Critique-Opolis

Send us Fan Mail We're back! Did you miss us?? On this week's episode of Critique-o-polis, not only does Jay have a yummy recipe to recommend, but we also watched an excellent feel good movie, "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" directed by Ben Stiller. Sidenote: Jay thinks that he might have forgotten to mention the title during our recording, so we will make sure to mention it...

Send us Fan Mail Strength is measured in a number of different ways. Some think it's a question of how much you think you can lift. Others think it's a question of how many times you can get up after being beaten. We tripped across a documentary about a quirky, lazy eyed, bearded, smoking runner who developed the most brutal endurance race known to man, known as the Barkley Marathon.  Fu...

Send us Fan Mail We did two shorts and as a result the description is going to be even shorter. Just Start is an exploration of a woman who overcomes trauma seen through the lens of a guy who could make New Balance commercials. Don't write it off, it might impress you. Stranger's Pawn - a Chess pro with an attitude couldn't see this Chess move coming from five feet away. Directed by...

Send us Fan Mail William Friedkin tested himself in 1977 with the production of Sorcerer. Employing a seasoned cast including Roy Scheider, Bruno Cremer, Francisco Rabal and Amidou. He retells the story of the 1953 The Wages of Fear, (film created from the French novel Le Salaire de La Peur). Four principle characters from different parts of the globe engage in activities that necessitate their de...

Send us Fan Mail And you thought prior to 1993 all Clint Eastwood could do was Westerns and Shoot-em ups. Heartfelt, character driven themes set in the not too distant past would at first glance to be outside of his wheelhouse especially in that time period. Now what if I told you old Clint picked up the helm of a Steven Spielberg project that Steve-a-reeno just couldn't find the time for. No...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome back to another exciting episode of Critique-Opolis! Today, your favorite hosts, Jay and Louisa are discussing the movie "Fandango" (starring, yes a young Kevin Costner). Director Kevin Reynolds made "Fandango" in 1985. But before making a feature length film, "Fandango" had its roots in a short film also by Kevin Reynolds called "Proof.&...

Send us Fan Mail In our latest episode of your favorite movie critique podcast, Jay (mostly Jay) and Louisa discuss the movie "Now You See Me." Louisa is particularly excited because the "Now You See Me" movies have become a franchise. There will eventually be at least 4 movies, with the third one set to come out in November 2025.  "Now You See Me" was a fun and excit...

Send us Fan Mail This movie should have been titled "Titan: The Stockton Rush Disaster." We watched this Netflix account of the most narcissistic and self centered deep submersible pseudo diving professional the universe saw fit to create. Join us on this analysis of how entitlement and monstrous ego led to a half baked submersible company, years of corporate intimidation, a legacy of ig...

Send us Fan Mail In his latest summer tentpole for Apple, Brad Pitt plays race car driver Sonny Hayes, whose race car career is probably over, but then Sonny's friend Ruben Cervantes played by Javier Bardem, finds Sonny doing his laundry at a local laundromat and convinces Sonny to think about coming back to the APXGP team for their next race. Just when Ruben thinks that Sonny will be a no sh...

Send us Fan Mail We're back! Today, we chat about a documentary - Pee Wee as Himself directed by Matt Wolf. Jay has been a big fan of Pee Wee since childhood. He has introduced Louisa to Pee Wee in recent years, including the viewing of Pee Wee's Big Adventure which Louisa enjoyed! : ) You should check it out if you have never seen it before.  In this two part series we learn about Paul...

Send us Fan Mail George Clooney heads another quality ensemble cast as Matt King, in this 2011 Oscar winner for Best Adapted Screenplay.  Matt is a real estate and trust attorney attorney in Hawaii charged with shepherding the sale of 25,000 acres of prime Hawaiian oceanfront property that has been in his family for centuries.  All while dealing with his wife who is slowly dying after a boating ac...

Send us Fan Mail The Cinetopia Film Festival has hit Ann Arbor and our Saturday pick was 'How To Build a Library'.  2025 Kenyan-American documentary film, directed and produced by Maia Lekow and Christopher King. It follows Shiro Koinange and Angela Wachuka, as they restore McMillan Memorial Library, Nairobi .  Kenyan publisher Angela Wachuka and writer Shiro (Wanjiku) Koinange quit thei...

Send us Fan Mail This 1997 action/romance starring Val Kilmer and Elizabeth Shue is one of Jay's personal favorites!  This flic has it all!  Espionage, disguises, cool tech gear (for the 1990's), chases, and a love story that works between 2 characters who actually have palpable on-screen chemistry. With an absolutely kick-ass soundtrack that reflects the time it was made - heavy on the...

Send us Fan Mail Rami Melek and Lawrence Fishburn take on the espionage genre in this new spy thriller.  Here's the twist, Rami's just a big nerd who happens to work at the CIA.  But when his wife is killed, can he leverage his keyboard crypto-jockey talents into a cold-blooded, protein-eating, super assassin to avenge his wife?  Especially with  both the killers and Langley hot on his t...

Send us Fan Mail Jobs for writers in L.A. for TV shows and original projects took a steep decline.  We get into it.   Also, Jay has 'feelings' to say the least about the all-ladies Blue Origin trip.  Yes, it's been covered but not yet by the bald honey guy and he has a bit of a meltdown.  Worth a listen.

Send us Fan Mail Wes Anderson is back with his latest joint. Benicio del Toro takes center stage as an ailing arms dealer who has to navigate the transition of his empire to his only daughter who just happens to be a holy rolling woman of the cloth (that's a nun for the uninitiated). An all star cast rounds out this ensemble including Tom Hanks, Willem Dafoe, Benedict Cumberbatch, Scarlett Jo...

Send us Fan Mail A heartfelt goodbye to one of our favorite Hollywood heartthrobs, Val Kilmer with his recent passing we thought that we would take a moment to recap his illustrious career. From Real Genius to Willow to Top Gun to The Doors. Val was a consummate professional and an actor's actor who handled everything from humor to drama. He always left the audience wanting more and left the...

Send us Fan Mail Quick viewing for anyone who is sick of paying for content!  We checked out three short films available on YouTube for free! Cautionary Tales - Aaron attends a support group for people with afflictions of urban legends popularized by children and finds out there is someone for everyone. Room 8 - A prison inmate meets his new bunkmate and his curiosity gets the better of him as it...

Send us Fan Mail In a somewhat rare occurrence, Louisa takes charge of this episode discussing some of her opinions on some of the current 2025 Oscar nominations. As Jay and Louisa are recording their latest Podcast episode the 2025 Academy Awards are underway in Hollywood, California. Louisa asks the question, what exactly does it mean to be a Best Picture?? How can "you" pick just one...

Send us Fan Mail Today, Jay and Louisa discuss several different topics, ranging from studio related discussions to the very passionate subjects of what is happening within the James Bond Franchise and Jay's favorite Heat 2 ... Sequel, acting/casting speculations.  We discuss a few in development projects as well. Thank you, J.K. Simmons and Plan B. 

Send us Fan Mail Anthony Hopkins drives this one forward, literally, in a biographical story of New Zealander Burt Munro and his modified 1920s Indian Scout Motorcycle. Directed by Roger Donaldson, Hopkins takes us on a journey from Burt's native New Zealand all the way to the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. Armed with a burning desire to set a land speed record, Munro's chipper personali...

Send us Fan Mail This afternoon, Jay and Louisa discuss the latest Dailies email with a focus from Louisa on WICKED! Namely, the heavy marketing that came before the release of WICKED as well as the continued merchandise filled marketing for the promotion of Part 1. Louisa tries to give a good detailed review, but really she just thinks that you should go see it and be totally amazed.  We discuss...

Send us Fan Mail In today's episode we discuss the 1984 film Romancing the Stone. Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito star in this action packed, adventure filled movie, romance novelist, Joan Wilder (Kathleen Turner) travels to Colombia to help rescue her sister, Elaine (Mary Ellen Trainor) who has been kidnapped. Joan soon finds herself in the middle of several "bad guys&...

Send us Fan Mail Two unlikely neighbors bond over their everyday routine. They invent an outdoor sports game that they enjoy playing together after work to let off everyday stress and just to hang out in general. One day, Michael and Andy go to Michael's doctor's visit together and get some sad news. Michael decides to go through with assisted suicide, but to get the medication, Michael...

Send us Fan Mail Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven) vs Matthew Mcconaughey.  We squeezed in two flics for fun.  I know we said we were going to cover 'Paris, Texas' but we are having trouble tracking down a digital download that doesn't require a subscription. For this go around we cover the excess portrayed in Entourage while Vince, Ari, and the boys navigate Hollywood in Vince's opus ef...