Aussie and the Scotsman - Unfiltered Movie Podcast

This week we are reviewing The Big Lebowski, the 1998 comedy directed by Joel and Ethan Coen and starring Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Tara Reid, John Turturro and Sam Elliott. An unemployed LA slacker known only as the Dude gets mistaken for a millionaire of the same name, has his rug urinated on, and is dragged into a kidnapping plot he wants absolutely no part of. The podcast is out now on YouTube and also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. If you know someone who has been putting this one off for 28 years, send them this episode. Hit subscribe or follow — it really does help us keep going. Before the film, the Aussie arrives with a story about getting locked out of his Tesla because his phone died and being told by a man at a charging kiosk that it was $40 for the privilege — delivered so matter-of-factly he could not even get worked up about it. The Scotsman tops it with a story about a close friend who texted mid-tattoo to ask whether he should get the word grateful on his wrist, was told nope definitely not in no uncertain terms, and did it anyway. The Scotsman had never seen it. His entire expectation was a stoner film full of slow talking and not much else. He loved it. Watched it twice. Came in genuinely enthusiastic, started the podcast in a state of near euphoria, and then — about halfway through — talked himself back down to earth and landed somewhere a bit flatter than he expected. He is slightly annoyed at himself about this. The Aussie, who brought it to the show and had seen it many times as a younger man, is so relieved there is no fight that he almost cries. The film discussion covers all the key scenes — the rug, the bowling alley, the Big Lebowski's portrait monologue, the millionaire's daughter, the nihilists, and the funeral. The Aussie makes the case that "I don't roll on Shabbos" is the best line in the film and delivers it multiple times on air with enormous personal satisfaction. The Scotsman agrees the bowling alley scene is where the entire dynamic of the trio is established in a single sitting — the Dude reacting, Walter escalating, and Donnie being ignored — and that it is one of the most efficient pieces of character writing he has seen. John Turturro's Jesus Quintana gets his full moment. One scene, almost no plot relevance, steals the entire film. Both hosts agree the casting across the board is close to perfect and that you cannot imagine anybody else in any of these roles. There is also a debate about whether this film sits closer to Fargo or Pulp Fiction, a comparison between John Goodman here and his role in Flight, and the Scotsman running out of steam mid-episode and admitting it on air. In Rohan Reminisces, the hosts cover 1998 — Titanic winning Best Picture, Nicholson doing his OCD steps on camera, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck picking up their first Oscar, Google being founded, the Apple iMac G3, Bill Clinton and the dress, France winning the World Cup, Michael Jordan's last dance, and Frank Sinatra dying. The Scotsman has now covered 1998 so many times he calls for a format change. The Aussie takes mild offence. The trivia covers the budget, the underwhelming box office run, the real-life Dude who inspired the character and still shows up at fan events today, Jeff Bridges wearing his own clothes throughout, John Turturro building the Jesus Quintana character entirely himself with no script, and Lebowski Fest — a touring fan convention running since 2002. The film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry in 2014. The Aussie lands at 3.6. The Scotsman comes in at 3.5. A rare episode where the scores are almost identical and nobody is yelling at anyone. The Scotsman signs off going to have a White Russian. Both hosts immediately realise they should have been drinking White Russians throughout.

This week we are reviewing Fury, the 2014 World War II combat film written and directed by David Ayer — the man behind Training Day and End of Watch — starring Brad Pitt as the battle-hardened tank commander Don "Wardaddy" Collier, alongside Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman, Michael Pena and Jon Bernthal. April 1945. Five men. One Sherman tank. Three hundred SS soldiers at the crossroads. This is not a film about glory. It is a film about what war costs. Before the film, the Scotsman wants gravitas. The Aussie does a wrestling announcement. Then two customer service stories — one so infuriating it nearly ends in a formal complaint, one so good it nearly ends in a marriage proposal to a man called John. You will know which is which within ten seconds. On the film itself — the Scotsman loved it. The Aussie did not. "It's Saving Private Ryan in a tank," says the Scotsman. "That's an insult to Saving Private Ryan," says the Aussie. And from there it only escalates. The Aussie thinks the glowing bullets look like Star Wars. The Scotsman informs him, with barely concealed fury, that tracer bullets are real, have existed for over a century, and are common knowledge to anyone with even a passing interest in military history. The Aussie had no idea. He is not quite embarrassed enough to back down. The dinner scene in the bombed German apartment divides them completely. The Aussie calls it a rushed love story. The Scotsman calls it the most human moment in the film. Neither will concede. The argument about whether Brad Pitt was a good leader or a man who walked five people into a suicide mission goes for longer than it should and gets genuinely heated. The one thing they agree on — and they do agree, eventually, reluctantly — is Pitt standing on top of the tank, absorbing fourteen thousand bullets, holding a conversation, while three hundred SS soldiers politely queue directly in front of him and apparently nobody thinks to go around the back. Even the Scotsman calls it. "Hollywood stupid." Coming from the man defending the film, that is saying something. Jon Bernthal is singled out as the standout performance. Shia LaBeouf gets credit where credit is due, and the Aussie admits the casting was not the problem — it was everything else. The bond between the crew, the claustrophobia of the tank, the way the film makes you feel the weight of what these men are carrying — all of it lands. The ending, however, does not. At least not for the Aussie. Rohan Reminisces goes deep into 2014 — and this week it is actually worth listening to. Real emotion, some genuinely shocking moments, and one answer from the Scotsman so wrong it causes actual pain. Trivia closes the episode and it is one of the best of the year. Do not skip the end. Ratings: 3.4 from the Aussie, 4 out of 5 from the Scotsman. The Aussie picks next. The Scotsman is already worried. The podcast is out now on YouTube and also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Hit subscribe or follow — it genuinely helps the show keep growing. Thanks for listening.

This week we are reviewing the idea of the best first 30 minutes in film, a wide-ranging movie debate special built around opening scenes, opening acts and the moments that grab you by the throat before a film has even settled in. From war epics and thrillers to blockbusters and classics, the Scotsman and the Aussie go head-to-head over which films do the heavy lifting early and why some movies can almost live off their opening half hour alone. This episode starts in chaos, which is part of the fun. What begins as a simple idea — best first 30 minutes in movies — immediately turns into an argument over what the topic even means. Is it the best opening act? Best opening scene? Best first half hour in strict terms? The Scotsman calls it a shambles almost immediately, and from there the episode becomes one of those loose, unpredictable conversations where the detours become half the entertainment. The pre-film chat alone is worth hearing. There’s a very funny and strangely relatable debate about people who overuse “sorry” and “thank you,” a pharmacy story that spirals into an unexpected misunderstanding, a comparison to Anger Management, and a running argument about sarcasm, tone and whether either host is actually funny. Some of the sharpest laughs in the episode land before the movie talk even properly starts. Then the film debate kicks in and the range is enormous. There are passionate cases made for Heat, Pulp Fiction, Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Saving Private Ryan, Apocalypse Now, The Shining, Goodfellas, The Silence of the Lambs, Rocky II, Top Gun, Back to the Future, Inglourious Basterds, Superman, Cast Away, Flight, Seven, Point Break and more. It’s one of those episodes where one title sparks another, then another, and suddenly you’re mentally rewriting your own top ten. There are real debates here, not polite agreement. The Scotsman pushes structure, mood and tension. The Aussie pushes payoff, set-up and series-building. They clash over whether a great opening has to sustain the whole film, whether a single scene can justify inclusion, whether chat-generated lists ruin spontaneity, and whether one of them may or may not be getting lazy. Some of the funniest exchanges come from the argument over whether one host has secretly outsourced his taste to the internet. The pushback is constant. There’s also a genuinely strong thread about what openings actually do. Are they about dread? Adrenaline? Character? World-building? Hooks? There’s a great stretch on why Raiders still works, why Jaws withholds brilliantly, why Saving Private Ryan changed war films, why Heat feels almost documentary-like, and why even a film one host dislikes might still have an extraordinary opening. That tension makes the discussion much better than a standard ranked list. There are also several moments that feel like future episodes being born in real time. A possible whole episode built around just talking movies from memory. A walk down memory lane concept. A possible revisit of old episodes. Those loose moments feel like listeners are hearing the show being invented as it happens. And then there are the quotes. Several are instantly classic. This was a nightmare. This was horrible. lands early. I don’t live within the lines, mate. I’m a free spirit. becomes a running joke. Give me the terms and conditions. becomes its own comic callback. And there’s a brutal line about sarcasm and being unfunny that nearly derails the whole thing. Without giving anything away, Rohan Reminisces gets turned on its head this week in a way listeners will hear coming only if they catch a late twist in the episode. The trivia and film references teased throughout are also worth staying for, particularly if you enjoy obscure continuity details, sequel set-ups and the kind of movie memory only long-time obsessives tend to carry around. If you love movie arguments, if you’ve ever said “that film had me from the first scene,” or if you’ve ever defended an opening sequence as better than some whole movies, this one is for you. It’s messy, funny, argumentative and full of big titles. The podcast is out now on YouTube and also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Subscribe or follow if you enjoy these film debates — it genuinely helps the show keep growing, and it helps more movie lovers find it. Thanks for listening.

This week we are reviewing Still Alice, the 2014 drama directed by Richard Glatzer and starring Julianne Moore as a brilliant linguistics professor who is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's at fifty. Alec Baldwin plays her husband, with Kristen Stewart and Kate Bosworth as her daughters. Moore won the Academy Award for Best Actress. This is not a fun watch. It is, however, an important one. Before the film, the Scotsman arrives wanting to talk about chocolate — specifically a Scottish chocolate bar he still cannot name after thirty-odd years of trying to remember it. The Aussie is briefly invested. Then the Scotsman pivots to a newspaper article about ejaculation frequency and prostate cancer risk. Twenty-one times a month, apparently. The Aussie immediately asks to talk about Alice instead. The Scotsman says it is a public health matter. It is not a smooth segue. On the film. Both hosts agree it is uncomfortable, sad, and quietly frightening — particularly for two men in their early fifties watching a character their own age lose the thing she built her life on. The Aussie brought this one to the podcast after stumbling across it and being stopped cold by a single line: Alice, freshly diagnosed, tells her husband she would rather have cancer. Because at least cancer doesn't make you look stupid. That line. That is the whole film in one sentence. The Scotsman prefers The Father — with Sir Anthony Hopkins, — and thinks Still Alice plays it a little safe and a little Hollywood. The Aussie thinks it is more powerful than that and gives it a higher score. They debate Alec Baldwin's character at length — is he a decent man stretched to breaking point, or just a selfish husband who takes a promotion while his wife is disappearing? The Aussie is unequivocal. Hard no. He would not leave. He is slightly emotional about it. The butterfly scene stops both of them. Alice, in her clearest moments, records herself a message — five questions, and if she can't answer them, she is to take the pills she has hidden and not tell anyone. She forgets she made it. She stumbles across it later and tries to follow the instructions. The housekeeper comes home at exactly the right moment. Neither host quite knows what to do with that scene and both say so. The Scotsman is reminded about his panic attack story from the GFC — driving down Toorak Road, vision closing to a pinhole, heart going at a million miles an hour. He had no idea what was happening. The Aussie counters with a blood pressure episode in the middle of the night where he lay there thinking he would not make it to morning and decided not to wake his wife because, genuinely, what was she going to do. Rohan Reminisces goes into 2014 — and this week it is actually worth sticking around for, including a moment where the Scotsman looks directly at the answer and gets it wrong anyway. Ratings: 3.8 from the Aussie, 3 from the Scotsman. Watch The Father afterwards and come back and tell us which one hit harder. The podcast is out now on YouTube and also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Hit subscribe or follow — it genuinely helps the show keep growing. Thanks for listening.

This week we are reviewing Sentimental Value, the 2025 Norwegian family drama written and directed by Joachim Trier, starring Stellan Skarsgard, Renate Reinsve and Elle Fanning. Two estranged sisters are reunited by the death of their mother. Into this grief walks their father — Gustav, a once-celebrated film director who abandoned the family when the girls were young and who now arrives with a movie script, a plan, and absolutely no self-awareness. It won the Grand Prix at Cannes 2025 and received nine Oscar nominations including Best Picture — the first Norwegian film to win Best International Feature Film. Before any of that — the Scotsman has been on the Aussie's Instagram. He reads out the celebrity DMs. There is a message to Chris Hemsworth that contains the line "I thought I would to you." There is one to Kate Winslet addressed as "High Cake." The Aussie knew the Hemsworth one was bad while he was writing it. He sent it anyway. Thor has not responded. Neither has Cake. Then — the Perth fans. The Aussie had dinner with Simon and Matt, two of the most dedicated listeners in the show's history. They told him Rohan Reminisces needs to go longer, trivia needs to go deeper, and nobody liked the name change. The Scotsman points out this is everything he has been saying for three years. The Aussie shrugs. On the film. Both hosts loved it, and the conversation it unlocks is one of the best they have had. The film is about a father who cannot have honest conversations with his daughters, so he writes them into a movie instead — and then wonders why they won't just get over it. The Scotsman puts it best in the intro: "The story that follows is about what happens when art is used as a surrogate for the conversations a man cannot bring himself to have with his own children." The discussion goes deep — parental trauma, generational damage, a father who is cold versus one who is absent. Nature versus nurture spirals out from the film in a way that is genuinely thoughtful. The Aussie ties it back to broken homes. The Scotsman ties it back to school shooters. It goes where it goes. The scene between the two sisters — one quietly admitting she tried to take her own life, asking if their father even knows — stops both hosts cold. Elle Fanning slowly dyeing her hair dark and learning a Norwegian accent, trying to become the daughter this man cannot face, until she knocks on his door and tells him it should be his daughter doing this — is one of the best scenes in the film. Rohan Reminisces does not happen. The Aussie arrives with nothing. The Scotsman points out that Matt in Perth walks specifically to listen to it on Saturday mornings. The Aussie promises to do better. Trivia: nine Oscar nominations, Grand Prix at Cannes, 19-minute standing ovation at the premiere. The Scotsman notes that 19 minutes is long enough to soft boil an egg or drive across central Oslo. Stellan Skarsgard — father of eight, four of whom are working actors including Alexander, Bill, and Gustaf — neither confirmed nor denied that Gustav was drawn from his own life. Ratings: 4.2 from the Aussie, 4.5 from the Scotsman. One of the better ones this year. The podcast is out now on YouTube and also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Hit subscribe or follow — it genuinely helps the show keep growing. Thanks for listening.

This week we are reviewing Weapons, the 2025 supernatural mystery horror film written and directed by Zach Cregger — the man behind Barbarian — starring Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Alden Ehrenreich, Benedict Wong and Amy Madigan. At exactly 2:17am, seventeen children from the same third grade classroom simultaneously leave their homes and vanish into the night, arms outstretched, as if summoned. One child does not go. Nobody knows why. The film unfolds in overlapping chapters from different perspectives — a grieving father, a scapegoated teacher, an out-of-his-depth cop, a homeless addict, and finally the ancient, malevolent aunt who has been bending the children to her will. Before any of that, the Scotsman warns listeners about AI voice cloning — scammers can now replicate your child's voice from five seconds of voicemail. "This is the next stage of spamming and scamming." The Aussie zones out halfway through. The Scotsman notices immediately. Shoes are next. The Scotsman's kids leave them in piles at the front door. He has bought shoe racks. Nobody uses them. The Aussie responds by pulling the story entirely around to some old Asics he found at the back of his own cupboard. The Scotsman is briefly furious. On the film — both hosts are unimpressed and not shy about it. The Aussie picked it. He is on the receiving end immediately. "You're on a two week ban. I'm picking the next two." The Scotsman calls it "mumbo jumbo" and "Hollywood gone bad." The specific grievances are pointed. Seventeen children go missing and Josh Brolin's investigation involves drawing lines on a map with a ruler, then knocking on a neighbour's door to ask politely about their security camera. The neighbour says no. He accepts this and leaves. "Who is writing this crap?" Nobody has a satisfying answer. Credit where it is due: the overlapping chapter structure is clever, Amy Madigan as Aunt Gladys is genuinely unsettling, and Benedict Wong's one-shot chase into the petrol station is well constructed. The premise remains brilliant. The execution does not match it. Superstitions spiral out from the discussion. The Aussie claims no belief in the supernatural — then admits he will not walk under a ladder or open an umbrella indoors. The contradiction is noted. Feng shui, tarot cards, and a T-intersection property that cost a friend hundreds of thousands in lost buyers all get a run. Rohan Reminisces covers 2025 — Anora winning Best Picture, Elon Musk at $342 billion, and the Coldplay kiss cam moment that broke the internet. It is brief. The Scotsman is not wrong to call it brief. Trivia: $38 million budget, $268 million gross. Cregger wrote the script in his garage next to a running washing machine. Pedro Pascal was originally cast before Brolin replaced him. A full Aunt Gladys backstory was cut for time. And finally — Cregger has accepted $20 million to direct the Resident Evil reboot having never seen a single film in the franchise, announced he is ignoring everything prior, and described his approach as *"making a film about a character I have invented inside a world I am inventing."* The studio said yes. September 18, 2026 will tell us whether that was genius or catastrophic hubris. Ratings: 2.3 from the Scotsman, 1 out of 5 from the Aussie. Both would rather rewatch Sinners. High praise it is not. The podcast is out now on YouTube and also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Please hit subscribe or follow — it genuinely helps us be seen among the thousands of other podcasts out there. Thanks for your support.

This week we are reviewing the best movie one-liners of the last 50 years, a movie debate special built around the most iconic quotes ever spoken on screen — from immortal punchlines and threats to speeches that may or may not technically count as “one-liners,” which becomes a major part of the argument. What starts as a list quickly becomes something much better: a full-blown debate over what makes a movie quote survive. This episode starts with immediate friction. The Scotsman questions the title, the time range, the rules and even whether the whole concept is properly defined. The Aussie insists he has parameters. The Scotsman insists the parameters are rubbish. And within minutes the show is exactly where it should be. The pre-film chat is half the fun. Before the ranked list even begins, the two hosts spiral through notables, disqualifications, impressions, arguments over whether monologues count, and a gloriously butchered Samuel L. Jackson attempt that may be worth hearing for that alone. There’s a running joke about one host being “the lines man,” a very funny fight over whether reading from a list is cheating, and a sharp argument over whether a quote only matters if a ten-year-old, a fifty-year-old and your mum would all recognise it. Then the big guns start flying. There are battles over quotes from Jaws, Taxi Driver, Rocky, Top Gun, Terminator, Star Wars, Jerry Maguire, Dirty Dancing, Ferris Bueller, The Shining, Scarface, A Few Good Men, Braveheart, Forrest Gump, Apollo 13, Goodfellas, Gladiator, Pulp Fiction, Die Hard and more. But the real entertainment is not the lines. It’s the disagreements. There’s a terrific recurring argument over whether some entries are speeches, not quotes. There’s repeated pushback over whether one host has misunderstood his own rules. There’s a very funny late-episode fight over whether the true number one should really be Star Wars, The Terminator or James Bond territory. And there’s a genuine debate over whether the most famous line and the best line are even the same thing. The Scotsman calling out That’s a monologue. becomes a running gag. The Aussie’s argument for a certain Darth Vader line takes a serious hit. There’s a bizarre and very funny detour involving “the most used line during sex.” And the Samuel L. Jackson performance… is something you have to hear. There are great direct quotes throughout. You can’t handle the truth. becomes a point of principle. I’ll be back. becomes almost a philosophical argument. May the Force be with you. becomes a generational stress test. And Divine. somehow emerges as an accidental Aussie and Scotsman in-joke contender. There is no Rohan Reminisces this week, but the trivia energy gets absorbed into the debate itself, especially in the late-stage argument over which quote genuinely crosses generations. There’s also a strong tease here for future episodes. Best monologues. Star Wars. Wizard of Oz. Rocky. Even a possible episode on overused words inside the podcast itself. You can almost hear future episodes being born in real time. If you’ve ever quoted a film in a pub, argued over the greatest line ever written, or shouted a movie quote at exactly the wrong moment, this one is for you. The podcast is out now on YouTube and also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Hit subscribe or follow — it genuinely helps the show keep growing. Thanks for listening.

This week we are reviewing Sinners, the 2025 supernatural horror drama written and directed by Ryan Coogler, starring Michael B. Jordan in a dual role as twin brothers Smoke and Stack — former Chicago gangsters who return to 1930s Mississippi to open a juke joint and build something of their own. What starts as a story about hustle, music and community turns into something far darker when uninvited guests arrive after dark. Hailee Steinfeld, Delroy Lindo and Miles Caton round out a cast that swept the Oscars, the BAFTAs and just about everything else in 2025. Before the film, the Aussie's 25th wedding anniversary story. Both he and his wife independently booked Book of Mormon on the same night, same theatre. He spent the interval chasing the producers for a refund. He got it. The Scotsman spent his own Book of Mormon trip plotting revenge after being told to slink down in his seat by a man who turned out to be six foot six. He did not slink. On the film — and this is the split you came for. The Scotsman loved it. The Aussie did not. Not slightly didn't love it. Actively hated it. Watched it on a plane with bad wi-fi, spent twenty minutes telling the flight attendant it was not a vampire film, and was still arguing the point when the red eyes appeared on screen. "Thank God that's over" were his final notes. He gives it one out of five. The Scotsman watched the ending after the credits — which the Aussie missed entirely — then went back and watched half of it again the next day, and came out the other side giving it 4.4 out of five. "We are watching something rare," he says. "Something that good that we don't realise how good it is." The Aussie's response: "You've lost credibility." The Scotsman makes the case for the transcendent scene, the IMAX cinematography, the dual-format shooting, the blues record that started the whole thing. The Aussie makes the case that vampires are stupid, the Lost Boys was also stupid, and that Michael B. Jordan flying through the air in a white singlet was the moment he checked out completely. "It's like Rocky 12 and they roll him out in a wheelchair." To be fair to the Aussie, he did find things to like. The twin scenes are brilliant. The romantic scene between Smoke and his former lover — "Why don't you just say you don't want me?" — he calls the best scene in the film. The hustle of building the juke joint, the negotiation, the music. All of it lands. Right up until the vampires show up and he loses the will to continue. The Scotsman's counter — that the vampires are simply a mechanism, a way of asking what would happen if something came for a community that was finally thriving — falls on completely deaf ears. "They shouldn't have used any of it. Just write a story." "That IS the story." Neither man moves an inch. Rohan Reminisces covers the 2025 Oscars — Anora winning Best Picture, Adrien Brody taking Best Actor, Mikey Madison winning Best Actress. There is also a full rundown of every vampire film made since 1970. The Aussie has not enjoyed a single one of them. Trivia: $90 to $100 million budget, $370 million gross and rising. Coogler negotiated ownership of the film outright in 2050 — a film about the theft of Black art, owned by its Black creator. The cinematographer became the first woman in Oscar history to win Best Cinematography. And finally — Coogler didn't start with a script. He started with a 1961 Howlin' Wolf recording of Wang Dang Diddle, a song about a community throwing a party for one night. He asked: what if those people were real? What if something came for them? Sixteen nominations. There is your answer. Ratings: 1 out of 5 from the Aussie. 4.4 out of 5 from the Scotsman. Possibly the widest gap in the podcast's history. The podcast is out now on YouTube and also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Hit subscribe or follow — it genuinely helps us cut through the noise. Thanks for listening.

This week the lads review the 1987 American romantic drama Dirty Dancing, directed by Emile Ardolino and starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey. Set in the summer of 1963 at a Catskill Mountains resort, it follows seventeen-year-old Baby Houseman as she falls for the resort's dance instructor Johnny Castle — a story of class, first love, and one of the greatest soundtracks ever committed to film. Before a single frame gets discussed, the episode opens with a bet. The Aussie is convinced the podcast has already covered Schindler's List. The Scotsman is equally convinced it hasn't. A case of beer is staked. A handshake is had. The result is not kind to the Aussie — and the fallout drags on longer than it should. Then comes the Aussie's story. Restaurant grievances. Cash discounts. Early bird specials. A four-minute missed window that escalates into a full debate about the cashless society, merchant fees, and whether a 15-year-old can legally use a credit card. The Scotsman has strong opinions. The Aussie has strong opinions. Nobody wins. On the film itself — the Scotsman is watching Dirty Dancing for the very first time, and his verdict is that it is okay. Enjoyable, but disjointed. Good music. Light on substance. The Aussie, on the other hand, is emotional from the opening scene. The sunnies go on. He is giving full Johnny Castle energy and is not ashamed of it. The Aussie makes the case for the class system running through the film — the Harvard waiters, the staff cabin up the mountain, Patrick Swayze looked down upon while Robbie the doctor gets treated like royalty despite being an absolute prick. The Scotsman concedes the point but is quick to note that none of it is done particularly subtly. They get into the age gap — Baby is seventeen, Johnny is very much not — and what that looks like through a modern lens. The Scotsman takes it somewhere uncomfortable before pulling it back. The Aussie is horrified. The soundtrack gets its moment, and rightly so. Thirty-two million copies sold. Arguably the greatest movie soundtrack ever made alongside Grease, The Bodyguard and Saturday Night Fever. The Aussie plays several tracks live on air and is visibly moved. The Scotsman admits the music is the best part of the whole film. Ratings come in: the Aussie gives it 3.3 out of 5. The Scotsman forgets to rate it but does rate himself and in hindsight gives it a 2/5. Both agree — it is a feel-good film with a killer soundtrack, but if you are reviewing it honestly, the plot is thin and the writing uneven. *"You can watch it a thousand times and your brain can have a rest,"* says the Aussie. The Scotsman calls that the smartest thing said in two hundred episodes. Trivia rounds things out — the $6 million budget, every studio that passed on it, the final lift being largely unrehearsed, and the deeply sad story of Jennifer Grey and Matthew Broderick's car accident in Northern Ireland just weeks after filming wrapped. One of the great pieces of trivia the podcast has delivered. The episode closes with both hosts attempting to sing. It is not recommended. Out now on YouTube and also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Hit subscribe or follow — it genuinely helps the show keep growing. Thanks for the support.

This week we are reviewing Sophie’s Choice, the 1982 psychological drama directed by Alan J. Pakula and starring Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline and Peter MacNicol. A young writer moves into a Brooklyn boarding house and becomes entangled with a volatile couple, slowly uncovering a past shaped by Auschwitz and an impossible decision that defines everything that follows. Before the film even starts, the Scotsman arrives completely unhinged after a 24-hour AI-fuelled spiral, claiming he’s now cloning his voice, building apps, and effectively replacing himself. The Aussie, sensing blood, immediately questions whether the podcast is about to become “Aussie and ChatGPT.” What follows is one of the most chaotic openings the show’s had — manic energy, tech paranoia, and the Scotsman dangerously close to launching a side business mid-episode. Once the film discussion begins, things take a sharp turn. The Scotsman goes in hard early, admitting he dreaded watching it, only to completely flip and call it one of the most powerful performances ever put to screen. The Aussie, on the other hand, never quite shakes the feeling that the first hour drags — a take that immediately puts him on the defensive for the rest of the episode. The central debate becomes less about the film and more about what sits underneath it. The Scotsman pushes the psychological weight of Sophie’s guilt and why she stays in a destructive relationship, arguing it’s about punishment and self-worth. The Aussie leans more literal, focusing on structure and pacing — and gets absolutely hammered for it. The biggest moment, unsurprisingly, is the discussion around the choice itself. Both hosts circle the same question from completely different angles: why that child, and what could possibly go through someone’s mind in that moment? There’s no clean answer, and that’s exactly where the conversation lands — uncomfortable, unresolved, and far more intense than either expected. There’s also a strong clash over Kevin Kline’s performance. The Scotsman reframes what initially looks like overacting into something far more deliberate once the character’s condition is revealed. The Aussie agrees — but not before already writing him off early, which becomes another point of contention. The ending hits hard. The Scotsman reads it as inevitable — two broken people finding the only peace available to them. The Aussie sees it coming but still lands on the same conclusion: there’s no version of this story that ends well. Final ratings split the room completely: The Scotsman: 4.7 / 5 The Aussie: 3.8 / 5 And that gap turns into one final argument about whether the Aussie is missing the deeper layers entirely. The podcast is out now on YouTube and also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Please hit subscribe or follow — it genuinely helps us be seen among the thousands of other podcasts. Thanks for your support.

This week the podcast dives into Sexy Beast, the 2000 black comedy crime film directed by Jonathan Glazer (his feature debut) and written by Louis Mellis and David Scinto. Starring Ray Winstone, Ben Kingsley, and Ian McShane, it follows retired safecracker Gal Dove, whose peaceful Spanish exile is shattered by the arrival of a terrifyingly unhinged gangster demanding one last job in London. The Scotsman loves this one. The dialogue is razor sharp, and he’s fully in his Cockney element. The Aussie doesn’t stand a chance. There’s a Cockney quiz. There’s a dramatic reading of the film’s dialogue. There’s a running tally of how many times the Scotsman, channeling Ben Kingsley, calls the Aussie “his chubby little friend.” It’s relentless. The return of the fruit platter — because they watched it together — becomes comedy gold in itself. The Aussie makes the bold claim that the Scotsman has never stepped foot inside Subway. Tensions rise. Chas & Dave’s Snooker Loopy gets airtime. Any mention of snooker means Jeremy appears again. Singing follows. Naturally. Cockney rhyming slang flies around: “trouble and strife,” “dog and bone,” “Barnet Fair,” “butcher’s hook,” and “Adam and Eve” all make their way into full sentences. The Scotsman draws links to the unseen menace in Jaws and Duel, and even the word “Don” sends the studio into hysterics. They discuss the film’s Foley artistry, indulge in a bit of scene acting, and revel in just how controlled and theatrical Kingsley’s performance is. A trivia nugget surfaces: Ben Kingsley won the 1985 Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for The Words of Gandhi, following his Oscar-winning role in Gandhi. A fact delivered with surprising reverence before things descend again. Rohan Reminisces? Chaos. He chooses 2002 instead of 2000. Basic calendar error. He recovers slightly by discussing the hottest day of the year but still manages what might be the biggest faux pas of the season. A generous 7/10 this week. If you have to rent this film, it’s worth every cent. The dialogue alone is admission price. The podcast is available now on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Subscribe or follow — it helps the show get seen. Thanks for listening.

This week we are reviewing the 1982 biographical epic Gandhi — directed and produced by Richard Attenborough, written by John Briley, and featuring one of the greatest performances ever committed to film by Ben Kingsley as Mahatma Gandhi. The film covers Gandhi's extraordinary life from a defining moment in 1893 — being thrown off a train in the Colony of Natal for sitting in a whites-only compartment — right through to his assassination and funeral in 1948. It is the story of one man's mission to lead India to independence from the British Empire through non-violent resistance, and it is absolutely towering cinema. We kick things off with a bit of Frank Sinatra and Rudyard Kipling's poem 'If' before we get into it. The Aussie comes out swinging from the start — he is in the best form he has ever been on the podcast and absolutely rips into the Scotsman for a boring story. It is the funniest takedown we have had in a while and a sign of things to come. The Scotsman's mission this week was to get the Aussie to see Sir Ben Kingsley in the most extreme contrast imaginable — from the terrifying, unhinged Don Logan in Sexy Beast to the gentle, transcendent Gandhi. It is about as far apart as two performances can be. He could make that leap. And then some. The Aussie not only loved Gandhi — he dominated the entire episode. Thoughtful, articulate, full of insight and understanding — he gave the Scotsman a well-earned break from doing all the heavy lifting. The Aussie has been driving his wife mad quoting Gandhi all week, claims he has been "so chilled out" since watching it, and even watched it on a bigger screen. That is the Gandhi effect. The Scotsman gets pressed on the big question — does he love or hate the English? It is a fair question given the subject matter and one he cannot dodge. Scores are high across the board. This is a long one and every minute of it is worth your time. Out now on YouTube and also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Hit subscribe or follow — it genuinely helps the show keep growing. Thanks for the support.

This week we are reviewing the 1994 American epic historical Western drama Legends of the Fall, directed by Edward Zwick and starring Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Aidan Quinn, Julia Ormond and Henry Thomas. Based on the 1979 novella by Jim Harrison, the film follows three brothers and their father living in the wilderness and plains of Montana in the early 20th century — and how their lives are shaped by nature, history, war and love. The timeframe spans nearly 50 years, from World War I through the Prohibition era and into a brief final scene set in 1963. We kick things off with a travel story — and this one does not end well for a small boy who performs a good deed and receives a pocket lolly from the Aussie as a reward. A pocket lolly. Fluff and all. The Scotsman is disgusted. And he is already feeling sick — because this week introduces a brand new segment. Rob's Rant. A one-off, five-minute monologue. No interruptions. Scathing, unfiltered, and delivered with the full force of a man who cannot believe this film was brought to the podcast. The Scotsman gives Legends of the Fall the lowest rating in the history of the show. He is furious. Hold on to your cowboy hats. Before the rant, he shares a story about a family faux pas — and that is what tips him over the edge. The Aussie is heartbroken. His genuine joy when the Scotsman reveals he has not seen the film is one of the highlights of the episode — and it is shattered almost immediately. The pain is palpable. The Aussie tries to mount his defence, but every attempt is met with the Scotsman hammering back: "defend it, defend it, defend it" — a callback to the Aussie's own interrogation tactics during the Duel episode. We try to get to the root of the Aussie's deep, lifelong love of this film. And he tells us. It is Brad. It has always been Brad. Brad on a horse. Brad on a horse. Brad on a horse. He is dreamy. "Did you miss out on romance growing up?" asks the Scotsman. "Is that a serious question?" replies the Aussie, genuinely surprised. It takes a full 37 minutes before the Aussie finally removes the rose-coloured glasses and admits what this film really is — Brad Pitt's vehicle to superstardom. Nothing more, nothing less. Rohan Reminisces takes us back to 1994 — a decent segment this week, with some genuinely fun facts. The Aussie then surprises everyone with a brilliant Jim Carrey impression, before immediately going bashful and refusing to continue. The Scotsman steps in as director: "take a beat," he instructs. The Aussie has absolutely no idea what that means. There is also singing. And crying. Crying and singing. Out now on YouTube and also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Hit subscribe or follow — it genuinely helps the show keep growing. Thanks for the support.

This week the lads review Anora, the 2024 American romantic comedy-drama written, directed, produced and edited by Sean Baker. The film stars Mikey Madison as Anora “Ani” Mikheeva, a New York lap dancer who impulsively marries the wealthy son of a Russian oligarch, played by Mark Eydelshteyn. Supporting performances from Yura Borisov, Karren Karagulian, Vache Tovmasyan, Darya Ekamasova, and Aleksei Serebryakov round out a film that swept awards in 2024. Both hosts loved it. Properly loved it. A genuine cracker. The Aussie finally brings a decent opening story — which immediately triggers the Scotsman to ask the logical question: what’s the succession plan for the podcast if one of them meets their maker? From there, things drift into strip clubs past and present (the Aussie goes slightly bashful), and a shout-out to American listeners — roughly 25% of the audience tuning in from the States. When they finally get into the film, it’s detailed and thoughtful — until the Aussie corrects the Scotsman one time too many. Was it “kicked” or “punched” in the face? Does it matter? Apparently it does. The Scotsman flips. Flow ruined. A firm declaration follows: no more interruptions. Ever. There’s a strong debate about the meaning of the ending — two very different interpretations. At one point the Aussie tells the Scotsman, “That’s your best 90 seconds in 200 episodes.” Want to know why? You’ll have to listen. Rohan Reminisces takes us back through 2024 — including Anatomy of a Fall, Barbie, and Poor Things — alongside the major global headlines of the year, including the wars in Gaza and Ukraine. The Scotsman isn’t firing on all cylinders this week and misses a few quiz questions. He also pulls out Russian and Italian accents, then demands to know why that doesn’t make him a racist. The pronunciation of “pho” somehow becomes another battleground. The podcast is out now on YouTube and also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Please click subscribe or follow — it genuinely helps us be seen among the thousands of other podcasts.

This week the podcast revisits Scarface, the 1983 crime epic directed by Brian De Palma and written by Oliver Stone. A remake of the 1932 original, it stars Al Pacino as Cuban refugee Tony Montana, alongside Michelle Pfeiffer as Elvira Hancock and Steven Bauer as Manny Ribera. Arriving in Miami during the Mariel boatlift, Tony claws his way from dishwasher to cocaine kingpin through ambition, violence and pure ego. As the empire grows, so does the paranoia. Addiction, pride and distrust burn every bridge in sight, building to one of cinema’s most operatic downfalls. And then the shock. A 5/5 from the Aussie. Rare air. First one of the year. Before they get to the film, there’s another travel story. The Aussie meets up with Chris, the independent airport driver again, and appears to be paying way over the odds, but apparently, he can afford it. He also bumps into Stan Wawrinka at the airport, causes mild chaos by acknowledging him publicly, and that opens the floodgates to name-dropping: Tiger Woods, Shane Warne, Nadia Bartel, Clayton Oliver, Eddie Betts and Heather Graham. The debate quickly shifts to whether celebrities are public property. The Scotsman counters with a far less glamorous update: his heating and cooling unit has died and it’s going to cost a fortune. And he asks if he can borrow some money from the Aussie. Once the intro dust settles, the Scotsman waits for the verdict on the movie. Drum roll. The Aussie "absolutely loves it" and breaks down why. The discussion goes deep. This film earns the time. They dissect the final scene and inevitably act out the immortal line "say hello to my little friend". The Scotsman tells the story slightly wrong. The Aussie corrects him. Rohan Reminisces takes us back to 1983. The Scotsman demands better questions next week. They touch on Cheers, favourite cast members, Trading Places, Risky Business and the Aussie sings "Flashdance... What a Feeling" from Flashdance. You may need earplugs. Then the biggest shock in 225 episodes: the Scotsman forgets to prepare trivia. The Aussie goes low with "are you embarrassed and going to have a cry". No tears. Professional recovery. Comes back swinging. The episode is out now on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts. If you enjoy it, hit subscribe or follow — it genuinely helps the show stand out among the many movie podcasts out there. Thanks for tuning in.

This week on Aussie and the Scotsman, the lads take on Brothers (2009), the American psychological thriller directed by Jim Sheridan starring Tobey Maguire, Jake Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman, Sam Shepard, Clifton Collins Jr., and Mare Winningham. SPOILER ALERT - Watch before listening. This is an absolute must watch The film follows Captain Sam Cahill (Maguire), a US Marine. It’s heavy, confronting, and — according to the Aussie — essential viewing. “Watch this before listening,” he insists. “It’ll shake you to your soul.” The episode opens with the Aussie calling the Scotsman his brother, while the Scotsman is already deep in complaint mode — this time about parking meters. The Aussie, once again, arrives with “no stories,” which pushes the Scotsman to the brink… until a surprising revelation about how much the Aussie’s kids can bench press. Things escalate when the Aussie declares himself the Tobey Maguire of the friendship — a man of honour — and makes it abundantly clear that the Scotsman is not. A brief detour into the Scotsman’s former life as a daddy blogger (yes, adadslife.com.au gets dragged up) threatens to derail the episode entirely. The big moral questions raised by Brothers take centre stage — guilt, loyalty, trauma, and what honour really means. And then there’s Rohan Reminisces. Set in 2007, it collapses in real time when the Aussie abandons the segment mid-flow to search for a song on his phone, ask for wiring, and destroy what little structure remained. The Scotsman issues a final ultimatum over the complete lack of preparation. For the first time ever, Rohan Reminisces is shut down early — leaving the Scotsman in a spiral of despair and the Aussie largely unfazed. The podcast is out now on YouTube and also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Please hit subscribe or follow — it genuinely helps us cut through the noise. Thanks for your support.

This week we are reviewing Munich, the 2005 thriller directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Tony Kushner and Eric Roth, starring Eric Bana as Avner Kaufman — a Mossad agent chosen to lead a five-man team tasked with hunting down the eleven men responsible for planning the 1972 Munich Olympic massacre. Daniel Craig, Geoffrey Rush and Mathieu Kassovitz round out a cast in one of Spielberg's most morally complex and politically courageous films. This is a heavier episode than most. Both hosts are Jewish, and they say so up front. This is a film about Jewish revenge for Jewish deaths, and they are going to try to be fair. They mostly manage it. The episode opens with the Scotsman offering something approaching an apology for his behaviour during the Oceans 11 episode — not a full apology, he makes clear, just an acknowledgement that he was, in his own words, a bit manic. The Aussie accepts this with more grace than the Scotsman deserves. Then Munich. And the conversation that follows is one of the most serious and genuinely moving the podcast has produced. The Scotsman walks through both sides of the argument with real care — the Israeli case for Operation Wrath of God, the Palestinian context in which Black September emerged, what the film gets right, what it omits, and why Spielberg was attacked by both sides simultaneously and responded by saying he was not interested in making a political argument. He was interested in making a human one. The moment that stops the episode cold is Golda Meir's line — delivered quietly, with the weight of someone who has just heard something she cannot unhear. "I normally speak about peace. But today I listen with new ears. The world needs to know you cannot do this. This decision is solely on me." The Aussie says it is the best line in the film. He is not wrong. They debate the Daniel Craig line — "the only blood that counts is Jewish blood" — and both hosts reject it immediately. That rejection leads into one of the most honest conversations the podcast has had about antisemitism in Australia right now, armed guards at every Jewish school, the Bondi attack in December 2025, October 7, and what it actually feels like to live as a Jewish person in this country today. It is uncomfortable. It is important. It earns its place. Eric Bana's performance gets enormous credit — Spielberg called it the finest he had directed since Liam Neeson in Schindler's List. The safe house scene, where an Israeli agent and a Palestinian operative share a stairwell and a conversation, is singled out as one of the great scenes in the film. The final intercutting of the sex scene with the massacre flashbacks is described as unforgettable and haunting. The Aussie's son Oliver also sent through his written analysis of the film — read out in full — and it is genuinely excellent. Rohan Reminisces takes us back to 1972 — the French Connection winning Best Picture, Gene Hackman taking Best Actor, the Godfather, American Pie, Watergate, Gough Whitlam, and the introduction of the CT scan. Ratings: 4.4 from the Aussie, 3.95 from the Scotsman. The Scotsman closes with a stiff whiskey. It feels right. The podcast is out now on YouTube and also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Hit subscribe or follow — it genuinely helps the show keep growing. Thanks for listening.

This week the podcast takes on The Florida Project, the quietly devastating 2017 drama from Sean Baker, written with Chris Bergoch and starring Brooklynn Prince, Bria Vinaite, and a superb Willem Dafoe. It’s six-year-old Moonee running feral through a budget motel in Kissimmee, Florida — living in the shadow of Walt Disney World while her mum scrambles to keep a roof over their heads. It’s bright colours, sticky ice creams and childhood chaos… sitting right on top of poverty, instability and the constant threat of homelessness. Fantasy in the background. Hard reality in the foreground. The episode? Off to a shaky start. The Aussie is coughing his lungs out. The Scotsman is demanding parental justice after his son Max slams a Bunnings trolley into his Achilles and claims it’s “Dad’s fault for swerving into his path” Then the Aussie drops a jet ski story. Big mistake. The Scotsman quivers - PTSD alert. That unleashes the Lysterfield BMX near-catastrophe, the proud (and very specific) claim of finishing third in butterfly at the Scottish Schools Swimming Championships, and an unexpectedly detailed breakdown of why freestyle is actually front crawl. There’s also a swim meet involving croup that probably should never have happened. Interruptions start flying. The Aussie snaps. The Scotsman refuses to yield. The irony is not lost on anyone. Eventually — somehow — they circle back to the film. The Scotsman loved it. Properly loved it. He was bracing for backlash. The Aussie starts conflicted but ends up moved. Both land north of 4/5. This one hits. The kids are phenomenal. Dafoe is restrained and human. The film doesn’t manipulate — it just sits there and lets you feel uncomfortable. It’s about growing up surrounded by manufactured magic while real life quietly unravels. At one point, they seriously consider flying to America, driving Route 66 and taking the show on the road. That may or may not survive the edit. Rohan Reminisces returns to 2017. He’s on time. That’s the good news. The rest? Needs work. The podcast is available now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Subscribe or follow — it genuinely helps the show cut through. Thanks for listening.

This week we are reviewing Seabiscuit, the 2003 drama directed by Gary Ross and starring Tobey Maguire, Jeff Bridges and Chris Cooper — the true story of a small, overlooked, knock-kneed horse who became a symbol of hope for an entire nation during the Great Depression. And we have a very special guest to help us do it. Brett Ratten is in the studio. Carlton premiership player. Club captain. Three-time best and fairest. 255 games. Part of the famous 1995 premiership side and the 1999 grand finalists. Then senior coach at Carlton, St Kilda, caretaker at North Melbourne, and part of the Hawthorn premiership dynasty under Alistair Clarkson. One of the most decorated careers in the history of the game. The Aussie has been looking forward to this for weeks. Brett barely gets a chance to breathe. The first hour covers Carlton history in forensic detail — the 1993 grand final loss to Essendon when Michael Long was unstoppable, the 1994 straight-sets exit at Waverley, Greg Williams picking up his best and fairest that year, putting the trophy aside and telling the younger players they needed to take the next step up, and the galvanising effect that speech had on the group going into 1995. The 1999 prelim win over Essendon — when Quartermain had declared Carlton would lose by 70 — gets full treatment, including why over-celebrating that win may have cost them the grand final the following week. Brett tells us why he vomited before many games, how a miserable 1993 grand final performance became the greatest lesson of his playing life, and why his most profound moments in coaching had nothing to do with trophies. And then, finally, Seabiscuit. Brett chose this film deliberately. A story about broken people finding their way back — an owner carrying the grief of losing a son, a trainer who sees something others dismiss, a jockey nobody believes in, and a horse everyone else has written off. Brett has owned racehorses himself, including Mornington Glory, a Group One winner. He knows this world. And he knows what it means when someone puts their arm around a player — or a horse — that the rest of the world has given up on. The line that lands hardest: "You don't throw a whole life away just because he's banged up a little." Brett says it quietly. He does not need to explain why it resonates. The episode closes with the Scotsman playing the original 1938 radio commentary of Seabiscuit's race against War Admiral. Live. Crackling. Genuinely incredible. Brett hears it for the first time. The goosebumps are not just his. Ratings: 4 from Brett, 4 from the Scotsman, 3.5 from the Aussie. And a thank you to Brett Ratten that the Scotsman struggles to get through. The podcast is out now on YouTube and also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Hit subscribe or follow — it genuinely helps the show keep growing. Thanks for listening.

This week on Aussie and the Scotsman, the boys review The Founder (2016), the biographical drama directed by John Lee Hancock. Starring Michael Keaton as salesman-turned-mogul Ray Kroc, the film charts the brutal, calculated rise of McDonald's — and how its original founders were ultimately forced aside. Nick Offerman and John Carroll Lynch co-star as brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald, with Linda Cardellini as Ray Kroc’s third wife Joan Smith, and B. J. Novak as McDonald’s corporate operator Harry J. Sonneborn. Rohan is finally on time — but immediately calls Rob a bully and racist over his accents, which naturally launches a full-blown discussion about accents in general. That conversation leads to India, cricket, and a vivid story from Oval Maidan in Mumbai, where the Scotsman and his son bravely took their lives in their hands for a casual game of cricket under a chorus of “ball, ball, ball, ball, ball…”. WhatsApp etiquette rears its head again. The boys sing Delilah (crediting Tom Jones very loosely). Campbell’s Cash & Carry gets a mention. Things go wildly off-road when the biblical story of Samson enters the chat, followed by impressions of Acropolis Now favourites Con the Fruiterer, Effie, and Franco Cozzo. It becomes clear very quickly that the boys have had far too much coffee. The big debate: was Ray Kroc a good guy or a bad guy? A ruthless businessman or just playing the game? Rohan Reminisces takes us back to 1954, including the cost of a hamburger at the time — genuinely hilarious — and what might be the most chaotic multiple-choice presentation ever delivered (C, B, A or D… somehow all at once). The episode wraps with a discussion on the ten biggest and most famous brands in the world. The podcast is out now on YouTube and also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Please click subscribe or follow — it really does help us. Thanks for your support.