Staff Picks

Jim Carrey fan and movie quote guy Joe Confalone joins me to discuss the movie that I think was the best use of Carrey's talents, not to mention one of the funniest movies of the 90s, 1997's Liar Liar. P.S. Beware the claw.

Teacher and Colorado resident Jason Rasmussen joins me to discuss one of those movies I've been dying to talk about ever since I started Staff Picks, Quentin Tarantino's long disrespected 2015 masterpiece The Hateful Eight. This is absolute one of my top recommendations of any movie I've ever covered on Staff Picks. Oh, and P.S., you have to use two boards.

Fellow Oneders fan David Johnson joins me to discuss a movie that was big in its day, but you probably haven't thought about in a while. It's the 1996 crowd pleaser That Thing You Do! Featuring THAT HIT SONG that is still amazing, even today.

My daughter, fellow documentary lover Vanessa Lanza, joins me to discuss one of those documentaries that, once you see once, you'll never forget. It's 2011's supremely memorable There's Something Wrong With Aunt Diane.

Staff Picks fan and fellow lover of bad movies Jon Hageman joins me to talk about a cult classic that... oh my god... you gotta see this one to believe it. It's Neil Breen's 2012 "masterpiece", Fateful Findings.

Fellow child of the 90s Christine Giver joins me to talk about one of those movies that I've always felt is much better and much sweeter than it ever gets credit for, 1999's American Pie. Which honestly might be my all-time favorite teen movie.

Mitchell Stevens, from the movie podcast Reely Rated, joins me to discuss one of those forgotten little crime thrillers that no one seems to remember anymore, 2002's Murder by Numbers starring Sandra Bullock. 

Actor and former George on stage Brett Bower joins me to discuss the fantastic version of John Steinbeck's novel that surprisingly never gets discussed anymore - 1992's Of Mice and Men directed by Gary Sinise.

Actual Santa Carla (Santa Cruz) resident Kim Nicol joins me to discuss the coolest vampire movie ever made, 1987's The Lost Boys.

Staff Picks fan Jake Collins joins me to discuss one of the great movies of the late 90s that, for whatever reason, never gets discussed anymore - 1998's The Man in the Iron Mask.

Podcaster and fellow Beatlemaniac Jessica Liese joins me to discuss one of the most notorious musical disasters of all time, the 1978 disco epic Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Featuring a special section at the end where we talk about the all time best and worst Beatles cover songs.

Fellow Alexander Payne fan Sean Malloy joins me to discuss maybe my all-time favorite Payne movie, and one of the rare movies that legitimately changed my life, the 2002 masterpiece About Schmidt.

Artist and former New Yorker Robin Punsalan joins me to discuss one of the creepiest psychological thrillers ever made, 1992's Single White Female

My son, 22-year old podrace enthusiast Nick Lanza, joins me to discuss a movie that has been overly hated for years, 1999's Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace. This is the first part of our three-part deep dive into the Star Wars prequels.

Movie fan and non-Cajun Johnny Pomatto joins me to discuss a creepy little movie from 1981 you've probably never seen before- the Cajun version of Deliverance, Southern Comfort

Movie fan Curt Clark joins me to discuss a little-known gem I'd never even heard of until a few weeks ago, 1995's super dark comedy, The Last Supper

Movie fan and sesame cake expert Sarah Casa joins me to discuss the greatest movie ever made about talking gorillas, power gloves, and space lasers. It's 1995's so-bad-it's-actually-incredible Congo.

TV host and entertainment reporter Steve Helling joins me to discuss one of those goofy little movies that's completely implausible, yet so much fun, 2004's super-underrated action thriller, Cellular.

Movie fan and fellow Jaws enthusiast Ryan Weiss joins me to discuss one of the rare sequels I really do love, not to mention one of the very first slasher movies, 1978's Jaws 2. Yeah, it's not quite as good as the original. But then again, what movie is? Jaws 2 is, and always has been, still pretty awesome.

Podcaster and stand-up comedian Darin Patterson joins me to talk about one of the funniest movies of the 90s, a movie that never should have fallen off the face of the Earth the way that it did- the 1997 Howard Stern biopic, Private Parts.

Horror movie fan and Staff Picks favorite Jessi Bentley joins me to discuss what I think is the best horror movie of the past twenty years. 2016's Korean zombie movie, Train to Busan.

Writer and film analyst Darren DeBari joins me to discuss one of my favorite suspense movies of all time, and one that is very special to me, personally, because my dad used to watch it with me. It's 1977's mad bomber movie, Rollercoaster.

Fellow child of the 80s Michael Allbright joins me to salvage the reputation of a movie that was never as bad as its legacy. It's time to talk about one of my all-time favorite comedies, 1984's Police Academy.

Fellow child of the late 70s Pete Butler joins me to discuss a movie that was HUGE for any kid who grew up with it, but is sadly pretty much forgotten today, the 1979 Disney movie The Black Hole

Therapist Leann Lindsley joins me to discuss a cute little summer movie you might not have ever seen before. It's the spiritual successor to Meatballs, 2013's The Way Way Back.

Scott Drebit, author of "A Cut Below: A Celebration of B Horror Movies", joins me to discuss one of the craziest B horror movies of them all, 1981's The Pit

Young movie fan Owen Donne joins me to discuss one of my very favorite movies of all time, Alexander Payne's wonderfully sharp and cynical 1999 masterpiece, Election.

Horror author Fiona Carter joins me to discuss the cutest, most feel good, most adorable zombie comedy you are ever going to see, 2017's One Cut of the Dead

Podcaster and fellow fanadu Jessica Liese joins me in one of my funniest episodes of all time, as we discuss the legacy of the flop that really shouldn't have been a flop, 1980's musical disaster Xanadu

Archivist and Ted Bundy researcher Tiffany Jean joins me to discuss one of the greatest TV movies of all time: Mark Harmon (as Ted Bundy) in the 1986 movie The Deliberate Stranger

Horror movie fan and cinephile Christopher Chardi joins me to discuss maybe the most underrated horror movie ever made. It's 1981's supreme creepfest Dead & Buried.

Movie fan Jack Mourouzis joins me to discuss what I'd consider one of the best movies of the past twenty years, which surprisingly rarely ever gets talked about anymore. It's Clint Eastwood's 2008 masterpiece Gran Torino.

Fellow 80s child Celia Curran joins me to discuss a movie that was beloved in its time, but somehow fell right off the face of the earth soon after that. It's time to give more love to the charming 1983 fairytale Max Dugan Returns.

Pop culture podcaster and movie fan Quintin Philipson joins me to discuss what I think was the best movie of the past five years, 2019's instant classic Jojo Rabbit

Sportswriter and podcaster Jack Vita joins me to discuss a movie that shouldn't have worked at all, yet somehow turned out to be amazing. It's 2011's baseball masterpiece, Moneyball.

Screenwriter and George Romero fan Brian Scully joins me to discuss one of the greatest horror films of all time, the original 1978 classic, Dawn of the Dead

People Magazine writer and TV host Steve Helling joins me to discuss one of my favorite suspense/horror movies of the 2000s, 2007's Vacancy

Donnie McHenry, from Psychotronica: A Podcast for Forgotten Film, joins me to discuss an unfairly forgotten horror film. We're talking about the 1990 anthology Tales from the Darkside: The Movie.

My daughter, fellow horror fan Vanessa Lanza, joins me to discuss the movie that has been scientifically proven to be the scariest film of all time, 2012's Sinister

Horror fan and John Carpenter expert Christopher Chardi joins me to discuss "the lost Carpenter film," 1978's made-for-TV-suspense-fest Someone's Watching Me!

The creator of Bonkers Ass Cinema, Matt Rotman, joins me to discuss a movie that is indeed, uh, very bonkers ass. It's 1988's all-over-the-place kinda-sorta-a-Bigfoot-movie Demonwarp.

Horror author Matt Carter joins me to discuss one of the creepiest low budget movies you are ever going to see, 2014's very fittingly titled Creep

Horror fan and podcaster Kacie Rahm joins me to discuss one of the biggest and most important horror movies that has ever been made, 1999's amazing (yes, it's still amazing) The Blair Witch Project

Horror Month 2022 begins as artist and fellow 70's child Robin Punsalan joins me to discuss one of the most infamous TV movies of all time, 1975's Trilogy of Terror.

Podcaster and pop culture fan Jeremy Zehr joins me to discuss the greatest Astin/Wheaton action film of them all, 1991's Toy Soldiers

Baseball fan and father-having George Hanns joins me to discuss one of the greatest father/son baseball movies of all time, 2000's Frequency

Superhero fan Joe Jennings joins me to discuss the movie that started the modern superhero wave, and helped bring America out of 9/11, and really should be talked about more than it is, Sam Raimi's original 2002 Spider-Man

Anime fan and creepy movie fan Andrew Koerner joins me to discuss the king of all creepy anime movies, 1997's Perfect Blue. Because who ARE you, deep down, really?

Writer and fellow dark comedy fan Jericho McCune joins me to discuss maybe the darkest dark comedy that has ever been made, 1998's incredibly polarizing Very Bad Things

Movie expert and historian Johnny Pomatto joins to me to discuss why one of the funniest movies of all time never became a big hit. We're talking about Kurt Russell's 1980 masterpiece, Used Cars.