David Sims, Shirley Li, and Spencer Kornhaber discuss the new big-budget adaptation of Frank Herbert’s 1965 classic Dune. The ur-text of modern sci-fi, Dune has a legacy that echoes through Star Wars, Alien, and countless Hero’s Journey epics. Does Denis Villeneuve succeed where David Lynch failed? Does its Chosen One narrative feel stale after so many imita ... Show More
May 2022
Top Gun
Top Gun: Maverick is out soon! But can any movie with fast planes, Tom Cruise, and beach volleyball truly compare to the classic fighter pilot movie about, as writer Shirley Li puts it, "cute boys calling each other cute names"? Find out with Shirley, Megan Garber, and David Sims ... Show More
41m 35s
May 2022
Knocked Up
In a possibly-soon-to-be-post-Roe v Wade world, our hosts Sophie Gilbert, Megan Garber, and Hannah Giorgis thought it'd be worth re-examining the Judd Apatow/Seth Rogan comedy "Knocked Up," to discuss the way the movie treats women's bodily autonomy, angry reactions from men, and ... Show More
42m 38s
Mar 2024
Dune: Part Two with Denis Villeneuve and Steven Spielberg (Ep. 471)
Director Denis Villeneuve discusses his new film, Dune: Part Two, with fellow Director Steven Spielberg in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, he discusses the throes of filming in the desert in comparison with Lawrence of Arabia, the comic and painterly ... Show More
34m 17s
Oct 2023
Bladerunner, Androids, and The Origin of Cyberpunk | Cosmic Chronicles Episode 8
Join hosts Quinn and James in this episode of "The Cosmic Chronicles Podcast" as they delve into the fascinating world of Philip K. Dick's novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" and its cinematic adaptations, "Blade Runner" and "Blade Runner 2049." They dissect the themes o ... Show More
1 h
Mar 2024
Culture chat: Dune: Part Two, directed by Denis Villeneuve
This week, we talk about the new film Dune: Part Two. A star-studded epic featuring Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Florence Pugh, and more. It’s the second instalment in the Dune franchise, based on the book by Frank Herbert and directed by Denis Villeneuve. The FT’s global business ... Show More
23m 16s
Mar 2024
Is Science Fiction the New Realism?
Science fiction has historically been considered a niche genre, one in which far-flung scenarios play out on distant planets. Today, though, such plots are at the center of our media landscape. On this episode of Critics at Large, the staff writers Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, a ... Show More
46 m
Feb 2024
Burning For Something with Celine Song & Sofia Coppola
Topics covered include: seeing your first movie at the neighborhood theater, the pressures of live performance, the animal that is the audience, parallels between directing and motherhood, abandoning the miracle, autobiographical filmmaking, feeling like broccoli, the Pacific Oce ... Show More
1h 4m
Nov 2024
A Look Ahead at Dune: Prophecy with Showrunner Alison Schapker
To prepare for Dune: Prophecy, hosts Ahmed Ali Akbar and Greta Johnsen are joined by Showrunner, Writer and Executive Producer Alison Schapker who teases where we’re going in the new HBO Original series. Whether you’re a Dune super fan or newcomer to the Dune world, this episode ... Show More
51m 37s
Dec 2024
SPEED RACER — The Wachowskis go full throttle
After THE MATRIX and V FOR VENDETTA, the Wachowskis were ready to turn from darkness, into the bright, bright candy-colored light. The result was SPEED RACER, an eyepopping postmodern explosion that honored the gravity-defying spirit of old-school anime… and which audiences could ... Show More
30m 46s