Blank Check with Griffin & David

Meet Joe Black with Richard Lawson

07 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

He’s hot. He’s got frosted tips. He loves peanut butter. His lil swimmers may or may not look like skulls. He’s death, baby! And we’re meeting...

Scent of a Woman with David Krumholtz

30 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Warning - this episode contains an ungodly amount of Pacino impressions. Listener discretion is advised. “Actor’s actor” and local boy from Quee...

Midnight Run with Alan Sepinwall

23 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In a first for Blank Check, Ben Hosley produces an entire episode while handcuffed and under threat of legal action. What else would you expect from a...

Beverly Hills Cop with Adil & Bilall

16 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

An indelible synth theme by Harold Faltermeyer. A scene-stealing turn from Bronson Pinchot. A banana in a tailpipe. EDDIE FREAKING MURPHY. It’s no w...

Going In Style with James Urbaniak

09 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

After years of citing him as a potential series, we’re finally Brest men. In this inaugural episode of our “Podverly Hills Cast” series, we’re...

Furiosa with Kyle Buchanan

02 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We return to the Wasteland this week with Furiosa, and we’ve got quite the tour guide. Kyle Buchanan - author of Blood, Sweat & Chrome, THE book on ...

Paprika with Emily Yoshida

26 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Come join the dream parade, folks - we’re talking about Paprika! Mother of the Blankies Emily Yoshida is with us to chat about Satoshi Kon’s final...

Tokyo Godfathers with Reece Feldman

19 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

They call them the Godfathers of Tokyo…and we call him the KING of TIKTOK (in an old man newscaster voice) - Reece Feldman joins us to chat about Sa...

Millennium Actress with Hoai-Tran Bui

12 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Our Satoshi Kon series continues with his 2003 film Millennium Actress, a moving exploration of memory, history, and the magic of da moviesh. Writer H...

Perfect Blue with Bowen Yang

05 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to the filmography of Satoshi Kon - a thrilling series of funhouse mirrors and puzzlebox narratives that proved what is possible in the animat...

Basic with BenDavid Grabinski

28 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Our McTiernan series concludes with 2003’s BASIC - a film that Griffin thinks should instead be titled “COMPLICATED” - get it? Because there are...

Rollerball with Zach Cherry

21 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Finally, we arrive at the film that helped put John McTiernan in both “director jail” and “jail jail” - the incoherent nu-metal fart that is 2...

The 13th Warrior with David Lowery

14 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What if there was a 13th Warrior? What if there was a version of Beowulf so grounded in reality that the climactic battle with Grendel just kind of fe...

The Thomas Crown Affair (1999) with Amanda Dobbins

07 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A Fiji water bottle. “Sinnerman” by Nina Simone. That Magritte painting with the bowler hat. A SCINTILLATING, AGE-APPROPRIATE ROMANCE WITH TWO OF ...

Die Hard with a Vengeance with Shea Serrano

31 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

John McTiernan back with the Die Hard franchise after the spectacular flop of Last Action Hero. Bruce Willis and Samuel L Jackson back together after ...

Last Action Hero with Paul Scheer & Jason Mantzoukas

24 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

You either love this movie or you hate it, and guess what - we’re landing all over the LOST ACTION HERO spectrum this episode! Paul Scheer & Jason M...

Medicine Man with Jamie Lee

17 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Oh baby, this one’s a STINKER! Sean Connery finds the cure for cancer but then he loses it (??). Lorraine Bracco delivers all of her dialogue like s...

The Hunt For Red October with Jamelle Bouie

10 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We love da submarinesh! Host of “Unclear and Present Danger” Jamelle Bouie joins us this week to talk about middle aged white guys, airport novels...

The Ninth Annual Blank Check Awards with Joe Reid

03 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The pomp. The pageantry. The awkwardness of trying to shoehorn any of this year’s Oscar nominees into “Moon River” - that’s right, folks. The ...

Die Hard with Kevin Smith

25 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Thirty-six floors. Thirteen (fake) terrorists. One perfect action movie. Kevin Smith - who was in a Die Hard movie AND directed Alan Rickman in DOGMA ...

Predator with Jon Gabrus

18 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

GET TO THE CHOPPA! Griffin attempts his best (actually, worst) Arnold voice this week as we head to the jungle with Jon Gabrus and some bic razors. Fo...

Nomads

11 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Okay, action freaks! We’re kicking off our John McTiernan miniseries - POD HARD WITH A VENGECAST - with a film that is not at all indicative of the ...

The Mirror Has Two Faces with Bobby Finger & Lindsey Weber

04 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

If Yentl was about connecting with her absent father, and The Prince of Tides was about forgiving her difficult mother, The Mirror Has Two Faces is ju...

The Prince of Tides with Katey Rich

28 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Can you hear the crawdads sing? Or is that just our Nick Nolte impression? Our favorite Carolinian Katey Rich joins us to chat about Streisand’s 199...

A Conversation with Amy Irving

24 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Surprise! In a first for Blank Check, we're dropping a bonus main-feed episode featuring a conversation with an Academy Award-nominated star of the fi...

Yentl with Jordan Hoffman

21 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Podcast, can you hear me?” We certainly can, Barbra! The very menschy Jordan Hoffman joins us to chat about Streisand’s official directorial debut...

A Star Is Born (1976) with Rachel Zegler

14 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Hello Gorgeous! We’re kicking off our Barbra Streisand series (titled “Podcastl,” naturally) with a look at her version of the classic Hollywood...

Ferrari with Bilge Ebiri

07 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Vroom vroom! Michael Mann is BACK. Bilge Ebiri is BACK. How do you say “we’re so back” in Italian? Join us as we talk about cars that go fast (F...

Wonkquaman with Marie Bardi-Salinas

31 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We’re closing out 2023 with two words - Wet. Chocolate. Join us as we bid farewell to the DCEU, say “hello fennel” to Timothée Chalamet, and br...

Maestro with Marie Bardi-Salinas

17 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The music! The makeup! The MAESTRO! We’re diving into Bradley Cooper’s Leonard Bernstein biopic, the result of his post-A STAR IS BORN Blank Check...

The Boy and the Heron with J.D. Amato

10 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It took seven years for Hayao Miyazaki and the artists at Studio Ghibli to make THE BOY AND THE HERON. What better way to honor that lengthy process t...

I Love You to Death

03 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Mamma mia! We’ve got-a some-a sleepy pasta for-a you to taste-a this-a week! In our latest, much-awaited installment of PORCH CLASSICS, we’re hand...

The Killer with Marie Bardi

26 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We’re wrapping up our Fincher series with his latest release - a stripped-down, gig-economy hitman thriller - THE KILLER. Is Michael Fassbender’s ...

Mank with Sean Fennessey

19 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Nerts! Are you folks ready to get MANK-PILLED? We advise that you start by “mankro-dosing” David Fincher’s 2020 exploration of the life and time...

Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman

12 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

“Amazing Amy” meets “Awkwardly-Smiling Affleck” in Fincher’s darkly comic masterpiece - an instant classic from that first shot of Rosamund ...

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo with Fran Hoepfner

05 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo? More like The Girl Who Go On Computer! The Girl with the Fruit Tattoo - Fran Hoepfner - joins us as we dive into Finc...

The Social Network

29 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Let us take a walk down memory lane to when the Metaverse was but a twinkle in Zuck’s eye, to when Aaron Sorkin was just a much-respected writer and...

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button with Richard Lawson

22 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

2007’s THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON is a film that dares to ask the question, “What if he baby but old?” Despite the meme-ification of Da...

Zodiac with Leslye Headland

15 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This is the Zodiac speaking. I have recorded this podcast episode with Griffin, David, and the genius Leslye Headland because I am tired of the tangen...

Panic Room with Eva Anderson

08 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We’re scootin’ through some wild Manhattan real estate this week and locking ourselves into David Fincher’s PANIC ROOM with the wonderful Eva An...

Fight Club with Alex Ross Perry

01 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The first rule of Fight Club? Don’t talk about Fight Club. The second rule of Fight Club? DON’T TALK ABOUT FIGHT CLUB. For those of you who like f...

The Game with Brendan Hines

24 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Congratulations! If you are listening to this episode, it means you’ve discovered the key in the mouth of the wooden clown we placed in your drivewa...

Se7en with Mike Mitchell & Nick Wiger

17 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Who loves Da Finchman? These guys do! MTV Movie Award-losing duo Mitch and Nick of the Doughboys join us to talk about David Fincher’s breakthrough ...

Alien³ with Matt Singer

10 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The time has come for us to talk about one of the most successful, most influential, most respected American filmmakers of the past 30 years. That’s...

Decision to Leave with Tatiana Maslany

03 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Decision to Leave? More like, decision to watch a good movie! EMMY AWARD WINNER (but more importantly, David Sims Best Supporting Actress Nominee of 2...

The Handmaiden with Emily Yoshida

27 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We couldn’t be more excited to talk about the film we consider to be Park’s masterpiece - the gorgeous, twisty, and ultimately moving THE HANDMAID...

Stoker with Emily St. James

20 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Remember when the star of TV’s Prison Break (Wentworth Miller, “human map”) wrote a screenplay that landed on the Black List and ended up servin...

Thirst with Hoai-Tran Bui

13 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Move over, Dracula. Eat your heart out Edward Cullen. A new sexy vampire is in town, and he just happens to be a PRIEST! Park Chan-Wook reunites with ...

I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK with Karen Chee

06 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

From the twisted mind of Park Chan-Wook, it’s…a surprisingly sensitive romance set in a mental hospital? Writer and Comedian Karen Chee joins us t...

Oppenheimer with Marie Bardi

30 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

DA MOVIESH ARE BACK, BABY! Film Director Barbie joins the gang to chat about Christopher Nolan’s latest and an historic weekend at the multiplex. Wh...

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One with Marie Bardi

23 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It’s 2023. An all-powerful AI program named “the Entity” is sewing chaos and threatening the fragile equilibrium of the world as we know it. It ...

Sympathy for Lady Vengeance with Karen Han

16 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Park Chan-Wook’s loosely-linked “Vengeance Trilogy” comes to a starkly satisfying end with 2005’s LADY VENGEANCE - a normal flick…that’s a...

Oldboy with Alison Willmore

09 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What is an Oldboy? How do you feel about Greek Tragedies? How did Choi Min-Sik achieve that iconic (and insane) hairstyle? Was giving the 2004 Palme d...

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance with David Ehrlich

02 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Park Chan-Wook kicks off his famous “Vengeance” trilogy and we kick off another episode where we talk about Ted Danson’s late 90s sitcom BECKER!...

Joint Security Area

25 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Park Chan-Wook’s 2000 breakthrough and Korean box office juggernaut - JSA (Joint Security Area) - is the rare international murder-mystery that dare...

The Moon Is…the Sun's Dream / Trio

18 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It’s a brand new era for Blank Check - Griffin is in his “arriving early to work” era. Ben is in his “Bad Boy 2.0” era. And we’re all in o...

The Cameraman / Spite Marriage

11 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Our Buster Keaton series comes to a conclusion as his period of creative independence does, with his first two features for MGM: THE CAMERAMAN and SPI...

College / Steamboat Bill, Jr. with John Hodgman

04 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

After his “blank check” for THE GENERAL bounced,  Buster Keaton found himself creatively and financially shackled. Thus, 1927’s COLLEGE lands o...

Battling Butler / The General with Jamelle Bouie

28 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

One of narrative cinema’s earliest training sequences, and one of cinema’s most famous trains - that’s right, we’re covering Buster Keaton’s...

Seven Chances / Go West with Jamie Loftus

21 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week’s Keaton double feature sees our unflappable hero chased by two types of terrifying crowds: angry would-be brides, and a herd of cattle. H...

Sherlock Jr. / The Navigator with James Urbaniak

14 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Buster Keaton released two features in 1924 - “Sherlock Jr.”, a film that was considered a commercial disappointment at the time but has grown in ...

Three Ages / Our Hospitality with Dana Stevens

07 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Great Stone Face…The Little Boy Who Couldn’t Be Damaged…whatever you call him, Buster Keaton is one of the most important figures in film hi...

Yesterday with Zach Cherry

30 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Our Danny Boyle series comes to an end with a mind-bending movie that dares to ask the question, “What if The Beatles didn’t exist?” Severance’...

T2 Trainspotting with Scott Aukerman & Shaun Diston

23 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

First they were addicted to heroin, now they’re addicted to *nostalgia* (but also still heroin)! Danny Boyle returns to the squalid Scottish world o...

Steve Jobs with Olivia Craighead

16 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Calling all Sorkinistas - we’re walking, talking, and putting 1,000 songs in your pocket! Based on Walter Isaccson’s best-selling biography of the...

Trance with Nia DaCosta

09 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Probably the only film in history to hinge on the shaving of pubic hair as crucial plot point, Danny Boyle’s 2013 film TRANCE is…certainly somethi...

127 Hours with Sean Clements

02 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to another installment in the “If This Happened to Ben Hosley, It Wouldn’t Have Gone Down Like That” series of films - it’s 127 HOURS!...

Slumdog Millionaire with Siddhant Adlakha

26 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Danny Boyle is about to win the Oscar. How did he do it? A) He Cheated, B) He’s Lucky, C) He’s a Genius, D) IT IS WRITTEN. Critic Siddhant Adlakha...

Sunshine

19 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The time has come for us to board the Icarus II (awful name for a spaceship) and stare directly into the sun. First mentioned as a movie that rules wa...

Millions with Adam Kempenaar

12 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How did Danny Boyle choose to follow up the ultraviolence of 28 Days Later? With a winsome kid’s movie about morality and currency conversion, of co...

The Eighth Annual Blank Check Awards with Joe Reid

05 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Once again we gather together to celebrate excellence in the motion picture industry - but rest assured, we have our own Blankies Crisis Team standing...

28 Days Later with David Rees

26 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Fast zombies, a deserted London, and potato-quality digital cinematography - 28 DAYS LATER proved to be a genre-defining hit for Danny Boyle after the...

The Beach with Emily Yoshida

19 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Mother is back, and she’s taking us all to THE BEACH! Emily Yoshida makes her long-awaited return to the pod to speak about her experience in the wr...

Knock at the Cabin with Marie Bardi

12 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Knock knock! Who’s there? M. Night Shyamalan, of course! We’re answering the door and ushering in the apocalypse with a look at Night’s latest o...

A Life Less Ordinary with Janet Varney

05 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

After the smashing success of TRAINSPOTTING, Danny Boyle reteamed with star Ewan McGregor and writer John Hodge to…make a movie where Dan Hedaya pla...

Trainspotting with Charles Rogers

29 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The UK’s answer to PULP FICTION, Danny Boyle’s TRAINSPOTTING exploded into theaters and became a global phenomenon, thanks to an iconic marketing ...

Shallow Grave

22 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

UK house music, a *very* active camera, and Ewan McGregor looking like a SNACK…that’s right, folks - we’re covering Danny Boyle! With the Englan...

Wendell & Wild

15 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Henry Selick waited thirteen years to make his follow-up to CORALINE, and it feels like we’ve been waiting even longer to hear David’s TIFF Airbnb...

Coraline with J.D. Amato

08 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The ultimate connoisseur of context, the guru of camera gear - our friend JD Amato makes his triumphant return to the main feed to walk us through the...

Avatar: The Way of Water with Marie Bardi

18 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The gang went to see AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER and we all got soaking wet. Fully submerged. Drenched! We’re communing with space whales, chugging cof...

Monkeybone with Justin McElroy

11 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Just in time for Brendan Fraser’s big comeback, we’re taking a look back at his misguided collaboration with Henry Selick - 2001’s bizarro flop ...

James and the Giant Peach with Emma Stefansky

04 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Bugs! So many bugs! And…Richard Dreyfuss?? The Bug Queen Emma Stefansky returns to the podcast to celebrate all the creepy crawlies in 1996’s JAME...

The Nightmare Before Christmas with Michael Rianda

27 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We’re wearing our Hot Topic sweatshirts and enunciating every dramatic syllable to pay tribute to one of the greatest animated films of all time - T...

The Fabelmans

20 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

For the first time in years, both Griffin and David are in agreement on a new Steven Spielberg film - what a picture! We’re playing both film critic...

Eyes Wide Shut with David Ehrlich

13 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Cruise. Kidman. Kubrick. Ehrlich. We’re concluding our Stanley Kubrick series with 1999’s EYES WIDE SHUT and a trip to cinema’s most famous mask...

Full Metal Jacket with Jon Gabrus

06 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Alright, maggots, listen up! We’ve got the Action Boy himself - Jon Gabrus - back on the podcast to talk about Kubrick’s bifurcated Vietnam War cl...

The Shining with Timothy Simons

30 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Just in time for Halloween, we’re checking into the Overlook Hotel - a haunted place not unlike the Beachwood, Ohio, Homewood Suites that Griffin an...

Barry Lyndon with Karina Longworth

23 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

NASA-quality lenses, a himbo canon-worthy performance from notoriously “chill and normal guy” Ryan O’Neal, and some flirty ribbon games all comb...

A Clockwork Orange with Alex Ross Perry

16 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Attention all droogs: grab your Nadsat dictionaries and your bowler hats, it’s time to drink some drug-milk! We’ve got our very own Alex - Ross Pe...

2001: A Space Odyssey with Jordan Hoffman

09 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Open the pod cast doors, HAL - it’s time for us to talk about one of the most important movies in cinema history. Jordan Hoffman - the friend of the...

Dr. Strangelove... with Sean Fennessey

02 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here, Sean Fennessey is finally on our podcast! The Big Picture Pod host joins Griffin and David to talk about Kubrick...

The Woman King

25 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It certainly feels great to cover a good movie again! Our mini-run of new releases ends with Gina Prince-Bythewood’s crowd-pleaser - the African fem...

Pinocchio (2022) with Podcast: The Ride

18 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The King of the Uncanny Valley - our boy Bob Zemeckis - is back with his spin on perhaps the most iconic un-real boy in cinema…it’s Pinocchio, bab...

Three Thousand Years of Longing

11 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

George Miller returns with a sweeping romantic fantasy and if we had a djinn, we’d wish that more people went to see this movie in theaters!  Plus ...

Lolita with Fran Hoepfner

04 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

How did they ever make a podcast of LOLITA? Let’s just say that it wasn’t easy, but thankfully our guest Fran Hoepfner is in her “brave era” a...

Spartacus with Richard Lawson

28 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

I am Spartacus! I am Spartacus! Heck, we’re *all* Spartacus today as we talk about the “sword-and-sandals” epic that solidified Stanley Kubrick’...

Paths of Glory with Sarah Marshall

21 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Perhaps the most humanistic of Kubrick’s films, PATHS OF GLORY is a blistering study of injustice, middle-management, and anti-war sentiment. We’r...

The Killing with Patton Oswalt

14 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

If Stanley Kubrick’s previous two films were exercises in learning on the job, THE KILLING is where we start to see him put that knowledge into acti...

Fear & Desire / Killer's Kiss

07 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

He dominated the field in this year’s 20th Century March Madness competition, and now we’re celebrating with a parade and a big brass band…it’...

Star 80 with Julie Klausner

31 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Oof - this is a tough one. Incredibly divisive, is “STAR 80” a darkly cynical triumph about the perils of Hollywood and the failings of men? Or is...