Jeff Cook, Sean Palmer, and Movie Mike Yager dive into Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest—part revolution thriller, part political satire, part mirror held to 2025 America. We wrestle with the film’s big swings: the “Christmas Adventurers” as villains, whether satire trivializes white supremacy, how Black women’s bodies and sacrifices are depicted, the generational handoff at the end, and the perennial “Does art owe us a way forward—or just a clear-eyed look at now?”

Along the way: DiCaprio vs. Penn, the robe discourse (!), why Sensei Sergio quietly steals the movie, and a spicy sidebar on who gets to make “unprofitable” art in Hollywood.

Listen order tip: If you haven’t seen the film, pause after the intro and circle back—this one works best post-screening.

Chapter Marks (HH:MM)

00:00 Cold open & mea/wea-culpa

02:05 Spoiler warning & quick plot frame

06:40 First takes: form vs. meaning

13:10 The “Christmas Adventurers” problem (satire or trivialization?)

22:45 Power, sex, and Lockjaw

32:00 Pería, Willa, and the generational handoff

42:10 Sensei Sergio & small-scale courage

50:05 “Art owes us what?” (mirror vs. map)

58:20 Industry/box-office inequities

1:05:10 Closing thoughts + streaming recs

Streaming Recs from the episode

Adolescence (Netflix) — one-shot storytelling that stings

The Death of Stalin (Hulu) — political satire with teeth

Punch-Drunk Love (Criterion) & Phantom Thread (Netflix) — PTA context pair

Point Break (original) — Friday-night fun

Alien: Earth — Episode 5 for a self-contained banger

Schindler’s List — rewatch notes for our present

New York (Rick Burns doc) — race, power, and a city’s soul

Dexter: Resurrection — “top-tier Dexter” comfort chaos

Join the conversation

What did One Battle After Another get right—or miss entirely? Drop your take (and your favorite scene) in the comments. We’ll read a few on the next episode.

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🔔 New episodes of Sacred Frames land weekly.

Stephen King’s The Long Walk hits the screen, and we dig into what it says about power, violence, and how we walk with each other toward the end we all face. We compare King’s novel to the film (3 mph vs. 4 mph, book’s crowds vs. film’s bleak roadsides), weigh the “prophetic horror” label, and ask whether this story critiques dehumanization—or risks feeding it. We track Ray Garrity and Pete’s bond, the Major’s face of authority, and the finale’s turn from vengeance to mercy. Along the way we name the pull of spectacle over dignity, the economy-over-people creed, and why friendship may be the only way to keep our humanity on the road.

We cover

* Book-to-film shifts and what they change

* Dystopian rules, “choice” vs. coercion, and the lottery

* Spectacle, reality TV, and the cost to the young

* NFL/OnlyFans analogies: risk, poverty, and “tickets out”

* Spiritual read: perverted pilgrimage, memento mori, mercy over revenge

* Violence on screen: numbness, outrage, and discernment

Plus

* Where it ranks among King adaptations

* A nod to 28 Years Later and why “forsaken worlds” keep calling us back

* Content note: frank talk about violence and death.

Fifty years ago, Jaws forever changed the way we experience movies. In this episode, Jeff Cook, Sean Palmer, and Mike Yeager revisit Spielberg’s classic on its 50th anniversary and explore why it remains one of the greatest films ever made. From the birth of the summer blockbuster to John Williams’ iconic score, from themes of community crisis and outsiders to the haunting parallels with modern events like COVID, the conversation dives deep into what makes Jaws timeless. Along the way, we unpack representation, class, paranoia in 1970s cinema, and the unseen fears that still shape our culture today.

Join us as we ask: What does Jaws reveal about who we are—and how we respond when the waters get dangerous?

In this episode, we dive into Weapons, the recent film from director Zach Cregger, unpacking its spiritual themes and the cultural conversations it sparks. From its layered storytelling to the moral questions at its core, we explore how the film challenges and engages its audience. This full discussion is available now on YouTube.

In this episode of Sacred Frames, Jeff Cook, Sean Palmer, and Mike Yager dive deep into Marvel’s new Fantastic Four—a film loaded with potential but plagued by missed opportunities. We explore the movie’s central moral question: Would you sacrifice one life—your own child—to save the world? Along the way, we compare this film to The Incredibles, unpack the themes of motherhood, cosmic hunger, and accountability, and ask what’s next for the MCU as it heads toward Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars. Plus, a hilarious game of “Dr. Doom or God?” you won’t want to miss.

Timestamps:

0:00 – Introduction

2:15 – First Impressions: Why The Incredibles Sets a Higher Bar

6:50 – Would You Sacrifice a Baby for Humanity?

13:10 – Galactus, Cosmic Hunger, and Enslavement

18:25 – The Missed Opportunity of Motherhood in the MCU

25:40 – Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards: Miscast?

32:00 – Why Fantastic Four Feels Like a Movie Made by Committee

40:15 – Dr. Doom or God? (Game Segment)

46:00 – What the MCU Needs to Fix Before Avengers: Doomsday

#fantasticfour #fantasticfourmovie #fantasticfour2025 #fantasticfourfirststeps

A discussion of James Gunn's Superman, what it asks about us, and what it says about God.

#Superman #God #Spirituality #Movies #moviereview