Best Timemachine Podcasts (2025)

1
Acteurist Oeuvre-view - Diana Wynyard – Part 7:AN IDEAL HUSBAND (1947) and THE FEMININE TOUCH (1956) 1:23:20

2d ago1:23:20

1:23:20

Our final Diana Wynyard episode has arrived all too soon! We look at her two final key roles, in Alexander Korda's film of Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband (1947) and The Feminine Touch (1956), a nurse drama that's better than its silly title. And in Fear and Moviegoing in Toronto, we cover the 2025 Toronto Silent Film Festival, focusing on three fil…

1
Major Payne, The Office, Get Hard: Thirty Twenty Ten Mar 21-27 2:48:10

5d ago2:48:10

2:48:10

The American Office debuts, as does Sliders. Kathy Bates gets a psuedo Stephen King sequel, Damon Wayans channels Charleton Heston, Kevin Hart hardens Will Ferrell, Fox slides some an underdog sci-fi classic onto network TV, a forgotten CG movie, and ERMEGERD BLURDBURNE! https://www.patreon.com/c/lasertime…

1
Retro Re-issue [August 23, 2019] - Ethan Mordden’s The Hollywood Studios (1989) - Now With No Introductory Song! 2:44:46

8d ago2:44:46

2:44:46

**** [Retro Re-issue Alert!] **** Turns out it wasn't such a great idea to use Le Tigre's "What's Yr Take on Cassavetes?" as our podcast's theme song in 2019 and 2020! Anyway, Spotify (and presumably Le Tigre) don't seem to think so. Accordingly, please find the attached re-issue of one of our foundational episodes, minus the intro music + a couple…

1
Special Subject - Farrow vs. Allen – Part 2: THE PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO (1985); HANNAH AND HER SISTERS (1986) & RADIO DAYS (1987) 1:09:27

10d ago1:09:27

1:09:27

In this Farrow vs. Allen Special Subject episode we dig into a strong set of films, The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985), Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), and Radio Days (1987), united by their examination of art, popular culture, and fantasy, the possibilities they offer for transcendence, and the conditions of that transcendence. We also, of course, par…

1
Hollywood Studios Year-by-Year – Universal – 1930: ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT & OUTSIDE THE LAW 1:17:19

16d ago1:17:19

1:17:19

We complete our second round of 1930 on Studios Year by Year with Universal. This time around we've got two auteur entries, Lewis Milestone's All Quiet on the Western Front, and a much deeper cut, Tod Browning's eccentric crime drama Outside the Law. We discuss All Quiet as emblematic of the Laemmele Jr. era before turning to Browning's tense, mess…

1
Candyman 2, The Ring Two and Divergent 2: Thirty Twenty Two - Mar14-20 2:18:58

18d ago2:18:58

2:18:58

Candyman, The Ring and Divergent get sequels, The Simpsons head to the future, Glee takes a bow, and Community heads into its pre-movie final season! https://www.patreon.com/c/lasertime

1
Acteurist Oeuvre-view - Diana Wynyard – Part 6: THE PRIME MINISTER (1941) and KIPPS (1941) 1:25:01

24d ago1:25:01

1:25:01

In our penultimate Diana Wynyard Acteurist Oeuvre-view episode, our acteur supports two of the greats of her age, John Gielgud as Benjamin Disraeli in Thorold Dickinson's The Prime Minister and Michael Redgrave as the titular innocent of Carol Reed's Kipps, based on the novel by H.G. Wells. We discuss 19th century British politics (enfranchisement …

1
Dustin Hoffman gets Sick, Robin Williams is a Robot Again, and a Modern Horror Classic 2:09:28

28d ago2:09:28

2:09:28

March 7-13: That movie you watched in 2020, Siskel and Ebert give The Critic thumbs down, Wonder Shozen confuses kids, one of the best episodes of ER, Bruce Willis and Liam Neeson are adequate, Adam Sandler and his stupid shoes, the forgotten live-action Disney and slow horror. All that and more from 30, 20, and 10 years ago!…

1
Get Shorty 2 (official), Short Circuit 3 (unofficial) and Kimmy Schmidt premieres: Thirty Twenty Ten - Feb 28-March 6 2:44:54

30d ago2:44:54

2:44:54

Jay Sherman comes to Springfield, Netflix's best comedy debuts, Chappie drops the ball, John Travolta is so cool he's cold, a wonderfully enjoyable Stephen King adaptation, and Vin Diesel makes his requisite kids family film. Support us: https://www.patreon.com/c/lasertime

1
Hollywood Studios Year-by-Year – RKO – 1930: FRAMED & THE RUNAWAY BRIDE 1:07:54

1M ago1:07:54

1:07:54

In this week's RKO Studios Year by Year episode, we discuss our favourite movies from our first round with the studio and how that round shaped our impression of RKO, and then turn to two new 1930 movies: Framed (directed by George Archainbaud), a gangster movie focused on Evelyn Brent's tough/tender mixed-up moll, and The Runaway Bride (directed b…

1
Special Subject – Stanning for Anna Sten: NANA (1934), WE LIVE AGAIN (1934), THE WEDDING NIGHT (1935), & LET’S LIVE A LITTLE (1948) 1:57:37

1M ago1:57:37

1:57:37

We've got a big one for you this week: four main movies plus four Fear and Moviegoing viewings. Our main feature is Stanning for Sten: Anna Sten's three movies for Samuel Goldwyn, Nana (1934), based on (more like inspired by) the Zola novel, We Live Again (1934), with a Tolstoy source, and The Wedding Night (1935), plus a glimpse at one of her late…

1
Avatar, Madea, and the end of Parks and Rec: Thirty Twenty Ten - Feb21-27 2:12:01

1M ago2:12:01

2:12:01

The other famous Avatar, Frasier's retcon, Tyler Perry makes it happen, one of the best made-for-TV movies ever made, Wes Craven's most Cursed movie, and the Pawnee Parks Dept wraps it up! https://www.patreon.com/c/lasertime

1
Acteurist Oeuvre-view - Diana Wynyard – Part 5: GASLIGHT (1940) and FREEDOM RADIO (1940) 1:10:12

1M ago1:10:12

1:10:12

In this Diana Wynyard Acteurist Oeuvre-view episode, we look at probably her best-known film, Gaslight (directed by Thorold Dickinson), and consider its pros and cons relative to the Cukor/Selznick Hollywood version of a few years later, as well as the question of how "gaslighting" became an internet meme and how well the source fits the popular me…

1
Brady Bunch Movie, Constantine, the Dawn of YouTube: Thirty Twenty Ten - Feb14-20 3:09:26

2M ago3:09:26

3:09:26

Adult Swim's longest running show, a very meta Brady movie, Keanu Reeves forgotten superhero movie, and Cartoon Network's wonderful public pilot program! All that and more 30, 20 and 10 years ago! https://www.patreon.com/c/lasertime

1
Hollywood Studios Year-by-Year – Fox Film Corporation – 1930: CITY GIRL and JUST IMAGINE 1:10:21

2M ago1:10:21

1:10:21

The first episode of our second Studios Year by Year round with Fox, the "Rube" according to Ethan Mordden, is a real ridiculous/sublime contrast: the sci-fi musical comedy Just Imagine (directed by David Butler), a vehicle for vaudevillian El Brendel, in whom Dave may have found his comedy bête noir; and the F. W. Murnau masterpiece City Girl, whi…

1
Acteurist Oeuvre-view - Diana Wynyard – Part 4: ONE MORE RIVER (1934) and ON THE NIGHT OF THE FIRE (1940) 1:24:16

2M ago1:24:16

1:24:16

In this Diana Wynyard Acteurist Oeuvre-view episode we finally come to the source, James Whale's One More River (1934), the movie that inspired Dave to schedule this series, and don't worry, we still think it's a masterpiece. We recap how we've watched the Wynyard onscreen persona evolve and how Whale's new context for it gives it an unforgettable …

1
Billy Madison, Hitch, Fifty Shades of Grey: Thirty Twenty Ten - Feb 7-13 2:52:09

2M ago2:52:09

2:52:09

Will Smith get's Hitched, Breaking Saul, Dawn of the Sandman, sexy sex on the bigscreen, Sam Raimi's forgotten western, the best comic book movie with no comic book and MOAR POOH! All that and more, this week 30, 20, and 10 years ago. https://www.patreon.com/c/lasertime

1
Hollywood Studios Year-by-Year – Warner Brothers – 1930: A NOTORIOUS AFFAIR & THE DOORWAY TO HELL 1:08:44

2M ago1:08:44

1:08:44

For the first episode of our second round of Warner Brothers 1930, we've got a thoughtful, ambitious gangster movie from the mind of little-known auteur Rowland Brown, The Doorway to Hell (directed by Archie Mayo), and a truly dismal melodrama, A Notorious Affair (directed by Lloyd Bacon), rescued from total worthlessness by Kay Francis's turn as a…

1
Spongebob, Rwanda, Jupiter (they're all ascending): Thirty Twenty Ten - Jan 31-Feb 6 2:33:19

2M ago2:33:19

2:33:19

Happy Groundhog Day! You don't get the movie, but Hollywood tackles genocide, Spongebob sells out, Bart sees a comet, and the Wachowskis tackle Jupiter! All that and more this week 30, 20, and 10 years ago! https://www.patreon.com/c/lasertime

1
Valentine’s Day 2025 – My Conceptual Valentine - HER (2013) and I’M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS (2020) 1:36:46

2M ago1:36:46

1:36:46

For our Valentine's Day 2025 episode, we plunge deep into the nature of relationships by discussing two films whose romantic pairings are arguably not relationships at all: Spike Jonze's Her (2013) and his sometime collaborator, Charlie Kaufman's I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020). Isolation, loss, misogyny, male fantasies, hope and despair: we'v…

1
Before Sunrise, Million Dollar Baby, Highlander 3: Thirty Twenty Ten - Jan 24-30 1:39:42

2M ago1:39:42

1:39:42

The Before trilogy begins and Highlander's trilogy concludes, Robert De Niro does something different, say goodbye to SNICK, and Clint Eastwood's very costly baby. https://www.patreon.com/c/lasertime

1
Rumble in the Bronx, Assault on Precinct 13, Mortdecai: Thirty Twenty Ten - Jan 17-23 2:42:38

3M ago2:42:38

2:42:38

Lucasfilm's final fumble, Jackie Chan conquers the West, a culty Gen X classic, one last massive morsel of Venture Bros for the year(s), and Johnny Depp is trying too hard. All that an more on our journey back 30, 20, and 10 years ago! Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/lasertime

1
Hollywood Studios Year-by-Year - MGM – 1930: THE FLORODORA GIRL & MADAM SATAN 1:07:16

3M ago1:07:16

1:07:16

We start off our second round of MGM Studio Year by Year episodes with these 1930 films: the Marion Davies comedy vehicle The Florodora Girl (directed by Harry Beaumount) and Cecil B. DeMille's Madam Satan, which Elise decides is something like Eyes Wide Shut if it was made by James Cameron (but, alas, not as interesting as that sounds). (It's stil…

1
Acteurist Oeuvre-view - Diana Wynyard – Part 3 WHERE SINNERS MEET (1934) and THE MARRIAGE SYMPHONY (1934) 1:03:59

3M ago1:03:59

1:03:59

For this episode of our Diana Wynyard Acteurist Oeuvre-view series, our featured acteur plays a disillusioned modern woman in two 1934 movies, Where Sinners Meet and Let's Try Again, that are cynical about marriage in a way that (we argue) screwball comedy would soon render archaic. And in Fear and Moviegoing in Toronto we give our impressions of t…

1
Paddington, Elektra, Tales from the Crypt: The Movie: Thirty Twenty Ten - Jan 10-16 2:43:02

3M ago2:43:02

2:43:02

Michigan J Frog becomes infinitely more famous, Resident Evil changes the game, Paul Newman is old and wonderful, and the worst Marvel movie?! All that and more 30, 20 and 10 years ago! https://www.patreon.com/c/lasertime

1
Special Subject - Farrow vs. Allen – Part 1: MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S SEX COMEDY (1982); ZELIG (1983); BROADWAY DANNY ROSE (1984) 1:06:38

3M ago1:06:38

1:06:38

Our Special Subject this month is the start of a series on the cinematic collaboration of Mia Farrow and Woody Allen. In this first episode we look at A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy (1982), Zelig (1983), and Broadway Danny Rose (1984), paying particular attention to the relationship between the Allen and Farrow characters and to the question of wha…

1
Shallow Grave, Taken 3, Selma: Thirty Twenty Ten - Jan 3-9 2:54:24

3M ago2:54:24

2:54:24

New Year, new years. Welcome to the FIVES as we explore Danny Boyle's first movie, the debut of Agent Carter, Liam Neeson screwing everything, and a Springfield conspiracy EXPOSED! All that and more, this week 30, 20 and 10 years ago. https://www.patreon.com/c/lasertime

1
Hollywood Studios Year-by-Year – Paramount – 1930: THE LOVE PARADE & THE VAGABOND KING 1:08:04

3M ago1:08:04

1:08:04

It's time for another round of Studios Year by Year, starting over with Paramount 1930! And this time Dave has brought even more nostalgic reading material to give some context for this studio content. We also launch another new series feature: a review of our favourite movies from the previous 1930-1948 round. Turning to the Paramount movies we wa…

1
Acteurist Oeuvre-view - Diana Wynyard – Part 2: MEN MUST FIGHT (1933) and REUNION IN VIENNA (1933) 53:39

4M ago53:39

53:39

Our second Diana Wynyard Acteurist Oeuvre-view episode brought two real oddball pre-Codes to our attention: Men Must Fight (1933), a hardcore pacifist film that predicts the upcoming world war in certain ways, in which Wynyard more or less reprises her Cavalcade role; and Reunion in Vienna (1933), based on a Robert E. Sherwood play, which could hav…

1
Hollywood Studios Year-by-Year – Universal – 1948: A WOMAN’S VENGEANCE & LARCENY 46:57

4M ago46:57

46:57

Our first round of Studios Year by Year comes to an end with these Universal 1948 movies: A Woman's Vengeance (directed by Zoltan Korda with a screenplay by Aldous Huxley, based on his short story "The Gioconda Smile") and Larceny (directed by George Sherman). Huxley's philosophical concerns add unexpected dimensions to familiar Gothic tropes and g…

1
New Year, New Words, and Our Annual Mega Movie Showdown 2:47:32

4M ago2:47:32

2:47:32

Dec. 27-Jan. 2: Picking our favorites of the year, plus Robert Altman gets fashionable, King George gets mad, Kevin Spacey sings and dances, Sean Penn plots, a ski trip goes downhill. All that and more from 30, 20, and 10 years ago!

1
Leo Takes Flight, Raul Julia is Street Fighting, and Seth Rogan Goes to North Korea 2:46:58

4M ago2:46:58

2:46:58

Dec. 20-26: Steve Martin’s nuts, Macaulay Culkin’s rich, Walter Matthau is Einstein; Jodie Foster is babbling, Winona Ryder is little, Bill Murray is underwater, the Fockers are met, Amy Adams has big eyes, Benedict Cumberbatch invents computers, Meryl Streep heads into the woods. All that are more, 30, 20, and 10 years ago!…

1
Jim Carrey’s Olaf, Harry and Llyod’s Debut, and the End of the Hobbit 2:45:58

4M ago2:45:58

2:45:58

Dec. 13-19: A political rom-com, Jet Li’s punchy, the worst MST3K, Marcel the monkey, Adam Sandler speaks Spanglish, Johnny Depp finds Neverland, Jamie Foxx has warbucks, the museum finally closes at night, Craig Ferguson wraps up, and the Venture Bros. fight Krampus. All that and more, 30, 20, and 10 years ago!…

1
Christmas 2024 - The Festive Bergman – FANNY & ALEXANDER (1982) 1:01:01

4M ago1:01:01

1:01:01

Our 2024 Christmas episode is devoted to all 312 minutes of Ingmar Bergman's late masterpiece Fanny and Alexander (1982); a phantasmagorical smorgasbord of genres and summary of the writer-director's obsessions. We explore the film's Keatsian and Kierkegaardian implications, its relationship to the Modernist moment, and its oneiric inquiry into the…

1
Demi Moore Discloses, Danny Ocean’s +1, and Chris Rock's Five Count 2:18:17

4M ago2:18:17

2:18:17

Dec. 6-12: Wesley Snipes drops twice, Australian family drama, Christian Bale celebrates Passover, the Maltese Falcon is lost, Christmas comes to Family Guy and Baywatch, and the end of the NES. All this and more 30, 20, and 10 years ago!

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Timemachine Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Quick Reference Guide