We’re off to the bright lights of the big apple for Curtis Hanson’s return to writing and directing with The Children of Times Square, a made for television movie of the week dealing with teenage runaways getting caught up in a life of crime in a grimy 1980’s (pre-Disney) Times Square. Though we found no background information about this movie, it's clear that Hanson took this opportunity to make his own version of Oliver Twist. For being a typical parental nightmare/scared straight story, this turns out to be a surprisingly engaging and compelling movie, thanks in large part to a very talented cast. Bryan and A.J. talk about some of the hokey elements (a band named the Raybops and a gang named The Leopards), memories of being a kid in the 80’s and early 90’s, and how this fits in with the Reagan-era fear of crime. We are also delighted to see Joe Spinell in his third Curtis Hanson movie. This episode’s themed drink was: The Algonquin.

This episode takes us into the arctic wilderness for Never Cry Wolf (1983), a very peculiar live action Disney film directed by Carroll Ballard, who also directed The Black Stallion (1979), and written by Curtis Hanson…and five other writers. Bryan and A.J. go into the troubled 3-year production of Never Cry Wolf, its unlikely ethereal tone, and speculate on when and how much Hanson was involved. We also talk about Ballard’s other animal movies, how star Charles Martin Smith spent so much time on set in Canada that he became a Canadian, and the origins of Touchstone Pictures and the PG-13 rating. This episode’s themed drink was: Alaskan Amber beer and beer w/absinthe (which we do not recommend).

Sofia Coppola has two new projects for us to talk about: one short, the other feature length. First up, Sofia directed the music video for A-Lister, a pop song by her daughter, Romy Mars, leading to the unofficial debut of a new segment called “Dad Describes Modern Music Video.” Then, Bryan and A.J. review Sofia’s first feature length documentary, Marc by Sofia, following her friend, fashion designer Marc Jacobs, as he prepares a new collection for the runway. We may not be the best people to talk about fashion, but we talk about Sofia's approach to the documentary, how she retains her cinematic style in a new genre, and how this is ultimately more of an intimate portrait of a friend by a friend. Tangents include: past experiences with coffee, Project Runway, and the most divisive movies & TV shows we ever watched at Vulcan Video. This episode’s themed drink was: cold-fashioned

The 1982 teen sex comedy Losin’ It put Curtis Hanson back in the director’s chair for a movie that was actually released in theaters (unlike some of Hanson’s previous projects). Today, Losin’ It is most notable as Tom Cruise’s first starring role, but neither Cruise or Hanson spoke kindly of the film, on the rare occasions either talked about it at all. Bryan and A.J. discuss how the screenplay doesn’t live up to the potential of the talent involved, where Losin’ It fits in the career trajectories of the cast and crew, and how it compares to other 80’s teen sex comedies (surprisingly tame, especially compared to the notorious Porky’s (1981)). Tangents include: From Dusk Till Dawn (1996), what Mad Men taught us about how to get a divorce, and proposing a double feature of Losin’ It and Eyes Wide Shut (1999). This episode’s drink was: Margaritas.

Spoiler alert: Bryan and A.J. are very excited to talk about White Dog (1982), directed by the great Samuel Fuller and co-written by Fuller and Curtis Hanson (we also give away plot details and twists). Paramount executives were expecting this story, about an actress who realizes the dog she has taken in has been trained to attack Black people on sight and the animal trainer who tries to retrain the dog, to be a sensational horror movie, but Fuller (director of Shock Corridor and The Naked Kiss) created a thoughtful art film that deals directly with racism. In going through the history and release of White Dog a familiar pattern emerges: Hanson writes a screenplay hoping to direct, does not direct, the film is made and then shelved or not released, at least not in America. We marvel at the talent involved on and off screen, including great performances from Kristy McNichol and Paul Winfield and a score by the legendary Ennio Morricone. We also talk about the film’s non-release, speculate on what White Dog would have been like if Hanson directed, and are impressed by Hanson’s resilience after another career setback that should have been a breakthrough. This episode’s themed drink was: Jim Beam.

Curtis Hanson is finally back in the director’s chair, from start to finish, and it is for the now quite obscure kids movie The Little Dragons, AKA Karate Kids USA (1979) Unsurprisingly, this is not a movie that comes up in interviews with Hanson so we had a hard time digging up any background or behind the scenes information. Bryan and A.J. try to make sense of this movie about a pair of young brothers who use their karate skills to foil a kidnapping that is trying to be a mix of The Bad News Bears, The Hardy Boys, and Deliverance. We speculate on how and why this movie changed titles, marvel at the long life and career of character actor Charles Lane, and share the moments that broke our brains. This episode’s themed drink was: cans of beer.

It’s time for another great debate about…Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis thanks to Mike Figgis’s documentary Megadoc (2025) which recently debuted on The Criterion Channel. Both Bryan and A.J. loved Megalopolis so we’re predisposed to like a documentary about its making-of, but Mike Figgis crafted an interesting and non-glamourous movie about making a movie. We talk about Figgis’s career and how his respect for actors figured into his approach to the doc; also discussed are Coppola’s frustration with his department heads and Marvel, the increasing tension between Shia LaBeouf and Coppola, and other documentaries about troubled film productions. This episode’s themed drink was: Francis Coppola Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon 2023.

It’s our 2nd annual Christmas Episode! Our journey through the work of Curtis Hanson brings us to the Christmas crime thriller The Silent Partner. Hanson wrote the screenplay, based on a Danish novel, with the hope that he would direct. Things didn’t work out that way but he did have a hand in completing the film. We talk about Christopher Plummer’s incredible and frightening performance as a psychopathic bank robber; it might be his most intense performance as a villain. We also talk about Elliott Gould’s great performance as a mild mannered bank teller who only seems average and unassuming. There’s a lot to discuss from how the film balances sometimes wildly different tones, to the Canadian tax shelter film era, an appearance of a young John Candy, and how, despite very positive reviews, The Silent Partner went mostly unseen in America. Tangents include: First Blood and the Rambo movies and declaring that Showgirls is forever. This episode’s themed drink was: Glühwein