Chloe Zhao says this movie can’t be spoiled. Take a listen, embed and/or download below; for more from all of us, follow on BlueSky! Follow the show (@fitwr.bsky.social), Katey (@kateyrich.bsky.social), Da7e (@da7e.bsky.social),  Patches (@misterpatches.bsky.social), and David (@davidehrlich.bsky.social). One of TIME Magazine’s Top 100 Podcasts of All Time Please subscribe on iTunes and KICK US A REVIEW if you like what you hear! FORMAT 00:00 – Lightning Round: Best Deployed Christmas Song 02:41- Intro – Welcome to Episode 528 of one of the best podcasts of all time!! Review! E-mail! 15:30 – Tidbit –Slow Xmas 5 32:11 – Mini-segment – Ben saw Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc 42:28 – Segment 3 – Hamnet 1:10:49 – Unboxing and Outro

This week, David is out but Katey is back in, even after spending a stressful week reorganizing her community to respond to the governments immigration enforcement thugs. For a mini-segment, Patches is anticipating another AVATAR movie this year and is wondering if that kind of blockbuster motion-capture movie can be replicated after James Cameron is done. Finally, the three members of the podcast who liked Bugonia the most take advantage of David Ehrlich’s absence to talk about what they liked about it. Take a listen, embed and/or download below; for more from all of us, follow on BlueSky! Follow the show (@fitwr.bsky.social), Katey (@kateyrich.bsky.social), Da7e (@da7e.bsky.social),  Patches (@misterpatches.bsky.social), and David (@davidehrlich.bsky.social). One of TIME Magazine’s Top 100 Podcasts of All Time Please subscribe on iTunes and KICK US A REVIEW if you like what you hear! FORMAT 00:00 – Lightning Round: It Was All A Dream (Word Up Magazine, Etc) 02:19- Intro – Welcome to Episode 527 of one of the best podcasts of all time!! E-mail! 13:04 – Tidbit – PTA Vs. ICE 24:25 – Mini-segment – Who Will Make More Avatar (We Love James Cameron) 37:50 – Segment 3 – Bugonia (Spoilers start at gong – 53:46) 1:03:54 – Outro

This week, Katey had to be out to see movies, but the boys return to the virtual war room to talk about Predator: Badlands (in theaters now!) and Frankenstein (on Netflix now!). David also asks why we only seem to remake movies that were okay to begin with. Slight spoilers for Badlands and Frankenstein sprinkled throughout, but nothing ruining as we’re just praising Badlands and talking about a Frankenstein story that is pretty well known at this point. Take a listen, embed and/or download below; for more from all of us, follow on BlueSky! Follow the show (@fitwr.bsky.social), Katey (@kateyrich.bsky.social), Da7e (@da7e.bsky.social),  Patches (@misterpatches.bsky.social), and David (@davidehrlich.bsky.social). One of TIME Magazine’s Top 100 Podcasts of All Time Please subscribe on iTunes and KICK US A REVIEW if you like what you hear! FORMAT 00:00 – Lightning Round: How Long, Running Man? 16:48- Intro – Welcome to Episode 526 of one of the best podcasts of all time!! Reviews! E-mail! 16:48 – Tidbit – Predator: Badlands 39:48 – Mini-segment – Why don’t we remake bad movies? 53:48 – Segment 3 – Frankenstein on Netflix 1:13:23 – Outro

This week, Patches and Katey flew out to Denver to join Da7e, Denver Film Festival Artistic Director Matthew Campbell, and Denver Film Festival CEO Kevin Smith to have a conversation about fighting about movies in front of a live audience. We haven’t done that in over a decade! This week’s episode was recorded live, but the pauses when the audience was speaking that were not picked up by the mics were deleted. Take a listen, embed and/or download below; for more from all of us, follow on BlueSky! Follow the show (@fitwr.bsky.social), Katey (@kateyrich.bsky.social), Da7e (@da7e.bsky.social),  Patches (@misterpatches.bsky.social), and David (@davidehrlich.bsky.social). One of TIME Magazine’s Top 100 Podcasts of All Time Please subscribe on iTunes and KICK US A REVIEW if you like what you hear!

We didn’t say they were good movies. It’s another Fighting in The War Room Quarter Quell! But the FIRST one since being named one of TIME Magazine’s Top 100 Podcasts of All Time… For this edition of a FITWR Quarter Quell, each host brought a movie about a subject that actually scares them. Katey confronts her fear that her kids might get hit by cars with 1989’s Pet Semetary, David is worried about gun violence in schools with 2003’s Elephant, Da7e is worried about his inner monsters with 1980’s The Shining, and Patches is concerned about colon cancer with 2011’s A Little Bit of Heaven. If you would like to attend FIGHTING IN THE WAR ROOM LIVE AT THE DENVER FILM FESTIVAL on Tuesday November 4th at 3PM Mountain Time at The Tattered Cover on Colfax, get tickets here! Take a listen, embed and/or download below; for more from all of us on Twitter: follow the show (@FITWR), Katey (@kateyrich) Patches (@misterpatches), Da7e (@Da7e) and David (@davidehrlich). Please subscribe on iTunes and KICK US A REVIEW if you like what you hear!  Format 0:00 – Welcome and Da7e Attempts an Intro 05:19 – Katey – Pet Semetary (1989) 23:47 – David – Elephant (2003) 50:32 – Da7e – The Shining (1980) 1:09:43 – Patches – A Little Bit of Heaven (2011) Previous Quarter Quells: OpKino Classic: First Quarter Quell (August 26th 2011) OpKino Classic: The 2nd Quarter Quell (Feb. 22nd 2012) OpKino Classic: Storytelling Quarter Quell (Aug 10th 2012) OpKino Classic: Family Interview Full Quell (Feb 8th, 2013) FITWR 025 – The Filmmaking Quarter Quell (June 3rd, 2014) FITWR 050 – QQ2: Movies for the Moment (Dec. 2nd 2014) FITWR 075 – QQ3: Movies We Wanted To Be When We Grew Up. FITWR 100 – Significant Other Full Quell FITWR 125 – Movies We Want to Show (Our) Children FITWR 150 – Movies That Represent What We Want For America FITWR 175 – Revisiting Previous Infamous Discussions FITWR 200 – Foriegn Netflix Quell FITWR 225 – The Lifelong Evolving Obsession Quell FITWR 250 – The New York Movie Quell FITWR 275 – Movie of the Decade Quell FITWR 300 – The Call-In Show FITWR 325 – The Exceeded Expectations Quell FITWR 350 – The Summer Movie Quell FITWR 375 – The Anniversary Quell FITWR 400 – Call in Show 2 FITWR 425 – The Date Quell FITWR 450 – The “Not For You On Paper” Quell FITWR 475 – The Elder Millennial Canon Quell FITWR 500 – Call in Show 3

This week, Patches was tired and David hadn’t seen the movies, so Katey and Da7e DARE TO GO OFF FORMAT for this really-really-really last episode before next week’s Quarter Quell. For the first half of the show, David, Katey and Da7e announce FITWR’s next two weeks (Quarter Quell! Live Show in Denver!), read your reviews and answer an e-mail from Brazil. Then, David checks out to work on his book while Da7e and Katey talk Black Phone 2 and Roofman, two things you can see in theaters right now. NOVEMBER 4th, 2025 – DENVER, CO – 3PM – The Tattered Cover Bookstore on Colfax – FIGHTING IN THE WAR ROOM LIVE PODCAST RECORDING!Stay tuned and keep an eye on FightingInTheWarRoom.com for details as they develop. Take a listen, embed and/or download below; for more from all of us, follow on BlueSky! Follow the show (@fitwr.bsky.social), Katey (@kateyrich.bsky.social), Da7e (@da7e.bsky.social),  Patches (@misterpatches.bsky.social), and David (@davidehrlich.bsky.social). One of TIME Magazine’s Top 100 Podcasts of All Time Please subscribe on iTunes and KICK US A REVIEW if you like what you hear! FORMAT 00:00 – Lightning Round: Spooky Movie 03:24 – Intro – Welcome to Episode 524.8 of one of the best podcasts of all time!! Reviews! E-mail! 34:05 – Black Phone 2 (Spoilers for The Black Phone) 45:29 – Roofman 59:55 – Outro

This week, Da7e was off seeing Black Phone 2 where Ethan Hawke stalks the snowbound dreams of Colorado teens, and the other co-hosts make fun of him for it. First, Katey wants to talk about one of her favorite TV shows of the year, the five-part series Mr. Scorsese on Apple TV Plus. Then, Patches has his kids watching The Brady Bunch – how do we feel about that? Finally, the boys ventured back to the grid for the third time in 43 years with Tron: Ares – did Nine Inch Nails make the outing worth it? They saw Tron: Ares so you didn’t have to (and – judging from the box office – didn’t). NOVEMBER 4th, 2025 – DENVER, CO – FIGHTING IN THE WAR ROOM LIVE PODCAST RECORDING!Stay tuned and keep an eye on FightingInTheWarRoom.com for details as they develop. Take a listen, embed and/or download below; for more from all of us, follow on BlueSky! Follow the show (@fitwr.bsky.social), Katey (@kateyrich.bsky.social), Da7e (@da7e.bsky.social),  Patches (@misterpatches.bsky.social), and David (@davidehrlich.bsky.social). One of TIME Magazine’s Top 100 Podcasts of All Time Please subscribe on iTunes and KICK US A REVIEW if you like what you hear! FORMAT 00:00 – Lightning Round: Julia Roberts 02:14 – Intro – Welcome to Episode 524.7 of one of the best podcasts of all time!! Reviews! 11:36 – Tidbit – Mr. Scorsese 22:38 – Mini-Segment – The Brady Bunch 32:15 – Segment 3 – Tron: Ares 54:07 – Outro

This week, Patches and Da7e have been watching the old Nightmare on Elm Street sequels on HBO Max and Patches wonders if we’re missing something in modern horror. Then, Patches and David got to meet the stars of K-Pop Demon Hunters in New York, did they earn more cred with their kids? Finally, Katey, David, and Da7e have seen The Smashing Machine and debate the movie’s high aspirations as a character piece with a puzzling execution. “Golden” in the style of System of a Down by Anthony Vincent Take a listen, embed and/or download below; for more from all of us, follow on BlueSky! Follow the show (@fitwr.bsky.social), Katey (@kateyrich.bsky.social), Da7e (@da7e.bsky.social),  Patches (@misterpatches.bsky.social), and David (@davidehrlich.bsky.social). One of TIME Magazine’s Top 100 Podcasts of All Time Please subscribe on iTunes and KICK US A REVIEW if you like what you hear! FORMAT 00:00 – Lightning Round: KB Toys Kids 02:24 – Intro – Welcome to Episode 524.6 of one of the best podcasts of all time!! Reviews! E-mail! 14:13 – Tidbit – Nightmare in Horror Films 29:57 – Mini-Segment – K-Pop Demon BBQ 40:21 – Segment 3 – The Smashing Machine 58:52 – Outro

This week, everyone is back in the war room! The guys talk about Season 1 of Alien: Earth which has recently concluded on Hulu and it seems like they’re mostly positive on it. Then, we get a dispatch from Patches’ father who has seen The Wizard of Oz at the Sphere in Las Vegas. Finally, in a long segment that assumes you have also seen One Battle After Another, the hosts discuss Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest. AGAIN – SPOILERS – SEE ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER FIRST IF YOU ARE WORRIED ABOUT PLOT SPOILERS. Take a listen, embed and/or download below; for more from all of us, follow on BlueSky! Follow the show (@fitwr.bsky.social), Katey (@kateyrich.bsky.social), Da7e (@da7e.bsky.social),  Patches (@misterpatches.bsky.social), and David (@davidehrlich.bsky.social). One of TIME Magazine’s Top 100 Podcasts of All Time Please subscribe on iTunes and KICK US A REVIEW if you like what you hear! FORMAT 00:00 – Lightning Round: Just Quit 01:56 – Intro – Welcome to Episode 524.2 of one of the best podcasts of all time!! Review! E-mail! 14:04 – Tidbit – Alien: Earth 34:17 – Mini-Segment – Rod Patches Reports From The Las Vegas Sphere 40:32 – Segment 3 – One Battle After Another (Spoilers) 1:25:49 – Outro

This week, David’s solo-parenting attempt left him unable to podcast, so we decided to save our discussion of Alien: Earth and One Battle After Another until next week. Katey, Patches, and Da7e get together this week to discuss seemingly nonsense that quickly boils over. First, we attempt to talk about one studio’s panic in the face of the government and that quickly spirals out, then Katey’s seen the new documentary Predators, it’s about the old reality series To Catch A Predator and is about entrapment by the police (partially). Finally, Patches is playing a game that is aggressively annoying to play and loving it, he wants to know if there are other extremely aggressive movies that fail (HIM) or succeed (A Serbian Film? – just kidding, don’t subject yourself) – We’re calling it The Aggression Dichotomy – can you attract someone by media that is constantly daring them to walk away? THURSDAY 9/25 is the last day to Sign up and join the FITWarriors in the Vulture Fantasy Movie League and still get full points! Take a listen, embed and/or download below; for more from all of us, follow on BlueSky! Follow the show (@fitwr.bsky.social), Katey (@kateyrich.bsky.social), Da7e (@da7e.bsky.social),  Patches (@misterpatches.bsky.social), and David (@davidehrlich.bsky.social). One of TIME Magazine’s Top 100 Podcasts of All Time Please subscribe on iTunes and KICK US A REVIEW if you like what you hear! FORMAT 00:00 – Lightning Round: Car and Chase 02:17 – Intro – Welcome to Episode 524.4 of one of the best podcasts of all time!! Review! E-mail! 14:59 – Tidbit – Disney’s Panic 42:11 – Mini-Segment – Predators 50:45 – Segment 3 – The Aggression Dichotomy 1:11:07 – Outro