Few things in life are more powerful, or painful, than the relationship between parent and child. On this week’s show, Dan Webster, Nathan Weinbender, and Mary Pat Treuthart discuss two films that explore such relationships.

As every filmmaker from D.W. Griffith to Jean-Luc Godard would tell you, no theme provides more fuel for a movie than crime does. On this week’s show, Dan Webster, Nathan Weinbender, and Mary Pat Treuthart discuss two movies that focus on characters who don’t so much flirt with crime but embrace it wholeheartedly.

Over the years, we here at Movies 101 headquarters have made no secret of our admiration for the films of Martin Scorsese. And we’re not about to stop now. On this week’s show, Dan Webster, Nathan Weinbender, and Mary Pat Treuthart discuss the Apple TV five-part biographical miniseries “Mr. Scorsese” and offer up thoughts about some of the man’s choicest works.

When it comes to movie characters, those showing signs of mania often make for the most interesting storylines. On this week’s show, Dan Webster, Nathan Weinbender, and Mary Pat Treuthart discuss two films that focus on such characters. The first is director Lynne Ramsay’s “Die My Love,” and the second is Guillermo del Toro's “Frankenstein."

In the wide range of human experiences, pretty much any perspective can make for good cinema. On this week’s show, Dan Webster, Nathan Weinbender, and Mary Pat Treuthart discuss two films that tackle polar-opposite themes in an attempt to create cinematic art. The first is “Bugonia,” written and directed by the Greek-born filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos. The second is “Train Dreams,” a film directed and co-written by Clint Bentley.

We all face challenges. Sometimes they involve professional responsibilities, other times they’re complicated by personal histories. Often they involve a blend of both. On this week’s show, Dan Webster, Nathan Weinbender, and Mary Pat Treuthart discuss “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere,” followed by “It Was Just an Accident."

Here’s a question that every moviegoer has likely asked at one time or another: what exactly is the point of movie criticism... or, more to the point, movie critics? On this week’s show, Nathan Weinbender, Mary Pat Treuthart, and Dan Webster try to provide an answer.

Among the many reasons for why a film succeeds—directing, acting, cinematography and clever use of computer graphics—quality screenwriting is key. On this week’s show, Dan Webster and Nathan Weinbender discuss a pair of films by critically-acclaimed filmmakers that swim, or sink, based on the strength of their screenplays.

Thomas Jefferson wasn't the first writer to wax on about the pursuit of happiness, but his famous Declaration of Independence references always struck an emotional chord. On this week's show, Dan Webster, Mary Pat Treuthart, and Nathan Weinbender discuss two films that feature characters on quests for something that, at least tangentially, involves happiness. The first is "The History of Sound," starring Paul Mescal and Josh O'Connor, and the second is the French import, "Souleymane's Story."

As the daily TV news leads warn us, violence is an ongoing part of our contemporary life, which makes the various examples of it perfect fodder for the movies. On this week’s show, Dan Webster, Mary Pat Treuthart, and Nathan Weinbender discuss two movies that incorporate violence, or references to it, at their very core. The first is the aptly titled “The Smashing Machine,” in which Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson plays the real-life MMA fighter Mark Kerr. The other is “Anemone,” a film starring Daniel Day-Lewis as a man tortured by memories of war.