‹ All people

Podcast Manager, The Ringer

Craig Horlbeck

Producer who contributes to the discussion. In the Chicago live episode, he chooses Harrison Ford.

Also referred to as Craig, Bangkok Craig, Craig Grobeck, Craig Gahau

The Ringer Profile source

Stats

Episodes credited in this archive
220
Movies in this archive
217
Producer credits
217
Attributed podcast choices
13

Across the table

Appearing on these Rewatchables episodes

Star Wars: A New Hope

1977 film

Bill Simmons · Chris Ryan · Sean Fennessey · Van Lathan

Aired May 6, 2025

Star Wars: A New Hope

1977 film

Bill Simmons · Chris Ryan · Sean Fennessey · Van Lathan

Aired May 6, 2025

The Saint

1997 film

Bill Simmons · Kyle Brandt

Aired April 5, 2025

Good Will Hunting

1997 film

Bill Simmons · Ryen Russillo · Chris Ryan · Sean Fennessey

Aired April 1, 2025

Days of Thunder

1990 film

Bill Simmons · Chris Ryan · Kyle Brandt

Aired March 18, 2025

Best in Show

2000 film

Bill Simmons · Mallory Rubin · Joanna Robinson

Aired March 11, 2025

Wayne's World

1992 film

Bill Simmons · Kyle Brandt

Aired February 18, 2025

Displaying episodes 49 - 60 of 220 in total

Mentioned in discussions

Hardcore The Rewatchables
Hardcore

Picking Nits

The reel discovery; Mast’s fees; short flight; public shooting; snuff film

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 00:32:15Read transcript
  • The theater reveal is declared the best scene. Mast's theatrical surprise, discovery of the reel and delayed response to 'turn it off' are nitpicks. Scott's reaction and Mast's warning about wanting his daughter back expose unresolved forgiveness questions.
  • Craig's text notes Jake's abrupt wig-and-shirt transformation; the panel asks why an unknown furniture maker needs a disguise and compares the look to Body Double. — Bill Simmons
  • Nitpicks revisit Mast finding the reel and whether he is prolonging the case for fees; the panel concludes he is both skilled and milking the situation.
  • Nitpicks: flying from Los Angeles to San Diego rather than driving, and Mast shooting in a public street without evident consequences. His dropped ankle-holster gun is praised.
  • Nitpicks question whether the shown snuff film depicts a real killing; the panel corrects confusion that Kristen is the woman shown. — Bill Simmons
Hardcore The Rewatchables
Hardcore

Most Rewatchable Scene

The theater reveal; Ramada’s office alternative

In the discussion (12)
Approx. transcript time · 00:30:29Read transcript
  • Andy Mast's diner introduction is a scene nominee; his weekly fee and months of work prompt inflation and financing questions. The Grand Rapids family gathering and Kristen's friend establish repression and misdirect expectations. — Bill Simmons
  • The theater reveal is declared the best scene. Mast's theatrical surprise, discovery of the reel and delayed response to 'turn it off' are nitpicks. Scott's reaction and Mast's warning about wanting his daughter back expose unresolved forgiveness questions.
  • Great Shot Gordo: the distorted high-angle image of Scott losing his bearings and adult storefronts surrounding him convey immersion in the unfamiliar world. — Bill Simmons
  • The motel filming scene is praised as deliberately funny, especially the UCLA director, Scott's undercover look and dialogue; Serena's appearance prompts a biographical aside.
  • The seedy 1970s hotel setting is praised and linked to later homages such as True Romance. — Bill Simmons
  • Jake's Hollywood drive, ominous recurring score, shop admission and high camera angle are praised. CSNY's Helpless is singled out as an incongruously funny needle drop. — Bill Simmons
  • The auditions of Big Dick Black and Jism Jim are scene nominees, with exaggerated credentials, stage names and Scott reaching for a lamp praised for comedy.
  • Craig's text notes Jake's abrupt wig-and-shirt transformation; the panel asks why an unknown furniture maker needs a disguise and compares the look to Body Double. — Bill Simmons
  • Nikki and Jake's San Diego life talks and airport discussion of TULIP are praised for writing, chemistry and changing the film's energy.
  • Nikki's perspective and Hubley's comfort opposite Scott are praised; his softness in their scenes is distinctive.
  • The bondage-house wall breakthrough, slowed motion and green neon are memorable; the steep-hill fight and physical stunts are praised.
  • The theater reveal is selected again for its iconic impact; the first Mast meeting remains a favorite. Another choice shifts to Bill Ramada's office and right-man exchange, compared to The Big Lebowski's Ben Gazzara.
The War of the Roses The Rewatchables
The War of the Roses

Cruise or Hanks?

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:19:50Read transcript
  • Cruise is initially outvoted 2–1 by Hanks supporters; the debate weighs unlikeability against comedy and the interest of casting Hanks against type.
  • Craig chooses Cruise, citing Hanks’s underlying lovability; Collateral and early Jerry Maguire illustrate the alternative.
  • A recent Jerry Maguire rewatch prompts a Hanks voter to switch to Cruise, making the final result 3–1. — Bill Simmons
Shot Caller The Rewatchables
Shot Caller

Producer review

Frightening and enjoyable; stronger heist and characterization wanted

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:38:55Read transcript
  • Craig enjoyed the film’s frightening prison-survival logic and deep supporting cast. He relays his former police-lieutenant father’s view that the depicted housing after a fatal DUI was plausible; that remains a reported opinion rather than verified legal guidance. — Craig Horlbeck
  • Craig wants a better planned heist and clearer pre-prison characterization; a basketball scene could dramatize Jacob’s transformation, and cafeteria material is again missed. — Craig Horlbeck
The Fugitive The Rewatchables
The Fugitive

Who Won the Movie?

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:46:47Read transcript
Podcast choices
The Fugitive The Rewatchables
The Fugitive

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Escape plan, Kimble’s fame, the cat and alternate futures

In the discussion (12)
Approx. transcript time · 01:35:51Read transcript
  • Effectiveness of the fake seizure escape
  • Craig asks how famous Kimble would become
  • How much cash Nichols gives Kimble
  • Mallory asks what happened to the Kimble family cat
  • Gerard as an NFL coach
  • Craig asks why the river cannot be dyed blue
  • A shared Chicago movie universe
  • Whether faster emergency dispatch could have saved Helen
  • The logic of the incriminating call
  • Kimble and the woman who offers him a ride
  • A twist making Kimble guilty after all
  • How quickly Sykes would be caught through social media
The Fugitive The Rewatchables
The Fugitive

The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award

Kill Sykes; rethink the one-arm story; defend the marriage

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:32:22Read transcript
  • The category is initially almost skipped but is then completed
  • Mallory argues Nichols should have Sykes killed
  • Chris argues Kimble’s one-armed-man account sounds incriminating
  • Craig has no prepared take
  • Bill proposes an attraction-based defense argument
The Fugitive The Rewatchables
The Fugitive

Picking Nits

Disguise, defense attorney and conspiracy logic

In the discussion (18)
Approx. transcript time · 01:19:40Read transcript
  • Craig questions Sykes’s security role and corporate fishing trips
  • Chris questions Kimble’s minimal disguise
  • Stolen clothes fitting Kimble is debated
  • Mallory questions the fundraiser’s swimsuit show
  • Kimble fails to request counsel promptly
  • Craig questions water falling on the gun
  • Nichols’s conference patter is missing
  • Mallory challenges the defense’s handling of Helen’s call and circumstantial evidence
  • Shaving a large beard with a disposable razor
  • Craig questions Kimble’s janitor performance
  • Gerard’s shooting choices in the courthouse
  • Nichols’s incriminating photos
  • A rollerblading nurse
  • Instant train-audio identification
  • Mallory corrects the earlier podcast’s too-handsome Jon Hamm objection
  • Craig asks why Kimble does not take the evidence straight to Gerard
  • Kimble helping patients is defended
  • Cosmo’s implausibly minor head wound
Blood Diamond The Rewatchables
Blood Diamond

Producer review

Producer Craig praises lab-grown diamonds, the movie’s educational action form, and DiCaprio’s issue-driven stardom, while noting that similar stories have moved away from theatrical stars.

In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 01:15:35Read transcript
  • Lab-grown diamonds are added as the clearest thing that aged well. — Craig Horlbeck
  • The producer had not seen the film and responds positively to its mix of action and difficult subject matter. — Craig Horlbeck
  • Modern difficult-topic awards movies are contrasted as smaller and sadder rather than large star vehicles. — Craig Horlbeck
  • Kanye West’s Diamonds from Sierra Leone was the producer’s first exposure to conflict diamonds. — Craig Horlbeck
  • A modern Zwick might make a documentary because a hundred-million-dollar studio feature is hard to greenlight. — Chris Ryan
  • DiCaprio is praised for still using stardom to mount expensive issue-oriented films. — Chris Ryan
  • The Siege is used to show how quickly current-affairs films can be overtaken by history. — Chris Ryan
  • Global studios’ need for broadly marketable antagonists is cited as another constraint. — Chris Ryan
Displaying discussions 61 - 72 of 110 in total

Flex picks

Law Abiding Citizen The Rewatchables
Law Abiding Citizen

Worst Accent

Flex pick · Craig Horlbeck

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:13:07Read transcript
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby The Rewatchables
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby

Sean Fennessey Award for Stealth Homage That Gives Every Movie Nerd a Criterion Orgasm

Possibly Ricky signing a woman’s chest as a Happy Gilmore homage

Flex pick · Craig Horlbeck

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:15:35Read transcript
  • The participant explicitly says the resemblance may not be an intentional reference. — Craig Horlbeck
Ghostbusters The Rewatchables
Ghostbusters

Mallory Rubin Award: Did This Movie Need a Better Sex Scene?

A more explicit encounter between possessed Dana and Louis Tully

Flex pick · Craig Horlbeck

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:52:26Read transcript
  • The selected answer pairs the possessed gatekeeper with the actual Keymaster rather than Venkman. — Craig Horlbeck
  • The film is understood to imply that Dana and Louis had sex, but the flex asks to see more of their physical mismatch without requiring nudity. — Craig Horlbeck
  • The panel then reiterates that Venkman cannot ethically sleep with Dana while she is possessed. — Bill Simmons
Displaying flex picks 1 - 12 of 35 in total