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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.

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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.

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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.

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HONKYTONK MAN

TGTPTU continues to play its old hits with Episode 5 of Season 14, its redux series season celebrating five years and don’t you worry about us, hoss, we’ll get through this pairing of Eastwood flicks starting with HONKYTONK MAN (1982).

Originally discussed toward the end of the epic run covering all of Clint Eastwood’s filmography (Season 3, Episode 12), founding cohosts Ken and Jack invite the show’s newer hosts Ryan and Thomas in to session with fresh ears and silver tongues on this adaptation of the Dust Bowl era, vaguely veiled retelling of the final years of country wester legend Jimmie Rodgers novel by Clancy Carlile adapted by him and Eastwood into a semi-comedic bildungsroman road trip movie.

Two years prior to the creation of the PG-13 rating by the MPA (né MPAA), this Eastwood-directed and starring flick brings in Eastwood’s own son Kyle, roughly 14 years of age at the time, to play the nephew of a singer/songwriter who gets into all kinds of trouble with his honkytonk uncle man, from underage driving to poultry theft to jailbreaking and whoring (procured, not proffered) and contact marijuana highs and hit song composing between f-bombs and s-words and statutory rape.

Original ep guest Patrick drops in with some words of encouragement before the gents figure out on mic that this movie was Ryan’s other rewatch flick pick and the show gets on the road with recently promoted host Ryan having things to say about the music scoring; Thomas checking facts like a hockey enforcer checks bodies on the ice; Ken having a spell during which he actively hallucinates Eastwood wearing his hat backwards and suppresses coughs; and Jack, staying mostly awake for this retirement home movie that borders on a “lead paint flick” designation, brings the low energy by the bushel. Also of interest, pod fav Tracey Walter appears “right chair” in the movie and “black pill” is the word of the day.

Find out what these four have to say now that the dust has settled and chickens come home to roost and learn why this Depression Era coming-of-age and one final hurrah adult-teen road trip movie with musical act interludes might be one of the least watched of Clint Eastwood’s films.

CONTENT WARNING: The hosts say the titular “h word” a lot.

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THE WHALE

It’s the fourth episode of Season 14, and our hungry boys are still going for seconds with their rewatch of the recently covered THE WHALE (2022), original episode from TGTPTU’s initial pairing that started the epic scarf/Darren Aronofsky season (S11, E2, Airdate 2/17/24).

Jack sits out this first of host Ryan’s two redux picks, leaving Ken and Thomas to rehash the original episode. That episode marked an early, and soon to be recurring, appearance by Ryan (this was before he was made a provisional host, which was before his becoming a host and now teetering again on provisional status).

As a gentlemen’s agreement between Ryan and Thomas, Season 14 was premised on Ryan agreeing to have The Whale be one of his picks and to actually watch the movie being discussed this second time around, watching the movie being something he was reluctant to and didn’t do the first time around as our guest caller at the top of the ep points out. And it wasn’t just the caller who got upset by that original episode released just over a year ago: Ken, too, related how he regularly wanted to destroy his device during his relisten. Meanwhile, Thomas repeatedly repeats himself to say again and again how he was impressed by his ability to keep calm during that original episode, if he hadn’t mentioned it before.

TGTPTU retreads old ground in covering the adapted play’s script and the re-viewing experience (second time for Ken, third time for Thomas). With greater time elapsed, hosts are able to speak more on lead actor Fraser’s “Brenaissance,” or lack thereof, and to find new insight into the family dynamics and semiology. A deeper consideration and attention is given to Ellie, the teenage daughter role played Sadie Sink.

So what did Ryan think upon fully watching the film he’s reviewing? Wait, did he watch it before recording this episode? No spoilers!

Instead, know that Ken continues to support listening to the podcast at 1.5x speed and recommends getting insurance or at least the extended warranty on your phone in case the temptation to throw it against a wall in rage or smash it under your heel is too great. Thomas, if he hadn’t said so, was really impressed by his restraint that initial episode. And Ryan gets personal with addiction while Thomas is a little less calm and Ken gets mileage out of how often someone if coming, going, or knocking on the movie apartment’s door.

So find an old Zune in your junk drawer or an iPod or phone you won’t mind destroying, put your earbuds in, and come and knock on our door. (Three’s company too.)

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PIG

Season 14 continues serving up second helpings of movies previously covered on TGTPTU with PIG (2021). Jack’s flick picked this week pulls from his, Ken’s, and then recently added host Thomas’s post-Eastwood season CAGE UNCAGED (S4, air date 7/23/21).

As established in the original episode, the Nicolas Cage movie is set and shot in Portland, Oregon prior to it burning to the ground just shortly after shooting wrapped; while the city remains in rubble, the movie is remembered by the original hosts (Ken, Jack, Thomas) fondly as a film they returned to theaters post-C19 to watch in-person and honor the memory of the city that was, a place of underground restro markets and fight clubs. Now, nearly 3-1/2 years later, the hosts reconsider their predictions for Cage’s career and their responses to the film after watching again at-home.

Enjoy Ken, doubled-up NyQuil, and his takes on the flick, including recasting as a Charles Bronson movie, and his quoting Twin Peaks Season 3 (Lynch - rest in power); listen as Jack Letterboxd-checks Ryan about where he was the Summer of 2021; hear for the first time what Portland-area transplant TGTPTU’s new and increasingly provisional host Ryan thought of the quiet film; and celebrate with Thomas finding the secret snore-track on the DVD from Multnomah County Library.

Bon Appétit.

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DEATH BECOMES HER (1992)

For the second episode in TGTPTU’s Season 14 redux series, the film choice was Thomas’s. As he explains at the top of the ep, he wanted to do a Streep rewatch with recent co-host Ryan, specifically and especially a comedy. His first choice of Adaptation got nixed as it had previously been covered twice, first during the Cage and then again in the Streep season. So paired with the previous episode’s High Plains Driver, this week TGTPTU (re)presents SHE-DEVIL (1986), the laugh-out-loud revenge story featuring Roseanne Barr as—

Oh, apologies. We just lost half of our hosts and all of our listeners.

Okay, let’s try again.

For the second in our Season 14 redux series, the choice is Thomas’s and I guess we’ll go with DEATH BECOMES HER (1992), originally recorded in 2023 as Season 8, Episode 12. And although during that Streeps of Fire season surprise special guests and Jack recorded an excellent episode in all but audio quality, none of the three current hosts (Ken, Thomas, or Ryan) were on to talk Robert Zemeckis’s special effects comedy starring the co-billed Streep, Hawn, and Willis.

So grabs some fresh takes on the film (e.g., Death Becomes Her structured a TV dinner) as Ken beefs with writer David Koepp; Ryan with Zemeckis; Thomas with olds telling youngs how to spend money on food; and Jack with the ghost of Maggie Thatcher. Thomas also puts Jack on blast for not watching films he mentioned going to watch during the original episode’s recording while, don’t worry, She-Devil receives plenty of mentions throughout. And if that’s not enough ep for you ingrates, cohost throughout Season 8 and the voice singing the first three seasons’ intro songs, the illustrious and always opinionated Andi drops in briefly to say some unkind words of demotivation to the boys. Stay flaccid, y’all.

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High Plains Drifter (1973)

TRIGGER WARNING: HPD features sexual assault as a plot point.

Season 14, a new season with a hefty helping of old, comes to town as the TGTPTU hosts return to movies they undervalued and/or missed over the thirteen seasons, beginning with Jack’s pick to rewatch HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER (1973). In that original episode released as S2, E6 in 2020, then hosts Ken and Jack were joined by a special guest, and now ongoing host, Thomas.

High Plains Drifter, Eastwood’s second directed film, left a bad taste in Jack’s mouth five years ago when the Eastwood character appears celebrated early in the film during a rape scene, one of arguably multiple instances of sexual violence in the film. As TPTPTU-celebrated director Alex Cox shares in a commentary track on the HPD Blu-ray, while such things were common in and to be judged as of their time, “It is hard to discuss these scenes in an enthusiastic way.”

Now five years older and perhaps some the wiser, Jack returns as a guest to weigh in on his rewatch and is joined by new and ever-so-provisional host Ryan who contractually has to relate any and all films shot in the early 70s to ‘Nam. This one is no exception.

Hear the frustration as Jack gets his head stuck in plastic bag and how half a decade can change one’s take on a movie.

Season 8 guest Maggie Thatcher also drops in to offer her two pence.

So paint the town red and get the pigshit outta your ears: it’s time to go full Western gothic with Malpaso Productions’ giants Eastwood, Geoffrey Lewis, and Buddy Van Horn.

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