Million Dollar Movies

Bob and Dan discuss the Fritz Lang masterpiece, M (1931), a police procedural about tracking a child murderer played by Peter Lorre. Other topics discussed: Berlin, Times Square, serial killers, criminals, The Code, Rififi, and - maybe it seems out of left field - the Nazis. Follow us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Follow Dan on Twitter.

Bob and Dan welcome Bob's better half, Peg Haller, to discuss Shanghai Express (1932), a film about strangers on a train trying to survive the night as they travel through war-torn China. Other topics discussed: Brooklyn, art, train etiquette, and Mao. Follow us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Follow Dan on Twitter.

Bob and Dan welcome back filmmaker and critic Scout Tafoya (creator of "The Unloved" video essays) to discuss The Brain from Planet Arous (1957). The film follows a scientist whose body is taken over by an ethereal brain from another planet. Chaos ensues. Follow us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Follow Dan on Twitter.

Eli Schneider joins Bob and Dan to discuss the weirdest pro/anti-Fascist sci-fi war movie ever made, Starship Troopers (1997). The movie centers around young people caught up in a militarized Earth at war with a bug planet. Other topics discussed: fear, the military, unknown actors, the Iraq War, amphetamine, and - you guessed it - the Nazis. Follow us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Follow Dan on Twitter.

Bob and Dan discuss an unforgettable sci-fi film from Bob's troubled childhood, Invaders from Mars (1953). The movie follows a young boy who discovers aliens have landed in his backyard, and are taking over the brains of the adults around him. Topics discussed: Body Snatchers, alcoholics, Passover, and American military might.  Follow us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Follow Dan on Twitter.

Bob and Dan talk about Tony Scott's nearly incoherent revenge tragedy, Man on Fire (2004), starring Denzel Washington and Dakota Fanning. A former assassin takes a job as a bodyguard for a child in Mexico, and finds himself emotionally invested against his better judgement. Other topics discussed: guilty pleasures, strange kids, great acting, drugs, confusing storytelling, and Mexico. Follow us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Follow Dan on Twitter.

Bob and Dan are back to discuss Sam Peckinpah's The Getaway (1972), a film about an ex-con and his wife getting caught up in a botched bank robbery. Other topics discussed: Hollywood tropes, sexism, bad guys, good guys, and guilty pleasures. Follow us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Follow Dan on Twitter.

Bob and Dan are back to talk about Rififi (1955), a diamond heist movie made by an American director living in Paris after he was blacklisted. Other topics discussed: violence, Mission Impossible, and who's at the table with Jesus. Follow us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Follow Dan on Twitter.

It's a Million Dollar Movies Christmas special! Bob and Dan invite comedian George Gordon (Your Good Friend) to discuss the greatest action movie of all time, Die Hard. When New York police officer John McClane attends his wife's office Christmas party in LA, the last thing he expects is to spend the night fighting terrorists. On a good day, he's a great cop. On a bad day... he's the best there is! Die Hard, baby! Follow us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Follow Dan on Twitter.

Bob and Dan discuss the soap-opera-before-there-were-soap-operas-on-TV film Written on the Wind (1956), directed by Douglas Sirk. After an alcoholic heir to an oil dynasty elopes with the woman of his dreams, his family drama and health issues rise to the surface. Lust! Betrayal! Rich people getting drunk! Other topics discussed: Texas, 50 Shades, Unsolved Mysteries, and the word "tawdry." Follow us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Follow Dan on Twitter.

Bob and Dan discuss Infernal Affairs (2002), the Hong Kong film that inspired The Departed. The film follows two police cadets, one who infiltrates the mob as an undercover cop, and one who infiltrates the police department for the mob. Other topics discussed: bizarre deaths, sentimental moments, rats, moles, Boston, good food, and audio equipment. Follow us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Follow Dan on Twitter.

Dan and Bob discuss Orson Welles' masterpiece Touch of Evil (1958), a film about cops on the Mexican-American border solving a crime that appears to be tied to organized crime. Other topics: racism, murder, Orson Welles' weight, Blowout, Get Carter, and Citizen Kane. Follow us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Follow Dan on Twitter.

Bob and Dan discuss the nearly silent Japanese masterpiece The Naked Island (1960). The film follows a family of four as they irrigate and harvest wheat on an island alone. It sounds boring, but it's enthralling! Other topics discussed: Jews who like hockey, marriage, comedy, TV, raising kids, and thrillers. Follow us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Follow Dan on Twitter.

Bob and Dan discuss Sam Fuller's 1953 crime drama/romance/anti-anti-communist film, Pickup on South Street (1953). A pickpocket steals from the wrong purse and winds up in possession of a film negative the Russians desperately want. Other topics include: heroes, bad film critics, the French, and money. Follow us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Follow Dan on Twitter.

Bob and Dan discuss one of the great auteurs of French cinema, Jean-Pierre Melville, and his crime drama Le Doulos (1962). Other topics discussed: The Code, drugs, the French veneration of movies, and tragedy. Follow us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Follow Dan on Twitter.  

Bob and Dan celebrate Halloween by discussing one of George Romero's best zombie horror films, Land of the Dead (2005). Joining the conversation is critic and filmmaker Scout Tafoya. Topics include: every good horror that's ever been made, gore, social commentary, camp, and hating Nazis. You know, the usual! Follow us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Follow Dan on Twitter.

Bob and Dan discuss Paul Thomas Anderson's Inherent Vice (2014), an adaptation of Thomas Pynchon's novel about a Chandler-esque PI in 1970s California who investigates a crime while being stoned for most of the process. Other topics: what makes a good adaptation, Manson, drugs, hippies, and what makes someone a hack. Follow us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Follow Dan on Twitter.

Bob and Dan discuss Michael Mann's Thief (1981), starring James Caan. Other topics discussed: Rififi, heists, boner material, bad soundtracks, and "The Code." Follow us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Follow Dan on Twitter.

Bob and Dan talk about Brian De Palma's homage to Blowup, Blow Out (1981), a film about a sound engineer who witnesses a murder. Other topics discussed: meta filmmaking, John Travolta's finest work, getting stoned, and Bob shares a story about meeting Jodorowsky. Follow us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Follow Dan on Twitter.

A very special guest, Peg Haller (Normal Life, Bob's cowriter and wife), joins Bob and Dan to discuss A New Leaf (1971), a film written, directed, and starring Elaine May. The film follows a man who spent his entire inheritance, and rather than lose his social standing, decides to find a rich woman, marry her, and murder her. Other topics discussed: great comedy, likability, working and living together, the rich, and -I can't believe it- the Nazis. Follow us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Follow Dan on Twitter.