Do you have to understand a movie to love it? And if so, how much do you have to understand a movie to love it? This, more or less, is what constitutes “The Garland Scale,” which Josh introduces as a means of talking about the work of Alex Garland, the brainy, provocative writer/director behind the new MEN and earlier efforts like “Ex Machina” “Annihilation” and the limited series “Devs.” As it turns out, Adam and Josh position Garland’s films at different points on the scale, including his latest, which sees the director setting aside sci-fi in favor of horror with a biblical bent. Also on the show, the "Mad Max: Fury Road of the silent era": Buster Keaton’s THE GENERAL, the fourth entry in the Keaton Marathon. Plus, listeners weigh in on the most anticipated films of the summer and a new Deeply Flawed Filmspotting poll about high schoolers in transition. 0:00 - Billboard 1:03 - Review: "Men" w/eventual Spoiler Talk 35:32 - Next Week / Notes 41:44 - Polls 52:27 - Keaton Marathon #4: "The General" 1:11:58 - Outro *Time codes are estimates and do not account for ads live or pre-recorded. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With new films from Jordan Peele, Alex Garland, and Claire Denis, not to mention the latest from Marvel, Pixar, and the long-awaited return of Tom Cruise's Maverick, the fifteen or so weekends that make up the summer movie season gives us plenty to look forward to. Adam and Josh's Summer Movie Preview comes in the form of their Top 5 questions about the upcoming movie season. 0:00 - Billboard 1:49 - Summer Movie Preview Igor Dvorkin, "Golden Summer" 24:37 - Next Week / Notes 33:14 - Massacre Theatre 39:41 - Summer Movie Preview, cont 1:00:34 - Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Back in 2002, the superhero genre was still finding its feet. Tim Burton's "Batman" had been huge in '89, but the franchise it spawned had fizzled out by the end of the '90s. The first "X-Men" film did decent box office in 2000, but failed to become a culture-defining event like the Burton film had. Sam Raimi's SPIDER-MAN changed all that. A massive success at the box office when it opened in May 2002, it acted as a bridge between the self-aware, still campy comic book movies of the past two decades and the effects-driven spectacle that has come to define our current "cinematic universe" era. With a masterful control of tone, an eye for staging memorable action, and a focus on character and relationships, the Raimi/Spidey combo was a winning one. For their 20th anniversary revisit, Adam and Josh talk about the pleasure of watching a self-contained superhero movie, and break down some of the film's most iconic scenes. Also on the show, Josh's review of Raimi's new DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS and his thoughts on Golden Brick nominee WE'RE ALL GOING TO THE WORLD'S FAIR. And Chicago critic Steven Prokopy drops by to share details about the upcoming Chicago Critics Film Festival. Plus Movie Doctors Not Doctoring poll results and a new poll that asks: "Yep? or Nope." 0:00 - Billboard 1:32 - Sacred Cow: "Spider-Man" (2002) Danny Elfman, "Spider-Man (Main Title)" 39:55 - Review (JL): "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" 44:15 - Buster Keaton Event in Chicago 47:54 - Chicago Critics Film Fest Preview w/Steve Prokopy 1:00:59 - Polls 1:09:12 - Brickspotting: "We're All Going To The World's Fair" 1:14:26 - Outro / Outtake (Goblin Mode) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With obsessive attention to historical detail and a fascination with lore, language, and ritual, there is no mistaking THE NORTHMAN for the work of anyone but Robert Eggers (“The Witch,” “The Lighthouse”). But despite a bigger budget and a much bigger canvas, does the director’s new Viking revenge epic add up to anything but a bloody good time? Along with that review, Adam and Josh return to the Buster Keaton Marathon with the actor/director’s first masterpiece, 1924's SHERLOCK, JR. 0:00 - Billboard 1:58 - Review: “The Northman” Tim Garland, “Trains A Comin” 37:40 - Next Week / Notes 58:53 - Massacre Theatre 1:03:29 - Buster Keaton #3: “Sherlock, Jr.” 1:26:42 - Outro / Outtake Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For over four decades, Nicolas Cage has remained a distinctive and unpredictable screen presence, navigating a career that has gone from memorable character actor in the 80s, to unlikely movie star and Oscar-winner in the 90s, to VOD mainstay in the 2010s, and then, most recently, to critically (re)acclaimed actor finally playing roles worthy of his talent. Last year’s “Pig” earned Cage some of his best reviews in years, and now with the new meta-Cage movie THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MASSIVE TALENT in theaters, the Cage-aissance is in full swing. Joining Adam and Josh for their TOP 5 NICOLAS CAGE PERFORMANCES is “Age of Cage” writer Keith Phipps (The Next Picture Show, The Reveal). 0:00 - Billboard 1:28 - Top 5: Nicolas Cage Performances with Keith Phipps ("Age of Cage") Gareth Johnson, "Power Move" 54:23 - Next Week / Notes 1:04:16 - Poll 1:09:47 - Review: "The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent" 1:14:41 - Top 5 Cage Performances, cont. 1:51:31 - Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices