Wind, Reel, & Print

EPISODE 083: LETTERBOXD TOP 250 SHUFFLE

Featuring: Ran (1985); Princess Mononoke (1997); Good Will Hunting (1997); The Celebration (1998)

IT’S BACK. Episode 10 of the Letterboxd Top 250 Shuffle is here and it is full of late 90’s gems. From the first Dogme 95 film to a Kurosawa adaptation of Shakespeare and from one of Miyazaki’s finest to Affleck and Damon’s breakout film, this episode has it all.

EPISODE 082: SUPER-FAN SEASON

Featuring: Watchmen (2009)

Who watches the Watchmen? WR&P DOES. Ryan talks the director’s cut of Zack Snyder’s Watchmen (2009) with super-fan Danny (Ryan’s second oldest friend) and they discuss the depth of character development, faithfulness to the original graphic novel, and whether the villain got it right in the end. Put on your cowl and listen in.

EPISODE 081: CINEMA MINI SERIES

Featuring: Eddington (2025); One Battle After Another (2025); Bugonia (2025)

America is the land of guns and paranoia, and this accidental trilogy of films cuts deep into what defines this country, for better and worse. Kevin and Ryan wade into the swamp of politics and filmmaking to see what exactly these three films speak to about the American experience. GOD BLESS THE USA.

EPISODE 080: ’TIS THE SEASON

Featuring; Christmas Vacation (1989)

Old friends Ryan and Chad reminisce over the Christmas classic Christmas Vacation (1989). They talk about some of their favorite scenes, speculate about what the boss ACTUALLY got as a gift, and settle whether resistance to cold is a midwestern genetic trait (??). Listen in and Merry Christmas!

EPISODE 079: WR&P WORLD NEWS

Hot off the press! We talk about what’s going on in the news: the WBD and Netflix merger. But it’s Wind, Reel, & Print, so we go deep into money in filmmaking, the degradation of our economy, and even conjure up our own filmmaking funding alternative! Get in here!

EPISODE 078: CINEMA SERIES

Featuring: Jurassic Park (1993); The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997); Jurassic Park 3 (2001); Jurassic World (2015); Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018); Jurassic World Dominion (2022); Jurassic World Rebirth (2025)

It is time to enter the depths of Jurassic hell. Ryan and Kevin will stop at nothing to deepen their understanding of film movements, trends, and history, which has led them to a 7-film series that is both Ryan’s foundational films and his worst nightmares. Hold onto your butts!

EPISODE 077: RYAN & FRIENDS

Featuring: The Silence of the Lambs (1991); Cure (1997); Shutter Island (2010); Gone Girl (2014)

Time to get academic! Ryan brings his sister Julia on the pod, who is currently in graduate school studying psychology, to talk and analyze four movies that blend both genre and science. Did the mental health professionals of Shutter Island really follow the right techniques? What is the difference between a Red Herring and a MacGuffin? Listen to find out!

EPISODE 076: NEW RELEASES

Featuring: Frankenstein (2025)

Del Toro is back with his unique blend of victorian horror and sympathetic monsters to bring about a new adaptation of the classic Frankenstein tale. How might this film relate to today (AI, anyone??) and what might Ryan and Kevin think of it? Well you’ll just have to listen to find out!

EPISODE 075: RYAN & FRIENDS

Featuring: Zoolander (2001); Tropic Thunder (2008)

Ryan is joined by Chris (the brain behind the YouTube channel “Sassy Milkshake,” one half of the podcast “How Do We Human?” and a wonderful old friend) to talk about these two influential movies in each of their childhoods. Plus get an inside look at what their college experience was like, watching movies for free in LA, and that cameo at the beginning of Zoolander(!?!?).

EPISODE 074: FILM THEORY DISCUSSIONS

Featuring: The Threepenny Opera (1931); Vivre sa vie (1962); Palindromes (2004); Chi-Raq (2015)

Wind, Reel, & Print is going back to the classroom to take a deep dive into Brechtian cinema! A term that has come up in a number of previous episodes, these four movies finally give Ryan his “aha” moment with the idea and reveal just how much this idea/genre plays into exactly what this podcast is all about. Plus “Palindromes,” the sleeper hit!

EPISODE 073: SPOILED: THE SEQUEL SHOW

Featuring: Troll 2 (1990)

THE BOYS ARE BACK. It's Halloween and time for a scary movie. Ryan is joined by Chad and Joe, from the infamous and elusive Salad Brain Productions, to talk about the “worst” film ever made. But did we just stumble into a gem? Time to find out!

EPISODE 072: LETTERBOXD TOP 250 SHUFFLE

Featuring: Before Sunrise (1995); Mary and Max (2009); Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009); Incendies (2010)

We dive back into our favorite segment and come out the other side even bigger Denis fans. Plus two stop-motion films? The beginning of a Richard Linklater trilogy? The Top 250 is deep and we are wading into it.

EPISODE 071: LESSONS IN FILM HISTORY (DIRECTORS)

Featuring: The Big Sleep (1946); Red River (1948); Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953); Rio Bravo (1959)

It’s director time! WR&P is familiar with some of Howard Hawks’ greatest works (Bringing up Baby and His Girl Friday) and his elevation of the Screwball genre, but what about everything else? Musicals? Westerns? Film Noir? This man had his hands in everything and we take a peek at some of his most admired work spanning all of these genres.

EPISODE 070: LESSONS IN FILM GENRE

Featuring: Singin' in the Rain (1952); The Sound of Music (1965); The Little Mermaid (1989); Mamma Mia! (2008)

Lights! Camera! Music! Kevin & Ryan talk the history of musicals, the inherent meta-ness of the genre, and why The Sound of Music is one of the greatest films of all time. The longest regular episode to-date, and it is well-deserved!

EPISODE 069 (nice): CINEMA MINISERIES

Featuring: Pokemon: The First Movie (1998); Pokémon the Movie 2000 (1999); Pokémon 3: The Movie (2000); Pokémon 4Ever (2001); Pokémon Heroes (2002)

Ash, Pikachu, Misty, Brock, Ryan, & Kevin. We journeyed into our youth to see if the Pokemon movies have the sauce and find out just how close they came to greatness (one of them anyway).

There's no proper episode this week, but listen in and get a taste of what topics we are diving into in the coming weeks and months!

EPISODE 068: CINEMA MINISERIES

Featuring: Treasure Island (1950); Muppet Treasure Island (1996); Treasure Planet (2002)

ARGH MATEY. Long John Silver may be one of the most interesting characters in all of media, and in this episode Ryan and Kevin speak about how him and many of the other themes and characters of Treasure Island have evolved over the decades. Plus our pitch for the next Treasure Island adaptation!

EPISODE 067: CINEMA SINGLES

Featuring: Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)

Following the Disney Renaissance of the 20th century, things began to putter out, or more aptly, sink into the ocean. As children of the 90’s, Ryan and Kevin remember Atlantis fondly and discuss its place in animation history. Plus the “Fart Theory™.”

EPISODE 066: LESSONS IN FILM MOVEMENTS

Featuring: Reefer Madness (1936); Up in Smoke (1978); How High (2001); Pineapple Express (2008)

WR&P goes deep undercover to expose the true ills of society: Marijuana! Ganja! The Devil’s Lettuce! Listen in as Ryan and Kevin explore the history of the stoner film genre, all the way from the propaganda film of the 1930’s to the buddy comedies of the late 20th century, and beyond.

EPISODE 065: LESSONS IN FILM GENRE

Featuring: A Bug’s Life (1998); Chicken Run (2000); Robots (2005)

At the dawn of the new millennia, animated films began its rapid transition from physical medium to computer generation and changed the film industry altogether. Steve Jobs’ Pixar signaled the move away from Disney’s 2D cell animation and Aardman’s claymation, and foreshadowed the complete tech takeover that Hollywood has been experiencing since the 2010s. With months-long labor strikes, VFX artists unionizing, and Hollywood studios monopolizing nearly every other week, the phrase “means of production” carries a double meaning...

EPISODE 064: LETTERBOXD TOP 250 SHUFFLE

Featuring: Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964); Raging Bull (1980); The Father (2020); I’m Still Here (2024)

In a new episode of WR&P’s Letterboxd Top 250 Shuffle, Ryan & Kevin pin two cinema classics against two recent Oscar darlings. Despite the drastic jump in time, this particular collection is rare in its thematic cohesion. As our own reality tears at the seams, these four films build a portrait of this slow descent into destruction. Although these stories originate in history and/or fictio...

EPISODE 063: SPECIAL EVENT

Wind Reel & Print “wraps” their first season with a celebratory WR&P Awards Ceremony. Cohosts Ryan and Kevin summarize the last year of podcasting by pinpointing landmark episodes that transformed, defined, and elevated our understanding of cinematic language. The First Annual WR&P Awards closes with an exciting announcement of this year’s winners for Best Screenplay, Best Actor(s), Best Director, and Best Picture.

EPISODE 062: CINEMA SINGLES

Having mentioned the film in a number of previous episodes, Kevin’s fascination with Damien Chazelle’s “Babylon” finally comes to fruition. In a heartfelt suicide note to Hollywood, Chazelle returns to his supposed entertainment industry comfort zone, relishing in the chaos and thrilling drama that defined his early successes in “Whiplash” and “La La Land”. After bombing at the box office, “Babylon” aims to achieve a cult following status with its grotesque humor and fantastical Hollywood episodes offering more than what initial viewers gave it credit for.

EPISODE 061: FILM THEORY DISCUSSIONS

Wind Reel & Print uncovers the secrets to Soviet cinema via the guidance of filmmaker Lev Kuleshov and his humbly named theory the “Kuleshov effect”. In an introductory lesson to film editing, this founding principle of film theory draws attention to the cut as the primary building block of film-meaning creation. Despite the inherent self-explanatory nature of this concept, this episode serves as an important reminder of the impacts Soviet film theorists had on the development of cinematic language, with the “Kuleshov effect” and the montage helping usher in film as the defining...

EPISODE 060: DOUBLE FEATURES

Featuring: Annie Hall (1977); [500] Days of Summer (2009)

What does the Academy Award-winning Woody Allen and Hollywood hearthrob Joseph Gordon-Levitt have in common? We’re actually not too sure either. But their movies felt like an appropriate pair to cut against. Both “Annie Hall” and “[500] Days of Summer” take the romcom genre to meta extremes and WR&P cohosts Ryan and Kevin examine the formal and narrative aspects that loosely define a meta romcom, namely the use of atemporal editing and the narrative focus on memory.

EPISODE 059: BAY AREA FLICKS

Featuring: Angels in the Outfield (1994); The Fan (1996); Moneyball (2011)

In possibly the biggest reach in WR&P history, Kevin bundles three Bay Area-based baseball movies in an attempt to define the local region through America’s Favorite Pasttime. From Brad Pitt’s Billy Beane to Robert De Niro’s fanatic antics, baseball is universally cherished as a game of passion. It stands as one of the iconic symbols of American and masculine identity, with both Ryan and Kevin sharing connections with baseball and their respective fathers. While the Bay Area...

EPISODE 058: FILM THEORY DISCUSSIONS   Wind Reel & Print puts a name to a face by introducing auteur theory, one of the cornerstone concepts of film theory. With French New Wave origins, this theoretical claim pedastaled the director as the “author” of cinema. It has since become a badge of honor, changing the way we understand filmmaking and altering the film industry away from producer-centrism and towards director-centrism. Kevin offers their own theories behind the qualifications of the term “autuer”.

EPISODE 057: LESSONS IN FILM MOVEMENTS

Featuring: Cyrus (2010); Drinking Buddies (2013); Frances Ha (2012); Computer Chess (2013)

Per our initial “Mumblecore” episode, WR&P examines the original Mumble-corps in the years following their break onto the scene. Andrew Bujalski, Joe Swanberg, Greta Gerwig, and the Duplass Brothers return for another round of complicated relationships and inventive independent film modes. Kevin coins terminology around this movement to explain the ways these filmmakers embrace bigger budgets and different cinematic styles.

EPISODE 056: CINEMA MINI SERIES

Featuring: Nosferatu (1922); Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979); Nosferatu (2024)

As a quasi-sequel to the “Vampire Movies” episode, Wind Reel & Print folds in the cinematic traditions of Nosferatu. Beginning with F.W. Murnau’s 1922 version and ending with Robert Eggers’ recent rendition, Ryan and Kevin cover the aesthetic differences between these three films and how this pertains to director style, regionality, and time period of production.

EPISODE 055: LETTERBOXD TOP 250 SHUFFLE

Featuring: Howl’s Moving Castle (2004); Winter Light (1963); The Ascent (1977); Mulholland Dr. (2001)

How do you connect a Japanese animation, a Swedish tragedy film, a Soviet WWII drama, and an American dream picture? Regardless of film form or narrative structure or country of origin, the Letterboxd Top 250 surely guarantees a “good movie” fortified with captivating stories and profound aesthetics that ultimately question what it means to be human. This week’s collection concentrates on concepts of death as a symbol of life cycles and transition, featuring films from Hayao Miyazaki...

EPISODE 054: CINEMA MINI SERIES

Featuring: The Human Condition I: No Greater Love (1959); The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity (1959); The Human Condition III: A Soldier’s Prayer (1961)

Despite all the double features, director retrospectives, and genre reviews, Wind Reel & Print has never fully embraced the comforts of a true trilogy. Directed by celebrated WR&P alum Masaki Kobayashi, “The Human Condition” stands as possibly the greatest trilogy ever committed to film and seemed fitting for the pod’s first cinema mini series. While traversing through various settings and multiple ensemble casts, this epic...

EPISODE 053: LESSONS IN FILM MOVEMENTS   Featuring: Mad Max (1979); Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975); Dead Calm (1989); Walkabout (1971)   From the outback gothic Ozploitation of “Mad Max” to the proto-Lynchian affect of “Picnic at Hanging Rock”, the impact of Australian New Wave remains resoundingly influential albeit relatively unheard of. Boasting contemporary Hollywood headliners such as Nicole Kidman, Mel Gibson, George Miller, Peter Weir, and Sam Neill, this film movement from Down Under dominated indie circuits in the 1970s and 80s with daring adventure tales displaying a determined national identity alongside unique cinematic aesthetics. WR&P cohosts Ryan and Kevin give respect to Aussie cinema.

EPISODE 052: WEIRD @ WR&P

In an attempt to repair an irreparable movie, Wind Reel & Print tackles the complicated reputation of Jim Carrey’s 1994 film “The Mask”. Despite having higher reviews than Weird @ WR&P favorite “The Cat in the Hat”, both Ryan and Kevin find “The Mask” to be rather lackluster and quite displeasing. Convoluted in its influence and intention, this comic book adaptation fares better in memory than in execution.

EPISODE 051: LESSONS IN FILM GENRE

Featuring: Early Abstractions (1965); Belladonna of Sadness (1973); Fantastic Planet (1973); Mad God (2021)

In the spirit of “getting weird”, WR&P cohosts enter their intergalactic space portal and travel to unique worlds of the experimental and the animated. With guided tours from alien extraordinaires such as Phil Tippett and René Laloux, this adventurous animation exploration remains steeped in blooming psychedelia and rugged world-building. Ryan and Kevin introduce the pod to different representations of animation style by diving straight into the deep end.

EPISODE 050: LESSONS IN FILM HISTORY

Featuring: Gone with the Wind (1939); Wizard of Oz (1939); Citizen Kane (1941); Casablanca (1942)

The Wind Reel & Print locomotive continues into the capital city of Golden Age Hollywood as the pod takes on the Mt. Rushmore of Hollywood filmmaking. With nothing much else to add to the nearly century-long conversation, Ryan and Kevin get candid with their opinions on early age movie magic, folding their own life experiences into the history of Hollywood while capturing the awe that audiences may have experienced upon original release. WR&P punches their ti...

EPISODE 049: LESSONS IN FILM HISTORY

Featuring: It Happened One Night (1934); Trouble in Paradise (1932); Bringing Up Baby (1938); His Girl Friday (1940)

Taking a restful stop at Screwball Station, the Wind Reel & Print locomotive takes another trip into the land of Golden Age Hollywood. With special appearances from the likes of Clark Gable, Katherine Hepburn, and Cary Grant, this whirlwind visit to the early days of cinema brings eclectic adventures, head-scratching hijinks, and lightning-fast dialogue. Ryan and Kevin return with exciting tales.

EPISODE 048: THEATER ADVENTURES

WR&P cohosts catch the opening weekend premiere of Brady Corbet’s moving Oscar-nominated movie The Brutalist (2024). While digesting the film’s impact, Ryan and Kevin praise movie for its insistence on being a serious picture, complete with an overture and an intermission and a real appreciation for sound and image. Kevin also reads into the film’s political position.

EPISODE 047: LESSONS IN FILM HISTORY

Featuring: Birth of a Nation (1915); The Jazz Singer (1927); Gummo (1997); Bamboozled (2000)

Wind Reel & Print explores the history of racism and exploitation in the entertainment industry as Kevin bundles four films that deal with minstrel shows and vaudeville. Starting with the invention of cinematic language at the top of the Twentieth century, this important podcast conversation aims to connect close ups and sound design with the KKK and blackface. Accompanied by Spike Lee’s daring dissection in 2000’s Bamboozled, WR&P cohosts examine the exploitative nature of the camera...

EPISODE 046: THEATER ADVENTURES

After catching last weekend’s number one box office movie, Ryan and Kevin offer their initial reactions to Ryan Coogler’s newest picture “Sinners”. While connecting this film to Coogler’s debut feature “Fruitvale Station”, WR&P cohosts discuss the progressions of the director’s filmmaking career, including his interest in American race politics, his collaborations with actor Michael B. Jordan, and his Marvel-ized storytelling technique.

EPISODE 045: LESSONS IN FILM HISTORY (GENRE)

Featuring: Notorious (1946); Maltese Falcon (1941); Double Indemnity (1944); Sunset Boulevard (1950); The Third Man (1949)

Taking direct influence from German Expressionism, American filmmakers rebranded the dark and paranoid into their own film noir. Popularized in the 1940s and subsequently revived into contemporary movements of neonoir and neon noir, this postwar film genre took Expressionism’s heavy contrast and overlaid it onto stories sourced from hardboiled crime fiction novels of the 1930s. WR&P cohosts Ryan and Kevin dissect four iconic titles from this classic American film genre while utilizing Alfr...

EPISODE 044: LETTERBOXD TOP 250 SHUFFLE

Featuring: The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), Sweet Smell of Success (1957), An Autumn Afternoon (1962), The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

As Ryan and Kevin do the Letterboxd Top 250 Shuffle, the podcast lands on a quartet of films that uncover the holes we climb out of. Whether that be systems of oppression, wartime prison labor camps, or lofty existential questions, life always presents us with dark caves in which we can gestate while crawling to the light.

EPISODE 043: THEATER ADVENTURES

Featuring: The Fall (2006), Anora (2024)

Wind Reel & Print review their recent visit to San Francisco’s historic Roxie Theater to catch a chance double feature consisting of Tarsem’s “The Fall” and Sean Baker’s recent Oscar-darling “Anora”. (Special Shoutout to Willie!)

EPISODE 042: META MOVIES

After a short trip to the scenic American town of “Dogville”, WR&P cohosts Ryan and Kevin report back with glowing reviews. Delivering on the Lars von Trier promise, this 2003 Nicole Kidman-led experimental drama explores Brechtian approaches to narrative and nihilistic ruminations on the Land of the Free. Kevin points a finger at Ryan.

EPISODE 041: BAY AREA FLICKS

WR&P embarks on another stay-cation as Ryan quizzes Kevin on the local impact of Ryan Coogler’s directorial feature debut “Fruitvale Station”. Released in 2013 with the support of Sundance, this quaint little picture quietly attains the booming voice of the Bay Area. Through its social realist aesthetic and dedication to Oakland faces and places, Coogler’s “Fruitvale Station” pinpoints a grander American narrative of black existence disrupted by the perils of police brutality.

EPISODE 040: WEIRD @ WR&P

Despite landing one of the lowest marks in Wind Reel & Print history, Kevin Costner’s 1995 star vehicle “Waterworld” buoys as an intriguing Hollywood blockbuster with …so much… potential. This unabashed “Mad Max” ripoff is clearly missing the George Miller spark, perfectly executing fantastical dystopian possibilities while operating with a completely deflated screenplay. Ryan and Kevin thus open dialogue on ways to improve story and character while fortifying thematic elements.

EPISODE 039: FOUNDATIONAL FILMS

Ryan sends the derrick back into the well as he recalls memories formed around Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2007 Oscar-darling “There Will Be Blood”. Armed with the Daniel Plainview ‘stache, the WR&P co-host still finds reverence in the film’s portrayal of toxic masculinity, its discussion of proto-American capitalism, and how this all ties into the work of Upton Sinclair.

EPISODE 038: LETTERBOXD TOP 250 SHUFFLE

Featuring: Sansho the Bailiff (1954), Andrei Rublev (1966), Central Station (1998), Eureka (2000)

On this week’s episode of Wind Reel & Print’s Letterboxd Top 250 Shuffle, cohosts Ryan and Kevin pull out the Bingo sheets as they prepare to define what it means to be a Top 250 film. Examines the human condition through personal trauma? Check! Includes overly mature children protagonists alongside emotionally stunted adults? Check! Elevates the cinematic medium through intentional artistic choices? Check! Cinema as a religious experience? BINGO!! This particular collection of films shatters all expectations of what cinema...

EPISODE 037: LESSONS IN FILM HISTORY (DIRECTORS)

Featuring: The Loveless (1981), Point Break (1991), Detroit (2017)

As a quasi-response to “Nashville”, this week’s WR&P podcast episode centers director Kathryn Bigelow and a trio of titles spanning her entire filmmaking career so far. Bigelow’s knack for rugged masculinity and right-leaning political views challenges the ways we consider gender and patriotism when it comes to discussing American filmmakers. In the post-”Hurt Locker” portion of her filmography, Bigelow settles firmly into the calling card of American mythology, or what Ryan describes as “bizarro Robert Altman”.

EPISODE 036: LESSONS IN FILM HISTORY (GENRE)

Featuring: Dracula (1931), The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967), Interview with a Vampire (1994), What We Do in the Shadows? (2014)

WR&P co-hosts Ryan and Kevin define the narrative and aesthetic parameters of the “Vampire Movie” by examining four films which cover nearly a century of blood-sucking cinema. With a meta-text predating movies themselves, the vampire archetype and its accompanying narrative encasement creates an iconography which can endure remakes, parodies, satires, and revivals. From Transylvania to New Zealand, the vampire myth continues to travel far and wide to frighten imagin...

EPISODE 035: FILM THEORY DISCUSSIONS

What does it mean to watch a movie? Are you watching for the plot or the aesthetics? Are you looking to be entertained or emotionally stirred? Do you want to be able to think about it or do you just want to turn your brain off? These are all important questions to ask when you step into the proverbial theater. WR&P cohosts Ryan and Kevin take the time to consider what they prioritize when they watch a movie.

EPISODE 034: LESSONS IN FILM HISTORY (FILM MOVEMENTS)

Featuring: Funny Ha Ha (2002), The Puffy Chair (2005), Mutual Appreciation (2005), Nights and Weekends (2007)

Ryan and Kevin explore the Mount Rushmore of Mumblecore by focusing on films by Greta Gerwig, Andrew Bujalski, the Duplass Brothers, and Joe Swanberg. Though the label is often loathed by the filmmakers who made these movies, mumblecore remains one of the formative film movements within digital filmmaking. Born in the forethought of the 2008 housing crisis alongside the advent of consumer-grade digital cameras, this minimalist New Wave-esque approach to low-to-no budget filmmaking re...

EPISODE 033: BAY AREA FLICKS

As a personal recommendation, Kevin introduces 2005’s “Just Like Heaven” as a San Francisco-based Bay Area movie. Featuring Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo and directed by supernatural rom-com expert Mark Waters, this mid-2000s relic leaves whispers of screwball and mumblecore character types within what Ryan describes as “elevated Hallmark”. The discussion soon deviates into a formulation of rewatching movies and finding appreciation in films you used to watch during childhood.

EPISODE 032: WEIRD @ WR&P

Ryan and Kevin refresh their childhood memory by revisiting a Dick Van Dyke B-side in 1968’s “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”. WR&P cohosts discuss why this rewatch settled into disappointment while stressing the negative impacts of industry and market pressures on the creative process.

EPISODE 031: GUEST STARRING SAM ISOLA

Featuring: McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971), Nashville (1975), Secret Honor (1984), Short Cuts (1993)

How do you pinhole a director who dabbled in a little bit of everything? Wind Reel & Print recruits cinema-lover Sam Isola to help dissect the ever-evolving filmmaking style of Robert Altman. Specifically choosing four films outside of his mainstream hits, Sam paints a panoramic portrait of Altman’s personal obsessions, from highlighting America’s fraught history and mythology to fragmenting narratives with ensemble storylines and imperfect technique.

EPISODE 030: LETTERBOXD TOP 250 SHUFFLE

Featuring: Do The Right Thing (1989), Z (1969), Rocco and His Brothers (1960), A Woman Under the Influence (1974)

In one of the more devastating episodes of the Letterboxd Top 250 Shuffle, Ryan and Kevin explore a deeply traumatizing cinematic quartet ranging from blazing political thrillers to tense family dramas.

EPISODE 029: DOUBLE FEATURES & TRILOGIES

Featuring: All About Eve (1950), Showgirls (1995)

On recommendation from MOViES4MANiACS’ Jesse Hawthorne Ficks, WR&P hosts Ryan and Kevin examine the narrative similarities of Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s classic Hollywood picture “All About Eve” and Paul Verhoeven’s raucous dark comedy “Showgirls.” They note how both these films leverage performance and cyclical narrative structure to comment on gender roles and the controlling nature of patriarchal systems.

EPISODE 028: BAY AREA FLICKS

Featuring: The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019), The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)

In this special Bay Area double feature, Ryan and Kevin explore the differences between a locally-made San Francisco film and a Hollywood movie set in the same city. While Joe Talbot’s “The Last Black Man in San Francisco” boasts a heightened indie appeal with the support of Sundance and A24, the Will Smith-led “The Pursuit of Happyness” finds its roots in the studio system. How do these two perspectives affect and reflect in the story and vi...

EPISODE 027: LESSONS IN FILM HISTORY (DIRECTORS & ACTORS)

Featuring: Le Petit Soldat (1963), Une Femme est une Femme (1961), Bande à part (1964), Alphaville (1965)

After introducing the Godard-Karina timeline with Vivre sa vie, Kevin takes Ryan deeper into the pairings’ cinematic universe. Ryan highlights how each film stands as unique cinematic experiences, both upholding promises of New Wave Cinema and trailblazing under Godard’s poetic visions and Karina’s powerhouse performances. The relationship between Godard and Karina becomes invariably forefronted in the construction of, the viewing of, and the discussion of these movies, emphasizing the ways reality and cine...

EPISODE 026: DOUBLE FEATURES & TRILOGIES

Featuring: Pink Flamingos (1972), The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994)

While centering the word “disgust”, Ryan and Kevin explore drag queen characters and the traditions of rage bait in a special double feature highlighting John Waters’ “Pink Flamingos” and Stephan Elliott’s “The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert”. Ryan detests Waters’ deplorable Trash Cinema (probably as Waters intended), while Kevin vocalizes distaste for the inherent racism and transphobia laden in “Priscilla”. In search for cinematic context, Ryan and Kevin ultimately settle into a conversation about the similarities o...

EPISODE 025: WEIRD @ WR&P

Standing firmly in its “mild cult following”, Ryan and Kevin aka Thing 1 and Thing 2 delve deep into the magical madness of 2003’s The Cat in the Hat. This Dr. Seuss adaptation certainly presents as a wacky wonderland full of jokes and hijinks, however, over the film’s 82-minute runtime, it slowly uncovers sweet-and-sour secrets. From director Bo Welch’s experience as a production designer for Tim Burton to the instilled playfulness of Seuss’ original work, The Cat in the Hat remains a walking contradiction continually pacing through our minds.

EPISODE 024: LESSONS IN FILM HISTORY

Featuring: The Student of Prague (1913), The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), Metropolis (1927), M (1931)

In an attempt to unravel this early 20th-century genre from its War World I context, Ryan presents German Expressionism as a convergence of several industry pressures. Coinciding with art movements from the same era, the cinematic version of Expressionism developed into one of history’s first film movements. While standing at the midpoint between the First and Second World Wars, Expressionism seemingly encapsulated the mistrust and anxiety coursing through Germany at the time. And yet...

EPISODE 023: META MOVIES   Featuring: The Power of the Dog (2021), Sukiyaki Western Django (2007), The Good, The Bad, The Weird (2008), Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)   In the preliminary episode of this quasi-Olympic competition for the title of best international Western, Ryan and Kevin focus on films from Korea, Japan, Italy, and New Zealand. Ranging from bombastically absurd to spiritually poetic, these global competitors exemplify ways the Western genre communicates national values, especially in regards to masculinity, imperialism/colonialism, and nostalgic mythology.

EPISODE 022: BAY AREA FLICKS

Featuring: Big Trouble in Little China (1986), Hollywood Chinese (2007)

It’d be difficult to talk about the Bay Area without discussing the region’s prominent Asian American community and John Carpenter’s “Big Trouble in Little China” seemed like the perfect opportunity to start that conversation. Accompanied by Arthur Dong’s 2007 documentary “Hollywood Chinese”, Ryan and Kevin examine the ways “Little China” portrays its Asian American characters before diving into the goofiness of this Kurt Russell-led fantasy action thriller.

EPISODE 021: LETTERBOXD TOP 250 SHUFFLE

Featuring: The Shining (1980), Paper Moon (1973), Apur Sansar (1959), Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (2021)

Within the context of children and trauma, bowling with bumpers offers a safeguard against the pitfalls of gutterballing. Yet, the restrictive boundaries remain an airtight personal prison, a stronghold fortress of subconscious trauma responses eerily established as a predestined child. The newest episode of the Letterboxd Top 250 Shuffle presented by Wind Reel & Print provides a glimpse into a range of genre musings on the effects of death and trauma on the child psyche. From sc...

EPISODE 020: WEIRD @ WR&P

Featuring: Gremlins (1984), Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)

Joe Dante’s “Gremlins” takes over the studio and threatens the hosts with a good time. Combining classic Spielbergian filmic language with Dante’s knack for meta-mindset, both the original and the sequel deliver on its perceived promise of weirdness.

EPISODE 019: THEATER ADVENTURES

After watching Hayao Miyazaki's iconic action drama “Princess Mononoke” in theaters, Ryan and Kevin take a moment to discuss the film's story, characters, themes, and social commentary. The WR&P hosts also highlight the difference between a subbed and dubbed version.

EPISODE 018: Revisiting “Our Top 4 Favorite Films”   Ryan and Kevin summarize recent changes to their respective Letterboxd Top 4 films by explaining what qualifies for the list and what they consider when making swap-outs. Kevin leaves off Richard Linklater’s “Before Midnight” for a Thai coming-of-age picture, while Ryan reaffirms his love for "Come and See” and Robert Eggers’ “The Lighthouse”.

EPISODE 017: LETTERBOXD TOP 250 SHUFFLE

Featuring: Nobody Knows (2004), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), A Man Escaped (1956), Aftersun (2022)

This latest episode of the anticipated Letterboxd Top 250 Shuffle features a quartet of films that scratch at an existential itch by affirming life as a resounding act of faith. Here at Wind, Reel, & Print, we reserve the belief that cinema bears the power to change your life, and nothing evokes this sentiment more than this week’s collection of films. From stories as small and intimate as a family vacation in Greece to something as large as the...

EPISODE 016: NEW ADDITIONS

In the podcast’s formal introduction to director Richard Linklater, the WR&P hosts dissect the genre-bending “Hit Man” starring Hollywood’s newest movie star Glen Powell. In discussing Linklater’s prolific filmography, Ryan and Kevin touch on how the filmmaker chooses to extend his creative range while remaining loyal to his actor-friendly writing process and rehearsal sessions.

EPISODE 015: BAY AREA FLICKS

Steeped in classic Bay Area imagery and counterculture ideology, Hal Ashby’s definitive “Harold and Maude” is a seemingly perfect example of Bay Area Cinema. But the podcast conversation deviates from local geography and cultural history, as Ryan highlights the film’s proto-Wes Anderson-isms and Kevin traces the film’s metamodern philosophical ponderings.

EPISODE 014: INDIE CINEMA

Featuring Shadows (1959), The Little Shop of Horrors (1960), She’s Gotta Have It (1986), Shakespeare in Love (1998)

In an effort to track recent film history, podcast hosts Ryan and Kevin examine the trajectory of independent cinema through a collection of films by John Cassavetes, Roger Corman, Spike Lee, and Miramax. The discussion wanders away from the films themselves, instead focusing on these four prominent film pioneers and how they define indie cinema with budgetary restrictions, creative freedom, and opposition to the Hollywood system.

EPISODE 013: WEIRD @ WR&P   Using Michael Haneke's 1997 film “Funny Games” as a conversation focal point, Ryan and Kevin discuss the critical separation of content and form. Can you like a movie's cinematic style while absolutely despising the film's storyline? Haneke aims to challenge what it means to enjoy a movie.

EPISODE 012: META MOVIES   When it comes to combining the magic of cinema with the boundaries of reality, few blur the lines more than the legendary Orson Welles. Ryan and Kevin examine 1973's “F for Fake” as Welles' strongest example of cinematic mastery, noting how the filmmaker bends and breaks the filmic form to fit his hypothesis on the truth of art forgery and the lies of creative origin.

EPISODE 011: GUEST STARRING JOSH PARK

Featuring: Hulk (2003); Unfriended: Dark Web (2018); May December (2023)

WIND, REEL, & PRINT formally welcomes local Bay Area filmmaker/educator/critic Josh Park as the podcast’s first official guest. While examining the ways Netflix manipulates film grain, Josh highlights how the principles of fragmentation are essential to the craft of filmmaking while Ryan and Kevin question the implications of fragmentation in relation to the developments of new cinema technology.

EPISODE 010: LETTERBOXD TOP 250 SHUFFLE

Featuring: City Lights (1931); The Red Shoes (1948); Landscape in the Mist (1988); Red Beard (1965).

Ryan posits, “What is beyond a miracle?” There are few words that can describe the insurmountable cosmic intervention required to produce a movie of quality, and each film on the Letterboxd Top 250 stands as a fortified record of cinema’s miracles. This episode of the 250 Shuffle offers a brief lesson in film history with four master filmmakers presenting their unique version of cinematic excellence.

EPISODE 009: BAY AREA FLICKS

In their first foray into Bay Area Cinema, Ryan and Kevin take a look at recent Sundance indie darling Didi (2024) from writer/director Sean Wang. The co-hosts chat about the film’s writing choices and how it stacks up against other coming-of-age movies.

EPISODE 008: WEIRD @ WR&P 

The WR&P Pod gets weird with David Cronenberg’s Videodrome (1983), a sci-fi body horror flick that delves into the depths of underground television. While praising the filmmakers’ practical effects and neon-noir story aesthetics, Ryan and Kevin fall down the rabbit hole of deciphering Videodrome’s meaning.

EPISODE 007: META - MARRIAGE STORY (2019) & SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE (1974)

For Wind, Reel, & Print’s first double feature, Ryan and Kevin cross-examine Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story (2019) and Ingmar Bergman’s Scenes from a Marriage (1974). They explore how both films depict marriage through divorce, reflect the director’s married life, and subtly hint at a meta movie within a movie.

EPISODE 006: NEWLY ACQUIRED

Ryan and Kevin offer their initial reactions to Luca Guadagnino’s sports romance smash hit Challengers (2024), praising the film’s cinematography, screenwriting, sound mix, and bumping score. In a contemporary rendition of the cinematic triad, this hypersexual tennis match leaves the WR&P co-hosts sweating for more.

EPISODE 005: WEIRD @ WR&P

After briefly discussing Jean-Luc Godard’s Vivre sa vie (1962) in Ep 000, Ryan watches it for the first time and quizzes Kevin on this French New Wave classic. Kevin elaborates on theatrical realism, Brechtian cinema, and Russell Campbell’s book Marked Women: Prostitutes and Prostitution in the Cinema, and Ryan ponders on the ending of the movie.

To introduce the Top 250 Shuffle, Ryan and Kevin begin with the cream of the crop, the top 4 narrative feature films as voted by Letterboxd members. Harakiri (1962), Come and See (1985), 12 Angry Men (1957), and Seven Samurai (1954) all offer insight into the type of movies which warrant the status of “best movie of all time”. From compelling depictions of humanity to inquisitive commentaries on death, these four films each seem to carry the weight of the world.

Ryan and Kevin sit down to discuss the most recent Alex Garland flick, Civil War. 

Ryan invites Kevin to watch one of his favorite films, Bowfinger (1999). Directed by the great Frank Oz and written by the ever-funny Steve Martin, this film has always felt especially underrated. Give the pod a listen and go watch the movie!

For our true inaugural episode, we embarked on an ambitious quest: watching every single Best Picture winner from the 2000s and meticulously ranking them. The result? A cinematic marathon that left us both exhilarated and exhausted. Did we attain nirvana by the end? Not quite. But what we did achieve was a captivating glimpse into the film industry’s trajectory over the past two decades.

The beginning! Get to know Ryan and Kevin's top 4 favorite films!