Are You Screening? Podcast

Amy Schumer is having a rough go in theaters, but she continues to move in a positive direction. However much you may be disappointed in any particular film, you get the feeling that she'll get there and you'll want to be around when she does. "I Feel Pretty" throws a new monkey wrench into the works though, because it wouldn't be surprising for people to find themselves furiously disappointed in...

This week brings us two polar opposites in terms of genre (and I suppose volume), and while the hype may have gone in different directions, we had a good time with both of these. And, we didn't have such a great time with either of them.  A Quiet Place has instantly rocketed its star into a new world of directing possibilities, including a sequel, and Rampage has... not had a very positive recepti...

It's hard to scare us with a film more than putting out an adaptation of a book that seems unfilmable. Throwing a lot of money and a huge name director at it doesn't actually change that fact, but Ready Player One managed to mostly win us over. On the other hand, a lot of things were changed, and fans have been responding from every direction. It's one thing, and a necessary one, to change somethi...

Managing the dubious distinction of the highest rated movie I utterly hated, the Pacific Rim franchise continues with a new cast, a new director, and precious little we might count as a point. We agreed that it isn't something we're about to recommend to people, but it had some positives, even if they are barely worth mentioning when put into the whole. The story of how this film came together wou...

Tomb Raider seems like an odd move right now, but does that mean it's an automatic throwaway? It's been a long time since we saw a Croft in theaters, but more importantly, there doesn't seem to be anything swirling in the cultural consciousness that turns this franchise into something that needs another look. The whys may be mysterious, but it turns out that, for what it is, this is an interesting...

It's that time of year again, and no, I don't mean it's time for Marvel to take over cinemas again. Black Panther has taken over the box office and it keeps on trucking, but it's time for our own version of movie awards. Every year we offer up our "Can't Win" Awards, where we try to recognize some of the best in the year's films that really have no chance of getting nominated for any other awards....

There were some surprisingly good movies this year, and seeing indie and genre films push out some clear award hopefuls may give a lot of film fans hope for the future. But! That doesn't mean there weren't a lot of horrible efforts out there as well. In fact, it seems that if you saw the last couple of years as reaching new heights, the scales are still fairly balanced, because the lows are reachi...

We usually come pretty close in our ratings, but our lists often end up very different. This year, much to my surprise, things surprised me. As our long-time listeners know, Shane limits himself (mostly) to things we cover on the show, whereas I'm open to everything. Even that didn't make much difference to our lists this year, except that I had a couple I had to throw in the mix. In the end, we m...

As we try to catch up to awards season, we get into stranger and stranger combinations. Darkest Hour has seen Gary Oldman finally getting his due as we head to the Academy Awards, and The Post has turned the award season into one for the books as the paint-by-numbers awards darling has been pretty well shut out. Meanwhile, since Netflix has turned bonkers fantasy into something everyone is talking...

The end of the year makes for odd mixes and you could hardly find two movies that fit worse in a double feature. On the other hand, despite the lack of attention Christmas fare managed this year, The Man Who Invented Christmas is a film that may well catch continued life for years to come.  Meanwhile, Lady Bird has a Golden Globe and it certainly deserves it.  As we catch up with everything this y...

It's a weird week of pseudo-biopic films and as award season heats up, these two films are getting attention that you couldn't have predicted six months ago. Both The Disaster Artist and I, Tonya are not only managing a lot of attention for their performances, but they are avoiding a lot of attention you might have expected when it comes to the odd treatment of their respective subjects. We'll let...

You could hardly have two movies getting award attention that are more different than The Shape of Water and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. A wild, sci-fi fairy tale about a mute who befriends a mer-creature, and the story of a woman who is tortured by her daughter's murder and the inability of the local police to provide her with any closure. Both films are making serious plays as awa...

Justice League managed to bounce back in its intro in a way that few movies can, but it doesn't seem like it's enough to truly turn the sentiment of the public at large. Wonder Woman won over audiences tremendously, but it seems as though DC still has a problem with where it left Batman and Superman. Does it up the game, or has much the DC comic effort become the lost wanderings aiming at piles of...

Apart from avoiding news at all costs, we're reviewing Murder on the Orient Express this week, and it's a more interesting adventure than you might imagine. The review, that is. Not simply a time-honored classic, but also a film that seems to defy being remade, Orient Express is a film that has to make you wonder what exactly Branagh has in his bonnet. Of course, we all know that he just wanted to...

In a year that has ultimately been rather disappointing, a comic-book hero film that doesn't take itself seriously won over audiences, but is it really any good, or is it just better than the last few months of offerings? We'll let you in on everything you need to know about Thor: Ragnarok, and the huge surprises that came from Suburbicon and The Foreigner. Two films would be hard-pressed to have...

Blade Runner 2049 was nerve-wracking for us, and not just because at least one of us love the original. The box-office doesn't reflect the cult status of a film that was truly a game-changer for the sci-fi genre, but the critical response was pretty positive leading up to this one. Listen in and we'll let you know where this one falls compared to the original, and whether or not it's going to ulti...

American Made had so much going for it that we found ourselves chomping at the bit, which is somewhat unusual for this kind of "true story" effort, and a lot of what the film delivers should have won us over. Unfortunately, it didn't quite come together in the way we expected and it ultimately left us wanting something more to show up. We'll let you know if this is the right film for you and wheth...

Kingsman: The Golden Circle didn't live up to expectations of the original, and while that one was a lot of fun, it had problems of its own. There's certainly a fair amount of fun to be had, but Millar doesn't seem to have sequels nailed down.  We'll also cover a lot of the latest new shows you should be checking out from Kevin Probably Saves The World to, surprisingly, Young Sheldon.

It was a very special episode for us this week because while we had some reservations about Aronofsky's latest, we weren't expecting to find a new low in film. We've both been to some low places in the world of cinema, and few of those spaces are occupied by writers and/or directors that also produced films that we loved. It's certainly a conversation piece, though we have some thoughts on Aronofs...

It would be hard to jam up a week more than this, and in addition to three movies, we're also giving you the scoop on some new TV, including The Orville. We're overly tied to It, just as we were with The Dark Tower, but this time around our proximity to Derry didn't lead to a disappointment pitfall. Leap! looks like the sleeper animated hit we're rooting for, and Goon just didn't need a sequel. Tu...

Another strange pairing finds us looking at Logan Lucky and The Glass Castle. Expectations were thrown and hopes were somewhat dashed this week as a pretty screwy adventure ended up not all that bad and a setup for a lot of laughs fell flat. We'll let you know if you need to get to these and catch you up on industry news.

We're a bit into Stephen King here in Bangor, and The Dark Tower is one of his most popular books and series, which means we were looking forward to this one more than most. On the other hand, we were hesitant for several reasons, not least the production problems the film apparently had. Did things work out? Is this one worthy of the series it's born from?  Adaptations of King's work are famously...

Atomic Blonde may not have taken over pop culture in the way that the trailers seemed to hope, but it had a fair number of people excited and a lot of critics think it delivered. We were looking forward to this one more than you might think, for several reasons, and there was talk at one point that we may have a Best List hopeful here. Did it live up to any of the various expectations? We'll let y...

Critics are almost unanimous in their love for Dunkirk and we almost joined them in their praise. Actually, one of us did. But, one of us didn't... exactly. On the flip side of that, not only were critics ready, willing, and able to take a poke at Valerian, but audiences were just fine with the idea of staying away from it. We split on this one as well, but whether you end up loving or hating the...

In case you weren't aware, it was a bit of a bonkers week, and that doesn't count Comic-Con gear up. We already differed on the previous movies, but we weren't that far apart here. If only... We'll let you know if you need to see this one in theaters, and we chime in on Doctor Who, The Muppets, and more. Apes might not be your thing, but there's a lot going on here even you aren't all that certain...