Are You Screening? Podcast

This week we're looking at a couple of things that have been out for a bit, but we really wanted to check in with... but, for opposite reasons. We're covering Apex, a surprising film, but really only in that it has such big names and so little hype led to its release. We're also, almost accidentally, covering Widow's Bay, which is just fascinating whether you love it or not.

It's that time again, and now that award season is officially over and you've had your shot at learning which films have the nods, awards, and attention, we'll let you know which ones really stand out. We also babble endlessly about the films that don't quite make our lists, and it was a pretty interesting group there this year.

As awards season wraps up and we get ready to dive into our Best List, we've got one we need to cover, Sentimental Value. By the director of The Worst Person in the World (my pick that year for Best Film), and starring the same actress, this is a slow, conversational film, so it might not be everyone's cup of tea. Tune in find out what we thought. We also have thoughts about the Olympics.

This week we're running through the nominees and winners in the post-CriticsChoice/Golden Globes Awards season, but really we're just walking through the films that were nominated and waxing poetic on how they stack up. Which films deserved to be nominated? Which are worth your time? Which ones, despite being nominated, have you still not heard of?

This week we have another republish episode and it's a blockbuster blowout. One door closes and another hopes to keep itself open as Thunderbolts tries to convince MCU fans to keep showing up through a dozen or so more films. But, do either of these movies really deliver? We'll give you our thoughts.

We're on to a very strange director double play this week as both Anderson and Coen throw us for a loop. One of these films has delusions of grandeur and the other doesn't really seem to believe in itself enough. You'll have to tune in to see which is which.

It's another streaming week as we see big and... well, medium anyway, releases hitting on streaming more and more. Spike Lee and Denzel Washington aren't names you expect bypass theaters, but that's the world we're in now. Meanwhile, The Thursday Murder Club screams of a streaming release, except that the cast there is also rather packed. We'll let you know if you need to catch these as soon as po...

It's always a good time to look at the worst movies of the year, and if you love lists like we do... well, that's especially true, or something. Due to technical difficulties, we are republishing some episodes... again, so if you've already listened to this episode, listen again! There are some surprises on this one, probably, but if you've managed to miss these films so far, this is as good a tim...

This week we're looking at Nobody 2, and we have high hopes because we really enjoyed the first one. Is this going to land on the sophomore effort heap, or can a franchise finally keep up the effort? We're also going to check out The Pickup, the Eddie Murphy/Pete Davidson vehicle that screams of utterly unnecessary filler. They are two people who can surprise you, and frequently have, but this one...

This week we're bouncing things around to bring you a couple of films now (or only) on streaming services. Happy Gilmore 2 might not have been a movie anyone asked for, and there was certainly no sort of need for it at all, but you might find some laughs. The Phoenician Scheme is yet another "most Wes Anderson film ever," and that seems to be a hill with no summit. Full of characteristically deadp...

It's finally The Fantastic Four: First Steps and a big push of hope for Marvel, as strange as that may sound. There are several movies coming up that are going to see Marvel mashing together all their heroes into a super Avengers sandwich and the reintroduction of The Fantastic Four is a big test for making it all work. So, the question is, did we get something that makes it seem like it can all c...

This week it's the summer film everyone has been waiting for, Superman. It's a bit of a gamble, and a real test for Gunn and DC, but if nothing else, it's got people talking. We'll let you know all the details, but I will spoil things a bit.... because it's not very positive.

This week, as we return to republishing once again, turned out to be quite the surprise, as we look at two movies that could not have less in common. The Gorge, with high-powered stars and a furiously wonky plot, pulled us in to a surprising degree. Perhaps more surprisingly, Conclave, which I could not really be less interested in on a bullet-point reading, leaned so heavily on its cast that you...

This week is a special episode... sort of, being that we are Bangor, ME residents, and while we didn't love The Life of Chuck, it's a fascinating collaboration-ish with Mike Flanagan taking on a King story. We also take a look at The Accountant 2, the sequel to a film we both rather enjoyed, but a sequel that misses the mark when it comes to justifying its existence.

This week we're catching up more with some republish episodes, and here we're looking at The Brutalist and a couple of others as we were trying to wind up the year.

This week we're finally nailing down our Best of the Year lists, and despite the fact that we say every year is crazy, this one is really nuts when it comes to our lists... at least if you compare them to a lot of other critics. So much money was dumped into things that were supposed to launch onto everyone's radar this year, and so many of them bombed, were rather awful, or both. So what gets on...

We have a few episodes left in our republishing effort and this week we've got Nosferatu. We kick off taking a shot at Eggers and an interview celebrating the box office success of the film, and then let you in on all the reasons it is mostly underwhelming.

It's that time again, we have to get on to our yearly lists, but before we dive in there, we thought we better touch on the movies we haven't covered, because we don't want people thinking we just didn't see the films that pop up on other people's lists... or that got nominated for things... or won things. We're checking boxes as fast as we can and running though films this week, and you may be su...

Awards season has wrapped with the Oscars, but before we get to a rundown of noteworthy films we haven't covered next week, and our Best of the Year lists the week after, we have to visit a truly underwhelming Marvel film. Captain America: Brave New World could barely hold our attention, and it seems fitting to get it out of the way before we start talking about good films.

We continue our insane adventure of republishing/catching up with Joker: Folie a Deux, Brothers, and My Old Ass. It's the strange kick off to the year's film with huge budgets that bombed and a couple of smaller titles that were quite a bit better than expected. The sequel to the massive hit ought to have made plenty of money, but it had trouble long before it came out, and rightly so. We'll let y...

We're continuing our insane republish/catch-up extravaganza with The Instigators & Jackpot!...two movies that, depending on which of us you side with, maybe are at best unnecessary. We also run through some TV this week, because... at the time... there was a lot we wanted to champion and weren't sure they would get enough attention. Check out our thoughts and share, like, subscribe, and otherw...

We continue our catch up/republish adventures with Deadpool & Wolverine, as wild and screwy a movie as 2024 could manage. We also take a helluva shot at the Olympics and the insanity of events.

As we continue with our catch up/republish episodes, we get to Inside Out 2, one of the best of the year, and the impossible to search IF (Imaginary Friends), and finally Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F. It made for a strange episode, because Inside Out 2 was almost indescribably good, but somehow wasn't quite a 10/10, and the other two were passable while filled with flaws that make them potentially an...

As we continue to catch up/republish we look at Furiosa and Hitman this week. Two movies that coud hardly be more different, and both a bit disappointing in their own ways. Furiosa, while serviceable and filled with moments of fun, doesn't live up to the expectations set for it, and Hitman just couldn't seem to get out of its own way and wouldn't commit to a story. Give a listen for all the detail...

This week (?) we're bringing you our Can't Win Awards (again... sort of), and The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. Massive apologies to our fans as many of our episodes over the last six months have been up and down, seemed to be up but weren't really, and have had all sorts of other problems. And, that doesn't even cover some serious delays in publishing. We'll be catching up rather quickly, so...