Episode #617: "Mortal Kombat II"
Spoilerpiece Theatre
Imagine it's 1979. You queue up to see STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE over the holidays. You're super psyched. Not since "Space Seed" have you been so high on the idea of boarding the Enterprise. And then you see ST:TMP and feel like you'd have more fun watching a documentary of William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy talking about taking a shit than you would watching that bloated, dull, space opera. Now imagine it's 1982. You queue up to watch WRATH OF KHAN because it can't be worse than TMP, right? And not only is it not worse, IT'S FUCKING GANGBUSTERS, THE BEST STAR TREK MOVIE ANYONE WILL EVER...
info_outline
Episode #616: "The Devil Wears Prada 2"
Spoilerpiece Theatre
This week Evan and Dave dive into (and by extension, its predecessor DARBY O'GILL AND THE LITTLE PEOPLE). They're both recently (re)acquainted with from 2006, and they're into the movie's plot driver: The dying journalism industry. But TDWP2 is a movie that wants to have some real-world commentary while also providing escapism, so...does it work? Eh? In any event, it's lovely to Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, and Stanley Tucci sharing a movie screen again. , we talk about the 2007 thriller with Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke.
info_outline
Episode #615: "Fuze" and "Riedel's Recaps: 'Lorne'"
Spoilerpiece Theatre
This week Dave touches briefly on the documentary (3:10), about the "Saturday Night Live" creator Lorne Michaels. Then he and Evan talk about (4:25), the latest from director David Mackenzie, probably known best for (listen to our take , with our first co-host Kris Jenson; we covered Mackenzie's ). In FUZE, a British Army major tries to defuse an undetonated World War II bomb in central London while a group of diamond thieves uses the brouhaha surrounding it as cover for a heist. , we talk about the 1996 comedy-drama .
info_outline
Episode #614: "Normal" and "Outcome"
Spoilerpiece Theatre
This week Dave checked out the new Bob Odenkirk splatter-fest, . Odenkirk co-wrote the story and stars as a temp sheriff who's sent to the tiny burg of Normal, Minn., to hold things down until the town has a special election in eight weeks to replace their recently deceased big cheese law man. But as fate would have it (and contrivance), he finds himself knee-deep in Yakuza money and town is so corrupt that even the lady who owns the yarn store is in on the deal. So, is NORMAL Odenkirk's next ? Nah. (How's that for alliteration?) But it has its moments. Then Evan and Dave talk about Jonah...
info_outline
Episode #613: "Hamlet" and Riedel's Recaps with "Project Hail Mary" and "Undertone"
Spoilerpiece Theatre
This week Evan and Dave bring back that ol' chestnut, "Riedel's Recaps," and Dave gives expletive-laden mini-reviews for and (2:28). Then they move on to the main feature this week, (7:50). Yep! Someone made HAMLET again! This adaptation stars Riz Ahmed as the title character, and Dave and Evan are of mixed feelings about this one. , we talk about from 1982.
info_outline
Episode #612: "The Drama" and "Pretty Lethal"
Spoilerpiece Theatre
This week Dave takes in (4:17), writer-director Kristoffer Borgli's uneasy drama (with lots of comedy) about an engaged couple, Emma and Charlie (Zendaya and Robert Pattinson). When Emma tells Charlie about the worst thing she's ever done, it sparks a crisis that builds in the week leading up to their wedding. (And it was shot in Massachusetts!) Then Evan and Dave come down on opposite sides of the fence for (24:39), and action-thriller featuring a group of ballerinas battling their way out of a mob-owned hotel in rural Hungary. Uma Thurman has a lot of fun chewing the scene as the heavy. ,...
info_outline
Episode #611: “She Dances"
Spoilerpiece Theatre
This week Evan and Dave take in , written by star Steve Zahn along with its director, Rick Gomez. Zahn is fine form in this drama (with lots of welcome comedy) about a father chaperoning his daughter (played by Zahn's daughter Audrey) to a dance competition while they both deal with an incalcuable loss. Zahn and Gomez call in favors from friends Ethan Hawke and Michael Cudlitz, both welcome in small but poignant roles. , we talk about the 1986 film by Oliver Stone.
info_outline
Episode #610: “War Machine"
Spoilerpiece Theatre
This week Evan and Dave take a look at (1:50), a sort of mean-spirited PREDATOR clone/rip off without the solid acting, story, direction or humor. But at least we had fun talking about it! , we talk about the 1986 buddy-cop film with Gregory Hines and Billy Crystal.
info_outline
Episode #609: “Sacred to Death"
Spoilerpiece Theatre
(3:10) is a horror comedy that isn't particularly funny or horrific, but it does feature horror icons Lin Shaye and Bill Moseley, so that's great! (Oh, and Rae Dawn Chong shows up, too. Yay!) The story, however, is one of those nifty ideas - filming a seance in a haunted orphanage that was run by a Satan worshipper (neat!) - that falls flat. The lore doesn't add up, the characters are dopes, and the pacing is off. We don't like to give lower budgeted features a hard time, but we couldn't find much to like here. , we watch Paul Feig's 2025 thriller
info_outline
Episode #608: “The Bride!” and “Scream 7"
Spoilerpiece Theatre
This week Dave checked out Maggie Gyllenhaal's latest film as writer-director, (1:42), a reimagining of Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" novel and its various film iterations. Starring Jessie Buckley as The Bride (exclamation point) and Christian Bale as The Monster, it's a roller coaster ride that doesn't have either the thrills or chills one may expect, and its stale plotting can't prop up its more ambitious social commentary. And because there was no critics' screening for (14:07), Evan and Dave hit the local multiplexes to see it. Is it the shitshow everyone seems to think, or is it better...
info_outlineBefore we start talking movies, Megan has some news. Then: We often say on Spoilerpiece that movies we select to review end up being thematically related, even when we don't intend them to be. Well, not today, gang! THE CHORAL (5:50) and THE RIP (24:12) could not be less alike if they're directors (Nicholas Hytner and Joe Carnahan, respectively) made conscious decisions to make them live on opposite ends of the movie spectrum. Evan and Dave take on THE CHORAL (Megan had screener problems), an all-over-the-place drama about a chorus putting together a performance under the heavy cloud of World War I. Ralph Fieness is great. Everything else? Hmm... Then there's THE RIP (and if you forget what this flick is called, it will remind you), which all of us watched. This police thriller about some Miami PD cops seizing a giant stash of cartel money has some tense moments, but overall we didn't love it (even if we didn't hate it). Though we ackowledge Ben Affleck blows the roof off this one. Matt Damon? Not so much. Over on Patreon, we pay tribute to Rob Reiner and talk about A FEW GOOD MEN.