Waypoint Radio

This month on Mannhunting, Alex and Rob are tackling Public Enemies, Michael Mann's dramatization of the FBI manhunt for notorious Depression-era bank robber John Dillinger. The film touches on the fascist sympathies of FBI founder J. Edgar Hoover and the prologue to the modern surveillance state. But fundamentally Public Enemies is about a bank robber and the way he is hunted and eventually cornered. In that story Rob finds a lot to love, but Alex sees a thematic muddle and doubtful execution of every idea. Like Dillinger and the FBI, they just have to settle this with a shootout.

Miami Vice was regarded as a misfire for Michael Mann upon release, then reappraised by some critics as one of this best and most misunderstood works. Dia, Alex, and Rob all approach the 2006 motion picture adaptation with fresh eyes and see, to varying degrees, both sides of the argument. One thing everyone agrees on: you do not disrespect Phil Collins like that.

Austin Walker takes a ride with Mannhunting as the gang discusses Michael Mann's 2004 Collateral, in which Jamie Foxx's shy LA cabdriver Max is forced to drive professional assassin Vincent (played by Tom Cruise) from killing to killing over the course of a long night. What role does Mann's early-adoption of digital cameras play in creating the indelible look of the film? What is the transformation to the two characters work on each other over the course of their journey? And most importantly, what is going on with the photo collection in Max's mother's hospital room? Every secret is revealed over the course of this hall of fame-level Mannhunting.

Michael Mann walks the blurry lines between homage, imitation, and theft as he attempts to tell the stories of Muhammed Ali, Malcolm X, the 1960s, and the Cold War geopolitical order in a single sprawling biopic. Join as Rob and Alex Navarro take the movie to ten rounds discussing just how much Mann borrowed from Spike Lee's Malcolm X and the documentary When We Were Kings, and to what degree he ends up directing poor stealth-remakes of both.

You might not be shocked to learn Patrick loves Netflix’s Stranger Things. But could you have guessed Rob has also been hanging out in the Upside Down these past few years? With the most recent season—including that whopper of a two-and-a-half-hour finale that was really a normal episode with a LOTR-style epilogue—now concluded, Rob and Patrick felt it was time to dig into a show they think is often mediocre but always tremendously fun. Also, Patrick gets to explain to Rob what “vecnussy” is.

When beginning Mannhunting, Rob made a hypothesis that (barring The Keep) any of Mann's films could be argued to be his Best Work. Now, one movie past the highly regarded Heat, the Mannhunters are in a position to really put that theory to the test. Join as Alex, Dia, and Rob take to the airwaves with Mann's drama about 60 Minutes, a Tobacco industry whistleblower, and corporate power over news media.

The Waypoint Crew continues our watch along of the Twilight Saga with Twilight: New Moon! There were some wild moments in the first movie, but little did we know that we had barely seen the tip of the bizarre iceberg! So dig out your Twilight: New Moon DVD or MP4 or MKV and watch along with us as we return to the world of Vampires, Werewolves, and italian tribunals!

Patrick really wanted to watch a movie with our audience during our recent Waypoint Summer Games Feast, and it just so happens that 3/5 Waypointers hadn't seen Twilight. Natalie would not let this stand, so we're leaning all the way in and starting our series of Twilight Watch Alongs with this inaugural episode, starting, of course, at the beginning. So dig out your Twilight DVD or MP4 or MKV and watch along with us as we enter the world of Vampires, Baseball, and Mormon Moments (TM).