Institutes of the Cinematic Religion
The #1 movie show in the world made by Christians for everyone. Film podcast w/ Matt Harms & Eric Maus
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Episodes
10 hours ago
10 hours ago
Eric watched ASH. Matt watched WICKED.
ASH is the latest film from director and record producer Flying Lotus. A woman wakes up on a distant planet and finds the crew of her space station viciously killed. Her investigation into what happened sets in motion a terrifying chain of events. ASH stars Eiza Gonzalez (Baby Driver) and Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad). Now in theaters.
WICKED was the ultimate cultural touchstone of 2024, an adaptation of the successful broadway musical. When ostracized and misunderstood green-skinned Elphaba is forced to share a room with the popular aristocrat Glinda, the two’s unlikely friendship is tested as they begin to fulfill their respective destinies as Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West. WICKED stars Cynthia Erivo (Widows), Ariana Grande (pop star), and Jeff Goldblum (Jurassic Park). Now streaming on Peacock.
Matt and Eric also discuss the latest movie news, and give a weekly recommendation.
Follow Matt: @E55LUX10N (X/Letterboxd/Instagram)
Follow Eric: @ericpmaus (X/Letterboxd/Instagram)
Tuesday Mar 25, 2025
Tuesday Mar 25, 2025
We saved big and streamed instead of going to the big cinema.
Matt and Eric watched Conclave, the latest film from German director Edward Berger (All Quiet on the Western Front). After the unexpected death of the Pope, Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) is tasked with managing the covert and ancient ritual of electing a new one. Sequestered in the Vatican with the Catholic Church’s most powerful leaders until the process is complete, Lawrence finds himself at the center of a conspiracy that could lead to its downfall. Conclave also stars Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, and Isabella Rossellini.
Matt and Eric also discuss the latest movie news/trailers, and give a weekly recommendation.
Follow Matt: @E55LUX10N (X/Letterboxd/Instagram)
Follow Eric: @ericpmaus (X/Letterboxd/Instagram)
Tuesday Mar 18, 2025
Tuesday Mar 18, 2025
This week, Matt and Eric watched a good movie!
Black Bag is the second 2025 film from journey-man director Steven Soderbergh (and it's only March). When his beloved wife is suspected of betraying the nation, an intelligence agent faces the ultimate test – loyalty to his marriage or his country. Black Bag stars Michael Fassbender, Cate Blanchett, and Pierce Brosnan.
Matt and Eric also discuss the latest movie news, and give a weekly recommendation.
Follow Matt: @E55LUX10N (X/Letterboxd/Instagram)
Follow Eric: @ericpmaus (X/Letterboxd/Instagram)
Wednesday Mar 12, 2025
Wednesday Mar 12, 2025
It's bad!!
MICKEY 17 is the latest film from Oscar-winning director Bong Joon-Ho (Parasite, Snowpiercer, Okja). On a space ship headed for the planet Niflheim, Mickey Barnes finds himself employed as an expendable - a clone with infinite iterations of himself. He (and some of his alternate selves) becomes entangled in a plot against the fundamentalist politician that leads the expedition. MICKEY 17 stars Robert Pattinson, Naomi Ackie, Stephen Yeun, Mark Ruffalo, and Toni Collete.
Matt and Eric also discuss the latest movie news, and give a weekly recommendation.
Follow Matt: @E55LUX10N (X/Letterboxd/Instagram)
Follow Eric: @ericpmaus (X/Letterboxd/Instagram)
Tuesday Mar 04, 2025
Tuesday Mar 04, 2025
Matt and Eric review Last Breath.
Last Breath is a documentary turned feature film from director Alex Parkinson. A true story about seasoned deep-sea divers who battle the raging elements to rescue their crewmate trapped hundreds of feet below the ocean’s surface, Last Breath stars Woody Harrelson, Simu Liu, and Finn Cole.
Matt and Eric also discuss the latest movie news, and give a weekly recommendation.
Follow Matt: @E55LUX10N (X/Letterboxd/Instagram)
Follow Eric: @ericpmaus (X/Letterboxd/Instagram)
Tuesday Feb 25, 2025
Tuesday Feb 25, 2025
This week we watched The Monkey & The Gorge.
The Monkey is the latest film from director Osgood Perkins. It is an adaptation of the Stephen King short story of the same name, and follows twin brothers (Theo James, Christian Convery) who attempt to solve a series of inexplicable deaths that seem to be linked to a mysterious wind-up monkey toy.
The Gorge is an Apple TV+ original film, from director Scott Derrickson. It stars Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy, who star as two snipers assigned to guard an ominous gorge in an unknown location.
Matt and Eric also discuss the latest movie news, and give a weekly recommendation.
Thursday Feb 20, 2025
Thursday Feb 20, 2025
We (mostly) watched it so you don't have to.
Captain America: Brave New World is the fourth entry in the Captain America subfranchise, and the 35th entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Captain America: Brave New World stars Anthony Mackie, Harrison Ford, and Giancarlo Esposito.
Matt and Eric also discuss the latest movie news, and give a weekly recommendation.
Follow Matt: E55LUX10N (X/Letterboxd/Instagram)
Follow Eric: ericpmaus (Letterboxd/Instagram)
Tuesday Feb 11, 2025
Tuesday Feb 11, 2025
Matt saw THE BRUTALIST; Eric saw BRING THEM DOWN. We give spoiler-free reviews of each.
Matt watched THE BRUTALIST, the latest film from visionary director Brady Corbet, and contender for Best Picture in the 2024 Oscars race. Escaping post-war Europe, visionary architect László Toth arrives in America to rebuild his life, his work, and his marriage to his wife Erzsébet after being forced apart during wartime by shifting borders and regimes. THE BRUTALIST stars Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, and Guy Pearce.
Eric watched BRING THEM DOWN, the first film from director Christopher Andrews. When the ongoing rivalry between farmers Michael and Jack suddenly escalates, it triggers a chain of events that take increasingly violent and devastating turns, leaving both families permanently altered. BRING THEM DOWN stars Christopher Abbott and Barry Keoghan.
Matt and Eric also discuss the latest movie news, and give a weekly recommendation.
Follow Matt: @E55LUX10N (X/Letterboxd/Instagram)
Follow Eric: @ericpmaus (Letterboxd/Instagram)
Tuesday Feb 04, 2025
Tuesday Feb 04, 2025
Matt understood the assignment. Eric watched a TV show
Matt watched The Girl with the Needle, a new film from Swedish director Magnus von Horn. Struggling to survive in post-WWI Copenhagen, a newly unemployed and pregnant young woman is taken in by a charismatic elder to help run an underground adoption agency. The two form an unexpected bond, until a sudden discovery changes everything. The Girl with the Needle stars Vic Carmen Sonne and Trine Dyrholm.
Eric watched American Primeval, a new Netflix miniseries from director Peter Berg. A mother and son fleeing from their past form a found family while confronting a harsh landscape of freedom and cruelty in the American West. American Primeval stars Betty Gilpin, Taylor Kitsch, and Shea Wigham.
Matt and Eric also discuss the latest movie news, and give a weekly recommendation.
Follow Matt: @E55LUX10N (X/Letterboxd/Instagram)
Follow Eric: @ericpmaus (Letterboxd/Instagram)
Tuesday Jan 28, 2025
Tuesday Jan 28, 2025
We saw Presence and we had different opinions about it.
Presence is the latest film from journeyman director Steven Soderbergh. This 'horror' movie is shot from the perspective of a mysterious entity haunting a suburban house. Presence stars Lucy Liu and Chris Sullivan.
Matt and Eric also discuss the latest movie news, and give a weekly recommendation.
Follow Matt: @E55LUX10N (X/Letterboxd/Instagram)
Follow Eric: @ericpmaus (Letterboxd/Instagram)