The NO NOTES Podcast

Luca Guadagnino serves up a sizzling ace of a movie with his new tennis love triangle, 'Challengers.' 'Challengers' screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes stops by to discuss his inspirations for the script, collaborating with Luca Guadagnino , how WWE impacted storytelling, and what he thinks of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross ' soundtrack. Host: Gabriel Frieberg Producer: Pavlo Melnyk M...

Luca Guadagnino serves up a sizzling ace of a movie with his new tennis love triangle, 'Challengers' Jesse Aaronson joins the show, and he and Schmear break down every aspect of the Zendaya -starring film, including the performances, the story, the direction, and that pulse-quickening score (3:47) . They then assess the psychosexual genre, and provide some further recommendations to check...

(Originally posted April 24th) On a very special episode of the SchmearCast, legendary filmmaker Ed Zwick ( Glory, The Last Samurai, Blood Diamond) discusses his amazing new movie memoir, ‘Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions.’ Teddy Kim helps The Schmear interview Zwick . Together, they discuss Zwick ’s illustrious career, covering what it’s like to work with elite actors like Denzel Washington , how...

On a very special episode of the SchmearCast, legendary filmmaker Ed Zwick ( Glory, The Last Samurai, Blood Diamond) discusses his amazing new movie memoir, ‘Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions.’ Teddy Kim helps The Schmear interview Zwick . Together, they discuss Zwick ’s illustrious career, covering what it’s like to work with elite actors like Denzel Washington , how to conceive story structure, a...

Sena Adjei returns to the show as he and The Schmear break down Dev Patel , going bananas, in his new revenge thriller ' Monkey Man ,' hailed as the “Indian John Wick" (4:00) They discuss Patel ’s performance in front of and behind the camera, as well as the fiery politics, before suggesting some unsung talent they’d like to see lead their own action thriller (29:00). Next—maybe just...

The episode kicks off with “What Schmear’s Watching” and a brief highlighting of 'We Were the Lucky Ones,' 'Girls State' and 'STEVE! (Martin)' (2:30). Will Iannaconne joins the show to break down the new Netflix series, 'Ripley.' He and The Schmear discuss what makes the Tom Ripley character eternally alluring (7:30) before diving into the unique elements of this pr...

Kicking things off with an in-depth breakdown of Netflix’s 3 Body Problem. Sci-Fi aficionado and Three-Body book-reader Joseph Piaker joins the show as he and The Schmear discuss where the new Benioff and Weiss series succeeds and where it comes up short (2:00) , before digging in to how the show REALLY is doing and if we can expect a Season 2 order (31:00) . We wrap up discussing 3 Body ’s real-l...

Author and ScreenCrush editor and critic Matt Singer joins the show to talk all things ‘Road House.’ He and The Schmear reappraise the 1989 Patrick Swayze -led OG (3:23) and then review the new Jake Gyllenhaal version currently streaming on Prime Video (12:37).  Next, Teddy Kim returns to the show as he and Schmear Hunter provide a spoiler-free primer for the new Netflix series 'The Three-Body...

This week’s SchmearCast is a long-awaited return to the Criterion Corner. The episode kicks off with “What Schmear’s Watching” and a brief highlighting of recent series including ‘Shōgun,’ ‘God Save Texas,' ‘The Regime,’ ‘Manhunt,’ and ‘The Dynasty: New England Patriots.' (1:46) Then Jesse Aaronson returns as we resume the "Criterion Challenge." We discuss Criterion getting some...

The 2024 Oscars results were fairly expected, right? Lucas Murphy and The Schmear Hunter dig into some far more interesting macro trends, break down the telecast's best and worst moments, and forecast what next year's awards might look like (02:18). The two then review one of the most electrifying new films of the year, Rose Glass ' A24 neo-noir thriller 'Love Lies Bleeding' st...

The film event of the year? The best sci-fi movie since The Empire Strikes Back? The biggest epic since Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers ? Sena Adjei joins the show to help The Schmear Hunter break down every aspect of Denis Villeneuve's new film, Dune: Part 2 . They set the stage, providing some context and lead-up, before diving into plot specifics (23:14) . The episode wraps with a discuss...

Berlinale 2024 has come and gone, and here to break it all down is Deputy Culture Editor for Euronews, David Mouriquand .  We give our big-picture thoughts on the festival (1:32) before diving into some festival lowlights (10:11) . We then rank our Top 5 favorite films of the festival (23:40) before covering some other notable releases and the award winners (54:00) . Host: Gabriel Frieberg Produce...

We open with some on-the-ground coverage of this year's especially fraught Berlinale, digging into the film festival's political undercurrents ( 2:38) . Teddy Kim comes by to close the case on True Detective: Night Country . We dive under the ice to unpack the finale (9:13) before discussing some big-picture thoughts and the series' overall reception (34:22) . Next, it's a trip to...

Kicking things off with a review of the bleak box office and the Sandworm-sized savior on the horizon, before diving into some fascinating undercurrents from last week's TCAs, including the future of FX and a ranking of Schmear 's most anticipated upcoming Apple TV+ series (1:28) Sena Adjei returns to the show to wrap up our conversation on Mr. and Mrs. Smith . We break down Episodes 5-8 (...

We kick things off with an ultra-fast recap and analysis of Sundance 2024, along with Schmear 's rankings of what he saw (2:27). Sena Adjei comes on to talk the new Donald Glover / Maya Erskine series, Mr & Mrs. Smith . We discuss the series' tumultuous development yet impressive and stylish end product (14:14). We then dive into the specifics of Episodes 1-4 (35:10). Jesse Aaronson sw...

In "What I'm Watching," The Schmear Hunter briefly shares his thoughts on Wonka , All Of Us Strangers , and the new Apple TV series Masters of the Air (1:30). Teddy Kim comes by to help break down Episode 3 of True Detective: Night Country (6:35). Is the mystery deepening or is the series just spinning its wheels? Lucas Murphy joins the pod to discuss two of the buzziest shows of Jan...

The Schmear Hunter rants and raves about the unfortunate Oscar nominations (2:06) and gives some big picture thoughts. Teddy Kim comes on to break down Ep 2 of True Detective (17:51). I liked it more than Ep 1, and he liked it less—find out why. For Criterion Corner, we tackle some supposed masterpieces (50:10). Jesse Aaronson watches The Battle of Algiers and I check out Paul Schrader 's Mish...

The Schmear Hunter hits some Hollywood news, including the chalk Emmy results and the unfortunate review bombing of True Detective (01:05) , before giving a shoutout to the new AMC+ series Monsieur Spade (10:45) . Teddy Kim comes on to help break down Ep 1 of True Detective (16:40) . For Criterion Corner, Jesse Aaronson and I unpack the 1993 Clinton campaign documentary The War Room (56:44) . Host...

The Schmear Hunter hits some industry news (1:27) and then discusses some TV & movies he's currently enjoying, like Fargo S5 , Criminal Record , and The Delinquents (7:20). Teddy Kim comes on to recap and review the good, bad, and ugly of True Detective as a TV project (11:20). We then preview True Detective S4 Night Country which airs Sunday on Max (30:08) . Finally, Jesse Aaronson stops...

The Schmear Hunter kicks off his inaugural podcast, counting down the best films of 2023. Here to help are some illustrious friends and readers from all over the world. 1:00 - Intro and Honorable Mentions 31:28 - Top 20 Countdown Host: Gabriel Frieberg Producer: Pavlo Melnyk FOLLOW ON SOCIAL MEDIA Letterboxd TikTok Instagram