Trylove

Mann boy Tony Wagner returns to discuss another “compromised” movie! Eerie, violent, and hacked to bits by the studio, the supernatural horror mystery THE KEEP would be an oddity in any director’s career. In a remote Romanian village during World War II, Nazis (Jürgen Prochnow, Gabriel Byrne) occupy a foreboding stone citadel feared and revered by the locals (Robert Prosky, W. Morgan Sheppard). Tempted and terrorized by an unknowable presence inside, they relocate a Jewish historian (Ian McKellen) and his daughter (Alberta Watson) from a concentration camp to uncover its secrets. Also, an altogether average and unremarkable Greek gentleman (Scott Glenn) arrives to make sure things don’t get too out of hand (he is measurably less than successful). Originally planned as a 3.5-hour epic, Paramount Pictures demanded cut after cut until audiences were left with a kind of incomprehensible 98 minutes of… something. As a result, Michael Mann has all but disowned THE KEEP, leaving behind a weird, complex monolith to his unrealized vision. Kind of like a certain The Keep I know! In this brisk discussion, Tony helps us figure out what there is to THE KEEP, despite there being so little of its creator’s original vision in the end product. Is it a dreamy admonition of the all-consuming power of wrath that keeps the viewer at a tantalizing arm’s length? Or is it a goofy, cheesy stage play with only glimpses of the greatness that could’ve been? Is THE KEEP actually the movie it’s supposed to be out of the box, or is the actual thing obscured behind the sticky slime trail of studio interference? You’ll hear arguments for both sides on this lively episode! Find Tony… On Twitter at @tonydwagner On Letterboxd at @tonydwagner On the Trylove episode about ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY (2016) References: “Making Romania on Film: The Case of The Keep” by Sophie Durbin for Perisphere, the Trylon blog Give to the Trylon’s Film Forever Fund so they never have to increase ticket prices! Check the calendar, preview upcoming series, and buy tickets Contribute to Perisphere, the Trylon blog #NazisWeHateTheseGuys #DCP Follow us on Twitter at @trylovepodcast, Bluesky at @trylovepodca.st, and email us at trylovepodcast@gmail.com to get in touch! Show art by Emily Csuy. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro music: “It Ends” (an arrangement of “Walking in the Air” composed by Howard Blake) arranged and performed by Tangerine Dream from the THE KEEP soundtrack. Timestamps 0:00 - Episode 350: THE KEEP (1983) 3:19 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary 5:28 - A broken, odd, “compromised” movie that runs on vibes 19:29 - The fumbled unfolding of the mystery 27:55 - A movie where Mann reckons with his Jewish identity 31:53 - What this movie meant for Mann’s career 53:55 - The Nazi kills 57:07 - The Junk Drawer 1:03:37 - To All the Loves We’ve Tried Before: 1983 1:07:18 - Cody’s Noteys: Try Your Own Advent-Love (a choose-your-own-adventure through the titular Keep)

Robert Aldrich’s iconic ensemble action movie is brimming with testosterone, redemption arcs, and more little gags than you would probably guess. Lee Marvin uses 12 no-hope inmates’ basic distrust of authority as glue to bind them, wind them up, and whips them into Nazi-slaughtering shape on a suicide mission. For some, freedom and redemption hang in the balance; for others, nothing much at all. Let’s take it apart: Its struggle to balance so many Guys, cynicism about who really wins wars, why the hell Maggott is even here, the crappy TV sequels, and more. References: Actor Jack Palance Won’t Play Racist for $141,000 (Jet, March 10, 1966) “What are We, Some Kind of Dirty Dozen?” by Finn Odum for Perisphere, the Trylon blog “The Dirty Dozen: Your Dad’s Favorite Movie Before FOX NEWS Got To Him” by Phil Kolas for Perisphere, the Trylon blog Give to the Trylon’s Film Forever Fund so they never have to increase ticket prices! Check the calendar, preview upcoming series, and buy tickets Contribute to Perisphere, the Trylon blog #NazisWeHateTheseGuys #DCP Follow us on Twitter at @trylovepodcast, Bluesky at @trylovepodca.st, and email us at trylovepodcast@gmail.com to get in touch! Show art by Emily Csuy. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro music: “The Bramble Bush” by Trini Lopez from the THE DIRTY DOZEN soundtrack. Timestamps 0:00 - Episode 349: THE DIRTY DOZEN (1967) 3:08 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary 7:29 - It's a lot of guys 12:28 - A movie with less action than training 25:47 - The Dozen’s total commitment to the mission 33:22 - The length, the pacing, the training segment with Breed’s team 41:47 - The complicated Major Reisman (Lee Marvin) 51:31 - Maggott… 1:02:06 - The Junk Drawer 1:09:25 - To All the Loves We’ve Tried Before: 1967 1:13:57 - Cody’s Noteys: The Bird-y Dozen (ornithological terminology trivia)

Hal Ashby’s Navy comedy-drama THE LAST DETAIL is pretty straight on paper: Young seaman Larry Meadows stole from a charity favored by the boss’s wife, and longtimers Billy "Badass" Buddusky and Richard "Mule" Mulhall are his ferrymen to the prison where Meadows will spend the next eight years of his life (or maybe six). Before they get there, Badass and Mule are determined to show Meadows one last good time. Jack Nicholson, Otis Young, and Randy Quaid power through a drunken odyssey trying to forget their destination — and the lives waiting for each of them after the deed is done. It’s a hugely funny, heartfelt movie that still manages to be a classic ‘70s bummer. In this discussion, we delve into the different classes each of the leads represent, the escapades they use to distract themselves, their earnest yearning to leave an impact on each other, and their doomed efforts to change a foregone conclusion. References: Upcoming Cult Film Collective screenings at the Trylon, dedicated to projecting and preserving 35mm and 16mm film prints “The Triangle of Discontent in The Last Detail” by Jackson Stern for Perisphere, the Trylon blog “The Last Detail, the Weight of Time” by Ryan Sanderson for Perisphere, the Trylon blog Give to the Trylon’s Film Forever Fund so they never have to increase ticket prices! Check the calendar, preview upcoming series, and buy tickets Contribute to Perisphere, the Trylon blog #CultFilmCollective #35mm Follow us on Twitter at @trylovepodcast, Bluesky at @trylovepodca.st, and email us at trylovepodcast@gmail.com to get in touch! Show art by Emily Csuy. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro music: “American Patrol” composed by FW Meacham and performed by the United States Marine Band. Timestamps 0:00 - Episode 348: THE LAST DETAIL (1973) 3:01 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary 7:55 - Stories about misuse of justice 28:58 - Mulhall, Buddusky, and race relations 33:07 - “You know what I mean?”: How the men relate to each other and civilian life 47:07 - The Nichiren Shoshu and the spiritual journey happening in parallel 1:01:02 - Meadows’s turning point 1:03:37 - The ending 1:20:01 - The Junk Drawer 1:32:23 - To All the Loves We’ve Tried Before: 1973 1:40:09 - Cody’s Noteys: Wikiloves: The Last Detail (Jack Nicholson movie trivia from Wikipedia summaries)

With special guest Luke Mosher (@TinyPlanetsPod)! TOP SECRET! was the product of creative struggle. Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker’s creative engines were tapped after their breakout hit AIRPLANE! (1980), and its box office performance left something to be desired. But today, its impact is measured in more important ways — like its unmatched commitment to a good bit, how well it set up Val Kilmer for Hollywood, and how fucking funny that singing horse gag still is. In this episode, we talk about our favorite jokes from TOP SECRET!, the unique relationship between the creators and the viewer, why Val Kilmer is the perfect vessel for a ridiculously incongruous character, and how fucking funny that singing horse gag STILL is. Find Luke… On Twitter at @tinyplanetspod On Letterboxd at @soharborcoat On Perisphere, the Trylon blog, including “You Must Have Done Something: Orson Welles’ The Trial” and “Waiting for Something to Happen: György Fehér’s Twilight” On the Trylove episode about THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980) References: “They Shoot Hamsters, Don’t They” by MH Rowe for Perisphere, the Trylon blog Give to the Trylon’s Film Forever Fund so they never have to increase ticket prices! Check the calendar, preview upcoming series, and buy tickets Contribute to Perisphere, the Trylon blog #He'sOurHuckleberryTwoStarringValKilmer #DCP Follow us on Twitter at @trylovepodcast, Bluesky at @trylovepodca.st, and email us at trylovepodcast@gmail.com to get in touch! Show art by Emily Csuy. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro music: “Skeet Surfin’” composed by Maurice Jarre and performed by Val Kilmer from TOP SECRET! Timestamps 0:00 - Episode 347: TOP SECRET! (1984) 2:54 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary (under exclusive license from AG Enterprises, Ltd.) 4:36 - How we came to TOP SECRET! and parody movies in general 23:11 - How TOP SECRET! brings the viewer “in” on the joke 27:51 - Jokes for movie people 36:08 - A movie that’s excited to be a film 43:48 - Val Kilmer 54:16 - Our favorite jokes 1:06:24 - The Junk Drawer 1:14:24 - To All the Loves We’ve Tried Before: 1984 1:18:45 - Cody’s Noteys: Kilmer Instinct (Val Kilmer quote trivia)

In PATTERNS, engineer-turned-executive Fred Staples is excited to start his new job at the big firm that acquired his factory. But before long, he realizes he’s being groomed to replace Bill Briggs, a friendly long-timer who’s lost favor with the cruel CEO, Walter Ramsey. Rather than fire Briggs, Ramsey sabotages and humiliates him in an effort to force his resignation — and make the reticent Staples his new right-hand man. Here, we discuss the psychological dynamics of postwar workplace dramas, the headtrip stylings of Rod “The Twilight Zone” Serling’s script, the shifting balance of power in 20th century American labor, and what kind of person our protagonist becomes — and who he THINKS he’s become — by the time the credits roll. Then, our friends and former guests write in with their burning questions about the podcast! References: Watch PATTERNS on the Internet Archive Give to the Trylon’s Film Forever Fund so they never have to increase ticket prices! Check the calendar, preview upcoming series, and buy tickets Contribute to Perisphere, the Trylon blog #TwoStarkRealitiesWrittenbyRodSerling #DCP Follow us on Twitter at @trylovepodcast, Bluesky at @trylovepodca.st, and email us at trylovepodcast@gmail.com to get in touch! Show art by Emily Csuy. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro ambience  from PATTERNS. Timestamps 0:00 - Episode 346: PATTERNS (1956) 2:51 - The episode actually starts 5:27 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary 7:07 - The origins of PATTERNS 16:01 - How the movie sets up a really uncomfortable social and professional situation 24:12 - Where the psychology comes in 29:15 - How the Briggs/Staples situation plays out in the office 36:34 - Who Fred Staples is — and who he becomes 47:30 - How the ending changes our opinion of Staples 1:02:58 - White collar power plays and alienation from labor 1:10:09 - The ending and who Staples thinks he is now 1:17:11 - The Junk Drawer 1:21:26 - To All the Loves We’ve Tried Before: 1956 1:24:28 - Cody’s Noteys: The Trylove Mailbag (questions from previous Trylove guests)

That’s right — three of your favorite boys talkin’ BOY! A preteen boy living on the streets of Tokyo pulls scams to provide for his dysfunctional family. It takes a toll on his body and his mind: He and his stepmom take turns throwing themselves in front of moving vehicles and extorting innocent motorists by threatening to go to the police. The scores keep getting bigger and the opportunities keep shrinking until it seems there’s no way out of the vicious cycle — not with a wounded vet for a dad, a toddler to care for, and another baby on the way. In this episode, we tug at threads about growing wealth disparities during Japan’s “economic miracle,” the boy’s internal fantasies and external realities, and where in the world our friend Aaron Grossman went. References: “Young Boy, Old Soul” by Terry Serres for Perisphere, the Trylon blog “The Films of Oshima Nagisa: Images of a Japanese Iconoclast” by Maureen Turim from University of California Press Give to the Trylon’s Film Forever Fund so they never have to increase ticket prices! Check the calendar, preview upcoming series, and buy tickets Contribute to Perisphere, the Trylon blog #TwoFamilyTraumasbyNagisaŌshima #35mm Follow us on Twitter at @trylovepodcast, Bluesky at @trylovepodca.st, and email us at trylovepodcast@gmail.com to get in touch! Show art by Emily Csuy. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro music: by Hikaru Hayashi from the BOY soundtrack. Timestamps 0:00 - Episode 345: BOY (1969) 2:54 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary (under exclusive license from AG Enterprises, Ltd.) 6:59 - The overall experience of watching BOY 10:33 - The work of Nagisa Ōshima and criticism of postwar Japanese society 15:48 - Where this story chooses to focus its attention 29:13 - The family roles and who’s ‘responsible’ for their situation 44:46 - The crazy editing choices 54:57 - The ending and the boy’s growing sense of responsibility 1:08:28 - The Junk Drawer 1:16:48 - To All the Loves We’ve Tried Before: 1969 1:19:51 - Cody’s Noteys: Where in the World is Aaron Grossman? (Trivia about people named Aaron Grossman)

With Dan Nagan (@aDapperDanMan)! HEAVENLY BODIES is a 1984 drama film directed by Lawrence Dane and written by Dane and Ron Base. Cynthia Dale plays Samantha, the lead instructor of a dance fitness studio called Heavenly Bodies whose career takes off just as her relationship with football player Steve (Richard Rebiere) starts to take root. She gets her own TV show and her club keeps growing, but Sam’s struggle to balance her career ambition with her personal life deepens when a rival fitness club moves to take over their space. HEAVENLY BODIES bombed with critics and at the box office. The soundtrack did spawn a few modest hits, and it was apparently a ubiquitous rerun on Canadian television and, anecdotally, a home video success, which is where it languished for about 40 years until it was restored in 2024 and rereleased by Fun City Editions. Today’s discussion touches on Dan’s fandom for HEAVENLY BODIES, whether or not the broken plot and editing really matter, and this movie’s ‘quantum superposition’ on the spectrum of “cash grab-versus-passion project”! Find Dan… On Twitter at @aDapperDanMan On Bluesky at @adapperdanman.bsky.social On Letterboxd at @aDapperDanMan On his podcast about movies, Everything We Learned On Trylove episodes about RONIN (1981), FACE/OFF (1997), MANDY (2018), EDGE OF TOMORROW (2013), GOODFELLAS (1994), BARBARIAN (2022), DEMOLITION MAN (1993) On Stoop Kidz! A Hey Arnold! Podcast References: Heavenly Bodies Blu-ray from Fun City Editions “Putting the ‘Motion’ in ‘Motion Picture’: Key GIFs from Lawrence Dane’s Heavenly Bodies” by Chris Polley for Perisphere, the Trylon blog “I Should Have Known Better: The Wildly Improbable Story of Heavenly Bodies” by Ron Base Trylove Episode 155: Building a Boutique Film Label with Jonathan Hertzberg of Fun City Editions Give to the Trylon’s Film Forever Fund so they never have to increase ticket prices! Check the calendar, preview upcoming series, and buy tickets Contribute to Perisphere, the Trylon blog #OtherProgramming #DCP Follow us on Twitter at @trylovepodcast, Bluesky at @trylovepodca.st, and email us at trylovepodcast@gmail.com to get in touch! Show art by Emily Csuy. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro music: "Breaking Out Of Prison" by Sparks from the HEAVENLY BODIES soundtrack. Timestamps 0:00 - Episode 344: HEAVENLY BODIES (1984) 5:16 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary (under exclusive license from AG Enterprises, Ltd.) 9:06 - Why this movie blows Dan’s mind 17:41 - Conflict, earnestness, cynicism 37:47 - Why’d we cover this instead of CASABLANCA (1942)? 41:19 - Cynthia Dale, sports movies, and the leadup to the competition 48:02 - The final competition and Samantha’s anime moment 59:33 - Exploitation and sexuality 1:08:48 - Where Jack Pearson fits into Samantha’s journey 1:16:48 - The Junk Drawer 1:22:16 - To All the Loves We’ve Tried Before: 1984 1:26:47 - Dan’s Detour: Try-bo (exercise/aerobics craze movies quiz)

Matt Clark steps out of his crime film wheelhouse to chat about… a comic book movie??? THE ROCKETEER failed to stand out from the growing crowd of comic book adaptations and superhero franchises hitting their stride in the early ‘90s. But it had all the pieces of a genuine swashbuckler: Handsome leads, a sense of humor, fun action, and punchable Nazis. The Trylon’s “Nazis… We Hate These Guys” series gives us the benefit of hindsight, so we’re tackling it on its own terms and in its modern context! In this episode, we lean heavily on Matt’s knowledge of film history to diagnose the flyboy’s failure to launch for ourselves. Was it just bad timing? An unfortunate combination of development issues? Did people not want another pulp fiction-inspired hero? Of course, we also cook up a few of our own takes, from its balance of tropes and how it ties technology and Hollywood to what it’s saying about American tolerance of fascism before World War II. Find Matt… At Kino Ventura, his blog about movies Making Apache Revolver, his zine about crime films On Bluesky at kinoventura On Letterboxd at kino_ventura On Trylove episodes about SHOGUN ASSASSIN (1980), THE LAVENDER HILL MOB (1951), NIGHT MOVES (1975), THE FRIENDS OF EDDIE COYLE (1973) References: “The Rocketeer” by Bob Aulert for Perisphere, the Trylon blog “Watching the The Rocketeer with My Inner Child in Superhero Interzone 1991” by Chris Ryba-Tures for Perisphere, the Trylon blog Give to the Trylon’s Film Forever Fund so they never have to increase ticket prices! Check the calendar, preview upcoming series, and buy tickets Contribute to Perisphere, the Trylon blog #NazisWeHateTheseGuys #DCP Follow us on Twitter at @trylovepodcast, Bluesky at @trylovepodca.st, and email us at trylovepodcast@gmail.com to get in touch! Show art by Emily Csuy. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro music: “Rocketeer to the Rescue/End Title” composed by James Horner from the THE ROCKETEER soundtrack. Timestamps 0:00 - Episode 343: THE ROCKETEER (1991) 2:44 - An update on Lucchese-Soto, et al. v. The Criterion Collection, LLC 4:22 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary (under exclusive license from AG Enterprises, Ltd.) 6:02 - The aesthetic sense and production it gets “so so right” 11:49 - A big, comic book-y movie (but not in the MCU way) 16:40 - Stumbling across it during the pandemic 21:51 - The behind-the-scenes 26:46 - How THE ROCKETEER landed in the backlog of comic book cinema 35:29 - Source material, making PG, and where this movie ‘zags’ into comic bookiness 44:04 - How much this movie hates Nazis 55:42 - How would you feel if THE ROCKETEER came out today? 1:06:49 - The Junk Drawer 1:18:49 - To All the Loves We’ve Tried Before: 1991 1:25:01 - Cody’s Noteys: Who Wants to Be a Rocketeer? (personality quiz)

Robina Rose’s bewitching NIGHTSHIFT invites viewers into the private rooms of a surreal London hotel in the 1980s during the wee hours of the night. An enigmatic receptionist (London artist, model, and counter-culture icon Jordan) is the go-between, performing a nearly wordless ritual of check-ins, sorting, prepping, tidying, and bearing witness to her tenants’ idiosyncrasies. NIGHTSHIFT’s 4K restoration brought it to the Trylon, giving Jason and Harry the perfect reason to shine a halogen bulb right at its pallid, smirking face and see what’s underneath the stony visage! (That means we talk about it for almost as long as the movie actually is.) References: “Sleepless Nocturne: On ‘Nightshift’” by Elena Gorfinkel for MUBI “Love’s Labors: NYFF62 Revivals” by Imogen Sara Smith for Film Comment “Robina Rose’s Nightshift: a restored vision from the punk-era British avant-garde” by Charlotte Procter for the British Film Institute “Portobello Radio Show Ep 481 with Zakiya, Isis, Piers Thompson & Greg Weir: Remembering Robina” (stories about Robina Rose at 52:00) Candidate Manifesto: Robina Rose, Green Party candidate for Kensington Biography: Artist Robina Rose by Cinenova The Portobello Hotel by Hyatt “Never mind the shambolics: London's most legendary hotels” by Kate Weir for Mr. & Mrs. Smith  The History Of Portobello Hotel Nightshift at Lincoln Center NIGHTSHIFT - Official Trailer (4K Restoration) by Arbelos Films Nightshift at Arbelos Films Give to the Trylon’s Film Forever Fund so they never have to increase ticket prices! Check the calendar, preview upcoming series, and buy tickets Contribute to Perisphere, the Trylon blog #OtherProgramming #DCP Follow us on Twitter at @trylovepodcast, Bluesky at @trylovepodca.st, and email us at trylovepodcast@gmail.com to get in touch! Show art by Emily Csuy. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro music: “Cutting Branches For A Temporary Shelter” by Penguin Cafe Orchestra from the NIGHTSHIFT soundtrack. Timestamps 0:00 - Episode 342: NIGHTSHIFT (1981) 3:11 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary 5:42 - What NIGHTSHIFT is "about" 10:30 - The Portobello Hotel as a real place 21:30 - A movie about performance, construction, and maintenance of the self 25:50 - Pamela Rooke/Jordan as the audience lens and a surreal character of her own 29:58 - The strange lodgers and the worlds they inhabit 37:17 - That song the receptionist keeps playing 42:47 - What do we make of the world waking up? 52:46 - The Junk Drawer 1:01:26 - To All the Loves We’ve Tried Before: 1981 1:07:04 - The Harry Hotel (hotel-adjacent movie trivia)

We don’t often get the chance to cover pre-Hays Code movies on this podcast, but when we do, we make sure that a former Catholic gets at least 30% of the airtime. MERRILY WE GO TO HELL wasn’t the most salacious rule-flouting film of its day — but even its title was enough to raise the hackles of 1930s Hollywood. By putting salacious topics front and center, like non-monogamy (gasp!), hedonism (scandalous!) and people dealing with moral quandaries (my pearls!!!), queer female director Dorothy Arzner took risks no other woman in Hollywood was willing to. In this episode, we talk about how nothing really prepares you for the complicated feelings MERRILY WE GO TO HELL elicits, where some narrative refinement could’ve made its norm-challenging story land a bit harder, and differing perspectives on how we’re supposed to read the admittedly bleak ending. References: “Merrily We Go to Hell’s Dorothy Arzner, the Only Female Director in 1930s Hollywood” by Ed Dykhuizen for Perisphere, the Trylon blog “Merrily We Go To Hell: ‘The Holy State Of Matrimony,’ Pre-Code Style” by Lucille Hanson for Perisphere, the Trylon blog Give to the Trylon’s Film Forever Fund so they never have to increase ticket prices! Check the calendar, preview upcoming series, and buy tickets Contribute to Perisphere, the Trylon blog #DorothyArznerPreCodeCynic #35mm Follow us on Twitter at @trylovepodcast, Bluesky at @trylovepodca.st, and email us at trylovepodcast@gmail.com to get in touch! Show art by Emily Csuy. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro music: End credits music from MERRILY WE GO TO HELL. Timestamps 0:00 - Episode 341: MERRILY WE GO TO HELL (1932) 2:50 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary (under exclusive license from AG Enterprises, Ltd.) 5:41 - The Hays Code 15:10 - The turn from rom-com to something more bleak 29:25 - Would it be better if it were told entirely from Joan’s POV? 40:29 - Joan's dedication and the ending 1:02:08 - The Junk Drawer 1:11:38 - To All the Loves We’ve Tried Before: 1932 1:13:05 - Tryal by Fire (trivia for movies with iconic “go to hell” quotes)

Sure, it launched Richard Kelly and Jake Gyllenhaal’s careers, but DONNIE DARKO also cemented a cultural touchstone of upper-middle class teen alienation that’s only been burnished by time and rewatches. In a sense, Donnie is the average white suburbanite kid — but against the backdrop of a changing America and an aging boomer generation, basic empathy and self-awareness turn out to be a literal superpower. Finn Odum has a long history with DONNIE DARKO, making them a perfect fit for this extra-special episode! Harry hasn’t seen it since high school; Jason is afraid to find out if he still likes it after being bewitched by it as a kid; and Aaron hates teen movies. And… scene! Find Finn… On Twitter and Bluesky at @Finnematic On Letterboxd at @finnofthedead On Perisphere, the Trylon blog On Trylove episodes about THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD (1951), DIABOLIQUE (1955), CON AIR (1997), THE HOLY MOUNTAIN (1973), LA CASA LOBO (THE WOLF HOUSE) (2018) References: “the killing moon” by Finn Odum for Perisphere, the Trylon blog “Donnie Darko and the Inevitability of Teenagers” by Ryan Sanderson for Perisphere, the Trylon blog donniedarko.com, preserved by web developer Rich Holman Give to the Trylon’s Film Forever Fund so they never have to increase ticket prices! Check the calendar, preview upcoming series, and buy tickets Contribute to Perisphere, the Trylon blog #OtherProgramming #35mm Follow us on Twitter at @trylovepodcast, Bluesky at @trylovepodca.st, and email us at trylovepodcast@gmail.com to get in touch! Show art by Emily Csuy. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro music: “Liquid Spear Waltz” by Michael Andrews from the DONNIE DARKO soundtrack. Timestamps 0:00 - Episode 340: DONNIE DARKO (2001) 5:48 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary 7:45 - Finn’s essay and attachment to DONNIE DARKO 14:50 - “The best movie about being a teenager” 25:03 - Where the scientific explanations start to distract from the point of the movie 36:18 - A white boy who wanted to change the world 46:22 - The fear/love spectrum and boomer cope 58:21 - Teens will literally go to therapy and save the world 1:04:12 - The montage at the end 1:07:57 - How this movie moves, sounds, and feels 1:14:32 - The performances 1:20:50 - The Junk Drawer 1:26:35 - To All the Loves We’ve Tried Before: 2001 1:31:12 - Finn's Facts

It’s definitely not the best movie starring Indiana Jones, but it’s okay if it’s your favorite. For INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE — a movie on which the boys of the podcast are somewhat split — we’re talking what works and what doesn’t, daddy issues, the shadow self, and how this one stacks up to Indy’s best. References: “History’s Greatest Puzzle Room in which the Prize is Punching Nazis: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” by Allison Vincent for Perisphere, the Trylon blog “The Father, the Son, and the Holy Grail” by Lucas Hardwick for Perisphere, the Trylon blog Give to the Trylon’s Film Forever Fund so they never have to increase ticket prices! Check the calendar, preview upcoming series, and buy tickets Contribute to Perisphere, the Trylon blog #NazisWeHateTheseGuys #DCP Follow us on Twitter at @trylovepodcast, Bluesky at @trylovepodca.st, and email us at trylovepodcast@gmail.com to get in touch! Show art by Emily Csuy. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro music: “Scherzo for Motorcycle and Orchestra” by John Williams from the INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE soundtrack. Timestamps 0:00 - Episode 339: INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE (1989) 2:46 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary (under exclusive license from AG Enterprises, Ltd) 5:40 - Our thoughts, from “not an Indy guy” to “#1 U.S. QuizUp Indiana Jones Trivia Master” 18:15 - A movie that’s just the sum of its parts 40:08 - How this movie thinks about itself 45:49 - A movie that defrocks the myth of Indiana Jones 1:12:51 - How comedy sets you up for the emotional pull 1:28:19 - The Junk Drawer 1:35:22 - To All the Loves We’ve Tried Before: 1989 1:41:03 - Cody’s Noteys: Ford Explored (tagline trivia for Harrison Ford movies)

Anyone else think this guy looks familiar??? Charlie Chaplin’s first non-silent movie, THE GREAT DICTATOR, was both a sidesplitter and a rallying cry for a world at war. It’s best remembered for its closing monologue — a clear-eyed and impassioned call to reject the hatred and moral emptiness of the tide of fascism rising across the world at the time of its release — but it’s full of great bits and sight gags, too, all in the interest of defanging the leader of the Nazi party. Whether he’s embroiled in a game of one-upsmanship with uneasy allies, coughing his way through boisterous addresses, or having a bit of a musical theater moment with his bouncy globe, Chaplin’s Hitler analogue was explicitly created to make the world laugh at one of the most dangerous men in modern history. In this episode, we discuss what its success as a talkie owes to Chaplin’s mastery of the silent film form, figure out how much there is to love versus what you’ve just gotta respect, review Chaplin’s troubled relationship with the U.S. government, and interrogate what the world learned (or didn’t) from Chaplin’s prescient exercise in slapstick propaganda. References: Lowercase french fries because "french" refers to the style of cut, not the nation. #APStyleChat “Reviews: The Great Dictator” (March 29, 1972) by Roger Ebert “The Great Dictator: What Else is There to Say?” by Brad Bellatti for Perisphere, the Trylon blog “Charlie Chaplin’s Renegade Anti-Fascism in The Great Dictator” by Ed Dykhuizen for Perisphere, the Trylon blog Give to the Trylon’s Film Forever Fund so they never have to increase ticket prices! Check the calendar, preview upcoming series, and buy tickets Contribute to Perisphere, the Trylon blog #NazisWeHateTheseGuys #35mm Follow us on Twitter at @trylovepodcast, Bluesky at @trylovepodca.st, and email us at trylovepodcast@gmail.com to get in touch! Show art by Emily Csuy. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro music: “Main Title” by Meredith Willson from the THE GREAT DICTATOR soundtrack. Timestamps 0:00 - Episode 338: THE GREAT DICTATOR (1940) 2:49 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary 4:19 - What ‘works’ and doesn’t for us in Chaplin’s first sound film 10:56 - The tension of satire vs. “important” cinema, and whether or not you could make something like this today 24:23 - Corollary villains and real-world victims 32:23 - The plottiness, meandering focus, and payoff 44:31 - The real legacy of THE GREAT DICTATOR and what an explicitly political movie did for Chaplin’s career 53:32 - The best bits and gags 1:03:54 - The Junk Drawer 1:12:38 - To All the Loves We’ve Tried Before: 1940 1:16:44 - Cody’s Noteys: The Great Quick Tater (french fry trivia)

Seth Zarate is back to help us tackle RETURN OF THE JEDI, the sixth of nine (nice) numbered films in the main STAR WARS canon! This episode, we’re talkin’ about it all: Fathers, sex, spicy teddy bears, how differently this movie hits as an adult, the virtue of landing a plane as big as STAR WARS without crashing, and how the end of the world’s most-watched saga may be to blame for the whole mess it’s become in the decades since. Find Seth… On Bluesky at snzarate.bsky.social On Letterboxd at @snzarate On Twitter (barely) at @snzarate On Trylove episodes about THE FIFTH ELEMENT (1997), 12 MONKEYS (1995), TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A. (1985), A GOOFY MOVIE (1995) Table Read, TIME BANDITS (1981), THE FACULTY (1998), THE SACRIFICE (1986), RUMBLE IN THE BRONX (1995), Horrorthon V: Son of Horrorthon (2021), BATMAN RETURNS (1992), TOKYO GODFATHERS (2003), THE CONVERSATION (1974), IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934), LOOPER (2012), ASTEROID CITY/DIAL OF DESTINY/DEAD RECKONING/BARBIE/OPPENHEIMER (2023), THE CARS THAT ATE PARIS (1974) References: “The ONLY Ewok Jedi!” by RedFiveStarWars “‘Cha too ma laya conky, ya neema loka nyan:’ Return of the Jedi Appreciation” by Ben Jarman for Perisphere, the Trylon blog “Star Wars Film Love: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Theater” by Devin Warner for Perisphere, the Trylon blog “The Bright Flame of Resistance: Star Wars” by John Costello for Perisphere, the Trylon blog Give to the Trylon’s Film Forever Fund so they never have to increase ticket prices! Check the calendar, preview upcoming series, and buy tickets Contribute to Perisphere, the Trylon blog #StarWars #DCP Follow us on Twitter at @trylovepodcast, Bluesky at @trylovepodca.st, and email us at trylovepodcast@gmail.com to get in touch! Show art by Emily Csuy. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro music: “Victory Celebration” composed and conducted by John Williams and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra from the RETURN OF THE JEDI soundtrack. Timestamps 0:00 - Episode 337: RETURN OF THE JEDI (1983) 4:37- Overall evaluations of RETURN OF THE JEDI 17:06 - How Jabba’s Palace sets the stage for the rest of STAR WARS 31:55 - It’s nice to have a movie that feels like a direct continuation 39:48 - Endor and focusing almost exclusively on Luke 50:32 - Luke is an ewok. You are an ewok. We are all ewoks. 1:05:07 - The ending and “What is Best in STAR WARS?” 1:15:09 - The Junk Drawer 1:33:23 - To All the Loves We’ve Tried Before: 1983 1:41:06 - Cody’s Noteys: Puff Puff MoviePass (two things we like and one thing we don’t from 2025 movies)

With special guest and Trylon blog author Luke Mosher! THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK is the best STAR WARS movie. I mean, come on. It’s got it all! Everything except a beginning and an ending. Like all the best stories! Lol! Since Cody’s out and we couldn’t find anyone else who prefers STAR WARS to EMPIRE, we’ve welcomed first-time guest Luke Mosher to unload about this series high point! Together, we talk about what makes EMPIRE special, how it relates and compares to the 1977 starting point, and find out what it’s like to be a STAR WARS fan named Luke. (Apparently, it’s pretty awesome.) Find Luke… On Twitter at @tinyplanetspod On Letterboxd at @soharborcoat On Perisphere, the Trylon blog, including “You Must Have Done Something: Orson Welles’ The Trial” and “Waiting for Something to Happen: György Fehér’s Twilight” References: “Star Wars Film Love: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Theater” by Devin Warner for Perisphere, the Trylon blog “The Bright Flame of Resistance: Star Wars” by John Costello for Perisphere, the Trylon blog Give to the Trylon’s Film Forever Fund so they never have to increase ticket prices! Check the calendar, preview upcoming series, and buy tickets Contribute to Perisphere, the Trylon blog #StarWars #DCP Follow us on Twitter at @trylovepodcast, Bluesky at @trylovepodca.st, and email us at trylovepodcast@gmail.com to get in touch! Show art by Emily Csuy. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro music: “The Imperial March (Darth Vader’s Theme)” composed and conducted by John Williams and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra from the THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK soundtrack. Timestamps 0:00 - Episode 336: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980) 1:41 - Luke and his history with the Trylon 15:06 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary (under exclusive license from AG Enterprises, Ltd.) 17:04 - What it’s like to be a STAR WARS fan named Luke 24:46 - Actually discussing THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK 40:18 - Is this movie a miracle? 42:40 - The handshake between STAR WARS (1977) and EMPIRE 47:46 - A deeper focus on character and tone 1:01:45 - Yoda, Obi-Wan, and the limited usefulness of tradition 1:09:49 - The Junk Drawer 1:28:24 - To All the Loves We’ve Tried Before: 1980

The fact that STAR WARS is so much more than a movie makes it a little tough to talk about as, like, just a movie. But with Natalie and Abbie, we’re actually strapped in for the best discussion of STAR WARS on the internet. In this wide-ranging discussion, we touch on the balance of intentionality and blind ambition on the part of George Lucas, STAR WARS as a corrective to the New Hollywood wave, and of course, dive into a lot of little STAR WARS trivia, ephemera, and plain useless knowledge. Like I said: best on the ‘net. Find Abbie… On Bluesky On Letterboxd On Trylove episodes about DRIVE ANGRY (2011), WAR OF THE WORLDS (2005), THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT (1999), TOUCH OF EVIL (1958), THE TRAIN (1964), MOULIN ROUGE! (2001), PHANTOM THREAD (2017) Find Natalie… On Twitter and Bluesky On Letterboxd at @framingthepic In the byline for Noise Music, a forthcoming entry in Genre: A 33 ⅓ Series book about the noise genre and its influences on and intersections with culture On Trylove episodes about THE THIRD MAN (1949), CHESS OF THE WIND (1979), RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD (1985), MAD MAX: FURY ROAD (2015), MILLENNIUM MAMBO (2001), THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT (1999), LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT (2018), ZARDOZ (1974), NOSTALGHIA (1987), SECONDS (1966), THERE WILL BE BLOOD (2007), THE HEARTBREAK KID (1972) References: “Jackass: Laughing With the Pain” by Natalie Marlin for Bright Wall/Dark Room “Star Wars Film Love: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Theater” by Devin Warner for Perisphere, the Trylon blog “The Bright Flame of Resistance: Star Wars” by John Costello for Perisphere, the Trylon blog Give to the Trylon’s Film Forever Fund so they never have to increase ticket prices! Check the calendar, preview upcoming series, and buy tickets Contribute to Perisphere, the Trylon blog #StarWars #DCP Follow us on Twitter at @trylovepodcast, Bluesky at @trylovepodca.st, and email us at trylovepodcast@gmail.com to get in touch! Show art by Emily Csuy. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro music: “Star Wars Main Theme” composed and conducted by John Williams and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra from the STAR WARS soundtrack. Timestamps 0:00 - Episode 335: STAR WARS (1977) 3:29 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary (under exclusive license from AG Enterprises, Ltd.) 4:34 - How do you approach STAR WARS as a movie and not just a phenomenon? 23:48 - The world STAR WARS was born in, postmodern takes, and rewatching this as a Movie Adult 44:16 - George Lucas’s earnest intentionality and wanton ambition 51:31 - Why it seems like this movie sometimes barely holds together 57:26 - Luke and Han Solo as Lucas and Coppola 1:02:59 - John Williams and the legendary score 1:18:17 - Luke’s journey and “The Force of Others” 1:33:20 - The Junk Drawer 1:57:32 - To All the Loves We’ve Tried Before: 1977 1:59:37 - Cody’s Noteys: Star Lores: A New Pope (Pope Leo XIV trivia)

Shortly before the deluge of Disneyslop, ROGUE ONE tried to give moviegoing audiences a different perspective on the far, far away world of STAR WARS. Series fan and podcaster Tony Wagner joins the podcast to talk about his close personal friend Admiral Raddus the time Star Wars went World War II, the Los Angeles Dodgers, godless CGI, and the guiding power of myth. Find Tony… On Twitter at @tonydwagner On Letterboxd at @tonydwagner References: Give to the Trylon’s Film Forever Fund so they never have to increase ticket prices! Check the calendar, preview upcoming series, and buy tickets Contribute to Perisphere, the Trylon blog #StarWars #DCP Follow us on Twitter at @trylovepodcast, Bluesky at @trylovepodca.st, and email us at trylovepodcast@gmail.com to get in touch! Show art by Emily Csuy. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro music: "Jyn Erso & Hope Suite" by Michael Giacchino from the ROGUE ONE soundtrack. Timestamps 0:00 - Episode 334: ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY (2016) 5:14 - Solid mechanics and a plethora of good ideas 17:53 - A pivot from cynicism and gritty realism to hope and myth-making 31:08 - The new ideas and newly spun old ideas 35:54 - The little arcs the characters have 40:35 - How do we reclaim ROGUE ONE? 51:22 - Callbacks, CGI, and the cheaper STAR WARS connections 1:06:06 - The Junk Drawer 1:14:33 - To All the Loves We’ve Tried Before: 2016 1:17:36 - Cody’s Noteys: Haiku-SO (writing haikus one word at a time)

Whether you think it’s an ALIEN (1979) ripoff, a HIGH NOON (1952) pastiche, or a pretty fun action flick, you’re probably right about OUTLAND! In a rare turn, Kelly’s back in the guest chair for a movie she’d never seen before. Does she like what she finds? Do we? Do you? Did anybody? In this episode, we’re talking exploding heads, screenwriting 101, the two halves of OUTLAND, ridiculous German names, and miniature sets so good you forgive a lot of nonsense just to see more of them. Find Kelly… On Twitter at @kransekage_ On Letterboxd at @luckyhoss On Trylove episodes: WINGS OF DESIRE (1987), ARREBATO (1979), and PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE (1974), REVOLVER (1973), THE DOOM GENERATION (1995), THE NIGHT PORTER (1974), REMEMBER MY NAME (1978), PLAY IT AS IT LAYS (1972) References: “My Rotten Little Part in the Rotten Machine: Outland” by John Costello for Perisphere, the Trylon blog Give to the Trylon’s Film Forever Fund so they never have to increase ticket prices! Check the calendar, preview upcoming series, and buy tickets Contribute to Perisphere, the Trylon blog #TheCantankerousPeterBoyle #35mm Follow us on Twitter at @trylovepodcast, Bluesky at @trylovepodca.st, and email us at trylovepodcast@gmail.com to get in touch! Show art by Emily Csuy. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro music: “Leisure Club” by Michael Boddicker and Ganymede from the OUTLAND soundtrack Timestamps 0:00 - Episode 333: OUTLAND (1981) 2:40 - The episode actually starts 5:20 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary 7:53 - What brings us to OUTLAND 10:29 - Sci-fi, westerns, frontierism, and the collective vs. the individual 25:43 - What separates OUTLAND from ALIEN (1979), HIGH NOON (1952), and its frequent comparisons 41:21 - What does polydichloric euthimal actually do lol 45:07 - Sean Connery as the vessel for this character 53:00 - The Cantankerous Peter Boyle 01:02:45 - The Junk Drawer 01:20:11 - To All the Loves We’ve Tried Before: 1981 01:25:46 - Cody’s Noteys: Moon-Struck (moon trivia)

This episode is… ALIVE!!! With Bob Buel, creator and host of 99 Questions (and first-time Trylove guest), we’re getting (re)animated about Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder’s timeless blend of piss-taking, homage-paying parody in YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN. It’s a great discussion where people who’ve seen it dozens of times (Bob) help explain what makes it sticky, while new-ish-comers (Jason, Cody) look at it with fresh, doting eyes. Worlds collide! Sparks fly! Trenchant Weird Al references abound! The word “horny” is said five times (which is fewer than you might think given this group of people and this specific movie)! Find Bob… On 99 Questions, his podcast where he poses interesting questions to interesting guests On Bluesky at bobbbackwards and 99questionspod References: “A Labor of Love: Mel Brooks’s Young Frankenstein” by Allison Vincent for Perisphere, the Trylon blog Give to the Trylon’s Film Forever Fund so they never have to increase ticket prices! Check the calendar, preview upcoming series, and buy tickets Contribute to Perisphere, the Trylon blog #TheCantankerousPeterBoyle #DCP Follow us on Twitter at @trylovepodcast, Bluesky at @trylovepodca.st, and email us at trylovepodcast@gmail.com to get in touch! Show art by Emily Csuy. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro music: “Main Theme” by John Morris from the YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN soundtrack. Timestamps 0:00 - Episode 332: YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (1974) 8:05 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary 9:47 - Our histories with this movie 15:16 - Do you need to care about the source material to find this riff funny? 40:15 - How Frederick’s untethering affects the structure of the movie 45:28 - The genius supporting cast 55:19 - YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN in context of parody films 1:07:26 - The Junk Drawer 1:21:35 - To All the Loves We’ve Tried Before: 1974 1:25:33 - Cody’s Noteys: Frankenstein’s Noteys (multi-thematic trivia)

Peter Yates’s Robert Mitchum vehicle THE FRIENDS OF EDDIE COYLE is an unglamorous picture of a rough way of life and the rough people who live it (on both sides of the law). With friend of the show and noted crime (movie) enthusiast Matt Clark, we pull back the grimy edges of this unromantic “anti-thriller” to expose the fragile, human narrative at its core — brought to life in part by the cantankerous Peter Boyle, who also lends his name to the trivia segment that closes the episode. Find Matt… At Kino Ventura, a blog about movies On Bluesky at kinoventura On Letterboxd at kino_ventura On Trylove episodes about NIGHT MOVES (1975), THE LAVENDER HILL MOB (1951) References: “The Real World of Crime” by Matt Clark for Perisphere, the Trylon blog “A Criminal Reputation: George V. Higgins From Page to Screen” by J.R. Jones for Perisphere, the Trylon blog Give to the Trylon’s Film Forever Fund so they never have to increase ticket prices! Check the calendar, preview upcoming series, and buy tickets Contribute to Perisphere, the Trylon blog #TheCantankerousPeterBoyle #DCP Follow us on Twitter at @trylovepodcast, Bluesky at @trylovepodca.st, and email us at trylovepodcast@gmail.com to get in touch! Show art by Emily Csuy. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro music: “The Friends of Eddie Coyle Theme” by Dave Grusin from the THE FRIENDS OF EDDIE COYLE soundtrack. Timestamps 0:00 - Episode 331: THE FRIENDS OF EDDIE COYLE (1973) 2:58 - The Patented Harry Mackin Summary (not to be confused with The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary, the syndication rights to which are held exclusively and in perpetuity by AG Enterprises, Ltd.) 4:58 - Opening thoughts 10:23 - THE FRIENDS OF EDDIE COYLE as a movie of two modes 22:07 - The banality of working class crime 30:54 - Cynicism and Eddie Coyle's fatal flaw 37:55 - The Cantankerous Peter Boyle 47:56 - Robert Mitchum and the film's written dialogue 56:28 - Coyle's last grasp at the American Dream 1:04:01 - The Junk Drawer 1:13:25 - To All the Loves We've Tried Before: 1973 1:18:20 - Cody's Noteys: The Friends of Peter Boyle (Peter Boyle trivia)