Film Reviews Episodes

This week on Born to Watch , we're heading to the desert planet of Arrakis to break down one of the biggest sci-fi epics of recent memory in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part One Review . Join Whitey and Sir Dimmy of the House Cockburn as they unpack a film that’s equal parts galactic power struggle, political thriller, and interstellar fever dream. Villeneuve’s Dune had a lot riding on it. Announced in 2017 and delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, it finally arrived in 2021 with both cinema and HBO Ma...

Step back into the Hyborian Age as the Born to Watch team revisits the sword-swinging, snake-worshipping, bass-drum-thumping fantasy epic that turned Arnold Schwarzenegger from a musclebound oddity into a bona fide cinematic icon. In this week’s episode, Matt, Damo, and Will the Worky unsheath their mics and tackle John Milius' 1982 cult classic in our Conan the Barbarian (1982) Review , a film where dialogue is sparse, but biceps and barbarism are abundant. From the first clang of steel to the ...

This week on Born to Watch, we lace up our Asics, slap on a second singlet, and head to the sun-soaked courts of Venice Beach as we rewind to 1992 with our White Men Can't Jump Review, a film that might be the most gloriously nineties thing we've ever reviewed. From hypercolor hats to bike shorts over trackies, this movie is a time capsule of an era when trash talk was an art form and hustling was a full-time job. Whitey and G Man go deep on this cult classic, remembering their own basketball gl...

This week on Born to Watch, we dive headfirst into the bug-infested chaos of Paul Verhoeven’s 1997 cult classic, with our Starship Troopers (1997) Review . It’s brutal, brilliant, and batshit insane and we wouldn’t have it any other way. With the Born to Watch crew all lined up in the co-ed showers, Whitey, Damo, Dan, and special guest Matty Beer Geek go deep (but not too deep) on the movie that was mocked at release but has grown into a beloved sci-fi satire. Is this just a brainless space acti...

In this week’s episode of Born to Watch , we’re diving deep, like three layers deep, into Christopher Nolan’s reality-bending sci-fi thriller with our Inception (2010) Review. The team celebrates three years of podcasting with one of the most mind-twisting films of the 21st century. It’s only fitting that a film about dreams, time loops, and subconscious sabotage kicks off our birthday episode. With a cast that includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Ken Watanabe, this N...

Clint Eastwood might be known for playing grizzled, hard-as-nails lawmen, but in our In the Line of Fire (1993) Review, he takes things in a different direction, just slightly. This week, the Born to Watch crew dives into this overlooked 90s political thriller that pits Eastwood’s aging Secret Service agent Frank Horrigan against one of cinema’s most memorable villains: John Malkovich as the terrifying Mitch Leary. Whitey, G-Man, and Will “The Worky” are in studio to unpack the deadly game of ca...

This week on Born to Watch , the team takes aim at one of Quentin Tarantino’s most audacious creations with their Inglourious Basterds (2009) Review . Set in Nazi-occupied France during World War II, Tarantino weaves together a brutal tale of revenge, propaganda, and pure cinematic spectacle. Brad Pitt leads the charge as Lieutenant Aldo Raine, a grizzled American soldier commanding a team of Jewish fighters with one simple mission, kill Nazis and collect their scalps. It’s a deliciously violent...

In a galaxy not so far from nostalgia, the Born to Watch crew rounds out the trilogy that changed cinema forever with our Return of the Jedi (1983) Review. It’s May the Fourth, and there’s no better time to jump back into the world of Ewoks, green lightsabers, and the worst security system in the galaxy. This week, Whitey, G-Man, and Damo dissect the final chapter of the original Star Wars trilogy, the movie that gave us a fully-formed Jedi Luke, Jabba the Hutt in all his slobbery glory, and Lei...

This week on Born to Watch , we dive into the horror landmark that changed the game: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) . Brutal, raw, and grimy in a way that still shocks today, this episode sees Whitey and Damo take on one of the most infamous cult classics ever made, with Morgz and Gow hilariously "noping out" after the first five minutes. Despite its terrifying reputation, the team quickly notes something surprising: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre isn't about gore, it's about dread. Director To...

With Anzac Day just around the corner, Born to Watch honours a defining moment in Australian cinema with our Gallipoli (1981) Movie Review . Directed by Peter Weir and starring a young, raw Mel Gibson alongside Mark Lee, this film is more than a war story, it’s a devastating portrait of friendship, sacrifice, and the tragic cost of blind patriotism. In this episode, Whitey and G-Man revisit the classic through a lens shaped by age, memory, and national identity. From the iconic opening scenes of...

Welcome back to Born to Watch , where this week the team tackles the endlessly rewatchable, criminally underappreciated Edge of Tomorrow (2014). Strap in as Whitey, Damo, and Dan on the Land gear up for a sci-fi action loop fest featuring Tom Cruise in one of his most against-type roles, Emily Blunt as a full-metal badass, and a time-travel plot that actually sticks the landing. Enjoy our Edge of Tomorrow (2014) Review! The boys jump right into the paradox-riddled battlefield, first marveling at...

Grab your whip and avoid the monkey brains—this week on Born to Watch , the crew takes on the franchise's wildest, weirdest, and arguably most chaotic chapter, with their Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom Review . Whitey, G-Man, and Damo dust off their fedoras and dive deep into the darker, more divisive entry in the iconic adventure trilogy. Released in 1984 as a prequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark , Temple of Doom was Spielberg and Lucas swinging for something different. What we got was a ro...

This week, the team takes on one of the biggest cinematic phenomena of the early '90s: The Bodyguard (1992) . A film that smashed box office records, made slow dancing cool again, and somehow convinced us that a love story between a moody security expert and a petulant pop diva was cinema gold. On paper, this had it all: the biggest male movie star in the world, Kevin Costner and the most powerful voice on the planet, Whitney Houston, in her film debut. But does that combo equal instant classic,...

In this emotionally charged episode of Born to Watch , the team marches into the searing heat and moral quagmire of Oliver Stone’s Platoon (1986), a film that’s arguably the definitive Vietnam War movie of its era. Whitey, G-Man, and the V8 Interrupter Dan revisit the battlefield with a mix of reverence, nostalgia, and hard truths, dissecting the film’s impact, legacy, and the deep emotional chord it struck back in the day—and still does today. Kicking off with stories of their first encounters ...

In this week’s episode of Born to Watch , the team dives deep into Escape from New York (1981), John Carpenter’s gritty, neon-lit vision of a crime-ridden future. With Kurt Russell cementing his status as an ‘80s action legend, this film delivers an unforgettable mix of tension, synth-driven suspense, and one of cinema’s most iconic antiheroes. It blends action, science fiction, and a bleak, dystopian aesthetic to create a story that has stood the test of time. The crime rate has skyrocketed, ch...

Welcome back to Born to Watch , the movie podcast where we dive deep into the films that define genres, push boundaries, and leave audiences speechless. This week, we’re tackling one of the greatest action films of the modern era with our Mad Max Fury Road (2015) Movie Review . When George Miller resurrected the Mad Max franchise in 2015, nobody expected just how monumental Fury Road would become. A two-hour adrenaline rush packed with death-defying stunts, high-speed chases, and jaw-dropping pr...

In this episode of Born to Watch , we take a wild ride back to 1985 for a Weird Science (1985) Review , where two geeky teens somehow manage to create the perfect woman with a little help from a computer, some questionable science, and a whole lot of 80s magic. But does this John Hughes cult classic still hold up today, or is it a relic best left in the past? Whitey, G Man, and Damo break it all down—the absurd plot, the unforgettable performances, and the film’s impact on pop culture. From Oing...

1999 is often hailed as one of the greatest years in cinema history, and in this episode of Born to Watch , we’re diving deep into one of its most iconic and controversial films with our Fight Club (1999) Movie Review . David Fincher’s mind-bending psychological thriller took audiences on a chaotic ride through identity, masculinity, and anti-consumerist rebellion. With unforgettable performances from Edward Norton, Brad Pitt, and Helena Bonham Carter, Fight Club became a cult phenomenon—despite...

Is The Howling the best werewolf movie ever made? That’s the big question on this week’s Born to Watch , where the team dives deep into this 1981 horror classic. In The Howling (1981) Movie Review , Whitey and Damo take a nostalgic trip back to one of the most iconic (and unsettling) werewolf films of all time. The crew kicks things off by reminiscing about their first encounters with The Howling . For Damo, it was a forbidden treat at the movie theater as a kid, lured in by schoolyard hype over...

In this week's Born to Watch episode, Matt and Damo dive into a quirky 80s classic that inspired guilty pleasure rewatches and dreams of window display romance: Mannequin (1987). Join the guys as they reminisce about how Kim Cattrall's Emmy and Andrew McCarthy's Jonathan brought a spark of movie magic into their lives. From Matt's pre-teen obsession with Kim Cattrall to Damo’s confusion over the movie’s inexplicable ancient Egyptian backstory, no stone is left unturned in this Mannequin (1987) M...

We’re strapping in for a wild ride to Mars this week on Born to Watch with our 1990 sci-fi blockbuster Total Recall (1990) Review. Whitey, Gow, Damo, and Dan are back in full force for the first time in 2025 to dive into Arnold Schwarzenegger's mind-bending journey through memory wipes, mutant revolutions, and three-breasted surprises. This is peak Arnie, folks—at the top of both the box office and his biceps game. We break down the epic mind games cooked up by Paul Verhoeven, whose signature bl...

Dirty Harry (1971) is a film that not only redefined the crime thriller genre but also cemented Clint Eastwood’s place as one of cinema’s most iconic leading men. In this week’s episode of Born to Watch , Whitey and Gow are joined by special guest Will the Worky to discuss this gritty masterpiece that follows the relentless pursuit of justice by Inspector Harry Callahan. With its unforgettable storytelling, striking cinematography, and the moral dilemmas it raises, Dirty Harry is more than just ...

When it comes to the greatest films of all time, few are as universally beloved as E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial . In this E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial Review , Whitey and Gow take a deep dive into Spielberg’s sci-fi classic, joined by a special guest to tackle “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” in true Born to Watch style. Whether it’s your first time experiencing this heartwarming tale or a nostalgic revisit, this episode breaks down why this film has cemented itself as one of the greatest family mo...

In this week’s episode of Born to Watch , Whitey and Damo tackle one of the most polarising blockbusters in cinematic history— Star Wars: The Last Jedi . You’ve heard it before: The Last Jedi either reignited the saga with bold creativity or sent it careening off a cliff into a galaxy far, far away from anything recognisable. For Whitey and Damo, it’s the latter, and they aren’t afraid to say it. If you’re tuning in for a spirited debate, prepare for a critical breakdown of what went wrong in th...