CinePhils

Overworked and underemployed philosophers and cinephiles, Rob and David, discuss movies and philosophy. Part movie club, part philosophy seminar, we're really just in it to watch the flicks we love, and hope you’ll join in. Cover art is original work from Amelia Koepsell

Episodes

CinePhils Episode 30- The Aliens Franchise - XenoPhils

September 24, 2024 • 47 mins

Existential themes in the Aliens films, questions of humanity, isolation, the Other, AIs and their natures, playing God, and meeting our gods. Special guest segment with Dr. Kim Baltzer-Jaray on gender in the Alien films

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CinePhils, Take 29: Kubrick’s Clockwork Orange, “goodness is something to be chosen”

May 20, 2024 • 55 mins

Viddying ultraviolence, free will, and behaviorism in the dystopian neoliberal state. And Beethoven, of course.

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Cinephile, Take 28: Kubrick’s The Shining, or “Danny’s not here, Mrs. Torrance”

February 22, 2024 • 73 mins

Madness, obsession, terrible cases of writer’s block, and other things philosophers go through.

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CinePhils, Take 27: Wes Anderson’s Grand Budapest Hotel and The Life Aquatic, or “Viewmaster”

February 13, 2024 • 69 mins

Actually it is take 27, we’ve been away for too long. Nostalgia, simplicity, yearning, and a bit of humanity is the cure for cynicism. Also, well constructed cinematic, symmetrical camera work and such.

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CinePhils, Take 26: Paul T. Anderson’s Punch Drunk Love, or “that’s that, mattress man!”

November 23, 2023 • 71 mins

Rob and David hold forth on lyrical images, Sandler seriously acting, virtues of love in the spectrum, non-musical musicals, pudding and air miles, and having a love in your life that makes one stronger than anything you can imagine.

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CinePhils, Take 25: Scorsese’s After Hours, or “I’m just a word processor, for Christ’s sake!”

October 30, 2023 • 74 mins

David and Rob discuss Scorsese’s hangups on women, fire, and dangerous things. Griffin Dunne’s problems selling his freak outs, alternate worlds when the bars close, Henry Miller and the problem with men in the 80s.

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CinePhils, Take 24: Ford’s “The Searchers” and Scorsese’s “Taxi Driver,” epic films of hideous men

October 6, 2023 • 76 mins

John Wayne vs. Robert DeNiro, on being awful and not knowing it, beautiful vistas, claustrophobic spaces, New York, incels, and the desaturated color of blood.

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CinePhils, Take 23: Alex Cox’s Walker and Highway Patrolman, or “¿por qué hablamos tanto tiempo?”

September 22, 2023 • 86 mins

Rob and I forget the time and have a long, wide-ranging discussion of two Alex Cox films, one of which ended his Hollywood career, and the other of which is a great Mexican film albeit filmed by a Brit. Politics, ethics, cops, colonialism, and of course some philosophy too.

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CinePhils, Take 22: Pontecorvo’s Battle of Algiers and Burn! Or, “Brando’s got what plants crave!”

September 13, 2023 • 67 mins

David and Rob discuss Colonialism, propaganda, Italian realism, and cinema verité. A bit of philosophy too.

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CinePhils, Take 21: Lumet’s 12 Angry Men and Serpico, or (the “Cursed Episode”)

August 11, 2023 • 64 mins

Rob and David discuss legal epistemology, post-truth, Justice, and the unbearable whining of whistleblowers, all while surviving internet outages, failures to record, etc.

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CinePhils, Take 20: Kurosawa’s High and Low, or “Kingo Gondo mondo loco.”

July 6, 2023 • 57 mins

The social geography of class, police procedurals, and the cinematography of bottle episodes, inter alia.

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CinePhils, Take 19: Yojimbo and Fistful of Dollars, or “plagiarism is the sincerest form of flattery

June 13, 2023 • 63 mins

Wherein Rob and David consider lone wolves, moral ambiguity, intellectual property, and Japanese westerns.

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CinePhils, Take 18: le Samourai, by Jean-Pierre Melville or “essentiellement le modèle de Ghost Dog”

May 26, 2023 • 61 mins

Rob and David consider fedoras, trench coats, and various cinematic tropes.

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CinePhils, Take 17: Jim Jarmusch’s Ghost Dog and Coffee and Cigarettes, or “acoustic resonance”

May 15, 2023 • 64 mins

Samurais, bushido, caffeine, nicotine, Roshomon, Mahler, and a what we have here is a failure to communicate. Pretty much all of it here in one episode.

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CinePhils, Take 16: Wong Kar-wai’s Fallen Angels and Chungking Express, or “pineapple, anyone?”

May 2, 2023 • 64 mins

David and Rob ruminate about Hong Kong pre-turnover, love, grunge, cops, assassins, expired pineapples, and nostalgia for things one never had.

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CinePhils, Take 15: Terry Gilliam’s Brazil, or “Listen, kid. We’re all in this together.”

April 18, 2023 • 70 mins

David and Rob consider ducts, dream states, corporate fascism, and the liberating power of imagination. Did we mention ducts?

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CinePhils, Take 14: Tarkovsky’s Stalker, or “Rob and David get in the Zone”

April 11, 2023 • 64 mins

Starkly different views on Stalker from our two hosts who muse about the metaphysics of The Zone, the Soviet state and its moodiness, and visceral responses to movies.

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CinePhils, Take 13: John Carpenter’s In The Mouth of Madness, or “Reality isn’t what it used to be”

April 4, 2023 • 63 mins

Lovecraftian horror, elder gods, ancient ones, and the metaphysics of fiction are among our topics. We also surmise that the Einstein-Rosenberg bridge is covered and wooden, and Stephen King is rightfully lambasted.

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CinePhils, Take 12: Wim Wenders’ Until the End of The World, or “I still love you, broken ladder”

March 25, 2023 • 68 mins

Rob and David riff on road movies, cosmopolitanism, the dangers of video and cheap images, and U2.

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CinePhils, Take 11: Ken Russell's Altered States, or "Monsieur, don't try to be funny with me. He is your monkey, therefore it is your money."

March 14, 2023 • 65 mins

David and Rob take a trip into hyperspace, agree on William Hurt's carrying the film, explore the nature of reality, evolution, good and bad special effects, and Paddy Chayefsky's dialogue which is not exactly a Platonic ideal.

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CinePhils

Episodes

.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}CinePhils Episode 30- The Aliens Franchise - XenoPhils

.css-r6mb8g{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:1;overflow:hidden;}CinePhils, Take 29: Kubrick’s Clockwork Orange, “goodness is something to be chosen”

Cinephile, Take 28: Kubrick’s The Shining, or “Danny’s not here, Mrs. Torrance”

CinePhils, Take 27: Wes Anderson’s Grand Budapest Hotel and The Life Aquatic, or “Viewmaster”

CinePhils, Take 26: Paul T. Anderson’s Punch Drunk Love, or “that’s that, mattress man!”

CinePhils, Take 25: Scorsese’s After Hours, or “I’m just a word processor, for Christ’s sake!”

CinePhils, Take 24: Ford’s “The Searchers” and Scorsese’s “Taxi Driver,” epic films of hideous men

CinePhils, Take 23: Alex Cox’s Walker and Highway Patrolman, or “¿por qué hablamos tanto tiempo?”

CinePhils, Take 22: Pontecorvo’s Battle of Algiers and Burn! Or, “Brando’s got what plants crave!”

CinePhils, Take 21: Lumet’s 12 Angry Men and Serpico, or (the “Cursed Episode”)

CinePhils, Take 20: Kurosawa’s High and Low, or “Kingo Gondo mondo loco.”

CinePhils, Take 19: Yojimbo and Fistful of Dollars, or “plagiarism is the sincerest form of flattery

CinePhils, Take 18: le Samourai, by Jean-Pierre Melville or “essentiellement le modèle de Ghost Dog”

CinePhils, Take 17: Jim Jarmusch’s Ghost Dog and Coffee and Cigarettes, or “acoustic resonance”

CinePhils, Take 16: Wong Kar-wai’s Fallen Angels and Chungking Express, or “pineapple, anyone?”

CinePhils, Take 15: Terry Gilliam’s Brazil, or “Listen, kid. We’re all in this together.”

CinePhils, Take 14: Tarkovsky’s Stalker, or “Rob and David get in the Zone”

CinePhils, Take 13: John Carpenter’s In The Mouth of Madness, or “Reality isn’t what it used to be”

CinePhils, Take 12: Wim Wenders’ Until the End of The World, or “I still love you, broken ladder”

CinePhils, Take 11: Ken Russell's Altered States, or "Monsieur, don't try to be funny with me. He is your monkey, therefore it is your money."

Popular Podcasts

CinePhils Episode 30- The Aliens Franchise - XenoPhils

CinePhils, Take 29: Kubrick’s Clockwork Orange, “goodness is something to be chosen”