2 Cents Critic

Tune in as Arthur’s friends Misty Rose and Kate jump onto the show so that they all can list off their top ten movies of 2023. Misty dozing off during one of the best fight scenes in John Wick: Chapter 4, the hosts’ conflicting thoughts over a divisive little flick called Saltburn (between this and Promising Young Woman, Arthur slightly prefers the latter), and whether or not May December qualifie...

Jumping onto 2CC today is Joshua R. Pangborn, the filmmaker who’s behind the award-winning NYC-based production company Sidekick Productions. Queer, fat-positive, and sex-positive storytelling is what Joshua and Sidekick focus on through web series like Skeleton Crew and Demon Doctor. Same goes for the upcoming horror-comedy movie A Taste of Youth and the upcoming horror-comedy anthology Brooklyn...

Tune in as Arthur brings back his friend Daxh Alanis for a discussion on Echo, the new MCU miniseries that’s premiering on Disney+ (as well as Hulu) and bringing us back around to Maya Lopez, the street-level fighter and deaf amputee whom we had met back in 2021’s Hawkeye. The badassery of both Maya and Alaqua Cox, Kingpin continuing to be enthralling as ever amongst the comic book villains out th...

Tune in as Mel B., Jackie D., and A. (Read, Watch, or DNF; DNF Happy Hour) all grab some seats with Arthur at the 2CC table so that they can lay out their top 10 books of 2023. A book being powerful enough to rip out A.’s uterus, striving to read more BIPOC work, and the frustrating state of Goodreads comprise a few of the talking points for this week’s podcast. Here’s how you can learn more about...

Tune in as pod buddy Torry (Ready to Be Petty, Ready to Be Romanced) teams up with Arthur to discuss A Holly Jolly Ever After by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone, the spicy Christmas rom-com that stands as the second novel in their A Christmas Notch series. Purity culture, the nods this book gives to celebrity life, and how it handles certain tropes like that of the Sex Coach make up some of the sub...

Tune in as Dustin Holden (Dustin Can Read & Watch, The Rewatch Recap) rejoins 2CC so that he and Arthur can lay out their top 10 TV shows of 2023. The baffling and moronic behavior of streaming services, a reminder that Netflix’s You originally premiered on Lifetime, and a certain deeply pleasurable superpower comprise a few of the topics that the hosts discuss on this episode. Here’s how you...

Tune in for 2CC’s first episode of 2024, which is kicking off the new year by bringing Arthur’s friend Thomas back on to cover the two-season Netflix series Russian Doll. The ways in which this plays around with time, the companionship between Nadia and Alan, and Jamie Babbit’s work make up a few of the topics that the hosts chat about on this podcast. Created by Natasha Lyonne, Leslye Headland, a...

Tune in for the fourth and final episode of 2 Cents Critic Merry Month, where the show is covering holiday media throughout December! On this last week of the month (and last episode of 2023, an eventful year that’s been notable for things like Barbenheimer, the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike, the long-awaited passing of Henry Kissinger, and the genocide that Israel is committing against Palestine), Art...

Tune in for the third episode of 2 Cents Critic Merry Month, where the show is covering holiday media throughout December! This week, Mama D (Petals of Support) joins the podcast to discuss National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, the 1989 Christmas movie that’s full of Italian twinkle lights, vexed neighbors, and Clark Griswold’s psychopathic tendencies. Talking points for this episode include the...

Tune in for the second episode of 2 Cents Critic Merry Month, where the show is covering holiday media throughout December! This week, Arthur brings Andy (Fat Dude Digs Flicks Movie Podcasts) onboard to review and recap Die Hard, the 1988 icon of both action and Christmas cinema. Discussion topics for this episode include comparing Die Hard to the much bleaker Roderick Thorp book it’s based on, th...

Tune in for the first episode of 2 Cents Critic Merry Month, where the show is covering holiday media throughout December! For this first week, Arthur is bringing his buddies Misty Rose and Jared back on to break down the 2015 Christmas horror-comedy Krampus. Whether or not Doctor Sleep is a Christmas movie, the hosts’ individual experiences with Christmastime and the forced merriment that accompa...

Tune in as my buddy Daxh Alanis comes back to the program for a breakdown of Recursion, the 2019 sci-fi thriller rollercoaster of a novel by Blake Crouch. Talking points for this podcast include the heart-wrenching dynamic that builds up between the two leads, the intricate logic of this mindfuck tale, and the impact that deprivation tanks can have on tinnitus. TW: suicide, suicide attempt, murder...

Tune in as Connor Kujawinski comes back to Arthur’s show for a review and recap of The Lady Upstairs, the 2020 neo-noir thriller novel by Halley Sutton. Talking points for this episode include the noir references that this book pulls from, listening to audiobooks, and the criminally underrated film (in Arthur’s vehement opinion) that is Danny Boyle’s Trance. TW: sexual content, murder, alcoholism,...

Tune in as Guy Bradford returns to 2CC for a review and recap of the timey-wimey and multiversal shenanigans in Disney+’s Loki, Season 2. The now-ended SAG-AFTRA strike, the MCU recycling its own tropes, the sadistic and horny range of Miss Minutes, and the pains of mixing up TV episodes comprise just a few of the topics that the hosts gab about. Head written by Eric Martin, Loki, Season 2 stars T...

Tune in as Seth Vargas (Movie Friends) teams up with Arthur to break down As We See It, the 2022 Prime Video series that revolves around a trio of autistic mid-20s roommates who are trying to figure out their lives and gain independence. Talking points that the hosts bring up on this episode include the series being cringey in a good way, the uneven arc of Aaron Eckhart’s career, and doing away wi...

Tune in as Arthur’s buddy Robyn Zabukovec jumps onboard to discuss the 1999 high school rom-com She’s All That. M. Night Shyamalan’s uncredited writing contributions to this movie, getting irritated over actors like Paul Walker and Mark Rylance, and setting fire to Ready Player One make up a few of the subjects that this episode covers. Directed by Robert Iscove, She’s All That stars Rachael Leigh...

Tune in as Sean (Review It Yourself) jumps into the guest chair for a review and recap of X-Men: First Class, the 2011 soft reboot (until it got retconned by 2014’s X-Men: Days of Future Past) of the X-Men superhero film franchise. A few of the talking points that Arthur and Sean cover are mutation flirtation, James McAvoy donning some hair extensions, the movie completely wasting Darwin and his v...

Tune in as pod buddy Shawn Murphy (Men Who Like Men Who Like Movies Podcast) comes back to the program for a breakdown of The Voyeurs, the 2021 Prime Video erotic thriller. Talking points for this episode include the baffling egg transitions, whether or not Ross and Rachel from Friends were on a break, and Shawn’s acute ability to predict twists. Written and directed by Michael Mohan, The Voyeurs...

Tune in as Karyn Cooper (Chick-Lit) makes her second appearance on 2CC for a review and recap of 27 Dresses, the 2008 Katherine Heigl/James Marsden rom-com. The numerous connections that can be made between this movie and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, the antiquated nature of old ringtones, and Jane’s eclectic collection of bridesmaid dresses comprise just a few of the topics that are getting cove...

Tune in as Arthur’s buddy Thomas hangs out with him to discuss the anxiety- and cat-filled 2000 comedy Meet the Parents. Cringe humor that (mostly) works, Hollywood figures like Steven Spielberg and Jim Carrey having once been attached to this movie, and the little-known fact that it’s actually a reboot make up a few of the subjects that the hosts discuss. Directed by Jay Roach, Meet the Parents s...

Tune in as Christy (X Knows All) comes back to 2CC for a review and recap of The Wedding Singer, the 1998 Adam Sandler/Drew Barrymore rom-com. The feeling of movie nostalgia, the gross and outdated jokes that older comedies were willing to dish out, and the bizarrely horny levels that video game commercials from years and years ago could reach are just a few of the topics that the hosts chat about...

Tune in as return guest Dustin Holden (Dustin Can Read & Watch, The Rewatch Recap) hops back onto the podcast to cover How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, the 2003 Kate Hudson/Matthew McConaughey rom-com that’s full of deception, Knicks games, and insufferable baby talk. Movie theater etiquette, a debate about Matthew McConaughey’s hotness, and whether or not this rom-com needs a reboot make up a fe...

Tune in as Paul Jordan and Pablo Escobar (Scared Gay!) hang out on 2CC to discuss The Talented Mr. Ripley, the 1999 film adaptation of the Patricia Highsmith novel of the same name. Discussing the varying facets of all the queer-coding and homoerotic tension, unpacking the layers of Tom’s sociopathy, and expressing distaste for Gwyneth Paltrow as a person (not as an actor, though, because she’s go...

Tune in as Sharai Bohannon (A Nightmare on Fierce Street, Blerdy Massacre) joins in to break down the 2010 spy action thriller Salt. There’s plenty for the hosts to discuss here, including the movie’s ample amounts of flashbacks and bad wigs, whether or not Clint Eastwood is capable of defending the US president, the hilarity of naming a spider species after Peter Best, and the ways in which power...

Tune in as Robert “Stew” Stewart (STEW World Order) hangs out on 2CC this week to dive into the 2011 meta horror-comedy The Cabin in the Woods. Talking points include the hosts’ contrasting feelings toward Malignant, their shared aversion toward torture porn, and the deconstruction and subversion of horror tropes that Cabin provides. Directed by Drew Goddard, The Cabin in the Woods stars Kristen C...