In episode 144, Neil and Dario discuss a few recent films viewed with a critical eye with regards to how they fit into film culture and more broadly how they reflect (or don't) current political attitudes. Dario wrote in detail about the star persona of Tom Cruise in the most recent Patreon newsletter, and both Neil and Dario reflect on the experiential pleasures and reductive nostalgia of Tom Gun: Maverick along with the obvious ideological criticism around its propagandistic militarism. Sports movies are a recurring focus of the podcast and the recent Netflix production Hustle starring Adam Sandler and half the roster of the NBA is under discussion. Lastly, we focus on Lingui, The Sacred Bonds by Chadian filmmaker Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, a lyrical, gripping story of a mother trying to arrange an abortion for her daughter in the face of patriarchal theocracy. This is our penultimate episode. For our end-of-season finale, we are recording a live podcast at The Garden Cinema in Covent ...