The Concession Stand
Season 1
Hacksaw Ridge
Apocalypse Now
INCEPTION
Hatari!
The Patriot
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
The King's Speech
It Happened One Night
THUNDERBOLTS*
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
1 of 3
by C. LeBeau Cousineau
In this episode, Samaria returns to the show to discuss Hacksaw Ridge in remembrance of the extraordinary courage displayed by the hundreds of first responders and ordinary people who risked their lives to save others on September 11, 2001. The film follows Desmond Doss (Andrew Garfield), a Seventh-day Adventist who enlists in the U.S. Army as a combat medic and conscientious objector. During basic training, Doss is persecuted by his fellow soldiers and branded a coward for refusing to carry a weapon. But when his unit arrives at Hacksaw Ridge, Doss is given the chance to prove that courage doesn't always mean fighting. As wounded soldiers are left stranded on the battlefield, Doss repeatedly ventures back into the chaos, determined to bring as many men as he can to safety—without ever firing a shot. Be sure to like, comment, and subscribe to the channel and, if you're interested, follow the podcast on your favorite platform and leave a review. This greatly helps the show to grow. Click here to join our Discord Server:https://discord.gg/hg8rKkFAzc Click here to join our Patreon: https://patreon.com/TheConcessionStand?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink
In this episode, LeBeau’s sister, Jesycca, joins the show to talk about her favorite movie: Apocalypse Now, starring Martin Sheen and Marlon Brando, and featuring a young Laurence Fishburne. The film follows Captain Willard (Martin Sheen), who is recruited by Special Forces for a top-secret mission to “terminate the command” of Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando), a highly decorated officer who has gone rogue deep in the jungles of Vietnam. Willard joins the crew of a small riverboat and begins a journey upriver into the heart of the war—and deeper into madness. Along the way, the mission becomes an increasingly surreal descent into darkness, culminating in Francis Ford Coppola’s grim, loose adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. Be sure to like, comment, and subscribe to the channel and, if you're interested, follow the podcast on your favorite platform and leave a review. This greatly helps the show to grow. Click here to join our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/hg8rKkFAzc Click here to join our Patreon: https://patreon.com/TheConcessionStand?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink
In this episode, Austin and LeBeau dive into the intricacies and symbols in one of Christopher Nolan's seminal works: INCEPTION. The film follows Dom Cobb, a skilled thief who specializes in extracting secrets from deep within the subconscious during dreams. Offered a chance to reclaim the life he lost, Cobb and his team must attempt the seemingly impossible: plant an idea in someone’s mind through a dangerous process known as inception. Be sure to like, comment, and subscribe to the channel and, if you're interested, follow the podcast on your favorite platform and leave a review. This greatly helps the show to grow. Click here to join our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/hg8rKkFAzc Click here to join our Patreon: https://patreon.com/TheConcessionStand?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink
In this episode, Dallen joins the show to talk about the surprising subtleties and richness of Howard Hawks' Hatari! (1962). Along the way, he and LeBeau also discuss the personal impact the movie had on each of them. Set in East Africa, Hatari! follows a team of professional wildlife catchers led by Sean Mercer (John Wayne), whose job is to capture wild animals alive for zoos around the world. When a spirited wildlife photographer and a group of orphaned baby elephants unexpectedly enter their lives, the crew discovers that the greatest adventures aren't always the dangerous ones. Beneath its thrilling action and lighthearted humor, Hatari! is a warm, character-driven story about friendship, purpose, and finding family in unexpected places. Be sure to like, comment, and subscribe to the channel and, if you're interested, follow the podcast on your favorite platform and leave a review. This greatly helps the show to grow. Click here to join our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/hg8rKkFAzc Click here to join our Patreon: https://patreon.com/TheConcessionStand?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink
To celebrate America's semiquincentennial anniversary, LeBeau is joined by his dad, Matthew, to discuss the 2000 historical epic The Patriot, starring Mel Gibson and Heath Ledger. Together, they explore the film's themes of patriotism, fatherhood, sacrifice, and what it means to become a better man. Set during the American Revolution, The Patriot follows Benjamin Martin, a widowed veteran who is reluctantly drawn back into war after a brutal act of violence threatens his family. As the conflict between the colonies and Great Britain intensifies, Martin must balance his desire to protect his children with the call to fight for freedom. Be sure to follow the podcast on your favorite platform and leave a review. This greatly helps the show to grow. Click here to join our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/hg8rKkFAzc Click here to join our Patreon: https://patreon.com/TheConcessionStand?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink
In this episode, Penni returns to join LeBeau for a discussion about Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, the film that first brought together director Frank Capra and actor James Stewart. They explore the film's themes of patriotism, moral courage, and the lasting impact a story like this can have across generations. The film follows Jefferson Smith (Stewart), an idealistic youth leader unexpectedly appointed to the United States Senate. When a shocking betrayal by his mentor, Senator Paine, exposes a web of corruption in his home state, Smith finds himself fighting to clear his name and protect his principles. Standing against slander, political pressure, and the powerful Taylor machine, he must decide how far he's willing to go in defense of what is right. Be sure to like, comment, and subscribe to the channel and, if you're interested, follow the podcast on your favorite platform and leave a review. This greatly helps the show to grow. Click here to join our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/hg8rKkFAzc Click here to join our Patreon: https://patreon.com/TheConcessionStand?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink
In this episode, LeBeau and Penni talk about The King's Speech, starring Collin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, and Helena Bonham Carter. After the sudden abdication of his brother, reluctant royal Prince Albert is thrust onto the throne as King George VI (Colin Firth), on the eve of World War II. Struggling with a debilitating stammer, he forms an unlikely friendship with an unconventional speech therapist, Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush), who helps him find not just his voice, but the confidence to lead a nation through its darkest hour. Click here to join our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/hg8rKkFAzc Click here to join our Patreon: https://patreon.com/TheConcessionStand?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink
In this episode, LeBeau and Bethany talk about old Hollywood, It Happened One Night, and the impact it had on the rest of film history. The film follows Ellie Andrews (Claudette Colbert), a wealthy runaway heiress who escapes her controlling father after impulsively marrying a fortune hunter. While traveling across the country by bus to reunite with her new husband, she crosses paths with Peter Warne, a down-on-his-luck newspaper reporter. Peter recognizes Ellie and offers to help her reach New York in exchange for the exclusive story. What begins as a tense partnership full of bickering, mishaps, and roadside adventures slowly transforms into genuine affection. Along the way, the film mixes romance, comedy, and Depression-era Americana. This film had a lasting impression on film history as the first "Screwball comedy", or the grandfather of the modern rom-com. Click here to join our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/rhx9yVJCrC Click here to join our Patreon: https://patreon.com/TheConcessionStand?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink
If you or someone you know is struggling, you’re not alone—reach out, start the conversation, and take that first step toward support. Learn more, find help, or see how you can get involved here: https://afsp.org/ Be sure to like, comment, and subscribe to the channel and, if you're interested, follow the podcast on your favorite platform and leave a review. This greatly helps the show to grow. Click here to join our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/Uet7GvEt Click here to join our Patreon: https://patreon.com/TheConcessionStand?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink In this episode, LeBeau is joined by Manny to delve into the thematic richness, heart, and humor of Marvel Studios' THUNDERBOLTS* in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month. THUNDERBOLTS* follows a group of morally complex antiheroes—each carrying their own scars, regrets, and fractured identities—who are brought together under uneasy circumstances. As their mission unfolds, the film digs beneath the spectacle to examine trauma, accountability, and the fragile hope of redemption, asking whether broken people can still choose to do something good.
In this episode, LeBeau and Dallen saddle up for a trip into one of the most thoughtful Westerns ever made: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), directed by John Ford and starring James Stewart and John Wayne. When Senator Ransom Stoddard returns to the small frontier town where his career began, a reporter asks a simple question: why? What follows is a story of law versus legend, civilization versus the frontier, and the complicated truth behind the man who supposedly shot the notorious outlaw Liberty Valance. LeBeau and Dallen explore the film’s rich themes, the contrasting ideals embodied by Stewart and Wayne’s characters, and the famous line that has echoed through film history: “When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.” Sometimes the West isn’t won with a six-gun… sometimes it’s won with a story.