In this episode of Cinema Callback, Andy and Michael turn their attention to Faraway, So Close! (1993), Wim Wenders’ follow-up to Wings of Desire. Continuing the story of angels observing human life in Berlin, the film shifts tone, scale, and ambition — raising questions about freedom, consequence, and what it really means to be human.

Using the show’s voice-note conversation format, the two hosts trade thoughts on how the sequel expands Wenders’ ideas, its visual style, political backdrop, and how it compares to the quiet poetry of the original film. They also discuss whether Faraway, So Close! works best as a companion piece or as its own, stranger continuation.

Spoilers throughout.

🎧 Cinema Callback — where movies call you back.

In this episode of Cinema Callback, Andy and Michael dive into Warfare (2025), Alex Garland’s tense, grounded drama built around real-world military events and the political fallout surrounding them. We look at how Garland handles the material, the performances that carry the film, and the film’s commentary on loyalty, power, and the human cost of conflict.

As always, the episode is built around our voice-note conversation format, where we trade messages back and forth and unpack the film’s details, themes, and moments that stood out.

Perfect for anyone looking for deeper context, analysis, and discussion of one of 2025’s most talked-about releases.

Andy and Michael swap voice notes as they explore The Remarkable Life of Ibelin (2024), the moving documentary about Norwegian gamer Mats Steen — known online as “Ibelin”. Stricken by Duchenne muscular dystrophy and confined to a wheelchair, Mats found escape, purpose and connection within the world of World of Warcraft.

Through interviews, archive footage and animated recreations of his in-game life, the film shows how a community of strangers became something more — a support system, a friendship network, a chosen family.

In this episode, the hosts talk about the film’s emotional power, the importance of online communities, and what it says about isolation, identity and belonging in the digital age.

🎧 Cinema Callback — where movies call you back.

Michael and Andy are back in each other’s voice notes — but this week they’re dodging slow-motion doves, leather jackets, and John Woo explosions as they dive into Mission: Impossible 2 (2000).

In this episode, the lads break down that wild tonal shift, the stunt-heavy insanity, the operatic melodrama, and whether the movie’s style-over-sense approach secretly makes it the most fun entry in the franchise. They debate:

• Did Tom Cruise reinvent Ethan Hunt too hard, too soon?

• Is Woo’s over-the-top action misunderstood or just mental?

• And… is MI2 actually better than people remember?

All discussed through their trademark back-and-forth voice-note format, full of tangents, rants, and accidental comedy as the boys relive the most chaotic film in the series.

Perfect for fans of action cinema, franchise deep-dives, and extremely unserious film analysis.

Andy and Michael return with a new batch of chaotic, cinematic voice notes as Cinema Callback tackles Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (2025). In this spoiler-filled episode, the lads break down Tom Cruise’s final outing as Ethan Hunt — the stunts, the twists, the emotional beats, and whether the franchise sticks the landing after nearly 30 years.

Told through their signature voicemail-style back-and-forth, the conversation jumps between set-piece highlights, character arcs, production drama, and how this finale compares to the rest of the series. Expect hot takes, surprise opinions, and plenty of “did you see THAT?!” energy.

Listeners can join the chat and leave their own voice messages using the link in the About section. Spoilers throughout!

Andy and Michael return to the line for a charged discussion of Sinners (2025), Ryan Coogler’s long-awaited comeback and one of the year’s most talked-about films. Told through their signature voice note exchanges, the pair unpack Coogler’s daring mix of faith, family, and moral collapse — a film that asks whether redemption is possible in a world built on compromise.

Expect a raw, honest breakdown filled with spoilers, personal tangents, and the kind of late-night film talk that defines Cinema Callback.

Join the chat via the link in our About section to leave your own voicemail message for the show — your take might feature in a future episode.

Andy and Michael leave voice notes across continents to discuss Black ’47 (2018), Lance Daly’s brutal revenge western set during Ireland’s Great Famine.

In this emotionally charged episode, they explore how the film fuses genre grit with historical trauma — from James Frecheville’s haunted performance to Hugo Weaving’s moral complexity. They talk about its striking cinematography, mythic tone, and what it means to tell a story of famine through the language of vengeance.

Andy and Michael swap voice notes about Black Bag (2025), Steven Soderbergh’s sleek return to the spy genre starring Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender.

In this episode, they unpack its tension, tone, and the director’s obsession with control — asking whether Black Bag feels like a comeback or a cold exercise in style. Along the way, they debate the movie’s surprising restraint, Fassbender’s performance, and Soderbergh’s shifting relationship with genre filmmaking.

Andy and Michael leave each other a string of voice notes about Robot Dreams (2023), the beautifully melancholic animated film from Pablo Berger. Through their conversation, they explore the film’s quiet emotional pull — a wordless story about connection, loss, and how even machines can make us cry.

This week’s episode moves between laughter and reflection as the two hosts unpack how Robot Dreams captures the loneliness of modern life without a single line of dialogue.

In this episode, Andy and Michael swap voice notes about The Final Exit of the Disciples of Ascensia (2023) — a slow-burn cosmic animation that’s part cult study, part existential nightmare.

As always, their conversation unfolds entirely through voicemail-style exchanges, exploring the film’s hypnotic pacing, religious mania, and sense of creeping dread. Is it a hidden gem or an endurance test of meaning and madness?

Andy and Michael return with another surreal entry in their ongoing voice-note discussions — this time exploring the nightmarish, hypnotic world of The Burning Buddha Man (2013).

Told entirely through their real voice messages, the hosts unravel Ujicha’s eerie blend of stop-motion and horror, debating whether this “gekimation” experiment is a lost masterpiece or a fever dream gone too far. Expect unsettling imagery, deep film talk, and plenty of laughs along the way.

On this episode of Cinema Callback, Andy and Michael exchange voice notes about This Magnificent Cake! (2018), the stop-motion anthology film from Marc James Roels and Emma De Swaef. Set in 19th-century Africa under European colonial rule, the film tells five interconnected stories—ranging from absurd to tragic—exploring greed, power, and human fragility.

We discuss: How can animation capture the brutality of colonial history in ways live-action might not? Does the film’s surreal, textured stop-motion style soften the darkness—or sharpen it? And why does this overlooked gem deserve a place in conversations about political cinema?

Whether you’re discovering This Magnificent Cake! for the first time or revisiting it with fresh eyes, this episode blends sharp insight with the casual charm of two friends trading late-night thoughts.

On this episode of Cinema Callback, Andy and Michael leave each other voice notes as they dive into The Peasants (2023), the painterly animated adaptation of Władysław Reymont’s Nobel Prize–winning novel. Using hand-painted animation similar to Loving Vincent, the film portrays the brutal, beautiful, and often heartbreaking life of 19th-century Polish villagers.

We ask: Can animation carry the same weight as live-action when it comes to raw human struggle, love, and survival? How does the film’s unique visual style elevate—or complicate—the story? And where does The Peasants stand in the growing trend of adult-oriented animation?

Whether you’ve seen the movie or are curious about its groundbreaking artistry, this episode offers an honest, thought-provoking conversation that blends personal reactions with big cinematic questions.

🎧 Available on Spotify, YouTube, and everywhere you get podcasts.

Andy and Michael swap voice notes about Commune (2005), Jonathan Berman’s documentary on the Black Bear Ranch collective of the late 1960s.
In this special episode, director Jonathan Berman himself joins in, dropping his own commentary throughout the podcast — turning Cinema Callback into a hybrid film discussion and director’s track you won’t find anywhere else.

🌿 Expect insights into communal living, the utopian ideals of the counterculture, and the messy realities behind them — alongside the usual tangents and humor from Andy and Michael’s voicemail exchanges.

Andy and Michael swap voice notes about Disney’s Strange World (2022), the sci-fi adventure directed by Don Hall.
Through their voicemail-style back-and-forth, they ask why this ambitious, visually bold film — with themes of family, legacy, and environmental responsibility — failed to connect with audiences despite Disney’s usual magic.

🌍 Expect talk on pulpy sci-fi influences, representation in mainstream animation, and how Strange World fits (or doesn’t) into Disney’s legacy of classics.

Andy and Michael swap voice notes about Todd Haynes’ infamous underground short Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (1987).

Banned from official release due to copyright battles, this audacious film uses Barbie dolls to dramatize Karen Carpenter’s rise to fame and tragic death — and has since become a cult legend.

🎹 The conversation unpacks , whether a 43-minute banned short can feel more truthful than a studio biopic, and what this says about fame, art, and exploitation.

Andy and Michael hatch a double-feature voicemail discussion, clucking their way through both Aardman classics — Chicken Run (2000) and its long-awaited sequel Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget (2023).

🐔 From the daring POW-style escape of the first film to the colorful, high-stakes rescue mission in the sequel, the two debate whether Dawn of the Nugget could ever live up to the original’s charm — and if Aardman’s stop-motion magic still feels the same over two decades later.

🎧 Join the feathered frenzy on Spotify, YouTube, and all podcast platforms.

Andy and Michael swap voice notes on Luc Walpoth’s 2024 thriller starring Emile Hirsch. Unpacking the film’s tense betrayals, moral stakes, and whether it really cashes in on its premise.

Andy and Michael leave each other voice notes about Mickey 17, Bong Joon-ho’s first film since Parasite. We talk about Robert Pattinson’s clone drama, Bong’s shift from social satire to pure sci-fi. Along the way, we get into sci-fi world-building, Bong’s recurring themes, and how Mickey 17 stacks up against the director’s earlier work.

Cinema Callback takes to the skies with Flight Risk, the 2024 thriller directed by Mel Gibson and starring Mark Wahlberg. We break down the film’s plot, performances, and polarizing tone — is this a comeback or a misfire?

We also explore Gibson’s return to directing, Wahlberg’s latest action turn, and how Flight Risk fits into the modern thriller landscape.

🔊 Featuring our signature voicemail commentary, tangents, and insights into one of the year’s most talked-about releases.