Citizen Dame

Episode 359: Joe vs. the Volcano (1990)

We kick off a month of films starring Meg Ryan with her first rom-com pairing with Tom Hanks: the existential romantic-comedy Joe vs. the Volcano, about a man who gains a new lease on life by planning to jump into a volcano. Ryan actually plays three very distinct roles in this one!
Next week: the criminally underrated French Kiss!

358 — Belle (2013)

This week we're concluding Women's History Month with the historical fiction, Belle. Amma Asante directed this 2013 film about Dido Elizabeth Belle Lindsey, a young, biracial orphan in 18th century England who is raised by her uncle, Lord Mansfield, the Chief Judge who presided over an insurance fraud case that would eventually be one of the steps to ending England's slave trade. The film stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Tom Wilkinson, Emily Watson, Penelope Wilton, Sarah Gadon, Sam Reid and Tom Felton.

Episode 357: Harriet (2019)

We carry on our Women's History Month films with Kasi Lemmons' remarkable Harriet Tubman biopic Harriet, starring Cynthia Erivo. While the film received mixed reviews on release, it is more than worth seeing it for yourself, as it explores the life and history of one of the most famous conductors on the Underground Railroad and the psychological and generational trauma of slavery.
TW for discussions of violence.
Next up: Belle (2013), directed by Amma Asante and starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw.

356: The Woman King (2022)

This week we kick off a Women's History series with The Woman King, the 2022 film directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood. Viola Davis stars as Nanisca, an Agoije warrior in the Kingdom of Dahomey, a powerful African kingdom in the 19th century. The film also stars Lashana Lynch, Thuso Mbedu, John Boyega, Sheila Atim, Jordan Bolger, and Hero Fiennes Tiffin.
*Clip from The Woman King courtesy of Sony Pictures Releasing.

Episode 355: Sinners (2025)

We wrap up our Black History Month discussions with the most nominated film in Oscars history: Ryan Coogler's brilliant Sinners, starring Michael B. Jordan as twin brothers Smoke and Stack, who return to their hometown of Clarksdale, Mississippi, to open a juke joint...only to have it invaded by vampires hungry for the blues. A searing, joyful, and blood-soaked film, Sinners really does have to be seen and heard. But we try to do justice to it.
We're taking a brief break at the start of March, but we'll be back for some Women's History Month films later on!

354: Candyman (2021)

This week, we continue our journey through some recent horror films from Black directors, we discuss Nia DaCosta's 2021 sequel to the 1992 film, Candyman.
Yahya Abdul Mateen II stars as Anthony McCoy, a Chicago artist who visits the gentrifying neighborhood of Cabrini-Green and learns about his connection to a decades-old urban legend. The film also stars Teyonah Parris, Colman Domingo, Vanessa Williams, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Kyle Kaminsky, Brian King, Rebecca Spence, Carl Clemons-Hopkins, and Michael Hargrove, with an appearance by Tony Todd.

Episode 353: Get Out (2017)

It's Black History Month and the Dames return for a series of horror films focusing on the Black experience. We start with Jordan Peele's fantastic Get Out, starring Daniel Kaluuya as Chris, who goes home to meet his girlfriend's parents and discovers a sinister conspiracy in her white liberal enclave.
Next up: Nia DaCosta's Candyman!

Episode 352: Stand By Me (1986)

We complete our tribute to Rob Reiner with a look at his 1986 film Stand by Me. Raynold Gideon and Bruce A. Evans were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and Reiner was nominated for the Golden Globe and DGA awards for this adaptation of Stephen King's 1982 novella, The Body.
Wil Wheaton stars as 12-year-old Gordie Lachance, a boy in Castle Rock, Oregon in 1959. Along with his friends Chris (River Phoenix), Teddy (Corey Feldman), and Vern (Jerry O'Connell), the boys set off into the Oregon forest in search of the body of a missing boy. The film also stars Richard Dreyfuss as narrator and adult Gordie, as well as Kiefer Sutherland, Marshall Bell, Frances Lee McCain, and John Cusack.
We will deeply miss Rob Reiner. May his memory be a blessing

Episode 351: This Is Spinal Tap (1984)

We're carrying on our tribute to Rob Reiner this month with the one of the first (and certainly funniest) rockumentaries of all time: This is Spinal Tap, starring Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, and Harry Shearer as Britain's loudest and most punctual rock band. This is Spinal Tap was also Reiner's first feature film as a director.
Next week, we'll be chatting Stephen King and Stand By Me!

350: When Harry Met Sally (1989)

It's a brand new year and we're starting off with a tribute to director Rob Reiner. And what better way to kick off both than with his enduring, perfect romantic comedy, When Harry Met Sally. Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan star as two strangers who gradually become friends and then eventually fall in love. Written by Nora Ephron and co-starring Carrie Fisher and Bruno Kirby, this classic had a successful box office run in 1989 and is still just as beloved nearly 40 years later

Episode 349: Wake Up Dead Man (2025)

For our last episode of 2025, we talk about one of the best movies released in 2025: Wake Up Dead Man, the third film in Rian Johnson's Knives Out series. Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is back to take on a locked-room mystery in the depths (literally and figuratively) of the Catholic Church. Come for the twisty plot, stay for the thematic grappling with faith and humanism, stay even longer for Josh O'Connor in a clerical collar.
Thank you so much for joining us and for supporting us this year! We'll be on break for the holidays, but will return in January in a month-long tribute to Rob Reiner, starting with When Harry Met Sally. See you in 2026!

348: Love Birds (2011)

This week, Lauren picks the movie and it's the 2011 New Zealand rom com Love Birds, starring Rhys Darby and Sally Hawkins.
After Doug's girlfriend leaves him, an injured paradise shelduck named Pierre helps him heal and to find new love with Holly, a veterinarian single mom.
Featuring a soundtrack entirely by Queen, Love Birds also stars Bryan Brown, Craig Hall, David Fane, and Emily Barclay.

Episode 347: Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

We wind down the year with some grab-bag faves that we just really want to watch, beginning with a Thanksgiving holiday classic: John Hughes's Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (1987), in which Neal (Steve Martin) is trapped on a holiday road trip from hell with the friendly, lovable, and disaster-prone Del (John Candy). A forty-five-minute flight to Chicago can sometimes take three days, it seems.
Next week, Rhys Darby, Sally Hawkins, and a duck cause Lauren to have an existential crisis! We're talking Love Birds!

Episode 346: Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988)

This week we finish out our LA neo-noir series with the revolutionary Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Robert Zemeckis directed this adaptation of Gary K. Wolf's 1981 novel, Who Censored Roger Rabbit?, a hilariously smart satire that leads hard-boiled private detective Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins) on a journey to prove one of Toon Town's biggest stars, Roger Rabbit (voice of Charles Fleischer) is not guilty of murder. Together they must clear Roger's name and save him from the dreadful Judge Doom (Christopher Lloyd).
Nominated for 6 Academy Awards and winning 3, the film was an astonishing blend of live-action and animation, creating new technology along the way. It is also the only film to include characters from both Disney and Warner Bros. together onscreen.
We're off next week, but we'll be back with some holiday cheer in December!

Episode 345: Chinatown (1974)

This week we grapple with the problematics of Chinatown (1974), arguably one of the greatest neo-noirs, with a fraught and complicated history thanks to its director, Roman Polanski. Starring Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway, Chinatown represents the bleakness of noir amid the sunniness of LA, with a hefty dose of political and sexual corruption. Oof.
TW for discussions of sexual assault and incest. Next week, we conclude Noirvember with a far happier entry: Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

344: LA Confidential (1997)

We continue our look at Los Angeles-set neo-noir films, this time with the 1997 Academy Award-winning L.A. Confidential.
Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, and Kevin Spacey star as three very different LAPD detectives in a changing city where some cops embrace the corruption, some look the other way, and some are determined to root it out. An investigation into a series of murders in 1950s Los Angeles threatens to expose what's really going on beneath the sunny, shiny surface.
Based on the novel by James Ellroy, L.A. Confidential was directed by Curtis Hanson and also stars Kim Basinger, James Cromwell, Danny DeVito, David Strathairn, and Ron Rifkin. It was nominated for 9 Oscars including Best Picture, winning two: Best Supporting Actress, Kim Basinger; and Best Adapted Screenplay, Brian Helgeland and Curtis Hanson.

Episode 343: Devil in a Blue Dress (1995)

The Dames are back with Halloween hangovers and the start of Noirvember! This month, we're looking at neo-noirs set in 40s/50s LA. We begin with Devil in a Blue Dress, starring peak Denzel Washington as Easy Rawlins, an out-of-work machinist who gets caught up in the search for a missing woman, leading him into the seedy underworld and racist high society of the City of Angels.
Next week, we'll go into even more sun-soaked political corruption and police brutality with LA Confidential!

342: Halloween (1978)

It's Halloween week! And what better way to celebrate than with the ultimate spooky movie season movie: HALLOWEEN! John Carpenter and Debra Hill's 1978 slasher is a must for fans of the season. But we only recognize the original as the One True Halloween movie. Jamie Lee Curtis stars as Laurie Strode, a 17-year-old babysitter whose night is ruined by 21-year-old mask-wearing, knife-wielding hospital escapee Michael Myers.
Happy Halloween from the Dames!

341: The Fly (1986)

Spooky Movie Month continues as the Dames discuss the 1986 horror film The Fly. Directed by David Cronenberg, this adaptation of the 1957 film stars Jeff Goldblum as Seth Grundle, an eccentric scientist whose teleportation experiment goes horribly wrong when he splices himself with a fly. The film also stars Geena Davis and John Getz.
Clip from THE FLY courtesy of 20th Century Studios.

340: The Watcher in the Woods (1980)

Spooky Movie Month continues as we look back at the zany 1980 Disney horror movie, The Watcher in the Woods. Adapted from Florence Engel Randall's 1976 novel, John Hough directed the film that was widely panned by critics, pulled from theaters, and given a new ending. The film stars Bette Davis, Carroll Baker, Lynn-Holly Johnson, Kyle Richards, David McCallum, Richard Pasco, and Ian Bannen.