Mother is back, and she’s taking us all to THE BEACH! Emily Yoshida makes her long-awaited return to the pod to speak about her experience in the writer’s room of the still-unproduced TV version of Alex Garland’s titular novel. We’re asking all the big questions - when did Leonardo DiCaprio stop being “baby” and become a big boy on screen? Why is no one practicing ethical non-monogamy or doing heroin on this island? Is it cool to like Moby again after that weird Natalie Portman thing? How would starring in this movie have affected Ewan McGregor’s career? Why stay in a commune with a bunch of dirty European hippies when you could just go to a resort with real bathrooms? Join our Patreon for franchise commentaries and bonus episodes.Follow us @blankcheckpod on Instagram, Threads, Facebook and X! Buy some real nerdy merch.Connect with other Blankies on our Reddit or DiscordFor anything else, check out BlankCheckPod.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Knock knock! Who’s there? M. Night Shyamalan, of course! We’re answering the door and ushering in the apocalypse with a look at Night’s latest offering. Join our Patreon for franchise commentaries and bonus episodes.Follow us @blankcheckpod on Instagram, Threads, Facebook and X! Buy some real nerdy merch.Connect with other Blankies on our Reddit or DiscordFor anything else, check out BlankCheckPod.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After the smashing success of TRAINSPOTTING, Danny Boyle reteamed with star Ewan McGregor and writer John Hodge to…make a movie where Dan Hedaya plays the Archangel Gabriel, Stanley Tucci plays a cuck dentist, and Ewan has one of the worst haircuts in the history of cinema? Shockingly, 1997’s A LIFE LESS ORDINARY was not a hit. Actress and comedian Janet Varney (The Legend of Korra, “The JV Club”) joins us as we attempt to make sense of this bizarro road trip romance.Join our Patreon for franchise commentaries and bonus episodes.Follow us @blankcheckpod on Instagram, Threads, Facebook and X! Buy some real nerdy merch.Connect with other Blankies on our Reddit or DiscordFor anything else, check out BlankCheckPod.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The UK’s answer to PULP FICTION, Danny Boyle’s TRAINSPOTTING exploded into theaters and became a global phenomenon, thanks to an iconic marketing campaign. Who *didn’t* have this poster up in their dorm room? “Search Party” creator Charles Rogers returns to the pod to talk about how his own dorm TRAINSPOTTING poster contributed to his coming out at college, and how Danny Boyle’s radical empathy and fearlessness makes this film so much more than a movie-of-the-week cautionary tale.Join our Patreon for franchise commentaries and bonus episodes.Follow us @blankcheckpod on Instagram, Threads, Facebook and X! Buy some real nerdy merch.Connect with other Blankies on our Reddit or DiscordFor anything else, check out BlankCheckPod.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

UK house music, a *very* active camera, and Ewan McGregor looking like a SNACK…that’s right, folks - we’re covering Danny Boyle! With the England bit retired, we’re finally giving dual citizen David Sims the time and space to actually reminisce about his very British upbringing. A sensation in the UK upon release, SHALLOW GRAVE introduced Boyle as the cinematic voice of “Cool Britannia” - yet the film remains an under-seen gem in the States. In this episode, the boys discuss what they would do with a dead body (wouldn’t cut it up) and a suitcase of cash (would only skim off the top for a cheeky Nando’s); plus, they gush over the film’s incredible apartment setting…or should we say “flat”?Join our Patreon for franchise commentaries and bonus episodes.Follow us @blankcheckpod on Instagram, Threads, Facebook and X! Buy some real nerdy merch.Connect with other Blankies on our Reddit or DiscordFor anything else, check out BlankCheckPod.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Henry Selick waited thirteen years to make his follow-up to CORALINE, and it feels like we’ve been waiting even longer to hear David’s TIFF Airbnb story - a yarn that finally gets unspooled with the help of friend Shirley Li. After that business is taken care of, we try our best to describe Selick’s WENDELL & WILD - a film that ranks among the more convoluted of the movies we’ve covered on the pod. Yet - we still find a lot to love about this tale of demons, hair creme, and private prisons! Stop motion puppets that look just like Key, Peele, AND James Hong! Esteemed British character actor David Harewood as Black Trump! And Ben shines a special spotlight on the film’s killer soundtrack.Join our Patreon for franchise commentaries and bonus episodes.Follow us @blankcheckpod on Instagram, Threads, Facebook and X! Buy some real nerdy merch.Connect with other Blankies on our Reddit or DiscordFor anything else, check out BlankCheckPod.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The ultimate connoisseur of context, the guru of camera gear - our friend JD Amato makes his triumphant return to the main feed to walk us through the magic and genius of Henry Selick’s masterpiece CORALINE. For listeners who never had the chance to catch this film in its original 3D release, we attempt to describe Selick’s absolute mastery of the form. We go long on the history of Laika studios, from Will Vinton’s California raisins, to the ultimate “nepo baby” Travis Knight’s (aka “Chilly T”) ascension to the throne. Plus - JD discovers a tiny door in our new recording studio…Join our Patreon for franchise commentaries and bonus episodes.Follow us @blankcheckpod on Instagram, Threads, Facebook and X! Buy some real nerdy merch.Connect with other Blankies on our Reddit or DiscordFor anything else, check out BlankCheckPod.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The gang went to see AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER and we all got soaking wet. Fully submerged. Drenched! We’re communing with space whales, chugging coffees with Edie Falco, and learning how to hold our breath for long stretches of time to commemorate the release of James Cameron’s long-awaited sequel to the biggest movie of all time. Are we one with Eywa now? How does Kate Winslet’s Na’vi accent stack up against her previous linguistic efforts? Is the Regal Cinemas Agave Aquarita the perfect cocktail to accompany your trip back to Pandora? Will Marie end up buying the Lego “Home Tree” set, or is that too complicated for the crew?Plus, check out the Slow Xmas 2022 holiday music compilation now on Spotify and Bandcamp! Please support the bands/artists featured on this album.Nicky FrancisSpotifyApple MusicSoundcloudGravity ProofSpotifyApple MusicBandcampYouTubeInstagramGreeensleevesSpotifyApple MusicBandcampInstagramHeavy GusSpotifyApple MusicBandcampYouTubeWebsiteInstagramTikTokFacebookEvan KertmanSpotifyApple MusicBandcampBandcamp (Ben Varian)Website (Miles Wintner)InstagramInstagram (Ben Varian)Join our Patreon for franchise commentaries and bonus episodes.Follow us @blankcheckpod on Instagram, Threads, Facebook and X! Buy some real nerdy merch.Connect with other Blankies on our Reddit or DiscordFor anything else, check out BlankCheckPod.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Just in time for Brendan Fraser’s big comeback, we’re taking a look back at his misguided collaboration with Henry Selick - 2001’s bizarro flop MONKEYBONE. Justin McElroy (no relation to Bridget Fonda’s Dr. Julie McElroy) returns to the podcast after having watched this film a whopping seven times (!!) to unpack all the madness. Why are there no rules or logic to the film’s “Dark Town” underworld? What was the appeal of Chris Kattan’s “Mango” character on SNL? Was this film the nail in the coffin for the kitschy retro-revival genre of projects that dominated the 1990s? Can we write the money we spent to rent this movie off on our taxes? Join our Patreon for franchise commentaries and bonus episodes.Follow us @blankcheckpod on Instagram, Threads, Facebook and X! Buy some real nerdy merch.Connect with other Blankies on our Reddit or DiscordFor anything else, check out BlankCheckPod.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bugs! So many bugs! And…Richard Dreyfuss?? The Bug Queen Emma Stefansky returns to the podcast to celebrate all the creepy crawlies in 1996’s JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH. We’re talking about stone fruit, Randy Newman, and cinema’s sexiest spider in this episode. Plus, we rank our favorite bugs AND our favorite Roald Dahl adaptations, and we learn about how Ben got his scar.Join our Patreon for franchise commentaries and bonus episodes.Follow us @blankcheckpod on Instagram, Threads, Facebook and X! Buy some real nerdy merch.Connect with other Blankies on our Reddit or DiscordFor anything else, check out BlankCheckPod.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices