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PODCAST

Blockbusters and Birdwalks

Garrett Chaffin-Quiray

At Blockbusters and Birdwalks, you’ll listen to reviews and conversations about all kinds of movies, from Academy Award winners to exploitation masterpieces with a mix of commercial hits and obscure favorites thrown in for good measure. The point is recognizing that movies present our culture with the building blocks of social memory, enabling each of us to enjoy ourselves because movies are fun.

tv & film visual arts

All Episodes

2:03

GATEWAY CINEMA, a conversation – Episode 4A:...

Blockbusters and Birdwalks ·

2025/07/21

In this multi-part series, we’ve focused on just one movie to explore a key idea in film studies. But this one choice means we’ve left out multitudes. Here is the larger set of also-rans we wrestled with before finally choosing “Come and See”. *** Referenced media in GATEWAY CINEMA, Episode 4A: “Time Square” (Allan Moye, 1980)“Christiane F.” (Uli Edel, 1981)“Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains” (Lou Adler, 1982)“Pump Up the Volume” (Allen Moyle, 1990)“American Graffiti” (George Lucas, 1...

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40:06

GATEWAY CINEMA, a conversation – Episode 4: Emotional...

Blockbusters and Birdwalks ·

2025/07/21

GATEWAY CINEMA is a multi-part series of conversations centered on key ideas in film studies. In these conversations, we interpret and celebrate a set of eclectic feature films from across generations and from around the world, including “La Haine”, “Drum”, “Alien 3 (Assembly Cut)”, “Come and See”, “Perfect Days”, “Sweet Smell of Success”, “The Swimmer”, “Amadeus (Director’s Cut)”, “Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia”, “Friday”, “Marie Antoinette”, “The Night of the Hunter”, “Crank” and “Cra...

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38:51

GATEWAY CINEMA, a conversation – Episode 3: Life of a...

Blockbusters and Birdwalks ·

2025/07/01

GATEWAY CINEMA is a multi-part series of conversations centered on key ideas in film studies. In these conversations, we interpret and celebrate a set of eclectic feature films from across generations and from around the world, including “La Haine”, “Drum”, “Alien 3 (Assembly Cut)”, “Come and See”, “Perfect Days”, “The Sweet Smell of Success”, “The Swimmer”, “Amadeus (Director’s Cut)”, “Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia”, “Friday”, “Marie Antoinette”, “The Night of the Hunter”, “Crank” and ...

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1:41

GATEWAY CINEMA, a conversation – Episode 3A: Life of...

Blockbusters and Birdwalks ·

2025/07/01

In this multi-part series, we’ve focused on just one movie to explore a key idea in film studies. But this one choice means we’ve left out multitudes. Here is the larger set of also-rans we wrestled with before finally choosing “Alien 3 (Assembly Cut)”. *** Referenced media in GATEWAY CINEMA, Episode 3A: “Apocalypse Now” (Francis Ford Coppola, 1979)“Apocalypse Now Redux” (Francis Ford Coppola, 2001)“Day for Night” (Francois Truffaut, 1973)“Once Upon a Time in… Hollywood” (Quentin Tarantino, 2...

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49:39

GATEWAY CINEMA, a conversation – Episode 2: 6...

Blockbusters and Birdwalks ·

2025/06/16

GATEWAY CINEMA is a multi-part series of conversations centered on key ideas in film studies. In these conversations, we interpret and celebrate a set of eclectic feature films from across generations and from around the world, including “La Haine”, “Drum”, “Alien 3 (Assembly Cut)”, “Come and See”, “Perfect Days”, “The Sweet Smell of Success”, “The Swimmer”, “Amadeus (Director’s Cut)”, “Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia”, “Friday”, “Marie Antoinette”, “The Night of the Hunter”, “Crank” and ...

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1:22

GATEWAY CINEMA, a conversation – Episode 2A: 6...

Blockbusters and Birdwalks ·

2025/06/16

In this multi-part series, we’ve focused on just one movie to explore a key idea in film studies. But this one choice means we’ve left out multitudes. Here is the larger set of also-rans we wrestled with before finally choosing “Drum”. *** Referenced media in GATEWAY CINEMA, Episode 2A: “The Trial” (Orson Welles, 1962)“Drum” (Steve Carver, 1976)“Manson” (Robert Hendrickson and Laurence Merrick, 1973)“Woodstock” (Michael Wadleigh, 1970)“The Great Beauty” (Paolo Sorrentino, 2013)Audio quotation...

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28:58

GATEWAY CINEMA, a conversation – Episode 1:...

Blockbusters and Birdwalks ·

2025/06/12

GATEWAY CINEMA is a multi-part series of conversations centered on key ideas in film studies. In these conversations, we interpret and celebrate a set of eclectic feature films from across generations and from around the world, including “La Haine”, “Drum”, “Alien 3 (Producers’ Cut)”, “Come and See”, “Perfect Days”, “The Sweet Smell of Success”, “The Swimmer”, “Amadeus (Director’s Cut)”, “Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia”, “Friday”, “Marie Antoinette”, “The Night of the Hunter”, “Crank” an...

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5:11

GATEWAY CINEMA, a conversation – Episode 1A:...

Blockbusters and Birdwalks ·

2025/06/12

In this multi-part series, we’ve focused on just one movie to explore a key idea in film studies. But this one choice means we’ve left out multitudes. Here is the larger set of also-rans we wrestled with before finally choosing “La Haine”. *** Referenced media in GATEWAY CINEMA, Episode 1A: “The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)” (Tom Six, 2011)“Snow on tha Bluff” (Damon Russell, 2011)“Roar” (Noel Marshall, 1981)“Survive Style 5+” (Gen Sekiguchi, 2004)“Blue Velvet” (David Lynch, 1986)“Wild at...

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26:05

2005, a conversation – “Kingdom of Heaven”

Blockbusters and Birdwalks ·

2025/03/27

This is part of a series about overlooked movies from 2005. *** Referenced media: “Sin City” (Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller, 2005)“Crash” (Paul Haggis, 2004)“Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith” (George Lucas, 2005)“Black Hawk Down” (Ridley Scott, 2001)“Gladiator” (Ridley Scott, 2000)“Hannibal” (Ridley Scott, 2001)“War of the Worlds” (Steven Spielberg, 2005)“The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” (Peter Jackson, 2001)“The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” (Pete...

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41:00

2005, a conversation – “Munich”

Blockbusters and Birdwalks ·

2025/03/13

This is part of a series about overlooked movies from 2005. *** Referenced media: “Jaws” (Steven Spielberg, 1975)“The Color Purple” (Steven Spielberg, 1985)“The Brutalist” (Brady Corbet, 2024)“Havoc” (Gareth Evans, 2025)“The Raid” (Gareth Evans, 2011)“The RaId 2” (Gareth Evans, 2014)“The West Wing” (Aaron Sorkin, 1999-2006)“2001: A Space Odyssey” (Stanely Kubrick, 1968)“Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure” (Stephen Herek, 1989)Audio quotation: “Munich” (Steven Spielberg, 2005), includi...

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22:24

2005, a conversation – “The Puffy Chair”

Blockbusters and Birdwalks ·

2025/03/13

This is part of a series about overlooked movies from 2005. *** Referenced media: “Baghead” (Jay Duplass and Mark Duplass, 2008)“CB4” (Tamra Davis, 1993)“Zero Dark Thirty” (Kathryn Bigelow, 2012)“The Office” (Greg Daniels, 2005-2013)“The Mindy Project” (Mindy Kaling, 2012-2017)Audio quotation: “The Puffy Chair” (Jay Duplass, 2005), including “Disconnect the Dots” (2004) by of Montreal“CB4” (Tamra Davis, 1993)

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19:28

Romance, a conversation – “Warm Bodies”

Blockbusters and Birdwalks ·

2025/02/13

This is part of a series about romance in movies. *** Referenced media: “28 Days Later” (Danny Boyle, 2002)“Shaun of the Dead” (Edgar Wright, 2004)“Dawn of the Dead” (Zack Snyder, 2004)“Station 11” (Patrick Somerville, 2021-2022)“War for the Planet of the Apes” (Matt Reeves, 2017)Audio quotation: “Warm Bodies” (Jonathan Levine, 2013), including music by Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders and the songs “Yamaha” (2012) by Delta Spirit, “Missing You” (1984) by John Waite, and “Midnight City” ...

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23:45

2005, a conversation – “The Proposition”

Blockbusters and Birdwalks ·

2025/01/31

This is part of a series about overlooked movies from 2005. *** Referenced media: “Distant Sky: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Live in Copenhagen” (David Barnard, 2018)“The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” (Peter Jackson, 2001)“The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” (Peter Jackson, 2002)“The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” (Peter Jackson, 2003)“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” (Steven Spielberg, 2008)“Sexy Beast” (Jonathan Glazer, 2000)“Unforgi...

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23:13

2005, a conversation – “Brick”

Blockbusters and Birdwalks ·

2025/01/22

This is part of a series about overlooked movies from 2005. ***Referenced media:“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” (Gore Verbinski, 2006)“Shaft” (Gordon Parks, 1971)“Thelma” (Josh Margolin, 2024)“Looper” (Rian Johnson, 2012)“Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi” (Rian Johnson, 2017)“Blade Runner” (Ridley Scott, 1982)“Sin City” (Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller 2005)“The Greatest Show on Earth” (Cecil B. DeMille, 1952)“Bugsy Malone” (Alan Parker, 1976)“The Big Sleep” (Howard...

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18:32

Romance, a conversation – “Harold and Maude”

Blockbusters and Birdwalks ·

2025/01/22

This is part of a series about romance in movies. ***Referenced media:“Golden Girls” (Susan Harris, 1985-1992)“Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb” (Stanley Kubrick 1964)“The Graduate” (Mike Nichols, 1967)Audio quotation:“Harold and Maude” (Hal Ashby, 1971), including the songs “Don’t Be Shy” and “If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out” by Cat Stevens

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22:38

Romance, a conversation – “Fire Island”

Blockbusters and Birdwalks ·

2025/01/09

This is part of a series about romance in movies. ***Referenced media:“Bros” (Nicholas Stoller, 2022)“Saturday Night Live” (Lorne Michaels, 1975-now)“Clueless” (Amy Heckerling, 1995)“Pride & Prejudice” (Joe Wright, 2005)Audio quotation:“Fire Island” (Andrew Ahn, 2022), including the song “Pure Imagination” performed by Kathleen, https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_OPWtgi2GFGVXixDBXQl1dz8DQQaoMgt

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43:47

2005, a conversation – “The New World” (The Extended...

Blockbusters and Birdwalks ·

2025/01/09

This is part of a series about overlooked movies from 2005. ***Referenced media:“The Emigrants” (Jan Troell, 1971)“The New Land” (Jan Troell, 1972)“The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” (Peter Jackson, 2001)“The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” (Peter Jackson, 2002)“The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” (Peter Jackson, 2003)“Syriana” (Stephen Gaghan, 2005)“The Thin Red Line” (Terrence Malick, 1998)“John Wick” (Chad Stahelski, 2014)“Pocahontas” (Mike Gabriel and E...

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19:53

Romance, a conversation – “10 Things I Hate About You”

Blockbusters and Birdwalks ·

2025/01/09

This is part of a series about romance in movies. ***Referenced media:“The Taming of the Shrew” by William Shakespears (~1590-1592)“Scream” (Wes Craven, 1996)“Some Kind of Wonderful” (Howard Deutch, 1987)“A Knight’s Tale” (Brian Helgeland, 2001)“Brokeback Mountain” (Ang Lee, 2005)“The Dark Knight” (Christopher Nolan, 2008)“Warm Bodies” (Jonathan Levine, 2013)“The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare (~1591-1595)Audio quotation:“Scream” (Wes Craven, 1996), including the son...

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37:24

2005, a conversation – “Syriana”

Blockbusters and Birdwalks ·

2024/12/04

This is part of a series about overlooked movies from 2005. ***Referenced media:“Michael Clayton” (Tony Gilroy, 2007)“Up in the Air” (Jason Reitman, 2009)“Good Night, and Good Luck.” (George Clooney, 2005)“The Big Short” (Adam McKay, 2015)“The Godfather” (Francis Ford Coppola, 1972)“The Godfather: Part II” (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974)“Traffik” (Simon Moore, 1989)“Traffic” (Steven Soderbergh, 2000)“Paradise Now” (Hany Abu-Assad, 2005)“United 93” (Paul Greengrass, 2006)“Thank You for Smoki...

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18:31

Romance, a conversation – “Some Kind of Wonderful”

Blockbusters and Birdwalks ·

2024/12/04

This is part of a series about romance in movies. ***Referenced media:“Pretty in Pink” (Howard Deutch, 1986)“Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F” (Mark Molloy, 2024)“Ted Lasso” (Jason Sudeikis, Bill Lawrence, Brendan Hunt, and Joe Kelly, 2020-2023)“Alien” (Ridley Scott, 1979)“Lethal Weapon” (Richard Donner, 1987)Audio quotation:“Some Kind of Wonderful” (Howard Deutch, 1987), including the songs “Do Anything” by Pete Shelley, “The Hardest Walk” by The Jesus and Mary Chain, “Can’t Help Falling in Lo...

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173 results

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