Libsyn Directory

162. The Scorpion King (Summer of Rock)

Release Date: 06/13/2025

179. The Shining (1980)

1-Week Rental: A Movie Podcast

Matt and Laci go through the The Shining, probably the best English-language horror movie ever made. Is it the story of a man’s battle with alcoholism, a complicated metaphor for the American ruling class’s many sins, or is it just a simple haunted house story? What if I told you… yes? The Shining started life as Stephen King’s third novel. It was a very personal novel for King, inspired by his own life and his struggles with alcoholism and fatherhood. It’s understandable that he wouldn’t like Kubrick not centering those issues in his film, but Kubrick saw something completely...

178. Elf (with In Love With Horror)

1-Week Rental: A Movie Podcast

Laci and Matt are joined by their friends AJ and Kristie from the In Love With Horror podcast to go through the history of the modern Christmas classic Elf (2003). First, the podcast goes through the history of the movie, starting as a spec script in the '90s with Jim Carrey vaguely attached. It entered development hell for years before being revived with Will Ferrell and Jon Favreau, before ultimately becoming the classic it is today... one that you just know Warner Bros is threatening to turn into a cinematic universe at any second. Time stamps: 0:00 — Episode opening 4:30 —...

177. Stephen King's It (1990)

1-Week Rental: A Movie Podcast

Content warning: We talk about child abuse as part of our discussion of both the 1980s “Satanic Panic” craze in the history section, and extensively in the discussion of the movie itself. Laci and Matt hop on their bicycles and rush home in time to see American Bandstand on the TV set while scarfing down mayonnaise sandwiches and whole milk. That’s right, we’re talking It! No, not the hit movie from 2017, but the made-for-TV miniseries from 1990 that traumatized a generation. Next week (Dec. 19, 2025): The lovely AJ and Kristie from In Love With Horror return to the show to meet us at...

176. The Cabin In The Woods (with Cinematic Joshua)

1-Week Rental: A Movie Podcast

Laci, Matt, and returning guest Cinematic Joshua pay a visit to The Cabin In The Woods, where things are not quite as they seem. We get the feeling somebody’s watching us, and pumping chemicals into our scalps to make us stupider and hornier than we usually are, and suddenly we’re tossing around the old pigskin and vroom-vrooming on our dirtbikes. What’s going on???? Next week (Dec. 12, 2025): We revisit Derry, Maine by talking about Stephen King’s It (the 1990 TV movie starring Tim Curry as Pennywise the Dancing Clown)! Time stamps: 00:02:44 — History segment: HP...

BONUS: Darkness Falls (with AJ from In Love With Horror)

1-Week Rental: A Movie Podcast

Matt and AJ discuss the 2003 tooth fairy/darkness horror film Darkness Falls. Support In Love With Horror: YouTube: Apple Podcast: Spotify: Instagram: Twitter: TikTok: Follow 1-Week Rental! Twitter: | | Facebook: Instagram: TikTok: | Letterboxd: | Bluesky:

Nickelodeon's Doug (with Wade Hymel & Patrick Perot)

1-Week Rental: A Movie Podcast

As Matt and Laci work on the transition from Load Bearing Beams to 1-Week Rental, they are unlocking some episodes from behind the Patreon paywall to hold you over. First up: Matt is joined by his friends and bandmates Wade Hymel and Patrick Perot to cover two episodes of Nickelodeon's Doug. “Bangin’ On A Trash Can” is one of the best songs ever written for a fictional character, right? We gush endlessly about it, as well as its “Think Big” remix, and try to find parallels between Doug’s band and our own individual musical endeavors. Plus, you’ll learn way more than you...

So, We Made This Change To Our Podcast...

1-Week Rental: A Movie Podcast

Load Bearing Beams is no more. Say hello to 1-Week Rental! Honestly, it's pretty much the same show. We've just been trying to find a better way to explain what our show is, and we've realized (based on listener feedback and our own feelings on the matter) that what we do well is dive into a movie in terms of both unpacking its history and then analyzing and discussing how well it works as a movie. And since we do this with a different movie each week, you can think of it like we're renting a movie from the video store and getting to keep it for a week. You remember that, right? You'd watch it...

175. Saw (with HFK & Spooky T)

1-Week Rental: A Movie Podcast

Laci Goth and Matt Chokes welcome their friends Tiera ( on TikTok) and Derek ( on TikTok) join the show to play the game of Saw. We all have varying degrees of affection for this franchise, and we get into the long history of its development under James Wan and Leigh Whannell first in Australia and then in Hollywood, and the major series it spawned. Then we go through the movie at length, wondering, at the end of the day, what exactly Jigsaw is trying to teach us. Watch this episode in full: Follow Tiera and Derek’s filmmaking on YouTube: Elevated Cryptid Productions ( Next week: The...

28 Years Later (with Screen Time Kota)

1-Week Rental: A Movie Podcast

We had some scheduling snafus that caused the delay of our Saw episode, so our schedule is getting pushed back a week. Luckily, we had this beautiful podcast about 28 Years Later set to release on the Patreon later this month, and instead, we’re putting it out for free for all the fine folks out there. Matt and Kota have a very spoiler-filled discussion about Danny Boyle’s 28 Years Later. Like all zombie movies, it’s not actually about zombies, it’s about…. Well, it’s about a lot of stuff. This is a meaty, hefty movie. Not unlike what the Alpha carries around with him. Watch...

174. Interview With The Vampire (1994)

1-Week Rental: A Movie Podcast

Laci and Matt revisit Interview With The Vampire (1994), a movie the podcast covered back in 2018, in the Old Testament days. Much more care and attention is given this time, because there’s so much to love… and so much to be confused by. Has a movie ever been dragged down so much by its whiny-baby lead character as this movie is by Louis (Brad Pitt)? Rather than spending eternity partying with his good buddy Lestat (Tom Cruise), he just putters around and around, moaning and complaining like some unholy combination of Charlie Brown and Eeyore. And rest assured, he will tell you, at...

More Episodes

The Summer of Rock begins as Laci and Matt dive into the movie career of Dwayne Johnson with his first leading role in The Scorpion King (2002).

The Rock first graced the big screen a year earlier in The Mummy Returns, in a brief prologue in which he plays a character who seemingly has nothing to do with the sturdy nice fellow he plays in Scorpion King.

And now he gets to lead a picture. And what a picture. An old-fashioned picture, you might say. One refreshingly free of irony, self-awareness, or any of the oppressive trappings of modernity. This movie’s kinda great, actually. And so is The Rock. Is it possible his career peaked with his first feature? We shall find out in the weeks and months ahead.

The Summer of Rock is our summer 2025 miniseries covering the movie career of Dwayne Johnson through nine movies, presented in chronological order. Starting with his attempt at crossing over from the world of wrestling, The Rock’s career got off to a bumpy start before finally taking off in the 2010s. But it wasn’t long before the bumps returned, and we’ll be telling the story for you all summer long!

Bonus video: Matt explains why all movie studio CEOs are basically the exact same guy and why they all make the exact same decisions. Watch it on YouTube: https://youtu.be/MC1dxeLQrgY

Next week: The Rundown (2003)

Subscribe to our Patreon, Load Bearing Beams: Collector's Edition for $5 a month to get two extra episodes! patreon.com/loadbearingbeams

Time stamps:

00:11:28 — Our personal histories with The Scorpion King

00:28:20 — History segment: Brief career overview of Dwayne Johnson; development and production of The Scorpion King and the surprisingly long direct-to-video franchise it spawned

00:47:45 — In-depth movie discussion

01:32:00 — Final thoughts and star ratings

Sources:

The Last Action Heroes: The Triumphs, Flops, and Feuds of Hollywood's Kings of Carnage by Nick de Semlyen (2023) - https://bit.ly/4kDH4V3

“Hiding Out with Dwayne Johnson: The GQ Video Cover Story” by Zach Baron | GQ (2024) - https://bit.ly/3HB2Lq4

Review of “The Scorpion King” by Roger Ebert | The Chicago Sun-Times (2002) - https://bit.ly/3SIJ3em

Artwork by Laci Roth.

Music by Rural Route Nine. Listen to their album The Joy of Averages on Spotify (https://bit.ly/48WBtUa), Apple Music (https://bit.ly/3Q6kOVC), or YouTube (https://bit.ly/3MbU6tC).

Songs by Rural Route Nine in this episode:

“Summer of Rock” - https://youtube.com/shorts/nLe3DMwryiQ

“Winston-Salem” - https://youtu.be/-acMutUf8IM

“Snake Drama” - https://youtu.be/xrzz8_2Mqkg

“The Bible Towers of Bluebonnet” - https://youtu.be/k7wlxTGGEIQ

"Summer of Rock" theme song credits:

Words and music by Matt Stokes

Engineered, mixed, and mastered by TJ Barends | Bare Sounds

Personnel:

TJ Barends - backing vocals

Wade Hymel - drums/guitar/backing vocals

Laci Roth - vocals