The Undercurrent Movie Podcast

Would you do anything to protect your family? Even if it risked the trust they have in you? Which is more stoic? To stay in silent agony or bring the ones you love down into the rabbit hole of what could be your own delusions. 
In this episode I sit down with Mark Stanley and we talk about the movie “Take Shelter”. Take Shelter is a slow-burning psychological drama about Curtis LaForche, played by Michael Shannon, a husband and father who begins experiencing terrifying dreams and visions of an approaching apocalyptic storm. As his fears intensify, he becomes consumed with protecting his family by building a massive storm shelter in his back yard while those around him question whether he’s preparing for a real disaster or losing his grip on reality and plunging his wife and daughter further into chaos and debt. 
The film explores themes of mental illness, faith, family, and the burden of trying to protect the people you love. It builds tension through atmosphere rather than action, leaving viewers to wrestle with the unsettling question of whether Curtis’s visions are delusions—or warnings. Thoughtful, haunting, and emotionally powerful, Take Shelter is as much a character study as it is a psychological thriller.

What would you do if someone you loved was murdered right in front of you after you had just got mauled by a bear and left for dead. I’m sure its a question you ask yourself often. None the less. Would you spend the rest of your life trying to forgive that person or crawl through the cold vast wilderness of early America seeking your revenge. 
In this episode I sit down with James, Jeff, Julian and Harold from the podcast “Tales From The Phonics Cigar Lounge” in Grass Valley Ca and we discuss the movie “The Revenant”.  
“The Revenant”, made in 2015, is a brutal survival drama set in the American wilderness during the 1820s. After frontiersman Hugh Glass (play by Leonardo DiCaprio) is viciously attacked by a bear, he is abandoned by members of his hunting party. Severely wounded and alone, Glass must endure freezing temperatures, starvation, hostile terrain, and enemy attacks as he makes his way across the wilderness. Driven by grief and revenge, he is determined to find the man who betrayed him and murdered his son. 
This conversation was a lot of fun. We laugh (a lot) and discus Cigars, whisky, revenge, pain and the true story of Hugh Glass. I hope you enjoy. 

“Unbreakable”, made in 2000 and directed by M. Night Shymalan, is a psychological thriller about a man named David Dunn played by Bruce Willis. David is a quiet security guard who survives a devastating train crash without a single injury and no one knows why. 
After the accident, he is approached by Elijah Price played by Samuel L. Jackson, a man with an extremely rare condition that makes his bones fragile. Elijah believes David’s survival points to something extraordinary, leading David on a journey to discover the truth about himself.
The film is a slow-burning mystery that explores themes of identity, purpose, destiny, and what it means to be a heroic man. Rather than relying on traditional superhero action, it takes a grounded, realistic approach to the idea of extraordinary abilities, building toward a memorable twist ending.
The question I have for you is, what does it mean to be a heroic man? A good father. A good husband. Or simply, what does it mean to live up to the full potential of the gifts God has given you. 
I hope you enjoy.   

"In the Line of Fire" is a tense political thriller about a veteran Secret Service agent (played by Clint Eastwood) haunted by his past failure to protect President John F. Kennedy. When a highly intelligent and obsessive assassin begins targeting the current president, the agent is drawn into a psychological cat-and-mouse game. As the killer taunts him and exploits his guilt, the agent must confront his own demons while racing against time to stop another tragedy.
In this episode, I sit down with Dave Schutz, and we discuss his career in law enforcement in the Indianapolis Police Department, FBI, and current job in Executive Protection Detail. This episode is a bit different in a good way. We talk about how no one truly gets comfortable as a “Bullet Catcher”, how his career has changed some of his views on culture and politics, and how a routine traffic stop changed his view of certain people. Many things we discuss can be found in his book called, “And They Give Us Guns”. Many parts of the movie made the hairs stand up on Daves neck as they hit a bit too close to home. This movie is and action thriller that forces you to ask yourself the question, could I actually catch a bullet for someone else. I hope you enjoy. 
 
https://us.amazon.com/THEY-GIVE-GUNS-progressive-policing/dp/B0BRM569HNr  

Anaconda is a modern reimagining of the classic jungle thriller, following a group of travelers drawn into the Amazon by a sense of nostalgia and adventure. What begins as a throwback-inspired journey quickly turns into a fight for survival when they become the target of a massive, deadly anaconda, forcing them to confront both the dangers of the wild and the illusion of the past they were chasing. As they chase their dream a huge snake chases them. 
This movie was surprisingly fun and took me on a trip down memory lane to the 90s. In this episode I sit down with Adison Wolf and we discuss where we were in the 90s and early 2000s and talk about some of the our passions we had as kids growing up. The question I have for you is, what was a passion you had as a kid and would you attempt to chase dream again today? I hope you enjoy. 

"Children of Men" is a gripping dystopian thriller set in a near-future world where humanity faces extinction after two decades of global infertility. Society has collapsed into chaos, and governments have turned authoritarian in a desperate attempt to maintain order.
The story follows Theo played by Clive Owen, a disillusioned former activist, who is unexpectedly tasked with protecting a miraculously pregnant woman—the first in years. As they journey through a dangerous and unstable world, Theo must rediscover hope and courage in a time when both seem lost.
In this episode I sit down with Vitaliy Prokopets and we talk about life and family and Hope. I hope you enjoy. 

Welcome back to the undercurrent movie podcast season three. Now I’m Had kicking this season off by doing something a bit different this time. I’m going back to a movie that I’ve already covered but not for the reason that you think.
In this episode, we are jumping back into the matrix but we’re not doing this to cover what we’ve already know. we’re actually going back in to find a completely different perspective than mine.
 I welcome Harold Bain onto this episode because of his interest in movies and because of his completely different perspective on this specific movie.
 This episode was a lot of fun. We smoked cigars, drank a little whiskey and made a lot of jokes. We talked about politics, faith our past and how this movie changed the both of us, but from completely different viewpoints. this podcast is not only to share my viewpoint, but to hear someone else’s story.  if you have not seen the matrix yet I don’t know what to tell you, but you’re missing one of the greatest movies that has ever been made. This movie came out in 1999 and has truly stood the test of time. I hope you enjoy our time together.

Collateral Beauty (2016) is a drama about a successful New York advertising executive, Howard Inlet, who falls into deep depression after the tragic loss of his young daughter. As he withdraws from life, his friends and his work, he begins writing letters to Love, Time, and Death—abstract concepts he blames for his pain. Concerned for both him and the company, his friends devise an unusual plan that leads to unexpected encounters. Through these experiences, Howard is confronted with grief, healing, and the hidden connections that bind people together in the midst of loss.
This movie reaches emotional depths most people don’t want to talk about and has a few twists along the way. The question I have for you is, if given the opportunity to talk to Love, Time and Death what would you say? In grief, would you accept their advice or would you ignore them altogether. 

Would you steel a loaf of bread to feed your family? 
Would you rob a bunch of little banks to end the generational poverty in your own family even though it could mean jail time or death. 
Hell or High Water is a gritty, character-driven modern Western that follows brothers Toby and Tanner Howard as they rob a string of small-town Texas banks. Their crimes are not driven by greed, but by desperation—Toby is trying to secure his family’s future and prevent the bank from foreclosing on land that has been passed down for generations. Tanner, volatile and reckless, brings danger and unpredictability to every robbery.
 
Pursuing them is veteran Texas Ranger Marcus Hamilton, a sharp-witted lawman nearing retirement, partnered with his deputy. As the chase unfolds across dusty plains and struggling towns, the film paints a bleak picture of economic hardship, corporate exploitation, and the fading ideals of the Old West. Tense, emotional, and morally complex, Hell or High Water blends suspenseful action with thoughtful commentary on justice, survival, and the cost of desperation.
The question I have for you is that if you were desperate, what lengths would you go through to feed your family. 

What would you do if you stopped aging at 25 and could live for centuries but, everything you had to buy was charged in minutes. Would that make you pause with what you spent your time on?
In Time is a sci-fi thriller set in a future where time has literally become the currency. People stop aging at 25 and must earn, borrow, or steal time to stay alive. The rich can live forever, while the poor struggle day-to-day. The story follows Will Salas, played by Justin Timberlake, a man from the slums who is gifted a century of time and becomes entangled in a larger fight against the unfair system. With Sylvia Weis, played by Amanda Seyfried, a wealthy young woman turned ally, Will races to challenge the powerful elites who control time itself.
In this episode I sit with James Crouse and we discuss everything from politics to how long we would want to live to asking the questions is it better to have too little time or too much time to truly enjoy life. I hope you enjoy.