Episode #61 - "The Visit," "Grandma," and "90 Minutes in Heaven"
Release Date: 09/11/2015
Episode #464: "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse"
Spoilerpiece Theatre
On this week's show we have one movie to talk about but boy is it a big one! We're reviewing (1:44)! We have a couple more critiques than we did of the previous film in the franchise, but we have a lot to say about this excellent sequel from its styles of animation to its editing, pacing, score, new characters, and more. Plus, Evan shares a very special reason why the movie hit him in a way he wasn't expecting. Of course, in this week's , we're talking about , since we've somehow never discussed it on a main episode!
info_outline
Episode #463: "The Little Mermaid," "Influencer," and "Days of Daisy"
Spoilerpiece Theatre
Megan kicks off this week's show by offering her thoughts on Disney's new live-action adaptation of (2:18), which features a fantastic performance and amazing vocals from lead Halle Bailey. Next, we all discuss Kurtis David Harder's smart and entertaining horror movie (9:50), which subverts expectations in a number of ways with its tale about a social media influencer (Emily Tennant) who makes a dangerous new friend (Cassandra Naud) while traveling in Thailand. After that, we cover Alexander Jefferey's indie rom-com (26:52), which has us pretty divided about its story of a 39-year-old...
info_outline
Episode #462: "The Starling Girl" and "Consecration"
Spoilerpiece Theatre
Evan is off this week, so Dave and Megan review (3:18), Cristopher Smith's disappointing supernatural horror film, starring Jena Malone who investigates her brother's death at a convent. Then we discuss Laurel Parmet's excellent nuanced drama (24:42), starring Eliza Scanlen as a 17-year-old in a fundamentalist Christian community dealing with her faith when she falls for the youth pastor (Lewis Pullman). And on this week's , since FAST X opens in theaters, we talk about Justin Lin's (2011), starring Vin Diesel and Paul Walker!
info_outline
Episode #461: "The Mother" and "BlackBerry"
Spoilerpiece Theatre
This week we start by reviewing Matt Johnson's tech bro dramedy (2:27), which stars Glenn Howerton, Jay Baruchel, and Johnson himself, and chronicles the meteoric rise and fall of the famous BlackBerry smartphone. Next, we cover Niki Caro's Netflix action film (29:37), which stars Jennifer Lopez as a sniper and former arms dealer who comes out of hiding to protect her daughter from her ex-business associates (Gael Garcia Bernal and Joseph Fiennes) who are seeking revenge on her. And in our , we talk about Martin Scorsese's in honor of its 50th anniversary this year!
info_outline
Episode #460: "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" and "You Can Live Forever"
Spoilerpiece Theatre
Evan starts this week by plugging his appearance on a long-time friend's podcast , the show that answers the age-old millennial question: Was the book really better than the movie? He had a really fun time with them comparing M. Night Shyamalan's KNOCK AT THE CABIN to the book CABIN AT THE END OF THE WORLD! Evan and Megan then talk about Sarah Watts and Mark Slutsky's moving queer drama (2:44), about a lesbian teen (Anwen O'Driscoll) who goes to live with her Jehovah's Witness relatives and falls hard for a member of the community (June Laporte). Next, Dave and Megan discuss the emotionally...
info_outline
Episode #459: "Sisu," "Judy Blume Forever," and "Polite Society"
Spoilerpiece Theatre
Dave is back! But before we jump into this week's movies, he offers his own very different take on EVIL DEAD RISE (2:37)! Megan kicks off our reviews of new films with her thoughts on Nida Manzoor's delightful feminist action comedy (9:48). Then we all discuss Davina Pardo and Leah Wolchok's timely and vital documentary (15:17), which delves into the life and work of the trailblazing author Judy Blume through interviews with Blume herself and other YA authors influenced by her. We wrap up with Jalmari Helander's over-the-top Finnish action film (33:43), which is about an ex-soldier in...
info_outline
Episode #458: "Evil Dead Rise" and "Beau is Afraid"
Spoilerpiece Theatre
Dave is on vacation this week, so Evan and Megan review this week's movies as a duo! We start off with Ari Aster's latest film (2:56), which follows an anxiety-ridden man (Joaquin Phoenix) confronting an escalating series of terrifying situations as he embarks on a Kaufmanesque odyssey home to his mother. We have a LOT to say about this problematic, three-hour, envelope-pushing movie and almost none of it is positive. Next, we cover Lee Cronin's (33:45), the newest entry in the EVIL DEAD franchise, which pits two estranged sisters against the famous flesh-possessing Deaddites. We have a...
info_outline
Episode #457: "Mafia Mamma" and "Showing Up"
Spoilerpiece Theatre
This week we're reviewing MAFIA MAMMA and SHOWING UP! We start by discussing Kelly Reichardt's dramedy (3:22), which stars Michelle Williams as a sculptor trying to pursue her artistic work while contending with the struggles of daily life. Next, we cover Catherine Hardwicke's comedy (27:42), which stars Toni Collette as an American woman who inherits her grandfather's mafia empire in Italy and has to decide how she wants to run her crime family. And in this week's , in honor of its upcoming Amazon Prime Video adaptation, we're talking about David Cronenberg's 1988 thriller/horror film ...
info_outline
Episode #456: "How to Blow Up a Pipeline" and "Joyland"
Spoilerpiece Theatre
We start the show this week by reviewing Saim Sadiq's heartbreaking Pakistani drama (2:58), which is about a man (Ali Junejo) from a patriarchal family who becomes a backup dancer at a burlesque club and falls for the strong-willed trans woman (Alina Khan) who runs the show. Next, we cover Daniel Goldhaber's tense environmental thriller (30:56), which follows a crew of environmental activists who execute a daring plan to disrupt an oil pipeline. And in this week's , in honor of its 30th anniversary, we talk about the 1993 sci-fi action film , starring Sylvester Stallone, Wesley...
info_outline
Episode #455: "Tetris"
Spoilerpiece Theatre
Megan is off this week, so Evan and Dave hit the mics to talk , the surprisingly tense spy thriller (question mark?) about the fraught negotiations between the Soviet government, Nintendo, a couple crooked English billionaires, and Henk Rogers, a coder-turned-game-inventer-turned-game-company-founder. And yes, the KGB gets involved. Over on , Evan and Dave disagree about Brian De Palma's 1981 thriller (indebted enormously to Hitchcock and Antonioni), and starring John Travolta and Nancy Allen.
info_outlineSean Burns joins Evan and Kris this week, vowing to up the episode’s profanity quotient since he’s filling for Dave. But Evan does a pretty good job of that himself, cursing out M. Night Shyamalan’s found footage horror film THE VISIT. Although Evan can’t stand the movie, Kris doesn’t actually hate everything about it and manages to sell Sean on seeing it. After they get through that slog, Sean talks about how entertaining Lily Tomlin is in GRANDMA and how crazy it was seeing her around Sundance with Jane Fonda. Then he wraps everything up with 90 MINUTES IN HEAVEN, the boring Christian film that stars Hayden Christensen with a creepy mustache and drawl. How boring is it? Sean needed three tries to get through it without falling asleep. Given its lack of excitement, it’s not surprising that the guys end up hitting a number of tangents instead of discussing the movie in depth.