‘Rebel Ridge’ with Noah Ballard

Episode 25

Don Johnson and Aaron Pierre in Rebel Ridge

A strong contender for the year’s best action movie, “Rebel Ridge” is currently Noah Ballard’s favorite of 2024—bar none. On this episode of our year-end series, we dive into Aaron Pierre’s otherworldly calm, Don Johnson’s shit-eating grin, Jeremy Saulnier’s penchant for stomach-dropping bursts of violence, and a movie that Noah calls a mix between Rambo and The Pelican Brief.

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About “The Kick”

“The Kick” is a theme-obsessed movie podcast where new releases are the ultimate excuse to fill blindspots and let that completist flag fly.

Part of the Now Playing Network, the show runs in multi-episode arcs—or kicks—that explore a particular sub-genre or filmography, and then culminate in a relevant new film. As in, “I’m on a sports-romance kick, and it won’t be over until I see Challengers.

Every week, host Chance Solem-Pfeifer is joined by a fellow writer, filmmaker, or movie appreciator. You can contact him at chancesolempfeifer [at] gmail [dot] com and read his film writings in the Willamette Week.