Ticket Stubs

This week, Ticket Stubs turns its gaze toward the American past with a double feature of two recent films determined to look at history from decidedly unconventional angles: RaMell Ross’s formally audacious Nickel Boys and Kelly Reichardt’s quietly offbeat The Mastermind. Join us as we consider the radically different ways these filmmakers look at only recently bygone eras of American life.

But first, our Blue Plate Special hits the road as we recount our recent pilgrimage to Phoenixville, Pennsylvania for Blobfest, celebrating all things The Blob amid one of the great gatherings of cult movie fandom, before heading west to the Monroeville Mall outside Pittsburgh to wander the hallowed shopping grounds where George A. Romero filmed his 1978 zombie classic Dawn of the Dead. From there, we return to the present, and venture a little further into the future, with thoughts on The Odyssey before cracking open the release calendar to preview some of the movies we're most anticipating throughout the remainder of the year.

As always, please like, subscribe, rate, and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and wherever else you listen! Got thoughts or questions? Email us at huffmanbrothersproductions@gmail.com.

With this episode's double feature, we decided to pair two revisionist genre masterworks from opposite sides of the globe: Kihachi Okamoto’s The Sword of Doom (1966) and Sam Peckinpah’s The Wild Bunch (1969). Though separated by culture, setting, and weaponry, both films offer blistering end-of-an-era commentaries that dismantle the myths surrounding their respective genres. Join us as we examine doomed antiheroes, collapsing moral codes, and the violent reckonings that emerge when old worlds refuse to quietly fade away.

Before crossing paths with nihilistic ronin and aging outlaws, our Blue Plate Special returns with a fresh helping of cinematic and otherwise timely discussion. We share some thoughts on the ongoing World Cup, unpack Quentin Tarantino’s recent comments on the current state of Hollywood cinema, and offer reviews of several new releases, including Backrooms, I Love Boosters, and Disclosure Day.

As always, please like, subscribe, rate, and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and wherever else you listen! Got thoughts or questions? Email us at huffmanbrothersproductions@gmail.com.

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Ahead of Memorial Day weekend, Ticket Stubs heads to the front lines with a towering double feature of modern war epics: Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan (1998) and Terrence Malick’s The Thin Red Line (1998). Though released within months of one another, the two films approach warfare from radically different angles: one through visceral spectacle and brotherhood under fire, the other through meditative existential reflection and the fragile relationship between man and nature. Join us as we examine how these companion pieces helped redefine the modern war film while wrestling with memory, sacrifice, violence, and the impossibility of making sense of the defining conflict of the 20th century.

Before storming the beaches and wandering the tall grass, our Blue Plate Special returns with a fresh batch of cinematic chatter. This time around, we share thoughts on a slate of recent releases, including Maggie Gyllenhaal’s long-awaited The Bride!, Lee Cronin’s new take on The Mummy, the mysterious romantic drama The Drama, the music-fueled fever dream Mother Mary, and the psychological horror thriller Obsession.

Whether you’re spending Memorial Day revisiting war movie classics or simply looking for a thoughtful cinematic pairing to kick off the summer season, we’re glad to have you with us.

As always, please like, subscribe, rate, and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and wherever else you listen! Got thoughts or questions? Email us at huffmanbrothersproductions@gmail.com.

The Oscars may have come and gone, the speeches have been made, and the dust has (mostly) settled—but here at Ticket Stubs, we’re not quite finished with 2025 just yet. A little late, perhaps, but right on time where it counts, we’re officially closing the book on the cinematic year that was with our 3rd Annual Harry Dean Awards—the true final word on awards season.

Join us as we take one last affectionate look back at the highs, lows, and, above all else, the most memorable moments in film from the past year. From defining performances and standout directorial efforts to our favorite oddball distinctions, returning legends, and everything in between, we sort through a wide array of categories both heartfelt and slightly irreverent. As always, it all builds toward our ultimate honors: Filmmaker of the Year and Film of the Year.

Awards season may have crowned its winners—but now it’s our turn to have the final say.

As always, please like, subscribe, rate, and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and wherever else you listen! Got thoughts or questions? Email us at huffmanbrothersproductions@gmail.com

Belated but better late than never: Ticket Stubs officially kicks off 2026 with a double feature of icy, unnerving thrillers. This time around, we pair Otto Preminger’s paranoid vanishing act Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965) with David Fincher’s bleak, meticulous adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011). Across decades and continents, both films ask the same quietly terrifying question: what happens when no one believes you? Join us as we unravel questions of identity, credibility, obsession, and the cold machinery of institutions that would rather look away than look closer.

Before the mystery deepens, our Blue Plate Special returns with the usual cinematic smorgasbord. We share thoughts on new releases Send Help and Crime 101, take time to remember the lives and careers of Catherine O’Hara and Bud Cort, and hear Levi’s early-stage reflections on diving into David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest. We also offer what are almost certainly already-outdated predictions for Super Bowl 60—because what’s a new year without at least one confidently incorrect take?

Whether you’re here for missing children, hackers with dragons tattooed on their backs, or just the comfortable chaos of our opening chatter, we’re glad to be starting 2026 with you.

As always, please like, subscribe, rate, and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and wherever else you listen! Got thoughts or questions? Email us at huffmanbrothersproductions@gmail.com.