Link to the show: Young Adult Movie Ministry Vol. 2, Episode 17 on Substack

Release date: May 5, 2022

Movie of the Week

The Batman (2022), directed by Matt Reeves
[On HBO Max]

Special Guest

Jamelle Bouie is a columnist for The New York Times and hosts his own movie podcast, Unclear and Present Danger. He previously was a guest on YAMMPOD Vol. 1 Ep. 12.

Who the Hosts Are This Week

Sam is reporter-at-large, editor of Forever Wars, critic for hire, very tired man, and Vincent Price as Egghead. Alissa is the film critic at Vox, author of the upcoming book Salty, and Catwoman.

Other Mentions

• Robert Pattinson (star of The Batman), who Alissa describes as one of the great actors of his generation
• Dawn of The Planet of the Apes and War For the Planet of the Apes - also very good, also directed by Matt Reeves
• Batman Beyond - a Batman-adjacent animated series from the 1990s that, per Jamelle, captures the essence of what Batman is about
• Frank Miller - comic author whose influence can be seen here
• Batman: Earth One - comic series by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank which is a strong plot influence for The Batman
• Neal Adams (RIP) - who wrote a very adventure-themed run of Batman comics.
• Taxi Driver - which served as inspiration both for Joker and The Batman
• Kimi - Recent David Fincher movie also starring Zoë Kravitz
• Alber Mohler’s The Briefing from July 22, 2008, wherein Sam (along with Russell Moore and Timothy Paul Jones) discuss “questions raised by recent releases such as The Dark Knight and Wall-E”
• The Warriors - a movie that Jamelle would love to use as the cinematographic basis for a Batman movie
• Riffing on ideas for other Batman genres: Walter Matthau from The Taking of Pelham One Two Three in The Warriors; Batman as a stoner in a sunshine noir, referencing Inherent Vice; something Jamelle calls “The Long GoodBatman” (ooh, Eliot Gould and The Long Goodbye…); Sam suggesting the C’mon, C’mon Batman…
• Batman: Mask of the Phantasm - an animated Batman film that Jamelle highly recommends
• Grant Morrison’s run of Batman from the 1980s