Hate Watching with Dan and Tony

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A future where your eyes record everything should make crime harder, truth clearer, and privacy basically extinct. That is the promise of Anon, the 2018 Netflix sci-fi noir starring Clive Owen. We wanted to love the premise. Instead, we end up asking the most brutal question a tech thriller can face: if the movie cannot follow its own rules, why should we believe any of its stakes?

We break down the filmmaking choices that constantly pull us out of the story, especially the stiff first-person POV shots that feel locked to a tripod and the bizarre “gun on a stick” staging that makes tense scenes look like a dated video game. From there we dig into the bigger problems: a surveillance system that is sold as perfect but proves fallible almost immediately, hacking that seems to work differently in every scene, and a mystery that tries to hide the plot instead of building it. We also unpack the twist involving Cyrus and why the motivation never feels earned, plus the movie’s claim that everyone becomes numb and robotic in an always-recording world.

Along the way we hit a few tangents that fit the theme more than you would expect, including a wild story about ChatGPT being discussed in court, plus what we are watching for fun right now and what we are reviewing next. Subscribe, share the show with a friend who loves sci-fi movies, and leave a review. What is the one “future tech” idea you actually think is coming soon?

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Dan: @shakybacon
Tony: @tonydczech

And follow the podcast on IG: @hatewatchingDAT

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The wild thing about War Of The Worlds (2005) is how quickly it earns our trust and how loudly it tests it later. We sit down on Heat Watching and walk through Spielberg’s alien invasion thriller beat by beat, starting with that terrifying, razor-tight opening stretch where ordinary people do the only “heroic” thing available: make one decent choice, then make the next one fast. The sound design, the crowd behavior, the dust-covered aftermath, and the sense of public systems failing all feel brutally real, and we talk about why the movie’s 9/11 allegory still hits.

Then we get into the stuff that makes us argue. Why give Ray a specific job that never pays off? Why does the timeline feel vague when the movie needs us to feel the long grind of survival? And what is the son’s arc actually doing besides forcing a few plot turns? We also talk performances: Tom Cruise is surprisingly great as a messy, selfish dad, while Dakota Fanning runs circles around almost everyone and keeps the emotion honest even when the script gets shaky.

Finally, we go straight for the big debate: the basement detour with Tim Robbins, the rushed sprint to the finish, and a climax that hinges on the common cold instead of a character-driven payoff. If you love Spielberg, disaster movies, alien invasion films, or film criticism that’s equal parts admiration and frustration, you’ll have opinions here. Subscribe, share the episode with a movie friend, and leave a review, then tell us: which scene would you rewrite first?

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Dan: @shakybacon
Tony: @tonydczech

And follow the podcast on IG: @hatewatchingDAT

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Someone shows up in Grand Central, claims he’s from a planet called K-Pax, and calmly starts wrecking everyone’s certainty. That setup sounds like classic sci-fi, but the more we talk about the 2001 film K-Pax, the more it turns into a debate about story logic, emotional truth, and what “proof” even means when a person is clearly suffering. One of us watches Prot (Kevin Spacey) and sees a fragile psychological mystery with a trauma core. The other sees a movie that dodges tension, ignores consequences, and stitches together scenes that don’t quite click.

We break down the big beats that make K-Pax so polarizing: the psychiatric ward as a strange little community, Jeff Bridges’ therapist walking the line between clinical skepticism and personal longing, the planetarium sequence that feels like undeniable evidence, and the blue bird moment that turns into a full-building celebration. We also get into the film’s loose rules about alien abilities, why the lack of outside scrutiny feels off, and how the movie’s “cures” can come across as a troubling take on mental health treatment, including its flirtation with regression hypnosis.

Then the story pivots into the Santa Rosa backstory, the sprinkler trigger, and the line that sums up the whole experience: “I found what I was looking for. I wish I hadn’t.” We close with bonus hate watching (Mindy Kaling’s Not Suitable For Work), a quick shot of World Cup joy, and what we’re watching next: Spielberg’s War of the Worlds. If you like movie podcasts that argue hard but stay curious, subscribe, share this with a friend who still defends K-Pax, and leave us a review.

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Dan: @shakybacon
Tony: @tonydczech

And follow the podcast on IG: @hatewatchingDAT

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A movie can be harmless and still drive you nuts, especially when you can see the better version hiding inside it. We go back to 2001 and rewatch Corky Romano, the Chris Kattan comedy that lives in a lot of people’s nostalgia, then we ask the uncomfortable question: why does it feel like the script keeps forgetting to write the joke?

We walk through the big story beats and the bigger craft problems, from the “one folder of evidence” FBI premise to the endless string of classic gag setups that never escalate into a payoff. We talk about what works in spurts, like Corky being genuinely good at his veterinarian job and the brief moment when that expertise could have become the running comedic engine. Then we get into what doesn’t work: inconsistent character rules, a romance that expects you to find workplace creepiness charming, and an ending that waves away consequences because the mob boss technically didn’t commit murder.

Along the way, we hit our favorite nitpicks and rewrite ideas, including the cocaine sequence, the evidence room weirdness, and the finale twist that barely matters. Then we pivot into what we’re obsessed with right now: the absurd Lego store consignment controversy exploding into lawsuits and body cam footage, plus Tony’s annual six-week Love Island USA lock-in. We also tee up next week’s rewatch, KPAX, and the arguments it’s about to resurrect.

Subscribe for more movie rewatch breakdowns, share this with a friend who still quotes early 2000s comedies, and leave a review with the one scene from Corky Romano you’ll never forget.

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Dan: @shakybacon
Tony: @tonydczech

And follow the podcast on IG: @hatewatchingDAT

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A spoof can be chaotic and still feel precise, but only if the movie commits. We just watched The Naked Gun reboot and ended up in a full-on argument about what modern parody movies need to work: clean setups, real escalation, and actors who play the moment like it’s life or death.

We dig into non sequitur comedy and why “random” isn’t the same as “surprising.” Tony loves the occasional left-field swing, Dan wants the jokes to build instead of getting tossed away, and we both agree performance is everything. We talk about the straight man role, why some deliveries feel like reading a punchline off a cue card, and why Danny Huston comes off like the person most in sync with the movie’s tone. We also shout out the bits that actually hit: the chili dog scene, the fish people riff that keeps heightening, the perfectly timed Dave Bautista moment, and a few blink-and-you-miss-it visual jokes.

Then we get into the risky stuff: reference comedy and who it’s for. When a film leans on Clippy, TiVo, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and niche culture jokes, is that clever specificity or just dating yourself on purpose? If you like movie review podcasts that go beyond thumbs up or thumbs down, this one gets into comedic timing, parody structure, and why a short runtime can be a blessing when the jokes are hit or miss.

Subscribe for more weekly watches, share the episode with a friend who loves spoof comedies, and leave a review with the one gag you laughed at the hardest. What was your funniest moment?

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Be our friend!

Dan: @shakybacon
Tony: @tonydczech

And follow the podcast on IG: @hatewatchingDAT