Overinvested

Arriving after a long and scandalous delay at Warner Bros., the latest Looney Tunes movie is a satirical courtroom drama where a personal injury lawyer sues the Acme corporation on behalf of Wile E. Coyote, accusing Acme of selling faulty products. Playing with decades of Looney Tunes tradition, it combines cartoon comedy with an allegorical tale about corporate greed; a premise that coincidentall...

Claire and Gavia discuss their divided reactions to Jane Schoenbrun's acclaimed new horror dramedy Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, which stars Gillian Anderson and Hannah Einbinder in a satirical deconstruction of a Friday the 13th-style slasher movie franchise. Among other topics, this episode digs into the film's use of vintage slasher tropes, its exploration of queer sexuality, and how it...

Morgan and Gavia reunite to discuss Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, an ambitious cinematic endeavour that showcases Nolan's greatest strengths as a filmmaker - along with some of his recurring weaknesses. Among other topics, this episode covers the film's star-studded cast, its relationship with the original poem, and the way Nolan uses an ancient story to explore contemporary anxieties. Also, we...

Claire and Gavia return to discuss the second half of AMC's The Vampire Lestat, delving into the show's wide array of abusive and complicated relationships, this season's increasingly ambitious departures from Anne Rice canon, the divisive nature of the finale, and much more.

Based on a popular creepypasta concept and directed by a 20-year-old filmmaker who started out on YouTube, Backrooms became a runaway hit this summer, helping to kickstart a new wave of film deals for YouTube directors. In this episode, Steffan and Gavia discuss director Kane Parsons' impressive grasp of physical space as a source of horror, the film's underwhelming script, the online origins of t...

Claire and Gavia break down the first three episodes of The Vampire Lestat, discussing the show's drastic tonal shift, its elaborate narrative structure, its bold exploration of abusive relationships - and much, much more. Adapting the iconic novel by Anne Rice, this season focuses more on Lestat's music career than on his historical backstory, reaffirming Interview with the Vampire's place among...

Steven Spielberg's sci-fi conspiracy thriller Disclosure Day continues his career-long fascination with extraterrestrial life. Starring Emily Blunt and Josh O'Connor as two strangers being pursued by a shadowy military contractor, this film is a showcase for Spielberg's blockbuster expertise - although it also features some puzzling attitudes toward religion and conspiracy theories, culminating in...

Claire and Gavia share their mixed feelings on Mother Mary, the stylish new psychological drama by David Lowery (The Green Knight). Exploring the tumultuous relationship between a Lady Gaga-esque pop star (Anne Hathaway) and her former costume designer (Michaela Coel), this genre-defying film incorporates elements of the supernatural into a story about creative collaboration and the destructive po...

Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep return for this smash-hit sequel, pivoting to a surprisingly bleak story about the demise of journalism. Among other topics, our review covers: Emily Blunt’s hilarious performance, the film’s inability to engage with its darker themes, and its depiction of how the magazine industry has changed in the 20 years since the original Devil Wears Prada movie came out.

The latest Mummy movie is a gruesome horror story about demonic possession, marking a departure from the blockbuster style of recent Mummy franchise instalments. It's also a bit of a misfire, so we're using this opportunity to look back at the original 1932 Mummy film, its Ancient Egyptian background, and its overlap with other Pre-Code horror classics like Dracula and Frankenstein.

Claire and Gavia look back at the influential Japanese survival thriller Battle Royale, a violent dystopian tale about a class of teenagers who are forced to fight to the death by their authoritarian government. Often compared to The Hunger Games, this film has a fascinating (and controversial) backstory, with director Kinji Fukasaku drawing inspiration from his own traumatic experiences as a teen...

Steffan and Gavia discuss one of the most influential sci-fi movies of all time: Ridley Scott's Alien. Spawning an iconic franchise and dozens of copycats, Alien is part monster movie, part dystopian thriller, starring Sigourney Weaver in her breakout role. Renowned for its genre-defining production design, this film established a "space trucker" aesthetic for its working-class spaceship setting -...

Ahead of the 2026 Oscars, Claire and Gavia review three Best Picture contenders featuring Oscar-nominated performances: 1950s sports drama Marty Supreme (starring Timothée Chalamet), Brazilian political thriller The Secret Agent (starring Wagner Moura), and the dark comedy thriller Bugonia (Emma Stone's latest project with director Yorgos Lanthimos). Check out our Patreon soon for a more wide-rang...

Steffan and Gavia share their praise for The Bone Temple, Nia DaCosta's deceptively hilarious sequel to 28 Years Later. With Ralph Fiennes and Alfie Williams reprising their roles, Jack O'Connell joins the cast as the sadistic cult leader Jimmy Crystal, offering a new angle on the franchise's dystopian setting. Among other topics, this episode covers the film's distinctive lead performances, its e...

Claire and Gavia reveal their respective top ten lists for the best new movies released in 2025, including some major Oscar contenders (Sinners; One Battle After Another), several cool indie releases (The Shrouds; On Becoming A Guinea Fowl), plenty of queer cinema... and a record number of unexpected wildcard choices.

Claire and Gavia share their thoughts on the hottest show of the moment, breaking down Heated Rivalry's pitch-perfect romantic structure, its subtly insightful depiction of hockey culture, the sizzling chemistry between lead actors Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie, and much more.

Claire and Gavia dig into Stanley Kubrick's iconic Stephen King adaptation The Shining, one of the most influential horror movies ever made. Starring Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall and child actor Danny Lloyd, this film blends toxic family dynamics with supernatural horror, focusing on a young family who decide to spend the winter alone at a secluded mountain hotel. An ideal choice for midwinter v...

Steffan and Gavia share their enthusiastic review of Predator: Badlands, a standalone adventure story that casts a young Predator as the protagonist, teaming up with a perky android (Elle Fanning) to explore an alien planet. Among other topics, this episode covers the excellent casting of breakout star Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, the film's imaginative sci-fi worldbuilding, and director Dan T...

Sticking closer to Mary Shelley's novel than most other adaptations, Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein is the culmination of a lifelong dream. His vision echoes the gothic maximalism of Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula, starring Jacob Elordi as a sympathetic interpretation of Frankenstein's Creature. But does this movie measure up to GDT's past hits? Steffan and Gavia have mixed feelings, delving in...

Claire and Gavia review some highlights from the 2025 London Film Festival, ranging from big upcoming releases (the new Knives Out movie Wake Up Dead Man) to awards contenders (Chloé Zhao's Hamnet) and exciting indie titles like Kelly Reichart's heist drama The Mastermind, and the queer BDSM romcom Pillion, starring Alexander Skarsgard.

Steffan and Gavia review One Battle After Another, widely hailed as the best film of 2025. Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, this comedic thriller displays startlingly bold politics for a Hollywood studio release, telling a gripping story about leftist revolutionaries, racism, and the violence of American border control. Leonardo DiCaprio and Chase Infiniti star as the central father/daughter duo,...

Claire and Gavia share clashing opinions on Spike Lee's new crime thriller Highest 2 Lowest, starring Denzel Washington as a music mogul who faces financial ruin after his son is kidnapped and held to ransom. Remaking Akira Kurosawa's 1960s classic High and Low, it's a divisive new addition to Lee's filmography.

Claire and Gavia delve into David Cronenberg's fascinating erotic thriller Crash, starring James Spader as a man who develops a fetish for car crashes. Divisive and controversial when it first came out in 1996, it's now regarded as one of Cronenberg's greatest films, celebrated for its peculiar characters and unique brand of sexuality.

Steffan and Gavia review Netflix's animated smash-hit KPop Demon Hunters, a fantasy adventure about a demon-hunting KPop girlband. Praised for its brilliant original music and stylish animation, this movie offers a well-observed tribute to KPop and its fandom. But what does its supernatural allegory actually mean?

Steffan and Gavia discuss the first good Superman movie since the Christopher Reeve era, a charming action-comedy from 'Guardians of the Galaxy' director James Gunn. Leaning into zany comicbook lore and the relationship between Clark Kent and Lois Lane, this reboot makes some vague attempts at political commentary - but is mostly about resetting Hollywood's vision of Superman as a lovable American...