Happy New Year (eventually)! Another bonus episode for your listening enjoyment as we bring you another Reel Roundtable discussion. Ian, Liam, Kev, and Megan look back on the films they've reviewed in 2025. Comments, banter, and flat out arguments can be found as we debate the best that we saw in 2025 (A full list of award categories and eligible films are located at the bottom of these notes)

This year we're thrilled to have ballots from seven of our patrons and Ariannah, Synthia, & Paul join us to settle any and all tie-breakers (and there were a few). The Awards:

• Best Screenplay
• Best Special Effects
• Best Costume Design
• Best Art Direction
• Best Cinematography
• Best Context Corner Highlight
• Best Duo
• Best Villain
• Best Animated Film
• Best Voice Actor
• Best Musical
• The John Williams Award for Best Score
• Best Song or Theme
• Best Soundtrack
• Best Tearjerker
• Funniest Film
• Best BFE Moment/Rant/Quote
• Best BFE Argument
• The Abigail Breslin Award for Best Child Actor
• The Steel Magnolias Award for Best Representation of Women
• The Natalie Portman Award for Most Attractive Female on Film
• The Ryan Gosling Award for Most Attractive Male on Film
• Best Plot Twist (no spoilers)
• Episode of the Year
• Best Patreon Film
• Best First Watch
• Most Improved Viewing Experience
• Best Supporting Actor
• Best Supporting Actress
• Best Actor
• The Frances McDormand Award for Best Actress
• Best Film

Eligible Films:

• 300
• American Psycho
• Babylon
• Black Swan
• Cinderella Man
• Crash
• Dirty Harry
• Erin Brockovich
• Field of Dreams
• Ghost
• Heneral Luna
• Idiocracy
• Inception
• It
• Jackie Brown
• Jaws
• Karate Kid
• Mask
• Million Dollar Baby
• Mission: Impossible 2
• Moneyball
• Mr. & Mrs. Smith
• Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
• One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest
• Ordinary People
• Out of the Furnace
• Outbreak
• Poltergeist
• Predator
• Rocky Horror
• Ruby Sparks
• Rush
• Shallow Grave
• Shutter Island
• Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs
• Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
• Superman (1978)
• Sweeney Todd
• The 40 Year Old Virgin
• The Fighter
• The Goonies
• The Holiday
• The Naked Gun
• The Shining
• The Social Network
• To Die For
• Toy Story 3
• Tremors
• V for Vendetta
• What We Do In The Shadows
• Witness
• X-Men

“We’re all in this together.”

Join Ian, Megs & Kev for our 318th episode as we lace up the Wildcats, grab the basketball (and the sheet music), and head back to East High for Disney Channel’s cultural phenomenon High School Musical (2006). It’s jazz hands, jump shots, and mid-2000s sincerity this week — and yes, we’re absolutely committing to the choreography.

This week we discuss:

• The lightning-in-a-bottle appeal — how a made-for-TV movie became a generational event - especially for one member of the panel.
• Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens — chemistry, charisma, and the myth-making of teen stardom. Does Hudgens get enough credit for the success of the franchise?
• Ashley Tisdale’s Sharpay Evans — villain, icon, or misunderstood theatre kid with ambition? Is she too good to dislike?
• Megs breaks down the musical structure — why the songs are catchier than they have any right to be, and which ones still slap.
• The team talks about the difficulty about the audition process - on both sides of the equation
• We talk about the differences in social cliques in the North American school system versus the British school system
• Ian talks about how the whole plot is a conceit that he can't fully buy into - but why?
• Thematically — identity, peer pressure, and the fear of stepping outside the box. Why this simple message resonated so hard.
• The “show, don’t tell” debate — does the film trust visual storytelling, or does it lean on dialogue and lyrics to do the heavy lifting?
• The Disney machine — how the film’s success reshaped the network’s future output.
• The ending performance — triumphant, predictable, or perfectly engineered for maximum serotonin?
• And finally, whether High School Musical is the Best Film Ever — or simply the most aggressively rewatchable Disney Channel Original Movie ever made.

Become a Patron of this podcast and support the BFE at https://www.patreon.com/BFE

We are extremely thankful to our following Patrons for their most generous support:

• Juleen from It Goes Down In The PM
• Hermes Auslander
• James DeGuzman
• Synthia
• Shai Bergerfroind
• Ariannah Who Loves BFE The Most
• Paul Komoroski
• Andy Dickson
• Chris Pedersen
• Duane Smith (Duane Smith!)
• Randal Silva
• Nate The Great
• Rev Bruce
• Cheezy (with a fish on a bike)
• Richard
• Ryan Kuketz
• Dirk Diggler
• Stew from the Stew World Order podcast
• NorfolkDomus
• John Humphrey's Right Foot
• Timmy Tim Tim
• Aashrey
• Youth Hosteling with Chris Eubank

Buy some BFE merch at https://my-store-b4e4d4.creator-spring.com/.

Massive thanks to Lex Van Den Berghe for the use of Mistake by Luckydog. Catch more from Lex's new band, The Maids of Honor, at https://soundcloud.com/themaidsofhonor

Also, massive thanks to Moonlight Social for our age game theme song. You can catch more from them at https://www.moonlightsocialmusic.com/

“Has anything you’ve done made your life better?”

Join Ian, Liam, Megs & Kev for our 317th episode as we confront anger, ideology, consequence, and redemption in Tony Kaye’s incendiary and unforgettable American History X (1998). This week, we’re also joined by BFF of the BFE: Hermes Auslander, and — in a huge moment for the podcast — we sit down for a special interview with director Tony Kaye himself.

This one is heavy. Necessary. Complicated.

This week we discuss:

• Edward Norton’s blistering performance — charismatic, terrifying, magnetic. Is this one of the great transformations of the 1990s?
• The black-and-white vs colour structure — memory, myth, and moral framing. How does the visual language shape our understanding of Derek’s journey?
• The film’s central question — can hate be unlearned, and if so, what does it cost?
• Hermes joins us to unpack the film’s cultural and political legacy — why it still resonates, and why it remains controversial.
• The prison sequence — brutal, pivotal, and narratively dangerous. Does the film handle trauma responsibly?
• We examine the fine line between depiction and endorsement — does the film risk glamorising the ideology it condemns?
• The ending — inevitable, devastating, and still capable of knocking the wind out of an audience. What does it ultimately say about cycles of violence?
• Our special interview with Tony Kaye — reflections on authorship, conflict over the final cut, working with Edward Norton, and how he views the film now, decades later.
• The legacy question — has the film aged well? Has it been misunderstood? Has it been weaponised?
• And finally, whether American History X is the Best Film Ever — or one of the most important and confronting films we’ve ever covered.

Become a Patron of this podcast and support the BFE at https://www.patreon.com/BFE

We are extremely thankful to our following Patrons for their most generous support:

• Juleen from It Goes Down In The PM
• Hermes Auslander
• James DeGuzman
• Synthia
• Shai Bergerfroind
• Ariannah Who Loves BFE The Most
• Paul Komoroski
• Andy Dickson
• Chris Pedersen
• Duane Smith (Duane Smith!)
• Randal Silva
• Nate The Great
• Rev Bruce
• Cheezy (with a fish on a bike)
• Richard
• Ryan Kuketz
• Dirk Diggler
• Stew from the Stew World Order podcast
• NorfolkDomus
• John Humphrey's Right Foot
• Timmy Tim Tim
• Aashrey
• Youth Hosteling with Chris Eubank

Buy some BFE merch at https://my-store-b4e4d4.creator-spring.com/.

Massive thanks to Lex Van Den Berghe for the use of Mistake by Luckydog. Catch more from Lex's new band, The Maids of Honor, at https://soundcloud.com/themaidsofhonor

Also, massive thanks to Moonlight Social for our age game theme song. You can catch more from them at https://www.moonlightsocialmusic.com/

Frozen or Tangled? Lion King or Snow White? Robin Hood or The Jungle Book? Aladdin or The Emperor's New Groove? People have been debating which is the best of the best since Snow White opined that some day her prince will come and even today the best of us can't Let It Go. Joined by some of our Friends of the Podcast: Ariannah, JDG & his horseshoe, Hermes Auslander, Andy Dickson, and Sythia. We've determined to Be Prepared as we're setting up all 64 Disney Animated Classics in a single knockout tournament. We've got massive upsets, Cinderella runs (literally?) and much debate as we crown the Best Disney Animated Classic of all time.

“You think this is just a story?”

Join Ian, Liam, Megs & Kev for our 316th episode as we descend into the basement, start pressing buttons we absolutely shouldn’t, and dismantle the horror genre piece by piece with Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon’s The Cabin in the Woods (2011). This week is less about jump scares and more about systems, sacrifice, and whether sometimes… you really should just play the hits.

This week we discuss:

• The central divide — why some viewers desperately wish this film had played it straight, and whether subversion automatically improves a genre story.
• The two-year delay — why The Cabin in the Woods sat finished but unreleased, and how that limbo shaped its eventual reception.
• Ian’s major life milestone this week — and why it weirdly mirrors one of the film’s themes about control and agency.
• Who really enjoys the metaphor — and whether reading the film as an allegory enhances the experience or drains the fun out of it entirely.
• Liam’s unstoppable TV digression — the show he simply will not stop referencing, regardless of relevance.
• We spend some well-earned time talking about Catherine O’Hara — authority, timing, and why she elevates everything she touches.
• The mechanics of the horror machine — archetypes, rituals, and the illusion of choice.
• Megs breaks down the film’s gender politics — subversion, exploitation, and how knowingly the film handles both.
• Kev weighs in on the concept of gatekeeping and who gets to make all these rules anyway?
• The elevator scene — catharsis, overload, or glorious anarchy?
• The ending — nihilistic, freeing, or just pulling the plug on the whole genre.
• And finally, whether The Cabin in the Woods is the Best Film Ever — or simply the most elaborate middle finger horror ever aimed at its own audience.

Become a Patron of this podcast and support the BFE at https://www.patreon.com/BFE

We are extremely thankful to our following Patrons for their most generous support:

• Juleen from It Goes Down In The PM
• Hermes Auslander
• James DeGuzman
• Synthia
• Shai Bergerfroind
• Ariannah Who Loves BFE The Most
• Paul Komoroski
• Andy Dickson
• Chris Pedersen
• Duane Smith (Duane Smith!)
• Randal Silva
• Nate The Great
• Rev Bruce
• Cheezy (with a fish on a bike)
• Richard
• Ryan Kuketz
• Dirk Diggler
• Stew from the Stew World Order podcast
• NorfolkDomus
• John Humphrey's Right Foot
• Timmy Tim Tim
• Aashrey

Buy some BFE merch at https://my-store-b4e4d4.creator-spring.com/.

Massive thanks to Lex Van Den Berghe for the use of Mistake by Luckydog. Catch more from Lex's new band, The Maids of Honor, at https://soundcloud.com/themaidsofhonor

Also, massive thanks to Moonlight Social for our age game theme song. You can catch more from them at https://www.moonlightsocialmusic.com/

The Fantasy Box Office League begins.

Ian is joined by Friends of the Podcast Aashrey, “The Horseshoe” James de Guzman, and Paul Komoroski as 4 of the 10 competitors reveal their thinking ahead of a high-stakes draft: five films each, one year, most money wins.

This is a draft built on instinct, spreadsheets, vibes, and blind confidence. We talk draft strategy, risk tolerance, franchise trust, and how quickly one bad pick can torpedo an entire season. We also talk copious smack about those who couldn't join us.

Hovering over the conversation are the big 2026 questions:

• Event franchise dominance vs. prestige spectacle (**Avengers energy vs. Dune ambition)

• Reliable nostalgia vs. bold cinematic swings (**Toy Story safety vs. The Odyssey risk)

• Proven animation gold vs. superhero reinvention (**Super Mario confidence vs. Supergirl potential)

No box office numbers yet — just claims, confidence, and future receipts waiting to happen.

The draft hasn’t even finished… and the rivalries have already started.

Join Ian from Best Film Ever and Stew from The Stew World Order podcast as we break the BFE format by counting down to chaos at WWE Royal Rumble 2025 from Riyadh Season Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. We discuss whether the Rumble matches delivered on surprises and storytelling—or if they were just a numbers game. Did WWE make the right call in crowning their Rumble winners? How did the Universal Championship match shake up the road to WrestleMania and is AJ Styles still on the road or has he taken the off ramp? We discuss how many kip-ups is too many for a show and what wrestlers do when their Super Mario stars wear off. We'll answer all these questions and hand out post-event superlatives celebrating the night's best (and worst).

Catch more of Stew on his own podcast: Stew World Order at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/stew-world-order/id1559913522

You can also catch him at his website where he writes about all sorts of fun things: https://swoproductions.com/

“We're doing our part”

Join Ian, Liam, Megs & Kev for our 315th episode as we suit up, grab the propaganda reel, and drop feet-first into Paul Verhoeven’s gloriously misunderstood sci-fi satire Starship Troopers (1997). It’s bugs, blood, and bare-faced ideology this week as we try to work out whether this film knew exactly what it was doing all along. Do you want to know more?

This week we discuss:

• The tone problem (or lack thereof) — is Starship Troopers a dumb action movie, a razor-sharp satire, or both at the same time?
• Paul Verhoeven’s intent — does the film critique fascism so hard that some audiences miss the joke entirely?
• The performances — intentionally wooden propaganda archetypes, or just bad acting elevated by context?
• The aesthetics of fascism — uniforms, slogans, and spectacle. Why does the film make authoritarianism look so seductive?
• Ian breaks down the film’s satirical mechanics — how exaggeration, repetition, and irony do the heavy lifting.
• Liam explores audience reception — why the film was misunderstood on release and reclaimed years later.
• Megs looks at gender and violence — equal-opportunity brutality, shower scenes, and the illusion of empowerment.
• Kev weighs in on the action — but don't get him started on the never-ending rounds of bullets
• The enemy — are the Arachnids monsters, victims, or an invented threat to justify endless war?
• The propaganda interstitials — world-building masterstrokes or narrative interruptions?
• Synthia joins us for The Endgame — helping us unpack the film’s legacy, its political bite, and why it feels even more relevant now than it did in 1997.
• The ending — triumphant, horrifying, or both? What are we actually meant to cheer for?
• And finally, whether Starship Troopers is the Best Film Ever — or one of the smartest films ever disguised as a stupid one.

Become a Patron of this podcast and support the BFE at https://www.patreon.com/BFE

We are extremely thankful to our following Patrons for their most generous support:

• Juleen from It Goes Down In The PM
• Hermes Auslander
• James DeGuzman
• Synthia
• Shai Bergerfroind
• Ariannah Who Loves BFE The Most
• Andy Dickson
• Chris Pedersen
• Duane Smith (Duane Smith!)
• Randal Silva
• Nate The Great
• Rev Bruce
• Cheezy (with a fish on a bike)
• Richard
• Ryan Kuketz
• Dirk Diggler
• Stew from the Stew World Order podcast
• NorfolkDomus
• John Humphrey's Right Foot
• Timmy Tim Tim
• Aashrey
• Paul Komoroski

Buy some BFE merch at https://my-store-b4e4d4.creator-spring.com/.

Massive thanks to Lex Van Den Berghe for the use of Mistake by Luckydog. Catch more from Lex's new band, The Maids of Honor, at https://soundcloud.com/themaidsofhonor

Also, massive thanks to Moonlight Social for our age game theme song. You can catch more from them at https://www.moonlightsocialmusic.com/