ep. 103 | Nicholas Ray

This week, Colleen and Ada lace up and hit the floor with two of the defining dance movies of the 1980s. Footloose brings the rebellion — a city kid rolls into a small town where dancing is literally illegal, and what follows is equal parts culture clash, coming-of-age story, and undeniable soundtrack. Then, Dirty Dancing brings the romance — a sheltered young woman's summer vacation takes an unexpected turn when she falls for the resort's brooding dance instructor, and nobody puts Baby in a corner. A decade that really knew how to move.

The Odyssey is still going strong — $1.55 billion worldwide and counting, now officially Christopher Nolan's highest-grossing film of all time. With the film well into its second month in theaters, Colleen, Taylan, and Noor go a little deeper: the themes, the craft, the mythology, and everything worth arguing about. Spoilers throughout. It's still a long way back to Ithaca. PS: If you'd like to get wasted while listening, take a shot every time Taylan says "yeah." Don't say we didn't warn you.

This week, Colleen and Wickham inaugurate a new series — Plane Movies, dedicated to the sacred art of the 30,000-foot watch. And what better way to kick things off than with the Venom trilogy: three films that ask nothing of you, demand no emotional investment, and deliver exactly what they promise. Pure, unapologetic popcorn cinema at cruising altitude. Enjoy the flight!

Hey y'all! This week, Wickham and Colleen tackle two of Apple TV+'s most talked-about series of the season. First, Widow's Bay — the horror-comedy from creator Katie Dippold and director Hiro Murai, set on a cursed New England island where a hapless mayor's dream of turning his isolated community into a tourist destination goes very, very wrong. Then, Pluribus — Vince Gilligan's post-Breaking Bad return to TV, starring Rhea Seehorn in a sci-fi world where a mysterious wave of forced happiness has overtaken humanity, and the most miserable person on Earth might be the only one who can save it. Stay skeptical. Stay miserable.

Christopher Nolan returns for the first time since Oppenheimer with his most ambitious film yet — an adaptation of Homer's foundational epic, starring Matt Damon as Odysseus on his long, monster-riddled journey home from the Trojan War. Shot entirely on 70mm IMAX film and powered by a cast that stretches from Tom Holland and Anne Hathaway to Zendaya, Charlize Theron, and Robert Pattinson, The Odyssey opened to over $264 million globally in its first weekend alone. Wickham and Ada break it all down in Part 1 of our coverage — and there will be more to come, so stay tuned!

This week, Colleen and Ada go deep on the filmography of Kristoffer Borgli — the Norwegian director who has quietly become one of the most unsettling voices in contemporary cinema. First, Dream Scenario (2023), in which Nicolas Cage plays a mild-mannered professor who inexplicably begins appearing in strangers' dreams — a surreal premise that Borgli twists into a razor-sharp satire of fame, relevance, and the internet's appetite for destruction. Then, The Drama (2026), Borgli's A24 follow-up starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson as an engaged couple whose entire relationship unravels in the week before their wedding — a film that starts as a rom-com and slowly mutates into something far more uncomfortable. A perfect double bill for anyone who likes their discomfort served with a smile.

Welcome to the second part of our two-part Summer Horror series — hope you know your exits! This week, Wickham, Colleen, and Ada check in to the year's most claustrophobic double feature, starting with Genki Kawamura's "Exit 8" (2025), adapted from the viral indie game that had the internet glued to a single hallway for years. Then it's down into the "Backrooms" — Kane Parsons' A24 debut that took a creepypasta born in a 4chan thread and turned it into the studio's highest-grossing film ever, a suffocating maze of yellow walls, buzzing fluorescents, and something very wrong lurking just around the corner. Two films, two hellish loops, and the sinking feeling that no matter which way you turn, you're back where you started.

Hey y'all! Our two-part Summer Horror series kicks off as Wickham and Ada dig into two of the year's most acclaimed scares: first, Curry Barker's "Obsession" (2026), a 95%-on-Rotten-Tomatoes "monkey's-paw nightmare" in which a shy music store employee uses a supernatural "One Wish Willow" novelty toy to make his crush fall in love with him, only for that affection to curdle into violent obsession and turn his dream into a nightmare; then, Damian McCarthy's haunted-hotel chiller "Hokum" (2026), where a novelist retreating to a remote Irish inn to scatter his parents' ashes becomes consumed by tales of a witch haunting the honeymoon suite, as disturbing visions and a shocking disappearance force him to confront dark corners of his past. Two wildly different flavors of dread, one unmissable summer kickoff.

Few directors captured alienation, emotional instability, and restless rebellion quite like Nicholas Ray, whose films turned damaged outsiders into some of cinema’s most unforgettable characters. In this week's remarkable episode, Wickham and Colleen delve into Mr. Ray's filmography, focusing on "In a Lonely Place" (1950), "Johnny Guitar" (1954), and "Rebel Without a Cause".

Hey y'all! In today's episode, we are back with yet another live recording session, where this time Colleen and Ada talk about starting a podcast and our journey, accompanied by the lovely Bilkent FADA crowd. Many thanks to the organizers of FADA Fest for inviting us!