Filmspotting

From the suffocating tension of open-ocean survival and alcohol-fueled marital warfare, to the isolated terrors of demonic cabins and haunted bedrooms, Adam and Josh break down their Top 5 Single Location Movies. Unlock the full archive, Filmspotting Discord, ad‑free + bonus episodes, and more when you ⁠join the Filmspotting Family⁠ . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Matt and Jordan punch their tickets to an alternate reality to review Ladies First , the new Netflix comedy starring Sacha Baron Cohen and Rosamund Pike. They break down the film's (mostly good!) relentless barrage of gags, its terrifyingly plausible marketing pitches, and whether it successfully navigates the edgy tightrope of workplace comedy. But before they talk Ladies First , they have to tal...

Adam sits down with legendary actor Tony Leung ( In the Mood for Love, Chungking Express ) to discuss his brilliant career and his new starring role in Ildiko Enyedi’s Silent Friend . Then Adam and Josh share their thoughts on the meditative multi-era drama itself, followed by reviews of Alberto Vasquez’s Spanish animated feature Decorado and Olivier Assayas's The Wizard of the Kremlin...

From the timeless, unadorned perfection of early cinematic icons to the textured, battle-tested tactical gear of modern blockbusters, Adam and Josh (and some special guests) share their Top 5 Superhero Costumes and explore what makes a costume truly legendary. Unlock the full archive, Filmspotting Discord, ad‑free + bonus episodes, and more when you ⁠join the Filmspotting Family ⁠. See omnystudio....

In the first installment of a semi-regular series, Matt and Jordan take a break from reviewing a single film in order to interrogate an entire streaming platform: the industry juggernaut, Netflix. They dissect it across five crucial categories—library size, playback interface, reliability, originals, and price. The goal? Nothing less than determining the greatest service of all time. Then fo...

15 years after its release, Adam and Josh return to the 1950s Waco of Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life . They discuss Malick’s bold attempt to voice the divine, mapping the books of Job and Genesis onto his narrative, and his attempt to reconcile the beauty of creation with the reality of suffering. Plus, details about Filmspotting Fest II: 68 Weeks Later, and a new poll that attempt...

Adam and Josh review Sophy Romvari’s debut feature Blue Heron , a semi-autobiographical "memory piece" that follows a Hungarian immigrant family on Vancouver Island in the late 1990s. They discuss Romvari’s distinct "observational elegance," the film’s striking meta-elements, and how it stacks up against other recent memory-focused masterworks like Aftersun . Plus, a look at why...

From the outlaw poetry of Badlands to the cosmic spirituality of The Tree of Life , this week's Archive episode has Adam and Josh counting down the five most indelible moments from one of cinema's most elusive auteurs. Expect plenty of hushed voiceovers and magic-hour cinematography. Unlock the full archive, Filmspotting Discord, ad‑free + bonus episodes, and more when you ⁠join the Filmspotting F...

This week, Matt and Jordan flip for the conch to discuss the BBC’s new four-part adaptation of  The Lord of the Flies , now streaming on Netflix. The duo dives deep into Jack Thorne’s "cinematic" take on the classic novel, debating the effectiveness of its character-focused structure and its haunting visual palette. For Rec Seg!, they've got Flies -inspired recommendations that ra...

Adam and Josh continue Filmspotting’s Dissident Cinema Marathon with its second entry, Roberto Rossellini’s Rome, Open City . Made in the immediate aftermath of Nazi occupation and against the backdrop of a country still in crisis, the film merges neorealist observation with the tension and structure of a spy thriller. The conversation explores how the movie captures resistance not as...

Meryl Streep is back as Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada 2 , and what better way to pay tribute to the best to ever do it than with a Top 5 devoted exclusively to her? Adam and Josh attempt to narrow down five decades of legendary work into a handful of essential scenes, ranging from Streep’s emotional precision in Sophie's Choice and Kramer vs. Kramer to her charming looseness in A...

Adam and Josh discuss how The Devil Wears Prada 2 softens Miranda Priestly’s edges and why, despite mealy‑mouthed social commentary, the legacy sequel mostly works as comfort viewing. Along the way, they make the case that Meryl Streep is still the movie’s true luxury item. Plus: is it time for a Fitspotting spinoff?  Links - Andy’s Best Dress   - Chanel's Haute Couture...

As the 2019 edition of Madness – Best of the 2000s wrapped up, Adam and Josh took a break from the heavy hitters to highlight the gems that didn't make the 64-film bracket, including underseen comedies from Jack Black and Seann William Scott, an ambitious "docu-fantasia" from Guy Maddin, and even some deeper cuts from A-list directors like Ridley Scott and Robert Zemeckis. Unlock the full ar...

Matt and Jordan see if Netflix’s massive rom-com hit  People We Meet on Vacation (starring "generational talent" Emily Bader) lives up to its 50-million-stream hype. Does the film successfully invert the When Harry Met Sally formula, or is it just a beautiful travelogue hampered by a "charisma vacuum"? Later, Jordan recommends an under-seen 2023 indie mafia drama, and Matt invites us to...

First up in Filmspotting’s Dissident Cinema Marathon, Adam and Josh discuss Charlie Chaplin’s 1940 satire  The Great Dictator . They explore how comedy becomes a weapon against fascism, the film’s surprising prescience and moral clarity, and the risks Chaplin took by calling out authoritarian power before much of the world was willing to do so. Links: -Filmspotting Marathons...

Adam and Josh draft their way through the summer movie slate, weighing everything from major studio events like The Odyssey and Disclosure Day to director-driven wild cards such as Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma and Power Ballad . Also, the Filmspotting '40s Madness champion and plans for Madness '27 (and beyond). This episode is presented by ⁠ Regal Unlimited⁠⁠ , the all-you-can-watch movie...

Adam and Josh discuss Mother Mary , the new film from David Lowery starring Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel. Part ghost story, part concert film, part chamber drama, the film traces the fraught creative and emotional bond between a pop star and her longtime collaborator as questions of art and control blur together. The conversation explores the film’s woozy dream-logic filmmaking and the mo...

The transition from spring to summer has long meant more than just a change in the weather; it marks the arrival of the definitive movie‑going season. In May 2022, Adam and Josh looked back at the most significant stretches of cinematic history for their Top 5 Movie Summers, ranked by the strength of their legendary slates, their cultural impact, and that unmistakable feeling of a sweltering July...

This week on Filmspotting: SVU, Matt and Jordan tackle the new Netflix action-thriller  Apex , starring Charlize Theron and Taryn Egerton. Inspired by Matt Damon’s recent comments on "the Netflix note," the duo investigates whether this Australia-set survival story is better than the average streaming title or another victim of Netflix's "house style" that caters to people doing the dis...

Adam is joined by critic Chris Klimek to discuss Steven Soderbergh's latest, The Christophers . Starring Ian McKellen and Michaela Coel, the film centers on the uneasy power dynamic between a once-celebrated artist and the forger drawn into his orbit. The conversation focuses on McKellen’s bracing late-career performance, Coel’s controlled counterpoint, and Soderbergh and screenwriter...

Is Casablanca the best film of the 1940s? Adam and Josh put it to the test in a head‑to‑head showdown with its fiercest competitor: Citizen Kane. As part of the Filmspotting Pantheon Project — and on the occasion of Kane’s 85th anniversary — the conversation digs into what each film says about America, power, and the promise (or illusion) of individualism. They also trace how the...

A24 may have launched modestly in the early 2010s, but it didn’t take long for the indie distributor to reshape American cinema. To mark the company’s first decade — spanning Spring Breakers and The Bling Ring through Moonlight , Lady Bird , The Florida Project , and more — Adam and Josh convened the debut Filmspotting Draft in August 2022: ten A24 titles each, no shared pi...

Matt and Jordan return with a review of Balls Up, debating if the Peter Farrelly formula still works on the small screen and whether they can actually recommend a movie involving cocaine-addicted crocodiles. Later, Matt revisits Empire Records , Jordan goes back to 1935 with The 39 Steps , and the team plays the first-ever round of "Key Chain." (Ep. #169) (Timecodes/chapters may not be precise wit...

Adam and Josh honor the late Robert Duvall with a Top 5 discussion of the scenes that best capture his range, authority, and restraint. From iconic bravura moments to quieter displays of control and vulnerability, the conversation traces performances that continue to define Duvall’s place in American cinema. Plus, the ’40s Madness bracket narrows to its Final 4 contenders. This episode...

After reviewing The Godfather in 2022 for the film's 50th anniversary, Adam and Josh devoted a bonus show to — arguably — its even greater sequel. For the first time, we're sharing that review in the main Filmspotting feed. Unlock the full archive, Filmspotting Discord, ad‑free + bonus episodes, and more when you ⁠join the Filmspotting Family⁠ . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy...