It’s the most frightful time of the year! The Cinematic Schematic returns just in time for All Hallows Eve to review a few of fall 2024’s most notable horror movies. Today, we cover The Substance, Speak No Evil, It’s What’s Inside, and Smile 2. It wouldn’t be a special episode without the right guest. This year, we welcome OKC City Councilperson James Cooper back to the mic to discuss his debut book, Moonlit Massacre. The group also celebrates Laron Chapman’s recent induction into the...

In this episode of The Cinematic Schematic, we review the follow-up movie no one asked for, Joker: Folie à Deux. Joker, starring Joaquin Phoenix and directed by Todd Phillips, was released in 2019 on a budget between $55-70 million. It grossed $1.079 billion and achieved critical and audience acclaim. It was nominated for 11 Oscars and was even the highest-grossing R-rated movie until Deadpool & Wolverine knocked it off the pedestal this summer ($1.3 billion).  Joker‘s reputation...

The Cinematic Schematic returns from the late summer hiatus to review the long-awaited Francis Ford Coppola sci-fi “fable,” Megalopolis. The legendary auteur director has spent nearly 40 years trying to get this passion project off the ground. He’s finally raised the $120 million in funding after selling off one of his wineries. Was it worth it? This week’s podcast architects Freelance writer Alexandra Bohannon rejoins the show to help hosts Caleb Masters and Laron Chapman...

The people asked, and The Cinematic Schematic is here to deliver. By popular demand, we return from our end-of-summer hiatus a week early with a bonus episode of the podcast for a fall 2024 movie check-in, including a pulse check on the 2024 box office and our top 5 movies of the year so far. In this special edition, we break the show into three segments: * 5:22 – 2024 Box Office Check-In and our top five movies of 2024 so far with Daniel Bokemper * 50:50 – Fall 2024...

In this special edition of The Cinematic Schematic, When Shadows Lay Darkest writer/director Jacob Leighton Burns and Flint director/producer Chris Oz McIntosh join the show to talk about their new short films ahead of the Los Angeles premieres at the North Hollywood (NoHo) Cinefest. When Shadows Lay Pays Homage to Another Type of Horror Filmmaker Between Electric Nostalgia, Shifter, and a handful of other short films, Burns is no stranger to genre filmmaking. When Shadows Lay...

In space, no one can hear you podcast. That is why The Cinematic Schematic is here to ground your takes to earth by wrapping up summer 2024 with a review of Alien: Romulus. Meet The Crew To give the Xenmorph-led franchise a pulse check, hosts Caleb Masters and Laron Chapman are joined by a motley crew of space colonists, including recurring guest host Daniel Bokemper, “Oklahoma’s Favorite Son” and editor of the Curbside Chronicle Nathan Poppe, and the Brockness Monster of art...

The Cinematic Schematic is holding an emergency bonus review of one of this summer’s most widely disliked movies, Borderlands. Based on the beloved looter shooter game franchise, this adaptation from horror filmmaker Eli Roth aims to bring the world of Pandora (no, not THAT Pandora…or that one) to the big screen. With a stacked cast including Oscar-winners Cate Blanchette and Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Hart, and Jack Black, what could go wrong? Looking at the film’s D+ CinemaScore from...

The Cinematic Schematic is back to cut up two of August 2024’s most anticipated suspense thrillers, Cuckoo and M. Night Shyalaman’s Trap. Meet This Week’s Guest Victims To dig into the psyche of Josh Hartnett’s serial killer in Trap, first-time guest Rod Lott, founder and editor of flickatttack.com and the author of Flick Attack Movie Arsenal, joins the show! Though Lott sits out the Cuckoo review, fellow horror enthusiast and part-time Cinematropolis contributor...

This week’s episode of The Cinematic Schematic serves up chimichangas in our review of Deadpool & Wolverine. Marvel Studios’ sole 2024 release uniting Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman has set the box office on fire, grossing an estimated $211 million on its opening weekend at the domestic box office and $441 million globally. The slow death of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been greatly exaggerated. Has director Shawn Levy, Reynolds, and Jackman delivered the goods? Introducing...

A storm’s coming, listeners. No, this isn’t a reference to the three more Minions sequels. In the 200th episode of The Cinematic Schematic, hosts Caleb Masters and Laron Chapman are joined by a panel of Oklahoma film critics from the Oklahoma Film Critics Circle to review Twisters. Welcoming This Week’s Guest Stormchasers of the Century No Film School’s Jo Light, KJYO-FM and Critic’s Choice member Jason Black, and The Oklahoman’s Brandy McDonnell join the show to render a...

The Cinematic Schematic returns from our post-deadCenter 2024 mid-summer hiatus to review the conclusion of Ti West’s accidental “X” trilogy, MaXXXine. It wouldn’t be a proper review of one of the most anticipated horror films of the year without extra special guests. Guests: Caleb Masters (Upper Left), Laron Chapman (Upper Right), Casey Brewer (Bottom Left), Danny Salemme (Bottom Middle), and Zach Wincik (Bottom Right) Introducing the How I Met Your Monster Podcast...

Last weekend, four members of The Cinematropolis team, Caleb Masters, Daniel Bokemper, Jo Light, and Christopher Shultz, attended the deadCenter 2024 Film Festival. We spent the last two weeks interviewing filmmakers, hosting panels, and writing about our thoughts on just a few of the 150+ films at the Oscar-qualifying film festival. When we weren’t in a theater or catching up with friends and filmmakers at the parties, we were burning the midnight moonlight the only way one should at...

deadCenter 2024 includes just about every genre encompassing the human experience, from horror shorts to experimental true crime. Films that make you laugh, cry, and imagine the possibilities. Among this year’s Oklahoma films that inspire resilience and greatness is Endeavor, a documentary from Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Bunee Tomlinson based on the University of Oklahoma’s Endeavor Games. “The Endeavor Games exists to create equitable access to sports competitions for individuals...

The 2024 deadCenter Film Festival showcased stories from across the globe. Few films demonstrate the power of an important story that generates empathy and awareness more than the short film Anuja. The film follows the story of a nine-year-old orphan living on the streets of Delhi who is offered a rare chance to attend a boarding school that could alter her family’s future. deadCenter’s Oscar-qualifying status for short films has put it on the radar of more filmmakers, including...

The 2024 deadCenter Film Festival had several locally made movies playing at this year’s main event, but perhaps none were as ambitious as Cricket. Produced by Filmmakers Ranch, the Oklahoma-based studio co-owned by Richard and Amy Janes and directed by Richard, the lyrical film has long been a passion project for the duo. The film is about an introverted 14-old from a broken family drawn to stealing from churches for her ailing mother. The film has been through several iterations over...

While homegrown Oklahoma filmmakers like Dylan Brodie have been working hard for many years to improve the industry within Oklahoma, others have been representing the state’s talent in Hollywood productions for decades. In today’s episode of The Cinematic Schematic, we sit down with 2024 deadCenter ICON, Paul Sparks. Paul Sparks, Prolific Character Actor and Committed Storyteller Sparks is a prolific character whose career has put him alongside some of the biggest movie stars on...

When he’s not running city council meetings, OKC Mayor David Holt works with experts across the state to build a brighter future for OKC, including the growing film industry. The job sometimes even includes representing the city globally through the power of cinema. Mayor Holt briefly appeared in the 2024 deadCenter opening night documentary Saucedo, where he meets with former Oklahoma City boxer Alex Saucedo. Though brief, the appearance highlights how much the city has supported one of...

In this episode of The Cinematic Schematic, we continue our deadCenter 2024 coverage in an exclusive interview with Donick Cary, the writer/director of Hail to the Breadsticks! The film was named deadCenter’s Best Oklahoma Feature by the Oklahoma Film Critics Circle. Hail to the Breadsticks! is a film about how Donick Cary interrogates his lifelong fandom of the Washington Redskins in the face of accusations that the name is offensive to Natives by his son, Otis. The two travel all...

Day three of the 2024 deadCenter Film Festival has more exciting premieres, especially in the documentaries category. Among the most anticipated docs playing this year is Secret Mall Apartment from deadCenter alum Jeremy Workman (The World Before Your Feet). In today’s exclusive deadCenter interview, The Cinematic Schematic sits down with tape artist and the film’s subject, Michael Townsend. The film tells the story of the eight artists who occupied a secret room beneath the...

The 2024 deadCenter Film Festival continues to day 2, and the great movies keep coming. In this episode of The Cinematic Schematic, we dive deep into one of this year’s most exciting genre films at the festival, Tim Travers and the Time Traveler’s Paradox. The film’s writer, director, executive producer, and mastermind behind the film, Stimson Snead, joins the show to talk about how he adapted the original short film. Left to Right: Stimson Snead(writer, director, executive...

The Cinematic Schematic continues our sneak peek of the 2024 deadCenter Film Festival in an exclusive interview with Emmett Berg, the director of one of the festival’s world premiere documentary centerpieces, Saucedo. The Saucedo documentary takes an intimate look at reinvention Alex Saucedo, a championship boxer, tragically retired at age 26 after experiencing two life-threatening brain injuries in a 2020 match. Saucedo immediately retired and gave up the career he’d worked...

There are the Oklahoma champions who have left the Sooner state to become advocates for their roots like Tim Blake Nelson. Other champions have stayed in Oklahoma and worked in film and TV tirelessly to help realize the potential of homegrown talent. The guest on this episode of The Cinematic Schematic podcast is the latter. We continue our deadCenter 2024 coverage in this exclusive interview with one of the new Oklahoma ICON-award winners, Dylan Brodie. The newest deadCenter Icon...

In this episode of The Cinematic Schematic, we continue our 2024 deadCenter Film Festival coverage with a conversation about one of the festival’s Oklahoma narrative films, Hailey’s Game, with writer/director Katie Hightower and executive producer Michael Johnson. Hailey’s Game Opens the 2024 deadCenter Film Festival The deadCenter Film Festival has long served as a showcase for Oklahoma’s most promising talent. Hightower’s directorial debut is no exception. The film...

The 2024 deadCenter Film Festival Is Here Get ready Oklahoma film fans, it’s your time to shine because the 2024 deadCenter Film Festival kicks off this Thursday! What movies are playing? What should you wear? Don’t worry, in this episode of The Cinematic Schematic, we’re kicking off this year’s exclusive coverage to give you all the information you need to prepare for the action in downtown OKC from Thursday, June 6th – Sunday, June 9th. The Cinematic Schematic x deadCenter...