Episode 209: WAR OF THE WORLDS (2005) with Abbie Phelps

Featuring Abbie Phelps (https://twitter.com/goodhunterabbie)! Steven Spielberg’s update of H.G. Wells’s genre classic crumbles Tom Cruise, America’s perfect leading man, into a pool of tears and paranoia. It’s a choice consistent with the narrative of the overall movie, a metaphor for the naked, scared soul of imperialism – an unmasking of the patriotism-cum-xenophobia that shepherded thousands of young Americans to die for national wealth in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Find Abbie… On Twitter at https://twitter.com/goodhunterabbie On Letterboxd at https://letterboxd.com/goodhunterabbie/ On Trylove Episode 184: DRIVE ANGRY (2011) Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/trylovepodcast and email us at [email protected] to get in touch! Buy tickets and support the Trylon at https://www.trylon.org/. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro music: Main Theme by John Williams from the WAR OF THE WORLDS soundtrack. Timestamps 0:00 - Episode 209: WAR OF THE WORLDS (2005) with Abbie Phelps 4:45 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary 10:40 - The family stuff and the movie’s subversive politics 22:18 - The loss of innocence narrative 28:42 - Even more love for Spielberg 32:31 - Flow and pacing 35:30 - A bruised Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning 51:08 - The third act 53:16 - The big ol’ setpieces 59:10 - Good Grief, Give Me a GIF! 1:06:17 - Cody’s Noteys: Tom’s Crews