Cinebuds

Our bold and adventurous podcast hosts will go to fairly reasonable lengths to see a good movie. To infinity? No. Beyond? Definitely not. Something they WILL do, though, is invite a new friend to join them for some general merriment with a few opinions thrown in for good measure. That’s what Dori and Kpolly did for this trip back to the playroom to review Toy Story 5 with special guest Heather Deaton — the winner of a “hotly contested” auction battle whose proceeds went to support Milwaukee Film.And if you think Heather just came along for the ride, prepare yourself for a true three-person analysis of the beloved Pixar franchise, with our guest providing some valuable perspective as a parent and general appreciator of Toy Story. She even did some hard-nosed research in advance, watching the third and fourth installments of the franchise in order to make some insightful comparisons between the new film and its predecessors.It's a great conversation about how far CGI has come since the original came out more than 30(!!!) years ago, how "inanimate" childhood companions leave an impression on us, and how we're all in the midst of a battle for imagination's very survival. OK, maybe not that last one, but it's a wonderful chat all the same.#####Cinebuds is sponsored by Joe Wilde Garage Doors.

When Catherine O’Hara died late last month, it was a sizable blow to the entertainment world. Whether it was on television or in movies, she brought a quality that was very particularly “her.” While that’s a tough thing to wrap up in just one episode, Dori and Kpolly give it a shot — with a little help from the Radio Milwaukee family.Fellow O’Hara appreciator Jon Adler joins our familiar cinema-loving duo to craft a retrospective that’s both heartfelt and hilarious, much like the woman herself. We trace her journey from waitress to Gilda Radner understudy at Second City to a member of the groundbreaking troupe at SCTV. We dive into her most beloved performances, from the pretentious Delia Deetz in Beetlejuice to the frantic Kate McCallister in Home Alone to her understated performance as Mickey Crabbe in A Mighty Wind. Of course, no discussion would be complete without covering her turn as Moira Rose in Schitt’s Creek (yes, the enchiladas make a cameo).So join us as we fold in the cheese and have a good airplane cry while paying tribute to a true comedy legend.#####Cinebuds is sponsored by Joe Wilde Garage Door Company.

Last February, having just inherited the title of Black Lens programmer at Milwaukee Film, Ty Williams absolutely nailed his selections for a series showing off the range of Black stories that have come to the big screen over the years.Now, he’s putting that UW-Milwaukee film degree to good use once again. This time, however, he pulled in his picks around a particular theme. “Afrofuturism: Fates Beyond Fiction” includes six works — two short films and four full-length features — that jump from comic books to sci-fi horror to just plain weird.As you’ll hear Williams explain in this episode, what unifies his selections are how they “focus on the concept of dreaming a better future or a different world than the one we live in now.” That comes across in a bunch of different ways during the series, including the bad-assery of Wesley Snipes in Blade, the code-switching absurdity of Sorry to Bother You, and the messianic star turn by music legend and generally far-out dude Sun Ra in Space Is the Place.You’ll get to hear Williams and our trusty co-hosts talk about how he put together the full lineup, as well as how generally awesome the theater staff are at the Oriental and Downer theaters, and whether the third movie in a trilogy is ever the best one.#####Cinebuds is sponsored by Joe Wilde Garage Door Company.

The death of a public figure can hit pretty hard because we feel like we know those people. For many of us, the feeling runs deeper with the passing of an artist or creator whose work has embedded itself in our daily lives.Milwaukee Film’s currently running “In Memoriam” series stirs up those emotions by honoring people from the film world who we lost in 2025 — instantly recognizable figures, like Diane Keaton, Robert Redford and Bob Uecker; as well as those who might be better known by true cinephiles, like Kramer vs. Kramer director Robert Benton and German character actor Udo Kier.“As we reflect on the year in film, we take a moment to remember luminaries we lost in 2025 and to honor them through viewing films where their creativity is on display,” Milwaukee Film artistic director Cara Ogburn said in a release. “Think of this as an awards montage where you get a bit longer to reflect and honor those we’ve lost in the past year through revisiting or discovering exemplary work from their careers.”In this episode of Cinebuds, Dori and Kpolly cover the series in depth and share the impact some of these famous names had on their journey to becoming the movie-loving people they are today.

We ended 2025 on a high note (or a Hugh note?) with our review of Song Sung Blue, featuring a cameo from multitalented global superstar/song-and-dance man Hugh Jackman. So what better way to start 2026 than by pulling back the curtain on the Milwaukee connections that inspired the recently released biopic?For that, we called in a special guest: local filmmaker Jimmy Sammarco. He was instrumental (pun very intended) in the original Song Sung Blue documentary that brought the story of musical couple Mike and Claire Sardina — aka Lightning & Thunder — into the spotlight back in 2008. In his role as director of photography, he saw the ins and outs of the whole production, including a bombshell cease-and-desist order from Sony Music and an unlikely savior from one of the godfathers of grunge.#####Cinebuds is sponsored by Joe Wilde Garage Door Co.

Special episodes happen on the regular around here, but this one is something extra special: our live recording right after a screening of the 1988 holiday classic, Scrooged! We gathered an amazing audience at the Oriental Theatre to watch the movie and have a chat about Bill Murray’s performance as Frank Cross, the youngest network president in television history who’s got a long night ahead of him.Does this four-decades-old film still hit? We tackled that question, along with some fun facts about Murray's acting hiatus after Ghostbusters and his on-set conflicts with director Richard Donner. You'll also hear us dive into why this is a "very pro-therapy movie" and debate who should play the Frank Cross role if the movie were cast today. Our audience was eager to share their opinions as well and compete in Bill Murray trivia for truly impressive prizes. including an IBC towel and an autographed (possibly broken) VHS player! Grab some popcorn and enjoy this fun, chaotic celebration of an '80s holiday favorite.#####Cinebuds is sponsored by Joe Wilde Garage Door Company.