EP299: Frankenstein (2025) and The Smashing Machine

Matt and Bob fire up the lab equipment for a new Analysis on Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, fresh to Netflix. What should have been the director’s long-awaited monster opus instead leaves them puzzling over CGI deer, swoony color palettes, and a strangely sexy Jacob Elordi. They dig into Oscar Isaac’s mad-scientist energy, Christoph Waltz’s syphilitic benefactor, and why del Toro’s empathy may have drained the horror from Mary Shelley’s tale. From Victorian melodrama to Twilight-core vibes, the guys debate whether this gothic romance ever truly comes alive. Then they pivot to The Smashing Machine—Benny Safdie’s gritty UFC biopic starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson—and talk addiction, obsession, and Emily Blunt’s thankless “nagging girlfriend” archetype. Rounding out the episode: Oscar buzz power rankings (One Battle After Another, Hamnet, Sentimental Value), and a quick look at upcoming awards-season heavy hitters like Bagonia and Marie Supreme.