Gimme Three Podcast - A Series For Cinephiles

On this week’s episode, we honor one of the greatest comedic minds ever to grace the silver screen. Catherine O’Hara. In particular, we explore her wildly impressive improvisational collaborations with Christopher Guest. These films highlight some of the most impressive elements of O’Hara’s talents: her improv skills, her dramatic range, her world-building, and her overall magnetic star power.

• We start with the small-town mockum...

For Women’s History Month, the Gimme Three Podcast is spotlighting a filmmaker whose name was nearly lost to history: Alice Guy-Blaché.

Before Hollywood existed, before the language of cinema had even fully formed, one woman was already experimenting with storytelling on screen—directing hundreds of films and helping shape what movies could become.

So why don’t more people know her name?

In this episode, Nick and Bella explore three o...

Today, we celebrate the birthday of a tremendous actor who elevates every film that he’s in. Of course, we are talking about Mr. Oscar Isaac. In his prolific career, Isaac has helmed many blockbuster franchises. Still, he hasn’t shied away from layered, mysterious, and sometimes horrifying characters - those are the type of performances that we tackle in this week’s episode. 

• We start with Oscar Isaac’s star-making performance a...

In the third and final installment of our Lord of the Rings episodes, co-host Nicholas Ybarra and producer Sonja Mereu discuss the epic finale to one of the most impactful trilogies in cinematic history. 

Return of the King concludes the epic tales of Middle-earth, Frodo, Gollum, Gandalf, Samwise, and Aragorn. 

Join us as we get Nicholas' final verdict on the trilogy and another gushing tale of love from Sonja. Also, hear loads ...

We return with our Lord of the Rings deep dive. This week, we explore the pulse-pounding second installment, The Two Towers. Peter Jackson and team raise the stakes, sharpen their skillset, and deliver a whollop of a sequel. 

In this episode, co-host Nicholas Ybarra and producer Sonja Mereu discuss their favorite moments from the film, Andy Serkis's incredible performance as Gollum, and the painstaking effort the cast and crew ...

For the first time, the Gimme Three Podcast is slowing things down and taking it one movie at a time. Co-host Nick Ybarra and producer Sonja Mereu began their in-depth analysis of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. 

In this episode, we take a look at 2001's Fellowship of the Ring. 

Peter Jackson's hypnotic and game-changing fantasy film broke the mold and set the stage for one of the most impactful trilogies ever made. 

❗️SEND U...

Love is in the air… and it just might kill you. We’re celebrating Valentine’s Day early with a trio of unconventional love stories from the horror-romance genre.

The twisted sisters are back at it again. Special guest Jessica McLaughlin joins co-host Bella Efstratis to gush over some of our favorite monster love stories—films about obsession, intimacy, and connection that push romance to its most extreme ends. From vampires to werew...

It’s the final installment of Favorites of 2025! We’re closing out the series with a very special guest: writer and filmmaker Jessica McLaughlin. 

In this episode, the trio brings their individuality, passions, and distinct cinematic taste to the table with three wildly different films that captured their hearts and minds in 2025.

• Up first, Nick hits it out of the park with Carson Lund’s charming debut, Eephus.
  
  
• Next, Jes...

This week, we’ve got more favorite films from 2025. 

Nick and Bella are honored to be joined by actress, comedian, writer, paranormal investigator, and host of the Directora podcast, Stephanie Weber. 

The trio dives deep into three of the most emotionally gripping films released last year. 

• We start with Eva Victor’s directorial debut—the impeccably written Sorry, Baby. 
  
  
• Second, Joel Edgerton stars in the hypnotic, ethere...

It’s that time of year! Bella, Nick, and Gimme Three Producer Sonja Mereu start our Favorite Films of 2025 Series with three excellent selections. 

Since these are 2025 releases, we do want to warn our listeners that we get into some spoilers for all three films we discuss. 

• We start with Paul Thomas Anderson’s politically-charged epic and Best Picture contender, One Battle After Another. 
  
  
• Second, the movie that took the...

Bella Efstratis returns as she and Nick dive deep into their 2025 Letterboxd statistics. 

Letterboxd is not a sponsor of this podcast; we are just huge fans. And on this episode, Bella and Nick review some of the incredible stats the app has to offer; how many films they logged and which actors they watched the most (spoiler alert: it’s Tom Cruise). 

Throughout the episode, you’ll get dozens of recommendations for films fro...

This week, Nick is joined by returning guest and friend of the Gimme Three Podcast, Ryan Lacen. 

The two celebrate the life, career, and some of their all-time favorites in this tribute to the legendary Rob Reiner.

• First up: can you handle the truth? Rob Reiner directs Aaron Sorkin's first screenplay—Tom Cruise, Demi Moore, and Jack Nicholson star in A Few Good Men. 
  
  
• Second: misery loves company. Rob Reiner directs ...

Join Nick and Sonja as they ring in the New Year the best way they know how - by going back to the 1990s. In this episode, we visit '90s New Year's films!

• We start with the 1999 MTV Films production of 200 Cigarettes. Sure, it takes place in 1981, but the film is still oozing with all of the '90s tropes and charm you can’t get enough of. 
  
  
• Second, we visit the anthology film by Quentin Tarantino, Robert Ro...

We round out this year’s trilogy of Christmas episodes by exploring the made-for-TV Christmas classics that have awed generations. We’re talking about the Rankin / Bass stop-motion films. 

• We go all the way back to 1964 for Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, the longest-running Christmas special of all time. 
  
  
• The company garnered another hit with the Santa origin story. Mickey Rooney and Fred Astaire lend their voices to S...

This week is the return of one of our most popular themes from 2024, Christmas or Not? Bella and Nick debate about some of the historically contested films - are these Christmas movies or ain’t they? 

You can help us decide!

• We start with one of the most quintessential films in the Christmas-or-not debate. It is also one of the most quintessential films in American history. Jimmy Stewart stars in Frank Capra’s It’s A Wonderful Li...

On this week’s episode, Nick and Bella return as your favorite unlikely duo. Which is apt, as we dive into the work of one of the most impactful screenwriters of the last forty years, Shane Black. 

Over the decades, Shane Black’s action screenplays have thrilled audiences. And in most of his pictures, he loves injecting a bit of the holiday season. Thus, A Very Black Christmas. 

• We start with a game-changing classic. Mel Gibson a...

Nicholas Ybarra and returning guest Max Sopkin celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Rocky Horror Picture Show, the cult classic and the longest-running film in theatrical history. 

Nick and Max talk about their personal connection and history with the film, and delve into a hilarious and informative recap of this film and two other cult-classic rock musicals. 

• We start, of course, with the reason we’re here, Tim Curry, Susan Sur...

Before heading into the Holiday season, Noir November could not be ignored. For the first time, Nick & Bella celebrate Noir November with three unforgettable, game-changing classics. 

• We start with the Humphrey Bogart-led masterpiece and the catalyst for the Film Noir movement, 1941’s The Maltese Falcon. 
  
  
• Second, Billy Wilder’s bleak, twisted, and sultry classic Double Indemnity. 
  
  
• Finally, Alfred Hitchcock ...

In our 100th episode, we invited you, our audience, to select the films we’d discuss. 

In a mini-tournament which included the top films from three different lists: 

• Sight and Sound Magazine’s Greatest Films of All Time
• IMDb’s highest rated films of all time
• Letterboxd’s highest rated films of all time

These were the films you selected:

• We open with the American masterpiece that changed the crime genre and cinema as a whole:...