The First Run

This week on a special non-holiday version of The First Run, Chris and Matt discuss Matt’s most anticipated film of the year. It’s finally here, Tom Holland stars in Jon Watts’ ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’.  Marvel’s flagship character completes his trilogy with laughs, loves, shocks and thrills.  But can it actually meet Matt’s lofty expectations?  Then, on any other we...

This week on The First Run, Matt’s movie advent calendar lights its second to last candle as we are 1 week away from Spider-Man No Way Home.  To hold Matt over, we’re discussing a film from his favorite genre, musicals.  It’s ‘West Side Story’ from the man who does not miss, Steven Spielberg.  Is now just the right time to unleash upon the world a romantic dramatic tragedy about pot...

This week on The First Run, Chris and Matt discuss Jane Campion’s latest film with a stellar ensemble of Benedict Cumberbatch, Benedict’s Cumberbatch, America’s sweetheart Jesse Plemons, Kirsten Dunst, and Kodi Smith-McPhee in the Netflix original, ‘The Power of The Dog’. A western about masculinity, love, and violence.  Then Paul Verhoeven has entered the twilight years of his career.&n...

This week on The First Run, Chris and Matt discuss the obvious Oscar bait film that is ‘King Richard’.  Does the story of Richard Williams, the drive behind Venus and Serena Williams’ career, give Will Smith the ability to finally net that elusive Best Actor statue?  Then Resident Evil goes the reboot route with ‘Welcome To Raccoon City’.  The film sticks closer to th...

This week on The First Run, Chris and Matt see if you really can go home again.  The latest attempt to revive a beloved franchise, or at least that first film, is helmed by the son of the original director, features appearances of the original cast, and is overstuffed with homages. That’s right, it’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife.  Does it capture the magic of the 1984 original...

On this special episode of TFR Focus, Chris and Matt are joined by Gomez of Playlist Wars to discuss one of his favorite actors and franchises, Nic Cage and National Treasure!  It’s guest’s choice this time as Gomez wants to breakdown Nic Cage and Disney’s National Treasure films.  Not only that, but then the guys tick off their 5 Favorite Nic Cage Performances! All this and mo...

This week on The First Run, Chris and Matt discuss the Netflix blockbuster, per Netflix, ‘Red Notice’.  Featuring 3 of today’s biggest stars!  Has a new action franchise been born?  And is that a good thing?  Then AppleTV+ has their own premiere, featuring America’s Dad, Tom Hanks in a heart-warming tale about the apocalypse.  It’s ‘Finch’! &n...

This week on The First Run, Chris and Matt discuss ‘Eternals’, the latest film from the MCU, directed by your most recent Best Picture and Director winner, one Ms. Chloé Zhao.  Initially concerned it was going to be a gorgeous looking bore, with it also being the lowest rated MCU film on Rotten Tomatoes, can it actually be…good..?  Then Wes Anderson returns with his latest proj...

This week on The First Run, Chris and Matt have another triple feature in store for all you!  First Up, TFR favorite Edgar Wright deliver’s his version of the giallo with a possible dusting of time travel thrown in with, ‘Last Night In Soho’, featuring Thomasin McKenzie and Anya Taylor-Joy. Wright has yet to make a bad film, could this be the first one?  Then it’s on to the hor...

On this special Halloween episode of The First Run, Chris and Matt discuss two Shudder exclusives.  First up it’s the possibly soon-to-be cult classic, the ‘WNUF Halloween Special’.  A film designed to look like a bootleg VHS copy of a local news Halloween Special that goes horribly wrong.  Then the V/H/S anthology series returns with 4 new stories with ‘V/H/S/94’.&nb...

Guys. Holy crap guys. This week, the show is simply bursting with content. First, Chris and Matt discuss the much-anticipated Dune: Part 1, the passion project of First Run favorite Denis Villeneuve. Is it gorgeous? Is it exciting? Is it as weird as its source material? Only one way to find out. Well, two if you count watching yourselves. The guys then give you not one, but two, bonus discussions...

This week on The First Run, Chris and Matt don their bleached Bill Shatner masks and settle for the highest kill count for any Michael Myers film with, ‘Halloween Kills’.  And brother does it ever.  But does a high body count translate to a good film?  Then the Body Horror Marathon continues with Japanese cult classic, ‘Tetsuo: The Iron Man’.  What would you...

This week on The First Run, Chris’ long wait for the Daniel Craig’s final outing as James Bond is over as after multiple delays, ‘No Time To Die’ is finally here.  Matt saw it too.  After all this time and all the self-imposed hype by Chris, can it possible stand up to his lofty expectations and be the perfect send off for Craig?  Then the Body Horror Marathon continu...

This week on The First Run, Chris and Matt check back in with their old buddy Eddie Brock and his symbiotic pal, Venom in ‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’! With the original being as flawed as it was, does director Andy Serkis right the ship and deliver a superior sequel?  Or should we just head to the closest bell tower and be done with it?  Chris shares his thoughts on that Fren...

This week on The First Run, the bois chat about 'CopShop’. Gerard Butler and an almost unrecognizable Frank Grillo glare it up and make threats in this tough guy action-crime film. Then we kick-off the spooky season with ‘The Empty’ Man," a horror film that hits many different genre beats and ends up in a place completely different from where it started. Do we have an undiscovered horror cult clas...

This week on The First Run, Chris and Matt discuss ‘Cry Macho’, as a now 91 year old Clint Eastwood directs and stars in this neo-Western, but has he aged out of the role?  Then BET presents ‘Karen’.  A horror film for our times?  A misguided cry for action?  Or a camp classic?  There’s the thrilling review of the big releases on Physical Media, fe...

This week on the big show, Chris and Matt discuss James Wan's return to the horror genre, "Malignant." Is this the body horror-Giallo-80's-Euro Horror mash-up that EVERYbody has been clamoring for all these years or is this a case of too many ingredients spoiling the stew? Then our mini-marathon of films with a woman's first name kicks-off with Mary Elizabeth Winsted in "Kate," as MEW Jane Wicks h...

This week on The First Run, Chis and Matt discuss the latest film in the MCU as Phase 4 continues with ‘Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings’.  Wait, 10 Rings?  Didn’t we see that in Iron Man 3?  Does Shang-Chi escape its MCU template, or is it just another ride on the same merry-go-around, again?  Then Matt Damon stars in Tom McCarthy’s ‘Stillwater’.  After helming a...

This week on The First Run, Chris and Matt discuss the softest of soft sequels, Nia Dacosta’s ‘Candyman’.  Does this new version live up to the bloody legacy of the first or is this yet another entry in the long line of films that should have been left well enough alone?  Then our Samurai Marathon wraps up with Masaki Kobayashi’s ‘Harakiri’. This is apparently one of the best j...

This week on The First Run, Chris and Matt discuss ‘Reminiscence’.  Hugh Jackman stars in this sci-fi neo-noir as he looks for the missing wrong woman that captured his heart and then disappeared.  Will he like what he finds?  From the mind of Lisa Joy, one of the creators of HBO’s Westworld.  Chris then shares his thoughts about Rebecca Hall and the horror...

This week on The First Run, Chris and Matt discuss the Ryan Reynolds starred comedy, ‘Free Guy’.  Reynolds plays a NPC who gains sentience and begins to long for something more.  And it’s funny! Right?!?  Then the Samurai Marathon continues with ‘The Tale Of Zatoichi’, the first film in the beloved and long-running series.  After the cinematic hurricanes tha...

This week on The First Run, Chris and Matt are joined by friend of the show, Sean to breakdown the DCEU’s potential soft reboot with James Gunn’s ‘The Suicide Squad’. Has the DCEU found their path forward?  Or is a hard R rated superhero film not exactly the best way to obtain mass appeal?  Then our Samurai Marathon continues with the mashup of the first two films in the classic Lone Wol...

This week on The First Run, Chris and Matt discuss David Lowery adaptation of a classic 14th century poem of Camelot with ‘The Green Knight’. Dev Patel stars as Gawain on his quest to become a knight and demonstrate all that title’s characteristics.  Then our Samurai Marathon begins with Kihachi Okamoto’s ‘The Sword Of Doom’! A tale of a samurai slipping into not just madness, but someth...

This week on The First Run, Chris and Matt discuss the newest film in the GI Joe cinematic universe, ‘Snake Eyes: GI Joe Origins’.  We finally get the story behind the franchise’s most popular character as Henry Golden steps into the role.  So does the franchise finally get on the right track? Or have the rolled snake eyes again…? (sorry) Then it’s M. Knight Shyamalan’s latest,...

This week on The First Run, Chris and Matt discuss the anti-John Wick non-revenge film ‘Pig’, featuring Mr. “Yes, I’ll Do It” Nicholas Cage.  A man who doesn’t know how to say no to any project, sometimes may find the diamond in the rough. Could this be one of those times…?  Then it’s on the Amazon Prime sci-fi actioner, ‘The Tomorrow War’.  Chris Pratt leads a fight...