Early on in Armando Iannucci’s The Death of Stalin, Nikita Khrushchev (Steve Buscemi) barges into the apartment of Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov (Michael Palin). He informs Molotov that Stalin (Adrian McLaughlin) is dead and plans to release Molotov’s wife, who’s been suffering in captivity at the hands of the sadistic Lavrenti Beria (Simon Russell...

I’m launching a sci-fi comedy podcast called Sir Callahan in two weeks. After years of talking shit about other people’s work, I’m finally giving my faithful readers the opportunity to return the favor. To honor the enduring concept of fortnights, I’ve selected fourteen films that greatly influenced the writing and production of the show–fourteen...