Best Timemachine Podcasts (2025)

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Clueless Does Jane Austen Proud, Adam Sandler Loves Video Games, and Terrence Howard Has Flow 2:15:59

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2d ago2:15:59

2:15:59

July 18-24: Steve Buscemi makes an indie movie, Free Willy gets free-er, the Real World hits the road, penguins are on the march, Rob Zombie’s rejects, Billy Bob coaches little league, Michael Bay is a clone, Jake Gyllenhaal gets in the ring, and the best game for dating pigeons. All that and more from 30, 20, and 10 years ago!…

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Acteurist Oeuvre-view – Gloria Grahame – Part 6: MACAO (1952) and SUDDEN FEAR (1952) 1:02:46

3d ago1:02:46

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In this episode of our Gloria Grahame Acteurist Oeuvre-view episode, our protagonist is rudely shoved into the background of the movies, barely appearing in Josef von Sternberg's Macao (1950) (she would have liked to have appeared in it even less) and playing a rote schemer in David Miller's Sudden Fear (1952). The movies themselves don't make up f…

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The MCU Gets Small, Willy Wonka Returns, and Steven Seagal is Besieged Again 2:30:24

6d ago2:30:24

2:30:24

July 11-17: Windows 95 starts up, Hugh Grant makes a bit of a mistake, Frank Oz adapts a classic, weddings are crashed, San Andreas spills its coffee, Johnny Depp’s got a golden ticket, Snape kills Dumbledore on page 574, Ian McKellen’s game is afoot, Amy Schumer is a trainwreck, Andy Samberg plays tennis and Bojack’s back. All that and more from 3…

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Hollywood Studios Year-by-Year – Paramount – 1932: THE MAN I KILLED aka BROKEN LULLABY & HORSE FEATHERS 1:00:04

10d ago1:00:04

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For this round of Paramount 1932, we watched our first Marx Brothers movie for the podcast (hard as that is to believe), Horse Feathers (directed by Norman Z. MacLeod), alongside Ernst Lubitsch's only sound-era drama, Broken Lullaby. Lubitsch's batshit WWI melodrama, bursting with intensity and unease, claims our attention first, and then we turn t…

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King Sean Connery, Fantastic Four Part 1, and Minions Begin 2:06:03

11d ago2:06:03

2:06:03

July 4-10: TLC gives boating advice, aliens get sexy, Richard Gere’s at the round table, Jennifer Connelly gets wet, Chris Evans is flaming, a reality-show dynasty begins, Jared from Subway is busted, and the Minions get a billion bananas. All that and more from 30, 20, and 10 years ago!

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Tom Hanks Vs. Space, Tom Cruise Vs. Aliens, and Terminator Vs. Us Caring 2:29:22

14d ago2:29:22

2:29:22

June 27-July 3: Judge Dredd is the law, Leprechaun goes to Vegas, Martin Lawrence coaches, the other Bennifer is born, male entertainers go on a road trip, TV gets gay, Anne Rice gets devilish, and The State dips its balls for the last time. All that and more from 30, 20, and 10 years ago.

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Acteurist Oeuvre-view – Gloria Grahame – Part 5: IN A LONELY PLACE (1950) and THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH (1952) 1:13:21

17d ago1:13:21

1:13:21

This week in our Gloria Grahame Acteurist Oeuvre-view we watched one of her best-known films, In a Lonely Place (1950), directed by Nicholas Ray and co-starring Humphrey Bogart, alongside the unpromising Cecil B. DeMille circus drama The Greatest Show on Earth (1952). This may be the only time you find these two movies discussed together with rough…

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Disney Gets Colonial, Romero Rises Again, and Ted’s Back 2:23:38

18d ago2:23:38

2:23:38

June 20-26: Julianne Moore is allergic, the biggest artwork ever, Reddit gets a thumbs up, Nicole Kidman is a terrible witch, Lindsay Lohan gets a magic car, Dwayne Johnson balls, Jon Stewart leaves (the first time), and Mr. Robot fights Evil Corp. All this and more from 30, 20, and 10 years ago.

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Batman Both Begins and is Forever and Pixar Gets Feelings 2:25:52

22d ago2:25:52

2:25:52

June 13-19: The greatest break-up album of all time, people stop running around the market for prizes, the 10th Doctor appears, Hilary Duff catfishes her mother, Jeb! asks you to clap, Cersei does the walk of shame, and we’ll never think of golden escalators the same. All that and more from 30, 20, and 10 years ago!…

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Hollywood Studios Year-by-Year – Universal – 1931: BAD SISTER & STRICTLY DISHONORABLE 58:57

24d ago58:57

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For our Universal 1931 Studios Year by Year episode we took in a Sidney Fox double feature, Bad Sister (adapted from a Booth Tarkington novel, with an early role for Bette Davis as the good sister) and Strictly Dishonorable (adapted from Preston Sturges' only successful play and directed by John Stahl). Laemmle Jr.'s protegée uses her ingenue quali…

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Special Subject - Supported By Oscar Levant – the 1950s – AN AMERICAN IN PARIS (1951); THE I DON’T CARE GIRL (1953) & THE BAND WAGON (1953) 1:03:34

1M ago1:03:34

1:03:34

Our final Oscar Levant Special Subject episode covers his contribution to two of the greatest MGM musicals, Vincente Minnelli's An American in Paris (1951) and The Band Wagon (1953), plus a 20th Century Fox curiosity, The I Don't Care Girl (1953) in which Mitzi Gaynor supposedly plays early 20th century vaudeville wild woman Eva Tanguay. Levant rea…

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Hollywood Studios Year-by-Year – RKO – 1931: CIMARRON (dir. Wesley Ruggles) and TRAVELING HUSBANDS (dir. Paul Sloane) 1:02:39

1M ago1:02:39

1:02:39

The movies we viewed for this RKO 1931 Studios Year by Year episode couldn't be more different: the sprawling Cimarron (starring Richard Dix as America's psychotic inner conflict) prompts us to speculate about Edna Ferber as a source auteur and the intertwining of her vision of America with Hollywood across three decades; while the tight, play-like…

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A Michael Crichton Double Feature and the End of Braniston 2:04:46

1M ago2:04:46

2:04:46

June 6-12: Parker Posey is an It Girl, Ernie Hudson saves Congo, Jurassic Park finally opens, Harvey Keitel smokes, yacht rock is born, Shark Boy fights Mr. and Mrs. Smith, TNT does their biggest western yet, a teen weepie, and why is there a Honeymooners movie? All that and more from 30, 20, and 10 years ago this week.…

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Acteurist Oeuvre-view – Gloria Grahame – Part 4: A WOMAN’S SECRET (1948) and ROUGHSHOD (1949) 53:50

2M ago53:50

53:50

Our Gloria Grahame Acteurist Oeuvre-view continues with A Woman's Secret (1949), an oddball psychological drama with a screenplay by Citizen Kane writer Herman J. Mankiewicz and directed by Grahame's new husband Nicholas Ray; and Roughshod (1949), a consciously feminist Western written by a bunch of leftists. Proving her versatility-within-typecast…

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Bridges of Madison County, Spy, Cinderella Man: Thirty Twenty Ten - May30-Jun6 2:29:28

2M ago2:29:28

2:29:28

Both McCarthy's rise, a talking dog, Pants that travel, Entourage AND Community's thrilling conclusion. All that and more 30, 20, and 10 years ago. Support us on Patreon, get more stuff: https://www.patreon.com/lasertime

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Hollywood Studios Year-by-Year – Fox Film Corporation – 1931: A CONNECTICUT YANKEE and SURRENDER 59:01

2M ago59:01

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A curious pairing for this Fox 1931 Studios Year by Year episode: an unsung WWI drama, but as good as any, William K. Howard's Surrender, starring Warner Baxter, Leila Hyams, and an almost unrecognizable (both his appearance and his performance) Ralph Bellamy; and the Will Rogers version of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, which mainly …

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Special Subject - Farrow vs. Allen – Part 4: ALICE (1990); SHADOWS AND FOG (1991) & HUSBANDS AND WIVES (1992) 1:08:11

2M ago1:08:11

1:08:11

We say farewell to Farrow and Allen (for now, although we'll probably encounter them individually on the podcast again) with this final episode on their cinematic collaboration, covering Alice (1990), Shadows and Fog (1991), and one of their very best, the ill-fated Husbands and Wives (1992). In the first two, two more Allen characters struggle to …

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Mel Gibson’s Scotland, Ben Stiller’s Africa, and The Rock Punches an Earthquake 2:27:32

2M ago2:27:32

2:27:32

May 23-29: Keanu’s a human hard drive, Tales from the Hood, a friendly ghost, Dr. Katz can see you now, Adam Sandler plays football (again), Lost opens the hatch, Bradley Cooper says Aloha, and Tom Cruise couch jumps. All that and more from 30, 20, and 10 years ago.

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Acteurist Oeuvre-view – Gloria Grahame – Part 3: SONG OF THE THIN MAN (1947) and MERTON OF THE MOVIES (1947) 42:59

2M ago42:59

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In this Gloria Grahame Acteurist Oeuvre-view episode we get to see more of what MGM was (not) doing with our acteur's career. Underused in Song of the Thin Man (1947), in which she brings the only real noir energy to the final Thin Man film, she gets a similarly brief but memorable role in the Red Skelton vehicle Merton of the Movies (1947), playin…

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Star Wars 3, Die Hard 3, and Mad Men Buys You a Coke 3:05:46

2M ago3:05:46

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May 16-22: Mr. Burns gets shot, French weirdness, Billy Crystal plays basketball, The Critic cancelation stinks, another Exorcist prequel, CSI is buried alive, Raymond’s love lost, George Clooney tries to make the future better, and Top 10 reasons we miss David Letterman. All that and more from 30, 20, and 10 years ago.…

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Denzel and Hackman Roll Tide, Jane Fonda vs JLo, and Mad Max’s Lovely Day 2:10:27

2M ago2:10:27

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May 9-15: Hugh Grant goes up a hill, another talking pig, Stephen King’s worst, Sega’s big fail, Jet Li is unleashed, Will Ferrell kicks it, Enterprise is scuttled, the Bellas are back, it was Agatha Christie all along, W’s close call, and we finally see Shelbyville. All that and more from 30, 20, and 10 years ago!…

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Hollywood Studios Year-by-Year – Warner Brothers - 1931: NIGHT NURSE & BLONDE CRAZY 53:49

2M ago53:49

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This round of Warner Bros. 1931 brings us two gems by a couple of Pre-Code masters, Roy Del Ruth's Blonde Crazy and William A. Wellman's Night Nurse, showing off the early star charisma of Jimmy Cagney (oozing vulnerability) and Barbara Stanwyck (spitting fire), ably supported by Joan Blondell in both cases. Bonus: Young Clark Gable shows up for an…

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Kevin Kline Frenches Meg Ryan, Legolas Gets Heavely and Reese Witherspoon is in Hot Pursuit 1:45:03

3M ago1:45:03

1:45:03

May 2-8: Matlock rests his case, Jurassic Park crushes TV, Jimmy Smits is family, Leroy Jenkins is the hero we deserve, Paris Hilton dies, Gwen Stefani is bananas, Arnold’s best acting, and 2/3rds of 9 to 5 comes to Netflix. All that and more from 30, 20, and 10 years ago!

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Ice Cube’s Chillin’, the Answer is 42, and Ultron Has Aged 2:38:09

3M ago2:38:09

2:38:09

April 25-May 1: Evil blond kids, Tarantino loves Top Gun, Chuck Norris gets a dog, Danny Boyle makes millions, Sealab explodes for the last time, hitchhiking the galaxy, fusilli Jerry, and Family Guy’s triumphant return. All that and more from 30, 20, and 10 years ago!

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Acteurist Oeuvre-view – Gloria Grahame – Part 2: IT HAPPENED IN BROOKLYN (1947) and CROSSFIRE (1947) 50:38

3M ago50:38

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Our second Gloria Grahame Acteur-Oeuvre-view episode includes a curious under-use of our acteur in the all-around baffling musical comedy It Happened in Brooklyn (nevertheless memorable for the chemistry between Frank Sinatra and Jimmy Durante), and a judicious use of her by RKO in Edward Dmytryk's anti-fascist noir Crossfire (also 1947). We try to…

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Sandra Bullock Awakens, Kung Fu Hustles and Age of Blake Lively 2:07:04

3M ago2:07:04

2:07:04

April 18-24: Leo plays basketball, David Caruso gets the kiss of death, Sandra Bullock becomes a star, Psychonauts go forth, Father Ted deserves better than its creator, there’s a new pope (again), Nicole Kidman interprets, the Enterprise has a goatee, everyone’s mad at Turkey, Michael Scott dribbles and domestic terrorists are jerks. All that and …

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Stuart Saves His Family, Amityville Horror, Paul Blart 2: Thirty Twenty Ten - Apr 11-17 2:44:32

3M ago2:44:32

2:44:32

Kids in the Hall and Justified conclude (for the first time), Pan Anderson's sitcom, multiple Mortal Kombats, and Pauly Shore's last stand. All that and more from 30, 20, and 10 years ago! https://www.patreon.com/c/lasertime

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Hollywood Studios Year-by-Year – MGM – 1931: THE EASIEST WAY & THE CHAMP 1:09:45

3M ago1:09:45

1:09:45

For this MGM 1931 episode we watched The Easiest Way, a feminist subversion of melodrama tropes by director Jack Conway and screenwriter Edith Ellis, starring Constance Bennett as the fallen woman and a young Clark Gable, verging on stardom, as her judgemental brother-in-law; and possibly the most sentimental movie ever made, King Vidor's The Champ…

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Special Subject - Farrow vs. Allen – Part 3: SEPTEMBER (1987); ANOTHER WOMAN (1988) NEW YORK STORIES (1989) & CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS (1989) 1:32:39

3M ago1:32:39

1:32:39

Our Farrow v Allen series continues with four more collaborations: September (1987), Another Woman (1988), Oedipus Wrecks (1989, part of the anthology movie New York Stories), and Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989). We count the ways in which Allen mashes up his favourite playwrights, filmmakers, and Russian novelists, trace the development of Allen's …

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Acteurist Oeuvre-view – Gloria Grahame – Part 1: BLONDE FEVER (1944) and IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946) 1:11:56

3M ago1:11:56

1:11:56

Welcome to our inaugural Gloria Grahame episode, which is also our final Acteurist Oeuvre-view! In this episode we consider Gloria's first significant movie role, as the cause of Blonde Fever (1944), in which she and Philip Dorn confuse each other and provide occasion for Mary Astor's multiple levels of irony. We then turn to Gloria's breakthrough …

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Hollywood Studios Year-by-Year – Paramount – 1931: 24 HOURS and LADIES OF THE BIG HOUSE 1:10:15

4M ago1:10:15

1:10:15

Our streak of finding gynocentric crime film gems continues with our second Paramount 1931 episode, featuring two movies directed by Sylvia Sidney specialist Marion Gering. 24 Hours pairs a despairing Clive Brook and Miriam Hopkins, haunted by marriages they can't escape in one way or another. And Ladies of the Big House, starring a radiant Sidney …

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A Goofy Movie, Bad Boys, Ex Machina: Thirty Twenty Ten - Apr 4-10 3:03:46

4M ago3:03:46

3:03:46

Goofy gets A Movie (title TBA), the BEST EVER Jimmy Fallon movie, a modern sc-fi classic, one of The Simpsons best musical moments, one of Hollywood's biggest disasters of the entire 2000s, MTV's greatest animated feat, and Game of Thrones saves streaming. All this and more 30, 20 and 10 years ago! https://www.patreon.com/c/lasertime…

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Tommy Boy, Sin City, Furious 7: Thirty Twenty Ten - Mar 28-Apr3 2:55:24

4M ago2:55:24

2:55:24

Robert Rodrigieuz most faithful comic adaptation, Michael Scott at his absolute worst, Fast and the Furious' greatest interquel concludes, and sadly, Chris Farley's greatest work ever. All that and more this week, 30, 20 and 10 years ago! https://www.patreon.com/c/lasertime