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CinemaTherapy

CinemaTherapy

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CinemaTherapy posts

DIRECTOR'S CUT: NOSFERATU and Escaping Abuse

How do you leave an abuser?

Licensed therapist Jonathan Decker and filmmaker Alan Seawright are reacting to Nosferatu through the theme of escaping abuse. They discuss how Ellen sheds her shame and self-doubt, breaks free from codependency, and becomes the hero of the story.

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Movie Review: Insta-Review of One Battle After Another

A Patreon Live recording of Alan and David's movie review for One Battle After Another!

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That's a Wrap: September 2025

Here's a recap of what we did last month!

September kicked off with an answer to your mountain of requests for KPop Demon Hunters! We followed that up with another recent hit, Thunderbolts* (aka The New Avengerz with a "z"). It wouldn't be autumn without 2025-10-01 15:02:07 +0000 UTC View Post

DIRECTOR'S CUT: Movie Family Therapy: CRAZY RICH ASIANS

How do you protect someone without holding them back?

Licensed therapist Jonathan Decker and filmmaker Alan Seawright take a look at family culture and reputation in Crazy Rich Asians. They talk about Eleanor’s protective nature that goes too far and how Rachel learns to earn the respect of Eleanor while honoring herself and her mom.

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EXCLUSIVE EPISODE: Psychology of a Filmmaker with Scott Beck & Bryan Woods

Where do filmmakers find inspiration and how do they turn ideas into a film?

In this Patreon-exclusive episode, licensed therapist Jonathan Decker and filmmaker Alan Seawright discuss the psychology of writers/filmmakers with Scott Beck and Bryan Woods. They take a look at their dark filmography and what inspires it, and they dig into how psychology informs all aspects of filmmaking as they react to A Quiet Place, Heretic, and 65. And they geek out about their fascination of sound desig...

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DIRECTOR'S CUT: Movie Family Therapy: A QUIET PLACE with writers Scott Beck & Bryan Woods

Why do we struggle to say what needs to be said?

Licensed therapist Jonathan Decker and filmmaker Alan Seawright visit the writers of A Quiet Place, Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, at their theater, The Last Picture House. They all take a look at the family dynamics in A Quiet Place and discuss how the family functions in a dangerous post-apocalyptic world. And the filmmakers share their special focus on sound design in a “silent” film.

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Alan & Jono's Watching/Reading List: September 2025

Alan:

Hello Heroes!

What I’m reading!

  • The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson. Holy crap guys. This is a long book. I get the feeling that while I’m reading this series, this is all you’re going to see from me. For like, months. Anyway, I’m liking it. This first book is definitely bloated though. It’s weird, I enjoy basically every page as I read it, but after a good 30-60-minute reading session I’m like, did anything actually happen?...

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DIRECTOR'S CUT: Diagnosing WINNIE THE POOH Characters

How accurate are internet diagnoses of movie characters?

Licensed therapist Jonathan Decker and filmmaker Alan Seawright question the internet’s proposed diagnoses of Winnie the Pooh characters in The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. They find that the internet gets some wrong (shocker) and some right (double shocker)!

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Drops: October 2025

Hey, Patrons! Are you excited to watch a new director's cut LIVE with Jono and Alan? Pick which episode you want to watch with them in October. Then, we'll watch it together right here on Patreon. See you there!

All of the below episodes will premiere as live drops in October. This poll just determines which one you will watch live with your Internet Dads!

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FanX SLC Meetup 🍿🕷️

Hey Patrons, let's hang out at FanX! We invite you to watch Spider-Man with us on Friday, September 26th at 7:15pm at the Gateway Megaplex theater. Get tickets here. We'll meet up outside the theater at 6:30pm and get hyped for Tobey-era Spider-Man!

You can buy tickets here! https://megaplex.c...

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DIRECTOR'S CUT: Movie Couple Therapy: WHEN HARRY MET SALLY

Can men and women really just be friends?

Licensed therapist Jonathan Decker and filmmaker Alan Seawright are taking a look at friendship love vs. sexual love in When Harry Met Sally. They discuss how these characters mature through life together and what makes them great romantic partners... eventually.

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DIRECTOR'S CUT: Therapist Reacts to THUNDERBOLTS*

How do you escape the void? What is shadow work?

Licensed therapist Jonathan Decker and filmmaker Alan Seawright react to Thunderbolts* and share how deeply it touched them. They talk about what it’s like to be in the void, they define shadow work, and they cry… a lot.

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September Grab Bag of Mystery: Fixing Broken Movie Sequels

Each month, you get a random piece of exclusive bonus content as a thank you for supporting us on Patreon. September's Grab Bag of Mystery perk is fixing broken movie sequels. After Jono’s brilliant idea to fix Anakin and Padmé’s relationship, they had the idea to discuss famously problematic movie sequels that could be fixed with just a few tweaks.

The sequels:

Jurassic World Dominion

Spider-Man 3

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

The Matrix Revolutio...

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That's a Wrap: August 2025

Here's a recap of what we did last month!

Summer is winding down, and August was proof of that. It was a busy month!

August's first YouTube video on Legally Blonde was selected by our wonderful Patrons. We continued our Ghiblification with Ponyo and felt the warm fuzzies with 2025-09-02 14:04:10 +0000 UTC View Post

DIRECTOR'S CUT: Therapist Reacts to KPOP DEMON HUNTERS

Hey, Patrons! You're getting extra early access to this episode. Thanks for your support and for your overwhelming suggestions to cover this wonderful movie!

How do you face your demons?

Licensed therapist Jonathan Decker and filmmaker Alan Seawright take a look the power and control of shame in KPop Demon Hunters. They talk about the magic sauce that makes this film so popular and loved. And Alan shares how this story mirrors his struggle with addiction.

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Alan & Jono's Watching/Reading List: August 2025

Alan:

Hello Heroes!

The dog days of summer. I like dogs. I like days. Why don’t I like August more?

What I’m reading!

  • Ancillary Sword - by Ann Leckie. Hard sci-fi in a weird distant future universe populated primarily by humans, with sentient shipboard AIs. I read the first book in this series a few months ago and was intrigued. The story in this one was… not what I expected. The world is a grand space opera, and this book was a much smaller...

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EXCLUSIVE EPISODE: Desperation Psychology in THE LAST OF US

How do you respond in a long-term crisis?

In this Patreon-exclusive episode, licensed therapist Jonathan Decker and filmmaker Alan Seawright are discussing the psychology of desperation in The Last of Us. They take a look at the spectrum of ways people respond in a period of extended crisis and talk about the gray areas of those responses.

Support us!
Merch: https://store.dftba.com/colle...

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DIRECTOR'S CUT: TV Couple Therapy: Bill & Frank from THE LAST OF US

How do you fulfill yourself and your partner in harmony?

Licensed therapist Jonathan Decker and filmmaker Alan Seawright explore one of the most beautiful relationships put to screen: Bill and Frank from The Last of Us. There’s unsurprisingly more appreciation and inspiration rather than therapy. They discuss how Bill and Frank learn to show love to each other.

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Recorded Live Video: CT Studios update while Alan takes down the set (take 2)

Alan shares CT Studios updates while taking down the set after the August shoot. There were technical difficulties, but the first recording was mostly rubbish, so here's take two!

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Drops: September 2025

Hey, Patrons! Are you excited to watch a new director's cut LIVE with Jono and Alan? Pick which episode you want to watch with them in September. Then, we'll watch it together right here on Patreon. See you there!

All of the below episodes will premiere as live drops in September. This poll just determines which one you will watch live with your Internet Dads!

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DIRECTOR'S CUT: Celebrating TOY STORY's 30th Anniversary with Pete Docter

How do we learn to become less selfish?

Licensed therapist Jonathan Decker and filmmaker Alan Seawright sit down with Pixar icon, Pete Docter, to reminisce about 30 years of Toy Story! Jonathan and Alan try to keep their cool as they discuss what Toy Story and other Pixar films teach us about our own lives, and what the filmmakers, like Pete, learn from making them.

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DIRECTOR'S CUT: ABOUT TIME and the Secret Formula for Happiness

How do you practice gratitude daily, even for the hard things?

Licensed therapist Jonathan Decker and filmmaker Alan Seawright are taking a look at the secret formula for happiness in About Time. They discuss how the characters can travel in time but choose to live even more in the present. And they highlight seven lessons from the film that reveal the formula for happiness.

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DIRECTOR'S CUT: Therapist Reacts to PONYO

How do you approach new experiences without fear?

Licensed therapist Jonathan Decker and filmmaker Alan Seawright are taking a look at Ponyo (loves Sosuke!) and talking about friendship and family dynamics. They discuss the curiosity and acceptance of childhood wonder, and they marvel at the lovely weirdness of Studio Ghibli films.

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You pick an episode!

Thank you for submitting episode suggestions. Whichever one gets the most votes, we'll do an episode on it at our next shoot!

Please note: even if your top choice doesn't win, the other suggestions will be saved for potential future episodes.

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August Grab Bag of Mystery: Director's Cut from the Archives - KNIVES OUT

Each month you get a random piece of exclusive bonus content as a thank you for supporting us on Patreon. August's Grab Bag of Mystery is a director’s cut from the archives! 

Some episodes are too old to have director's cuts... until now. Enjoy this director's cut from the archives of “Therapist Reacts to KNIVES OUT."

Originally released on YouTube on November 20, 2020. 

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DIRECTOR'S CUT: Six Traits of People with Confidence: Lessons from LEGALLY BLONDE

What makes you confident? How do you express your individuality?

Licensed therapist Jonathan Decker and filmmaker Alan Seawright react to Legally Blonde. (What? Like it’s hard?) They discuss the six traits of people with confidence and how to be more like Elle Woods. Have you ever done the bend and snap??

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That's a Wrap: July 2025

Here's a recap of what we did last month!

It's summer (in the northern hemisphere) and hopefully y'all are enjoying the outdoors. If you were busy touching grass, here's what you missed on our channel! Patrons picked The Truman Show, and it was a hit for the YouTube audience! Jaws with Dan Murrell came out on July 4th,...

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Alan & Jono's Watching/Reading List: July 2025

Alan:

Hello Heroes!

July was a crazy month for me. Lots of family trips (reunions and whatnot) along with the usual stuff like writing a movie. Still managed to read and watch some stuff though!

What I’m reading!

  • The Making of THE SHINING - by JW Rinzler & Lee Unkrich. JW Rinzler wrote the best behind the scenes film books I’ve ever read. He passed away (cancer) a few years ago, and this was his last book. It’s a masterpiece of depth, in...

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DIRECTOR'S CUT: Therapist Reacts to ARRIVAL

How do different perspectives divide us and bring us together?

Licensed therapist Jonathan Decker and filmmaker Alan Seawright take a look at communication and the beauty and tragedy of life in Arrival. They talk about the power of fear and miscommunication, and Alan shares why the sci-fi mumbo jumbo of Arrival makes him emotional.

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Jono's Review of FANTASTIC 4: FIRST STEPS

WHAT'S IT ABOUT?

In an alternate-universe to the main MCU, Marvel's "first family" faces off with the Silver Surfer and the planet-eating Galactus while navigating changes from a new baby.

IS IT ANY GOOD? (**** out of five)

They did it. They actually freaking did it. Fourth try is the charm for Hollywood to get the Fantastic Four finally right in this funny, exciting, and surprisingly touching standalone adventure that inspires and entertains in equal measure.

Followin...

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