The first episode of the new year! On the fifty- fifth episode of All the Film Things, Emmy- winning photojournalist Cole Echevarria returns to look back and discuss 2025 in film! This episode is spoiler- filled. The 2025 films spoiled are Caught Stealing, Hamnet, Jay Kelly, Sinners... (this list will be updated once reviewed).

While 2023 continues to set a high bar for the 2020s decade, 2025, in my opinion, was a pretty solid year filled with a fantastic variety of unique, original films and stories. Cole and I disagreed greatly in regard to 2024 in film, but when it comes to 2025… we still disagree. Early in the year, Michael B. Jordan reunited with Ryan Coogler for Sinners, proving that they are one of the best actor- director collaborators of our time while Robert Pattinson's long- awaited sci- fi film directed by Bong Joon- Ho, Mickey 17, finally hit theaters. While several prominent actresses, Scarlett Johansson, Kate Winslet, and Kristen Stewart each made their directorial debuts, Celine Song followed up her directorial debut, Past Lives, with another beautiful film that has endured as a favorite amongst audiences. And the Oscar season officially began with the return of two of the greats, Leonardo DiCaprio and Paul Thomas Anderson, for an epic, hilarious, and action- packed masterpiece beloved by film aficionados and general audiences in One Battle After Another. From then on, several brilliant films such as Sentimental Value, Hamnet, and Jay Kelly instantly became beloved by audiences and Oscar contenders. On previous year in review episodes, the concern of physical media's future was discussed and now, due to recent events, the future of movie theaters has become more grim than ever before.

This episode not only marks the 101st (!!) episode of All the Film Things, but also Cole’s 20th appearance on the show! He is far and away the most frequent guest and I’m very grateful for his friendship, banter and all, as well as, of course, being a part of ATFT since the early days in 2022. This is the fourth year in review episode on All the Film Things and I always look forward to these reflective episodes, not only because I get to chat with friends, but also because these episodes will act as sort- of time capsules someday. This episode was originally 130 minutes so much had to be cut, which especially affected the tribute segment, but it was recorded on December 23, 2025.

In this episode, Cole and I share our top five favorite films of the year and, much to our surprise since we never agree, we have the same number one pick . Weirdly enough, we have a few of the same films in our top five lists, though my fourth favorite of the year immediately made Cole laugh. We go on to discuss the favorite films of past ATFT guests from K- Pop Demon Hunters to Bugonia, ponder which other movie stars could have played the titular character of Jay Kelly, and pay tribute to the giant stars we lost in 2025 as well as two previous ATFT guests. You also won't want to miss Cole's Bob Dylan impression... because you won't be able to unhear it. All this and much more on the brand new episode of All the Film Things!

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Happy Halloween! On the fifty- second episode of All the Film Things, my friend and ATFT regular, movie critic Matthieu Côté joins me for an analytical discussion about Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 psychological horror classic, The Shining! This episode is spoiler- filled and contains some explicit language.

The Shining, a classic psychological horror film which unnerves you instantly with its eerie score, almost entirely takes place at the Overlook Hotel that lies in isolation atop an Indian burial ground. Jack Torrance, played brilliantly by Jack Nicholson, accepts a job as the winter caretaker of the Overlook Hotel, when the hotel is out of commission, in order to get five months of peace and quiet to help him write his book. He brings along his wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and son Danny (Danny Lloyd) and, over time, isolation begins to wear on them... especially Jack. Over the course of the film, Jack becomes increasingly mad while Danny's gift of "shining" haunts him of the hotel's evil past, present, and future. While the film is based on Steven King’s 1977 book of the same title, King publicly criticized the film on numerous occasions because of the liberties Kubrick took that departed from his original story. King wasn’t the only one who disliked the film because, shockingly, The Shining is one of those films, like 12 Angry Men and Fight Club, that wasn’t well- received at the time of its release. It wasn’t until the film started airing on TV at the end of the 80s that public opinion shifted in favor of Kubrick’s film. Today, 45 years later, The Shining is widely considered one of the greatest horror films ever made and contains one of Jack Nicholson’s very best performances.

This is Matthieu’s fourth time on the podcast and he has rapidly earned the title of “ATFT regular”! I had been wanting to do an episode on The Shining for over three years now and when I learned it was Matthieu’s favorite film of all time, I knew he was the one to join me in celebrating The Shining for both it’s 45th anniversary and Halloween. While Matthieu is enamored with the horror genre, I very much shy away from it. The Shining is my favorite horror film and one of the only few I can really watch, in the daytime of course. This episode was recorded on October 2, 2025.

Matthieu has been steadily interviewing filmmakers and actors through both his personal YouTube channel, @matthieucote2272, and through Horreur Québec for a few years now. Most recently, Matthieu was able to check off a bucket list interviewee off his list when he interviewed James Wan. Click to watch that interview here! Also, a few years ago, Matthieu made an analytical video essay analyzing a scene in The Shining titled “The Shining (And the Path to Redemption)- Scene Breakdown” which I highly recommend watching for his incredible insight to the character of Jack Torrence and performance by Jack Nicholson. Subscribe to Matthieu’s YouTube channel by clicking here to watch his past interviews, video essays, and more!

In this episode, we attempt to understand The Shining’s biggest mysteries and discuss the most popular theories about the famous ending. Our analytical conversation, though wide- encompassing, is a bit sporadic since there is seemingly infinite points of discussion through every aspect of this film. It’s overwhelming and we only scratched the surface. In this episode, Matthieu and I share our rocky roads to appreciating this film, Kubrick's clever tricks in deceiving the audience, and how Grady could have possibly opened that storage room door for Jack. All this and much more on the latest episode of All the Film Things!

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On the fifty- first episode of All the Film Things, my friend and ATFT regular, writer/ director Samy El- Kamel is back for an analytical discussion about Darren Aronofsky’s 2000 psychological drama classic, Requiem for a Dream! This episode is spoiler- filled and contains explicit language.

Darren Aronofsky’s sophomore feature, Requiem for a Dream, continues to be talked about today yet it’s a curious case as it’s respected but beloved may not be exactly the perfect word. This film is often regarded as "the best film you'll never rewatch" due to its bleak but impactful ending. Requiem for a Dream follows four people, all connected to Harry Goldfarb (Jared Leto), who are striving to achieve their dreams in the most dangerous, self- destructing ways through their addictions. While Harry's mother Sara (Ellen Burstyn) tries her hardest to lose weight to look her best on television, he along with his girlfriend Marion (Jennifer Connelly) and friend Ty (Marlon Wayans) are addicted to heroin. The three of them hope to turn their ideas of being successful businessmen into a reality but the need for heroin persists. Though widely considered a psychological drama, Aronofsky considers this film an “urban horror film” in the sense that the film captures a dream that turns into a nightmare. This film is based on Hubert Selby jr's novel published in 1978 and Aronofsky was happy to involve Selby in the making of this film (he even makes a cameo towards the end!). Even though Requiem for a Dream is still celebrated today, the film only earned one Oscar nomination in the "Best Supporting Actress" category for Ellen Burstyn. Of all the films I have seen, there is nothing quite like Requiem for a Dream from the cinematography to the editing to its lasting impact which has made me eager to devote an episode to the film.

This is Samy’s fourteenth time on the podcast, sustaining his place as the second most frequent guest on the show! I had been wanting to do an episode on Requiem for a Dream for over three years now and it was a hard topic to pitch to others. Those who have yet to see the film were hesitant to watch it while those who have seen the film, did not want to revisit it. Thankfully Samy, although slightly reluctant, was up for the challenge. While it is hard for both of us to say this is one of our favorite films, we have a deep respect for it and would probably regard it as one of the best films we’ve ever seen. This episode was recorded on September 18, 2025.

Samy recently premiered his latest short film, “Anatomy of a Panic Attack” at the “Take it or leave it” short film showcase at MOCA Jacksonville. While the short has not yet been released online, Samy's short film "Waveform" was recently screened at the Jax Fuse Film Festival. Watch short films "Waveform", "Neurafridge", and more of Samy's past work by subscribing to his YouTube channel, Barefoot Python Media, by clicking this link.

In this episode, Samy and I talk about our first experiences watching Requiem for a Dream, each character’s motivations for taking drugs, and why people should challenge themselves to watch the film at least once. While Samy discusses the impact of Sara Goldfarb’s storyline, I explain why the role of Harry Goldfarb is perfectly aligned with Jared Leto’s trademark character type. All this and much more on the latest episode of All the Film Things!

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On the forty- ninth episode of All the Film Things, I had the pleasure of interviewing producer/ director Jonathan Berman!

Jonathan Berman is a California- based producer/ director who has been working in the industry for nearly 40 years. Before making his own documentaries often focused on sub- cultures not often highlighted in mainstream media, such as Commune (2005) and The Shvitz (1993), he worked as a producer, co- writer, and assistant sound editor on films and television shows with one of his first jobs being a production assistant on the set of Pee Wee’s Playhouse. My Friend Paul (1999), Jonathan’s sophomore documentary for which he directed, wrote, and produced was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Slamdance Film Festival in 1999. His latest film, Calling All Earthlings (2018), won the Debut Feature Competition Jury Prize at the Illuminate Film Festival in 2018. Aside from his work in film production, he is a professor at Cal State San Marcos School of Arts and has taught courses on subjects like documentary filmmaking, media distribution, and both US and international cinema.

Jonathan’s documentary Commune, which is focused on the commune of Black Bear Ranch in the late 60s through the 70s, is celebrating its 20th anniversary by being screened in its newly restored form across the US. Three more screenings in California have been announced with the next in San Rafael on September 12, another in Los Angeles on September 17, and the last announced screening on September 20 in Ojai, California. More screenings are expected to be announced so follow @CommuneTheMovie on Instagram and Facebook to stay updated on the film and its upcoming screenings!

This is Jonathan’s first time on ATFT! I got connected to Jonathan thanks to Kelly Hargraves who presented me this excellent opportunity and then became a big help in setting the interview up. This episode was recorded on August 7, 2025.

In this episode, Jonathan talks about his post- production process, specifically when it comes to trimming down hundreds of hours of footage to form a film, as well as his love for old noir and comedy films from the 1930s, and meeting Christopher Nolan. We also compared his film Commune to one of my favorite films: Easy Rider (1969)! All this and much more on the latest episode of All the Film Things!

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On the forty- eighth episode of ATFT, my friends, the team behind the Who Are You? podcast Connor Overbay and Shannon Overbay, join me on the fourth edition of the “fan- favorite” ATFT segment, #FilmTwitter Trends! This episode has some explicit language with some sporadic spoilers.

Earlier this year, there was this trend going around #FilmTwitter (on the platform now called X) where someone would post “Comfort movie marathon, What are you watching?” along with four stills from four films to create your dream comfort film marathon. a decade and list their favorite film each year of that decade. It was challenging for us to narrow down and fill our lists but our picks often stayed within the comedy or rom- com genre. If selecting four films wasn’t hard enough, I took the challenge up a notch for Connor and Shannon by making a little game out of this episode.

This is the first time both Connor and Shannon have been on ATFT! Shannon and I have been friends for about five years now after meeting in a film class in college. Through her, I met her then- boyfriend, now- husband Connor and we have since gone to lunch, dinner, and podcasting events together. They were guests on an episode of my TV- focused podcast that has never been widely released, The Tube, to talk about my tied- for favorite show of all time: Homeland. As said in the episode, they are more TV aficionados so it took a long time for us to come up with a good ATFT topic for them to come on. I was a guest on their podcast nearly two years ago which remains a true highlight (click here to listen). This episode was recorded on July 24, 2025 .

The Who Are You? podcast, co- hosted by Connor and Shannon, celebrated its third anniversary earlier this year and they talk with a versatile group of people in Jacksonville from fellow podcasters, those working in non- profits, small business owners, and more. And when they’re not interviewing someone, they have enjoyable Sunday hang out episodes that are just the two of them chatting and coming up with funny yet thought- provoking “Top 5” lists and “Would you rather?” questions. You can listen to the Who Are You? Podcast wherever you get your podcasts but here’s the link to listen on Spotify! The Overbays have officially launched a small business of their own, C2 Promotions, where they create merch for brands of any kind so if you need shirts, notebooks, water bottles, etc for your brand, go to c2-promos.com and follow their Instagram @C2promos!

In this episode, Shannon, Connor, and I go through our comfort movie marathon selections and discuss them briefly as well as talking about other related films and actors along the way. Since they are married and have been together for about a decade, I turned this episode into a little game and asked them to list the four films they think the other chose… but you’ll have to listen to the episode to hear how well they did! Shannon’s list is pure 2000s nostalgia that includes not one but two Drew Barrymore movies. Connor recalled his childhood when choosing his four films beloved by audiences across generations. My list, which was narrowed down from about 30 to only four, includes big stars in beloved, heartwarming films. Some tangents include our celebrity crushes, whether Jack could’ve fit on the piece of the Titanic alongside Rose, and pondering if a hot dog is a sandwich. All this and more on the latest episode of All the Film Things!

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