Basic with BenDavid Grabinski

Our McTiernan series concludes with 2003’s BASIC - a film that Griffin thinks should instead be titled “COMPLICATED” - get it? Because there are so many plot twists?? The great BenDavid Grabinski joins us to chat about John Travolta’s run of big, skeezy characters post-FACE/OFF, McTiernan’s ultimate Achilles heel (getting too confident in his ability to fix impossible movies), the screenwriting career of studio wunderkind James Vanderbilt, and the truly terrible acting of Giovanni Ribisi. Plus, the return of Journalist Eddie Brock, our pitches for different versions of CHANGING LANES (which they should remake every five years), and our final McT filmography rankings. Join our Patreon for franchise commentaries and bonus episodes. Follow us @blankcheckpod on Instagram, Threads, Facebook and X! Buy some real nerdy merch. Connect with other Blankies on our Reddit or Discord For anything else, check out BlankCheckPod.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mark as Played

Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

Stuff You Should Know

If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

Dateline NBC

Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist

It’s 1996 in rural North Carolina, and an oddball crew makes history when they pull off America’s third largest cash heist. But it’s all downhill from there. Join host Johnny Knoxville as he unspools a wild and woolly tale about a group of regular ‘ol folks who risked it all for a chance at a better life. CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist answers the question: what would you do with 17.3 million dollars? The answer includes diamond rings, mansions, velvet Elvis paintings, plus a run for the border, murder-for-hire-plots, and FBI busts.

.css-15opob5{left:0;position:absolute;top:0.8rem;} All 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;}Basic with BenDavid Grabinski

Popular Podcasts

.css-r6mb8g{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:1;overflow:hidden;}Stuff You Should Know

Dateline NBC

CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist

All Episodes

Stuff You Should Know