Bernadette is joined by Robby Anderson and Jack Kolodziejski to talk all things NBC's Hannibal , the little show that became a cult favorite and was cut short after 3 seasons, only to become one of the best and most talked about shows of the 2010's. Listen on....

Above is a collection of the Story Screen Family's favorite films of 2017, featuring music also released that year. We had an absolute blast compiling these lists and getting to watch films with each other throughout year. And, yes, we even enjoy talking to all of you about them. Here's to another year of fantastic films. Time to dance. -The Story Screen Family #Newsletter #Article #Bestof #Bestof2017 #StoryScreenFamily #Top10 #Top17 #February2018 #JackKolodziejski #BernadetteGorman #RobertAnderson #JeremyKolodziejski #DianaDiMuro #MikeBurdge #Editing #Music

Jack and Robby check out the latest (and, slightly overdue) Marvel joint, Black Panther . Does the film hold up to the excitable hype, and just how damn good is that Kendrick Lamar album with context? Let's find out, shall we....? Check it out: Listen on SoundCloud #Newsletter #Podcasts #HotTakes #JackKolodziejski #RobertAnderson #Marvel #BlackPanther #WakandaForever #MCU #February2018

Robby and Jack, joined by guests Jeremy Kolodziejski and Brian Castellano, talk about the latest big wave flick to smash down into cinemas, Boots Riley's Sorry to Bother You , which has already created a whirlwind of topical conversation. Check it out: Listen on SoundCloud #Newsletter #Podcasts #SorrytoBotherYou #BootsRiley #TheCoup #LakeithStanfield #HotTakes #JackKolodziejski #RobertAnderson #BrianCastellano #JeremyKolodziejski

Jack and Robby get down with guests Diana DiMuro and Melissa Schlobohm to talk about the latest A24 release to drop, Bo Burnham's, Eighth Grade . Make-up! Cell phones! Swim class! Angst! Check it out: Listen on SoundCloud #Newsletter #Podcasts #EighthGrade #BoBurnham #HotTakes #A24 #Teens #JackKolodziejski #RobertAnderson #DianaDiMuro #MelissaSchlobohm

Jack and Robby are joined by special guest Tim Irwin to talk about the mind-melt movie of the year, Mandy . Check it out: Listen on SoundCloud #Newsletter #Podcasts #NicCage #Mandy #Horror

There's a little American Psycho in us all. I know, I know. You're not a serial killer. Hey, neither am I! (Although isn't that exactly what a serial killer would… never mind.) I'm also not a psychopath, rapist, cannibal, or -- perish the thought -- a yuppie. And yet, part of this film's impact comes from an uncomfortable feeling of recognition. Whether you acknowledge it or not, there's something familiar about this particular monster. Why? It's right there in the title. He's not just any old psycho: he's an American! He’s all of the worst, most barbaric impulses that underpin American life, made literal and manifest. He's not me. He's not you. But he is us. I hasten to add: I'm not suggesting we all have a secret desire to kill, maim, or torture. The murders in American Psycho , whether they even happen at all, are not the point. They're satirical extrapolations. They’re exaggerations: of shallowness and greed, conformity and isolation, power structures and economic violence. Beneath that moisturized, exfoliated mask of humanity, lies a creature of our collective id. Behind those dead eyes, we find ourselves looking back. In this 2000 adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis' novel, Christian Bale plays Patrick Batman-- er, Bateman. Astride the pinnacle of the 1980’s Wall Street world, Bateman is a capitalist king. His biggest problems involve dinner reservations and business cards. His highest priority is keeping up appearances: the right suit, the right apartment, the right opinions on politics and music. Even behavior. His practiced speech patterns: delivered with exactly the right pace, pitch, and tone. His studied physicality. But underneath it all, as Bateman narrates after detailing his extensive skincare routine: "I am simply not there." It’s not exactly true. There's something beneath the surface, all right: Rage. White-hot, seething. His affectations of normalcy boil with barely-disguised disdain. Any challenge to his status-based self-image raises fury. Even as he embodies the archetype of American success, he thrashes against the cage of conformity. And he kills. Bateman's murders seem, at first, to be outlets for his frustrations. His fiancé wants his help planning their wedding, so he stalks and kills a random woman on the street. (You know, as one does.) His co-worker, Paul Allen, has nicer business cards than his, so he kills a homeless man and a dog. Pretty standard psychopathic serial killer stuff so far. Things escalate when Paul Allen mistakes Bateman for another co-worker. He lures Allen to his apartment. In a frenzy of conformity, Bateman spews socially-acceptable opinions about music with Jim Carrey-esque manic energy. He blasts 'It's Hip to Be Square' as he murders Allen with an axe. The scene is gratuitous, violent, and hilarious. (When I first saw this film years ago, it took me two viewings to realize how damned funny it is.) From this point onward, Bateman spirals out of control, and the bodies start piling up. His methods of killing become more and more over-the-top and implausible. It's like he's ticking off a list of slasher movie tropes. The murders are ludicrous. Silly. And not the point. The point is Bateman's ravenous, violent appetite. In killing, he is devouring. Consuming. A predator, a wolf of Wall Street who is no longer sated by the empty calories of wealth, status and excess. He's purging his own humanity with each slaughter, getting closer and closer to a darkly satirical portrait of American capitalist values followed to their logical extreme. Many have spilled ink on how our culture of materialism creates isolation. It's as true today as it ever was. The signifiers of status have changed, yes. Replace "business cards" with "TikTok followers." Instead of Huey Lewis & the News, think of a Michael Bay movie. Substitute any of the self-care sermons you'll find right now in your Instagram Stories for Bateman's morning routine. Of course, any culture needs some level of conformity. It's how we manage to co-operate in numbers far larger than our monkey brains can conceive. But when a culture places a premium on materialistic values, conformity can become isolating. You wear the right clothes, say the right things, act the right way, and society rewards you. But where does that leave your individuality? Your humanity? Not for nothing, does Bateman assert that various popular musical artists’ work improved as it gained mainstream appeal. Not for nothing, are Bateman and his co-workers, so often mistaken for each other in this film. The same suit, the same haircut, the same behaviors, the same values. They're interchangeable. But Bateman's world is a reflection of our own. His isolation, if extreme, mirrors ours. If you think of his murders in symbolic terms, and not as literal killings, the impulses fueling them start to feel a lot more familiar, too. He's cornered, caged. Patrick Bateman is a manifestation of the greed, materialism, and appetites that course through American culture. But he's also something else, something more powerful still. He's a totem of the inherent violence that flows through gender and economic power structures. He asserts his male identity through sexualized violence against women, and one of his lowest moments comes when an attempted murder is mistaken for a homosexual overture. (See if you can spot the psychological subtext!) He asserts his economic power constantly. "Do you know what a [expletive] loser you are?" he asks the homeless man, as he stabs him to death. The darkest impulses of the human psyche are at the root of the power structures these episodes embody. Violence comes in many forms, but it doesn't take an axe-murder to be barbaric. Ask Harvey Weinstein. Or Martin Shkreli. Or the Black Americans being disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic as I write this. You can’t ask Eric Garner anymore. Living in a society means that none of us stand apart from these unseen forces of violence. A society is just people. Us. Society's a total sum, and we are all the parts. The baked-in violence is a product of this aggregate. When Patrick Bateman devours wealth, status, conformity, and pop culture, we are doing the devouring. When Patrick Bateman rapes, tortures, and murders, he is the sum of our parts. When his extreme actions seem to leave no mark on the inexorable systems and structures he inhabits, we are the ones looking the other way. There's a little Patrick Bateman in us all. He's an aggregate monster of our society, hiding in plain sight. From his perch at the height of capitalist power, he seems to be untouchable, immune to consequences. The America this film satirizes is still America today. Don't believe me? Answer me this: Who's the notable New York celebrity Patrick idolizes and keeps looking out for wherever he goes? And where's that guy today? Yeah. We are the American Psycho . Edward Gibbons-Brown (Sometimes) a theatrical director/actor/producer and writer, and (mostly) a bartender and New Beaconite, often found in semi-aimless wander. Edward is pleased and honored to contribute to the most excellent Story Screen.

Diana DiMuro, Linda Codega and Bernadette Gorman-White chat it up about a couple of pretty bois that do some fairly naughty things in the latest episode of XXX9. From identity and desire to male ego and western values, they're tackling every big discussion these two massively successful flicks have to offer. Listen on.... (Please note that due to audio error, the first 15 minutes or so of this episode are filtered for the best possible audio, however after that mark it will sound just as good as ever. We apologize, and hope you can still dig the ep.)

The Kolodziejski brothers are back with another installment of STORY SCREAM! This year’s list is a curated selection of 31 frightful films, streaming across all of the popular platforms. The brothers spooky have chosen a range of chilling thrills: from timeless horror classics, to gory under-appreciated gems. They’ve even thrown in a couple of wholesome frights for the younger ghouls and goblins in your life. Distract yourself from the waking nightmare of 2020 with horrifying fun all October long! (Click on the photos below to watch each film's trailer). On NETFLIX: Cam (2018, Director Daniel Goldhaber) The Witch (2016, Director Robert Eggers) Session 9 (2001, Director Brad Anderson) The Golem (2018, Directors Yoav and Doron Paz) Sweetheart (2019, Director Justin Dillard) On HULU: Jennifer’s Body (2009, Director Karyn Kusama) The Lodge (2019, Directors Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala) The House that Jack Built (2018, Director Lars von Trier) Hounds of Love (2016, Director Ben Young) Depraved (2019, Director Larry Fessenden) The Host (2006, Director Bong Joon Ho) On AMAZON PRIME VIDEO: Climax (2018, Director Gaspar Noé) Society (1989, Director Brian Yuzna) Lake Mungo (2008, Director Joel Anderson) Exorcist 3 (1990, Director William Peter Blatty) Resolution (2012, Directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorehead) Ginger Snaps (2000, Director John Fawcett) On SHUDDER: Fade to Black (1980, Director Vernon Zimmerman) Bliss (2019, Director Joe Begos) Tammy and the T-Rex *Gore Edition* (1994, Director Stewart Raffill) The Changeling (1980, Director Peter Medak) Audition (1999, Director Takashi Miike) A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2015, Director Ana Lily Amirpour) On HBOMAX: Cronos (1993, Director Guillermo Del Toro) Gremlins 2 (1990, Director Joe Dante) House (1977, Director Nobuhiko Obayashi. RIP.) Sisters (1972, Director Brian De Palma) The Brood (1979, Director David Cronenberg) The Hitcher (1986, Director Dave Meyers) On DISNEY+: Don’t Look Under The Bed (1999, Director Kenneth Johnson) Halloweentown (1998, Director Duwayne Dunham) Jack Kolodziejski Jack makes drugs for a living, but not necessarily the fun kind. He enjoys international travel and discussing music, movies, and games in excruciating detail. Jeremy Kolodziejski Jeremy is younger than he looks, and has passionately studied the art and craft of filmmaking for as long as he can remember. He is currently a freelance wedding videographer, and is also heavily involved in Competitive Fighting Games. You can follow him on Instagram @prof_k.o

This episode of XXX9 covers two of the darkly comedic teen-films of 1999: the VHS standby, Jawbreaker, and the revered Drop Dead Gorgeous . Listen on....