On the BiTTE

Writing this blurb is difficult. I've tried rewriting it at least three times, and I'm at the point of failing to explain myself, my partner, and the guy who's putting the film on at Sunray Cinema in Tampa on Saturday, January 17th, 2026, as part of Uncomfortable Brunch! We should all be disgusted with ourselves for enjoying it. Speaking of Uncomfortable Brunch, friend of the podcast Josh Martin joins us for this discussion!A film by Todd Rohal (anyone familiar with his work will know how messed up it is) and based on the comic by alternative cartoonist Johnny Ryan, this is a dark, mean-spirited comedy about a young man's mother meeting a woman and her child, and what ensues is carnage. Utter, utter carnage.Hold onto your seats with your clammy palms, my friends, this is a "bumpy" ride that is definitely for ADULTS ONLY!

Happy New Year, Geeks! What better way to start the New Year than with the neo-noir, psychological thriller by master Guillermo Del Toro: NIGHTMARE ALLEY.Based on the novel of the same name from 1946, this is a new adaptation of the source material. And Bradley Cooper is actually good! Ha!

What's more Christmas-y than celebrating one's birthday? Brian just so happens to share the same birthday with someone else we might know, on Christmas Day, many, many moons ago. It seems almost to explain what this film is, because who hasn't seen this and enjoyed it? I mean, it was controversial upon its release and was banned by many councils, even to this day, but who hasn't heard or seen LIFE OF BRIAN at this point? Regardless, you've heard of MONTY PYTHON, and this is easily their best film. This film gave us "big nose", the "ex leper", and "what have the Romans ever done for us?" Do yourself a favor and watch this. It's an absolute treat for this Festive Season!

Christmas can be a hard time of year for folk, especially writers...Anyway, here we are, taking a look at Lynne Ramsay's MORVERN CALLAR: her second feature film about a young woman, her fiancé, her pal, and a quick trip to Spain in the New Year. You're probably thinking to yourself, "This sounds like LOVE ACTUALLY or something," but let's be real, this is LYNNE RAMSAY we're talking about here. It's dark, it's unforgiving, it's strange, and it looks really nice... Merry Christmas, everyone!

You know when one of your reviews is "I'm not sure if Kenneth will break into song at any moment", you're either getting something that's gonna be awesome or bordering on disaster. This film is a mixed bag, which is ironic, because MARY SHELLEY'S FRANKENSTEIN, directed and starring Kenneth Branagh, is about a mad scientist who takes a bunch of dead bodies, stitches them together and brings them back to life. It's a tale as old as 1818, as they say. If the dazzling lights of contraptions pulsating, buzzing, and electrifying don't grab you, Kenneth's washboard definitely will!

Movies. You love 'em, right? Now more than ever? The romanticism of cinema. The elegance of the silver screen. The pretentiousness of simply making money in Tinseltown. Yes! We are here for THE PLAYER. Robert Altman crafts a piece of fine art with this twisty m**der mystery about Griffin Mill, a high-level movie executive, who gets embroiled in a vendetta with a writer whose idea he didn't greenlight. Genius, right? This one is one of the good ones.

And like that, we're coming out of another "Spooky P**is Month" and back to the drudgery of season... Shorter days. Colder nights. Christmas. It's all downhill from here. SO CHERISH THESE MOMENTS! We're covering one of cinema's brightest stars and a film he wishes to have absolutely no association with WHATSOEVER! Yeah, we're covering Ti West. Of course, people will scream from the mountains, "Guys, there are other films to cover of his!" and you would be correct, but this is just kind of funny... AND GROSS! This is one of the most shameless, ickiest, nastiest looking sequels to an underwhelming horror franchise from Eli Roth and, y'know what? This rulez! Just be prepared for how gross it is, and you'll be pleasantly surprised.

It's that time of year once again! It comes every year! SPOOKY PENIS MONTH! And we're hitting it hard with a "classic" in the form of John Irvin's GHOST STORY! I don't want to diminish it; it is a classic. It has some memorable moments and a scene that we uncover that we got very excited about. The way it's put together and how it's presented really make it. But other than that, it's about a bunch of rich old men having nightmares after some supremely abhorrent behavior in their youth haunts them and irritates their spouses, and that's about it. Anyway, let's ring in the festivities with our first installment of the season!

Keeping secrets...In the shadows... Or something more descriptive/funny/entertaining, etc. This film is the very definition of "twisty-turny", full of characters waiting to double-cross or double-cross those double-crossers. Maybe the twistiest, turniest film we've ever covered. More so than WILD THINGS. A very serious film about the Dutch Resistance fighters during the Second World War made by Paul Verhoeven.BLACK BOOK marked his departure from Hollywood and a return to Holland since making THE FOURTH MAN. This is a very accomplished film by a very accomplished filmmaker and is well worth a watch or two to get all the little details he put in there. Sit back and strap in for a 2.5-hour ride (don't worry, this episode is only 50 minutes).

Ryan was born quite a long time ago, and he is really old now. Since this is his "birth month", Laura allowed him to pick one of the movies for September, and this felt incredibly "literal".Yes! Sir. Stephen Frears, revered and celebrated British film director, hits it out of the park with this Dame Judi Dench/Bob Hoskins vehicle about "tasteful nudity" in theatre during wartime! With a host of other recognizable faces and a surprising, yet possibly THE BEST REVEAL EVER COMMITTED TO THE SCREEN WE HAVE UNCOVERED ON OUR PODCAST, there's a really, really, REALLY good time to be had with this one.

Alas, we have neared the end of our exclusive "FEMALE" August season, and we've taken this chance to usher in this close with a special guest. Laura and Ryan know next to nothing about the work of John Waters, which is both abhorrent and indicative of our glaring ignorance. That's why we invited Josh, who basically said we should have invited someone else if we wanted to talk about John Waters. Either way, enjoy this deepish dive into FEMALE TROUBLE and the revelation we'll be uncovering far more of his work in the future!

Who knows how far this episode will reach with something like "FEMALE" in the title, huh? Oh, we're only joking, YOU know why. In part 2 of our "August-Where-We-Cover-Films-With-Female-in-The-Title", we're looking at Susan Streitfeld's FEMALE PERVERSIONS. A film of theatrical quality and its own distinct style, it may not appeal to everyone. It may alienate others, and generate wonderment for some. It's hard to argue that the film has something to offer within the scope of exploring woman creatives and voices in cinema. Just watch out for the one-and-only Clancy Brown shine for no more than 3 scenes and basically Philip Seymour Hoffman this!

We're hitting August, and it's all about the FEMALES: which means we're covering films with "FEMALE" in the title. And if you couldn't get enough of individuals assuming someone else's identity in one episode, wait until you get your eyes on SINGLE WHITE FEMALE. Following in the footsteps of THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY, we replace opulence and popularity with questionable haircuts. They really test the limits of Bridget Fonda's attraction factor by giving her a haircut similar to Guy Gardner's from SUPERMAN, but you will be surprised how well this hair performs. There's very little to say about this film that hasn't been said already as one of the prime examples of the Erotic Thriller genre. This is a good one!

Many iterations of this character have found their way onto our screens - some great, some not so great. This happens to be one of the good adaptations. Starring a cast of the best-looking people of the 90s: Matt Damon, Jude Law, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Cate Blanchett.Enjoy this "twisty-turny-journey" from the "Ripliad"!

Now... There is a fair amount of controversy surrounding this film ever since it was first screened at Cannes back in 2003, and I'm not talking about his dated belt. Roger Ebert slated the film. Gallo called him "fat". Ebert did not relent. Gallo cut the film down from 114 mins to 98 mins. Ebert rejoiced, awarded it a 3/4, and seemingly forgot everything Gallo called him. But that isn't really that controversial. I'm talking about what transpired at the end of the movie with Chloë Sevigny, which got everyone so upset.Yeah, if you didn't already know, you're gonna find out and you'll probably hate it. This is a film that had us on the fence for a significant amount of its runtime, and there are some pleasant surprises. Or as "pleasant" as the film allows you to feel.

If there's anything you're bound to enjoy, it's a good fight movie! This doesn't have "FIGHT" in the title, but adopts the more measured and assured term "SELF-DEFENSE". Fighting shouldn't be encouraged or promoted, but looking after yourself should, respectfully.That brings us to Riley Stearns' 2019 black comedy THE ART OF SELF-DEFENSE, which follows a "weak" man who gets beaten up, decides to learn to fight, and discovers his inner manliness.As dystopian as this world is presented, I do appreciate the idea of just being able to buy something that is generically named "DOG FOOD" to eliminate the time wasted in having to think about my choices.Before I bore you with how complicated my life is buying dog food, enjoy this film review.

Back in the 1970's in the United Kingdom, there was a sole female Director of a movie. It was an avant-garde, cinematic depiction of the person's stage work and a perfect example of "Panic" Cinema. That film is THE OTHER SIDE OF THE UNDERNEATH.It's a cinematic journey we could not take on our own so we brought back Josh and Kat of Uncomfortable Brunch to bring a bit of academia to the table. We also introduce a new segment that tests Josh's proclivities. In an episode that talks about everything but the film in question, we believe our thought process is accurate.Everything makes sense... eventually.

Ricky, Ricky, Ricky! We're back with our first episode stalwart, Richard Rush!We always knew we were going to return to the world of Rush, this time in his most notable film, THE STUNT MAN. Starring Peter O'Toole, Barbara Hershey, and Steve Railsback, this film tells a tale about a wanted felon who stumbles onto a film set and 'just begins working' as a stuntman, and everyone loves him.As you might expect, there is a lot of 'Rush-isms' in this, for better or worse. But honestly, we wouldn't have it any other way! Remember, King Kong was only 3'6". It was the 'movie magic' that made him tall.

Oh boy. We've found ourselves in a bit of Barney Rubble, eh? However hard we try, we seem to find ourselves back in prison. And in this episode, you can listen to us in "real-time" literally figuring out how many "prison movies" we've already uncovered, and it's alarming.We're back with Mr. Mackenzie after we did YOUNG ADAM all those episodes ago, and it's another pretty bleak and disheartening piece of cinema starring Jack O'Connell in a big bad man prison. Key words here: "Prison Kisses" and you won't be disappointed.Enjoy! (hahah)

Hitting the tonnes with something "special".Episode 101 sees us covering SALÒ, or THE 120 DAYS OF SODOM, with our friends from UNCOMFORTABLE BRUNCH: Josh and Kat. This is a film that, even describing it in any way, will make us look like freaks. We promise that next time we'll cover something funny(-ish). Buckle up buttercups!If you've watched the film, you have an idea what to expect. If you have watched the film and decided to come here for further analysis, can I ask you one thing? Are you OK?