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PODCAST

Troy (D) Ramos

Troy David Ramos

Conversational movie analysis from a multidisciplinary artist perspective. I explore films through philosophical, artistic, and personal lenses - from indie gems to classic Hollywood, plus the occasional rant about the movie-going experience itself. Whether it"s unpacking the deeper meaning in Lost in Translation or explaining why Castaway"s ending hits different, these are authentic discussions for film lovers who think beyond the surface. New episodes every Saturday.

tv & film film reviews

All Episodes

00:11:31

I Can’t Stop Thinking About Hamnet

Troy (D) Ramos ·

2026/01/17

⚠️ SPOILER WARNING ⚠️This video contains major spoilers for Hamnet. Please watch the film before continuing.I saw Hamnet and I genuinely can’t stop thinking about it.This film caught me completely off guard. It’s quiet, patient, emotionally devastating, and unlike almost anything else playing in theaters right now. At its core, Hamnet isn’t really about Shakespeare—it’s about grief, love, art, and the way we try to survive unbearable loss.In this video, I talk through the four things that have

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00:08:07

I Can’t Stop Thinking About Marty Supreme

Troy (D) Ramos ·

2026/01/08

⚠️ This video contains spoilers for Marty Supreme.I just watched Marty Supreme, directed by Josh Safdie, and I can’t stop thinking about three things.The film stars Timothée Chalamet, Odessa A’zion, and Gwyneth Paltrow, and follows a driven young man in 1950s New York whose obsession with success in competitive table tennis pulls him into constant risk, tension, and moral compromise.In this video, I talk about:• The relentless tension and why it makes the film compelling—but hard to revisit• The

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00:13:04

7 Things About the Stranger Things Finale I Can’t...

Troy (D) Ramos ·

2026/01/04

*SPOILERS * I finally watched the Stranger Things series finale — the big movie ending to season five — and while I genuinely loved it, I couldn’t stop thinking about a handful of unresolved moments, emotional choices, and strange implications.These aren’t nitpicks or complaints. I’ve loved this show for nearly a decade.They’re just the ideas that stayed with me after the credits rolled — questions about the mythology, the ending, and what the story might really be saying beneath the surface.From

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00:11:31

The Moment I Wasn’t Ready For | Stranger Things Season 5

Troy (D) Ramos ·

2025/12/28

Stranger Things Season 5 (Episodes 5–7) takes a darker and more emotionally complex turn than I expected.In this video, I break down the five things I can’t stop thinking about after watching the latest episodes — from the disturbing dynamics inside Henry’s house, to Will’s quietly resolved arc, to the uneasy distrust surrounding Kali, and the emotional payoff between Steve and Dustin.This isn’t a recap or theory video. It’s a reflection on what these episodes are actually doing beneath the surface

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00:15:54

Watching Kill Bill for the First Time, 20 Years Later

Troy (D) Ramos ·

2025/12/27

I finally watched Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair — Quentin Tarantino’s original vision of the film presented as one complete story — and it completely caught me off guard.This was my first time ever seeing Kill Bill, and seeing it in a theater as a four-hour film with an intermission felt like a very different experience than watching the two volumes separately.In this video, I talk through a few things that really stayed with me after the screening — from Uma Thurman’s performance, to whether

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00:09:32

Stranger Things Season 5 (Episodes 1–4): Questions,...

Troy (D) Ramos ·

2025/12/19

⚠️ Spoilers for Stranger Things Season 5 (Episodes 1–4)I watched the first four episodes of Stranger Things Season 5, and while I’m enjoying it, I had more questions than answers. After revisiting Season 4, certain moments in these new episodes felt darker, stranger, and more consequential than they first appeared.In this video, I talk through early theories and open questions about Season 5 — including Will’s connection to the Upside Down, the tension between Dustin and Steve, what’s really

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00:03:20

My Favorite Rob Reiner Films | In Memory

Troy (D) Ramos ·

2025/12/16

Rob Reiner was a filmmaker who moved effortlessly across genres — comedy, romance, coming-of-age stories, horror, and courtroom drama — and somehow made classics in all of them.In light of his recent passing, I wanted to take a moment to focus on the work he left behind and the films that meant the most to me. From This Is Spinal Tap and The Princess Bride, to When Harry Met Sally… Stand by Me, Misery, and A Few Good Men, his movies continue to resonate in very different ways.This video isn’t about

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00:07:33

Rewatching Breathless Changed Everything

Troy (D) Ramos ·

2025/12/13

Sometimes one movie unlocks another.After watching Richard Linklater’s new film about the French New Wave, I went back to Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless — and suddenly everything clicked. Knowing how it was made, the last-minute dialogue, the unconventional editing, and the bold jump cuts completely changed the experience for me.In this video, I talk about:• Why rewatching Breathless with context hits differently• The abrupt cuts and the famous mirror shot• Godard’s natural, improvisational filmmaking

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00:03:30

Netflix Buys Warner Bros: An Anti-Trust Time Bomb

Troy (D) Ramos ·

2025/12/05

Netflix is now positioned to control Warner Bros, HBO, and Discovery — meaning the #1 and #4 streaming powers could effectively collapse into one ecosystem. That’s not just a business move… that’s an anti-trust time bomb.In this quick, off-the-cuff reaction, I break down: • Why this deal should raise serious anti-trust red flags • How this consolidation could accelerate the collapse of movie theaters • Why Netflix’s long-standing tension with theatrical releases makes this especially

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00:06:42

Nouvelle Vague: Linklater’s Love Letter to Filmmaking

Troy (D) Ramos ·

2025/12/03

Richard Linklater’s Nouvelle Vague surprised me in the best way possible. I thought I was clicking on a documentary — instead I got a living, breathing film about the birth of the French New Wave, told through the chaotic creation of Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless.It’s the kind of film that jolts you awake creatively.Loose, energetic, jazz-infused, and alive with that feeling of anything can happen.Linklater drops you right into the moment when cinema was being reinvented: Godard writing scenes the

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00:07:45

Bugonia (2024) – No-Spoiler Review: Tension,...

Troy (D) Ramos ·

2025/11/26

Bugonia is a strange, tense, beautifully acted film. Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, and a small cast create something that feels almost like a four-person stage play — intimate, uncomfortable, and gripping.This is a no-spoiler review, but I touch on the tension, the performances, and the one thing I’m not fully sold on: the ending.Yorgos Lanthimos builds mystery extremely well… but does the reveal land? I’m still thinking about it.If you’ve seen Bugonia, feel free to discuss it in the comments — I’ll

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00:11:12

Frankenstein (2025) — Creation, Loneliness, and a...

Troy (D) Ramos ·

2025/11/22

Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein (2025) surprised me with how emotional, lonely, and human it felt.This version leans into the philosophical side of Mary Shelley’s story — creation, consequence, and the deep sadness of a creature who never asked to exist.Oscar Isaac delivers a powerful performance, and early on I noticed a small but interesting parallel to another role he’s played before. It’s not the focus of the film or this review, but it adds an extra layer to the idea of a creator who doesn’t

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00:12:57

Eric Stoltz’s Dark Take on Back to the Future (And...

Troy (D) Ramos ·

2025/11/15

Was Eric Stoltz right about Back to the Future?Most fans know he was the original Marty McFly — fired six weeks into shooting and replaced with Michael J. Fox. But fewer people know the reason why: Stoltz saw the film as a tragedy.In this episode, I dig into the legend of that first table read, Crispin Glover’s criticism of the film’s message, early drafts of the script, the darker tone in Stoltz’s footage, and why both interpretations might actually be true.Back to the Future is still one of the

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00:11:10

Memento (2000) — Truth or Purpose?

Troy (D) Ramos ·

2025/11/08

Christopher Nolan’s Memento isn’t just a mystery told backwards — it’s a film about how far we’ll go to keep our lives meaningful, even if it means lying to ourselves.Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce) can’t form new memories after his wife’s murder. He writes clues, tattoos his body, and hunts her killer — but when the truth finally appears, he rejects it.Memento asks a haunting question: would we rather know the truth, or keep a purpose that gives us a reason to live?This video looks at how Nolan’s

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00:14:52

Falling Down (1993) — When Losing Control Feels...

Troy (D) Ramos ·

2025/11/01

Why does Falling Down still hit so hard, more than 30 years later? In this video, I rewatch Joel Schumacher’s Falling Down (1993) — starring Michael Douglas, Robert Duvall, and Barbara Hershey — and explore the deeper connection between Defense and Prendergast. Both men feel abandoned by the world, but one chooses violence while the other finds meaning.This isn’t just a breakdown of the movie — it’s a reflection on alienation, modern frustration, and what happens when we lose control of our place in

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00:12:55

what i learned from watching “chungking express” for...

Troy (D) Ramos ·

2025/10/25

my first wong kar-wai film — chungking express (1994) — completely caught me off guard. shot fast, edited fast, but somehow timeless. it’s about heartbreak, loneliness, and love from two sides of the same city. one man can’t let go of a dream, the other finds someone who’s not ready to love him back.i talk about what makes this film so hypnotic: how wong kar-wai finds beauty in the in-between moments — a look, a song, a flickering light. and how chungking express captures hong kong in motion,

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00:06:28

"they live" | the fight for truth and perception

Troy (D) Ramos ·

2025/10/17

In John Carpenter’s They Live, truth hides behind illusion — literally.In this video, I break down the meaning of the now-legendary alley fight, why Frank refuses to “put on the glasses,” and how this struggle mirrors our own resistance to seeing what’s real.From its unforgettable “OBEY” imagery to Carpenter’s haunting blues score, They Live remains one of the boldest commentaries on media, control, and waking up.👁️ Watch, reflect, and tell me: what does this film say to you today?🎬 Directed by

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00:12:18

why paul thomas anderson’s “one battle after another”...

Troy (D) Ramos ·

2025/10/12

“One Battle After Another,” Paul Thomas Anderson’s new film, didn’t hit me the way Licorice Pizza or There Will Be Blood did.In this video, I talk about why — from the lack of character growth, to the heavy-handed political tone, to why I think that final scene with Tom Petty’s “American Girl” might actually be saying something deeper about America itself.Whether you loved it or hated it, let’s talk about what this movie is really doing beneath the surface.—Troy D Ramos🎬 more film essays:

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00:06:06

Is 1917's 'One Shot' Technique Brilliant or Misleading?

Troy (D) Ramos ·

2025/09/06

Sam Mendes' 1917 is visually stunning and emotionally powerful, but is the "one take" presentation honest filmmaking or clever trickery? After rewatching the film and diving into the making-of documentaries, I explore both sides of this debate.The film wasn't actually shot in one continuous take like Russian Ark or Victoria, but it was carefully crafted to feel that way. Quentin Tarantino has criticized this approach, arguing that if you're going for the one-take vibe, you

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00:12:01

How Movie Theaters Steal Your Time

Troy (D) Ramos ·

2025/08/31

I created my own double feature this week - Relay at AMC, then 40-Year-Old Virgin at Phoenix Theaters. What should have been 3 hours of movies became 4+ hours because I sat through over an hour of ads and previews combined. Thirty minutes before each film started.This isn't just about wasted time - it's about being asked to pay in time after you've already paid. You arrive when the showtime says, but the movie doesn't actually start for half an hour. In what other business can you

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21 results

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