Ron, Steve, and John discuss Robert Townsend’s trailblazing indie classic, Hollywood Shuffle, break down the incident at the BAFTAs, and do an old-fashioned Schmovie round robin with some upcoming 2026 movie picks.

Before discussing Steve’s Required Viewing pick, the dark indie dramedy Twinless, the guys check out a batch of recent trailers and pay respects to a few freshly departed icons. Then it’s a round of everyone’s favorite game, “What Else Did You Watch?”, including quick thoughts on some great stuff in theaters now, like Crime 101, Marty Supreme, and Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie.

It’s a freeform episode, meaning the guys had Ron’s Required Viewing pick—last year’s psychological thriller The Dutchman—and not much else planned. So it’s time to cover a bit of industry news and whatever other topics come to mind, including a tribute to some of the folks who influenced your humble hosts to become the people they are today.

The guys drive around all night in a stolen car trying to unravel the picaresque adventures of Michael Douglas, Tobey Maguire, and Robert Downy Junior (before they became superheroes) in journeyman director Curtis Hanson’s Wonder Boys. Then they discuss some recent releases, including Netflix crime thriller The Rip, and Sam Raimi’s return to madcap gore, Send Help.

Steve’s Required Viewing pick, the heartbreaking father-son crime drama Sovereign, puts the guys in a morbid mood, so maybe the rage zombies and psychopathic cults of director Nia DaCosta’s 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple will perk things up! Also: other things!

Ron, Steve, and John indulge in a little obsessive list-making in order to share their respective top ten favorite films from last year. What a night for the movies!

In this episode Ron, Steve, and John dance to the music of Sly and the Family Stone by digging into the star-studded, Questlove-directed documentary about the band (and the tumultuous arc of the genius behind it), Sly Lives! Then they chat about some other non-fiction films and series they’ve been watching.

The guys get the new year started off with a heavy dose of dark fantasy/sci-fi, tackling 1985’s creepy and magical Return to Oz, the first season of Vince Gilligan’s Pluribus, and the epic conclusion of Stranger Things.