Baz Luhrmann's maximalist jukebox musical Moulin Rouge! turns 25 years old this month, which seems like the perfect opportunity to revisit the film and contemplate its impact on the musical genre in the years since. Tim is joined by resident music expert Zev Burrows for a spectacular, spectacular conversation about a film that had a major impact on both of them, sometimes to break it down, sometimes just to gush. Before turning to Moulin Rouge!, Zev catches up with the 1985 feminist coming of age drama Smooth Talk, while courtesy of Patreon supporter Maxwell Jacobson, Tim is grappling with 2023's romantic thriller Eileen. Also, Zev has a new website! Be sure to check it out!
Your Movie Rocks: Marci X
2026/05/05 | 1h 8 mins.
Welcome to Your Movie Rocks, an Alternate Ending podcast hosted by Mandy Albert. For every episode, Mandy will watch a movie assigned by her guest host, followed by a lively discussion. There's only one rule: no matter what the movie does to her, Mandy is only allowed to love it. This month, we welcome Brennan Klein back to the show to discuss Marci X, an early-aughts comedy of manners that had Lisa Kudrow rapping, and also wrapping up her career, and if you thought that joke was lame, wait until you hear some of the ones we make in the episode. Join us for a rollicking multilayered journey into white girls doing Kenyan folk dance, gay boys singing abstinence ballads (or is it abstinence boys singing gay ballads?), and Kudrow and Damon Wayans possibly being the unsung comedy couple of the decade. You won't want to miss this one, since you almost certainly missed the movie!* *(But hey, it made more money than Spiral and The Hottie and the Nottie put together!)
May 2026 Movie Preview
2026/04/28 | 1h 20 mins.
To get the summer movie season started, Brennan is joined by Caleb and Gavin. The two of them force Brennan to talk more about Mortal Kombat II more than he wants, while glossing over such less-anticipated films like the new Star Wars. To get the show started, it's a quartet of brand-new releases for the movie roundtable: Caleb sees the much-hyped Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie, Brennan drags himself to The Strangers: Chapter 3, and Gavin does a compare-and-contrast with Ready or Not 2: Here I Come and They Will Kill You.
Bride of AE - Hatchet for the Honeymoon (1970)
2026/04/21 | 43 mins.
For the first of three episodes breaking down Newlywed Horror, Tim and Brennan discuss Mario Bava's HATCHET FOR THE HONEYMOON! Love the Podcast? Leave us a review! Follow Brennan on Twitter, Instagram, and Letterboxd Follow Tim on Letterboxd Support Alternate Ending and check out our member perks, including voting for the films we cover on this program, via the Alternate Ending Patreon page!
Pixar in the 2020s
2026/04/14 | 1h 38 mins.
Currently in theaters, Hoppers is the 30th feature-length film by Pixar Animation Studios. That seemed like an important enough number for us to turn to one of the evergreen questions: what's going on with Pixar, exactly? Tim is joined by Zev and Cameron to reminisce about the studio's history and mull over its recent run of films that mostly haven't lit the world on fire at the box office or in reviews. Before getting to Pixar, Zev brings Agnès Varda's very first film, La Pointe Courte, to our movie roundtable, while Cameron revisits a childhood favorite, Return to Oz. At the behest of Patreon supporter Hallvarður, Tim checks out the 1996 Icelandic dark comedy Devil's Island.
Alternate Ending was formed when three friends realized they all shared a passion for movies. Our goal is to save you time and money by sharing our thoughts and recommendations on which movies to race to theaters for, which to watch at home and those to actively avoid.
What makes Alternate Ending different from other film podcasts? Well, we're not 5 dudes in a room talking about our passion for Fight Club and Braveheart. We're two dudes, and a lady, of which our tastes are quite varied. Rob, the film-school dropout, has seen an absurd amount of movies, and if we're being honest, rounds out our Fight Club fan-base. Tim Brayton, our seasoned film critic, shares a more critical view of film, an appreciation for vintage cinema and perhaps limited-release movies that we might otherwise miss. Carrie, our casual movie-goer, reminds us all that cinema is in fact supposed to be fun and entertaining and that sometimes, just sometimes, happy endings are good.
Too many film sites cater to the same kind of audience, with one overwhelming voice in the writing, but what we treasure at Alternate Ending is diversity: diversity of opinion, diversity in belief about what film should do and how it should do it. We want to celebrate our different opinions, and celebrate yours as well.
This isn't a podcast for people who just want to talk about the latest hot new movies in theaters right this minute. This is a place for people who can't get to the theater until the third week a film is out; a place for people who just want to find something great to stream online after the kids have gone to sleep, a place for people whose favorite pastime is to grab a bunch of classic films on DVD from the library and watch them all weekend. It's a place that believes that every great movie is a wonderful new treasure, whether you see it the night of its premiere or fifty years later. It's a site about discovering good movies... one bad movie at a time.
Join us for our weekly review of movies worth seeing, worth avoiding and our Top 5 lists – and don't forget to play along at www.alternateending.com.
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