What are your favorite movie/film analysis YouTube channels & websites?

November 22, 2021 10:21 AM

I'm the kind of person who enjoys movies, but enjoys them SO MUCH MORE when I can dive into film analysis after watching them. Help me create a list!

I'm looking for a whole big list of YouTube channels as well as just general websites with written content that are consistently great at providing in-depth analysis and interesting commentary about movies/films.

I'm much more into themes of the movies, cultural commentary, why certain scenes or actions of characters have meaning, etc. than film mechanics or directorial styles. I'm also open to sites who do TV and other pop culture analysis, as well, but true bonus points for movies. The deeper and longer, the better!

For example, I love the styles and offerings of following channels and sites:
- This is Barry
- Film School Rejects
- Pop Culture Detective
- Lindsey Ellis

I will note that I am NOT interested in podcasts.

Thank you in advance!

posted by knownassociate to Media & Arts (23 answers total)

I rather like Patrick Willems.
posted by Thorzdad at 11:05 AM on November 22, 2021 [1 favorite]

Folding Ideas
posted by Alexandra Michelle at 11:11 AM on November 22, 2021 [1 favorite]

I'll plump for Movies with Mikey/FilmJoy; he has some good, unique insights. A few examples which stick out in my mind are:

Why Thor Ragnarok is the Perfect Reboot
Hot Fuzz
Sunshine
Pacific Rim: The Best, Dumbest Movie
John Wick
posted by myotahapea at 11:16 AM on November 22, 2021 [1 favorite]

I really like The Take - their focus is more on various plot or character tropes, so they are more likely to address multiple films in a single video (and sometimes they also address TV as well). But they're really insightful.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:20 AM on November 22, 2021

I'm rarely interested in film takes by randos on the internet, so finding this guy's channel was a huge, pleasant surprise to me: Like Stories of Old. I especially liked the ones for Arrival, Chernobyl, and Sunshine.

My bestie really likes Movies with Mikey that myotahapea mentioned above.
posted by kitten kaboodle at 11:46 AM on November 22, 2021 [1 favorite]

Might not be the analysis you were looking for, but the Screen Rant Pitch Meeting bits by Ryan George (example: Squid Game) frequently tag the plot holes and other anomalies in popular films. (Tagging plot holes is tight!)
posted by SPrintF at 1:13 PM on November 22, 2021 [1 favorite]

I quite like Wired's series on having experts break down scenes

Here
posted by Ftsqg at 1:20 PM on November 22, 2021

A new YouTuber I really like is Fiq the Signifier whose Black Media Breakdown videos includes deep dives on Love and Basketball, Baby Boy, Coming to America, Antebellum, and Tenet, and overviews on Black Men and Colorism on Screen, Action and the Impossible White Man Trope, and Edgelord Movies and the Men who Love Them.
posted by nicwolff at 2:22 PM on November 22, 2021 [1 favorite]

I like big joel quite a bit. It's not always media criticism, and somewhat frequently is about leftist politics and how that relates to media, but if that sounds interesting to you, I recommend it.
posted by wesleyac at 2:39 PM on November 22, 2021

I quite like Princess Weekes, Jenny Nicholson and Xiran Jay Zhao.

I think that Maggie Mae Fish leans more towards mechanics, and Be Kind Rewind may have too much of a focus on Hollywood history, but your mileage may vary.
posted by confluency at 3:12 PM on November 22, 2021

Accented Cinema is pretty good for Asian films. I also liked Kay and Skittles's take on Us, among other things. (Aside from that, I could recommend a bunch of channels focusing on reviews and humorous takes, but it seems that's not quite what you're asking for.)
posted by ambulatorybird at 3:24 PM on November 22, 2021 [1 favorite]

Oh, and Wisecrack has some interesting analysis of movies, television, and other contemporary culture too.
posted by ambulatorybird at 3:31 PM on November 22, 2021

Accented Cinema, Chinese viewpoint on both eastern and western movies, with topics such as:

Rise of Gun Fu

Shang-Chi and the Perpetual Foreigners

The References in Kung Fu Hustle (that you probably don't recognize because you are not Chinese)

Ip Man 4: How to write racism

The Metaphors of Rurouni Kenshin

Why China Cared About Kung Fu Panda
posted by kschang at 4:49 PM on November 22, 2021

Karsten Runquist
posted by shesbookish at 5:04 PM on November 22, 2021

I like a lot of the ones already mentioned but I'm surprised no one's mentioned Coldcrash Pictures. He's tapered off quite a bit in recent years which may be why he's down in the algos but i always find his commentary very emphatic and insightful, even and especially for a white American guy. A smidge more analytical than FilmJoy, less fanciful than Willems (these days), a strong historical eye ala Be Kind Rewind.

For the various indian movie industries, this media channel is pretty great: Film Companion and Film Companion South. I'm trying to brush up my South Asian cinema fluency and like my country, Indians have their own creole Englishes (lol) but this outfit seems committed to bridging the North-South divide so their medium is mostly standard English.
posted by cendawanita at 7:37 PM on November 22, 2021

I am not at all into movies, but I loved watching Every Frame A Painting by Taylor Ramos and Tony Zhou, and they explain how themes can be shown through certain mechanics in the filmmaking. All available on YouTube, notes at the end of the video include all the films referenced within.
posted by tangaroo at 7:52 PM on November 22, 2021 [1 favorite]

I think you'd enjoy a lot of the extras that Criterion offers with its films (and on its streaming service).
posted by kickingtheground at 11:20 PM on November 22, 2021

Bright Wall / Dark Room is an online magazine - no ads, funded by subscription. Very good writing.
posted by rd45 at 12:42 AM on November 23, 2021

Are you already using the Letterboxd app? After using it to log something I watched, I usually spend some time reading people's reviews. (Or sometimes, if undecided, I'll read the reviews before watching.) Obviously most reviews are short and shallow, but many are in-depth and intelligent. You'll come to know the good writers and follow them, and many of them of course have their own sites / blogs / publications. David Ehrlich is a good start for intelligent reviews.

I'm surprised no-one has recommended Nerdwriter (YouTube) yet.

Additionally, check out Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo (YouTube).

If you're interested in anime try SteveM (YouTube).
posted by snarfois at 8:11 AM on November 23, 2021

David Fincher is producing a new series on Netflix called Voir that has Taylor Ramos, Tony Zhou, Walter Chaw, Drew McWeeny, and Sasha Stone presenting essays on film. Looks like it starts on Dec 6.
posted by octothorpe at 7:12 PM on November 23, 2021 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: You all CAME THROUGH!!! Thank you so much!
posted by knownassociate at 11:23 AM on November 30, 2021

I very much enjoy Jill Bearup, who still does general movie & TV analysis but now also talks a lot about stage combat in films. Not just technical fight analysis - she talks a lot about how the fights advance themes, reflect characters' relationships, etc. "The Mask of Zorro's Fabulous Flirty Fight" is a good example.
posted by sibilatorix at 7:28 PM on December 1, 2021

Late to the party but Tranparency is criminally underrated.
posted by moons in june at 8:11 PM on December 16, 2021