Movie Wars

Marianna's favorite horror movie. Kyle and Seth's most complicated relationship with a film this year. Cabin in the Woods doesn't fit neatly into any box — and that's exactly the point.

This week we're digging into Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon's 2012 genre-bending masterpiece, a movie that somehow functions as a straight-up horror film, a loving send-up of every horror cliché you've ever seen, and a genuinely sharp piece of social c...

Quote me on this: The Naked Gun is the greatest comedy film ever made. I've been saying it for years and I'm saying it again on this episode — and I dare anyone to prove me otherwise.

Kyle, Seth, and Marianna break down the 1988 ZAZ masterpiece that somehow came from a TV show that got cancelled after four episodes, built a legacy on dramatic actors who'd never told a joke in their lives, and produced a movie that is still zinging p...

Thirty years later and Muppet Treasure Island still does not get the respect it deserves. In this episode we go deep on one of the most slept-on films in the entire Muppet catalog, and make the case that it is not just a great Muppet movie but a legitimately great movie, full stop. We talk about Tim Curry doing what Tim Curry does best, which is walk into a movie and immediately become the most chaotic and magnetic thing in it. Lon...

Sinners just became the most Oscar-nominated film in history — 16 nominations — and we waited way too long to talk about it. Kyle, Seth, and Mariana break down Ryan Coogler's blood-soaked, blues-drenched masterpiece: a movie that somehow pulls off being a historically accurate 1930s Delta drama AND the greatest vampire film ever made, all in the same 137 minutes.

We get into Michael B. Jordan's twin performance — arguably the mo...

Coming off Ben Hur — the first film to win 11 Oscars — we hit the only other movie to match that record: Titanic. And yeah, it won zero acting awards, which tells you everything you need to know going in.

Kyle, Seth, and John break down James Cameron's $200 million gamble that somehow became the highest-grossing film of its time — and one of the most emotionally manipulative movies ever made. Is it a romance? A disaster film? A tech...

Ben Hur. 1959. Eleven Oscars. And yeah — it earned every single one of them.

This week on Movie Wars, Kyle, Seth, and John Datoy sit down to dig into what might be the greatest epic ever put on film. We're talking about a movie so massive, so meticulously crafted, that it basically wrote the rulebook for every sword-and-sandals film that came after it. No Ben Hur? No Gladiator. No Kingdom of Heaven. No Lord of the Rings. Honestly, ...

Scream (1996) — Does It Hold Up? | feat. John Detoy

Scream 7 is dropping, so we went back to where it all started. Kyle, Seth, and friend of the podcast John Detoy — fresh off the Nateland at sea cruise — sit down to break apart the 1996 original that didn't just survive the 90s, it rewired the entire slasher genre.

We dig into why killing Drew Barrymore in the first five minutes was one of the boldest creative swings in horror histo...

In this episode of Movie Wars, we tackle one of the most divisive comedies in modern cinema: Superbad. Fresh off recording our Apocalypse Now episode, we couldn't be shifting gears harder as we dive into Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's 2007 high school comedy that many consider the gold standard for post-80s comedies.

The debate gets heated as our hosts - Kyle, Seth, and Marianna - discover they're wildly split on this film. While Se...

Apocalypse Now: The Heart of Darkness, Coppola's Masterpiece, and Cinema's Greatest War Film

Can a film about the Vietnam War transcend its genre to become a philosophical meditation on human nature? Join Kyle, Seth, and Marianna as they journey into the jungle to dissect Francis Ford Coppola's magnum opus—a movie that nearly destroyed its director but created one of cinema's most haunting and unforgettable experiences.

In this deep-...

Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) - A Gothic Romance Gone Wrong | Movie Wars Podcast

Join Kyle, Seth, and Mariana as they sink their teeth into Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 vampire epic Bram Stoker's Dracula, starring Gary Oldman, Keanu Reeves, and Winona Ryder.

In this episode, the hosts dissect one of the most visually stunning yet narratively confusing Dracula adaptations ever made. Was this a horror masterpiece or a beautiful mess? Fro...

The "Bone Temple" is here and it’s officially the highest-rated movie in the franchise. With the recent release of 28 Weeks Later and 28 Years Later (and The Bone Temple hitting over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes), we had to go back to where the rage began.

In this episode, Kyle, Seth, and our resident horror expert Mariana Barksdale break down Danny Boyle’s 2002 masterpiece, 28 ...

Ladies and gentlemen, we are officially back for Season Two, and we’re kicking things off with a cinematic banger that is as memeable as it is polarizing: Martin Scorsese’s 2013 opus, The Wolf of Wall Street.

In this episode, Kyle, Seth, and our brand-new official co-host, Mariana Barksdale, dive deep into the $100 million "laundering" scandal that financed the film, the infamous Quaalude-fueled "Lamborghini crawl," and whether this...

Ladies and gentlemen, we are back! Welcome to the official kickoff of Season Two. We’ve got a massive show to celebrate our new permanent third member, the incomparable Mariana Barksdale. Between Kyle’s new book and Mariana’s comedy and acting takeover, a lot has happened—but we’re putting the life updates on ice to scratch a major cinematic itch: The Terminator (1984).

With Special Guest: Nashville Comedian Nick Galuzzo

For our Thanksgiving episode, we decided to really set the mood… with one of the bleakest, most soul-shredding thrillers ever made. Nothing says “pass the stuffing” like Denis Villeneuve’s Prisoners — a movie that starts on Thanksgiving and then immediately descends into pure moral chaos.

Kyle, Seth, and Nashville comedian Nick Goulooze break down everything this film does to you em...

This week on Movie Wars, we’re diving deep into Prey — the surprise Predator prequel that dared to strip the franchise down to its primal roots. We break down why this one hit so differently: from its raw depiction of Comanche culture and authentic casting to the jaw-dropping cinematography that turned blood and wilderness into visual poetry.

Kyle, Seth, and comedia...

The season finale dives into one of the most haunting indie horror films of the 2010s — The Babadook. We unpack how Jennifer Kent’s small, scrappy production turned a simple monster story into a psychological gut-punch about grief, trauma, and the brutal realities of parenting.

We get real about why this movie hits so hard emotionally, why Essie Davis deli...

In this episode of Movie Wars, we crack open one of the most iconic horror films ever made — A Nightmare on Elm Street. Freddy Krueger isn’t just a slasher; he’s the embodiment of the stuff that stalks your subconscious when the lights go out. We dig into why Wes Craven’s dream-stalking boogeyman hit differently than anything before it: a fusion of primal fear, gritty indie filmmaking, and some of the most inventive practical effec...

The grid is open and we’re diving headfirst into Tron Legacy. This week on Movie Wars, Kyle, Seth, and returning guest Evan Burke unpack Disney’s 2010 sequel that tried to resurrect a cult classic with neon, Daft Punk, and CGI de-aging.

We kick off with Evan updating us on Nashville’s Funniest Comic, the March Madness of stand-up that’s taken over the city with 96 comics battling it out for $3,000 and bragging rights. From the psych...

The central theme of this Movie Wars episode is the groundbreaking 1982 film Tron, a movie that didn’t just dabble with computer-generated imagery—it invented the playbook for CGI in cinema. Kyle, Seth, and returning guest Evan Burke (fresh off crushing Kill Tony in front of 15,000 people at Bridgestone Arena) break down how Tron went from Disney’s underdog experiment (that even its own animators tried to derail) to a cult classic ...