Film friend Gabriel Brown (arthouse theater programmer, filmmaker, all-around movie nerd) joins Josh and Wally to talk about the best movies they saw in 2025.

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What is a Christmas movie? Wally and Josh have VERY different takes on this age-old debate. Along the way, they reminisce about their favorite Christmas movies.00:03:37 Josh’s definition of a Christmas movie00:07:11 Side tangent: When the “setting is a character.”00:09:28 Wally’s loosey goosey definition of a Christmas movie00:14:00 Chris Columbus, the king of the Christmas movieIS THIS A CHRISTMAS MOVIE?00:15:39 Die Hard00:17:36 The Holdovers00:19:06 Love Actually00:20:54 Black Christmas (by Bob Clark, the other King of Christmas)00:23:33 Side tangent: Why do movie serial killers make such a dang mess?00:24:30 Side tangent: Crime Scene Cleaner video game00:25:59 In Bruges (with a special appearance by Mystery the Cat)00:28:48 Batman Returns00:31:31 Todd Haynes’ Carol00:33:11 Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring00:35:06 The Wizard of Oz00:35:59 John Waters’ Pink Flamingos00:36:55 Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut00:39:01 The Nightmare Before ChristmasOUR FAVORITE CHRISTMAS MOVIES00:43:23 Joe Dante’s Gremlins (Josh)00:48:26 National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (Wally)00:50:23 Lewis Jackson’s Christmas Evil (Josh)00:53:42 Sean Baker’s Tangerine (Wally)00:57:25 Satoshi Kon’s Tokyo Godfathers (Josh)01:01:07 Bob Clark’s Christmas Story (Wally)01:03:46 Jim Henson’s Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas (Josh)01:06:26 Side tangent: Open Stage’s production of Emmet Otter01:07:59 Chris Columbus’ Home Alone movies01:09:53 Brian Henson’s A Muppet Christmas Carol (Josh and Wally)01:16:39 Are any Christmas Carol adaptations horror movies?Check us out on YouTube:

📹 https://www.youtube.com/@wallyfilm

Like what you see? Consider supporting the filmmaker at: ☕️ ⁠⁠https://www.buymeacoffee.com/wallyfilm⁠⁠

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Get tickets for Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas at Open Stage:🎟️ ⁠https://www.openstagehbg.com/shows/emmetotter⁠

Join Wally and Josh as they recount their adventures in Japan — including a pilgrimage to the grave of master filmmaker Yasujiro Ozu — and share some of their favorite works of Japanese cinema.

00:00:29 What we’ve been up to: Emmet Otter’s Jug Band Christmas

00:04:10 What we’ve been up to: Film Festivals

00:05:00 Shai Carmeli-Pollak’s The Sea at Centre Film Festival

00:07:47 Our trip to Japan

00:29:03 Visiting Kita-Kamakura and paying respects to Yasujiro Ozu

00:39:18 Our quest to find Machiko Soga and Kogo Noda’s graves

00:45:44 The World of Yasujiro Ozu: Good Morning, Late Autumn, Tokyo Story, and more!

00:50:40 Takashi Miike’s Audition

00:53:22 Kiyoshi Kurosawa: Cure, Tokyo Sonata, Cloud, Chime, and more!

00:58:17 Obligatory Hayao Miyazaki nerd-out

01:00:01 Satoshi Kon’s Perfect Blue

01:02:36 Hirokazu Kore-eda: After Life, Shoplifters, Monster, and more!

01:05:29 Shinichirou Ueda’s One Cut of the Dead

01:09:01 Side tangent: Chris Smith’s American Movie

01:09:45 Mikio Naruse: When a Woman Ascends the Stairs, Sound of the Mountain, Yearning and more!

01:15:10 Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuichi’s Shin Godzilla

01:19:25 Kinuyo Tanaka’s The Moon Has Risen

01:24:14 Screaming Mad George’s The Guyver

01:26:35 Nobuhiko Obayashi’s House (Hausu)

01:32:22 The things we are thankful for

Check us out on YouTube:

📹 https://www.youtube.com/@wallyfilm

Like what you see? Consider supporting the filmmaker at:

☕️ ⁠https://www.buymeacoffee.com/wallyfilm⁠

Subscribe to my newsletter:

⌨️ https://wallyfilm.substack.com/welcome

Follow what I'm watching on Letterboxd:

📽️ ⁠https://letterboxd.com/inwidescreen/⁠

Learn more about Wally Films:

🎬 ⁠⁠https://www.wallyfilms.com/⁠⁠

Get tickets for Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas at Open Stage:

🎟️ https://www.openstagehbg.com/shows/emmetotter