Four Play

Kill Bill held a special place in a lot of hearts. The Whole Bloody Affair was supposed to be the definitive version: Tarantino's original vision restored as a single four-and-a-half-hour film. Richard Lewis, Thorin, and MonteCristo sat through all of it, and what they found was the precise moment Quentin Tarantino disappeared up his own references. Everything that made Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction brilliant, such as the compelling dialogue, the clever homage, the subversion of genre, is replaced here by wholesale theft from better movies that the audience can now watch for free on YouTube.   Raycon — The Essential Open earbuds wrap around your ear so you can hear everything while working out. Secure fit, great sound, 30-day guarantee. Go to https://buyraycon.com/fourplayopen to get 20% off sitewide. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Pulp Fiction is one of the most hyped films in cinema history and Richard Lewis, Thorin, and MonteCristo are here to confirm that even after 30 years the hype is entirely earned. What shocked them most wasn't the violence or the nonlinear structure, but how slow the film actually is. Strip away the iconic moments seared into cultural memory and what you find is a movie dominated by two people talking, and it's riveting every single time.   Mint Mobile: Ditch overpriced wireless. All plans come with high-speed data and unlimited talk and text on the nation's largest 5G network, starting at just $15/month. Shop plans at https://www.mintmobile.com/fourplay Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Before Pulp Fiction made Quentin Tarantino a household name, there was Reservoir Dogs — a film so raw and transgressive it was banned in the UK for years, circulated on pirate VHS tapes, and became the blueprint for an entire generation of filmmaking. A guy who worked in a video store in LA wrote and directed this. Wrap your head around that.   Richard Lewis, MonteCristo, and Thorin kick off Four Play's Tarantino Arc with the film that started it all. They dig into why Reservoir Dogs was banned in the UK (and what the Jamie Bulger case had to do with it), how Tarantino's background as a video store clerk — obsessively watching foreign cinema and genre trash alike — produced one of the most assured directorial debuts in film history, and why this movie, despite its reputation as a "video nasty," has a surprisingly low body count and a genuine soul underneath the blood.   The crew breaks down what makes the non-linear storytelling genius rather than gimmick, unpacks the iconic Mr. Blonde torture scene and what Michael Madsen brought to that role, makes the case for Steve Buscemi's Mr. Pink as the film's true protagonist, and explains how the K-Billy Super Sounds of the 70s changed how soundtracks work in movies — commercially and culturally — forever.   This is the beginning of Four Play's deep dive through Tarantino's career. Coming next: Pulp Fiction. The arc is just getting started.   Mint Mobile — If you like your money, Mint Mobile is for you! Shop plans at https://mintmobile.com/FOURPLAY. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In 1995, a film predicted POV recording technology, VR experiences you can buy on the black market, deepfake manipulation, police brutality caught on camera, and a society addicted to experiencing other people's lives through a screen. It starred Ralph Fiennes, Angela Bassett, and was written by James Cameron. Almost nobody saw it.   Strange Days bombed at the box office, nearly destroyed Kathryn Bigelow's career, and has been virtually impossible to find ever since, as right now no streaming service carries it. But everything it warned us about has come true, and somehow the reality is worse than the fiction.   MonteCristo, Thorin, and Richard Lewis make the case for why this is one of the most important sci-fi films ever made. We get into the SQUID tech that directly inspired Cyberpunk 2077's Braindances, the darkest plot device in sci-fi, Ralph Fiennes as the perfect cyberpunk noir anti-hero, Angela Bassett's tragically wasted career as an action star, the Rodney King and OJ parallels baked into the script, and a long conversation about how AI, social media, and surveillance culture have made this film more relevant than ever.   Roger Ebert gave it 4 stars in 1995 and called it a future cult classic. He was right. Again.   Control Body Odor ANYWHERE with Mando and get 20% off + free shipping with promo code FOURPLAY at https://shopmando.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Four film lovers revisit The Matrix (1999) for the first time in years.   The action still holds up. The philosophical ideas still land. But the script? That's where things get complicated. We break down the Hong Kong cinema influences Hollywood never credited, the Dark City and Invisibles connections, what Keanu Reeves actually brings to Neo, and whether the Wachowskis wrote a cyberpunk masterpiece or got carried by everyone around them.   Plus: our 10-point rating and the one scene that still divides the room.   Ready to stop paying more than you have to? New customers can make the switch today and, for a limited time, get unlimited premium wireless for just $15 per month! Switch now at https://mintmobile.com/FOURPLAY. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Was The Matrix the first film to ask whether our reality is manufactured? No! There are huge parallels between Dark City and The Matrix, with both films using some of the same themes, visuals, and even sets. In this episode of Four Play, we dive into Dark City (1998): Alex Proyas’ noir-drenched sci-fi cult classic that arrived one year before The Matrix and explored memory, identity, and control in ways that still feel unsettlingly modern. Is Dark City just a forgotten cyberpunk curiosity or is it one of the most important science fiction films of the 1990s? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Four Play begins a brand-new Cyberpunk Arc with a deep dive into Blade Runner: one of the most influential science-fiction films ever made. Released in 1982, Blade Runner didn’t just define cyberpunk aesthetics,  it also reshaped how cinema explores identity, consciousness, artificial intelligence, capitalism, and what it means to be human. Decades later, its themes feel more relevant than ever. Visit https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/FOURPLAY and use code FOURPLAY and get $50 in lineups when you play your first $5 lineup! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

David Cronenberg’s Naked Lunch is not an adaptation: it’s a psychological autopsy. In this episode of Four Play, we dive deep into one of the most challenging films ever released by a major director: Cronenberg’s surreal, disturbing, and deeply personal interpretation of William S. Burroughs’ life and work. Rather than translating Burroughs’ famously “unfilmable” novel to the screen, Naked Lunch fuses biography, addiction, sexuality, guilt, and creativity into a dream-logic nightmare that feels closer to a hallucination than a movie. Control Body Odor ANYWHERE with Mando and get 20% off + free shipping with promo code FOURPLAY at https://shopmando.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

THINGS TO DO IN DENVER WHEN YOU’RE DEAD (1995) is a time capsule of 1990s crime cinema: strange characters with even stranger nicknames who speak in impossibly slick slang.  Control Body Odor ANYWHERE with Mando and get 20% off + free shipping with promo code FOURPLAY at https://shopmando.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

THE GREEN KNIGHT (2021) is often described as abstract, slow, or confusing, but those labels miss what the film is actually doing. Directed by David Lowery, this Arthurian adaptation isn’t a puzzle to be solved, but a moral fable about avoidance and the cost of refusing to grow up. In this episode of Four Play, Richard Lewis, MonteCristo, and Thorin break down why The Green Knight is less concerned with symbolism and mythology than it is with character. Gawain’s journey isn’t about heroism, it’s about procrastination, self-deception, and the terrifying moment when excuses run out.   Rather than presenting a traditional fantasy quest, the film strips the genre down to its emotional core. Each encounter tests Gawain not with strength or cleverness, but with honesty and courage, which are virtues he repeatedly fails to embody until the moment that finally matters. Raycon's Essential Open Earbuds are here to help you crush your new year goals! Go to https://buyraycon.com/FOURPLAYOPEN to get 20% off sitewide. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

THE FOUNTAIN (2006) is one of the most ambitious, polarizing, and misunderstood films of the 21st century. Directed by Darren Aronofsky, the film weaves together three timelines: a conquistador’s quest for eternal life, a modern scientist racing against death, and a cosmic traveler drifting toward transcendence, which all bound by love, grief, and humanity’s refusal to accept mortality.  Visit https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/FOURPLAY and use code FOURPLAY and get $50 in lineups when you play your first $5 lineup!  Raycon's Essential Open Earbuds are here to help you crush your new year goals! Go to https://buyraycon.com/FOURPLAYOPEN to get 20% off sitewide.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

THE OLD MAN & THE GUN (2018) feels less like a typical crime movie and more like a gentle farewell  not just to a character, but to an entire Hollywood era. Directed by David Lowery, the film stars Robert Redford as Forrest Tucker, a lifelong bank robber whose crimes are defined not by violence, but by charm, politeness, and an irresistible love of the game.   As the final entry in our Robert Redford Arc, this episode explores why THE OLD MAN & THE GUN works as a perfect swan song. The film distills everything that made Redford an icon: effortless charisma, moral ambiguity, romanticism without sentimentality, and a deep understanding of aging, obsession, and identity. What emerges is a crime story with almost no tension  and yet carries enormous emotional weight.   Lowery shoots the film on Super 16mm, giving it the texture and warmth of a 1970s classic, while Redford delivers one of his most restrained and expressive performances. Paired with a beautifully understated turn from Sissy Spacek, and supported by a stacked cast that includes Casey Affleck, Danny Glover, and Tom Waits, the film becomes a meditation on what it means to keep doing the thing you love even when the world tells you it’s time to stop.   Visit https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/FOURPLAY and use code FOURPLAY and get $50 in lineups when you play your first $5 lineup! Turn your expensive wireless present into a huge wireless savings future by switching to Mint. Shop Mint Unlimited Plans at https://MINTMOBILE.com/FOURPLAY Raycon audio products are up to 20% off this holiday season! Go to https://buyraycon.com/FOURPLAYOPEN to save on Raycon audio products sitewide. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

SPY GAME (2001) looks like a slick, early-2000s spy thriller, but beneath Tony Scott’s kinetic style is a surprisingly thoughtful film about loyalty, institutional cynicism, and the quiet mechanics of real espionage. Rather than gadgets or superhuman assassins, SPY GAME is about phone calls, favors, leverage, and knowing the system well enough to bend it without breaking it.   Robert Redford plays Nathan Muir, a veteran CIA operative on his final day before retirement, racing against the clock to save his former protégé Tom Bishop (Brad Pitt), who has been captured in a Chinese prison after going off-mission. What unfolds is less an action spectacle and more a chess match fought through bureaucracy, institutional blind spots, and decades of accumulated spycraft.   As the film moves between past missions and present-day interrogation rooms, SPY GAME becomes a story about mentorship, moral compromise, and the cost of serving systems that treat people as expendable assets. Redford delivers one of his most restrained performances, while Tony Scott proves that a “popcorn director” can still find real heart beneath the spectacle. Visit https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/FOURPLAY and use code FOURPLAY and get $50 in lineups when you play your first $5 lineup! Raycon audio products are up to 20% off this holiday season! Go to https://buyraycon.com/FOURPLAYOPEN to save on Raycon audio products sitewide. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

QUIZ SHOW (1994) shouldn’t work on paper: a quiet film about a 1950s game-show scandal, congressional hearings, and a rigged trivia show with no violence, no twist ending, and no flashy hook. And yet Robert Redford turns it into one of the most compelling American dramas of the decade: a deceptively sharp story about class, ambition, performance, and the birth of mass media.  Raycon audio products are up to 20% off this holiday season! Go to https://buyraycon.com/FOURPLAYOPEN to save on Raycon audio products sitewide. Order by December 15th guarantee delivery by Christmas because great gifts shouldn’t show up late!  Turn your expensive wireless present into a huge wireless savings future by switching to Mint Mobile! Shop Mint Unlimited Plans at https://MINTMOBILE.com/FOURPLAY  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Robert Redford and Paul Newman reunite for one of the greatest con-artist films ever made and one of the most purely entertaining movies Hollywood has ever produced. In the first episode of our Robert Redford Arc, Four Play dives into The Sting (1973), a film that blends slick plotting, old-school charm, and razor-sharp chemistry between two of cinema’s most charismatic stars.  Control Body Odor ANYWHERE with Mando and get 20% off + free shipping with promo code FOURPLAY at shopmando.com!  Visit https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/FOURPLAY and use code FOURPLAY and get $50 in lineups when you play your first $5 lineup!  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is one of the most influential works of horror, science fiction, and gothic literature, but does Guillermo del Toro’s long-awaited 2025 adaptation succeed in its representation of the novel? In this episode of Four Play, MonteCristo, Thorin, and Richard Lewis dig into why this debate the merits of the films visuals, story, and faithfulness to the original themes. While our hosts may not enjoy the source material, the ideas behind the story could be compelling on film if interpreted properly. However, considering the narrative inconsistencies and the surprising lack of tension, the hosts explore how Frankenstein ends up being a film that has all the pieces but none of the spark that makes the story immortal. Along the way, they talk about the legacy of gothic horror, the challenges of adapting philosophical novels for modern audiences, how del Toro’s filmmaking strengths and weaknesses show through, and why this version feels more like a visual poem than a fully realized narrative. Shop the Into the AM Black Friday Sale! All items are up to 60% off through the 8th of December. This is in addition to the 10% you always save by using our link: https://intotheam.com/LFN Black Friday is around the corner, and Raycon audio products are up to 30% off sitewide! Go to https://buyraycon.com/FOURPLAYOPEN to save on Raycon audio products sitewide. Don’t get them socks. Get them premium wireless for $15/mo. Shop Mint Unlimited Plans at https://MINTMOBILE.com/FOURPLAY.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Before Black Mirror, before Love, Death & Robots, there was The Twilight Zone: television’s original nightmare machine.  For this special Four Play: One Night Stand episode, MonteCristo, Thorin, and Richard Lewis step into another dimension to revisit four of the most terrifying Twilight Zone stories ever made: tales of paranoia, existential dread, and cosmic irony that still haunt audiences more than sixty years later.  Ready to say yes to saying no? Make the switch at https://MINTMOBILE.com/fourplay.Upfront payment of $45 required (equivalent to $15/mo.). Limited time new customer offer for first 3 months only. Speeds may slow above 35GB on Unlimited plan. Taxes & fees extra. See MINT MOBILE for details.  Black Friday is around the corner, and Raycon audio products are up to 30% off sitewide! Go to https://buyraycon.com/FOURPLAYOPEN to save on Raycon audio products sitewide.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Suspiria is one of the most beautiful and unsettling horror films ever made. Dario Argento’s 1977 masterpiece drenches witchcraft in light and color, turning a simple story about a dance academy into a surreal nightmare of sound, architecture, and occult energy. In this episode, MonteCristo, Thorin, and Richard Lewis close out Four Play’s Occult Horror Arc by examining how Suspiria reshaped the language of horror cinema. From Goblin’s legendary score to Argento’s impossible lighting, they explore why this film’s dreamlike atmosphere endures nearly fifty years later and whether its magic still holds up in 2025. They also discuss the legacy of Italian auteur Dario Argento, the power of color as horror, and how Suspiria’s female hierarchy and dream logic differ from modern horror storytelling. Finally, the hosts announce their next series: the Robert Redford Arc, celebrating the career of one of cinema’s most charismatic and influential figures. Black Friday is around the corner, and Raycon audio products are up to 30% off sitewide! Go to https://www.buyraycon.com/FOURPLAYOPEN to save on Raycon audio products sitewide. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

When a wealthy family hires shamans to exhume a cursed grave, they awaken something far older and far more dangerous than they imagined. Exhuma (파묘) blends Korean shamanism, feng shui geomancy, and postwar trauma into one of the most striking horror hits of the decade. In this episode of Four Play, MonteCristo, Thorin, and Richard Lewis explore how Exhuma became Korea’s highest-grossing film of 2024, unpack the collision of modern faith and ancient ritual, and break down how the movie’s haunting finale exorcises not just spirits but centuries of buried history. Follow our link and use code FOURPLAY to unlock 10% off your purchase at Manta Sleep! https://tinyurl.com/5cbcbh7a Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hereditary marks the rebirth of modern horror with a story where fate, family, and madness collide under the control of unseen forces. Ari Aster’s directorial debut turns grief into tragedy and domestic life into ritual, where every characters fate is inescapable and preordained. With Toni Collette’s raw, unforgettable performance at its center, this film doesn’t ask if evil exists, it simply shows what happens when it wins. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.