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Prometheus

Next up in our Alien franchise commentary series is the return of director Ridley Scott with 2012's Prometheus.

The movie starts at...16:12

The Polar Express with Joey Sims

In the final days of 2020, Blank Check enters Zemeckis' motion capture technology period with The Polar Express. Joey Sims joins as we discuss the nuance of the Train Conductor character, North Pole logic and delve into everyone's personal relationship to the holiday season and Christmas.

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Cast Away with Nia DaCosta

Zemeckis and Hanks reunited once again. Another box office and critical success. Filmed over two years, Cast Away captures both talents performing at the top of their respective games. Writer and director, Nia DaCosta (CANDYMAN) joins BC this week to discuss the movie's legacy after 20 years, the different elements that make a story about one guy stranded on island so compelling, Wilso...

Alien: Resurrection

More Alien franchise commentary! Griffin, David, Ang and a “sleepy” Ben got together for a late night zoom watch of Alien: Resurrection. From Ron Perlman’s mug to Ripley playing basketball we cover it all!

The movie starts at...17:22

What Lies Beneath with Starlee Kine

The central thesis to this week's episode on What Lies Beneath: folks, they just don't make them like they used to! Starlee Kine (Election Profit Makers) joins to discuss the "grown-up" movie, the performances from Michelle Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford, where the screenwriting falls short, and the paranormal.

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Tales from the Crypt

Welcome checkmates to Blank Check: Special....Fright-tures! HAHAHA! In this bone-us episode, Griffin...Wolfman and David...Slimes DARED to watch and talk about 3 episodes of Tales from the Crypt directed by Robert Zemeckis! HAHAHA!

"And All Through the House" - 1989 - S1 Ep2

Starring Mary Ellen Trainor, Larry Drake, Marshall Bell

"Yellow" - 1991 ...

Contact with Jamie Bell

Actor, Jamie Bell joins this week to discuss 1997's Contact!

Join our Patreon for franchise commentaries and bonus episodes.

Follow us @blankcheckpod on Instagram, 2020-11-08 14:11:00 +0000 UTC View Post

Alien 3

We continue our Alien franchise commentary series with the third installment, Alien 3!

The movie starts at...18:38

Forrest Gump with Jamelle Bouie

Jamelle Bouie (NY Times) returns to Blank Check to discuss Forrest Gump!

Join our Patreon for franchise commentaries and bonus episodes.

Follow us @blankcheckpod on Instagram, 2020-11-01 04:00:00 +0000 UTC View Post

Death Becomes Her with Katey Rich

Now armed with an arsenal of wild special effects, Zemeckis takes it up a notch with 1992's Death Becomes Her – the first to include computer-generated skin on film. Katey Rich returns as we reminisce Bruce Willis putting effort in, irritating European monologues, the thrilling billing and why Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn make a perfect cult pair.

2020-10-25 06:03:00 +0000 UTC View Post

Aliens

Easily our favorite movie that got sold with a whiteboard and a dollar sign - we get to cover Alien$ again, bay-bee! Griffin, David, Ang, and one white-hot Benny revisit James Cameron's Vietnam allegory, how it's so drastically different from the thrilling original (and still works), and why that set the standard for new genre spins as the franchise and evolved. We're asking deep questions this...

Back to the Future Part III with Josh Gondelman

In Back to the Future, Marty ends up in 1955, the same age as his parents. In the sequel he has to jump between that timeline and a bizarre 2015. The natural conclusion to this blockbuster trilogy? A wild western! It's a classic formula! For Back to the Future Part III, we're talking ninja turtles, the magic of Tom Wilson and Mary Steenburgen, and why ZZ Top should be in more movies. The bad bo...

WATCH Talking Fanfare?!

Some things you just gotta see to appreciate. Since we're sharing screens already and got it all on zoom record, we thought we'd share this footage with you, our Checkmates. We felt it was important to give our patrons options for how they'd like to experience this seminal fanfare extravaganza. Our higher quality audio recording will remain up but if you want to kick back and wat...

Talking Fanfare

This one has long been in demand - we're talkin' fanfare! Once, long ago we passed some great goals thanks to you lovely listeners. And unfortunately, they're not possible just yet so as a thank you in the meantime, we're deep diving into some real nerdy film shit. As especially requested by the fans, #thetwofriends discussed their favorite eras and variants of studio logos from the Big Si...

Back to the Future Part II with Nicole Byer

Man wouldn't it be weird to have a future controlled by a rich blond bully who hates women, steals things and is awful to everyone? Robert Zemeckis predicts a wild, kooky, and somewhat accurate 2015 with Back to the Future Part II. Comedian Nicole Byer (Nailed It, 2020-10-11 04:00:00 +0000 UTC View Post

Who Framed Roger Rabbit with Mike Mitchell & Nick Wiger

A noir for kids. Disney and Warner Bros characters together for the first and last time. Live action drama with kooky Tex Avery-style animation. There's really no movie quite like Who Framed Roger Rabbit. How long did "bumping the lamp" take? What's a contemporary take on Jessica and Roger Rabbit's relationship dynamics? How does the film's story mirror Hollywood? We invited the Doughboys thems...

Alien

While we're all stuck in limited spaces during this strange time facing an ominous threat, we're glad we can provide you guys some solace and escapism with something extremely different from our current reality: Alien! It was #2 in the March Madness bracket and remains #1 in David's heart. Our 6-part series starts with the ultimate horror classic from 1979. Just in time for October!

The m...

Back to the Future

It was the #1 film of 1985. It’s a theme park ride. An animated series. It spawned video games. Comic books. Musicals. It’s in the goddamn Library of Congress! And key to this series, it guaranteed Robert Zemeckis big crazy budgets for decades. Has there ever been a bigger “blank check" than Back to the Future? Now make like a tree and start the episode already!

2020-09-27 05:04:00 +0000 UTC View Post

Mission: Impossible - Fallout

And so ends our first March Madness Patreon run! Griffin, David, and Ben watch Fallout and make our official rankings of the Mission Impossible franchise because that’s...the job! (Sorry, we had to). Listen or watch along as we talk the performance of Henry Cavill's mustache, retiring from public life and sleeping better knowing that Ethan Hunt is out there trying to stop a nuclear bomb from ...

Romancing the Stone with Adam Kempenaar & Josh Larsen

How did Robert Zemeckis go from commercial flops to a career-defining time-travelling trilogy of blank checks? It’s all thanks to his “guarantor” from 1984 - Romancing The Stone, starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner. We invited Filmspotting’s Adam Kempenaar and Josh Larsen to dive into Zemeckis’ first commer...

Used Cars with Jason Mantzoukas & Paul Scheer

How Did This Get Made’s Paul Scheer (Black Monday, The League) returns with Jason Mantzoukas (Big Mouth, Brooklyn Nine-Nine) for a rare-Rated R Zemeckis – Used Cars (1980). Topics in this episode include the unique star power of Kurt Russell throughout his career, unpacking the bad luck sequence, and a general lo...

The Way of the Gun

In this month's bonus ep, #thetwofriends discuss the film that ultimately put Christopher McQuarrie in Hollywood jail: 2000's The Way of the Gun!

I Wanna Hold Your Hand with Patrick Willems

Your March Madness winner series has arrived! Chosen by the listeners, our latest subject is Robert Zemeckis, a Hollywood hitmaker who gives us plenty to cover. But before we get to Forrest Gump and Back To The Future, we're starting with 1978's I Wanna Hold Your Hand, which centers on a group of girls sneaking into the Beatles games Ed Sullivan show performance.

Patrick Willem...

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

Travel may be banned but luckily we’ve got access to ROGUE NATION bay-beeeee. Christopher McQuarrie takes the wheel for the 5th installment of Mission: Impossible and locks into what makes Ethan Hunt work. Why try to be a normal guy when he is in fact, the physical manifestation of destiny??? The four friends talk buggy villains, Tom’s escalating chaotic stunts, and why Rebecca Ferguson’s...

The Old Guard

In The Old Guard (2020), Charlize Theron, Kiki Layne, and a group of immortal warriors define why it's worth living to fight another day. Plus they look extremely cool doing it. This week, we wrap up Gina Prince-Bythewood's series with her most recent film, released on Netflix mid-pandemic. How has 2020 affected the release and how we watch it (preferably from a porch)? What do we want to see o...

Beyond the Lights with Ayo Edebiri

The pressures of fame as a young pop star navigating the music industry. An overbearing, success driven mother. A quote loving cop with a big heart. Beyond the Lights is an epic film packed with drama, comedy, music and romance. This week, comedian Ayo Edebiri (Iconography podcast) returns to discuss Gu...

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

Ready to listen to four friends gasp and yell as Tom Cruise hangs outside Burj Khalifa even though we've seen it already a dozen times??? This week watch Brad Bird turn around the Mission franchise while the BC crew reflects on Sand Gun's career, George Bush's paintings, and why the next villain should be a talking shark. 

We initiate Ghost Protocol at... 16:05

The Secret Life of Bees with Jourdain Searles

A coming-of age story. Racism in America. Complex connections to motherhood. The Secret Life of Bees adaptation had a lot of themes to tackle. This week we look back to 2008 and compare the strengths and weaknesses of Prince-Bythewood’s biggest commercial success.  Critic, comedian and co-host (2020-08-16 04:00:00 +0000 UTC View Post

Disappearing Acts

Filmed immediately after Love & Basketball and released the same year, this month’s bonus ep is the made for HBO movie Disappearing Acts!

Love & Basketball with Carl Tart

It’s rare we get to start a mini-series with a classic. 20 years after its release, Gina Prince-Bythewood’s directorial debut still stands the test of time as a top-tier cinematic love story. This week’s all about Love and Basketball (2000), which would set the tone for her career. But what’s the story that led her there? Carl Tart (The Good Place, Comedy Bang Bang) joins as we discuss ...