We’re back with another episode with Sam and Dominic! We tackle our first (and second) impressions of Project Hail Mary, discuss the upcoming controversial Narnia movie from Greta Gerwig, and round out the rest of our Oscar predictions!

Remember to check out Dominic’s Substack here!: https://stlukessketchbook.substack.com/

I was joined last night by Dominic Morlino of St. Luke’s Sketchbook to discuss all things Oscar: both recapping this past weekend’s awards and looking to the future (we are both a little too obsessed).

We talk about chances for The Odyssey, Dune: Part Three, Disclosure Day, and more, and this is only Part One!

This is the commencement of Season Two of the podcast, check out all our episodes from Season One on Spotify, or wherever else you listen to podcasts!

St. Luke's Sketchbook

The purpose of St. Luke's Sketchbook is to find and promote good movies for Catholics. Also, my other writings, including short stories, writing exercises, and articles!

By Dominic Morlino

For this episode, Joe and I had the privilege of speaking with one of the premier voices in the world of Catholic literature today: Dr. Joseph Pearce. You may have heard of him through his books and talks detailing the Catholic nature of The Lord of the Rings, but he also has written books on Chesterton, Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde, and many more key figures of great literature.

Although Pearce’s background is primarily in literature, I was intrigued by his sections in the backs of his Ignatius Critical Editions (which include editions of King Lear, Frankenstein, Wuthering Heights and much, much more) that briefly discuss the film adaptations of each work, and their subsequent merits or follies.

Turns out he has a lot more to say on movies than I think even he realized, and we have a lot of fun discussing the ins and outs of The Lord of the Rings films, unmade adaptations of great works, and, most importantly, what kind of works Catholic artists of all kinds should be striving toward.

We hope you enjoy!

The podcast is back with our very first repeat guest! Former Disney animator Tony Bancroft has returned, this time with his fellow animating brother Tom! Getting to chat with both of them was a real treat, with Tom providing insight into his time working both at Disney and at Big Idea making Veggietales.

We dive deep into the brothers’ newest film, Light of the World, in theaters September 5th! They dive into what it means to make a traditionally animated film in 2025, the call they both felt to make a film about the Life of Christ, and how important it was for them to get Mary right for the Catholic audience.

If you haven’t already listened, I recommend checking out our first episode with Tony from last year first!

Hey, everyone! After our last videos on films such as Frank Capra’s Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant, we’re back with a new video! This time, it’s on one of Terrence Malick’s great features, A Hidden Life. An analysis on not just a father’s decision in wartime, but a saint’s choice. Love, suffering, and the thought of whether or not to put passion before principle comes to a fold. Viewers might ask themselves, “Were this man’s choices correct?” or “Would I have done the same thing?” A passion for one’s faith can strengthen anyone to make the toughest decision. And so forth, A Hidden Life shows how sainthood is achieved through suffering.

Check out our new video, and become a paid subscriber to see these videos early every time!

We are back with the ‘100 Movies Every Catholic Should See’ Podcast! This time with a new series I’m starting with my good friend Jack Morgan.

This episode is dropping a day early exclusively on Substack for our paid subscribers! We will be unlocking this and dropping it on other platforms on Tuesday. To get content like this early all the time, consider becoming a paid subscriber so we can produce more podcast and video content in the future!

Jack is the creator of the "What is Truth Podcast” and quite possibly the biggest Superman (2025) fan I can currently think of. Don’t believe me? Here’s a picture of him studying up on his lore:

We spend some time delving into the previous cinematic incarnations of the character (particularly Man of Steel) and into some surprising spiritual elements of the new Superman that Jack was able to enlighten me on!

We had a really fun chat and we hope you enjoy!

We’ve got an exciting episode ahead with a breakdown of all of Christopher Nolan’s films! He’s one of our greatest living auteurs and between Joe, Cameron and myself we’ve got a lot of varying and passionate opinions on his films.

Tune in to:

• Hear us our best to differentiate the films in the Dark Knight trilogy

• Learn why Sam and Joe especially have a bone to pick with Oppenheimer

• Get our opinions on the upcoming Odyssey movie!

Also if you’re interested in the films of Nolan that we have already written on:

• The Dark Knight

• Inception

• The Dark Knight Rises

• Interstellar

• Oppenheimer

This was a fun one, check us out on Spotify (or wherever you listen to podcasts) as well and make sure to follow us!

Also feel free to check out our last “ranking” episode on the Star Wars films! Comment below with who (or what series) you think we should rank next!

We’re back with a very special episode with none other than Trent Horn! He’s an apologist for Catholic Answers and a prolific author on all matters spiritual, and also has a very popular podcast, ‘The Counsel of Trent’. Tune in to hear his thoughts on Marvel, zombie movies, and what he would do if Catholic Answers gave him $100 million to make a movie. It’s a great conversation!

Merry Christmas Eve!

In this episode, Joe and Sam talk with Oscar-nominated filmmaker Tim Reckart about his new studio, Sycamore Studios, and his journey spanning from England to New York to L.A. It’s a great talk with Reckart giving insight on the state of the industry and a vision for Catholic filmmakers to rally behind.

Enjoy the episode and if you like it, make sure to follow us on whatever app you use to listen to podcasts!

In this episode, Sam and Joe talk about two very different but surprisingly similar movies from this year, ‘Megalopolis’ and ‘Gladiator II’. They discuss their different takes on the film and the filmographies of both Francis Ford Coppola and Ridley Scott.

Enjoy the episode and if you like it, make sure to follow us on whatever app you use to listen to podcasts!

Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant quietly dropped simultaneously into theaters and Amazon Prime Video in 2023 and was overlooked by a lot of audiences. This video is here to tell you that it is not only one of the most underrated films to have released that year, but also one of Ritchie’s finest works. Check out the video to learn about all the heroic themes in the film!

If you enjoyed this video and would like to see more such content, subscribe to our YouTube Channel: Reconquista Media. Be sure to give us a follow on Instagram at 100moviescatholic to keep up with all of our exciting new content!

We’ve already written on this blog about how great Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is, but this video essay goes further into the character of Jefferson Smith (Jimmy Stewart) himself and what makes him such an ideal political candidate. Check it out for some in-depth, well-researched insight on an American classic.

If you enjoyed this video and would like to see more such content, subscribe to our YouTube Channel: Reconquista Media. Be sure to give us a follow on Instagram at 100moviescatholic to keep up with all of our exciting new content!

Top Gun: Maverick offers something refreshing in this day and age of sequels, reboots, and franchise: an old-fashioned blockbuster. In our latest video essay, we discuss the need for such movies in today's Hollywood and why this particular movie struck such a chord with audiences.

If you enjoyed this video and would like to see more such content, subscribe to our Youtube Channel: Reconquista Media. Be sure to give us a follow on Instagram at 100moviescatholic to keep up with all of our exciting new content!

At long last, we have finally had the chance to sit down with one of the directors of our 100 films! (#64) Whit is an acclaimed filmmaker and writer who wrote and directed the “Yuppie Trilogy” consisting of “Metropolitan”, which scored him an Oscar nomination, “Barcelona” and “Last Days of Disco”, and more recently “Damsels in Distress” and “Love & Friendship”. We’re so thrilled he was able to take some time out of his day to talk with us!

Enjoy the episode and if you like it, make sure to follow us on whatever app you use to listen to podcasts!

On this episode, Joe and Sam interview Brian Shields, the founder of Lumen Entertainment and a producer on Leonardo Defilippis’ ‘Thérèse’ (2004). In the episode, he talks about how the Eucharist inspired a renewal of his Faith, how he almost ended up on ‘Dawson’s Creek’, and what inspired him to found a Catholic entertainment company. He also talks about the Film Camp he started for young adults in his home state of Florida, which has produced several alumni including Isaac Buono who we interviewed! We hope you have as much fun listening to our conversation as we did chatting with him, and we definitely hope to have him on again in the future.

Enjoy the episode and if you like it, make sure to follow us on whatever app you use to listen to podcasts!

Corridor Crew

These guys started out in the very early YouTube days putting out some of the most creative and most professional-looking shorts in those first few years of the platform. Their second channel has blown up in recent years, taking viewers on not only inside looks on the making of their videos, but also highlighting some of the best (and worst) visual effects of both new releases and old films, with detailed breakdowns on why an effect did- or didn’t- work. Their videos serve as a crash course in filmmaking in a very entertaining way!

Jeremy Jahns

It’s pretty hard to find reliable critics amongst the biggest voices in film criticism these days, but Jeremy Jahns- who has been uploading film reviews on YouTube for more than a decade at this point- provides some pretty solid and witty takes that come from a place of true love for cinema. He’s pretty honest when a film does not work for him and even when he does like a film his analysis (usually accompanied by a glass of whiskey) is both entertaining and insightful. His voice can definitely carry a lot of weight for me sometimes when I’m unsure about seeing a particular film in theaters.

Every Frame a Painting

While this channel has been defunct for a while now (although creator Tony Zhou has promised a new, separate limited series coming soon), I still think the video essays on it are some of the best and most insightful ones I’ve ever watched, especially since this channel sort of set the standard for these kinds of videos for years to come. The research he puts into his videos- which range from talking about the lack of memorable themes in modern cinematic scores to why Michael Bay is an under-appreciated filmmaker- is second to none, and many of his videos have legitimately changed the way I view films.

Bullets & Blockbusters

This is one of the newer channels on this list, but seeing how fast it’s grown in the past two years or so there’s enough content on there to merit a place on this list. This channel focuses on films that either never saw the light of the day or looked much different in earlier iterations- ranging from Marvel movies with cancelled sequels to unmade films that never made it past the script phase. His videos are thoroughly researched and new videos appear almost every week- check it out for a fascinating glimpse into a whole slew of films that could have been.

Patrick (H) Willems

Last but not least, my personal favorite video essayist, Patrick (H) Willems. Patrick started out making fun parodies of his favorite superhero movies to making longform video essays, often accompanied by a narrative with Patrick himself getting into all manner of strange antics with his friends. A graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of Arts with a degree in Film Studies (a fact he is often amusedly self-deprecating about), his often hour-long deep dives are some of the most comprehensive on YouTube, diving into broad questions concerning the state of modern cinema and AI while also highlighting films that have been unfairly maligned or overlooked in recent decades. His videos may require more of a time commitment than many of the other channels on this list, but they are nonetheless every bit as informative and engrossing.

We are very excited to bring you this special episode with none other than veteran animator Tony Bancroft! Tony has brought to life some of Disney’s most beloved characters, from Cogsworth to Iago to Pumbaa, and he was the youngest director ever at the studio when he co-directed 1998’s Mulan. We had a great time talking with him, especially about his upcoming film, Light of the World.

Here is a list of some of the films Tony has worked on:

• The Rescuers Down Under (animating assistant)

• Beauty and the Beast (animator, Cogsworth)

• Aladdin (animator, Iago)

• The Lion King (supervising animator, Pumbaa)

• The Hunchback of Notre Dame (additional animator)

• Mulan (director with Barry Cook)

• The Emperor’s New Groove (supervising animator, Kronk)

• Stuart Little 2 (animation supervisor)

• Mary Poppins Returns (animator)

Enjoy the episode and if you like it, make sure to follow us on whatever app you use to listen to podcasts!

Have you ever wondered what goes into creating the stunning visual effects shots that bring blockbusters to life on the big screen? Do you find yourself amazed by the seamless integration of CGI and live-action that makes superheroes, epic battles, and fantastical worlds feel real? Have you ever been curious what it is like to work in Marvel studios alongside some of the biggest names in the industry?

On this very special episode, Cameron and Sam talk to Isaac Buono, a local VFX artist who has worked on a multitude of big-budget films including Ant-Man and the Wasp, Terminator: Dark Fate, and, most recently, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. He talks about how he got to where he is today, his experience in Hollywood working for Marvel and Disney, and much, much more!

Resources Related to the Podcast

• VFX breakdown for Guardians of the Galaxy Work

• Isaac on IMDB

• Isaac’s Rings of Power inspired demo sequence

• Blender - A free, open-source software Isaac and his team used for the Ring of Power demo shot

• Compositing - More Information & Techniques Explained

We’ve got a lot of really cool guests coming down the pipeline so make sure you’re following us on Spotify, Apple, Amazon, or wherever else you get your podcasts!

Check out our previous episode as well, where we discuss with animator Avery Kroll her hand-drawn animation passion project, “The Piano”:

Before we get to the review: we’ve got two special announcements for you!

Firstly, we are proud to give you an exclusive advance review of the new Angel Studios film: Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot. Huge thanks to Kevin Wandra over at Carmel Communications for getting us an advance screener!

Secondly, we’ve started a YouTube channel!

We’ve uploaded our exclusive video review of “Sound of Hope” as our first video on the channel!

It’s been a real team effort: Joe Wilson wrote the review, I edited the video, and Cameron DeLaFleur set up the channel! Be on the lookout for more content throughout the summer and beyond!

Thanks to all you subscribers for supporting our work, let’s get to 1000 subs!

Hosted by Samuel Morales, Joe Wilson, and Cameron DeLaFleur

Follow us on Substack and Instagram!