What happens when you try to rank the Best Movies of This Century, one year at a time, with no safety net, no do-overs, and your family sitting right beside you? You get chaos, passion, nostalgia, and one of the most honest movie conversations we've ever recorded on Born to Watch.

In this special episode, Matt is joined by two very special guests, his wife, Meagan, and his daughter, Bel, as they attempt the impossible task of selecting the single best movie from every year between 2000 and 2025. One movie per year. No ties (mostly). No backing out (occasionally). And absolutely no pretending bad sequels didn't happen.

Starting at the turn of the millennium with Gladiator, the episode charts the evolution of modern cinema, from epic blockbusters and genre-defining franchises to animated classics, emotional dramas, and films that completely changed how audiences experienced movies in the cinema.

Along the way, the discussion covers everything from the dominance of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Christopher Nolan's genre-bending run, the rise and fall of superhero cinema, Quentin Tarantino's most personal work, unforgettable cinema moments like Avengers: Endgame, and the films that defined family movie nights in the White household.

This episode isn't just about critical acclaim or box office numbers. It's about how movies land, who they stay with, and why some films become comfort watches while others hit you once and never leave. Belle brings a brutally honest Gen-Z perspective, Meagan balances emotion and realism, and Matt does what he does best: overanalyses everything while defending Nolan, Denzel, and Ridley Scott at every opportunity.

There are laughs, genuine disagreements, questionable parenting admissions, and more than a few moments where the word "sequel" becomes a four-letter swear word. You'll hear passionate defences of animated films, heated debates over Bond rankings, and reflections on how cinema changed after COVID reshaped the industry.

Whether you agree with the picks or want to argue every single one, this episode is a celebration of why movies matter, why watching them together matters more, and why trying to rank the Best Movies of This Century is both completely ridiculous and absolutely essential.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION

• Which movie should have made the list?
• What film defines your century so far?
• Did we get it right, or completely butcher it?

Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or at BornToWatch.com.au

#PodcastAustralia #FamilyPodcast #CinemaHistory

Comedy is the hardest genre to get right. Making people laugh once is tough; making them laugh for decades is almost impossible. Yet here we are in 2026, revisiting a film released in 1980 that still lands gags at a rate modern comedies can only dream of. This week on Born to Watch, Whitey and Gow tackle the undisputed benchmark of parody comedy in our Flying High (Airplane) Review, a movie that didn’t just spoof disaster films; it rewired comedy forever.

Known as Flying High here in Australia and Airplane! Everywhere else, this is the film that taught generations how powerful straight-faced absurdity can be. Serious actors, ridiculous situations, relentless visual gags and a script that fires jokes every few seconds without ever stopping to catch its breath. Watching it again now raises the big question: Does it still work in 2026?

The short answer, absolutely.

From the opening Jaws parody at the airport to the final moments on the runway, this film never lets up. There are jokes in the foreground, jokes in the background, jokes buried inside other jokes, and blink-and-you-miss-it moments that reward repeat viewings again and again. Whitey and Gow break down just how outrageous the gag density really is, and why that non-stop approach is exactly what modern comedies have lost.

The cast is a huge part of what makes Flying High work so well. Robert Stack, Lloyd Bridges, Peter Graves and Leslie Nielsen all play it completely straight, refusing to wink at the audience even once. That contrast between deadly serious performances and utterly ridiculous dialogue is the secret sauce. Leslie Nielsen, in particular, launches what would become one of the great comedy second acts of all time, delivering lines like “Surely you can’t be serious” with such conviction that it somehow makes them even funnier.

Whitey and Gow also dig into the sheer insanity of the situations. A full hospital bed loaded onto a commercial flight. A child needing a heart transplant mid-air. Everyone eating the fish except the one person who doesn’t get sick. A blow-up autopilot. A guitar smashing passengers in the head as it walks down the aisle. None of it makes sense, and none of it is supposed to.

Overs and unders are discussed, with both hosts landing comfortably in the 35 to 40 watch range, a testament to just how embedded this movie is in their DNA. It’s the kind of film that was always in rotation growing up, something the whole family could watch, quote and laugh at together. That shared comedy experience is something Whitey argues we no longer get.

The episode also explores how Flying High set the template for everything that followed, from Naked Gun to Hot Shots and beyond, while also pointing out why so many parody films failed to replicate its magic. Awareness of what you are, commitment to the bit, and never stopping the joke train.

Critical scores still back it up. A 7.7 on IMDb, 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, and a spot alongside absolute classics in movie history. Not bad for a film that proudly advertised itself as the winner of zero Academy Awards.

This episode is packed with favourite scenes, forgotten gags, pop culture moments, questionable jokes that still somehow work, and plenty of Born to Watch side tangents along the way. If you love comedy, parody, or just laughing out loud at things you probably shouldn’t, this is one episode you don’t want to miss.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION

• Is Flying High the funniest comedy ever made?
• Which gag still kills you every time?
• Could a movie like this even get made today?

Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or at BornToWatch.com.au

#FlyingHigh #AirplaneMovie #BornToWatch #ComedyClassic #MoviePodcast #80sMovies #ParodyFilms #FilmReview #CultCinema #LaughOutLoud

Welcome to a special holiday edition of Born to Watch as we kick off 2026 with our first episode of the year, diving headfirst into James Cameron's latest visual behemoth, Avatar: Fire and Ash. Released during the peak Christmas blockbuster window, this third chapter continues Cameron's decades-long obsession with Pandora, spectacle, and pushing cinematic technology to its absolute limits. In this Avatar Fire and Ash Review, Whitey and Damo reunite for what has now become a strange but sacred tradition, reviewing each Avatar film together as it hits cinemas. Sixteen years after the original Avatar changed blockbuster filmmaking forever, Fire and Ash arrives with enormous expectations, a massive runtime, and the promise of something darker, angrier, and more volatile than anything we've seen on Pandora before.

Picking up shortly after the events of The Way of Water, the Sully family are still dealing with grief, fractured relationships, and the relentless pursuit of humanity's returning forces. This time, however, the danger doesn't just come from sky people and recombinants. We're introduced to the Ash People, a fire-driven Na'vi tribe led by the ferocious and unforgettable Varang. Their volcanic environment, brutal ideology, and complete rejection of Eywa mark the franchise's most radical departure to date.

Visually, Fire and Ash is everything you expect from Cameron. The world-building is astonishing, with volcanic landscapes, new creatures, and large-scale action sequences that exist purely to remind you why Avatar films demand the biggest screen possible. Whether it's underwater chaos, airborne combat, or creatures that feel ripped straight from Cameron's sketchbooks, the film is an undeniable technical achievement.

But Born to Watch isn't here to admire pretty pixels. Whitey and Damo dig into the film's biggest talking points, including the now-familiar Avatar formula, the film's staggering three-hour-plus runtime, and whether this chapter actually moves the story forward or simply spins its wheels. Is this Avatar 3, or Avatar 2.5? Does the franchise still have emotional weight, or has it become a tech demo in search of a story?

There's plenty of discussion around returning villain Quaritch, whose moral tug-of-war continues to be one of the franchise's more compelling arcs, and Spider's expanding role as the human caught between two worlds. The episode also tackles the darker tone of Fire and Ash, its surprisingly violent moments, and the question of whether Cameron is setting up a satisfying endgame or stretching Pandora beyond breaking point.

As always, the episode starts spoiler-light before diving fully into spoilers, dissecting character arcs, repetitive beats, and the growing sense that Avatar may be more about visual wonder than narrative payoff. There's praise where it's due, criticism where it's earned, and a lot of laughs along the way.

If you loved the first two Avatar films, this one will feel familiar, immersive, and impressive. If you've ever questioned where this franchise is heading, Fire and Ash may give you just as many questions as answers.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION

Is Avatar still cinema's ultimate big-screen spectacle?
Is this chapter bold evolution or safe repetition?
Can James Cameron realistically deliver two more Avatar films?

Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or at BornToWatch.com.au

#AvatarFireAndAshReview #BornToWatch #Avatar2025 #JamesCameron #MoviePodcast #FilmReview #BlockbusterCinema #SciFiMovies #IMAXExperience #Pandora