x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

PODCAST

Movie Memory Machine

Grunt Work Podcasts

Movie Memory Machine is your guide to the forgotten films of the ’80s, ’90s, 2000s, and beyond.Every week, our rogue time machine drops us into a different year to revisit wide-release movies that history left behind—cult favorites, forgotten flops, and everything in between.Along the way, we uncover behind-the-scenes trivia, oddball production choices, and the cultural baggage these movies left behind.Then we decide: does this movie deserve to return to modern memory—or stay lost in time?

tv & film

All Episodes

28:16

Mini-Transmission: The Phantom of the Opera (2004) |...

Movie Memory Machine ·

2026/04/24

Truman and Landen descend once more into the smoky, subterranean tunnels of The Phantom of the Opera (2004) to wrap up the dangling threads left behind by the Main episode—untangling the music, the melodrama, and the enduring mystery of how many candles the Phantom goes through in a week. And as always, they play The Trailer Game, trying to guess which operatic money shots the marketing department spotlighted before watching the trailer for the first time. Next week, the Machine sends them to a

en

136:45

The Phantom of the Opera (2004) | Main

Movie Memory Machine ·

2026/04/17

The Machine drops Truman and Landen into 2004, cranking its fog machines to “maximum melodrama” and insisting they brush up on their chandelier-safety protocols. Before they know it, they’re wandering the candlelit catacombs of The Phantom of the Opera—a lavish, operatic fever dream where every emotion is sung, every hallway is smoky, and every mask hides a very 2000s level of eyeliner.The Phantom of the Opera is a gothic musical romance starring Christine Daaé (Emmy Rossum, Shameless), the Phantom

en

17:35

5-For: The Banger Sisters (2002) | Women, Chaos, and...

Movie Memory Machine ·

2026/04/13

The Machine isn’t done with 2002 just yet — instead, it digs deeper into the emotional wreckage and lingering glitter of The Banger Sisters, pulling five films that explore what happens after the party ends. Truman and Landen follow the thread through rebellion, reinvention, and the strange ways women on screen are allowed (or not allowed) to grow older.The Machine has selected the following films for further analysis: Thelma & Louise (1991) – outlaw friendship and feminist rebellion on the

en

33:41

Mini-Transmission: The Banger Sisters (2002) | Goldie...

Movie Memory Machine ·

2026/04/10

Truman and Landen wrap up the loose ends, lingering thoughts, and unclaimed backstage passes from The Banger Sisters (2002), revisiting the movie’s early-2000s vibe shift, its unexpectedly sincere heart, and its denim-and-eyeliner vision of midlife upheaval. And as always, they play The Trailer Game, trying to guess what footage the marketing department stitched together before watching the trailer for the first time.Subscribe & Follow Keep up with every Main episode, Mini-Transmission, and

en

139:39

The Banger Sisters (2002) | Goldie, Sarandon, and the...

Movie Memory Machine ·

2026/04/03

The Machine hits the early-2000s button and blasts Truman and Landen straight into 2002, where classic rock nostalgia, midlife crises, and aggressively boho scarves all collide in a movie that asks, “What if your wild youth showed up on your front lawn?” It’s a sun-bleached, denim-fringed trip through the kind of comedy Hollywood barely makes anymore — and the Machine insists we take another look.The Banger Sisters is a backstage-flavored comedy-drama starring Suzette (Goldie Hawn, Overboard),

en

20:07

5-For: Bandits (2001) | Charming Criminals and the...

Movie Memory Machine ·

2026/03/30

The Machine rewinds the getaway car and pulls Truman and Landen deeper into the world of lovable criminals, selecting five films where the heist is only half the story. From dusty highways to quiet bank lobbies, these are tales of thieves who’d rather hang out, fall in love, or unravel mid-job than stick to the plan. The Machine has selected the following films for further analysis: Quick Change (1990) – chaotic urban heist where escaping the city is harder than robbing the bank Butch Cassidy

en

29:47

Mini-Transmission: Bandits (2001) | Heists,...

Movie Memory Machine ·

2026/03/27

Truman and Landen wrap up the loose ends from Bandits (2001), sorting through the heist logistics, the love-triangle physics, and the early-2000s studio confidence that made this movie possible. And as always, they play The Trailer Game, trying to guess which scenes the marketing department grabbed before watching the trailer for the first time.Next week, the Machine sends them to a new release date with a fresh clue… but you’ll have to tune in to hear what temporal mischief it has in

en

142:00

Bandits (2001) | The Oddball Heist Rom-Com Hollywood...

Movie Memory Machine ·

2026/03/20

The Machine tosses Truman and Landen straight into the early-2000s swirl of crime, romance, and big-swing studio comedy, where Hollywood briefly decided that the perfect heist crew was Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, and Cate Blanchett in full screwball mode. It’s a detour into an era when mid-budget star vehicles still ruled the multiplex—and occasionally got very weird.Bandits is a crime-comedy road movie starring Joe Blake (Bruce Willis, Die Hard), Terry Collins (Billy Bob Thornton, Sling

en

16:11

5-For: Bad Times at the El Royale (2018) | Strangers,...

Movie Memory Machine ·

2026/03/16

The Machine isn’t done with locked rooms and loaded guns. After revisiting the morally murky hallways of Bad Times at the El Royale, it spits out five more tales of strangers trapped together—where paranoia festers, identities fracture, and the night refuses to end.The Machine has selected five cinematic pressure cookers—stories built on isolation, shifting power dynamics, and the dangerous chemistry of strangers in confined spaces: Identity (2003) – A storm-soaked motel thriller where

en

31:02

Mini-Transmission: Bad Times at the El Royale (2018)...

Movie Memory Machine ·

2026/03/13

Truman and Landen tie up the dangling threads of Bad Times at the El Royale, sorting through the hidden rooms, double identities, and morally dubious guest list that made this neo-noir such a wild detour for the Machine. And as always, they play The Trailer Game, trying to predict which stylish shots and sinister teases the marketing department grabbed for the film’s official preview before watching it for the first time. Next week, the Machine sends them hurtling to a brand-new release date with a

en

130:54

Bad Times at the El Royale (2018) | A Noir Mystery...

Movie Memory Machine ·

2026/03/06

The Machine strands Truman and Landen in 2018—an era of neon-soaked genre mashups, Big Swing studio projects, and the last gasp of mid-budget original thrillers—depositing them right at the doors of the El Royale. Before long, they’re knee-deep in false identities, shifting timelines, and enough stylish menace to make even the Machine a little uneasy.Bad Times at the El Royale is a pulpy neo-noir thriller starring Father Daniel Flynn (Jeff Bridges, The Big Lebowski), motel singer Darlene Sweet

en

19:58

5-For: The Thirteenth Floor (1999) | Five Films That...

Movie Memory Machine ·

2026/03/02

The Machine isn’t done tampering with reality. After dropping Truman and Landen into The Thirteenth Floor (1999), it pulls five more films from across decades that poke at the same unnerving question: what if this world isn’t the base layer? From analog paranoia to blockbuster bullet time to art-house identity crises, this week’s 5-For explores cinema’s favorite existential glitch.The Machine has selected the following titles for further reality destabilization: World on a Wire (1973) – Rainer

en

32:21

Mini-Transmission: The Thirteenth Floor (1999) |...

Movie Memory Machine ·

2026/02/27

Truman and Landen wrap up the lingering mysteries, theories, and stray code fragments left behind by The Thirteenth Floor (1999)—a movie that remains convinced your desktop computer is one bad day away from becoming God’s Etch A Sketch. And as always, they play The Trailer Game, trying to guess which moody shots of virtual L.A., green-screen cityscapes, and suspiciously calm Gretchen Mol the marketing team grabbed for the trailer before watching it for the first time. Next week, the Machine sends

en

133:57

The Thirteenth Floor (1999) | The Sci-Fi Thriller...

Movie Memory Machine ·

2026/02/20

The Machine hurls Truman and Landen back to 1999—an already glitchy year in cinema—dropping them into a neon-soaked rabbit hole of corporate intrigue, VR head trips, and the uncanny feeling that somebody else is driving. It’s a sleek, paranoid slice of late-’90s sci-fi, and the guys are here to find out why this one slipped through the cracks.The Thirteenth Floor is a neo-noir science-fiction thriller starring Douglas Hall (Craig Bierko, Scary Movie 4), Jane Fuller (Gretchen Mol, Boardwalk Empire),

en

16:50

5 For: The Dream Team (1989)

Movie Memory Machine ·

2026/02/16

The Machine isn’t done roaming hospital corridors and city streets. After dropping Truman and Landen into The Dream Team (1989), it queues up five more films circling institutions, delusions, gentle outsiders, and what happens when “treatment” collides with humanity. The vibe? Compassion, satire, rebellion… and at least one starship.The Machine has selected the following five films for further study: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) – Rebellion inside the psychiatric system Titicut

en

27:32

Mini-Transmission: The Dream Team (1989)

Movie Memory Machine ·

2026/02/13

en

135:34

The Dream Team (1989) | Michael Keaton Leads a...

Movie Memory Machine ·

2026/02/06

The Machine yanks Truman and Landen straight into 1989 New York, where the pigeons are plentiful, the crime rate is questionable, and four psychiatric patients are somehow having a better day than our hosts. With a comedy tone that wobbles between screwball, satire, and “oh no they let who loose in Manhattan?”, the guys dive into a movie that’s equal parts heartwarming and wildly irresponsible.The Dream Team is a chaotic, character-driven comedy starring Billy, a volatile former ad exec (Michael

en

19:41

5-For: Tag (2018) | When Adult Friendships Become...

Movie Memory Machine ·

2026/02/02

The Machine isn’t done sprinting yet. For this 5-For transmission, Truman and Landen are handed five studio comedies that orbit Tag (2018)—movies where grown adults, respectable jobs be damned, are dragged into escalating games, schemes, and misadventures that test friendship, masculinity, and the limits of insurance coverage.The Machine’s Five Selected Films According to the Machine, these films share a common DNA: high-concept premises, ensemble casts, and the quiet fear that adulthood might

en

41:04

Mini-Transmission: Tag (2018) | The Bromance Arms...

Movie Memory Machine ·

2026/01/30

Truman and Landen sweep up the leftover chaos from Tag (2018)—a movie that asked, “What if your friends never emotionally matured past recess, but in a kind of inspiring way?” They revisit dangling threads from the Main episode, dig into the real-life tag squad behind the film, and, as always, play The Trailer Game, trying to guess which slow-motion tackles and Jeremy Renner smirks the marketing department used before watching the trailer for the first time.Next week, the Machine sends them to

en

131:38

Tag (2018) | The Wild, True Story of a Lifelong Game...

Movie Memory Machine ·

2026/01/23

The Machine hurls Truman and Landen back to 2018, where a perfectly normal adult world briefly stopped to witness a group of grown men sprinting, tackling, and emotionally spiraling through the most intense game of tag ever put to film. As the Machine reminds them, this bromantic stunt-comedy immortalized a real-life tradition—and maybe also proved that your thirties are just gym class with taxes.Synopsis Tag is a high-energy buddy comedy starring Hogan Malloy (Ed Helms, The Hangover), Bob

en

156 results

Similar Podcasts

BEHIND THE VELVET ROPE

David Yontef

Nerd Culture • A Gamekings Podcast

Blammo Media

UPodcast

UPodcast

The Writers Hangout

Sandy Adomaitis

The Sarah Fraser Show

Sarah Fraser