Movies with My DadA podcast where I, film critic Tina Kakadelis, and my dad, Stratis, talk about a movie on the car ride home.
My dad is desperate for feedback! Shoot us, but mostly him, an email at movieswithmydadpod@gmail.com
You can listen to us right here or take us with you on your favorite Podcast app.
Primate
Episode 72: Primate
Ever wonder what it would be like to be trapped in your house with a rabies-infected killer chimpanzee? If you have, Primate is your kind of movie. Tina’s love of horror films is in full force and Stratis once finds himself someplace he’d rather not be. We both thought the entire cast was fantastic. Tina was all in for the build-up of tension and the chimp’s need to remove people’s faces. Meanwhile, Stratis was so unmoved that his watch's heart monitor barely showed a blip as he kept looking for a deeper meaning in all the blood and death. Tina reminds him that sometimes a horror movie is just a horror movie.
Music - "Extra Fries" by The Fly Guy Five/Epidemic Sound
Anaconda
Episode 71: Anaconda
Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the Amazon rainforest, your favorite killer snake returns in Jack Black and Paul Rudd’s updated version of the classic Anaconda. Tina hoped this new take on the franchise might hold some promise and might even be interesting. Instead, she was just angry the entire time. On the other hand, Stratis was entertained for at least the first third, but then started to want his money back by the end. At least he really enjoyed Jack Black’s acting. We end the episode by doing a quick recap of 2025 films, and Stratis tries to remember anything about what he saw. Happy almost awards season!
Music - "Extra Fries" by The Fly Guy Five/Epidemic Sound
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Episode 70: Avatar: Fire and Ash
It’s that time again when we all come together as a nation to watch blue people fight off yet another invasion. It’s James Cameron’s latest installment of Avatar: Fire and Ash. We’re such Avatar fans that we should just declare this a national holiday - insert heavy, heavy sarcastic quote here. Stratis decides to give James notes on how he should use his 3D film fascination for something with a better story and Tina professes her loyalty to the blue fire girl. Just keep this in mind, “Your Goddess has no dominion here!”
Music - "Extra Fries" by The Fly Guy Five/Epidemic Sound
Song Sung Blue
Episode 69: Song Sung Blue
This week we took a trip back to Wisconsin in the late ’80s and met up with the locally famous Neil Diamond tribute (or should we say interpretive) band Thunder and Lightning. The title sequence says this is based on a true story, but it feels like an over-the-top Hollywood portrait that’s a bit too loose with the facts. Tina learns that she isn’t much of a fan of Neil’s music and Stratis doesn’t give Hugh Jackman a lot of love as the lead singer. We both thought Kate Hudson’s portrayal was wonderful and that perhaps the movie should have focused on her instead. If you’d like to roadtrip to the Badger State, hop in! We promise not to drive into anyone’s living room.
Music - "Extra Fries" by The Fly Guy Five/Epidemic Sound
Wicked: For Good
Episode 68: Wicked: for Good
It’s our annual Thanksgiving event and we’re joined by the whole family. Just like last year we saw a Wicked movie - Wicked: For Good. There are a lot of opinions to work through, but Stratis gets us started with his love of Jeff Goldblum, while Tina takes a nap. Michelle, daughter number one, loves a true fantasy epic with lots of fight sequences and a killer music soundtrack, so she was definitely entertained. We all go off on tangents and delve into the differences between the original Frank Baum novel, the ‘39 movie, the new Wicked novel, the Broadway show, and finally, the current movie series. Yikes, there’s a lot to keep track of! Whether you’re on Team Glinda or Team Elphaba, hop into our bubble and we’ll float you home.
Music - "Extra Fries" by The Fly Guy Five/Epidemic Sound
Jay Kelly
Episode 68: Jay Kelly
George Clooney reminds us why he’s an A-lister in his latest Netflix theatrical release, Jay Kelly. Tina comes clean about “The Dude” and how he’s not Josh Brolin. Stratis doesn’t think Clooney has a lifetime of regret, unlike the character he portrays, but after that we go sideways and bring in Up in the Air, another Clooney classic. It’s no surprise that this film has come out in time for Oscar season. If you’re curious about the world of Hollywood actors, join us on this week’s car ride home.
Music - "Extra Fries" by The Fly Guy Five/Epidemic Sound
Wake Up Dead Man
Episode 66: Wake Up Dead Man
Netflix takes its Knives Out franchise to theaters and we get an early look at Wake Up Dead Man, starring Daniel Craig as detective Benoit Blanc. We’re both pretty low-energy about this film until we get to talking about cults and Stratis’ German accent. As for the movie, we wondered why it took so long for Craig to show up and get to work solving this murder. If you want to solve the mystery, hop in and we’ll give you a ride home…assuming we don’t fall asleep first.
Music - "Extra Fries" by The Fly Guy Five/Epidemic Sound
The Running Man
Episode 65: The Running Man
Today we have yet another revamp of a classic sci-fi film. This time it’s The Running Man with Glen Powell. Stratis starts off with an apology, while Tina quizzes him about a slew of actors. We both had no problem giving Glen some love, but we did have some serious questions about his bath towel! Tina gives us all a breakdown of the action movie genre and why this one missed its mark. So if you want to survive on the rough city streets for 30 days, hop into the car as we try to avoid becoming the next Running Man.
Music - "Extra Fries" by The Fly Guy Five/Epidemic Sound
Train Dreams
Episode 64: Train Dreams
On this week’s car ride home we delve into the lumberjack life of early Pacific Northwest settlers with Train Dreams. Right from the start, Tina and Stratis have wildly different opinions about this film. Tina sees the art, while Stratis can’t seem to get past all the sadness. Tina does try to educate Stratis on the meaning of life, love, and happiness - not sure that worked too well. We both thought the lead, Joel Edgerton, brought home a fantastic performance. If you want to grab an axe and do some lumberjacking, hop into the back seat and we’ll head into the forest together.
Music - "Extra Fries" by The Fly Guy Five/Epidemic Sound
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Episode 63: Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
We’re visiting New Jersey on this week’s episode as we dive into Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere. We find out that Tina has a PhD in Springsteen-ology, even though she’s not from Jersey, while Stratis gets to relive his youth cruising the streets of northern Jersey in a Trans Am. Tina gets super worked-up about this movie and probably shouldn’t have been driving, given her questionable respect for stop signs and unicycles! If you were Born to Run, hop into the back seat as we go Racing in the Street.
Music - "Extra Fries" by The Fly Guy Five/Epidemic Sound
After the Hunt
Episode 62: After the Hunt
On this week’s car ride home we go back to college and try to figure out if we like anyone involved in After the Hunt, a Yale University-inspired drama about student-professor power dynamics. Stratis comes out hot and says he’s befuddled by the entire film, while Tina proceeds to give a dissertation on character development through cinematography. We both enjoyed the performances of Julia Roberts and Andrew Garfield, and really felt for poor beleaguered Fredrick (Michael Stuhlbarg). If you want to hear Stratis try to use fancy words to describe this fancy movie, then hop in and we’ll give you a ride home.
Music - "Extra Fries" by The Fly Guy Five/Epidemic Sound
Tron: Ares
Episode 61: Tron: Ares
Get ready for some ’80s-inspired artificial intelligence trying to take over our car ride home as we jump on a lightcycle and talk about Tron: Ares. This one is right up Stratis’ alley and he couldn’t get enough of the stunning visuals and music. Tina was less impressed, but she was able to introduce the struggle for maintaining democracy to the conversation! According to Stratis, Jeff Bridges is always “The Dude,” even when he’s playing the core of a computer’s CPU. So if you need to outrun a Tron Recognizer, hop in and we’ll see if our Toyota sedan can reach light speed.
Music - "Extra Fries" by The Fly Guy Five/Epidemic Sound
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale
Episode 60: Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale
This week Tina and Stratis pick up a hitchhiker, Regina (aka Mom), on our overseas trip to Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale. This is a rare occasion for Regina as it’s her first film outing of 2025! Stratis is proud that he came up with a pull quote for this installment - “the Downtoniest of Downton movies,” while Tina takes issue with the editing style, which drives her a bit crazy. And we all enjoy learning about the birds and the bees from a pair of proper Englishwomen of a certain age. So if you want to take a beautiful carriage ride through the Hampshire countryside, please join us on this family car ride home.
Music - "Extra Fries" by The Fly Guy Five/Epidemic Sound
The Long Walk
Episode 59 - The Long Walk
Stephen King joins us on this week's drive home, and somehow we aren't overcome by demons, buckets of blood, or even killer cars. The Long Walk is a different kind of horror film, one that even Stratis can enjoy. Tina gives us some serious insights and thoughts about the horror genre. Together we sing the praises of all the young actors of this film. If you want a ride instead of taking a walk, hop in as we head home.
Music - "Extra Fries" by The Fly Guy Five/Epidemic Sound
Nobody 2
Episode 58 - Nobody 2
On this week’s drive home we delve into the violent alternate life of Bob Odenkirk’s character in Nobody 2. Tina should have been primed to like this movie because one of her pet peeves is that movies need shorter runtimes. This one was only 1h and 29m. Stratis had done his homework and was just coming off enjoying the original Nobody film. We both have a lot to say about Sharon Stone’s psychotic dance performance and her overall killer-bad-guy ethos. Stratis takes some time to educate Tina on the wolf metaphor and how it relates to society's restrictions on dads. If you’re looking for an explosive and fast-paced discussion, hop in as we head home while trying to avoid getting Bob mad at us.
Music - "Extra Fries" by The Fly Guy Five/Epidemic Sound
The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Episode 57 - The Fantastic Four: First Steps
We’re back in the superhero universe, and we try hard to find something we enjoyed in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Stratis starts off with “it’s hard to make a good movie,” while Tina returns to her anti-superhero-movie happy place. We both agree that the 1960s retro-futurism was amazing and obviously where they spent most of their budget and creative efforts. At some point Stratis just wanted the entire planet to die and Tina couldn’t turn away from the plastic floating baby. Our only takeaway from this movie was that Moms should take care of their babies! So if you aren’t going to use your superhero powers against us, hop in and join us for the drive home.
Music - "Extra Fries" by The Fly Guy Five/Epidemic Sound
Freakier Friday
Episode 56 - Freakier Friday
This time we travel back to the world of parent-child brain swapping in the long overdue sequel, Freakier Friday. Tina was really looking forward to seeing this film to relive her youth of way too many hours watching Disney movies. She even coined a new term, nostalgia baiting. Stratis, on the other hand, just thinks the movie came out of a soulless, visionless manufacturing process. If you want to swap brains with us, come along as we try to find the funny in this re-do.
Music - "Extra Fries" by The Fly Guy Five/Epidemic Sound
Weapons
Episode 55 - Weapons
Tina takes Stratis to a horror film yet again, hoping Weapons will change his mind about the genre. We both love the first third of the movie because there’s just enough weird, confusing stuff happening to draw us into this child-disappearing mystery. Somehow Tina manages to find the “American Individualism” theme in the film, while Stratis is just confused by the story. Tina then drives us into a discussion of allegory and metaphors in the art of filmmaking - wow, what fun! There’s a witch stealing children from their homes, so if you want to try to save them from life as zombies, hop in for our trip home.
Music - "Extra Fries" by The Fly Guy Five/Epidemic Sound
The Naked Gun
Episode 54 - The Naked Gun
This week it’s a throwback to the ’80s as we hitch a ride with the remake of the screwball classic The Naked Gun. Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson did their best to bring the funny to this revamped franchise, so much so that Tina was surprised by how much she was laughing. Stratis provides Tina with the heritage of this movie and the original Police Squad, and, not surprisingly, she doesn’t care. If you’re looking for a “fun day at the cinema,” hop in as we cruise on home.
Music - "Extra Fries" by The Fly Guy Five/Epidemic Sound
Superman
Episode 53 - Superman
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, wait, is it really Superman? We can’t figure out what this reboot is trying to be. Is it a comic book movie or a deep-thinking drama? Tina wants to know why Superman was missing from so much of the movie, while Stratis can’t believe they killed a guy with a bullet to the head! So if you want to join us for a heated debate about everything that’s wrong about this movie, hop in for a ride back home.
Music - "Extra Fries" by The Fly Guy Five/Epidemic Sound