A movie podcast of elimination rankings and deep dive reviews to determine what movies are worthy of preservation for all time, even beyond the end times!
EP #201: 2009, Part II — Conspiracy Season
2009 didn’t just entertain—it reflected a culture already steeped in paranoia and conspiratorial thinking. Jason and Chauncey Telese (La Podfidential) rank five box office giants that, in hindsight, reveal how stories of secret cabals, engineered crises, and “truth” shaped by vibes over facts were already dominating the mainstream.
The Lineup: 10. The Hangover (2009) 9. Angels & Demo...
EP #200: VHS Summer V–80s Sex Comedies
200 episodes! To mark the milestone, Jason is joined by Clare from W-Rated to rewind to the neon-soaked heyday of 1980s sex comedies. From locker room pranks to ski slope stripteases, these raunchy relics of VHS culture pushed boundaries and buttons. Along the way, friends and fans drop in with special messages to celebrate the journey so far.
This week’s lineup:
Porky’s (1981)
The Las...
EP #199: John Hughes, Ranked
John Hughes gave us the dream of teen freedom, family bonding, and life lessons wrapped in pop hits. But in 2025, do his movies still hold up—or are they time capsules better left sealed? Jason and guest Kristin Battestella (Women InSession; I Think, Therefore I Review) rank five Hughes classics, from road-trip chaos to suburban rebellion, deciding which deserves the Vault…and which buckle under the wei...
INSTANT REACTION: Seventeen kids vanish at 2:17 a.m., and that’s only the start of the nightmare. Director Zach Cregger (Barbarian) returns with Weapons — a chilling, multi-chapter descent into paranoia and dread. In this spoiler-free instant reaction, we break down the film’s tone, tension, and craft without giving away a single twist. No plot summaries. No safety nets. Just the gut-level verdict from the last video store in the u...
EP #198: VHS Summer V – Val Kilmer Season Premiere
VHS Summer returns for its fifth and final installment! Jason is joined by Evan Crean (Spoilerpiece Theater) to rank and review five of Val Kilmer’s most iconic performances. From boy genius to gunslinging legend, Kilmer’s range is on full display in this eclectic lineup:
Real Genius (1985)
Willow (1988)
Thunderheart (1992)
Tombstone (1993)
Heat (1995)
They told you not to rewind. You did it anyway. NEXT WEEK, sunburnt cinema returns for one final scorched season of sweat, sand, and magnetic tape decay. This is VHS Summer V: The Boys of Summer. Five episodes, five movies at a time, diving deep into the films that raised a generation…questionably.
We’re talking suburban malls, sex pests, and sleepless summers, all through the warped plastic of a rental copy that’s seen too mu...
INSTANT REACTION: Superman must reconcile his alien Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing as reporter Clark Kent. As the embodiment of truth, justice and the human way he soon finds himself in a world that views these as old-fashioned.
A group of survivors of the rage virus live on a small island. When one of the group leaves the island on a mission into the mainland, he discovers secrets, wonders, and horrors that have mutated not only the infected but other survivors.
INSTANT REACTION: Plagued by a recurring violent nightmare, a college student returns home to find the one person who can break the cycle and save her family from the horrific fate that inevitably awaits them.
INSTANT REACTION: A fading midwestern town in which Frendo the clown, a symbol of bygone success, reemerges as a terrifying scourge.
EP 196: 2008’s Box Office Countdown (5–1) – Jokers, Jones, and ABBA (ft. Phoenix Clouden)
Episode Description: Jason is joined by the ever unpredictable Phoenix Clouden (The Film Canon) to finish the epic climb through 2008’s biggest box office hits! This is the top 5 where caped crusaders, crystal skulls, pandas, demigods, and dancing queens battled for cinematic dominance.
It's a strange mix of gritty realism, nostalgic absurdit...
EPISODE 195: 2008’s Box Office Countdown (10–6) – Iron, Espionage, Penguins, and Robots (ft. Robert Yaniz Jr. & DW Lundberg)
Episode Description: The countdown continues! Jason is joined by returning guests Robert Yaniz Jr. and DW Lundberg to tackle the back half of 2008’s top-grossing movies—where talking animals, malfunctioning robots, and emotionally exhausted spies battled it out for box office supremacy.
This batch has it...
EPISODE 195: An American Original! – No apologies, no half-measures, all fire. (ft. Joe Buttice)
Episode Description: This week, Jason is joined by Joe Buttice (Reel Spoilers) to lock and load a ranking of five films tied to the myth, the man, the cigar-smoking cinema warlord: John Milius. Whether writing frontier survival epics or directing operatic war fantasies, Milius brought a thunderous, unapologetic voice to American film.
...
EPISODE 194: Elegant, epic, existential, and electric. Volume 2 goes to 11 (ft. Megan Kearns)
Episode Description: Jason returns to the closet of cinema history to crack open another stack from the Criterion Collection! From enchanted castles and sinking ships to philosophical chess matches, outback odysseys, and the loudest band in England, this lineup is as diverse as it is iconic.
Films Ranked:
Beauty and the Beast (1...
Episode Description: This week, we tumble headfirst into the subconscious as Jason is joined by the enigmatic Molly Razz to rank five of David Lynch’s most haunting cinematic visions. From industrial nightmares and small-town secrets to Hollywood hallucinations, we tackle the big questions: What is real? What is a performance? And where does that damn ra...
INSTANT REACTION: Five original films hit theaters and failed to draw audiences. When we say we want more original movies who are "we" and do "we" mean it?
Instant Reaction: Everybody dies. And that’s fucked up. When twin brothers find a mysterious wind-up monkey, a series of outrageous deaths tear their family apart. Twenty-five years later, the monkey begins a new killing spree forcing the estranged brothers to confront the cursed toy.
INSTANT REACTION: No couple is safe.
When the “Heart Eyes Killer” strikes Seattle, a pair of co-workers pulling overtime on Valentine’s Day are mistaken for a couple by the elusive couple-hunting killer. Now, they must spend the most romantic night of the year running for their lives.
INSTANT REACTION: You can’t break up with your past. A realtor is pulled back into the life he left behind after his former partner-in-crime resurfaces with an ominous message. With his crime-lord brother also on his trail, he must confront his past and the history he never fully buried.
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Football’s funniest family duo — Jason Kelce of the Philadelphia Eagles and Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs — team up to provide next-level access to life in the league as it unfolds. The two brothers and Super Bowl champions drop weekly insights about the weekly slate of games and share their INSIDE perspectives on trending NFL news and sports headlines. They also endlessly rag on each other as brothers do, chat the latest in pop culture and welcome some very popular and well-known friends to chat with them. Check out new episodes every Wednesday. Follow New Heights on the Wondery App, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes early and ad-free, and get exclusive content on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And join our new membership for a unique fan experience by going to the New Heights YouTube channel now!
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