Are You Screening? Podcast

The return to certain franchises is often a longshot, especially when we're looking at large gaps between releases, but Men in Black International takes this to a whole new level. The best-case scenario for expectations seems questionable when you're after a franchise no one has mentioned in a decade. But, stranger things have turned into solid films. Does this one have anything to pull you in, ev...

The X-Men franchise hasn't had the success one might hope in this era of superhero/comic book films, and heading into Dark Phoenix, fans had to wonder if they were going to get something that was truly following Apocalypse or a branch that looked more like Logan. We'll let you know if you need to see this one in theaters, or at all, and if it adds life to a franchise that might be looking to reboo...

We're covering Booksmart this week and with all the social media attention this one is getting you may be planning to fit this one into your schedule. Despite a box office showing that isn't anything to cheer about, critics are loving this one. But, does it live up to the hype it's now getting? We'll let you know if this one is worth your time at all and/or if you need to get to theaters before it...

John Wick was a surprisingly solid effort and pulled in enough fans that we're now on the third film, with the release date for the next installment already confirmed. But, the second film was a little rough and didn't so much end as spend its last half hour hoping to convince you a third was a good idea. Tune in and we'll let you know if the wait pays off and if John Wick 3 stays true to its own...

It's the sort of thing that you don't want to let a title get away with, but this Long Shot might just surprise a lot of people. You may not get exactly what you think, based on trailers, but Theron has proven that she can make just about anything work. Give us a listen, and we'll let you know if you need to get to this one while you have the chance.

It's finally here, and as you may recall, we were split on the last installment of The Avengers. Where will that leave us with this one? It's probably not that hard to guess. It's going to be the biggest movie in many years and we'll let you know how many times you need to see it.

It seems like a bizarre move to introduce a character who may be pivotal to Avengers: Endgame a couple of weeks before what is likely to be the biggest blockbuster ever, but is there more going on here than whipping out a new character to resolve our plot, or is this going to end up a rush job with little going for it? We'll let you know what we think, and you may be a bit surprised by this film t...

It's everyone's favorite time of year, the day we tear apart all the horrible films the year produced... again... in list form. This was a strange year for films and while our best lists were hard to put together, our worst were especially easy. Well, they weren't easy to order, but there were a lot of bad movies. We're also going to be addressing some of the fallout from the Oscars this year, whi...

It's that time again, and we're letting you in on our picks for the Best of the Year. Of course, we're also taking a look at Alita: Battle Angel, which surprised us a bit, perhaps both in good and bad ways. It's been a weird year, and especially when it comes to trying to figure out the best film of the year. While the awards have largely gone to films like Green Book and Roma... we didn't really...

The first Lego Movie took us by surprise, but does the sequel have what it takes to deliver on the expectations we have now? We'll let you know if this one is worth your time, and we're going to catch you up on some more movies you need to know about as we head into the end of awards season.

We weren't especially looking forward to Glass, which makes it a great week to catch up on some more things as we near the end of awards season. While we both wish we could get behind Shyamalan, and considering that Split was not quite the disappointment we expected, we were glad to have a few more things to look at.

With awards season crashing down around us, we take a break for a warm and fuzzy film, The Upside. We also take a look at the Critics' Choice Awards, where it looks like things are headed for further awards, and try to catch up on other films. You might be surprised which way we go with this odd, January release, so don't miss out.

We're trying to catch up with a ton movies as we move further into award season, and this week we're looking at Aquaman, A Star is Born, and more. Plus, we'll look at the insanity that was The Golden Globes, and give our take on the wins that shocked the industry.

We're catching up this week from before the holidays, and since awards season has been especially challenging, we'll be catching up for weeks to come. This week we zipped through several films, including: The Favourite, Blackkklansman, Ralph Breaks the Internet, and more. In just a few days we will be back with several more awards hopefuls, and our response to the Golden Globes.

It's a strange mix of films as we head into the mad rush that will soon take over our podcast, and What They Had and Wildlife could hardly be more different undertakings. Still, as we will let you know, there is a certainly similarity to the films, though it isn't a positive. As we get closer to the end of the year, and the dash to catch things that will be nominated for awards, are these two wort...

First Man caused a stir in Toronto, though not on its merits exactly. But, people did seem to like it, for the most part. Bad Times at the El Royale somehow flew under most people's radar, despite an impressive cast.  Are either of these worth your time? We'll let you know, and we'll update you on industry ramblings that catch our fancy.

It's time to once again ask if a Comic movie can pull in viewers who aren't familiar with the subject, and while that effort has seen success, it's a tricky game. Without even a hint of Spider-Man, Venom hopes that people will show up based off its cast and the basic fact that there is a comic out there somewhere... and we like comic movies. This one is especially tricky, because Venom isn't reall...

You have to love a year with some family-friendly creepiness hitting around Halloween, and Jack Black is taking another swing at the genre, but does The House with the Clock in its Walls deliver? We'll let you know, and we'll give you a dose of industry news, sneak peeks, and general ramblings.

It's an odd world when Mission Impossible can't take over the box office in a meaningful way... or at all, and it may be that a score of years into a franchise it's hard to find people who care anymore. Unfortunately, there's probably a good reason that potential audiences aren't that excited for another trip down Tom Cruise's action vehicle, though it surprisingly isn't the aging star. We'll let...

It was a week that was slow in movies, rocketing with news, and if it wasn't Comic-Con or Guardians of the Galaxy, it was a dozen other things... all of them pulling attention away from The Equalizer 2.  You want to hope for great things from Denzel, because you don't expect vanity projects, or money grabs from him, but the first installment didn't exactly scream that we needed more.

The summer caught up with us a bit, which means we've had to put Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and Ant-Man and the Wasp together, with The Incredibles 2 thrown into the mix as well. Oddly enough, our own predictions didn't exactly work out for us for either movie (to one degree or another), and of course that means that our hopes for the future were lifted up, but then quickly dashed. It's a week...

The arena of female-focus continuations is a small subset of films, and one that is as riddled with problems as it is championed as a general effort. Ghostbusters, for example, managed little to recommend, despite the fact that many hoped for a film that create a foothold for the future. Ocean's 8 has a lot going for it on paper, but seems mostly like a movie that is an excuse to capitalize on a f...

Solo is the start of a brand new world for the Star Wars franchise, and its performance is going to potentially result in a lot of long-term decisions. Though making money at the box office isn't necessarily all Disney is looking at, the film's lack of ability to capitalize on its character isn't going to go over well. Beyond simply being a specific character title, there's only so much Star Wars...

Expectations were high for the return of Deadpool, even if we had a lot of problems with the first one. Love it or hate it, it's hard to deny that the most politically incorrect superhero has wedged himself into the cultural consciousness, and you had to hope for big things from the second installment. At this point, the film, and/or its virtues is somewhat irrelevant, because Ryan Reynolds has ma...

You could hardly have more hype, and at this point the machine simply is what it is, but does the latest Marvel offering win out just because, or despite the fact that, it throws everyone into a big stew? The opening will surely crush the box office, but we had very mixed thoughts about how well this one worked. You'll also want to tune in for the first news of our 1984 Challenge, which is going t...