We all love Steven Yeun, now that we are being serious. Alex loves him because of I Think You Should Leave, Julio loves him because of Minari — he was kind of boring in The Walking Dead, honestly. But now that we are in Real Talk, does it even matter how you feel about the biggest star in the movie, when the most important aspect of the experience is what you think is really happening in the story? Listen to The Contrarians speculate on the plot and come to terms, maybe, with the absence of answers.

Today’s cheat code: cast the star of a wildly popular TV show in your movie and let the critical praise come to you. BURNING is a slow, confusing, meandering Korean film that managed to snag Glenn from The Walking Dead for one of the main roles. But what happens once The Steven Yeun Effect loses its novelty? Listen to Alex & Julio as they try to figure out what’s going on in the most underwhelming love triangle of the decade!

Okay then, back to the present. Can we still enjoy the wall-to-wall senseless violence of an 80s action-fest in 2023 America? Is it possible there’s a valid reason why movies like INVASION USA aren’t wildly popular anymore? Has the window for a Chuck Norris renaissance closed? It’s a Real Talk segment that goes in many directions - and yes, one of those directions is Alex waxing poetic about practical effects.

The 80s were truly the Golden Age of American Cinema - and America in general, sure. You could solve almost any problem by shooting at it, and you had movie stars like Chuck Norris, who could believably stop a Russian invasion all by themselves. Unfortunately, INVASION USA was met with derision from snobby critics everywhere, so it’s time for The Contrarians to celebrate it. Listen to Alex & Julio as they embrace their inner badasses and turn their brains off in the best possible way!

Okay, so COLOR OUT OF SPACE looks as spectacular as the best Windows screensaver, and then some. But is there anything behind it? That’s the main question driving this Real Talk segment, and we throw a few things around: the true value of an unhinged Cage performance, how much would being familiar with the Lovecraft story enrich the viewing experience, and would we change anything about the way this material was approached? It’s all here, and it’s real!

Hey, look, it’s a modern Nicolas Cage movie! That means it’ll be a collection of memes trying to encapsulate a performance that’s pitched at 11 regardless of the context surrounding it. But COLOR OUT OF SPACE is based on a Lovecraft story and it’s helmed by a cult director, so of course critics ate it up! Listen to Alex & Julio as they squint their way through this psychedelic mess and call out every bit of nonsense in this acclaimed horror-fantasy adaptation that wasn’t above stunt-casting Tommy Chong.

Oh hey, Eddie Murphy is back again. Not just on our show (this is our fourth Murphy vehicle) but on the mainstream. Will he stick around? Alex & Julio speculate about that while discussing everything that works in DOLEMITE IS MY NAME… and maybe a few things that don’t. And no, nobody breaks into an actual Dolemite impression - although the challenge was put forward.

Have you ever wondered how hard it is to make a movie? According to the celebrated DOLEMITE IS MY NAME, it’s a breeze! All you need is a plucky crew and a good amount of can-do attitude. Listen to Alex & Julio pick apart the latest Eddie Murphy comeback and try to figure out if Wesley Snipes’ performance is the best part of the movie or the worst. Also: why would you cast Titus as the quiet member of any ensemble???

As promised, this is us taking care of some loose ends from our Livestream for the Cure 2023 segment. We do Josh Gad Minutes for every movie we covered and we also get to some movies we ran out of time for. Thank you all for your support!

There’s a very good chance we wouldn’t have had this long a conversation if we were covering the actual Casablanca. Instead, we’re covering a riff on Casablanca that landed terribly with most critics. Was it a reaction to its star, Pamela Anderson? A reaction to its silly, hypersexual tone? A reaction to how it predicted things going to hell in 2017? More importantly though, this is where you find out if we really liked the movie. It’s Real Talk!