Wes Evans Actor Filmmaker Director Writer Todd Sapio Actor Producer Musician Athlete public
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The Pestle: In-depth Movie Talk, No Fluff | Film Review | Spoilers

Wes Evans: Actor, Filmmaker, Director, Writer; Todd Sapio: Actor, Producer, Musician, Athlete

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Cinema lovers unite! Two actors and filmmakers decided to cut through all the fluff and start a movie podcast where they actually discuss the film and not a million other things you don’t care about. Covering the obvious (did you like the movie?) while diving a little deeper (what is Interstellar really about? is there a bootstrap paradox?) we are having an in-depth conversation about movies and see if they hold up to scrutiny, and maybe even inform us about life or moviemaking itself. Becau ...
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We dive into Tom Cruise’s “Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning” and discuss: Editing dialog-heavy scenes; Story & Writing, exposition dumps, the real villain; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty.“ – Henry David Thoreau Notes & References: AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) (wiki) Emergen…
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We drill into Paul Thomas Anderson’s “There Will Be Blood” and discuss: Story & Writing, plot vs character; Daniel Day-Lewis; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.“ – Upton Sinclair Notes & References: *first 15 minutes have no dialog, …
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We cross into Matthew Vaughn’s “Stardust” and discuss: Cinematography, polished camera moves; Story & Writing, fairytale rules, character wants, love; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “My bounty is as boundless as the sea, My love as deep. The more I give to thee, The more I have, for both are infinite.“ – Shakespeare, from Romeo and Juli…
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We trek across Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road” and discuss: Cinematography, compositions, first frame last frame; Story & Writing, structure, morality, terse dialog; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.“ – Ja…
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We summon Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” and discuss: Story & Writing, fairytales, flashbacks, and protagonists; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him.“ – John F. Kennedy Notes & References: Eric Roth (IMDB) – Forrest Gump, Kil…
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We surveil Rami Malek’s “The Amateur” and discuss: Story & Writing, how world-building impacts the audience experience, setting up your character arcs; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “What idea havers don’t understand is that it’s in the making of all of the microdecisions that the actual work of creation takes place, and that without i…
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We devour Eva Green & Ewan McGregor’s “Perfect Sense” and discuss: Cinematography, contrast, camera movement; Story & Writing, scene character, relationship epidemics; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Yes, there is joy, fulfillment, and companionship, but the loneliness of the soul in its appalling self-consciousness is horrible and over…
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We double-cross Tom Cruise’s original “Mission: Impossible” and discuss: Cinematography, split focus diopters; Story & Writing, the opening, big set pieces; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Without promotion, something terrible happens… nothing!“ – P.T. Barnum Notes & References: David Koepp (IMDB) Robert Towne (IMDB) Watch us on YouTube…
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We drift through Sofia Coppola’s “Lost in Translation” and discuss: Cinematography, specificity & purpose with the camera; Story & Writing, Tokyo & language as a metaphor; Performances, Scarlett Johansson doing Marvel movies; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “I try to just make what I want to make or what I would want to see. I try not to…
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We dig through Steven Soderbergh’s “Black Bag” and discuss: Cinematography, practical lighting; Story & Writing, story engine, subplots; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “A success, to me, is the ability to keep working. That’s success. It has nothing to do with money; it’s the ability to keep getting things made, period.“ – Steven Soderb…
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We dissect Bong Joon Ho’s “Mickey 17” and discuss: Story & Writing, Mickey’s metaphor, creepers; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “We don’t own the planet Earth, we belong to it. And we must share it with our wildlife.“ – Steve Irwin Notes & References: Arcadia (wiki) – refers to a vision of pastoralism and harmony with nature Darius Khon…
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We bet big on Steven Soderbergh’s “Ocean’s Eleven” and discuss: Cinematography, subtlety, and bounce lighting; Story & Writing, heist rules, problems and solutions, rule of repeats; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Oh, I just wish someone would try to hurt you so I could kill them for you.“ – Frank Sinatra Notes & References: Correction:…
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We rush towards Céline Sciamma’s “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” and discuss: Cinematography, broad lighting and portraits; Story & Writing, layers, freezing time, power of groups, Celine’s writing process; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Women have served all these centuries as looking glasses possessing the magic and delicious power of r…
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We gather ’round Tarsem Singh’s “The Fall” and discuss: Cinematography, transitions, locations, power of choreography; Story & Writing, layers of stories, stuntmen, how we all tell our own stories; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “When we give someone our time, we actually give a portion of our life that we will never take back.“ – Alexa…
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We baptize Jennifer Lopez’s “The Cell” and discuss: Cinematography, realizing dream states; Story & Writing, metaphors, redeeming broken people; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “The goal of education is not to increase the amount of knowledge but to create the possibilities for a child to invent and discover.“ – Jean Piaget Notes & Refer…
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We ingest Neil Burger’s “Limitless” and discuss: Wes discusses the color grading process on his new short film 00:00-29:00; Story & Writing, opening scenes, voiceover, structure, exposition; Cinematography, inserts as storytelling, color for storytelling, how voiceover impacts the coverage; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “What will limi…
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We take 30 seconds with Michael Mann’s “Heat” and discuss: Cinematography, dolly moves, unmotivated lighting; Sound, shootout realism, sound design, Moby music; Story & Writing, good guys and bad guys, runtime; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “You must learn to be slow in a hurry.“ – Wyatt Earp Notes & References: Heat (wiki) – Originall…
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We commission Adrien Brody’s “The Brutalist” to discuss: Cinematography, oners, breaking up the frame with style and tone; Story & Writing, immigration, symbolism; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “When you get to know a lot of people, you make a great discovery. You find that no one group has a monopoly on looks, brains, goodness or anyt…
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We bless the “City of God” and discuss: Cinematography, contrast, perspective; Story & Writing, voiceover; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Find the toughest guy in the room. Embrace him like a brother. And then slam his head against the wall.“ – Al Capone Notes & References: Chicken cam was apparently a camera mounted to a broom stick, …
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We bolt through Ron Howard’s “Rush” and discuss: Cinematography, contrast; Story & Writing, voiceover, setting up stakes, character arcs; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “If everything seems under control, you’re just not going fast enough.“ – Mario Andretti Notes & References: Anthony Dod Mantle (iMDB) – has also shot Slumdog Millionair…
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We tap Robert Eggers’ “Nosferatu” and discuss: Cinematography, wide framing; Story & Writing, character development, plague; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “To write something you have to risk making a fool of yourself.“ – Anne Rice Notes & References: Ignaz Semmelweis (PBS.org) – Tried to convince doctors to wash their hands to reduce …
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We put Wes Anderson’s “Rushmore” front and center to discuss: Cinematography, center framing; Story & Writing, dry humor, heart; Todd recounts his experience of working as a background extra in Rushmore; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “The more relaxed you are, the better you are at everything“ – Bill Murray Notes & References: Rushmore…
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We conjure both seasons of League of Legends’ “Arcane” and discuss: Story & Writing, building character, moments vs montages; Music, animation, favorite moments; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “We are shaped and fashioned by what we love.“ – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Notes & References: Alex Seaver – the name of the musician Todd and I…
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We creep into Hugh Grant’s “Heretic” and discuss: Cinematography, shooting in small spaces, dramatic reveals; Story & Writing, self-talk as exposition, philosophical stories; Special Guest Hamish Purdy talks about working on Heretic, and set decoration; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “I think that when you consider the beauty of the wor…
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We traverse Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar” and discuss: Story & Writing, comparing the original 2008 Jonathan Nolan draft vs the final co-written draft with Christopher Nolan; Special Guest Raul Vega talks scoring films, creating digital instruments for Hans Zimmer, and working on the music of Interstellar with Hans Zimmer; and other such stuff…
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We combat Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator II” and discuss: Story & Writing, sequels, comparing II to the original; Cinematography, how running multiple cameras and fewer takes can impact the story; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “The technology keeps moving forward, which makes it easier for the artists to tell their stories and paint the pic…
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We consume a chill pill to discuss Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey” and discuss: Cinematography; Story & Writing; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “I don’t pretend we have all the answers. But the questions are certainly worth thinking about.“ – Arthur C. Clarke Notes & References: Filming the Leopard scene (2001italia.it) An in-…
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We grin at Naomi Scott’s “Smile 2” and discuss: Cinematography, editing, and sound, jumpscares; Story & Writing, theme, exposition; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Do you remember when you found out you wouldn’t live forever? People don’t talk about this, but everybody had to go through it because you’re not born with that knowledge.“ –…
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We evoke Sam Raimi’s original “The Evil Dead” and discuss: Getting your reps in; Cinematography, interesting angles; Comparing to the sequel; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Jim Cameron is proof that if you are good, you’ll get promoted.“ – Roger Corman Notes & References: The Evil Dead budget was 350k (in 2024 this would be 1.2m) *Chec…
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We camp at Sam Raimi’s “Evil Dead II” and discuss: Letting the movie dictate the terms of the experience; Cinematography, style, story, and budget; Story & Writing, cut to the chase, motivating character choices; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “I’m too obsessed that the people who say critical things about me are right, even though I’m …
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We sparkle through Richard Kelly’s “Donnie Darko” and discuss: Story & Writing, we try to figure out what’s it all about; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “If you have abandoned one faith, do not abandon all faith. There is always an alternative to the faith we lose. Or is it the same faith under another mask?“ – Graham Greene Notes & Ref…
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We take the mask off of Todd Phillips’ “Joker: Folie à Deux” and discuss: Cinematography, blocking; Story & Writing, Arthur vs Joker, judging the viewer; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “The trees here are in misery, and the birds are in misery. I don’t think they sing. They just screech in pain.“ – Werner Herzog Notes & References: Real…
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We stop time in Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis” and discuss: We, uh, review Megalopolis; Story & Writing, exposition, melodrama; Afterwards we’ll rank our top 5 or 10 films; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!” – Percy Bysshe Shelley from the poem “Ozymandias” Watch us on YouTube! Top 5/10 Film…
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We floor it through Keanu Reeves’ “Speed” and discuss: Cinematography, motivated camera movement, dramatic angles; Story & Writing, heightened storytelling, packing in the action, Jack & Annie; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “If you spend enough time with yourself in silence, you’ll be surprised what goes through your head.“ – Sandra Bu…
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We keep it real with Tim Burton’s “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” and discuss: Cinematography, closeups vs mediums and wides for comedy & connection; Story & Writing, but/therefore storytelling, sequels honoring their predecessors, Lydia’s arc; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “With movies, you are always in search of a good story, one that eve…
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We jump in the line of Tim Burton’s “Beetlejuice” and discuss: Cinematography, motivating unmotivated lighting, reveals; Story & Writing, rules for adventure, plot vs emotional arcs; Music, double music cues, setting the tone; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “You don’t know whether chimps are going to kill you or kiss you. They’re very o…
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We burst into Fede Alvarez’s “Alien: Romulus” and discuss: Story & Writing, body horror, Andy, dystopias; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Science fiction writers, I am sorry to say, really do not know anything. We can’t talk about science, because our knowledge of it is limited and unofficial, and usually our fiction is dreadful.“ – Phi…
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We anoint Shia LaBeouf’s “A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints” and discuss: Cinematography & Directing, camerawork, continuity vs performance; Story & Writing, the saints; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live.“ – Marcus Aurelius Notes & References: Dito Montiel…
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We stride through Jim Henson’s “The Dark Crystal” and discuss: Cinematography, lighting, camerawork; Puppetry & Directing, process preceding/creating story; Special Guest Elissa Marie talks art, building a business as an artist, and being named Best Visual Artist in Austin; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “When I was young, my ambition w…
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We pop into Ryan Reynolds’s “Deadpool & Wolverine” and discuss: Story & Writing, macguffins, stakes, comedy; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Just one supernova can temporarily outshine an entire galaxy of 100 billion stars.“ – Michio Kaku Notes & References: “Supernova” by Mad Valley – Todd’s latest music track “Bye Bye Bye” dancing is …
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We make a res with Christian Bale’s “American Psycho” and discuss: Cinematography, lighting a flat shot, hallway composition; Story & Writing, symbolism; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Well first of all you have to make the character strong so that people can follow that. And then hopefully that character can integrate with the backgro…
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We sincerely reminisce about Stephen King’s “Stand By Me” and discuss: Cinematography, rule of thirds; Story & Writing, coming of age stories, friendship, facing your own mortality; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “That’s the worst, I think. When the secret stays locked within not for want of a teller but for want of an understanding ear…
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We tiptoe through Lupita Nyong’o’s “A Quiet Place: Day One” and discuss: Writing & Story, suspending disbelief, theme & plot; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “I’ll tell you what freedom is to me: no fear. I mean really, no fear!“ – Nina Simone Notes & References: Joseph Quinn (iMDB) – Stranger Things season 4 Reclamation (wiki) – “return…
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We go to war with “Godzilla Minus One” and discuss: Cinematography, revealing scale; Story & Writing, Godzilla the metaphor; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “War does not determine who is right – only who is left.“ – Bertrand Russell Notes & References: Japan war atrocities(wiki) Unit 731(wiki) Firebombing Japan (wiki) Budget is estimate…
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We drop into Dwayne Johnson’s respawn of an old classic, “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” and discuss: Cinematography, shooting night for night instead of day for night; Story & Writing, physical comedy, character arcs; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Being in the same room with people and creating something together is a good thing.“ –…
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We rub George Miller’s “Three Thousand Years of Longing” and discuss: Cinematography, how compositing, motion blur, and depth of field help tell the story; Story & Writing, Enzo, Storytelling; Wes rants about why this movie may not have done well in theaters; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “If I had a flower for every time I thought of …
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We stowaway in George Miller’s “Furiosa” and discuss: Story & Writing, mercy in the wasteland, teleporting; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “When life itself seems lunatic, who knows where madness lies? Perhaps to be too practical is madness. To surrender dreams — this may be madness. Too much sanity may be madness — and maddest of all: …
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We give “Fallout” a thumb’s up and discuss: Story & Writing, Lucy’s character arc, great exposition; Guest Joe Howes solves cold fusion during an offscreen scene; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “You only know me as you see me, not as I actually am.“ – Immanuel Kant Notes & References: *Correction: Fallout 4 was released Nov. 10, 2015, s…
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We crash into “The Fall Guy” and discuss: Story & Writing, great stakes, breaking the rule of repeats; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “I think if you have ability and talent in one way, you have it in all ways. I’m not a jack of all trades; I’m a master of many. I don’t feel there is anything I can’t do if I want to.“ – Evel Knievel Not…
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We narrate Will Ferrell’s “Stranger Than Fiction” and discuss: Cinematography, infinite zoom, story through shadows; Story & Writing, rule of repeats, naming conventions, ticking clock; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Kind words don’t cost much. Yet they accomplish much.“ – Blaise Pascal Notes & References: “Office Zombies” short film –…
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