Pass, Pirate, Pay with Ken Franco
Get ready to dive into the latest flicks and shows! Join host Ken Franco and his hilarious co-hosts as they dive deep into the world of film, TV, and beyond. From blockbusters to hidden gems, we're grading it all: Pass, Pirate, or Pay. So, grab your popcorn, settle in, and let's get this party started! At the end of each segment a grade is given: Pass: No need to see this thing at all Pirate: See it, but don't spend your hard earned money on it Pay: Go see this and pay for it, you cheap bastard
Episodes
This week on Pass, Pirate, Pay, Ken and Andy grab Yorick’s skull, stare into the void, and ask the only question that matters: to stream, to skip, or to spend?
We’re diving into three very different riffs on the Bard’s most broody prince:
🎭 Renaissance Man – Danny DeVito plays an ad-man-turned-Army-English-teacher who uses Hamlet to whip a group of underachieving recruits into intellectual shape. Shakespeare… but with ...
We’re heading back down the Yellow Brick Road — but this time, Oz gets bigger, stranger, and a whole lot more magical.
On this episode of Pass, Pirate, Pay, we revisit the timeless classic The Wizard of Oz, now re-imagined inside the mind-bending MSG Sphere in Las Vegas. Then we dig into the often-forgotten 90’s television film The Dreamer of Oz, exploring the life — and struggles — of L. Frank Baum himself. And finall...
This week on Pass, Pirate, Pay we’re jingling all the way into a holiday edition of Better Than Gigli — and the target on the tree is Netflix’s new Christmas movie, Hot Frosty.
Is this steamy snow-man romance a cozy cup of cocoa… or a melted pile of slush? We break down the plot, the performances, the Christmas-movie cheese factor — and, most importantly — decide whether Hot Frosty truly clears the world’s lowest cinem...
This week on Pass, Pirate, Pay, Ken and Andy spin the big wheel of fate and dive into game show movies—where the stakes are high, the rules are shady, and the hosts are sometimes the real villains.
They break down The New Running Man, a modern update on the deadly televised competition that asks what happens when entertainment really costs lives. Then it’s on to The Luckiest Man in America, the true story of a contesta...
This week, Ken and Andy ante up for a trio of gambling flicks that run the table on chaos, charm, and questionable decision-making. First, they revisit the laid-back frontier wisdom of Kenny Rogers in The Gambler, then sprint to the racetrack for Richard Dreyfuss’ wild lucky streak in Let It Ride, and finally descend into the smoky neon underworld of PTA’s debut neo-crime drama Hard Eight. From old-school saloon poker...
This week on Pass, Pirate, Pay, Ken and Andy let the dogs out — straight into the movies. From wilderness survival to foul-mouthed strays to a brand-new horror pup, we’re diving snout-first into three wildly different canine flicks.
First up: Call of the Wild, where Harrison Ford befriends a CGI dog with more emotional intelligence than most humans. Then we unleash Strays, the filthy-mouthed, unapologetically...
This week, Ken and Andy tumble deep into the bizarre end of cinema’s bathtub with three gloriously deranged picks: The Greasy Strangler, Krazy House, and One Battle After Another. It’s an ooze-soaked, brain-melting journey through awkward nudity, screaming absurdity, and art so strange it might actually be genius.
Expect confusion, laughter, and philosophical debates about whether something can be “so bad it’s good” or...
Ken and Andy return to Castle Rock for another round of Stephen King adaptations, and this time the ride gets weird. The boys tackle the early-’90s CGI trip The Lawnmower Man in a full Better Than Gigli segment, asking the hard question: is this cyber-thriller a misunderstood gem or just lawn clippings? Then it’s on to two very different King stories — the claustrophobic, nerve-wracking Gerald’s Game and the long-rumo...
This week, Ken and Andy dive headfirst into the wild world of animation! We’re rolling through three very different animated adventures: the trippy cult-classic Heavy Metal (1981), Pixar’s latest family-friendly cosmic quest Elio (2025), and the neon-fueled, music-powered chaos of K-Pop: Demon Hunters.
From hard rock space operas to heartfelt alien misunderstandings to magical idol battles, we cover it all—while asking...
This week Ken and Andy open the nursery door into the world of evil offspring and spine-tingling child terror. Our theme: Creepy Kids.
👶 First up, we take on The First Omen (2024), a stylish prequel that tries to recapture the devilish dread of the classic franchise.
🧸 Then we move into chilling psychological territory with Bring Her Back, where parental fears and supernatural twists collide.
🔪 And finally...
This week on Pass, Pirate, Pay, Ken and Andy dive headfirst into the spooky, swoony world of Horroromance—where scares meet love stories. We’re breaking down three very different entries in the genre: the Norwegian supernatural coming-of-age thriller Thelma (2017), the heartfelt Your Monster, and the quirky indie romance Together.
Joining us for the ride is film producer Thomas Mahoney, whose work spans indie features ...
In this one-off Better Than Gigli deep dive, we grab our space helmets and bandanas to explore the inexplicable, unproduced fever dream that is Ice Cube’s War of the Worlds. We talk alien invasions with West Coast swagger, debate whether tripod walkers would be improved with hydraulics and spinning rims, and imagine what happens when “Today Was a Good Day” meets “The End of the World as We Know It.” Join us as we brea...
🎙️ New Episode: Red, White & Reel — Right-Wing Cinema Explored
This week on Pass, Pirate, Pay, Ken and the gang dive headfirst into the world of right-wing cinema with a triple feature that’s as ideologically loaded as it is conversation-worthy. First up, the vigilante fantasy Sound of Freedom — a box office juggernaut that sparked a culture war. Then it's on to Sovereign, a lesser-known indie film wit...
This week, Ken dives deep into the world of lighthearted documentaries—but things get weird fast. From a secret apartment hidden in a mall to the uniquely charming life of “My Mom Jayne,” and finally, the truly unforgettable saga of the Trainwreck: Poop Cruise, we’re peeling back the curtain on some of the quirkiest true stories out there.
Expect laughter, disbelief, and maybe a few mild existential crises.
🍿 Doc...
🧟♂️ This week on Pass, Pirate, Pay, Ken and Andy are crawling out of the grave to sink their teeth into three undead entries in the zombie genre: the quiet heartbreak of Maggie (2015), the meditative Scandinavian dread of Handling the Undead (2024), and the surprise resurrection sequel 28 Years Later… (2025).
Do these flicks breathe new life into the genre, or are they just more shambling corpses in a crowded graveya...
🎙️ This Week on a very special Pass, Pirate, Pay
We’re heading for high altitudes and low morals with Mountainhead, Jesse Armstrong’s HBO satire about four tech bros trapped in a luxury chalet while the world burns (because of them). Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman, and Ramy Youssef lead this dark, weirdly funny spiral into AI, ego, and snowbound insanity. Is it biting social commentary or just a bunch of billi...
We dive into three very different slices of the Stephen King cinematic universe — the prison epic The Shawshank Redemption, the haunted sequel Doctor Sleep, and the meditative mind-bender The Life of Chuck. From hope and horror to heartache and hallucinations, we’re breaking down which of these adaptations are worth your time… and which ones should’ve stayed buried in Derry.
Will we Pass, Pirate, or Pay? Tune in and fi...
🎃 This week on Pass, Pirate, Pay, Ken and Andy creep down the haunted hallway of horror cinema—where the floorboards creak with trauma and the wallpaper is peeling in dread. First up is 1985's House, the gonzo ghost-fest where Vietnam flashbacks share a two-bedroom with flying garden tools. Then we check into His House, a bone-chilling blend of immigration drama and supernatural terror—because trauma always find...
🎙️ Pass, Pirate, Pay dives deep into the neon-lit VHS vault for Forgotten '80s Favorites! This week, Ken and Andy are joined by longtime pal and pop culture savant Danny Jackson to revisit three offbeat gems that deserve a rewind.
We’ve got Lucas (1986), the tender teen heartbreaker that made us all protective of Corey Haim and suspicious of jocks. Then it’s Cloak & Dagger (1984), a spy-kid fantasy with enoug...
Saddle up and keep your trigger fingers loose—Ken and Andy are riding back into the wild, weird West! This week on Pass, Pirate, Pay, the fellas tackle the dusty trail of The Cowboys (1972), where John Wayne herds up some preteen ranch hands; the grisly horror-western Bone Tomahawk, where things get downright cannibalistic; and the brand-new frontier slow-burn Rust (2025), a film with a production saga nearly as dram...
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