Full Cast And Crew

Denis Villeneuve's film 'Sicario' remains a vital and prescient glimpse into extra-judicial Governmental activities and the blurring of lines on both sides of the drug war, all brilliantly rendered by top-notch cinematography from Roger Deakins and a host of career-best performances from actors like Emily Blunt, James Brolin, Daniel Kaluuya, and, especially, Benicio Del Toro. 
Harrowing, procedural, understated, and complicated, the film unfolds with confidence in the journey it takes viewers on, with a refreshing lack of hand-holding and over-explanation.

An appreciation of the life and musical legacy of the peerless and uniquely self-deprecating Grateful Dead co-founder and éminence grise.

For my final episode of 2025, it's 'Nobody's Fool' one of my favorite films, and a true comfort watch in keeping with the theme of last week's episode.  Sweet, subtle, well-cast and directed, and slyly much more than it seems, it's both a paen to small-town life and a surprisingly unblinking look at the cost children pay for their parent's mistakes...and for the ones they make all on their own.

The news is unrelenting. Shootings in Bondi Beach.  Terror in the classrooms at Brown University.  The terrible deaths of Rob Reiner and his wife in LA.  The news is shocking and we become numb to the rippling effects but our minds and bodies internalize the fear, anxiety, and worry. 
As I am between episodes at the moment, I thought it might be different to try and episode highlighting the calming music, tv shows and movies I find myself turning to in times of trouble.
Please share your personal favorites with me, as I'd like to compile a playlist of sorts to share with everyone and to use your emails in a newsletter to follow.
Email the pod at [email protected].
 I hope this episode gives you some calming vibes and thanks as ever for listening!
Spotify playlist of the music referenced in this episode.

From a chance viewing of Saul Bass' iconic 'Psycho' titles on TCM sprung this exploration of the straightforward, human experience of watching 'Psycho' with an eye and ear towards how audience expectations were stoked and then subverted by Hitchcock.
From the casting of Janet Leigh to the surprise departure of her character not even halfway through the film, the film toys with audience expectations and loyalties, and makes them complicit in the voyeurism and violence and judgement that unfolds.
Hitchcock's decision to attempt a relatively low-budget thriller of the sort directors like Henri-George Clouzot (Diabolique) were having success with resulted unexpectedly in his defining film, a film that changed film language and construction and that influenced every director of note subsequent to the film's 1960 release.
From the legendary shower sequence to no-less-stunning dialogue sequences, the film is so much more than it's origins.  It still stands the test of time today, and will forever be a part of Hitchcock's enduring legacy.