Episode #271: "Tall Girl," "Her Smell," "Late Night," and "Raul Julia: The World's a Stage" with guest Charlie Nash
Release Date: 09/20/2019
Episode 510: "The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare" and "We Grown Now"
Spoilerpiece Theatre
This week Megan took one for the team and checked in on Guy Ritchie’s latest, (2:38). Does this based-on-a-true-story movie take Ritchie down some less traveled paths? Or is it standard Guy Ritchie fare? Megan has the answers! Evan and Dave join Megan to talk about (17:52), writer/director Minhal Baig’s coming-of-age story of two boys growing up in Chicago’s Cabrini-Green complex in the early 1990s. Over on Patreon, in honor of its 50th anniversary, we talk about Francis Ford Coppola’s THE CONVERSATION.
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Episode 509: "Civil War" and "The Greatest Hits"
Spoilerpiece Theatre
Perhaps you’ve heard the brouhaha surrounding writer-director Alex Garland’s Kirsten Dunst-starring (2:18) and wondered what it’s all about (um...a civil war...in the United States...in the near future). Wonder no more! Megan and Dave saw it, and they have things to say: unkind, complimentary, and all points in between. One of them hated it. One did not, acknowledging its strengths as well as its flaws. Then Evan joined Megan and Dave to watch (32:15), starring Lucy Boynton and Justin H. Min, and written and directed by Ned Benson. And guess what? NOT A ROM-COM, which Evan and Dave...
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Episode 508: "The People's Joker" and "Girls State"
Spoilerpiece Theatre
This week on the show we Megan and Dave tackled the controversial (to Warner Bros.) (1:53), director/co-writer/editor/star Vera Drew's queer coming-of-age superhero parody. Good sound design, good visuals. What else is good about it? Then Evan, Megan, and Dave talk about the documentary (24:27), directors Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine’s companion piece to their 2020 doc . Following a group of teenage girls from Missouri as they navigate a week-long immersive democratic experiment, the Spoilerpieces have a range of views. , in honor of its 90th anniversary, we talk about the classic...
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Episode #507: “Femme” and “Ennio"
Spoilerpiece Theatre
Dave can't join us, so it’s just Megan and Evan this week! First, Megan reviews Giuseppe Tornatore’s lengthy, yet fascinating documentary (2:35) about the life and work of Italian film composer Ennio Morricone. Then we both discuss Sam H. Freeman and Ng Choon Ping’s gritty queer thriller (16:18), which captivated us, but left us with some complicated feelings. And in this week’s , we chat about the winner of our poll on women-directed films, Lynne Ramsay’s psychological drama !
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Episode 506: "Late Night with the Devil" and "Road House"
Spoilerpiece Theatre
On this week’s show, Megan and Dave kick things off with (2:18), Cameron and Colin Cairnes's nasty found-footage horror thriller starring David Dastmalchian and featuring demonic possession, heads on fire, garroting by necklace, all wrapped up in a nifty 1970s production design. Bonus: Michael Ironsides does the opening voiceover! Then Evan, Megan, and Dave watched director Doug Liman’s update of (21:03). Jake Gyllenhaal picks up Patrick Swayze’s reins and beats the snot out of (checks notes) countless people. And there’s a man-eating crocodile thrown in for good measure. But is it...
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Episode 505: "Love Lies Bleeding," "Stopmotion," and "Frida"
Spoilerpiece Theatre
Megan kicks things off this week with talk of (2:16), Rose Glass's intense queer thriller starring Kristen Stewart and Katy O'Brian. Verdict? LISTEN (ha). Next Dave and Megan review (6:11), Robert Morgan's horror movie starring Aisling Franciosi and featuring lots of compelling stop-motion animation. Megan likes it but wishes it delved deeper, and Dave thinks they should have stopped this motion picture from being a thing. Lastly, Evan, Megan, and Dave all discuss (17:37), Carla Gutierrez's dynamic Frida Kahlo documentary that everyone liked. , we talk about the 2024 Oscars. If you’re a...
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Episode 504: "American Dreamer" and "Damsel"
Spoilerpiece Theatre
This week Megan and Dave tackle (2:07), and it ain’t pretty. Sure, Peter Dinklage and Shirley MacLaine are fine. And sure, Dave laughed at a few things. But that’s about all the positives we have for it (hoo boy, do we get amped up during this talk!). Then Evan, Megan, and Dave watched (22:40), the new dragon’s-gonna-eat-ya-but-not-if-I-can-help-it flick starring Millie Bobby Brown as a princess who meets said dragon after a bit of marital subterfuge orchestrated by Robin Wright as her nefarious would-be mother-in-law. Following an uneven opening, we thought it pulled together (even if...
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Episode 503: "Dune: Part Two" and "Spaceman"
Spoilerpiece Theatre
This week, Megan and Dave discuss , Denis Villeneuve's sci-fi epic starring Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, and Rebecca Ferguson. Dave found the fatalism inherent in its story rendered it dramatically inert, even if he dug its look (despite the on-the-nose Nuremberg rally-inspired sequence) and some of the performances. Megan loved the spectacular film: Dazzling visuals, immersive sound, excellent performances, riveting narrative, and a perceptive critique of colonialism and power dynamics. Everyone watched , Johan Renck's existential sci-fi drama starring Adam Sandler (well, Dave listened...
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Episode 502: "Lovely, Dark and Deep" and "Players"
Spoilerpiece Theatre
It’s been two weeks since we talked horror at Spoilerpiece, so Megan and Dave remedied that by watching Teresa Sutherland’s , a bump-in-the-night-type thriller that plays out in a national park. While Megan and Dave came to roughly similar conclusions about the movie’s technical aspects and Georgina Cambell’s lead performance, one of them hated it overall (like, HATED IT) and one of them liked it. First listener to guess who hated it wins a trip down amnesia lane. Then the whole gang watched , a new Netflix romcom starring Gina Rodriguez, Damon Wayans Jr., and a million supporting...
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Episode 501: “Orion and the Dark” and “The Hobby”
Spoilerpiece Theatre
Megan is back! And to kick things off, she and Dave talk about the animated film (2:33). Yes, it’s screenwriter Charlie Kaufman’s first foray into children’s films. But is it any good? Not surprisingly, Megan and Dave have divergent views. But who liked it and who did not?!! (Eh, it’s exactly what you think.) Then Evan, Megan, and Dave discuss (22:17), a documentary about the trading card boom that kicked into overdrive in 2020 after Covid hit. Sports cards, Pokémon cards, memorabilia, you name it, the doc covers it (with a notable absence of Magic: The Gathering). THE HOBBY is...
info_outlineKris is out on his mini-moon this week so guest Charlie Nash joins Dave and Evan to share his results for the meme “Your Gender Studies Thesis.” After they each get a good chuckle sharing the titles of their fictional papers, Evan reviews TALL GIRL (6:57), a Netflix movie about vertically advantaged high schooler that barely scratches the emotional surface of its main character’s life. Then Dave and Evan recount their experience watching RAÚL JULIÁ: THE WORLD’S A STAGE (18:18), a PBS documentary about the late actor that celebrates his talent, his authenticity, and his inspirational status to Latinx performers everywhere. Next Charlie and Dave delve into HER SMELL (28:50), Alex Ross Perry drama starring Elisabeth Moss that explores the life of a rock star in the throes of addiction. Lastly, Evan and Dave cover LATE NIGHT (44:20), the Mindy Kaling comedy that’s funny and poignant without being preachy.