Close Watch with Robert Yaniz Jr.

In the interest of providing broader coverage of cinema history, we always love the chance to cover either a classic or foreign release. So, of course, it was a blast to cover Federico Fellini's 1963 Italian film, 8 1/2. The film is more self-reflective than most, a cinematic fever dream brought to life. The parallels between Marcello Mastroianni's Guido -- a middle-aged movie director at a creati...

In the 1980s, few filmmakers were as in-demand and influential as John Hughes. The man basically created the concept of the teen movie with films such as Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Weird Science, and Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Yet, after that run, Hughes did the last thing anyone expected: he grew up. Planes, Trains, and Automobiles marks his directorial entry into adult comedies. And boy...

After Whiplash won critical acclaim and a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for J.K. Simmons, writer/director Damien Chazelle could have done anything. So, naturally, he decided to make a modern-day tribute to lavish Hollywood musicals of yesteryear. The resulting film, La La Land, went on to become an unprecedented smash, to the tune of nearly $450 million worldwide. Although it didn't win the Academy...

Writer/director Kenneth Lonergan won his first Academy Award for the acclaimed domestic drama Manchester by the Sea. But more than a decade and a half before that film, Lonergan burst onto the scene with his directorial debut, You Can Count on Me. Both movies tackle the fallout of family tragedies and feature standout performances. You Can Count on Me focuses on the broken bond between a sister (L...

Director Robert Eggers burst on the scene in 2015 with The Witch. And when he did, horror audiences didn't know quite how to react. The film -- subtitled "A New England folktale" -- follows a Puritan family in 1600s New England and its inevitable descent into hell. However, its period setting, era-accurate dialect, and slowly building tension came across as jarring to audiences accustomed to jump...

For us pop culture enthusiasts, 2019 was one for the record books. Just on the movie side, moviegoers the finale of Marvel Studios' "Infinity Saga" in Avengers: Endgame and witnessed the end of Skywalker story in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Of course, the year brought a ton of sequels, reboots, and spin-offs of various quality levels. But it also delivered unexpected -- and Oscar-winning --...

Foreign films usually make a very limited impact at the domestic box office. At best, they mostly wind up attracting love from critics or perhaps some prestige awards. Almost never do they break into the mainstream the way Parasite has. Co-writer/director Bong Joon Ho's film blends dark comedy, thriller, and horror elements into an irresistible bit of social commentary. Now Sade Glover of Offscree...

Event Horizon hits theaters in 1997 to a disappointing box office response. Yet, like so many genre films, the Paul Anderson -- the Resident Evil guy, not the There Will Be Blood one -- sci-fi/horror hybrid has developed a cult following. So, as our first regular episode of 2020, we're taking a look at how the movie has held up and why its combination of Alien and Hellraiser is worth seeking out f...

Ah, 2019, we hardly knew you. With the passing of another year — and another decade, more or less — it's time again to run through some of our favorite movies from the past 12 cinematic months. So what are our top movies of the year? Last year, Marvel Studios made an incredible showing atop our 2018 retrospective . With three releases in 2019, can Marvel claim a spot in this year's list? We have l...

2019 is about to head off into the sunset, but we can't let the year pass without a Crooked Commentary. For this fourth entry in the series, we follow The Room , The Nightmare Before Christmas , and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World with the seminal romantic comedy (and underrated New Year's Eve movie), 1989's When Harry Met Sally... Of course, Kai Yaniz returns to watch the film, which just celebrated...

Just as Lucasfilm says goodbye to its own Star Wars saga, so must we do the same. After spending most of 2019 working our way through George Lucas' "galaxy far, far away," we've come to the final installment of our Star Wars series. This week, we'll discuss Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker. To complete this epic journey, Lucasfilm recruited The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams. So,...

It's the holiday season. So, of course, it is time to bust out all our favorite Christmas movies. We've got White Christmas, Christmas in Connecticut, and — what do we have here? — Gremlins. That's right, folks. That 1984 Joe Dante horror-comedy about a furry little Mogwai with a very particular set of rules is technically a Christmas movie. And we'll take any opportunity we have to revisit a nost...

Even more than most genres, mockumentaries just aren't for everyone. So perhaps — despite The Lonely Island's built-in fanbase — Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping failed to bring in an audience in 2016. In a blatant parody of Justin Bieber or other recent music sensations, the film follows fading pop music icon Conner4Real (Andy Samberg). Sandro Falce of Oldie But a Goodie joins the show to help...

People just love to hate on Adam Sandler. Perhaps the reason behind this is how little his comedic persona has evolved since the days of Happy Gilmore and The Wedding Singer. Or maybe just not enough moviegoers have seen Punch-Drunk Love. This 2002 romantic comedy/drama from writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson marked a surprising departure from Sandler's usual work. Although the film does go for...

Throughout 2019, A24 has further cemented its dominance as a safe haven for distinctive creative voices. In just the past few years, the company has given moviegoers releases as diverse as Moonlight, Lady Bird, Hereditary, Ex Machina, and Room. And easily one of this year's A24 highlights — and indeed 2019 cinema, in general — has been Lulu Wang's poignant and hilarious The Farewell. Sade Glover o...

The year 1999 is the gift that keeps on giving. We're already covered several key releases from that year, including The Matrix , Fight Club , American Beauty , and Office Space . Now, this week, we welcome freelance writer and critic  Albert Lanier  to the show to discuss Stanley Kubrick's final film, Eyes Wide Shut. Released 20 years ago, this compelling thriller is the stuff of legend. A notori...

In the eighth (and penultimate) installment of our retrospective on the Star Wars saga, we take on the most divisive installment. That's right, folks. This week, we're talking Rian Johnson's Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi. Kerri Jones returns to the show to talk about how Johnson's film upends the franchise, its thought-provoking depiction of the Force, and the tantalizing possibility of...

  In the seventh installment of our retrospective on the Star Wars saga, we revisit our two-part conversation from 2015 on Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens. The first hour was recorded before Rob and guest Kai Yaniz  saw the film, serving as a summary of what came before. Then, part two delves deep into J.J. Abrams' film, its comparisons to A New Hope, and what we hoped to see from the S...

Some movies land with audiences immediately, while others don't find their fans for years to come. Wet Hot American Summer is one of the latter. Featuring a star-studded cast of comedy talents, director David Wain's film is a quirky ode to '80s "camp" classics (pun intended) and sex comedies. Its popularity grew so much over the years that Netflix ultimately produced two limited series based on th...

With the upcoming release of Terminator: Dark Fate, now is the perfect time to reflect on the series. In 1991, Terminator 2: Judgment Day surpassed James Cameron's original classic and set a new standard for blockbuster cinema. Josh Bell of the Awesome Movie Year podcast joins the show to talk about how T2 changed the world of cinema forever. We'll discuss how Cameron was able to successfully buil...

In the sixth installment of our retrospective on the Star Wars saga, we bid farewell to the pre-Disney era of the franchise. Way back in 1983, director Richard Marquand ended the original Star Wars trilogy with Return of the Jedi. Now, Michael Hinman of Alpha Waves Radio  joins us to conclude our coverage of the George Lucas's original three-part vision for the "galaxy far, far away." Every month...

In the heart of the Disney Renaissance, the studio that had already back-to-back box office smashes (and Academy Award winners) in Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin unleashed its 32nd animated feature. The Lion King pounced into theaters in the summer of 1994, becoming the highest-grossing animated film ever at the time of its release and spawning a cultural phenomenon. This episode, Danielle Solzm...

Earlier this year, we celebrated our 100th episode by delving into a lengthy two-part discussion about The Matrix . While the Wachowskis' 1999 classic marked a seismic shift for the world of cinema, the filmmakers behind Neo's story have certainly lived up to the narrative and visual ambition of their breakthrough. Case in point, expect to see more coverage on Lilly and Lana Wachowski's filmograph...

One year ago, the fate of the Crooked Table Podcast was uncertain. Trapped at a creative crossroads , the show was put on what turned out to be a temporary hiatus until it could be refocused to its current premise, in which we "democratize the film criticism conversation." Once that concept was nailed down, Rob unveiled it just in time for International Podcast Day 2019 . Now, with the return of t...

In the fifth installment of our retrospective on the Star Wars saga, we turn our attention to what is arguably the most popular film in the series: director Irvin Kershner's 1980 release The Empire Strikes Back. After the phenomenon that was the original Star Wars, fans hoped the follow-up would expand the world and continue the story in a meaningful way. What they got was one of the best sequels...