Movies imo

Just Like Dracula: Mythology in Film - Orpheus, Excalibur, O Brother Where Art Thou

Should The Fame Monster have defeated famous surprise winner The Suburbs for Album of the Year? Who are Heurtebise and René Worms? Who would make it out alive from the poets’ brawl? Should John Goodman have crushed that horny toad? Is heterosexual marriage a prison? And what is Merlin wearing on his head? The answers to all these pressing inquiries and more will be revealed in this, the latest missive from the gay guy podcast enterprise known as Movies imo. This week, the film faguettes are exploring Mythology in Film — timed to no new releases whatsoever. Here are the texts in discussion: Ben selects Jean Cocteau’s gay fantasia on netherworld themes Orpheus (1951) starring homosexuals and the divas they worship. Daniel selects John Boorman’s King Arthur comeback vehicle Excalibur (1981) starring Helen Mirren and a bunch of boys. Brandon selects the Coen Brothers’ Odyssey-inspired cultural phenomenon O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) starring Ulysses, Delmar, and Pete. These myths come alive and inspire more than a few biting observations. Just like Dracula!

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Troubling Imagery: Our Least Favorite Spielberg Films: Always, Hook, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Is there no limit to Holly Hunter’s charisma? What do you do when your friend George asks you to direct another film in his beloved franchise? And just how fat-phobic is a beloved children’s film about “Peter Banning” returning to Neverland? All these questions are more will be answered in this, the first official REFORMATTED edition of movies imo — a podcast that was once dead, is now alive, and still features three film faguettes having a big chat about the cheenema. But the most important question that Ben, Brandon, and Daniel dive into this week is the theme of the episode, inspired by a certain unforeseen but cosmically fated calendar event that requires one to ahem disclose… What is your least favorite Steven Spielberg film? Daniel chose Always (1989) — Spielberg’s romantic seriocomedy inspired by the 1943 “this ghost represents the meaning of life, actually” film A Guy Named Joe. Ben chose Hook (1991) — Spielberg’s beloved-by-millennials (but not by the man himself!) children’s fantasy film, a take on the Peter Pan story but with more Play Doh. Brandon chose Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) — Spielberg’s fourth swing at trying to convince audiences that Dr. Henry Jones might be worth watching trek across the globe for two hours… In a fun twist, nobody agrees on their least favorite! Give it a spin, have a laugh, maybe even stick a straw in a Twinkie like John Goodman does in one of these three pictures…

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Our Week with Marilyn: Some Like It Hot, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Niagara

Why is Marilyn Monroe not the main character in the movie Niagara when she’s so clearly the best thing in it? Is the va-va-voom sound effect that’s made every time Marilyn enters a film actually diegetic? And what did Ben say that led to being [redacted] by [redacted] by suggesting that Marilyn was [redacted] by [redacted]? Well, nobody’s perfect. And who sums up these immortal lines better than the three film faguettes at the heart of this - movies imo! The once dead but now alive film podcast where gay guys convene to yap about topics of fruity miscellanea. But wait! Sound the alarms. There’s big news in the realm of Movies imo… FORMAT SHIFT! Starting today, the format for movies imo is focusing in on just one topic per week — lovingly selected by a different member of the trio every week, with each one bringing a film or other or media object to the table beneath the chosen theme of the week. And this week, they’re setting out to answer one of life’s great questions: The query: Is Marilyn Monroe the funniest person to ever act on screen in the history of the cinema? The evidence: Howard Hawks’s Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Billy Wilder’s Some Like it Hot, Henry Hathaway’s Niagara, Kenneth Branagh’s The Prince and the Showgirl, and — just for fun — Michelle Williams’s My Week With Marilyn. The faguettes: Ben, Brandon, and Daniel. Oh what a laugh was had… If you’ve ever wondered how many gay guys it takes to yap about Marilyn for nearly two hours, the answer to this query (and all the others above) is now finally settled…

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Mary Steenburger in The Dink

If one faget sees a baby perched at the end of a bed, but there are no other fagets paying close attention to the frame to see it, does the baby actually exist? Why do the immensely pleasurable late career films of French New Wave filmmakers go down so smoothly? Was this episode sponsored by Ambien? All these questions and more will be answered in this, France Week! On the once dead and now alive podcast movies imo, featuring three gays yapping on mic about the women’s liberation movement, the concept of weather, and getting h-word at the beach. This week, they’re discussing the following: Brandon: Let's go to the BEACH! With Éric Rohmer's Pauline at the Beach (1983) Daniel: Crossing the final Varda major work off the list! With One Sings, The Other Doesn't (1977) Give it a listen! Or don’t! It’s GAYline at the beach!

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All Cops Are BOING! - Confessions of a Dangerous Mind & Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion

Who invented the phrase “rodent boyfriend” for the internet? From which canonical auteurs did George Clooney lift the most inspiration in his directorial debut? Is it appropriate to debate a Palme d’Or winner from an ocean away when you not only haven’t seen the film, but haven’t seen any of the other films in Competition? Who is Fjord and what did he do to you? The answers to all these questions and more will be revealed in this, another episode of the movies imo encore! This week the film faguettes brought the following topics to discuss: Ben: George Clooney’s directorial debut Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002) Daniel: Elio Petri’s antifascist funhouse Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (1970) It’s “of a” week, everybody! And the fellas had one hell of a time together. Together they tell a whale of a tale, make a mountain out of a molehill, and once again find they can all be birds of a feather when it comes to cracking up and chatting chee-nee-ma. Turns out, all of a sudden — or even at the drop of a hat — having to wrap up another episode of the movies imo encore can be a bit of a sticky wicket… because you simply can’t have too much of a good thing. And what’s better than this!

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A Cure for Gayness

In order to jumpstart your small business, at what point do you bully your husband into kidnapping a local child? How does Jessica Lange? And where do the eels go? All these questions and more will fly to alpine Europe and check into a local sanitarium — also known as movies imo encore — until they become answers. This week your (callback!) fav film f*gz tackle the following issues of the day: Ben: Time to celebrate Kim Stanley! in her pair of Oscar-nominated performances: Seance on a Wet Afternoon (1964) and Frances (1982) Brandon: Girl, that’s Gore! Taking a peek at Verbinski’s A Cure for Wellness (2016) Let’s just say: points were made, this podcast was a movie, they “went off,” no lies were detected, etc. Kim Stanley forever!!

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The One Where They Discuss Lav Diaz’s Magellan and F. Gary Gary’s The Italian Job

Had the Pope recently seen Lav Diaz’s latest picture before he formally blessed the art of slow cinema? What are EelPods? On a scale from one to ten, how homophobic was the real Ferdinand Magellan? How much misogyny can Charlize Theron overcome in order to successfully run her girlboss safe-cracking company? All these pressing questions (and more!) will be blasted wide open in this, another installment of the movies imo encore. What is movies imo? It’s a podcast. What’s a podcast? I don’t know! But this one is anchored by three gay guys who are known to most in the “podcasting space” as not merely being a little light in the loafers, but a little heavy on the crosstalk too. This week the crew (as in: Charlie Croker’s crew) break into the following topics: Brandon: See, We ARE Doing New Releases: All of Us Enjoying Lav Diaz's Magellan (2025) Daniel: Celebrating the D Line Extension with My Formative Metro Film Memory: F. Gary Gray's The Italian Job (2003) Beyond the act of plunder, what are the through lines between these two disparate films… Well, they don’t really get into that. But they do have a laugh along the way and hope you do too. EelPods!

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The Redemption of Chip Sludge

How did they ever make a movie of revolutionary journalists falling in love amidst the whirlwind American communist movement of the 1910s? Why is Betty Buckley our greatest living vocal talent? Can you make a compelling drama without conflict? Will Sepideh Moafi win an Emmy for her indelible performance as the intrepid AI warrior-turned-valiant ER hero Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi? What is there left to even talk about now that The Pitt season two has ended?! All these burning inquiries will be grilled, chilled, and distilled throughout the near two-hour runtime of this, the latest audio missive from the living (but once dead) human triptych known in some professional quarters as movies imo but in other more personal quarters as a trio of active homosexuals. This week the comrades bring the following to discuss on mic: Ben: Remembering Bob Duvall with the titular tender mercy of Bruce Beresford’s Tender Mercies (1983) Daniel: Remembering the titular reds of Warren Beatty’s political epic Reds (1981) It’s time to dive into the sensitive Oscar-winning American cinema of Reagan’s first term! It’s time to laugh and cry! It’s time to forget the first name of every character in these movies! When it comes to processing all these occasions and more, to quote Barbra, the time has come…

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Roach-Like Behavior

Why is Steven Spielberg so protective — much to Elaine May’s chagrin — of the franchising rights around that little alien they call E.T.? When you’re at the movie theater, how do you tell the difference between an actual ghost and just a plain old Laemmle matinee senior? And at what point must you stop cruising your fellow audience members and simply enjoy the film playing up there on that big screen? Is it safe to podcast in a tornado? Where did Brandon go? All these probing inquiries and more will be elucidated in this, the latest installment of the movies imo encore. This week, the resident film faguettes brought the following topics to discuss amongst themselves: Ben: Is The Princess Bride (1987) the single most beloved movie in existence today? Brandon: A double feature of Tsai Ming-liang blind spots: The Hole (1998) and Goodbye, Dragon Inn (2003) Fill me up!

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Gay Crime in the High Desert

Have the most recent Academy Awards been so dissected to death that there’s anything left to pore over fagnostically? Which episodes of Lena Dunham’s Girls most stick in the brain, got stuck in the craw, and do or do not remain Brandon’s favorite episode of the series? Is it ever a good idea to fall in love if you’re a character in the Golden Age of Film Noir? What is a bee in a bonnet? All these questions and more will be picked apart by the yapping cultural excavators of movies imo in this, their latest encore installment of being “in community” in discussion of the fruity miscellanea in film and television that most recently caught their eyes. This week the ladies (Girls callback) brought the following to chat about: Brandon: A double feature of Girls episodes: S6E9 “Goodbye Tour” and S3E7 “Beach House” Daniel: A triple feature of “Third Wheel Noir”: Lewis Allen’s Desert Fury (1947), Anthony Mann’s Raw Deal (1948), Robert Siodmak’s Criss Cross (1949) What a laugh they have. They (Daniel) also insistently mispronounce the name of an iconic film auteur.

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Actually Heathcliff and Cathy are brother and sister

What on earth is going on in St. Louis and who exactly is DTF in HBO’s newest original series? Why is this boorish gynecologist addressing the birds and the bees to a rowdy bunch of boys during the decline of the American midcentury? Did Heathcliff and Cathy go up to those Crags to fish? All these pressing matters - and more! - will be addressed by the talent: a murder of homosexual crows known as “movies imo” in this, their latest installment of talking to each other on microphones about the fruity miscellanea in film and teevee that caught their eyes this week. Here’s what the guys brought to chat about: Ben: The Plentiful Versions of Wuthering Heights on the Big Screen (1939 and 2011 edition) Daniel: Remembering Frederick Wiseman with two of his early ones: High School (1968) and Hospital (1970) [editor's note: Ben was right that the titular high school was in a predominantly Jewish area, despite the muted reaction from Brandon and Daniel] Moving forward, in an attempt to simplify the scope of “content” in a given episode, each film faguette will take a week off from bringing a topic to the table; this week Brandon gets to exhale now (Simon). Regardless of the shorter syllabus, they still had a whale of a time breaking the culture wide open and hope you do too.

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Jean Renoir: Nepo Baby

Is every character on Industry bisexual? Which track off “Horses” is least likely to keep the party going til sunrise? And who is that creepy gay guy in the Bergdorf scarf standing outside the local high school in Holcomb, Kansas? All these questions and more will be answered in this, the latest cri de coeur from the noted trio of resurrected film faguettes known in some quarters as “movies imo” but known to each other, simply, as friends. This week the boys bring the following to discuss amongst themselves: Ben: Patti Smith's first album after the deaths of husband Fred "Sonic" Smith and best friend Robert Mapplethorpe: Gone Again Brandon: Finally Gay! Watching Josie and the Pussycats (2001) for the first time Daniel: Weighing the merits of Catherine Keener's Academy Award-nominated performance as Nell Harper Lee in Bennett Miller's Capote, 20 years later Oh what a fun time they had digging into these topics, finding treasured insights and a few laughs along the way. Alvin, get your pants on - they’re here!

Be Italian!

Who was the all-star stage-to screen adaptation of Nine even for? Can a Golden Age of Hollywood producer secure revenge by winning Best Picture? Which cast member of The Phoenician Scheme deserves the undying love and loyalty of an audience every day of the year no matter how “big” their other performances may get? All these questions and more will be answered across this week’s edition of the movies imo encore. This week the fellas bring the following to discuss: Ben: William Wyler’s The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) Daniel: Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest (2025) Brandon: The Mystery of Kate Hudson (Song Sung Blue (2025); How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days (2003); Almost Famous (2000); The Skeleton Key (2005); Le Divorce (2003); Nine (2009); others) They love to laugh and love to chat and love to have you around for a listen. This podcast rebooting season… Be Italian!

I wish you well.

What is Quills? Is the reigning Emmy winner for Best Drama Series actually good? Who was on the SAG (“Actor”) Awards nominating committee and why don’t they trust the Scandinavian ability to let life imitate art? All these answers and more will be revealed in the second episode of the movies imo encore… and so will the new show format! After digging into this year’s Oscar nominations, the boys bring the following topics to the table: • Ben! The Golden Age of Gwyneth Paltrow (1995–2005) • Brandon! The Pitt (2024 — ) • Daniel! Hiroshi Teshigahara’s The Face of Another (1966) They have a really awesome time doing it and hope you have a really awesome time listening to it.

Blessings... I mean it

Somehow Ben, Brandon, and Daniel returned. And they’re old now! With an even looser and less ambitious format than ever before, we kick off the first edition of our movies imo encore by pledging allegiance to the state in which we were born and raised. Yes, you read that correctly, it's (for all intents and purposes) the Ella McCay episode - but after this we're burying the new movie-of-the-week podcast structure of the past and embracing something even more scattered and amorphous with an eye towards the future. But rest assured: like James L. Brooks, the cross-talk is back. But everything else is different this time. Friendship reigns supreme. Long Live Agnès Varda.

Live! From Quar Brain

Desperate times call for even more desperate measures, and your three fav film f*gz needed an excuse to catch up on a Z**m call! In this Very Special Quarantine Edition of movies imo., Ben, Brandon, and Daniel get together virtually to share and discuss three of their favorite films watched while sheltering in place amidst the global pandemic, and maybe share a few laughs while they’re on the line. Ben takes the celestial escalator down to Earth in Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH, Daniel rides the Eurostar through purgatory in Chantal Akerman’s THE MEETINGS OF ANNA, and Brandon cuts a rug with Ingrid Bergman at a groovy nightclub in Gene Sak’s CACTUS FLOWER. Together, they enjoy friendship and film f*ggotry from a safe distance apart. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Best Films of 2019 – Part 2

They say film fagz don’t belong in hot air balloons, and yet here they are flying high and yelling over each other for part two of their special year-end review of the top twenty movies of 2019. Ben mourns the inevitable death coming for us all, Daniel brandishes bourgeois objects in class warfare, and Brandon survives a miserable hangover to celebrate the bliss of watching a movie four times without becoming immune to it charms. The end! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Best Films of 2019 – Part 1

The dead speak! In part one of a special year-end review episode of movies imo., Ben, Brandon, and Daniel yell over each other about their collective twenty favorite movies of 2019. But first they discuss abstention from the internet, cinematic shames of the decade, and how it feels to see each other for the very first time since the podcast’s cancellation. Ben cries from the soul while celebrating two late auteur masterpieces, Daniel celebrates a great moment of onscreen con artistry, and Brandon takes the film fagz to school on his favorite directorial debut of the year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Films We Should Have Seen By Now

In episode one hundred of movies imo, Ben, Brandon, and Daniel yell over each other about three movies they’d wished they’d had the chance to discuss on the podcast: Ben offers up Lars von Trier’s devastating death penalty musical DANCER IN THE DARK, Brandon brings Steven Spielberg’s bleak dystopian fantasia AI: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE to the table, and Daniel serves to the group Alan J. Pakula’s paranoid thriller/podcast outro feature KLUTE. On this final episode of the podcast, they also list their ten individual favorite new-to-me films discussed while on the mic. Ben makes the case for Jane Fonda as one of the ten best Best Actress winners in Academy history, Daniel celebrates the seemingly askew coverage of Björk’s dance numbers, and Brandon debuts (and edits) his Spielberg ranking live on the air. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for listening - and we looking forward to meeting you all at 23 Commerce Quay, 1080 Bruxelles for an ice cold Anchor Steam! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fleabag

In episode ninety-nine of movies imo., Ben, Brandon, and Daniel yell over each other about Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s sublime comedy series FLEABAG. Ben swiftly denounces the cast and crew of THE SQUID AND THE WHALE between analysis of the show’s sly visual scheme, Daniel makes a declarative statement about YOU CAN COUNT ON ME while appreciating Waller-Bridge’s structure around psychology, and Brandon stands behind THE SAVAGES after worshipping at the altar of wit and wisdom in the final scene between Fleabag and her father. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.