Episode 118: I Love Boosters

 Mindframes Show Notes

I Love Boosters (2026) — Episode 118

Directed by: Boots Riley Written by: Boots Riley Starring: Keke Palmer, Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, Poppy Liu, Eiza González, LaKeith Stanfield, Will Poulter, Don Cheadle, Demi Moore Cinematography: Natasha Braier Costume Design: Shirley Kurata Score: Tune-Yards Distributor: Neon IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt30827810/

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Episode Summary

In this episode of Mindframes, Michael and Dave discuss I Love Boosters (2026) — the sophomore feature from writer-director Boots Riley (Sorry to Bother You). And they didn't just watch it: Boots Riley was at their screening, making this a particularly special episode.

The film follows the Velvet Gang, a crew of professional shoplifters — or "boosters" — led by Corvette (Keke Palmer), who steal high-end fashion and redistribute it to their community at affordable prices, calling it "fashion-forward philanthropy." Their target: Christie Smith (Demi Moore), a cutthroat fashion maven who has stolen Corvette's own designs and passed them off as her own.

Michael and Dave dig into Riley's political vision and whether the film preaches or persuades, Keke Palmer's career-best performance, the stunning visual craft from cinematographer Natasha Braier and costume designer Shirley Kurata, and the film's surrealist escalation into sci-fi territory. The spoiler section tackles the film's central question head-on: can style — and collective action — actually be a revolutionary act?

Michael gives the film 4 stars. Dave gives it 4.5 stars.

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🧠 Thematic Discussion

I Love Boosters is a Robin Hood story on the surface, but underneath it's a film about who gets to own beauty, creativity, and style — and who gets locked out.

The villain Christie Smith isn't just a rich corporate tyrant. She's a creative thief: she literally steals Corvette's designs and passes them off as her vision. And the fashion brand Metro operates on the logic of planned obsolescence — last season's color is this season's shame — a system the film directly compares to Apple.

The boosters respond not by rejecting fashion, but by redistributing it. They love clothes. Corvette loves making things. The film argues that the problem isn't beauty or style — it's that the mechanisms of capitalism have turned both into instruments of exclusion and control.

By the end, it's collective action — not individual heroism — that carries the day. The Velvet Gang, workers inside the company, and protesters in China all have to come together. The teleportation device, Michael argues, is less a narrative shortcut and more a statement of hope: you never know how things are going to accelerate, so don't stop believing the impossible is possible. Maybe the film itself is the teleporter.

Dave's read: the whimsy isn't just sugar coating the medicine. The wonder is the medicine. Corvette doesn't become cynical. She keeps making art in a broken world. And that refusal to give up is the film's most radical argument.

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⏱️ Timestamps

Time	Segment
00:00:19	Intro & film overview — premise, genre, first impressions
00:00:55	Director discussion — Boots Riley's career, Sorry to Bother You, I'm a Virgo; Riley's politics
00:10:01	"This is a very, very funny, weird movie" — pivoting from politics to the experience
00:11:10	Cast discussion — Keke Palmer as Corvette; the film's female-centered story
00:12:33	Supporting cast — Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, Will Poulter, Don Cheadle, LaKeith Stanfield
00:14:26	Demi Moore — stunt casting or not? Christie Smith vs. The Substance
00:16:39	Cinematography — Natasha Braier, Zola, The Neon Demon, custom lenses, color palette
00:20:35	Production design — the tilting building, deliberate lo-fi effects, the chicken shack hideout
00:24:35	Costume design — Shirley Kurata (Everything Everywhere All at Once); fashion as political argument
00:29:36	⭐ Spoiler-free reviews — Michael: 4 stars / Dave: 4.5 stars
00:41:49	⚠️ SPOILER SECTION — comparison to One Battle After Another; Christie Smith vs. the "Trump surrogate" villain
00:44:38	Thematic deep dive — fashion as class warfare; planned obsolescence; Apple logic; Corvette's Robin Hood motive
00:46:40	Dave on physical media collecting — the empty fashion show of steel books and embossed slipcovers
00:53:05	The big reveal — Christie stole Corvette's design; creative extraction as the film's true villain
00:53:56	The teleportation machine — deus ex machina, or something else? China, collective struggle, worldwide solidarity
01:01:47	The ending — optimistic or bittersweet? Does Boots believe his own hope?
01:06:24	Closing thoughts & next episode tease

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⭐ Ratings

Michael: 4 / 5 stars Funny, visually original, Keke Palmer is extraordinary. The third-act plot device lands awkwardly but the politics work because they're felt rather than lectured. Possibly gains a half star on rewatch.

Dave: 4.5 / 5 stars A better film than Sorry to Bother You in key ways. The whimsy is the point, not just the wrapper. The most important kind of film for right now.

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🎞️ Films & Directors Mentioned

• Sorry to Bother You (2018) — Boots Riley
• I'm a Virgo (2023 series) — Boots Riley
• Zola (2020) — Janicza Bravo (also shot by Natasha Braier)
• The Neon Demon (2016) — Nicolas Winding Refn (also shot by Natasha Braier)
• Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) — costumes by Shirley Kurata
• The Substance (2024) — Coralie Fargeat (Demi Moore)
• Nope (2022) — Jordan Peele (Keke Palmer)
• One Battle After Another (2025) — compared/contrasted with Boosters on political filmmaking
• The Mandalorian & Grogu (2026) — mentioned as next episode consideration
• The Stranger (Camus adaptation) — mentioned as potential future episode
• Obsession — mentioned as potential future episode
• Caligula (1979) — brief tangent; Dave once interviewed Malcolm McDowell

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