Depth Perception Movie Podcast

Mr Vozly does NOT move in herds for this episode. He breaks down his all-time favorite movie Jurassic Park, and why it is the ultimate movie about man vs nature. Join him for the first of hopefully many Secret Menu! episodes where the movie is the star.

The Depth Perception Movie Podcast will now be bringing you stand-alone movie episodes!

The guys have decided on watching Perfect Blue, per suggestion of a listener. It marks the first anime movie discussed by the podcast. We dive into the various themes the movie presents and how it presents them. We also try to strengthen our understanding on the story, plot and movie as a whole.

The guys start to wrap up season 3 by going through their favorite movies and discussions, as well as a final say on the encompassing theme for this season: The Importance of Human Interaction. We will also include listener feedback and comments. As a thank you, we will also be taking movie suggestions for the last episode of season 3.

Guest host Tiffy makes her debut with Mr Vozly and KMax as they all discuss Hacksaw Ridge (2016).

There's initial reactions, what we thought were the most important scenes to us personally, what we identify most with the movie, and ask ourselves- What do we do when our values are attacked? What does Desmond Doss do?

The gang watched Shadow (2018). We talk about dichotomy (male v female, rigidity v fluidity, ruler v servant etc), war, self, metaphor, glorification of war/heroism and more.

The guys go from talking estrangement to talking war in movies. We discuss our most impactful war movies, whether war movies glorify or condemn, differences between fictional and nonfictional based war movies, and dichotomy.

We include movies like Saving Private Ryan, Troy, Schindler's List, The Patriot, Starship Troopers, Tears of the Sun, and Full Metal Jacket.

The movie for this episode is Closer from 2004, starring Natalie Portman, Jude Law, Julia Roberts, and Clive Owen. We talk about our reactions, and just how we view the dynamics of estrangement between all of the characters- including who we see the most impactful in estrangement. We also talk about how each of us interprets the bus ride scene in the beginning, and the office scene between Jude Law and Clive Owen.

The guys peel some onions and discuss the idea of estrangement. What causes friendships and relations to fail? Families to fall apart? What movies demonstrate those reasons? How do we handle estrangement, both as the initiator and the affected party? Finally, we discuss whether estrangement be reversed, including film examples.

Movies discussed include: Coco, The Wrestler, Mean Girls, Inception, Warrior, Lala Land, The Breakup, Banshees of Inisherin, This is the End, Hook, A Christmas Caro9l, and Bridesmaids.

The guys discuss the 2009 movie Mary & Max. As always, there's initial reactions, favorite scenes, and theme. Other topics include impacts of friendships, how we can improve as friends, use of animation, and the use of imperfection.

Mr Vozly, KMax, and the Tin Man join forces to talk about friendship. Why is it important? What are some movies that show the strongest friendships? How about favorite moments of friendship in movies? What are our responsibilities as friends? Lastly, what roles do balance and understanding have in friendship?

Some movies we talk about but are not limited to: The Breakfast Club, Banshees of Inisherin, Lord of the Rings, The Fox and the Hound, The Sandlot, Superbad, The Shawshank Redemption, and Tombstone. There are plenty more...

Mr Vozly and the Tin Man talk Nosferatu (2024). Here are the talking points:

A familiar comedy discussed by the guys. Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008). Since this is in our chapter on relationships, we point out the impact from past relationships, and the recovery from past relationships. We also talk about some cinematic tools, themes, and the use of Dracula.

Mr Vozly uses the influence of Casablanca to outline the discussion on Relationships and their reflections in movies. Topics include romanticism, depression from a failed relationship, the nostalgia of lost love, hope, depths of love, and maturity.

The guys watch a Rom-Com seemingly made just for them. It's Sleeping With Other People (2015) starring Jason Sudeikis and Alison Brie. We talk about how conventional or unconventional this movie is as a Rom-Rom, revisit the idea of Belonging, review some cinematic tools and apply them to a Scene-Perception.

Mr Vozly ventures into uncharted territory, where Tin Man and KMax have long traversed. It's the episode on Romantic Comedies. The guys talk about their personal enjoyment levels of the genre, tropes of the RomCom that they feel need to be present for its classification, HALLMARK, an impromptu movie quote game from KMax, and debate why RomComs aren't always our go-to all time favorite genre.

Each host also presents a RomCom to the class for a quick discussion (While You Were Sleeping, Crazy Stupid Love, and Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story)

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays from a trio of filthy animals. This episode, the guys chose from a pool of Christmas comedies before watching that movie and recording the episode directly after. A movie that neither Mr Vozly nor KMax had seen before. It's The Night Before (2015).

Here are the talking points:

Mr Vozly, KMax, and the Tin Man come together to talk about movies that make them laugh and what makes them impactful. Talking points include the times they've laughed the hardest in a movie watching experience, what exactly makes them laugh in a movie, comedy now vs comedy 'then', our go-to comedies we watch to improve our mood, and laughter vs belonging- the battle of which is more comforting.

Movies discussed include but aren't limited to: Hot Rod, The Princess Bride, Superbad, American Pie, Cabin in the Woods, the Jackass movies, Megamind, Porky's, Fear and Loathing in...

Kmax and Mr Vozly dive into Big Hero 6 (2014), and how it explores several concepts. As always, they talk about initial reactions and favorite scenes. Grief, and isolation make a comeback. Of course, the idea of 'Belonging' is discussed. Theme is presented, and the guys see how color, technology, and the connections between Hiro and Callaghan help convey the theme.

Kmax and Mr Vozly join forces to discuss "Belonging," using movies from season 3, and a callback to our most influential movies from the very first episode of the podcast. We talk about what Belonging means to us, and what gives us the biggest sense of belonging. What happens when that sense of belonging is absent? In movies, how do characters' well-being improve when belonging is restored? Is a sense of belonging the most comforting thing we can feel, and is that reflected in our movie watching experiences?

Movies we include: The Ritual, Talk to Me, Midsommar, Home...

How is isolation going to be a lighter subject to talk about? Let Kmax and Mr Vozly show you. This episode we discuss a holiday classic- Planes, Trains, & Automobiles (1987). Here are the talking points:

The Tin Man makes an appearance for this episode about isolation. We talk about what isolation means to us, whether isolation is self-imposed or imposed upon, why we see characters isolate, if characters get peace with isolation, whether isolation is a successful coping technique or complacency with dealing with society and responsibility, if isolation is natural, and whether it is a positive or negative thing.

We use movie examples from our podcast's history including: Godzilla Minus 1, The Florida Project, E.T. the Extra Terrestrial, Train to Busan, Hook, Shaun of the Dead, Children of Men, Mamma Mia...

Mr Vozly and Kmax work through their own 5 stages of grief discussing 2019's Midsommar. This serves as the last portion of our chapter on Grief. Talking points include:

What upset us in this movie?

Subversion of our grief discussion, as well as usual tropes of both horror and happiness.

Taking turns debating whether Dani successfully processed grief.

Using plot to shape a theme.

Theme and why?

KMax and Mr Vozly find the grief in 2022's Talk To Me. The discussion includes:

This episode, Mr Vozly and KMax use movies to discuss grief. Here's the talking points:

What does grief mean to us?

List of movies that display grief only as deep sorrow.

List of movies that display someone finding peace after the grieving process.

Overlap with (season 2) vengeance, justice, and forgiveness.

Overlap with (season 1 and 2) faith, family/friends, and culture.

The boundary between adversity and mental health.

Movies discussed include: Pet Sematary, Hereditary, Million Dollar Baby, The Dark Knight, Coco, Wind River...

Mr Vozly and KMax talk about The Ritual (2017), available on Netflix. It is the movie portion of the chapter on the tribute to our friend Ralph Fitzgerald.

Talking points include:

Initial reactions

Use of cinematography/other visual tools

Use of the monster

Topics of Pain, Guilt, Regret, Friendship, and Acceptance in the movie

(For those who knew Ralph, stick around for a small extra bit at the very end of the episode)

Originally, season 3 of Depth Perception Movie Podcast was going to be about The Power of Passion. Since that plan, several things have occurred or have been set in motion that have allowed me to see the agenda for a future season 4 is far more suited for times like now.

Personal issues like the loss of a family member, anniversaries of losing loved ones, or broader issues like assassinations, national tension, and even international tension all contributed to this change in gameplan.

Season 3 is brought to you by the theme of the Importance of Human Interaction...

The last episode of season 2 comes in the form of discussing Disney Pixar's Incredibles 2. The discussion relates to our episode on appreciating mothers and spouses- our partners in life. We talk about how the movie defends parents and depicts the role as a heroic act.

The three of us also briefly conclude with the overall theme from season 2, and our favorite movies from it. For close followers of the podcast, stay until the end for an extra viewing assignment

Happy belated Mother's Day! The guys watch 2020's Relic and discuss the importance of loving our mothers. We get a little personal this episode, sharing some stories that relate to how health- whether it be physical, mental, or neurological- affects our relationships with loved ones.

Kmax returns for this second part to the Happy Mother's Day chapter, where we talk about moms' portrayal in movies from a son's point of view. We discuss the traits we valued from our moms, how our view of moms in movies changed as we got older, favorite on screen mothers, the evolution of mothers portrayed in movies, and whether we relate to movie moms of the past or present.

Movies mentioned in this episode include but are not limited to Aliens, Terminator 2, Harry Potter series, Mother, Mary Poppins, True Lies, Independence Day, All That Money Can...

Tin Man gets the spotlight this episode as he goes 1 on 1 with Mr Vozly to talk about Mothers in movies. This is a two-part chapter. This episode, the duo talk about moms in movies from the perspective of fathers and spouses.

We touch on the amount of single parenthood in movies (including so many Disney movies), the importance of parents working together, the complexities of marriage in movies, how the depiction of a father's support of the mother has evolved, and ideal cinematic parental partners. The last topic works to reveal what we value in a spouse...

2017's Coco is the topic for this episode. We relate it both to the concept of forgiveness, as well as to our own lives from a cultural point of view. We call back to our episodes on indigenous representation throughout the episode.

The discussion covers theme, reactions, use of music, symbolism, scene perception, and plenty of personal takes.

We discussed justice and vengeance. Now we talk forgiveness. A considerable amount of time is spent debating the intricacies of forgiveness and what it means personally. Forgiveness in movies is then broken down into forgiveness of: self, others, God/universe, and false forgiveness.

We weave a plethora of movies into the mix including: Godzilla Minus One, The Lion King, Good Will Hunting, Everything Everywhere All at Once, Megamind, Warrior, Encanto, The Shack, Signs, It's a Wonderful Life, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Anger Management, Liar Liar, Gran Torino, The Green Mile, Les Miserables, Schindler's List...

Tim Burton's 2007 adaptation of the musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street serves as our movie portion of the chapter on Vengeance. It also serves as a compliment to the earlier chapter of Justice and Les Miserables.

We talk about color, music/lyric, theme, symbolism, favorite scenes, and of course vengeance.

We also debate whether we are impacted more by the cautionary message or the gratifying moment of vengeance, and whether we have a more visceral reaction to Sweeney Todd or Les Miserables.

MrVozly, Kmax and the Tin Man reference seemingly dozens of movies that pertain to themes about vengeance. Movies like Falling Down, X Men First Class, The Prestige, The Princess Bride, Nocturnal Animals, Edge of Darkness, Taken, Unforgiven, The Mask of Zorro, How the Grinch Stole Christmas... and many more.

We also callback our discussion on justice in relation to several of these movies, as they seem to share some major borders.

The guys are back to full power, and bring their Lens of Justice in this discussion of 2012's adaptation of Les Misérables. Though there are many contexts to analyze this movie, we stick (mostly) to our chapter on Justice.

We give our usual themes and reactions, but also get caught up on what justice means to the Tin Man. We talk about how the movie portrays justice as well as fairness. There is also a scene perception and a small discourse relating to our referenced quote on Justice from the Hateful Eight.

It ought to be brought to you by the word "Irony" as our officer of the law, Tin Man is absent this episode. Kmax and MrVozly go one on one talking about justice in film. It starts by reference a quote about justice in The Hateful 8. Our talking points include:

Lawful and moral punishment

Lawful and moral fairness

Our personal favorite cinematic moments and movies of justice

Whether a general audience enjoys punishment or fairness more

Kmax chooses the next movie based on a set of categories with unknown...

Continuing 'Western's Versatility,' Depth Perception discusses 1995's Dead Man, directed by Jim Jarmusch and starring Johnny Depp, Gary Farmer, and an underrated supporting cast.

On the agenda for this episode: reactions, our individual perceptions of theme, scene perceptions, use of music, plot structure, and civilization vs savagery.

Other movies referenced or discussed include: The 6th Sense, The Seventh Seal, Beetlejuice, Ghost, Jacob's Ladder, Coco, It's a Wonderful Life, and The Fault in Our Stars.

The guys discuss Tarantino's 8th movie, including themes, symbols, western tropes, storytelling and premise. We also work in the movie's connections to other westerns and non westerns like The Thing, and Clue.

The gang tries to see just how expansive the Western movie can get- from multiple genres, to the tropes being used in other movies, to the Neo-Western.

We talk about several examples throughout our discussion including Tombstone (and can't help but quoting the entire episode), Unforgiven, Brimstone, Hell or High Water, 310 to Yuma, Book of Eli, Mad Max Fury Road, The Magnificent Seven, and many others.

Agenda includes identifying Western tropes, examples from every genre, guessing a nontraditional western based on a synopsis, our favorite qualities, and our favorite movies.