blankcheck posts
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Julie & Julia with Romilly Newman
Alas, our Nora Ephron series has come to an end! For our last ep, we’re happy we get to end on a high note and a touch of the Tucc… with 2009’s Julie & Julia. Returning to not only offer her chef expertise but share but how this movie molded her life is noted sister, Romilly Newman! We talk Me...
Mission: Impossible 3
It’s hard enough constantly saving the world at the last possible minute. But is the ultimate impossible mission actually marriage?! It’s 2006 and the third entry in the franchise finds Ethan Hunt facing off one gruff villain played Philip Seymour-Hoffman, IMF office drama, all while attempting ...
Bewitched with Dana Schwartz
Years were spent trying to figure out the perfect way to bring back the 60s sitcom, Bewitched. The result was a confusing, critical bomb. How do you go wrong with a hot Oscar winner, SNL star, a handful of Daily Show correspondents, and the Ephron sisters? Blank Check attempts to find out. Dana Schw...
Mission: Impossible 2
Tommy’s back for M:i-2! John Woo's bird and mask reveal-filled sequel is notoriously always ranked at the bottom of the Mission franchise. But can it be redeemed by Limp Bizkit, motorcycle jousting, glowing virus tubes, and Thandie Newton’s screen presence alone? Maybe not, but we had fun fi...
Lucky Numbers with Alex Ross Perry
It’s an extra-sized episode featuring director Alex Ross Perry for this strange film about lotteries or something. Which Seinfeld characters are the Two Friends, Ben, and Ang? What awesome tidbits did Alex pick up from the Lucky Numbers commentary? What are the merits of the films of all the other...
You've Got Mail with Bobby Finger & Lindsey Weber
AOL may have aged out but has this classic rom-com? We invited Who? Weekly's very own Lindsey Weber and Bobby Finger to discuss another Nora Ephron box office hit–You've Got Mail (1998). We get into the all-star cast with Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Dave Chapelle, Greg Kinnear, Parker Posey, meet...
Hanging Up with Sonia Sarayia
Written by Nora and Delia Ephron. Directed by Diane Keaton. Starring Keaton, Meg Ryan, and Lisa Kudrow as sisters. It's the Avengers for 30+ year old white women! Before we get to M:I 2, we're taking it back to another time capsule from 2000—Hanging Up. Our old pal Sonia Saraiya (Vanity Fa...
Michael with Kevin Porter
This week, Blank Check tackles one of film’s greatest mysteries, John Travolta’s career in the 90s. In Michael (1996), he plays an angel who visits earth to bring people together, but get this…he’ a bad boy! With the cast rounded out with Andie MacDowell, William Hurt, Bob Hoskins and of cou...
Mission: Impossible
Your mission should you choose to accept it… is an extremely silly hang with the Blank Check crew. From movie 1, it’s clear you guys made the right call with our first Patreon March Madness champion - The Mission: Impossible franchise. Join us as we watch Ethan Hunt get progressively more insane...
Mixed Nuts with Charles Rogers
The friends are joined by Search Party director Charles Rogers to discuss this mixed bag of mixed messages of a Christmas movie that shows maybe Norah Ephron can't do black comedies. Don't worry if you haven't seen it, because this is mostly an extensive discussion about Steve Martin'...
Toy Story 4
Before we dive into those impossible missions, we gotta go on one last adventure with Griffin's favorite pals! It's time for Toy Story 4 (2019), released after a decade of development (and weirdly exactly a year ago today). We make our official rankings, dig into the meaning of life, and mos...
Sleepless in Seattle with Katey Rich
Only Nora Ephron could make a rom-com where the leads interact for 2 minutes an instant classic. The BC crew makes a Tom and Meg inspired long distance call to Katey Rich (Vanity Fair) for Ephron's sophomore hit, Sleepless in Seattle (1993). We get into how rom-coms have risen and fallen, the lu...
This Is My Life with Michelle Collins
"Everything is copy." is the code Ephron lived by and no film fit that better than her directorial debut, This is My Life (1992). After the success of When Harry Met Sally, Nora and Delia Ephron teamed up for a comedy about two sisters and their mother's rise on the comedy scene in NYC. ...
Toy Story Toons
This bonus BC:SF takes a deep dive into the extended Toy Story franchise. Griffin, David and Ben discuss the 2 television specials (the Halloween-themed Toy Story of Terror! and the Christmas-themed Toy Story That Time Forgot), as well as, selected short films (Hawaiian Vacation, Small Fry, and Part...
When Harry Met Sally... with Dana Stevens
It laid the groundwork for her entire film career. It set the mold for every rom-com that followed. Though it wasn’t her directorial debut, you just don’t do Nora Ephron without covering When Harry Met Sally. We invited Slate critic and podcast host Dana Stevens (Culture Gabfest, Flashback) to d...
Toy Story 3
There was a decade between this and 2, but was it worth the wait? Toy Story 3 (2010) gives you a serious animation upgrade, an unfortunate Lasseter parallel, and one hell of a prison break sequence. Blank Check debates the strengths and weaknesses of the third entry in the Toy Story franchise.
Stargate
It's a Ben's Choice bay-bee! Dry, dusty tombs ✓ Crazy convoluted tech ✓ Vast intergalactic conspiracies? ✓✓✓ 1994's Stargate really does have it all. This week Ben gets to makes his case for this Egyptian/Sci-Fi Roland Emmerich cult favorite, and why it's best viewed from a...
Twilight Zone: Nightmare at 20,000 Feet
You're entering a world of a b-b-b-bonus ep! We couldn't wrap up George Miller series without covering the totally bizarre Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983). We specifically dive into Miller's remake of the Serling/Shatner classic, his talent for chaotic action, and Lithgow's oddball c...
Mad Max: Fury Road with Emily Yoshida
Emily Yoshida (Night Call podcast) joins #thetwofriends to discuss George Miller's magnum opus Mad Max: Fury Road. Together they examine the masterful world building, the flawed leadership of Immortan Joe, lumps, the performances of Charlize Theron, Tom Hardy, Nicholas Hoult and so much more!SFX...
Toy Story 2
Well, Checkmates that day has finally come. Griffin’s top favorite film of all time: Toy Story 2. David, Ben and Ang did their best to rein him in remotely, but there is only so much they could really do. So please enjoy this commentary episode packed with facts, insight and passion from an obsess...
Happy Feet Two with Sara Rubin
Visual artist Sara Rubin joins BC this week to discuss Miller’s second dancing penguin movie! Together with #thetwofriends they breakdown the billing order, question if krill are sea monkeys and try to guess the tagline to movie Surf’s Up. Join our Patreon for franchise commentaries and bonus ep...
Toy Story
To Infinity and Beyond! BC:SF begins a new commentary series on the Toy Story franchise. Griffin, David, Ben and Ang recently connected over Virtual Nice to discuss the landmark first feature film from Pixar.
Happy Feet with Caitlin Durante
Caitlin Durante (The Bechdel Cast) joins #thetwofriends to discuss Miller's first foray into animation with 2006's Happy Feet. Join our Patreon for franchise commentaries and bonus episodes.Follow us @blankcheckpod onInstagram,Threads,FacebookandX!Buy some real nerdy merch.Connect with other...
Babe: Pig in the City with Travis McElroy
Who is 1998's Babe: Pig in the City for? Is it for kids? Stoners? Four grown adults attempting to navigate a national pandemic? This is the question Travis McElroy (My Brother, My Brother and Me, Adventure Zone, Run: A Doctor Who Fancast) poses to the BC crew this week. We defend and analyze ano...
Babe with Emily Yoshida
BAA RAM EWE!!! George Miller didn't direct Babe (an infamous point of contention we dive into) but we couldn't not cover this 1995 classic. Griffin, David, Ang, and Emily Yoshida called each other up on Zoom to revisit James Cromwell's Oscar nominated performance, life and death drama in...
Lorenzo's Oil with Bilge Ebiri
Hard to believe we're already halfway through our George Miller series! This week Bilge Ebiri (Vulture) returns to talk about one of his favorite films, 1992's Lorenzo's Oil. Starring Susan Sarandon and Nick Nolte...with an Italian accent that somehow works...Oil may have disappointed at...
The Rise of Skywalker
And so BC:SF wraps up it’s series on the Star Wars franchise with our first remote commentary episode! Griffin, David, Ben and Ang separately together watched Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker.[Warning: At the beginning of this episode there are multiple false starts of syncing the f...
The Witches of Eastwick with K. Austin Collins
Film critic K. Austin Collins (Vanity Fair) returns to Blank Check for an episode covering 1987’s fantasy comedy, The Witches of Eastwick. Together with #thetwofriends they discuss author John Updike’s original novel, how producer Jon Peters tried shoehorning an alien into the film, assign thems...
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome with David Ehrlich
Together, #thetwofriends and returning guest David Ehrlich (IndieWire) talk about not just the Thunderdome, but go beyond to examine Tina Turner’s filmography, why the children of the wasteland are 10x better than the Lost Boys of Hook, the Toy Story 3 song “We Belong Together” and more! Join ...
Trolls: The Experience with Richard Lawson
In honor of reaching our 5K goal #thetwofriends, joined by Trolls mastermind and provocateur Richard Lawson, attended Trolls: The Experience in midtown Manhattan back in late December of 2019. Fast forward roughly four months later, they recently recorded an episode in their own homes and discussed ...
