The cows watched Sofia Coppola’s latest and came to very different conclusions, which necessitated an emergency episode to sort it all out. Join us for a maybe autobiographical discussion of the complexities of modern parenting, gendered divisions of cognitive labor, and not losing yourself when asked to shoulder the emotional labor of your friends andContinue reading “BONUS EPISODE: ON THE ROCKS (2020)”
Author Archives: Justin Khoo
FARGO (1996)
The cows freeze in Minnesota with friend Molly Perkins in this revisit to the Coen Brothers’ 1996 folktale noir. Themes of faith, deception, encounters with the inexplicable, Scandinavian roots, and ecstatic truth are all discussed, along with highlights of favorite supporting cast members and a head-to-head comparison of psycho killers Gaear Grimsrud (Peter Stormare) andContinue reading “FARGO (1996)”
SPACE JAM / KAZAAM (1996)
Join the two cows on their journey into the world of fantasy basketball-star-crossover vehicles, featuring guest Vishal Dave! It’s 1996 and Michael Jordan is fresh back from retirement, ready to take on the Monstars and save the NBA from a bunch of talentless hacks. Is there a tragic emptiness at the core of Space Jam,Continue reading “SPACE JAM / KAZAAM (1996)”
BOTTLE ROCKET / HARD EIGHT (1996)
The cows are joined by Mattia Acetoso to discuss the feature debuts of Wes and Paul Thomas Anderson. What might we learn about these original and influential directors’ first films? Both movies center around misfits who retreat from a random and often harsh reality to form their own surrogate families and find new ways ofContinue reading “BOTTLE ROCKET / HARD EIGHT (1996)”
SCREAM / THE CRAFT (1996)
The two cows discuss the social complexity of female high school friendships and the sexual politics of teen horror in their reappraisal of these two ’96 classics. They explore how cliques can provide social insulation as well as opportunities for emotional manipulation, and consider how the “horror movie rules” encode a Puritanical ethics towards sexContinue reading “SCREAM / THE CRAFT (1996)”
INDEPENDENCE DAY (1996)
The two cows start their journey through 1996 at its blockbuster peak, revisiting Roland Emmerich’s game-changing blow everything up alien disaster extravaganza, Independence Day. What made the 1990s such a fertile time for disaster flicks, and what makes ID4 one of the best movie star vehicles ever? The cows also explore neoconservative themes of USContinue reading “INDEPENDENCE DAY (1996)”
MULHOLLAND DRIVE (2001)
The cows take a drive with Abe and Agnes Callard and Ryan Clark into David Lynch’s fantastical and depraved version of Los Angeles. What mysteries will they find in Club Silencio, or on the set of the Sylvia North Story? What explains the continued appeal of Lynch’s absurdist masterpiece? How does he deploy narrative andContinue reading “MULHOLLAND DRIVE (2001)”
IDENTITY (2003)
Things get scary when the two cows are stranded in a motel on a rainy night with James Mangold. What makes a good twist? What’s the appeal of Agatha Christie? Is this a movie about white guilt, or flaws in the criminal justice system? Tune in to find out! Maybe it’s the burial ground? GinnyContinue reading “IDENTITY (2003)”
FORREST GUMP (1994)
The cows revisit 1994’s Best Picture winner, Forrest Gump. Is it a conservative agenda piece, portraying Forrest’s racial colorblindness as the envisioned end of racism in America, or is it a sober reflection on the history of violence and racism baked into contemporary America and American cinema? Is Jenny’s the story of an entire generation’sContinue reading “FORREST GUMP (1994)”
TITANIC (1997)
The cows go back to Titanic and explore how Cameron weaves together themes of love, memory, duty, and class into a massive scale disaster flick. Is Titanic, which was at the time the most expensive and highest grossing movie ever, secretly an anti-capitalist propaganda piece? Or is it just the pinnacle of Hollywood bombast? TuneContinue reading “TITANIC (1997)”
Cows in the Field 