Ratings First: A Movie Nerd Podcast
Three filmmakers of unquestionable repute. One irrefutably questionable format. Zero apologies -- this is America, after all.
🎥 Ratings First is a movie review podcast hosted by working filmmakers Justin 👨🏻🦱, Ethan 👨🏼🦰, and Brandon 🧔🏻♂️ — a director, a cinematographer, and a guy who's done everything from first AD to sound design.
Together, they obsess over movies the way normal people obsess over therapy.
They’ve seen it all, argued about it all — and now they’re doing it on-mic.
The twist?
They rate the movie before they discuss it.
Because in a podcast ocean full of masters (WHM), legends (Filmspotting), and Letterboxd darlings (Paddington🧸🇬🇧)... doing it backwards felt like the only way forward.
🎬 Come for the takes, stay for the tension.
They may not be famous (yet), but they’re too geeky to quit — unless the nukes drop (fingers crossed), in which case, well... at least we tried.
Ratings First: A Movie Nerd Podcast
Classics No. 3: Bringing Out The Dead — starring Nicolas Cage, Ving Rhames, Patricia Arquette, John Goodman, Tom Sizemore
This episode is only available to subscribers.
Ratings First: Film Classics Subscription
Tired of the New Sh*t? Yeah, we feel you. This is where we talk the Good Sh*t.🎙️ Episode 8 — Bringing Out the Dead 🚑🌃🧠
Nic Cage. Martin Scorsese. Paul Schrader.
If that lineup doesn’t move you, check your pulse — and maybe your soul.
This week’s Classics Tier drop is one we’ve been waiting for:
1999’s Bringing Out the Dead — a criminally underrated masterpiece from Scorsese that features what we believe is Nicolas Cage’s finest performance. Yeah, we said it.
Sure, he won the trophy for Leaving Las Vegas…
but the real ones know: this is the one.
Written by Paul Schrader (based on the novel), this is the story of a burned-out EMT in a never-ending night shift of despair, hallucination, and (maybe?) redemption.
Alongside John Goodman, Ving Rhames, Tom Sizemore, and Patricia Arquette, Cage delivers a performance that’s unhinged in all the right ways — and perfectly calibrated by Scorsese, who knew exactly how to reign in the Cage Chaos without losing the fire. 🔥
This is our third and final drop for August’s Classics Tier triple-feature — and spoiler:
📈 It now holds the highest collective rating we’ve ever given.
Sorry, F1. There’s a new Big Dog in town.
To our Classics Tier Snickers™ subscribers — we appreciate you deeply, and we hope you enjoy this one.
Stick around — we’ve got two new classics drops coming every month. 🍫
If you’re truly unwell and want all episodes, all the time:
🎧 Hit ratingsfirstpod.com
Thanks for being here. Seriously.
See you in the ambulance.
Check out the website! https://ratingsfirstpod.com/
