Second Cut

Second Cut
  • 5.0 (3)
  • Film Reviews
  • Updated Weekly

Jacob, Kieran, and Sam explore topics in film history, criticism, and theory through weekly movie reviews!

  1. Aug 12

    Sony’s Spider-Man Universe: Madame Web & Kraven the Hunter

    Sony’s Spider-Man Universe tried to build a connected franchise around Spider-Man villains and supporting characters... without Spider-Man. In this episode of Second Cut, we revisit Madame Web and Kraven the Hunter to ask why Sony’s spin-offs never became a functioning cinematic universe and why making every film an origin story only made the problem worse. We trace Spider-Man’s film-rights history, Sony’s Sinister Six plans, its relationship with Marvel Studios, and the varying fortunes of Venom and Morbius. We then discuss Dakota Johnson, Sydney Sweeney, Madame Web’s unused Spider-Women, precognition, catastrophic ADR, Pepsi, disability representation, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Russell Crowe, J. C. Chandor, Rhino, the Foreigner, Ariana DeBose, Kraven’s R-rated violence, and Sony’s failure to find a magnetic franchise lead. Finally, we debate why Madame Web is the worse-made but more rewatchable film—and why Kraven’s greater competence ultimately makes it more forgettable. Subscribe for more film criticism, history, and theory-driven conversations. Follow Second Cut: YouTube: @SecondCutPod Substack: https://secondcutpod.substack.com Socials: @SecondCutPod Email: secondcutpod@gmail.com Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:24 How Sony got Spider-Man’s film rights 04:41 Sony, Marvel, and Spider-Man’s “joint custody” 07:26 The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and the Sinister Six plan 09:31 Venom, Morbius, and the SSU’s track record 13:58 Why Spider-Man’s villains need Spider-Man 19:00 Madame Web: an origin story set in 2003 23:38 Dakota Johnson and a workable premise 30:14 Abandoned teenagers, Peru, and time powers 33:58 The Spider-Women who never become Spider-Women 38:26 Why Madame Web is more rewatchable than Kraven 40:16 Ezekiel Sims, catastrophic ADR, and the Pepsi can 43:23 Madame Web and disability representation 45:13 Kraven the Hunter: a better idea? 47:07 Kraven’s Last Hunt and the antihero rewrite 49:48 Why Sony never found its Robert Downey Jr. 51:22 Russell Crowe, Rhino, and the Foreigner 54:32 Ariana DeBose and the digital-mouth disaster 57:07 Why Kraven’s violent first half works 59:20 Where Kraven loses its way 01:01:32 Russell Crowe and the father-son story 01:05:48 J. C. Chandor and a painfully generic blockbuster 01:07:32 The Kraven-Venom crossover Sony never made 01:10:47 The SSU’s origin-story trap 01:12:47 Madame Web vs. Kraven: bad or boring? 01:16:09 Final verdict: good riddance 01:16:47 Plugs and outro Music: Awakening (Instrumental) by Wataboi https://soundcloud.com/wataboi Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0 Music promoted by FDL Music https://youtu.be/X2oQNUOmk2k

  2. Aug 5

    Pedro Almodóvar: Dark Habits, The Skin I Live In & Pain and Glory

    Pedro Almodóvar can move from drug-taking nuns and a pet tiger to surgical body horror and an aging filmmaker confronting his past without losing his unmistakable voice. Jacob, Sam, and Kieran trace that voice across Dark Habits, The Skin I Live In, and Pain and Glory. They explore Almodóvar’s emergence from La Movida Madrileña, his vivid visual style, his blend of melodrama and genre, his treatment of sexuality and identity, and his decades-long creative partnership with Antonio Banderas. Across three radically different films, the conversation examines how Almodóvar transforms taboo, desire, pain, and memory into cinema. Full spoilers for Dark Habits, The Skin I Live In, and Pain and Glory. Subscribe for more film criticism, history, and theory-driven conversations. Follow Second Cut: YouTube: @SecondCutPod Substack: https://secondcutpod.substack.com Socials: @SecondCutPod Email: [secondcutpod@gmail.com](mailto:secondcutpod@gmail.com) Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 07:24 From Franco to La Movida 14:10 Almodóvar’s style and themes 22:42 Dark Habits 40:26 Almodóvar’s career and Antonio Banderas 42:22 The Skin I Live In 54:51 Eyes Without a Face and body horror 57:50 Gender and identity 1:07:46 Pain and Glory 1:13:31 Autofiction and memory 1:21:36 Authorship and lost love 1:31:04 Final thoughts 1:32:34 Bitter Christmas and outro Music: Awakening (Instrumental) by Wataboi https://soundcloud.com/wataboi Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0 Music promoted by FDL Music https://youtu.be/X2oQNUOmk2k

  3. Jul 29

    Remembering Sam Neill: Possession & Hunt for the Wilderpeople

    Sam Neill became a movie icon as Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic Park, but his career stretched across New Zealand and Australian cinema, Hollywood spectacle, psychological horror, comedy, and character drama. In this episode of Second Cut, we remember Neill through two of his most revealing performances: Mark in Andrzej Żuławski’s Possession and Hec in Taika Waititi’s Hunt for the Wilderpeople. We discuss Neill’s career and New Zealand identity; Isabelle Adjani, marital breakdown, doppelgängers, violence, and the famous subway sequence in Possession; and Julian Dennison, Rachel House, foster care, New Zealand humor, and the wilderness chase in Hunt for the Wilderpeople. Along the way, we consider Neill’s surprising horror legacy, his discomfort with Possession, the reinvention of Alan Grant, his range of accents, and why no single role—not even Jurassic Park—could contain his career. We close by remembering Kaylee Hottle and discussing disability representation in blockbuster cinema. Follow Second Cut for more film criticism, history, and theory-driven conversations. Follow Second Cut: YouTube: @SecondCutPod Substack: https://secondcutpod.substack.com Socials: @SecondCutPod Email: secondcutpod@gmail.com Chapters 00:00 Cold open: Sam Neill’s horror contradiction 00:27 Remembering Sam Neill 02:47 From New Zealand to James Bond and Jurassic Park 05:12 New Zealand identity and the Event Horizon flag 07:22 Alan Grant and Spielberg’s Jurassic Park 09:44 Possession: Żuławski’s marital nightmare 12:11 Exile, censorship, and cinematic breakdown 14:49 Divorce, Bob, and art as therapy 17:08 What “possession” really means 19:33 Isabelle Adjani and the subway breakdown 21:56 Violence, performance, and ethical discomfort 24:23 Mark, Helen, and the idealized doubles 26:47 Doppelgängers and Sam Neill’s horror legacy 28:48 Bob, the ending, and collateral damage 29:44 Parker Finn’s Possession remake 32:09 Camera movement and visual control 33:00 Hunt for the Wilderpeople and Taika Waititi 35:24 Ricky Baker, Hec, and Bella 37:45 New Zealand humor and Taika Waititi’s ensemble 39:36 Julian Dennison and directing young actors 41:41 Foster care, grief, and Hec’s legal danger 43:57 Rachel House, Psycho Sam, and the manhunt 46:23 Is Wilderpeople a kids’ Badlands? 48:24 Prison, reconnection, and the ending 49:26 Haikus, Julian Dennison, and staying homegrown 51:48 Thor cameos and Sam Neill’s accents 56:16 Final thoughts on Sam Neill’s legacy 58:35 Remembering Kaylee Hottle and representation 1:00:53 The Odyssey and outro Music: Awakening (Instrumental) by Wataboi https://soundcloud.com/wataboi Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0 Music promoted by FDL Music https://youtu.be/X2oQNUOmk2k

  4. Jul 22

    Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey: Spectacle, War and the Journey Home

    Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey turns Homer’s homecoming epic into a test of what war does to the hero who survives it. In this solo episode, Jacob reviews the film with full spoilers, discussing its IMAX cinematography and formats, historical accuracy, production design, Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, the ensemble cast, Ludwig Göransson’s score, the Sirens, the gods, and Nolan’s practical approach to the creatures and spectacle. The Trojan horse provides the episode’s central thread: a gift that conceals violence and a victory that teaches Odysseus to control the stories other people inhabit. From broken hospitality to the journey home, the discussion asks whether a warrior can recover the relationships that conquest taught him to manipulate. Full spoilers for Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey. Subscribe for more film criticism, history, and theory-driven conversations. Follow Second Cut: YouTube: @SecondCutPod Substack: https://secondcutpod.substack.com Socials: @SecondCutPod Email: secondcutpod@gmail.com CHAPTERS 0:00 Cold Open: Christopher Nolan vs. Arthur 0:24 Review and Spoiler Warning 2:42 Nolan’s Approach to Homer 4:16 Cinematography, Color and IMAX 9:40 Historical Accuracy and Production Design 13:33 Performances, Casting and Dialogue 19:14 Sound, Score and the Sirens 21:38 Gods, Monsters and Practical Effects 23:39 The Trojan Horse, Spectacle and Trust 26:57 Narrative Control and the Journey Home 28:20 Penelope, Athena and Moral Responsibility 29:10 The Final Battle and the Homecoming 30:27 Final Verdict Music: Awakening (Instrumental) by Wataboi https://soundcloud.com/wataboi Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0 Music promoted by FDL Music https://youtu.be/X2oQNUOmk2k

  5. Jul 15

    Nolan’s Batman Trilogy: Batman Begins, The Dark Knight & The Dark Knight Rises

    Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy reshaped superhero movies through realism, moral seriousness, practical spectacle, and a post-9/11 vision of Gotham. In this episode of Second Cut, we revisit Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Rises to ask what Nolan’s grounded approach accomplished, and whether its influence made later superhero movies too serious. We discuss Christian Bale’s Batman, David S. Goyer, Jonathan Nolan, Gotham’s visual identity, practical effects, IMAX, Ra’s al Ghul, Scarecrow, Rachel Dawes, Heath Ledger’s Joker, Harvey Dent and Two-Face, Bane, Catwoman, Talia al Ghul, mass surveillance, terrorism, class politics, and the trilogy’s enormous influence. We also debate why Batman Begins may be the best Batman adaptation, why The Dark Knight remains the strongest film, and why The Dark Knight Rises feels like such a major step down. Subscribe for more film criticism, history, and theory-driven conversations. Follow Second Cut: YouTube: @SecondCutPod Substack: https://secondcutpod.substack.com Socials: @SecondCutPod Email: secondcutpod@gmail.com Chapters 00:00 Cold open: Is The Dark Knight Rises opening actually good? 00:22 Intro: Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy 02:03 Gritty, grounded, and ashamed of comic books? 03:39 Batman & Robin, Casino Royale, and the reboot era 07:56 Christopher Nolan’s practical filmmaking and IMAX 09:52 Christian Bale and the two sides of Batman 11:57 Gotham: Nolan vs. Tim Burton and Matt Reeves 13:35 How Nolan pitched, cast, and rebuilt Batman 21:00 Batman Begins: origin, Scarecrow, and Ra’s al Ghul 24:48 Bruce Wayne’s training and Nolan’s flashback structure 28:47 Katie Holmes, Rachel Dawes, and Batman’s relationships 31:05 Cillian Murphy, Scarecrow, and the League of Shadows 35:01 The Tumbler, Gotham’s look, and Batman’s voice 39:16 Humor, hallucinations, and the legacy of Batman Begins 42:51 The Dark Knight’s influence, Joker culture, and viral marketing 49:53 The Dark Knight: Harvey Dent, Batman, and the Joker 53:44 The opening heist and IMAX spectacle 55:58 The ensemble cast and Maggie Gyllenhaal 57:42 Heath Ledger’s Joker: performance, dialogue, and menace 01:01:18 Parallel editing and the ferry problem 01:02:38 Rachel’s death, Two-Face, Alfred, and the hospital 01:09:11 Coleman Reese, the ferries, and Gotham surveillance 01:12:41 Two-Face, Gordon’s family, and the final lie 01:15:20 Terrorism, torture, and The Dark Knight’s politics 01:17:19 The Dark Knight Rises: a major step down? 01:19:15 Bane’s plan, Occupy Wall Street, and the voice 01:22:54 Knightfall, the broken back, and the eight-year gap 01:26:36 Catwoman, John Blake, and the Robin problem 01:29:33 The football stadium and Gotham under siege 01:31:01 Talia al Ghul, the pit, and the failed twist 01:34:28 The nuclear bomb and Batman ’66 comparison 01:35:08 Frozen Gotham and Scarecrow’s kangaroo court 01:36:17 Hans Zimmer, James Newton Howard, and Bane’s chant 01:37:52 Anne Hathaway and too many Batman characters 01:38:54 Did Bruce Wayne survive? 01:40:32 Final verdict and Nolan’s post-Batman career 01:42:48 Plugs and outro Music: Awakening (Instrumental) by Wataboi https://soundcloud.com/wataboi Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0 Music promoted by FDL Music https://youtu.be/X2oQNUOmk2k

  6. Jul 8

    Greek Mythology Movies: Jason and the Argonauts, The Trojan Women & Troy

    Greek mythology has always been adaptation: Homer reworked older stories, Euripides reframed the fall of Troy through the women left behind, and Hollywood keeps turning gods, monsters, heroes, and wars into new cinematic myths. In this episode of Second Cut, we look at Greek mythology movies through Jason and the Argonauts, The Trojan Women, and Troy. We discuss Ray Harryhausen’s stop-motion creatures, Talos, the Hydra, the skeleton fight, the Argonautica, Medea, Michael Cacoyannis, Katharine Hepburn, Vanessa Redgrave, Euripides, the Peloponnesian War, the massacre at Melos, Greek political exile, Brad Pitt’s Achilles, Eric Bana’s Hector, Orlando Bloom’s Paris, the shadow of Gladiator, the missing gods in Troy, and why Greek mythology on film works best when it understands myth as something constantly being rewritten. Subscribe for more film criticism, history, and theory-driven conversations. Follow Second Cut: YouTube: @SecondCutPod Substack: https://secondcutpod.substack.com Socials: @SecondCutPod Email: [secondcutpod@gmail.com](mailto:secondcutpod@gmail.com) Chapters 00:00 Intro: Greek myths and Nolan’s Odyssey 03:45 Three timelines for the same myths 06:02 Myth, history, and adaptation 08:08 Sword-and-sandal cinema 10:45 Jason and the Argonauts 11:27 Ray Harryhausen as auteur 15:13 Jason’s quest and the gods’ game 19:28 Building the Argonauts 22:41 Talos, harpies, and monster craft 28:09 The Hydra and the skeletons 33:19 The tactile magic of stop motion 36:08 Medea and rewritten myth 38:24 Why Jason never got a sequel 43:13 The Argonautica and myth as adaptation 47:36 The Trojan Women 49:44 Euripides and the lost Trojan plays 51:25 Athens, Melos, and antiwar tragedy 54:32 Michael Cacoyannis and Greek cinema 55:50 Dictatorship, exile, and political context 59:14 Euripides in the desert 61:03 Helen, Cassandra, and the women of Troy 63:45 Kael, Ebert, and filmed theater 64:48 What a modern version might do 67:56 Greek myth beyond monsters 68:59 Troy 70:31 Brad Pitt and Achilles 72:23 Gladiator, Alexander, and 2000s epics 73:10 The Iliad compressed into Troy 77:40 Dumb action and mixed performances 79:43 Hector vs Achilles 80:47 The Trojan War according to Troy 87:16 The Trojan Horse problem 90:49 Achilles’ heel without gods 92:20 Lord of the Rings echoes 95:18 Why Troy feels overstuffed 96:20 Brad Pitt as superhero Achilles 98:36 Why Troy needed the gods 102:39 Final thoughts on Troy 107:14 Plugs and outro Music: Awakening (Instrumental) by Wataboi https://soundcloud.com/wataboi Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0 Music promoted by FDL Music https://youtu.be/X2oQNUOmk2k

  7. Jul 1

    Hitchcock’s Closet: Rebecca, Rope & Strangers on a Train

    Hitchcock is a perfect director for queer-coding conversations because his movies already live in the space between what is visible and what is hidden. His thrillers are full of secrets, doubles, coded behavior, dangerous intimacy, social performance, and people trying to keep private desires from becoming public facts. This week on Second Cut, Jacob, Sam, and Kieran discuss Rebecca, Rope, and Strangers on a Train as three different versions of queer-coded Hitchcock. In Rebecca, we look at Mrs. Danvers, Daphne du Maurier, gothic atmosphere, Manderley, and the way Rebecca’s presence haunts the film without ever appearing as a ghost. In Rope, we discuss Brandon and Philip, Leopold and Loeb, Arthur Laurents, queer casting, the one-shot gimmick, Jimmy Stewart, and why the film’s subtext feels unusually open for a Code-era Hollywood movie. In Strangers on a Train, we get into Robert Walker’s Bruno, Farley Granger, Vito Russo, The Celluloid Closet, Patricia Highsmith, Raymond Chandler, the “perfect murder,” and how Hitchcock turns Bruno’s obsession with Guy into one of his strangest and most suggestive thrillers. Support the show and read our deep-dives on Substack: https://secondcutpod.substack.com Follow Second Cut: YouTube: @SecondCutPod Socials: @SecondCutPod Email: secondcutpod@gmail.com CHAPTERS: 00:00 Cold Open 00:28 Introduction 01:09 Why Hitchcock Fits Queer Coding 04:01 Hitchcock and Deviance 07:26 Straight Normality in Hitchcock 09:48 Vito Russo and Hitchcock 10:47 Rebecca 13:10 Manderley 17:46 Mrs. Danvers 22:14 Rebecca and the Hays Code 24:34 Rebecca’s Gothic Atmosphere 29:57 Olivier and the Rebecca Remake 33:12 Rebecca’s Score 37:08 Rope 40:19 The Long-Take Gimmick 44:18 Leopold and Loeb 45:36 Rope’s Queer Subtext 47:25 Arthur Laurents and Queer Casting 54:30 The Lovers Were Implied 57:33 David in the Closet 58:05 “Come Straight Out With It” 01:01:16 Murder Philosophy 01:03:28 Jimmy Stewart in Rope 01:05:56 The Chest Shot 01:06:57 Rope’s Camera Tricks 01:11:50 Strangers on a Train 01:13:50 Hitchcock and Raymond Chandler 01:15:49 Guy and Bruno 01:17:40 Robert Walker’s Bruno 01:19:06 Vito Russo’s Gay Villain Pattern 01:22:12 Bruno, Guy, and Consent 01:24:46 The Glasses Murder 01:27:49 The Lighter and Tennis Match 01:30:23 Bruno at the Party 01:31:39 Bruno’s House 01:33:58 The Carousel Finale 01:38:10 Final Thoughts on Strangers 01:39:46 Outro Music: Awakening (Instrumental) by Wataboi https://soundcloud.com/wataboi Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0 Music promoted by FDL Music https://youtu.be/X2oQNUOmk2k

  8. Jun 24

    Hays Code Queer Coding: Dracula’s Daughter, The Uninvited & Tea and Sympathy

    Classic Hollywood cinema wasn’t empty of queer stories. Under the Hays Code, filmmakers just had to make audiences work for the subtext. In this episode of Second Cut, Jacob, Sam, and Kieran look at queer coding in classic Hollywood through Dracula’s Daughter (1936), The Uninvited (1944), and Tea and Sympathy (1956). We discuss the Production Code, The Celluloid Closet, queer film history, censorship, lesbian vampire imagery, gothic haunting, the “gay villain” archetype, masculinity, homophobia, the Lavender Scare, and how old Hollywood used implication when open representation was forbidden. Support the show and read our deep-dives on Substack:https://secondcutpod.substack.com Follow Second Cut:YouTube: @SecondCutPodSocials: @SecondCutPodEmail: secondcutpod@gmail.com CHAPTERS:00:00 Cold Open: Masculinity and Queer Subtext00:26 Introduction to Hays Code Queer Coding02:01 The Rules of Hollywood Self-Censorship05:48 The Celluloid Closet and Subtext as Survival09:23 The Gay Villain Archetype and Film Noir Cues15:42 Dracula’s Daughter (1936) and Lesbian Vampire Cinema39:46 The Uninvited (1944), Rebecca, and Spectral Lesbianism58:32 Tea and Sympathy (1956), Masculinity, and Conformity01:05:25 The Lavender Scare and 1950s Social Panic01:07:13 Stage vs. Screen Under the Production Code01:18:39 Vincente Minnelli, CinemaScope, and Melodrama01:24:52 Compromise, Reception, and the Code’s Limits01:31:12 Outro Music:Awakening (Instrumental) by Wataboihttps://soundcloud.com/wataboiCreative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0Music promoted by FDL Musichttps://youtu.be/X2oQNUOmk2k

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About

Jacob, Kieran, and Sam explore topics in film history, criticism, and theory through weekly movie reviews!

Information

  • Creator
    Second Cut
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    109
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Second Cut
  • Show Website
    Second Cut