Spoilerpiece Theatre

Boston film critics Evan Crean and David Riedel share spoiler-filled reviews of the latest blockbusters and independent films across genres. Oh, and they swear a lot, too. Opening music: "My Life as a God" by Augean Stables. Closing music: "Pants Party" by Oilhead. Show edited by Otto Klammer. Logo design by Rita Csizmadia.

Episode #630: "Tony" 08/07/2026

Episode #630: "Tony" Director and co-writer Matt Johnson's Anthony Bourdain biopic (2:04) wisely focuses on one short period of Bourdain's life: The summer Tony (Dominic Sessa) went to Provincetown, Mass., and worked in a kitchen while trying to woo his high school classmate Nancy (Emilia Jones). This movie isn't afraid to show you what a jerk Bourdain could be, how aimless he was, and how he made wrong decision after wrong decision. With an excellent central performance from Sessa and superior supporting work from Antonio Banderas as the chef/owner of the restaurant where Tony works, and Leo Woodall as a crude colleague, TONY is terrific, and we had a good conversation about it. , we talk about the 1986 film , starring Ralph Macchio and Joe Seneca. /episode/index/show/spoilerpiece/id/42353315

Episode #629: "Spider-Man: Brand New Day 07/31/2026

Episode #629: "Spider-Man: Brand New Day We're slinging into this week's episode...webslinging that is, because we're reviewing (2:22). Tom Holland and Zendaya are back as Peter Parker and MJ, but this time they have to find their way back to each other in the wake of SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME's events. (By the way, how is the last live-action Spider-Man movie already from five years ago?!) With the world having forgotten Peter Parker ever existed, our favorite wall-crawler has to face a powerful new villain while battling his own worst instinct: that he has to handle everything alone. Is it the best Spider-Man movie? Probably not. BRAND NEW DAY has plenty of great ideas, but too many of them feel underdeveloped. It runs longer than it needs to, and at times feels less like a complete story and more like a setup for whatever Marvel has planned next. In other news, in this week's , we're reviewing the winner of our Sam Neill poll, ! /episode/index/show/spoilerpiece/id/42273055

Episode #628: "The Dink" 07/24/2026

Episode #628: "The Dink" Yep, we're reviewing a movie called (1:38), named after a type of shot in Pickleball - a real sport - called a "dink." No, we're not making that up, and yes, Evan and Dave really watched this movie, which stars Jake Johnson, Mary Steenburgen, and Ed Harris. Johnson is a long-washed up tennis player, Steenburgen is his pickleball partner, and Harris is his father. Anyway, one member of Spoilerpiece really liked THE DINK, and one just hated it. Hated it. Can you guess which is the liker and which one isn't? , we talk about the 1986 film , in honor of its fortieth anniversary. /episode/index/show/spoilerpiece/id/42201035

Episode #627: Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey" and Spoilerpiece is 12! 07/17/2026

Episode #627: Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey" and Spoilerpiece is 12! This week Evan and Dave sat side by side in the movie house (notably not an IMAX movie house) to watch (2:44), Christopher Nolan's film of Homer's epic poem. Because after OPPENHEIMER, what do you do? Swords and sandals, obviously. Look, folks. This film is long. But it's engaging, has an incredible score, and Matt Damon gives the performance of this career, along with excellent work from Anne Hathaway, John Leguizamo, Robert Pattinson, Himesh Patel, and Samantha Morton. Evan is on board with the movie, and Dave is, too, though they're both ambivalent about Nolan, and they go down that rabbit hole, too. And Spoilerpiece is 12 years old! Wow! We'd make a joke about time flying, but nah. We just go through some of the ups and downs and then get the hell off the mic. , we talk about . /episode/index/show/spoilerpiece/id/42124085

Episode #626: "Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass" 07/10/2026

Episode #626: "Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass" This week Dave was happy to see (1:34) - Evan less so - a comedy by director David Wain with a screenplay by Wain and Ken Marino, members of the 1990s sketch comedy group "The State." Eight members of "The State" appear, including Marino, and there are a billion celebrity cameos as Kansas hairdresser Gail Daughtry (Zoey Deutch) and her friend Otto run around L.A. trying to find Jon Hamm so she can fuck him (because her fiancé used his celebrity sex pass to bone Jennifer Aniston after a book reading in their town). Yes, it's as absolutely bonkers as it sounds. And if you're not into anti-humor, senseless violence, and intentionally unfunny jokes played completely straight, this may not be the movie for you. But it was for Dave! , we talk about the 1981 slasher . /episode/index/show/spoilerpiece/id/42032055

Episode #625: "Enola Holmes 3" 07/03/2026

Episode #625: "Enola Holmes 3" It's one of those weeks over at Spoilerpiece when one of us is pretty neutral about a movie, and the other is pretty irritated (by the movie; not, like, by life). Such is the quandary of . The Millie Bobby Brown-starring series about Sherlock Holmes younger sister is the kind of thing that makes Evan bristle, and makes Dave pretty - what's the word...noncommital? One thing both Evan and Dave agree on: This movie has a lot of plot for a picture that's pretty short but feels pretty long ("More endings than RETURN OF THE KING," says Evan). eek! Not high praise. , we watch and . /episode/index/show/spoilerpiece/id/41955155

Episode #624: "Lucky Strike" 06/26/2026

Episode #624: "Lucky Strike" Given how many films have been made about WWII, it's impressive when one tells a new story, like Rod Lurie's action drama (1:47), which follows a wounded American soldier (Scott Eastwood) stranded behind enemy lines during the Battle of the Bulge. Scott Eastwood looks more like his dad, Clint, than he ever has, but unfortunately, looks don't mean he inherited his father's charisma. His blandness definitely hurts the movie. Also, its plot follows predictable beats, and not much is really surprising. However, its period accuracy, harrowing encounters with Nazis, and decent war set pieces make it surprisingly watchable. Evan and Dave are split on whether you should see it as well, so they come up with a new rating system for the show. In the this week, Evan and Dave talk about , the winner of our poll of movies with "America" or "American" in the title. It's a really fun conversation, so check it out, Patrons! /episode/index/show/spoilerpiece/id/41828500

Episode #623: The Voices of Our Mother 06/19/2026

Episode #623: The Voices of Our Mother You know, sometimes you spend your young adulthood worshipping Satan, being a dirty heretic basking in the glory of His evil. And then, sometimes, inexplicably, you find God and dedicate your life to him. You even adopt a child and plan to raise her with a steady diet of God's love. And then what does Satan do? HE SHOWS UP ON YOUR DOORSTEP IN THE GUISE OF A CHURCH GARGOYLE AND DECIDES IF HE CAN'T HAVE YOU, HE'S GOING TO POSSESS THE BABY! Satan: What a bastard. So now you have to spend your life with the child attached at your hip, praying the evil away. Meanwhile, the child grows into adulthood, marries some dude, and the dude is semi-infected by your evil and abuses your children, and... Fuck it, it's nuttier than it sounds; just listen to us talk about (2:11) on the episode. Evan and Dave discuss the 1962 . /episode/index/show/spoilerpiece/id/41701870

Episode #622: "Disclosure Day" 06/12/2026

Episode #622: "Disclosure Day" Steven Spielberg's aliens-are-among-us-and-we're-gonna-prove-it blockbuster is out, and Dave and Evan have seen it. And they liked it! Mostly! There are many odd choices in (1:29), but also lots of things that are rather nifty, beginning with Emily Blunt's bravura performance. , we talk about the 1995 anthology film . /episode/index/show/spoilerpiece/id/41623345

Episode #621: "Seven Snipers" 06/05/2026

Episode #621: "Seven Snipers" Not to be confused with , , , , or , it's (2:53), a movie Dave proclaims is not a movie. It's a scenario. And sort of a good one. Just with some of the shittiest execution you've ever seen. First, there's Radha Mitchell as a retired sniper raising her soon-to-be 16-year-old daughter on an isloated farm in Australia. Okay, no problems there. Second, there's word that a nasty AF sniper by played Tim Roth is coming for Mitchell in order to kill her and probably do something else that will be completely obvious to anyone who has ever watched a movie. (Tim Roth as an elite sniper? As fine an actor as Roth is, he is neither Evan nor Dave's first choice to portray a killing machine. But whatever. Moving on.) Third, Mitchell calls in a favor, and one of her old military chums brings himself and four other elite snipers to guard the farm. It begs the question: How much money does elite fomer sniper Mitchell have? Fourth, ALL THESE ELITE SNIPERS STAND IN FRONT OF OPEN WINDOWS IN BROAD DAYLIGHT FOR THE ENTIRE RUNNING TIME. Fifth, enough. Just listen to us tear this thing apart. , we watch Chris Pine's directorial debute . /episode/index/show/spoilerpiece/id/41545030

Episode #620: "Ladies First" 05/29/2026

Episode #620: "Ladies First" Well, we won't mince words: (3:37) is some bullshit. In fact, it may be the worst movie Evan and Dave have seen in 2026 (and we haven't forgotten ). No, LADIES FIRST is a special kind of movie; it's absolutely thoughtless, largely devoid of wit, and it doesn't play by rules it sets for itself. Stars Sacha Baron Cohen and Rosamund Pike, and a largely well-known cast of English acting heavyweights, slum it. This movie is so bad it's kind of a miracle. And it also fails confidently, so take that and it thoughtlessness, and you have a truly mind-blowing piece of shit. , we talk about Ben Affleck's . /episode/index/show/spoilerpiece/id/41462080

Episode #619: "The Mandalorian and Grogu" and "Tuner" 05/22/2026

Episode #619: "The Mandalorian and Grogu" and "Tuner" This week Evan takes a trip George Lucasville with (3:18) and Dave scratches his music itch with (24:08), about a piano tuner-turned-safecracker with the best sound design Dave has heard in a while. , Dave and Evan talk about the asoblutely bonkers 1981 stalker film , starring Lauren Bacall, James Garner, and a very young Michael Biehn. /episode/index/show/spoilerpiece/id/41394710

Episode #618: "LifeHack" 05/15/2026

Episode #618: "LifeHack" This week Evan and Dave take in the latest movie that unfolds entirely on computer screens: . As they both liked , , and , they were down to check out this different scenario, as no one is dead or missing or a ghost. Nah, in this iteration, the four main characters are trying to pull off a massive crypto heist. But the crypto in question is owned by a slimy totally-not-Jeff-Bezos-or-Elon-Musk dude, so needless to say security is tight, and if they get caught THERE MAY BE BLOOD (to coin a phrase). Oh, and there are lots of tangents in this episode. , we discuss , the sequel to...oh, just guess. /episode/index/show/spoilerpiece/id/41305410

Episode #617: "Mortal Kombat II" 05/08/2026

Episode #617: "Mortal Kombat II" 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 MAKE, SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER, FUCK YEAH! Now imagine this same scenario, except instead of TMP it's from 2021, and WRATH OF KHAN is (3:04). That's right. MORTAL KOMBAT II IS FUCKING GANGBUSTERS, THE BEST MORTAL KOMBAT MOVIE ANYONE WILL EVER MAKE (probably), FINISH HIM, MOTHERFUCKER, FUCK YEAH! Or something like that. , we talk about Walter Hill's 1982 classic . /episode/index/show/spoilerpiece/id/41213300

Episode #616: "The Devil Wears Prada 2" 05/01/2026

Episode #616: "The Devil Wears Prada 2" 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. /episode/index/show/spoilerpiece/id/41113740

Episode #615: "Fuze" and "Riedel's Recaps: 'Lorne'" 04/24/2026

Episode #615: "Fuze" and "Riedel's Recaps: 'Lorne'" 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 . /episode/index/show/spoilerpiece/id/41004265

Episode #614: "Normal" and "Outcome" 04/17/2026

Episode #614: "Normal" and "Outcome" 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 Hill's latest turn as director, , starring Keanu Reeves as an actor who's just getting past heroin addiction and rebuilding his life, and trying to repair all the bridges he burned along the way. Somebody should have repaired the fuggin' script. , we talk about the 2009 thriller . /episode/index/show/spoilerpiece/id/40907045

Episode #613: "Hamlet" and Riedel's Recaps with "Project Hail Mary" and "Undertone" 04/10/2026

Episode #613: "Hamlet" and Riedel's Recaps with "Project Hail Mary" and "Undertone" 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. /episode/index/show/spoilerpiece/id/40800195

Episode #612: "The Drama" and "Pretty Lethal" 04/03/2026

Episode #612: "The Drama" and "Pretty Lethal" 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. , we talk about the 1990 action-thriller starring Jamie Lee Curtis and directed by Kathryn Bigelow. /episode/index/show/spoilerpiece/id/40720065

Episode #611: “She Dances" 03/27/2026

Episode #611: “She Dances" 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. /episode/index/show/spoilerpiece/id/40639600

Episode #610: “War Machine" 03/20/2026

Episode #610: “War Machine" 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. /episode/index/show/spoilerpiece/id/40551100

Episode #609: “Sacred to Death" 03/13/2026

Episode #609: “Sacred to Death" (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 /episode/index/show/spoilerpiece/id/40446775

Episode #608: “The Bride!” and “Scream 7" 03/06/2026

Episode #608: “The Bride!” and “Scream 7" 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 than that? Take a listen to find out! , we talk about the 2007 action film . /episode/index/show/spoilerpiece/id/40341910

Episode #607: “Send Help” and “This is Not a Test" 02/27/2026

Episode #607: “Send Help” and “This is Not a Test" February is a notoriously slow month for film releases, so we took in a couple movies that were released in the past month, Sam Raimi's (2:53), starring Rachel McAdams and Dylan O'Brien as an employee and her boss playing mind games as they attempt to survive on an island following a plane crash; and (15:20), about a group of high schoolers hunkered down in their school, trying to survive a fast-zombie apocalypse. , we had you vote on Robert Duvall movies, and you chose . /episode/index/show/spoilerpiece/id/40250315

Episode #606: “How to Make a Killing" 02/20/2026

Episode #606: “How to Make a Killing" This week Evan and Dave buckled in for the new Glen Powell thriller-comedy (1:50). While Evan largely enjoyed it, he agreed with Dave that it had a boatload of problems. , we watched the 1986 slasher flick . /episode/index/show/spoilerpiece/id/40175120

Episode #605: "Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die" 02/13/2026

Episode #605: "Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die" Dave and Evan were looking forward to Gore Verbinski's (3:22). And then they saw the bloody thing. We'll let you listen and hear our thoughts rather than spill them here. But if you'd like a preview, here's . , we talk about the 2024 thriller , by the director of . /episode/index/show/spoilerpiece/id/40096455

Episode #604: "Whistle" 02/06/2026

Episode #604: "Whistle" Evan and Dave settle in to talk about the horror film (1:30), whose marketing tagline is "Don't Blow It." Well, one of us thinks this derivative, bloody as hell, tonally confused schlockfest, which has countless references to other horror movies, blew it, and the other doesn't. Which co-host is which, you wonder? (Take a wild guess.) Over on Patreon, we talk about the wacko 1989 action comedy /episode/index/show/spoilerpiece/id/40017195

Episode #603: “Islands” and “A Private Life” 01/30/2026

Episode #603: “Islands” and “A Private Life” It's Megan's final episode on Spoilerpiece, and we're very happy to send her off with lively conversations. First up is (5:41), a slow burn thriller about a tennis instructor (Sam Riley) at an island resort who falls in with an unhappy English couple (Stacy Martin and Jack Farthing) and their young son. We all really dug this picture, and think Riley is great in the lead role. Then it's on to (30:11), a sort-of comedy, sort-of thriller set in Paris, with Jodie Foster as a psychotherapist who's convinced that one of her patients was murdered. But how is she going to prove it? By making lots and lots of bad (but comic) decisions, including dragging her ex-husband into the adventure. The movie is tonally all over the place, but we all found things to like in it (particularly Megan, who is a bona fide Jodie Foster fan). , we talk about the 1995 movie . /episode/index/show/spoilerpiece/id/39932900

Episode #602: "H is for Hawk," "Dooba Dooba," and "The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo" 01/23/2026

Episode #602: "H is for Hawk," "Dooba Dooba," and "The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo" This week, Megan tells Dave and Evan about (2:48), based on Helen MacDonald's memoir about losing their beloved father and, while grieving, adopting a stubborn hawk. Then all three of them talk about (11:31). This found footage horror film rubbed them all the wrong way. Some of them really wrong. Finally, Megan and Evan discuss (36:46). Both Evan and Megan were moved by this movie's embrace of queer joy while it's simultaneously an AIDS allegory. , we watch the Safdie Brothers' 2017 film /episode/index/show/spoilerpiece/id/39847395

Episode #601: "The Choral" and "The Rip" 01/16/2026

Episode #601: "The Choral" and "The Rip" Before 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! (5:50) and (24:12) could not be less alike if they're directors ( and , 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. , we pay tribute to Rob Reiner and talk about . /episode/index/show/spoilerpiece/id/39758330

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