Okay, seriously, Jason Reitman… what happened? You may like LABOR DAY, you may hate LABOR DAY, but either way you can’t argue that it’s a puzzling career move from the man who brought us Thank You For Smoking, Juno, Up in the Air, and Young Adult. In this Real Talk segment, listen to Alex & Julio try to figure out how Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin ended up in a trashy romance novel and even dare to brainstorm an alternate, more satisfying, version of the story.

Kate Winslet specializes in playing women who fall in love truly, madly, deeply, and quickly. That can sometimes turn off critics and audiences, as was the case with the underrated LABOR DAY a.k.a. Jason Reitman’s Most Honest Movie. Listen to Alex & Julio as they allow unfiltered romance to pierce their defenses and discuss Josh Brolin’s raw sex appeal, the aphrodisiac qualities of peach pie, and other things you may learn about in prison.

Well, that was quite a minefield to navigate in Contrarians Corner. But now that we are in Real Talk, are we really in sync with Marcos Siega’s vision in PRETTY PERSUASION? We can all agree that Evan Rachel Wood and the rest of the cast are great but… in the service of what, exactly? And yes, there’s more James Woods talk.

The best type of filmmaking is that which pushes boundaries. Filmmaking that tells the stories most people are afraid to tell. And, unfortunately, critics and audiences often punish these daring projects - like when they stamped a 33% rotten Tomatometer score on PRETTY PERSUASION. Listen to Alex & Julio as they try to rescue what might be the best Evan Rachel Wood vehicle from obscurity. Also: did 2005 try to warn us about James Woods?

It’s fascinating that we can look back at BEING JOHN MALKOVICH and - love it or hate it - we can probably claim it’s Charlie Kaufman’s most accessible movie. But does that make it good? Alex & Julio discuss what works and what doesn’t in Kaufman and Spike Jonze’s first film, while recounting their own past experiences with this 1999 acid trip. And is it Cameron Diaz’s best performance?

“Malkovich Malkovich Malkovich? Malkovich Malkovich. MALKOVICH!” - Apparently, that was enough to get you a Best Original Screenplay nomination at the 2000 Oscars. But how does BEING JOHN MALKOVICH look more than two decades later, when we are overly familiar with Spike Jonze and Charlie Kaufman’s quirks and mannerisms? Listen to Alex & Julio as they push down on every bit of nonsense in the film, from monkey flashbacks to inexplicable mythology.

Legend says even director Phillip Noyce isn’t happy with how The Bone Collector turned out. But do we agree with that assessment now that we are in the Real Talk part of the show? Even if you removed Denzel and Angelina from the movie, isn’t this quite an entertaining cast to watch? Or is David Fincher’s shadow too oppressive to allow this type of thriller to blossom? Plus: a nostalgic look back at 90s posters!

In a way, David Fincher’s SE7EN ruined it for R-rated thrillers going forward. How else can we explain the negative reception to this early Denzel Washington / Angelina Jolie team-up, but by assuming people felt it wasn’t nihilistic enough? Listen to Alex & Julio as they come to the defense of THE BONE COLLECTOR, a movie that’s not afraid of injecting a little romance in the middle of a horrifying serial killer investigation. Also: Luis Guzman and Ed O’Neill jump in to supply comic relief charisma. What a delight.

Okay, so what was that ending, why is Carrie Coon only in five minutes of the movie, and more importantly, does KIN actually get The Contrarians’ seal of approval? Do we care enough to track down the short that inspired this feature? Are we excited to see what The Baker Bros come up with next? It’s our last Real Talk of 2022 and it’s a good time!

This is the world we live in now: where a sci-fi movie starring Zoë Kravitz and the older brother from Sing Street (A.K.A. the bad boyfriend from Midsommar) can’t make enough of a splash with critics. Not even the venerable presence of Dennis Quaid could save KIN from getting a rotten Tomatometer score, which is why Alex & Julio are going to defend it. Also, it’s a Patron Demand, so it’s not like The Contrarians have a choice.