In the Cold Open #57, Robert Sickels and special guest star Lee Ackerman begin with a spoiler heavy deep dive into two new mid-budget films, Steven Soderbergh’s Black Bag and writer/director Alex Scharfman’s debut feature, Death of a Unicorn. They then veer into a discussion on Gen Z’s movie consumption habits. Our intro and outro are David Holmes’…

In the Cold Open #56, Kynde Kiefel, Robert Sickels , and Matt Reynolds discuss their wildly disparate responses to Mickey 17, Bong Joon-Ho’s new film. Our intro and outro are “Set Off” and “Bon Appetit with Strings” from Jung Jaeil’s Mickey 17 soundtrack. The Cold Open Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, so please subscribe!…

In the Cold Open #55, Robert Sickels and Matt Reynolds discuss the (mostly) reviled Megalopolis, the likely swan song of Francis Ford Coppola’s wildly fascinating career. The Cold Open Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, so please subscribe!By Dr. RCS

In the Cold Open #54, Kynde Kiefel and Robert Sickels survey the summer and early fall film and television landscape before diving into a detailed discussion of HBO’s The Penguin. The Cold Open Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, so please subscribe!By Dr. RCS

In the Cold Open #53, Kynde Kiefel, Robert Sickels , and returning champion Matt Reynolds discuss the state of contemporary horror in the context of two buzzy summer horror films, MaXXXine and Longlegs. The Cold Open Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, so please subscribe!By Dr. RCS

In the Cold Open # 52, Kynde Kiefel and Robert Sickels contemplate the general malaise currently gripping the entertainment industry as it pumps out meh movies in too many theaters and B minus TV shows on too many streaming services. Along the way, they discuss a few choice texts that they think have qualitatively separated themselves from the blan…

In the Cold Open # 51, Kynde Kiefel and Robert Sickels wax poetic about the many reasons they both adore Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla. Our intro and outro this week are Spectrum’s “How You Satisfy Me” and Dan Deacon’s “The Crystal Cat” from the Priscilla (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack). The Cold Open Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts and Spo…

In the Cold Open # 50, Kynde Kiefel and Robert Sickels dissect the four Wes Anderson short film adaptations of Roald Dahl’s short stories now playing on Netflix: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, The Rat Catcher, Poison, and The Swan. The Cold Open Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, so please subscribe!…

In The Cold Open #49, Kynde Kiefel and Robert Sickels discuss all things Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer and Greta Gerwig’s Barbie. Our intro and outro this week are Ludwig Göransson’s “Meeting Kitty” from the Oppenheimer Soundtrack and Ryan Gosling’s “I’m Just Ken” from Barbie The Album. The Cold Open Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts and Spo…

In The Cold Open #48, Kynde Kiefel, Robert Sickels, and special guest star Zac Bentz dissect Wes Anderson’s 11th feature film: Asteroid City. Our intro and outro this week are Tex Ritter’s “Jingle Jangle Jingle” and Burl Ives’ “Cowboy’s Lament” from the Asteroid City Original Soundtrack. The Cold Open Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts and Spot…

In The Cold Open #47, Kynde Kiefel and Robert Sickels discuss all things Avatar: The Way of Water. One of us quite liked it. One of us really, really didn’t. Our intro and outro this week are Simon Franglen’s “From Darkness to Light” and The Weeknd’s “Nothing is Lost (You Give Me Strength)” from the Avatar: The Way of Water Soundtrack. The Cold Ope…

In The Cold Open #46, Kynde Kiefel, Robert Sickels, and Matt Reynolds, in his triumphant podcasting return, do a spoiler heavy deep dive into writer/director Damien Chazelle’s Babylon. Our intro and outro this week are “Welcome” and “Voodoo Mama” from Justin Hurwitz’s Babylon score. The Cold Open Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, …

In The Cold Open #45, Kynde Kiefel and Robert Sickels each name the top three things they love and the top three things they don’t in 2022 popular culture to date. Making the respective lists are the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Reservation Dogs, Industry, House of the Dragon, Pearl, Station Eleven, Andor, The Sandman, Movies, and live-in-person even…

In The Cold Open #44, The Batman Edition, Robert Sickels and Kathryn Frank offer wildly diverging opinions on Matt Reeves’ new movie, The Batman, starring Robert Pattinson and Zoë Kravitz headlining an all around stellar cast. We discuss it not only in the context of the many, many other Batman movies, but also in light of its relationship to parti…

In The Cold Open #43, The Licorice Pizza Edition, Robert Sickels and Kynde Kiefel discuss Paul Thomas Anderson’s electrifying new film at length. Our intro and outro this week are Sonny & Cher’s “But You’re Mine” and Paul McCartney and Wings’ “Let Me Roll It,” both from The Licorice Pizza Soundtrack. The Cold Open Podcast is available on Apple Podc…

In The Cold Open #42, The French Dispatch Edition, Robert Sickels and Kathryn Frank discuss Wes Anderson’s delightful new film at length. Our intro and outro this week are Jarvis Cocker’s “Aline” and Alexandre Desplat’s “A Multi-Pronged Battle Plan,” both from The French Dispatch Original Soundtrack. The Cold Open Podcast is available on Apple Podc…

In the Cold Open #41, The Dune Edition, Robert Sickels and long sought after special guest Tarik Elseewi discuss Denis Villeneuve’s new take on the first novel of Frank Herbert’s classic series. Our intro and outro are Hans Zimmer’s “Ripples in The Sand” and “Holy War,” from the Dune soundtrack. The Cold Open Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts …

In the Cold Open Mini #40, Kynde Kiefel and Robert Sickels discuss Zack Snyder’s redemptive Netflix zombie/heist movie Army of the Dead, which might be the most Zack Snyder film ever made–and also his best film by a long shot. The Cold Open Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, so please rate, review, and subscribe!…

In the Cold Open Mini #39, the last of our seven pods dissecting Director Zack Snyder’s 4 hour (re)cut version of DC’s The Justice League, Kynde Kiefel and Robert Sickels examine the film’s seventh and final part: Epilogue–A Father Twice Over. In this episode we address the looming cumulative questions: Is the Snyder Cut better than the original (y…

In the Cold Open Mini #38, the sixth of our seven pods dissecting each of part of Director Zack Snyder’s 4 hour (re)cut version of DC’s The Justice League, Kynde Kiefel and Robert Sickels delve into Part 6: “Something Darker.” We discuss a variety of issues, including the movie’s ongoing Superman problems, Snyder’s skill with action sequences and i…

In the Cold Open Mini #37, the fifth of our seven pods dissecting each of part of Director Zack Snyder’s 4 hour (re)cut version of DC’s The Justice League, Kynde Kiefel and Robert Sickels delve into Part 5: All the King’s Horses. We discuss a variety of issues, the major ones being the hard, cold fact that the combination of Superman’s unyielding g…

In the Cold Open Mini #36, the fourth of our seven pods dissecting each of part of Director Zack Snyder’s 4 hour (re)cut version of DC’s The Justice League, Kynde Kiefel and Robert Sickels examine Part 4: “Change Machine.” We discuss a variety of things, including our thoughts about the ways heavy exposition can slow a movie’s narrative pace to a c…

In the Cold Open Mini #35, the third of our seven pods dissecting each of part of Director Zack Snyder’s 4 hour (re)cut version of DC’s The Justice League, Kynde Kiefel and Robert Sickels examine Part 3: Beloved Mother, Beloved Son. We discuss a variety of things, including our thoughts about the daddy and mommy issues that apparently haunt all sup…

In the Cold Open Mini #34, the second of our seven pods discussing each of part of Director Zack Snyder’s 4 hour (re)cut version of DC’s The Justice League, Kynde Kiefel and Robert Sickels examine Part 2: The Age of Heroes. We discuss a variety of things, including our thoughts about Zack Snyder’s love affair with slow motion, the glorious fetishiz…

In the Cold Open Mini #33, the first of our seven pods looking at each of part of Director Zack Snyder’s 4 hour (re)cut version of DC’s The Justice League, Kynde Kiefel and Robert Sickels examine Part 1: “Don’t Count On It, Batman.” We discuss a variety of initial responses, including our thoughts about the choice of a 4 x 3 aspect ratio, the excel…

In The Cold Open Mini #32.2, Robert Sickels and Kathryn Frank rank the top 5 of the more than 60 movies to date that feature Marvel Comics’ characters. This pod includes only one crossover pick and a lot of great discussion about a ton of fantastic movies and their roots in the comics as well their cultural and industrial impact! The Cold Open Podc…

In The Cold Open Mini #32.1, Robert Sickels and Kathryn Frank rank the bottom 5 of the more than 60 movies to date that feature Marvel Comics’ characters. This pod includes surprisingly little crossover and a controversial top pick from Kathryn! The Cold Open Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, so please rate, review, and subscribe!…

In The Cold Open Mini #31, Matt Reynolds and Kathryn Frank discuss media that is unexpectedly particularly relevant to our present cultural moment, touching on Watchmen, Blockers, RuPaul’s Drag Race, The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, and a variety of other things along the way. The Cold Open Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, s…

In The Cold Open Mini #30, Matt Reynolds and Robert Sickels have a VERY SPOILER HEAVY discussion about the delightful romantic comedy Palm Springs, which is currently available to stream on Hulu. The Cold Open Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, so please rate, review, and subscribe! https://whitmanfms.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploa…

In The Cold Open Mini #29, Kynde Kiefel and Kathryn Frank discuss their top 5 lists of Movies or TV shows that deserved a sequel or an additional season. R.I.P. F/X’s beloved but little seen Terriers. And Sense8. And Princess Jellyfish. And Lady Dynamite. And all kinds of other great movies and shows! The Cold Open Podcast is available on Apple Pod…

In The Cold Open Mini #27, Kathryn Frank and Robert Sickels discuss underrated media from otherwise widely celebrated artists, including works by Alfonso Cuarón, Sofia Coppola, John Waters, Spike Lee, David Simon, and Steven Soderbergh. The Cold Open Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, so please rate, review, and subscribe! https://…

In The Cold Open Mini #26, The King of Staten Island Edition, Kynde Kiefel and Robert Sickels break down the new Judd Apatow film, which features Pete Davidson, Bill Burr, and Marisa Tomei. In addition to delving into the film’s many merits, they also place it in the context of Apatow’s career and consider what its being released for purchase direc…

In The Cold Open Mini #25, Kathryn Frank and Robert Sickels discuss their favorite bits of cultural consumption during their recently ended time of sheltering in place. The Cold Open Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, so please rate, review, and subscribe! https://whitmanfms.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/the-cold-open-mi…

What makes for a complex protagonist on a TV show? Kynde Kiefel and Kathryn Frank grapple with this question on The Cold Open Mini #24–The Top 5 Most Complex TV Protagonists Edition. These are fascinating lists, running the gamut of characters from animated shows and mainstream genre shows, to those featured on prestige series and even reality TV! …

In the Cold Open Mini #23, Matt Reynolds and Kynde Kiefel rank the best/weirdest/most riveting/off the rails Nicolas Cage performances. The Cold Open Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, so please rate, review, and subscribe! https://whitmanfms.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/the-cold-open-mini-23.mp3…

In The Cold Open Mini #22, Kathryn Frank and Robert Sickels name their top five favorite English language remakes of foreign films, which includes remakes of films from all over the world! The Cold Open Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, so please rate, review, and subscribe! https://whitmanfms.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020…

In The Cold Open Mini #21, The Top 5 Pop Culture Blindspots Part #2 Edition, Kynde Kiefel and Robert Sickels name their top 5 pop culture blind spots, which includes, among other things around which there’s an inexplicable cultural hubbub, reality TV singing competitions, Twitter, the Kardashians, Twitch, and one hugely popular TV sitcom that made …

Despite an unexpected dusting of morning snow covering the Blue Mountain foothills to the east of Walla Walla, the weather is definitely turning for the better. The valley is in bloom and summer is rapidly approaching. With that in mind, in The Cold Open Mini #20, Matt Reynolds and Kathryn Frank name their top 5 songs in anticipation of summer. The…

When the nominees for the 81st Academy Awards were announced, there was an immediate uproar surrounding The Dark Knight’s failure to secure a Best Picture nomination. After that initial uproar and the subsequent poorly rated Oscars’ telecast, the Academy revamped the rules to include up to 10 Best Picture nominees in the hopes of including more aud…

In The Cold Open Mini #18, The Top 5 Songs About Art Edition, Matt Reynolds and Kynde Kiefel reveal their wildly eclectic lists. And in an expected turn of events, one of them shares their singing voice!!! The Cold Open Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, so please rate, review, and subscribe!…

It’s been argued that great books make for bad movies, so does that mean that bad books make for great movies? Or is the truth stranger than fiction? Find out the answer to these questions and more in The Cold Open Mini #17–The Top 5 Best & Worst Movies Based on Books Edition–in which Kynde Kiefel names the worst ever literary adaptions while Kathr…

In The Cold Open Mini #16–The Don’t Remake That Edition–Matt Reynolds and Robert Sickels each name their top 5 worst movie remakes. While there are no shared choices, there is a recurring figure (hint: his name rhymes with “Rickolaus Mage”) and a recurring genre (hint: there is singing and dancing). The Cold Open Podcast is available on Apple Podca…

In The Cold Open Mini #15, The Top 5 Reasons to Watch, or Not Watch, The Tiger King Edition, Robert Sickels and Kynde Kiefel give their reasons, with Kynde being pro and Robert being con. The Cold Open Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, so please rate, review, and subscribe! https://whitmanfms.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/…

In The Cold Open Mini #14, The Top 5 Pop Culture Blindspots Part #1 Edition, Matt Reynolds and Kathryn Frank go over their lists, which include some jaw dropping choices. Friends? Yup. K-Pop. Yessiree. Harry Potter????? The Simpsons????? How is that even possible!!! The Cold Open Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, so please rate, r…

In The Cold Open Mini #13, The Top 5 Best Movies Adapted from Comic Books Edition, Kathryn Frank and Robert Sickels give their super intriguing lists, highlighted by Kathryn’s very surprising #1! The Cold Open Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, so please rate, review, and subscribe! https://whitmanfms.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploa…

In The Cold Open Mini #12, The Navel Gazing Edition, Matt Reynolds names his top five episodes from mostly other podcasts named The Cold Open, whereas Kynde Kiefel names her top five episodes of this Cold Open podcast. You get the added bonus of hearing Matt’s dog bark in the background and a dishwasher being unloaded. Welcome to podcasting remotel…

You’re home. A lot. And you need something to watch. But not Breaking Bad or The Sopranos, or the usual suspects people suggest. You want something . . . different. Enter The Cold Open Mini #11, in which Kynde Kiefel and Kathryn Frank name their top 5 non-canonical TV shows to rewatch (or watch for the first time) during our time of lockdown. Anime…

In The Cold Open Mini #10, The Top 5 Concerts We’ve Seen Edition, Matt Reynolds and Robert Sickels give their lists and have a Double Life of Veronique moment when they realize they were likely at a ton of the same San Francisco Bay Area concerts 15 years before they first met! Songs from the artists featured on this Mini can be found on The Cold O…

In The Cold Open Mini #9, Kynde Kiefel and Kathryn Frank name their top 5 problematic artists who they still kind of like. That Woody Allen tops one of the lists is not hugely surprising, but there are some other very unexpected choices! The Cold Open Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, so please rate, review, and subscribe! https:/…

In The Cold Open Mini #8, The Top 5 Movies Carried by a Single Performer Edition, Robert Sickels and Kynde Kiefel give their lists, which is highlighted by Kynde’s spectacular #1 choice! The Cold Open Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, so please rate, review, and subscribe! https://whitmanfms.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/0…