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Nick and Raekwon sit down to discuss Magnolia. The 1999 film is an ensemble Drama that was written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson (PTA). It follows several characters in the San Fernando Valley through their day as they pursue happiness, forgiveness, peace, and meaning (while music by Aimee Mann plays). It was released to critical acclaim and was nominated for several Academy Awards, along with two Golden Globes. Of them, Tom Cruise brought home the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor. In this episode, Nick and Raekwon tackle:- Why the film was named “Magnolia”- Whether this is the best performance of Tom Cruise’s career (along with the quality of the other performances by John C. Reilly, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman and William H. Macy, to name a few)- What parallels can be drawn between guys like Frank T.J. Mackey and male influencers in the current day- What the film represents in broader culture.

Danny Boyle’s 1996 feature Trainspotting (based on the Irvine Welsh book of the same name) is one of the most iconic films of the 90s. And seeing as it’s the 30th anniversary of that seminal Miramax feature, we thought there was no better time to sit down and discuss it. Because behind the absolute beast of a soundtrack, the endless parade of quotable lines, and that hyper-stylized 90s cinematography, there’s also a deeply resonant story about coming-of-age and choosing life, as opposed to stewing in an environment that no-longer serves you. 

In this episode of Glaring Admissions, Nick revisits one of his favorite movies of all time while Raekwon watches Trainspotting for the first time. We break down Ewan McGregor’s Mark Renton, Sick Boy, Spud, Tommy, and the terrifying Francis Begbie while exploring what Danny Boyle’s film has to say about addiction, toxic friendships, and the fear of moving forward. We also make the case that Trainspotting is essentially the anti-John Hughes movie: a coming-of-age story about adults who never really came of age. We also discuss: • Why Renton is an unreliable narrator
• The meaning of the phrase “Choose Life” 
• Whether Trainspotting glorifies heroin and drug use
• Renton’s relationship with Sick Boy, Spud, Tommy, and Begbie • Why Renton’s friends may be holding him back
• Tommy’s tragic character arc
 • Danny Boyle’s directing and visual style
• The iconic Trainspotting soundtrack, including Iggy Pop, Lou Reed, New Order, and Underworld 
• The infamous “Worst Toilet in Scotland” scene
 • Trainspotting vs. Requiem for a Dream and other movies about addiction
• Why the ending may represent Renton finally choosing life

Close Encounters of the Third Kind or: Full Disclosure, this rips harder than just about anything else Spielberg “I’m Mr. In Contention for being the Greatest Filmmaker of All Time” Spielberg has ever cooked up. Take that Jurassic Park! 

 On this episode of Glaring Admissions, Nick and Raekwon sit down to review and provide an analysis/retrospective on 1977’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind, the iconic science fiction film that was helmed by the iconic director of Jaws, ET: The Extra Terrestrial, and Saving Private Ryan, Steven Spielberg! In the process, they ponder whether anyone else could’ve made a movie that’s quite as good (in spite of its few flaws) as Close Encounters. Including Steven Spielberg himself!

Their conversation also discusses the way that Spielberg seems to love making movies about aliens, how his humanist touch to storytelling elevates the material, and how he may be trying to evoke his iconic alien movie once again with 2026’s Disclosure Day, another film about aliens coming to Earth and the attempt of several human characters to make sense of it.

On this episode of Glaring Admissions, Nick and Raekwon sit down to discuss First Blood, a smart and criminally underlooked action film/thriller from 1982. In the process, they explore an interesting question: would we have been better off had we never gotten any Rambo sequels?Their conversation also covers the production history of the first Rambo movie, some insights into the alternate versions of the movie that we almost got back in the 70s, Rambo's place in the history of mental health and the introduction of PTSD into the American lexicon, and the sequels that came out and tarnished this first flick's reputation throughout the 80s up to today.

Wanna get full video versions of Glaring Admissions up to two weeks earlier than everyone else? You can do so by becoming a Patron/Channel Member! Links below. On this episode of Glaring Admissions, Nick busts out the movie that made Jackie Chan a star in America, Rumble in the Bronx! This episode finds him and his faithful co-host Raekwon discussing: - The differences between the US and Hong Kong cuts of the film (also known as Red Bronx in Japan), and which one is better/easier to find on streaming/physical media- How Jackie Chan movies were altered for American audiences, and marketed (including the infamous and dubious claim that Chan 'never uses stuntdoubles.'- Why Rumble in the Bronx was a turning point in Chan's career, as it made him known in America.- And whether or not the movie is truly a 'seminal' piece of cinema, or if it's even worth revisiting 30 years later. Support the channel:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/NicheCaesarChannel Membership: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCscDbMTovs2Zww6by8HSDMg/joinSocials:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/nichecaesar.bsky.socialLetterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/nichecaesar

Glaring Admissions shall return in... This podcast episode. On the final Glaring Admissions of 2024, Nick and Raekwon sit down with their friend (and original Media Obscura co-host Mike's brother) John to discuss GoldenEye! It's his first time watching a 007 movie before, and that leads to a long and playful conversation about the franchise and where he should take things from here. As for the movie itself, GoldenEye is an installment in the long-running Eon James Bond series of films. It was the debut of Pierce Brosnan as 007 and finds him squaring off against a rogue MI6 agent over control of a weapon known as the GoldenEye, a powerful Russian satellite that can discharge an EMP blast. Along the way, he teams up with one of the satellites operators, Natalia, and fights off Alec Trevelyan's henchman Xenia Onatopp too. Yada yada yada, dun nun na nunnnnnnnn, oh yeah and Judy Dench is M.

Scream! Louder! Scream is a 1996 horror film directed by Wes Craven. It follows a group of teenagers (led by Neve Campbell) and a reporter (Courtney Cox) that are getting attacked by a killer wearing a common Halloween mask. The film is known for helping revitalize the slasher genre in the 90s and for being a deconstruction of its tropes. Despite coming out right before Christmas and not being expected to be a hit, the film ended up being a runaway success that has since spawned five sequels and a TV series.

The best movie podcast duo out there (sorry, not sorry) is back to discuss John Landis 1980 musical comedy, The Blues Brothers! Raekwon’s never seen it before and, boy oh boy, did Nick feel the need to change that. For those of you that don’t know, The Blues Brothers is a film adaptation of the popular SNL characters of the same name/real blues revue band led by Dan Ackroyd and John Belushi. The film, which casts them as the Blues, follows them on an adventure to raise $5000 to save the orphanage they grew up in, and finds them joined by legendary black musicians such as Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Cab Calloway and Ray Charles. They’ve got a souped up car they’ve named “The Blues Mobile,” a killer band, and they’ve pissed off everybody they could in the state of Illinois in the process. And you know what else they’ve got? A heckin’ good movie. Like, easily Nick’s favorite musical tier stuff. So join Nick and Raekwon as they discuss the classic musical The Blues Brothers, and how it’s an important film in Saturday Night Live’s canon that is 100% worth watching! Because, really, it’s got a sixty car pileup! How many car crashes do you need for a movie to be worth your time???

Nick and Raekwon are back to chat about Top Gun and Top Gun: Maverick on the latest episode of Glaring Admissions! Be sure to drop your thoughts on whether or not the 2022 sequel to Top Gun can really be considered a classic already down in the comments, as well as your thoughts on the series as a whole.

Independence Day is a 1996 action/disaster blockbuster that was directed by Roland Emmerich. It stars Bill Pullman, Will Smith, and Jeff Goldblum (among many others) as humans forced to scramble to fight off an alien invasion in the days leading up to the 4th of July. The film was released to massive success back in the 90s and briefly held the title as the second highest grossing film of all time (behind Jurassic Park). Despite it's popularity, and it's notability for helping jumpstart Will Smith's film career, it's also a movie that has received a mixed reception from critics and audiences alike for close to thirty years now. Which brings us to this video: Should we celebrate ID4? Is it actually a good movie? Welp, that's what here to find out.

Mulholland Drive is a 2001 surrealist drama/mystery that was written and directed by David 'Garmonbozia' Lynch. The film stars Naomi Watts and Laura Harring as two women investigating the circumstances that brought Harring's character (Rita) to Watts' (Betty, not Betsie's, I promise) door. Along the way, surrealism happens. Ya know, Lynch stuff. Chapters: 00:00 - Opening 00:38 - Movie Trailer 01:37 - The Episode Proper

Total Recall is a 1990 Paul Verhoeven directed adaptation of the Phillip K. Dick story "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale." It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as Douglas Quaid, a construction worker who dreams of going to Mars and stops at Rekall Incorporated to have the memories of one such trip implanted into his brain. However, something goes wrong. It appears that "Douglas" has actually been a spy who's been to mars all along! He'll now have to get back to the red planet and figure out what happened to himself before he's captured by the shadowy "organization" that seems to want to keep him from there! Join Nick and Raekwon as they chat about this classic action movie in this episode of Glaring Admissions: A Media Obscura Podcast.

Introducing Glaring Admissions, a show dedicated to watching/discussing iconic, famous movies that we've somehow missed out on! Join us on our inaugural episode as we sit down and discuss Steven Speilberg's iconic 1993 action/suspense/horror classic, Jurassic Park! It's spawned *a lot* of sequels, was worked on concurrently with Schindler's List and, surprise surprise, affirms that nobody can really do it quite as well as Spielberg can.

Check out the full-video edit of this episode, complete with cutaways, on https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCscDbMTovs2Zww6by8HSDMg 1986's BMX, underdog, feel-good, teen, coming of age cult movie "Rad" is coming back to theaters this Thursday for a holiday called "Rad day" and, in preparation for it, I decided to sit down with my good friend/podcast co-host Raekwon to give the movie a run down. The film follows Cru, a paperboy/diner employee who loves BMXing as he prepares for a race against the nations best BMX racers. Along the way, he meets Christian (Lori Loughlin), a biker for the Mongoose team who quickly falls in love with him. He also butts heads with Ms. Rocky Balboa herself, Talia Shire, and Duke Best (who might be the craziest person ever). It's a movie.

Media Obscura's back and, on this week's episode, we're tackling Wild Wild (ficka) Wild Wild West, the 1999 Will Smith Box Office bomb! Join Nick, Sierra & Raekwon as they reminisce about this (not so) classic 90s action comedy! It's a film they all grew up with and have some nostalgia for it, so you'll be sure to hear the good, bad and ugly about this cowboy dud. Also, if you're that one listener Raekwon accidentally was mean to... he's sorry! nichecaesar.com