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AMERICAN SNIPER

The once distant end of Season 14’s curated rewatched flicks is now in our sights as the TGTPTU crew pulls the trigger on their final movie of the eight enlisted pairs mustering their Redux Season, taking aim at Clint Eastwood’s highest grossing film: AMERICAN SNIPER (2014).

Originally covered early in the pod’s first season (S1, E5 in Year 2020) and chosen by host Thomas who’d never seen, this American Sniper revisit offers new insight into the film the original hosting duo of Ken and Jack ranked as the worst of any Eastwood-starring or -directed picture in their Season 3 final rankings episode that concluded the Eastwood run of the show.

Frequent guest Erik Van Der Wolf provides the episode’s cold open; bookworm and host Thomas read almost half the Chris Kyle’s titular book; host Ken takes aim with some advice to filmmakers regarding a pre-shooting watch of Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace; former host Jack, aka last episode’s Judas, sticks to his guns; and host Ryan joins Thomas to geek out about a Buffy the Vampire connection.

Listen to the end of the episode for season rankings of the eight films re-covered to see if American Sniper maintains its title as the worst Eastwood for Ken and Jack and for new hosts Ryan and Thomas as well as for the surprise announcement of the season’s four-film extension.

Next ep: The start of the one-offs.

Well done, fellas and Liz.

THEME SONG BY: WEIRD A.I.

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Podcast: goodpodugly
Ken: Ken Koral
Ryan: Ryan Tobias

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WHITE HUNTER, BLACK HEART

Episode 7, and you can feel the excitement of the hunt this episode, the first of TGTPTU’s final paired rewatches of the Redux Season (Season 14) and another double Eastwood starting with a bang with WHITE HUNTER, BLACK HEART (1990, originally covered by TGTPTU during Season 3, Episode 9).

As flick curator extraordinaire Ken’s second rewatch pick, the o.g. host hopes to sway opinion his way, believing this adaptation by Peter Viertel of his autobiographical roman à clef dramatizing his work and consternation with John Huston during preproduction on The African Queen to be a masterpiece, approaching Unforgiven in its use of Eastwood’s (playing director John Wilson, a thinly veiled Huston) Hollywood persona. And Ken might just have an adherent in new host Ryan, who has a take(s) about Eastwood and the 1990’s cinema scene and auteur theory and potential deeper meanings of this film. And Thomas offers insight into his own autobiography’s veracity in the chapters that have him inventing snowboarding and fighting ninjas. Meanwhile, host Jack read was able to read 0% of the book to prepare for the ep and takes the brunt of Ken’s anger upon relistening to the original episode.

On that episode nearly a half-decade ago, Jack had opined the film mid. Fellow Gen Z’er Thomas who’d guested on that original episode with Ken and Jack also found the movie somewhere between. But a rewatch with new pairings and fresh eyes outside the marathon of covering every Eastwood film during the first three seasons has surprises in store! Someone is called a Judas, and someone sticks to his elephant guns. Listen to find out who.

And if you ever wondered why the voice in the recent seasons’ intro songs is “not supposed to fight with the guests, Mr. Wilson,” then you might just understand after listening, you yellow bastard.

THEME SONG BY: WEIRD A.I.

Email: thegoodthepodandtheugly@gmail.com
Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/TGTPTU
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Bluesky: @goodpodugly.bsky.social
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Buzzsprout: https://thegoodthepodandtheugly.buzzsprout.com/
Letterboxd (follow us!):

Podcast: goodpodugly
Ken: Ken Koral
Ryan: Ryan Tobias

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The 15:17 to Paris

Episode 6, all aboard! TGTPTU rides the Season 14 train to the end of the line of this third pairing of the season. Another rewatch of an Eastwood-directed film, this car was originally hitched to Season 1, Episode 3’s engine and nearly derailed the podcast as it left the station back in the Year 2020, and that movie running again on time and Ken’s first flick pick to redux is THE 15:17 TO PARIS (2018).

For a fuller recap of the plot and production of this film that stars comedic actors cast in serious roles and the three friends and heroes who aborted the mass shooting cast as themselves, listen to the original episode. But if you want to change tracks and discover the original cohosts Ken and Jack’s sense of how the film has held up over time and for the two new-timers Ryan and Thomas’s reactions of their first watch, along with re-imaginings of the film with Roseanne Barr and/or a Bob Dylan needle drop, this is your ep.

Jack throws shade Tom Cruise’s way at the top of the show while Thomas compares the movie to the book upon which it is based and which he’d recently read. Ryan has things to say about Christian rock and how to watch this film. Ken finds both relief in not having his fellow cohosts wrestle him to the ground and hogtie him for his pick and his shirt in the bathroom, which he puts back on.

While the shortest runtime of Eastwood’s directorial oeuvre, the boys find the experience of watching this film warps time and space, perhaps even transcending the realm of movie, as Ryan and Jack claim, to a spiritual plane for motion pictures.

Next week, Tom and Ken’s final rewatch picks are announced and paired. Spoiler: Both are Eastwoods with, like the third pairing, Eastwood directing and starring in a book adaptation for Ken’s pick while the latter pick of Tom’s also an adaption of book’s true events. Wink-wink, nudge-nudge, bang-bang.

THEME SONG BY: WEIRD A.I.

Email: thegoodthepodandtheugly@gmail.com
Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/TGTPTU
Instagram: https://instagram.com/thegoodthepodandtheugly?igshid=um92md09kjg0
Bluesky: @goodpodugly.bsky.social
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6mI2plrgJu-TB95bbJCW-g
Buzzsprout: https://thegoodthepodandtheugly.buzzsprout.com/
Letterboxd (follow us!):

Podcast: goodpodugly
Ken: Ken Koral
Ryan: Ryan Tobias