{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Episode 118: I Love Boosters","description":" Mindframes Show Notes I Love Boosters (2026) \u2014 Episode 118 Directed by: Boots Riley Written by: Boots Riley Starring: Keke Palmer, Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, Poppy Liu, Eiza Gonz\u00e1lez, LaKeith Stanfield, Will Poulter, Don Cheadle, Demi Moore Cinematography: Natasha Braier Costume Design: Shirley Kurata Score: Tune-Yards Distributor: Neon IMDB: https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt30827810\/ Episode Summary In this episode of Mindframes, Michael and Dave discuss I Love Boosters (2026) \u2014 the sophomore feature from writer-director Boots Riley (Sorry to Bother You). And they didn't just watch it: Boots Riley was at their screening, making this a particularly special episode. The film follows the Velvet Gang, a crew of professional shoplifters \u2014 or "boosters" \u2014 led by Corvette (Keke Palmer), who steal high-end fashion and redistribute it to their community at affordable prices, calling it "fashion-forward philanthropy." Their target: Christie Smith (Demi Moore), a cutthroat fashion maven who has stolen Corvette's own designs and passed them off as her own. Michael and Dave dig into Riley's political vision and whether the film preaches or persuades, Keke Palmer's career-best performance, the stunning visual craft from cinematographer Natasha Braier and costume designer Shirley Kurata, and the film's surrealist escalation into sci-fi territory. The spoiler section tackles the film's central question head-on: can style \u2014 and collective action \u2014 actually be a revolutionary act? Michael gives the film 4 stars. Dave gives it 4.5 stars. \ud83e\udde0 Thematic Discussion I Love Boosters is a Robin Hood story on the surface, but underneath it's a film about who gets to own beauty, creativity, and style \u2014 and who gets locked out. The villain Christie Smith isn't just a rich corporate tyrant. She's a creative thief: she literally steals Corvette's designs and passes them off as her vision. And the fashion brand Metro operates on the logic of planned obsolescence \u2014 last season's color is this season's shame \u2014 a system the film directly compares to Apple. The boosters respond not by rejecting fashion, but by redistributing it. They love clothes. Corvette loves making things. The film argues that the problem isn't beauty or style \u2014 it's that the mechanisms of capitalism have turned both into instruments of exclusion and control. By the end, it's collective action \u2014 not individual heroism \u2014 that carries the day. The Velvet Gang, workers inside the company, and protesters in China all have to come together. The teleportation device, Michael argues, is less a narrative shortcut and more a statement of hope: you never know how things are going to accelerate, so don't stop believing the impossible is possible. Maybe the film itself is the teleporter. Dave's read: the whimsy isn't just sugar coating the medicine. The wonder is the medicine. Corvette doesn't become cynical. She keeps making art in a broken world. And that refusal to give up is the film's most radical argument. \u23f1\ufe0f Timestamps Time Segment 00:00:19 Intro & film overview \u2014 premise, genre, first impressions 00:00:55 Director discussion \u2014 Boots Riley's career, Sorry to Bother You, I'm a Virgo; Riley's politics 00:10:01 "This is a very, very funny, weird movie" \u2014 pivoting from politics to the experience 00:11:10 Cast discussion \u2014 Keke Palmer as Corvette; the film's female-centered story 00:12:33 Supporting cast \u2014 Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, Will Poulter, Don Cheadle, LaKeith Stanfield 00:14:26 Demi Moore \u2014 stunt casting or not? Christie Smith vs. The Substance 00:16:39 Cinematography \u2014 Natasha Braier, Zola, The Neon Demon, custom lenses, color palette 00:20:35 Production design \u2014 the tilting building, deliberate lo-fi effects, the chicken shack hideout 00:24:35 Costume design \u2014 Shirley Kurata (Everything Everywhere All at Once); fashion as political argument 00:29:36 \u2b50 Spoiler-free reviews \u2014 Michael: 4 stars \/ Dave: 4.5 stars 00:41:49 \u26a0\ufe0f SPOILER SECTION \u2014 comparison to One Battle After Another; Christie Smith vs. the "Trump surrogate" villain 00:44:38 Thematic deep dive \u2014 fashion as class warfare; planned obsolescence; Apple logic; Corvette's Robin Hood motive 00:46:40 Dave on physical media collecting \u2014 the empty fashion show of steel books and embossed slipcovers 00:53:05 The big reveal \u2014 Christie stole Corvette's design; creative extraction as the film's true villain 00:53:56 The teleportation machine \u2014 deus ex machina, or something else? China, collective struggle, worldwide solidarity 01:01:47 The ending \u2014 optimistic or bittersweet? Does Boots believe his own hope? 01:06:24 Closing thoughts & next episode tease \u2b50 Ratings Michael: 4 \/ 5 stars Funny, visually original, Keke Palmer is extraordinary. The third-act plot device lands awkwardly but the politics work because they're felt rather than lectured. Possibly gains a half star on rewatch. Dave: 4.5 \/ 5 stars A better film than Sorry to Bother You in key ways. The whimsy is the point, not just the wrapper. The most important kind of film for right now. \ud83c\udf9e\ufe0f Films & Directors Mentioned Sorry to Bother You (2018) \u2014 Boots Riley I'm a Virgo (2023 series) \u2014 Boots Riley Zola (2020) \u2014 Janicza Bravo (also shot by Natasha Braier) The Neon Demon (2016) \u2014 Nicolas Winding Refn (also shot by Natasha Braier) Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) \u2014 costumes by Shirley Kurata The Substance (2024) \u2014 Coralie Fargeat (Demi Moore) Nope (2022) \u2014 Jordan Peele (Keke Palmer) One Battle After Another (2025) \u2014 compared\/contrasted with Boosters on political filmmaking The Mandalorian & Grogu (2026) \u2014 mentioned as next episode consideration The Stranger (Camus adaptation) \u2014 mentioned as potential future episode Obsession \u2014 mentioned as potential future episode Caligula (1979) \u2014 brief tangent; Dave once interviewed Malcolm McDowell \ud83d\udcec Contact \ud83c\udf10 https:\/\/mindframesfilm.com \ud83d\udcd8 Facebook: Mindframes \ud83c\udfa7 Now Playing Network \u2709\ufe0f info@mindframesfilm.com ","author_name":"Mindframe(s)","author_url":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/mindframesmovies","html":"