Episode #284: "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker," "Cats," and "Black Christmas"
Release Date: 12/20/2019
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...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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 !
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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_outline
Episode 500: "Out of Darkness" and "Restore Point"
Spoilerpiece Theatre
Spoilerpeeps, this is the 500th episode of the show. Megan couldn’t make it this week, leaving the duo of Riedel & Crean. (That doesn’t roll off the tongue like Hall & Oates. Such is life.) Dave watched (2:04), a survivor horror film (so its marketing says) set 45,000 years ago, about six people struggling in a new, vast, inhospitably cold environment. What keeps attacking them at night? Probably exactly what you think! Then Evan and Dave watched (14:36), a dystopian-adjacent sci-fi film with a great production design, but a story that both of them found lackluster (even if one...
info_outlineAfter an extensive discussion over whether soggy cereal is yay or nay proposition, Megan talks about the latest remake of BLACK CHRISTMAS (4:39). This one has a feminist bent that Megan welcomed. Then it’s CATS (19:54). No descriptions here - just listen. Finally, it’s STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER (29:37), about which the gang has lots and lots and LOTS of things to say about the story and how it stacks up against THE LAST JEDI and the movies that came before it.