The Film Talk

Episodes

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  Should We Stop Anthropomorphizing AI? What 2001, Colossus and The Outer Limits Can Teach Us 03.10.2026 27m

  Why are we working so hard to make artificial intelligence seem human? In this solo episode, Jett turns to three works of classic, and semi-classic, science fiction: Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, Colossus: The Forbin Project, and Harlan Ellison's Demon with a Glass Hand, asking what movies can teach us about our increasingly personal relationship with AI. HAL raises one possibility: What if a machine really does become something like a living being, with emotions and even a fear of death? Colossus offers a darker path, imagining what happens when we surrender authority to a machine and begin treating it less like a tool than an all-knowing god. But The Outer Limits episode Demon with a Glass Hand suggests another way forward. Its computer, manifested as a literal hand of glass, is intelligent, extraordinarily useful, and completely unsentimental. It doesn't flatter. It doesn't pretend to be your friend. It's a tool. Along the way in this episode: AI "personalities," the strange idea of giving software a soul, the pleasure of actually making things, Robert Culp's impeccable wardrobe, Harlan Ellison's legendary temperament, and why Jett has spent the past week wearing a glove and calling ChatGPT "the Glass Hand." Maybe the question isn't whether AI can become more like us. Maybe it's whether we should stop asking it to. The Show on the Web Subscribe on Patreon On Apple On Spotify On Facebook On Youtube Leave a Voicemail
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  Coyote vs. Acme: Absurdity, Empathy, and Why We Keep Going 18.09.2026 31m

  A cartoon coyote, Albert Camus, Mira Nair, and Albuquerque walk into a podcast. Jett and Gareth dig into the wonderfully humane Coyote vs. Acme: a film about persistence, absurdity, and the radical possibility of seeing the world through somebody else's eyes—even when that somebody has spent decades being flattened by anvils. The Show on the Web Subscribe on Patreon On Apple On Spotify On Facebook On Youtube
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  Steven Spielberg Ranked: Our Number Ones, and What Greatness Means 11.09.2026 44m

  Six episodes later, the ranking project finally reaches the summit. Jett and Gareth reveal their respective No. 1 Steven Spielberg films, argue about greatness, wander briefly into Vincente Minnelli's Lust for Life, and confront the terrifying possibility that ranking art may have told us more about themselves than Spielberg. Subscribe on Patreon Apple - The Film Talk Spotify - The Film Talk Facebook.com/TheFilmTalk
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  Steven Spielberg Ranked: Late Epiphanies and the Road to No. 1 12.08.2026 23m

  The Spielberg ranking has now escaped all reasonable containment. As Jett and Gareth approach the top of the filmography, old assumptions collapse, unlikely favorites rise, and Gymkata, Zodiac, and Quantum of Solace somehow enter a conversation ostensibly about Steven Spielberg. Cinema is a mysterious business. Subscribe on Patreon Apple - The Film Talk Spotify - The Film Talk Facebook.com/TheFilmTalk
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  Blue Heron: Grief, Family, and the Miracle of Being Seen 05.08.2026 24m

  Sophy Romvari's Blue Heron opens a conversation about memory, damaged families, grief, and the profound human need to be seen accurately. Jett and Gareth also consider why New Yorker critic Richard Brody remains such a vital voice—and why criticism is at its best when it risks having a point of view. Subscribe on Patreon Apple - The Film Talk Spotify - The Film Talk Facebook.com/TheFilmTalk
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  The Odyssey: War, Homecoming, and Our Responsibility to Act 31.07.2026 56m

  THE ODYSSEY: It's important that a film at this scale is speaking to this moment that we're in Dear Listener. In this wide ranging discussion our hosts Higgins and Loe get into why THE ODYSSEY is so thought provoking and important a piece of mainstream entertainment, while along the way enjoining discussions about matters of life and death, one's responsibilities to act, and also completely forget to mention Zendaya's role in the film. Enjoy. Subscribe on Patreon Apple - The Film Talk Spotify - The Film Talk Facebook.com/TheFilmTalk
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  Steven Spielberg Ranked: Sam Neill, Near Misses, and the Top Tier 17.07.2026 42m

  Jett and Gareth would like to apologize for believing Steven Spielberg's entire theatrical career could be ranked in one episode. Part Four gets them almost, but emphatically not quite, to the end, while making room to remember the wonderful Sam Neill and the films and performances that stay with us after the rankings become meaningless. Subscribe on Patreon Apple - The Film Talk Spotify - The Film Talk Facebook.com/TheFilmTalk
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  The Mandalorian and Grogu: Does Star Wars Still Have Moral Weight? 10.07.2026 44m

  What is Star Wars actually for? Jett and Gareth welcome educator and Star Wars expert Dan Zehr to talk The Mandalorian and Grogu, the future of the franchise, and whether this enormous mythology still carries moral weight—or has become merely a very expensive machine for moving familiar shapes around the screen. Subscribe on Patreon Apple - The Film Talk Spotify - The Film Talk Facebook.com/TheFilmTalk
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  Steven Spielberg Ranked: War Horse, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and the Movies That Divide Us 05.07.2026 54m

  The great Spielberg ranking rolls onward, pausing for Au Hasard Balthazar, Tom Stoppard's work on Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and Gareth's entirely defensible—or indefensible—love of War Horse. The rankings matter less than the arguments they provoke, which is probably the point. Subscribe on Patreon Apple - The Film Talk Spotify - The Film Talk Facebook.com/TheFilmTalk
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  Disclosure Day: Spielberg, Wonder, and the Courage to Listen 21.06.2026 41m

  Take out the earplugs of your mind, Dear Listener. Steven Spielberg's Disclosure Day prompts Jett and Gareth to talk about wonder, attention, and what happens when popular cinema asks us to remain open to something larger than our own certainty. Sometimes the recommendation really is simple: see the movie, then talk about what it did to you. Subscribe on Patreon Apple - The Film Talk Spotify - The Film Talk Facebook.com/TheFilmTalk
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  Steven Spielberg Ranked: Raiders, Duel, and the Madness of Ranking Art 16.06.2026 35m

  Gareth has placed Raiders of the Lost Ark somewhere Jett regards as evidence of a collapsing civilization. Part Two continues the impossible Spielberg ranking, with Duel helping clarify a useful principle: in the absence of reason, there is madness. Naturally, this does nothing to stop them. Subscribe on Patreon Apple - The Film Talk Spotify - The Film Talk Facebook.com/TheFilmTalk
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  Steven Spielberg Ranked: The Absurdity of Applying Metrics to Art 14.06.2026 53m

  Can art be reduced to a numbered list? Almost certainly not. Jett and Gareth proceed anyway. Part One begins the dangerous work of ranking every theatrically released Steven Spielberg film from least great to greatest—or perhaps from slightly brilliant to most brilliant. Metrics meet movies. Reason does not necessarily prevail. Subscribe on Patreon Apple - The Film Talk Spotify - The Film Talk Facebook.com/TheFilmTalk
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  Backrooms: AI Anxiety and the Death of the Analog World 07.06.2026 10m

  Backrooms arrives disguised as analog nostalgia and turns out to be something more unsettling: a film about what it feels like to live amid synthetic images, AI-generated culture, and the nagging suspicion that reality itself is becoming less tangible. Recommended—with caveats, unease, and a healthy distrust of infinite content. Subscribe on Patreon Apple - The Film Talk Spotify - The Film Talk Facebook.com/TheFilmTalk  
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  Natchez: Southern Charm, American Myth, and the Need to See Clearly 25.05.2026 31m

  Natchez dismantles comforting myths about the American South while asking a larger question: what happens when culture lets us float free of place, history, and consequence? Gareth calls it an early film-of-the-year contender; Jett recommends it without reservation. Before we act, the episode argues, we first have to see. Subscribe on Patreon Apple - The Film Talk Spotify - The Film Talk Facebook.com/TheFilmTalk To contact Jett and Gareth go to: [email protected]
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  Field of Dreams: Fathers, Sons, Regret, and the Possibility of Repair 22.04.2026 45m

  Gareth has spent roughly 20 years trying to make Jett watch Field of Dreams. The long national nightmare is over. What follows is a conversation about fathers and sons, baseball ghosts, Burt Lancaster, lost monoculture, regret, forgiveness, and whether it is ever truly too late to make amends. Subscribe on Patreon Apple - The Film Talk Spotify - The Film Talk Facebook.com/TheFilmTalk To contact Jett and Gareth go to: [email protected]
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  Project Hail Mary: When Big-Hearted Sci-Fi Leaves Us Cold 30.03.2026 1h 4m

  What? Two film critics who may not actually recommend PROJECT HAIL MARY? It's true folks, in this massive episode we go in-depth into the pitfalls PROJECT HAIL MARY falls into and recommend some alternatives, namely: E.T., TITANIC, SILENT RUNNING, THE DAY AFTER (TOMORROW), THE CAT FROM OUTER SPACE, LIFEFORCE, MELANCHOLIA, MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO, THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, SOLARIS, CONTACT, I, ROBOT, DARK CITY, KNOWING and even THE OMEGA MAN. We hope you enjoy. Subscribe on Patreon Apple - The Film Talk Spotify - The Film Talk Facebook.com/TheFilmTalk To contact Jett and Gareth go to: [email protected]
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  Oscars 2026: The Movies, the Crafts, and the Stories We Choose 14.03.2026 55m

  The 98th Academy Awards become an excuse to talk about what awards occasionally get right, what they miss, and the hundreds of people whose work makes movies possible. Jett and Gareth discuss the directors, actors, cinematographers, editors, craftspeople, and Best Picture nominees—with the usual understanding that art stubbornly refuses to behave like a horse race. Subscribe on Patreon Apple - The Film Talk Spotify - The Film Talk Facebook.com/TheFilmTalk To contact Jett and Gareth go to: [email protected]
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  Song Sung Blue: The Crowd-Pleaser That Missed Its Crowd 04.02.2026 24m

  Gareth loves Song Sung Blue. Jett attempts to survive the experience physiologically. Together they ask why this warm, unabashed crowd-pleaser failed to find the audience it deserved—and whether sincerity has become strangely difficult for modern movie culture to process. Come for the film talk; stay because "Sweet Caroline" has become unavoidable. Subscribe on Patreon Apple - The Film Talk Spotify - The Film Talk Facebook.com/TheFilmTalk To contact Jett and Gareth go to: [email protected]
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  Marty Supreme and Eephus: Exhilarating, Empty—or Both? 20.01.2026 30m

  Two very different movies raise a suspiciously similar question: can a film be exhilarating and leave you strangely empty? Jett and Gareth put Marty Supreme and Eephus into conversation, looking for the difference between cinematic energy and actual nourishment. Baseball may or may not provide the answer. Subscribe on Patreon Apple - The Film Talk Spotify - The Film Talk Facebook.com/TheFilmTalk
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  The Best Films of 2025: The Movies That Mattered 01.01.2026 40m

  It's the end of the year folks, so time for lists! Here's Jett and Gareth's Top 10 films of 2025. Gareth: BLUE MOON, A LITTLE PRAYER, KÖLN 75, THE HISTORY OF SOUND, SENTIMENTAL VALUE, SINNERS, SORRY BABY, IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT, KISS OF THE SPIDERWOMAN and TRAIN DREAMS. Jett: AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH, PLURIBUS, THE PHOENICIAN SCHEME, RIEFENSTAHL, 28 YEARS LATER, SORRY BABY, BUGONIA, TRAIN DREAMS, SINNERS and ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER. Subscribe on Patreon Apple - The Film Talk Spotify - The Film Talk Facebook.com/TheFilmTalk To contact Jett and Gareth go to: [email protected]