The Cinematic Tangent
The Cinematic Tangent is a podcast hosted by Chad Michael Van Alstin and Bradley Redder — two guys who bonded over a decade ago because they were chronically late to film class. The show’s aim is to facilitate honest conversations about movies in their cultural context, uninhibited by political dichotomies and insane social purity tests. Grab a beer, hang out with us, and reclaim your humanity. Visit: http://www.thecinematictangent.com
Episodes
January 20, 2025
For this episode, we opted to compare and contrast American Fiction and You People, two comedy-dramas where contemporary racial politics are the focal point. Yet, their perspective, style, tone, themes—and demonstrated level of filmmaking competence—could not be more radically different. We thoroughly analyze both films in our patented “deep casual” style, and we ask only … Continue reading XI...
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August 5, 2024
We take a deep dive into the films of animator and director Don Bluth, with special focus on The Land Before Time, An American Tail, All Dogs Go to Heaven, and Anastasia. For those of us who grew up watching these movies, they are remembered for their dark subject matter and themes antithetical to Disney. … Continue reading XVIII – Don Bluth
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George Miller can’t make yet another great Mad Max movie, right? Wrong. He can and he did. And we hope he makes them forever. As we catch up on movies we’ve seen, one of them was Unfrosted. There’s a deep analysis of Jerry Seinfeld’s directorial debut (and its Goo Monster), followed by some light praise … Continue reading XVII – ‘Furiosa’, the PopTart Movie, and Tangents...
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We sat down with Chad’s old Virginia Tech classmate Kevin Hershner to discuss his film Normal Accidents. Kevin is a writer, director, and actor living in Los Angeles who is currently pitching the movie—his first feature—to festivals. Normal Accidents is an auteur satire on “one man, one location” films with a lot of levity. But, … Continue reading XVI – Conversation with Kevin Hers...
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November 27, 2023
We love Adam McKay movies. Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby embraces the Americana of rednecks and NASCAR culture, innocently pitting our uncouth heroes against the French liberal elites. Step Brothers is two losers resisting the urge to seek status, content with having a good time. And Anchorman? One can argue it’s a treatise … Continue reading XV – You Used to Laugh wi...
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September 18, 2023
The boys celebrate the podcast’s 10th anniversary by digging into the whole “Barbenheimer” thing. Show Notes: Mission Impossible 7 bombs because theatres are dead again:https://www.msn.com/en-us/movies/news/mission-impossible-7-ends-its-domestic-run-by-hitting-another-disappointing-low/ar-AA1hdwR7 Censorship on Apple TV and Criterion Channel:https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnarcher/2023/06/06/apple-tv-and-the-criterion-channel...
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Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale and The Wrestler are very different films, but both center on a broken person, unable to achieve their former high, estranged from family and facing a new, less satisfying reality. Yet, one of these films sucks while the other is a cinematic masterpiece. Brad and Chad take a hard look at … Continue reading XIII – Darren Aronofsky: Capriciously Comparing...
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Everything Everywhere All at Once swept the Oscars, but Hollywood seems incapable of talking about the movie on its merits. After discussing the struggle between art and identity politics, Brad and Chad both fail to remember the plot to Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, despite seeing it multiple times. Then, CinTan praises the shit out … Continue reading XII – There Should be More Beat...
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April 3, 2023
Cocaine Bear is based on the true tale of a bear who ate cocaine and died. The movie adaptation is about a CGI blob that mauls people to death – with some admittedly cool traditional effects. After sobering up, Brad and Chad go deep on M. Night Shyamalan’s Knock at the Cabin, revealing the (possible) … Continue reading XI – It’s About a Bear that Does a Lot of Cocaine
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February 20, 2023
From The Fabelmans to Avatar: The Way of Water, Hollywood feels increasingly out of touch, both in its ability to capture what it means to be a person – and to re-capture what it meant to watch a Blockbuster in the theatre. Opining on their growing dislike of movies, the boys analyze similar trends in … Continue reading X – Oscars So Blue
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December 22, 2022
This is the deepest dive into Bad Santa that you’ll find anywhere. The “Santa” that made it into theatres – and conned its way onto DVD and streaming services – is an imposter, with the cut approved by director Terry Zwigoff hidden away (at the North Pole), only to be quietly released years later. Brad … Continue reading IX – ‘Bad Santa’
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November 14, 2022
In a world where a cartoonishly evil cabal of men exploit damaged women from cradle to grave, Blonde takes the heroic position that that is bad. The highly sensational, fictionalized Marilyn Monroe “biopic” from Andrew Dominik is the first film released on Netflix to earn an NC-17 rating – and holy shit, it takes full … Continue reading VIII – “Marilyn Monroe” Gets Pwnd<...
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October 31, 2022
Let’s play a game of Bodies Bodies Bodies – a new viral TikTok sensation for upper-middle-class woke kids who kill each other in manic witch hunts! After, we can all find Jesus through the (very entertaining and solidly made) gospel of Black Phone. Show Notes: Finally, our Ferris Bueller questions will be asked: https://www.msn.com/en-us/movies/news/the-ferris-bueller-spin-off-will-let-us-revisit-key-scenes-through-other-characters...
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In part 2 of a 2-part adventure, Chad and Brad finally have a civil conversation about Everything Everywhere All at Once. And then they stammer through a chat about George Miller’s Three Thousand Year of Longing. Show Notes: Freddie deBoer on Everything Everywhere All at Once: https://freddiedeboer.substack.com/p/i-would-like-to-gently-suggest-that Tarantino read the script for Swiss Army Man: … Continue reading
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October 17, 2022
In part 1 of a 2-part adventure, Chad and Brad attempt to unravel a great mystery: How in the hell does Star Wars (1977) still look amazing when Spider-Man (2002) is aging like a Thor: Love and Thunder joke? Show Notes: Vulture piece on how Marvel SFX are an assembly line: https://www.vulture.com/article/a-vfx-artist-on-what-its-like-working-for-marvel.html (Editor’s Note: Chad … Continue reading
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With audio now in the proper human-sounding bit rate, The Cinematic Tangent returns to discuss why Top Gun: Maverick is uniquely American. Plus, Brad and Chad mull over the themes of Crimes of the Future, while acknowledging CGI sex-violence is not particularly arousing. Show Notes: Hey Siri, what BitRate is Correct for Podcasts? We Really … Continue reading IV – God Damn, that Tom Cruis...
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Audio issues and circular arguments abound, Chad and Brad bicker over Everything Everywhere All at Once and The Northman. Show Notes: Amplifying 4Chan posts for woke takes: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/apr/22/norse-code-white-supremacists-reading-the-northman-robert-eggers Intro Music: https://pixabay.com/music/indie-pop-fun-punk-opener-14343/ Other Music: https://pixabay.com/music/id-105/ E-mail the Show: thecinematictang...
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May 9, 2022
Chad and Brad discuss Uncharted and Jackass Forever. With a bittersweet take, Chad pontificates on how the Internet’s shift from anarchy to sanitized corporate product mirrors the evolution of Jackass. Show Notes: Chad referred to Poopies as “Poopsie” during the show. He apologizes and will do better. Bam Margera in Jackass Forever: https://screenrant.com/jackass-forever-bam-margera-filmed-scenes-fired-explained/ ...
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April 4, 2022
Welcome to the podcast from a real-life Brad and Chad duo. Now, what the fuck happened to film? It really sucks. Show Notes: The Substack of Marxist writer Freddie deBoer that Chad is clearly a reader of: https://freddiedeboer.substack.com An example of woke praise for Nomadland that LITERALLY does not mention Amazon: https://slate.com/culture/2021/04/nomadland-2021-oscars-best-picture-winner-historic-women.html If you somehow R...
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June 25, 2018
Brad and Chad discuss Ready Player One and Isle of Dogs, the latter of which has angered some kids on Twitter.
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