Better Than Speed

Pop quiz, hotshot! Has there ever been a movie better than Speed? We’re watching the entire canon of classic world cinema on a quest to discover a film that tops the Keanu Reeves masterpiece Speed.

#46 Point Break 03/18/2024

#46 Point Break Surf's up BTS fans! After an extended hiatus, we're back. To get us started off with a bang, we're going to pit Keanu against Keanu. That's right - we're going to see if the 1991 action classic POINT BREAK is better than, equal to, or worse than our beloved SPEED. Time to sit back, listen, and ask yourself: if you want the ultimate, you've got to be willing to pay the ultimate price. It's not tragic to die doing what you love. Vaya con Dios! Thanks as always to the unbeatable Andrew Elmore for the incredible intro music. Check out more of his amazing music . Erin Larson's Better Than Speed Letterboxd archival project can be found . The other great SPEED podcast we mentioned, 50 MPH, can be found . Pump some gas . See you next time! /episode/index/show/betterthanspeed/id/30407898

#45 The Hunger 06/06/2022

#45 The Hunger The SPEED gang sinks their teeth into the 80s cult film THE HUNGER starring Catherine Deneuve, David Bowie and Susan Sarandon. Can Keanu Reeves and the careening bus take on seedy 80s New York, luscious billowing curtains in blue light and three absurdly attractive leads? Grab your Ankh and tune in to find out. We are joined by extraordinary editor Alex O’Flinn (A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT, THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD). /episode/index/show/betterthanspeed/id/23328137

#44 Gremlins 2 The New Batch w/ Guest Gizmo (A.J. LoCascio) 12/06/2021

#44 Gremlins 2 The New Batch w/ Guest Gizmo (A.J. LoCascio) Never get them wet. Never feed them after midnight. Never go below 50. Make sure to take good care of your pet Keanus this holiday season. Special guest A.J. LoCascio (the voice of Gizmo in the upcoming HBO Max series Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai) joins us to compare Gremlins 2: The New Batch to Speed. How does this podcast even exist? /episode/index/show/betterthanspeed/id/21386771

#43 Stephen King's Firestarter 10/25/2021

#43 Stephen King's Firestarter There's a chill in the autumn air, but we brought the fire! Join us for Stephen King's Bressonian slow cinema "classic" FIRESTARTER, starring Drew Barrymore. With special guest, the incredible Isla Hinck from Easy Allies! /episode/index/show/betterthanspeed/id/20925890

#42 Eraserhead 08/04/2021

#42 Eraserhead Back in the Speed cave after a year, the gang venture into the nightmarish world of David Lynch's ERASERHEAD. Without Sandra Bullock's top-notch driving and Keanu Reeve's expert marksmanship, how will they ever find their way home? Hold onto your hats. It's another wild episode of Better Than Speed. /episode/index/show/betterthanspeed/id/20035919

#41 Dawn of the Dead 04/19/2021

#41 Dawn of the Dead Better than Speed is Back from the Dead! The boys take a stab at George Romero's Dawn of the Dead. Does it rise to the occasion? Is it a dead-end bore? Lock the doors, board the windows, hide in the basement and listen in! Bonus - we offer our thoughts on the Kean'ews of 2020 - Bill & Ted Face the Music. (This episode was originally recorded in September of last year, so pandemic references and Bill & Ted excitement are out of date.) /episode/index/show/betterthanspeed/id/18760202

#40 Bus Passenger Ortiz 03/29/2021

#40 Bus Passenger Ortiz Join us for a special episode with Carlos Carrasco, the actor who played Ortiz (aka Gigantor) in the film SPEED and Popeye in BLOOD IN BLOOD OUT, among many others (including THE FISHER KING and CROCODILE DUNDEE 2)! Hear all about SPEED's infamous script rewrites and death-defying stunts. Plus, Carlos gives great advice to young actors and filmmakers while discussing representation in Hollywood. /episode/index/show/betterthanspeed/id/18501065

#39 The Creation of the Humanoids 08/03/2020

#39 The Creation of the Humanoids Never has the screen brought you a more shocking revelation. Out of World War III came ... The Creation of the Humanoids. Special guest Dawn Garcia joins us in the virtual Speed cave and gives Keanu Reeves a run for his money with an influential sci-fi cult film that asks the question: "How do you apologize to someone for killing them?" /episode/index/show/betterthanspeed/id/15433085

#38 The Bad Batch 07/01/2020

#38 The Bad Batch For a refreshing change of pace, who's in the mood for a desert apocalypse? We crawl across the barren landscape of Ana Lily Amirpour's sophomore film, The Bad Batch, and perform our task once again: compare every movie to Speed. With Keanu Reeves as a charismatic cult leader nicknamed "The Dream," what could possibly go wrong? /episode/index/show/betterthanspeed/id/15035792

#37 Beyond the Valley of the Dolls 06/15/2020

#37 Beyond the Valley of the Dolls This is our podcast and its freaking us out! Join the BTS crew as they take a trip Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. Will they succumb to the film's pills and thrills? Do they love it when a beautiful woman licks between their toes?? Turn on, tune in, drop out and find out! /episode/index/show/betterthanspeed/id/14805587

#36 Aguirre, the Wrath of God 04/13/2020

#36 Aguirre, the Wrath of God The BTS crew officially begins Season 2's look at cult films by taking a trip deep into the jungles of Werner Herzog's Aguirre, The Wrath of God. What lies down river for our explorers - fever, famine, COVID-19? Tune in and find out. /episode/index/show/betterthanspeed/id/13961282

#35 The Speedademy Awards (27th Annual) 02/03/2020

#35 The Speedademy Awards (27th Annual) Aaaaaaand we're back! Season 2 kicks off with a recap of the best and worst films of 2019. Looking for some off-the-beaten path movie recommendations? Want to understand all the buzz at the Oscars? We'll gently hold your hand and walk you through the exploding bus fire that was 2019. /episode/index/show/betterthanspeed/id/12985367

#34 Season One Finale: 1984 11/03/2019

#34 Season One Finale: 1984 War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Big Bus is strength. Celebrate an entire two years of laughter, love and heartbreak in our tumultuous season finale that will permanently alter Better Than Speed history forever. /episode/index/show/betterthanspeed/id/11888132

#33 Zatoichi Goes to the Fire Festival 09/30/2019

#33 Zatoichi Goes to the Fire Festival Punch, kick, it's all in the mind. Join us as Zatoichi, the blind swordsman, slices and dices his way through the Edo countryside of Japan in the fan-favorite film Zatoichi Goes to the Fire Festival. /episode/index/show/betterthanspeed/id/11446247

#32 Young Mr. Lincoln 09/03/2019

#32 Young Mr. Lincoln Fourscore and 7 days ago, the BTS crew decided to tackle John Ford’s Young Mr. Lincoln. Is it a classic of the studio system era or a corny piece of hagiography? Lie down, let your mind stand up and take a listen. /episode/index/show/betterthanspeed/id/11097770

#31 The X From Outer Space 08/19/2019

#31 The X From Outer Space Kaiju run amok when we discuss this campy cult classic. Will they subdue Speed, or can Keanu Reeves conquer them all? /episode/index/show/betterthanspeed/id/10911151

#30 Wild Strawberries 07/17/2019

#30 Wild Strawberries We wish Ingmar Bergman a happy 101st birthday by comparing his elegiac masterpiece Wild Strawberries to the mortality pondering vehicular mayhem in Speed. Plus, get all your latest Keanu Reeves news in our new segment, KeaNews. /episode/index/show/betterthanspeed/id/10562699

#29 Jan de Bont, Director of Speed 06/13/2019

#29 Jan de Bont, Director of Speed The man, the myth, the legend, Jan de Bont, invited us to hang out to celebrate the film’s 25th anniversary. The director spills the beans on all the production secrets, terrifying stunts, and classic Keanu and Sandra moments from the iconic film. /episode/index/show/betterthanspeed/id/10137973

#28 Videodrome 05/20/2019

#28 Videodrome Finally: an episode dedicated to gratuitous torture and punishment. Better Than Speed investigates the truth behind Videodrome, and discovers the graphic violence depicted may not be as fake as they thought. Plus, special guest Dawn Garcia professes her undying love for Keanu Reeve's Speed. /episode/index/show/betterthanspeed/id/9846113

#27 The Umbrellas of Cherbourg 04/29/2019

#27 The Umbrellas of Cherbourg Hope you brought your umbrellas, because we're about to shed projectile tears over this sentimental classic from the French New Wave: Jacque Demy's The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. /episode/index/show/betterthanspeed/id/9560438

#26 To Be Or Not To Be 04/07/2019

#26 To Be Or Not To Be We give a Better Than Speed salute to Ernst Lubitsch's powerful and punchy anti-Nazi comedy from 1942. The only thing we hail at Speed HQ is that big blue bus going 50 miles an hour. /episode/index/show/betterthanspeed/id/9300515

#25 The Speedademy Awards (26th Annual) 02/09/2019

#25 The Speedademy Awards (26th Annual) The glitz, the glamor, the hype! The gold watches and the coveted Keanus! This year's awards ceremony goes off the rails when the best and worst films of 2018 duke it out in a balls-out battle. /episode/index/show/betterthanspeed/id/8583755

#24 Seven Samurai 01/14/2019

#24 Seven Samurai “We give our Kurosawa Connoisseur, Morgan Hanner-Morfesis, the ultimate pop quiz: is Seven Samurai Better Than Speed? Is Mifune puny compared to killer Keanu? All will be answered as we test our mettle with the pedal to the metal.” - Gene Shalit /episode/index/show/betterthanspeed/id/8228819

#23 Repo Man 12/01/2018

#23 Repo Man Beverly Hills. Century City. Everything's so nice and pretty, but Alex Cox turns his lens to the gritty underbelly of LA's punk scene. Special guest Dawn Garcia takes us on a tour of California counter-culture at the end of the century. /episode/index/show/betterthanspeed/id/7758905

#22 Quai des Orfèvres 10/31/2018

#22 Quai des Orfèvres It's Halloween! So we rose from the grave with Clouzot's frothy potboiler Jenny Lamour. Have you missed us? Because we've missed you. /episode/index/show/betterthanspeed/id/7382012

#21 Predator 2 09/17/2018

#21 Predator 2 Good things come in twos! Join us on the safari for a very special bonus episode devoted entirely to Predator 2. The lions, the tigers, the bears... oh my. No spoilers, but there's a lot to celebrate on this week's surprise podcast as we welcome new members to the BTS club. /episode/index/show/betterthanspeed/id/7054396

#20 Summer of Sandy 08/28/2018

#20 Summer of Sandy As the brutal summer of 2018 comes to a close, we celebrate everything Sandy with a rundown of the best (and worst) films in the Sandra Bullock catalogue. /episode/index/show/betterthanspeed/id/6976844

#19 Pickpocket 07/30/2018

#19 Pickpocket When he sees someone rich both his thumbs start to itch and he has to pick a pocket or two. The wonderful Morgan Hanner-Morfesis joins us to discuss Robert Bresson's transcendental meditation on love and loss, Pickpocket. Drinking game: take a shot every time we mention Paul Schrader. /episode/index/show/betterthanspeed/id/6855786

#18 Only Angels Have Wings 07/09/2018

#18 Only Angels Have Wings It's an unwritten rule: never pull a boner in front of Cary Grant. But rules were meant to be broken. Join us for a perilous excursion into the Howard Hawks adventure film where bonds are tested, planes demolished, and friendships forged. With special guest Matt Maddox, editor of the upcoming Keanu Reeves film DESTINATION WEDDING. /episode/index/show/betterthanspeed/id/6788565

#17 The Night of the Hunter 06/19/2018

#17 The Night of the Hunter Would you like me to tell you the little story of right-hand / left-hand? The story of good and evil? The story of Mitchum vs Hopper? /episode/index/show/betterthanspeed/id/6720544

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