The Film Buds

Hey film buds,

Hispanic culture today is the result of centuries of complex interactions, influenced by traditional native and folk culture, colonialism, and Catholicism. For this week’s movie and look at Hispanic Heritage we are reviewing Retablo. The title comes from a traditional art form, and the tale is a complex one of masculinity, fragility, and family. We’ll discuss the film, familiarity with Catholic art, and more. 

If you h...

Hey film buds,

Part of the importance of Heritage Months is learning about the people and events you didn’t know that helped shape history. For this week’s episode we are looking at journalist and activist Ruben Salazar, a Mexican-American that struggled with what that identity meant to him. We review and discuss the Phillip Rodriguez’s Ruben Salazar: Man in the Middle, D23, and more. 

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out las...

Hey film buds, 

This week to help us continue our Hispanic Heritage in Film celebration we are joined by Friend of the Show, Nick Delgadillo. This week we celebrate another of the internationally recognized Holy Trinity of Mexican filmmakers, Alfonso Cuarón with his film Y tu mamá también. We shall review his road-trip film, discuss roadtrip movies, and more. If you haven’t already, check out last week’s episode. 

You can follow Nick...

Hey film buds, 

Hispanic Heritage Month is an exciting opportunity to celebrate and recognize the contributions of Hispanic people around the world. To begin our celebration for the month we decided to go to one of our favorite filmmakers with Guillermo del Toro’s The Devil’s Backbone. Beyond that we discuss What We’re Watching, melodrama, and more. 

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out last week’s episode. Also, we have two ...

Hey film buds, 

Labor Day weekend always marks the official end of the Back to School season. All month long we highlighted characters seen around schools, from Teachers to Cheerleaders. This week is all about Nerds and Overachievers. To focus our discussion we highlight Wes Anderson, review Rushmore & Brick, and more. 

Also, be sure to listen to our previous episode. 

Thanks y’all, 

The Buds

Show Open - 00:00

Hey film buds,

High school for many is a golden age. “The best years of their lives” some say. But for the Weirdos and Outcasts, it can be hell on earth. This week is all about those poor odd ducks. We’ll review and discuss Carrie & Dazed and Confused before discussing what we’re watching and more. 

If you haven’t already, check out last week’s episode and sign up for the newsletter. 

Thanks, y’all,

The Buds

Show Open - 00:00

Hey film buds,

School is a cinematic place, full of opportunity for different kinds of storytelling. For today’s episode we’ll be looking at School Athletics with Cheerleaders and Jocks. Our main reviews will be Bring it On and Friday Night Lights where we’ll discuss these character types and story structures. Beyond that we’ll discuss the history of sports in school, What We’re Watching, and more. And so you don’t get too far behin...

Hey film buds, 

With the dog days of summer, so too arrives the start of a new school year. So, this month on the Film Buds, we are going Back to School. For our first episode, we are going into movies about teachers that inspire. We discuss education in America, review Dead Poets Society & School of Rock, get caught up on the HBOMax/Discovery drama, and more. 

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out last week’s episode, and...

Hey film buds, 

For our final episode of the Summer Movie Season, we wanted to send y’all off with a bang. Something that had a little bit of it all. 

Sex. Violence. Heat. 

You know? The good stuff. 

Sure enough we found the perfect movies to deliver on the premise. This week, as a mirror to our previous Shark Week Episode and as a grand finale to our Summer programming, we are proudly reviewing both Piranha and Piranha 3D. But we also...

Hey film buds,

You know what statistics always fluctuates with the weather? 

Crime rates. 

Truly folks, it does in fact seem that when the sun is out, so too are guns out. And America has its own very particular relationship to both guns and crime. So for this week’s episode we’ll be reviewing two high-intensity crime movies: Michael Mann’s Heat and Michael Bay’s Pain & Gain. 

Introduction - 00:00

American Ci...

Hey film buds,

What is it about the heat that makes some folks’ morals melt? With the fun, poppy ideas of Summer Magic also comes something of a dark Summer Curse, leaving some people bound by their worst impulses. 

Today’s episode is diving headlong into moral ambiguity, existential dread, and murder with an episode all about Neo Noir. 

Introduction - 00:00

A Brief Noir History - 22:24

First is the 198...

Hey film buds,

Summer is a unique time of year. 

It conjures up both the excitement of possibility and the nostalgia of Summers-past. And though we all have different ways of enjoying it, we all feel that Summer call to shed layers and run out into the heat. 

Though it is certainly fun to experience that Summer feeling in the fantastical films of Jaws or Do the Right Thing, we thought it could be just as fun to experience something gr...

Enjoy some extra content this week with a previously recorded Film Buds bonus episode covering Disney live-action films featuring Henry, Paul, and guest co-host Henry Wilkinson! Our conversation includes Alice Through the Looking Glass, Pete's Dragon, Beauty and the Beast, Christopher Robin, and The Nutcracker and the Four Realms.

Follow The Film Buds:

Patreon: Patreon.com/TheBuds

Website: TheFilmBuds.com

Bonus Shows: Thefilmbuds....

Hey film buds,

Happy Independence Day to those who celebrate. I guess that’s something a lot of us have in common: independence days from Britain. 

July 4th is of a certain interest to me because in many ways I feel it has become Summertime Christmas. It is a holiday that feels with each passing year more and more divorced from whatever it was supposed to be about. For many, a holiday that celebrates a declaration of war has now beco...

Hey film buds, 

Art is a place to explore. To dive in and see what makes us tick. It is how we share our experiences, using a universal language of emotions as conveyed by light and sound. 

Horror is then a place to face one’s fears, or show how fearful the circumstances of one’s life can be. That is why Horror has been a powerful device for marginalized groups to express themselves and share their fears. This holds especially true f...

Hey film buds,

If Pride is so fun, then why has the show been such a downer? I mean, the historic struggle is important and a key part of Pride, but I’m sure you’re wondering “Paul and Lauren, why are you tanking Pride month?”

Well worry no more. 

Drag is one of the most visual elements of Pride and the LGBTQIA+ community. It provides an opportunity for the performer to escape, and the audience to challenge their understanding of ...

Hey film buds,

Last week began Pride Month. It is a special time of year designed to promote a sense of community, celebrate love, and remember the hard work and loss that went into making a world more open and accepting of the LGBTQIA+ community. 

Introduction - 22:02

Part of the struggle that has defined the activism and awareness of the Gay community is undoubtedly the HIV/AIDS crisis. So, as...

Hey film buds, 

This June we are continuing to recognize and celebrate humanity’s diversity on film. 

For those unaware, June is Pride Month. It is a unique celebration born from protest and activism with a presence now felt around the world. Here at the Film Buds, we’ll be spending Pride looking at the interesting history and modern representation of the LGBTQIA+ community on film. 

Introduction - 00:00

Hey film buds, 

We all love a good laugh. We always have. Comedy is one of the oldest genres that humans have ever understood in our plays and stories. To celebrate AAPI Heritage this week, we decided to look at Comedies made by AAPI Filmmakers, and some of the history of AAPI people in film. 

Introduction - 00:00

AAPI History: Sessue Hayawaka - 10:46

To begin our AAPI discussion, we start with some histor...