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We finally saw Michael — Antoine Fuqua's long-awaited biopic about the King of Pop — and we have thoughts. Dan and Mike break down Jaafar Jackson's performance as his legendary uncle, the film's decision to sidestep the 1993 allegations entirely, and whether the finished product does justice to one of the most complicated legacies in music history.

We get into what Fuqua gets right — the recreation of Thriller, the Jackson 5 years, the raw energy of Michael on stage — and what the film conspicuously leaves out. With a 97% audience score and only a 38% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, Michael has sparked a real fan-versus-critic divide, and we fall somewhere in between.

If you've seen it, you know there's a lot to unpack. If you haven't, consider this your spoiler-friendly guide to whether it's worth the trip to the theater.

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This week we're reviewing At Close Range, James Foley's 1986 rural noir crime film — newly available in a 4K restoration from Cinematographe. It's the kind of release that makes you wonder why it took this long. Based on the true story of the Johnston Gang, a Pennsylvania crime family whose reign ended in betrayal and murder, the film stars Sean Penn as Brad Whitewood Jr., a young man who seeks out his estranged father only to find someone far more dangerous than he bargained for. Christopher Walken plays Brad Sr. — and it's one of his most unsettling performances, not because of theatrics, but because of how still and certain he is in every scene.

We talk through the full film: what holds up, what the 4K presentation brings out visually, and why this one never quite got its flowers the first time around. Penn and Walken are the obvious draw, but the supporting cast — Mary Stuart Masterson, Chris Penn, Crispin Glover, Kiefer Sutherland — gives the film a texture that a lot of crime dramas from this era are missing. Director James Foley and cinematographer Juan Ruiz Anchía built something that looks genuinely stunning in this new transfer.

We also get into the Madonna factor — how "Live to Tell" came to be the film's centerpiece, and how it lands in context versus how most people know it.

This is the kind of film a 4K box set was made for. We break down whether it lives up to the occasion.

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We're diving deep into Alex Proyas' 1998 neo-noir sci-fi thriller Dark City — and we came out the other side completely won over. This one is a full recommendation from both of us, and if you've been sleeping on it, this episode is your sign to finally watch it.

We start at the beginning with a conversation about the film's complicated theatrical release, including the infamous studio-mandated voiceover that opens the original cut and how the Director's Cut restores Proyas' intended vision. It's a fascinating case study in how test screenings and studio interference can shape — and sometimes undermine — a film's impact, and we get into all of it.

From there we work through the film itself: Rufus Sewell's compelling lead performance, a career-best turn from Kiefer Sutherland as the hunched and unsettling Dr. Schreber, and Jennifer Connelly bringing real emotional weight to what could have been an underdeveloped role. We also spend time on the Strangers — their design, their purpose, and the genuinely eerie mythology Proyas builds around them.

At its core, Dark City is a film about memory and identity — what makes us who we are, and whether those things can be manufactured or taken away. We explore how those themes hold up today and why they give the film a philosophical depth that sets it apart from other genre films of the era.

We also get into the production side — the remarkable practical effects work, the budget constraints that paradoxically pushed the filmmakers toward more creative solutions, and the clear cinematic DNA connecting Dark City to everything from Metropolis to Blade Runner to The Matrix (which filmed on the same sets just a year later). And we close out celebrating the film's legacy, its critical reappraisal over the years, and why physical media is still the best way to experience this one properly.

Dark City deserved a much bigger audience in 1998. Better late than never.

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