Episode 535: "Last of the Sea Women" and "The Outrun"
Spoilerpiece Theatre
This week Evan and Dave kick things off with (3:07) (after Dave forgets to do his own intro at the top; whoops), a documentary about the haenyeo, a declining and aging community of women in Jeju, South Korea, who dive for seafood as a job - or, as Evan more accurately describes it, a calling - while dealing with climate change, over-fishing, and crucially, wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Then Megan joins Evan and Dave for (17:17), director Nora Fingscheidt’s adaptation of Amy Liptrot’s memoir (with a screenplay by Liptrot, the director, and Daisy Lewis). Saoirse...
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Episode 534: "Hold Your Breath"
Spoilerpiece Theatre
Hey, gang! There were some delivery problems this week, so we only have one new movie on the docket: ! (Just kidding. That's on Patreon. Patrons can listen to that episode .) No, this week we cover the new Dust Bowl psychological drama/horror flick (2:22), starring Sarah Paulson as a woman living through the Dust Bowl (natch) and kind of losing her mind because of some maybe-it's-real-maybe-not-tee-hee specter called The Grey Man who lives in the dust. Sound like a concept ripe for horror? No? Ya ain't wrong! We're not going to lie: We didn't like this one and we go off the rails talking...
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Episode 533: "Will & Harper" and "Megalopolis"
Spoilerpiece Theatre
With Megan on vacation this week, Evan and Dave take on (2:42), the documentary about the friendship between Will Ferrell and writer Harper Steele post-Harper's transition. This funny and tender (and occasionally sad) documentary about long friendships (Ferrell and Steele met at "Saturday Night Live") and the ways they change is the anti- (22:56), writer-director Francis Ford Coppola's bizarro take on whatever-the-fuck-it-is, with each actor performing in a different movie, a production design from Hades, and a story - or many stories - that add up to absolutely fuck-all. (It's not entirely...
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Episode 532: "Rez Ball" and "In the Summers"
Spoilerpiece Theatre
This week on the show Megan and Dave talk about (2:20), director Sydney Freedland’s drama about a Navajo high school basketball team. After a series of tragedies forces the coach and players to rethink the way they play ball, they adopt a technique they dub “rez ball,” which includes fast play and getting the ball to the hoop as quickly as possible - preferably within seven seconds of possession. Then Evan, Megan and Dave talk about writer-director Alessandra Lacorazza Samudio’s (22:29), which follows two sisters from adolescence to adulthood as they navigate their loving but...
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Episode 531: "Speak No Evil" and "Seeking Mavis Beacon"
Spoilerpiece Theatre
On this week’s show, Megan and Dave watched (2:29), writer-director James Watkins’ remake of the Danish film from 2022. As with many non-American horror films remade for American audiences, the new SPEAK NO EVIL leaves the original’s first two-thirds relatively unchanged and then kicks the last third in the ass, replacing it with a watered down ending that, while not entirely stupid, ain’t exactly aces. (That being said, the Danish original is extreme. Take a listen to our reactions to it .) So while we weren’t enamored of this new version, we think leads Mackenzie Davis and James...
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Episode 530: "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice," "His Three Daughters," and "Merchant Ivory"
Spoilerpiece Theatre
It's a big week! Tim Burton's long-awaited (2:08) finally arrives after its thirty-six-year gestation — Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O'Hara reprise their roles, and Jenna Ortega co-stars — and does it live up to the praise being heaped upon it? Megan lets you know! Next, we all saw (18:42), Azazel Jacobs' family drama about three sisters (Carrie Coon, Elizabeth Olsen, and Natasha Lyonne) grappling with their father's imminent demise. This flick is getting raves, but not from us. Finally, Megan and Dave watched (39:31), Stephen Soucy's documentary about the legendary...
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Episode 529: "The Deliverance" and "Mountains"
Spoilerpiece Theatre
It’s a 50-50 week on Spoilerpiece, as one of the movies we watch is crap, and one is a joy from start to finish. First, the crap, because we didn’t want to end on a sour note: Lee Daniels’ (2:12), a derivative dumpster fire of a possession story cribbed from better possession stories. What makes it so awful, though? Glad you asked! Every character but one in this movie is an asshole. Like, a serious asshole. Andra Day’s Ebony? Asshole. Glenn Close as her mother, Alberta? Asshole. Mo’Nique as the world’s meanest social worker? Total asshole. We at Spoilerpiece don’t usually need...
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Episode 528: "Between the Temples," "Hell Hole," and Smoking Tigers"
Spoilerpiece Theatre
This week, Evan talks about (2:14), Nathan Silver's Jewish comedy starring Jason Schwartzman and Carol Kane about a man's grade-school music teacher who becomes his adult Bat Mitzvah student. Unfortunately, he wasn't a fan of the awkward humor. Then, we (Dave and Megan) review (13:24), John Adams and Toby Poser's (aka the Adams family) horror film about a fracking crew encountering an 1800s soldier, who's still alive with a parasite inside him. We had mixed reviews: One of us liked it, one hated it. Finally, we all discuss (34:19), So Young Shelly Yo's moving, sensitive, and insightful...
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Episode 527: "Alien: Romulus," "Skincare," and "Close to You"
Spoilerpiece Theatre
This week, Megan fills Evan and Dave in on (1:31), starring Elliot Page (who also co-wrote the story) in Dominic Savage's tender and emotional indie drama as Sam, who journeys home for his father's birthday, his first trip to his hometown since his transition. We follow that up with (9:18), Austin Peters's thriller starring Elizabeth Banks as Hope, an esthetician with a line of products about to hit the marketplace. Unfortunately, another esthetician opens a location directly across from her, and wouldn’t you know? Someone steals Hope’s identity and messes with her in a way...
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Episode 526: "Duchess" and "The Instigators"
Spoilerpiece Theatre
Because of some truly bizarre audio difficulties this week, Megan was unable to join us. Which is a bummer! Because she had things to say about both movies on the docket. First, Dave talks about DUCHESS (2:35), directed by Neil Marshall and written by Marshall and its star, Charlotte Kirk. And how is it? Well, it's dog shit! Like most of Marshall's movies! Ho ho! Then Evan and Dave talk THE INSTIGATORS (14:41), a Boston crime comedy that goes out of its way to be very Boston-crimey and Boston-funny, but doesn't quite do either well! Just how much charisma do Matt Damon and Casey Affleck have...
info_outlineThis week, Megan and Dave check out writer-director Jac Cron’s CHESTNUT (2:19), a low-key (very low-key) queer drama about Annie (Natalia Dyer), who, after graduating college in Philadelphia, falls into a love triangle with Tyler (Rachel Keller) and her maybe-boyfriend Danny (Danny Ramirez). But is Tyler in love with Annie? Or Danny? And is Danny really into Annie? Or Tyler? We have an animated discussion about this one. Then Evan joins Megan and Dave to talk about FANCY DANCE (23:29), Erica Tremblay's Indigenous drama starring Lily Gladstone as Jax, a Seneca-Cayuga woman searching for her missing sister while caring for her niece, Roki (Isabel DeRoy-Olson). Throw into it Jax’s estranged father (Shea Whigham), an impromptu road trip to a powwow, and the missing-persons investigation for Jax’s sister and it’s an emotional 92 minutes. We all liked this one (one of us loved it). Over on Patreon, we watched THE FIRST OMEN, Arkasha Stevenson's horror prequel starring Nell Tiger Free, so check it out!