MacGuffin Podcast

For this week's podcast, we review Marvel's Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Keith review's the new Nicholas Cage comedy, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Tallent. We also talk about the history of the American rating system and debate the merits of the PG-13 blockbuster standard. From Amazon Prime, we review the 2002 British comedy, 24 Hour Party People, which details the rise and...

This week we bring you two reviews of the creative action-comedy "Everything Everywhere All at Once" and Robbert Eggers' Viking epic, "The Northman." For our streaming homework, we also discuss the 1971 crime classic, Dirty Harry.

For this week's episode, we review Judd Apatow's star-studded COVID-era comedy, The Bubble. We talk at some length about overlooked mid-budget movies made in the last ten years. Lastly, for our streaming homework, we discuss Ken Russell's 1971 controversial cult masterpiece, The Devils, starring Oliver Reed and Venessa Redgrave. 

For this episode, we review Ti West's indie horror 70s exploitation homage, X, distributed by A24. We also discuss the casting news behind a possible reboot of The Crow, and at the end, we discuss the 1988 Steve Martin rom-com, Roxanne. 

On this week's podcast, we review Disney and Pixar's latest animated feature, Turning Red. We also cover the winners of last week's Academy Awards broadcast, and of course, we talk about the media frenzy surrounding #TheSlappening. At the end of the program, we review our streaming homework, the 2018 Natalie Portman drama, Vox Lux. 

This week, we celebrate our 100th episode with The MacGuffin. Patrick of the Consume Us Podcast helps us rank every live-action solo Batman film made since 1989, including a ranking and an official review of the latest iteration - Matt Reeve's The Batman. We go into everything that makes or breaks a Batman film, from screenplay and performances to the Batmobile and costume design. 

This week, Macguffin manager, editor, and lead film critic Allen Almachar joins Cassidy to review the new Steven Soderbergh feature, KIMI, starring Zoe Kravitz. We discuss the history of controversial and contentious best picture winners, which leads us into a re-review of the Paul Haggis Oscar-winning drama, 2005's Crash. 

For this week's episode, we catch up with Guillermo del Torro's gothic noir, Nightmare Alley. We also discuss the top Oscar nomination categories/snubs, and we cover some recent movie news. For the streaming homework, we take a look back at Disney's 2002 animated flop, Treasure Planet.  

For this episode of the podcast, we discuss the highs and lows of the Coen brothers' body of films and we review Joel Coen's solo effort, The Tragedy of Macbeth. This week's streaming homework is the 1987 brat-pack dramedy, Some Kind of Wonderful, and we mull over the wild backstory behind the making of Kangaroo Jack.   

For this week's episode, we review the coming-of-age drama, The Tender Bar, starring Ben Affleck and directed by George Clooney. We also attempt the impossible by recasting all of the principal lead characters in Back to the Future with modern actors. For our streaming homework, we examine the 2004 documentary, Metallica: Some Kind of Moster. In this segment, we ponder bad drum production, the mer...

For this episode, we review Disney's latest animated fantasy film, Encanto. We also play a new game in which we decide the definitive works of a handful of famous directors. At the end of the program, we discuss the 1967 crime drama, Le Samourai, by the French auteur Jean-Pierre Melville. 

To put a bow on last year's cinema, we rank our top 10 and bottom 5 films of 2021. We also read social media comments from listeners about their favorite movies. Listen up and find out if your favorite movie from last year made it on one of our lists!   

The first episode of 2022 features reviews for Spider-Man: No Way Home and The Matrix Resurrections. We also think of a couple of pitches for buddies movies starring actors of our choice. For our streaming homework, we review the 1995 cyber-punk action movie, Johnny Mnemonic, which also stars Keanu Reeves. 

For this episode of the podcast, we review the Venus and Serena Williams sports biopic, King Richard, starring Will Smith. We also list a few film franchises we think could use a Christmas entry. For the streaming homework, we review the 1988 crime-comedy, Midnight Run. 

For this episode, we review Ridley Scott's lurid biopic, House of Gucci, starring Adam Driver and Lady Gaga. We also compare other musicians who became actors and rank them on our own special scale. For the streaming homework, we review the 2012 Tom Cruise action movie, Jack Reacher.  

For this episode of the podcast, we review Jane Campion's latest period drama/western, Power of the Dog. We also talk about the paranoid 1982 TV movie, Mazes & Monsters, starring a young Tom Hanks. For this episode's special segment, we compare what fictional movie toys and games we wish were real. 

For this week's podcast, we bring you an Edgar Wright double feature. We review his latest thriller, Last night in Soho, and from Netflix, his music documentary, The Sparks Brothers. We also discuss the films that we and our listeners deem underrated.  

For this podcast episode, we review Marvel's new team-up adventure, Eternals, as well as this year's much-buzzed-about Palme d'Or winner, Titane. We also discuss the recent movie news, and for our streaming homework, we review the 1955 Frank Sinatra drama, The Man with the Golden Arm. 

On this episode of the podcast, we review Denis Villeneuve's adaptation of the epic science fiction novel, Dune. We also list our all-time favorite title sequences and movie openings. For our streaming homework, we review the 2020 Danish drama, Another Round, starring Mads Mikkelsen. 

With this week's podcast, we ring in Halloween with our review of David Gordon Green's Halloween Kills. We also discuss the horror films that never scared us and compare our answers to listeners' personal experiences. For the streaming homework, we talk about the 2008 British horror movie, Eden Lake, starring Michael Fassbender.

For this episode of the podcast, we review Shudder's new entry in the anthology V/H/S franchise, V/H/S94. We put forth a few ideas of horror tropes we'd like to see more of, and at the end, we review the 2006 documentary, Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon.   

For this horror-themed episode, our special guest, filmmaker, blogger, and podcaster, Julia Marchese, joins us to review the first part of the Netflix horror trilogy, Fear Street: Part One - 1994. We talk about Julia's upcoming Stephen King short, I Know What You Need, as well as her past work as a staff member of the Los Angeles repertory movie theater The New Beverly. We discuss her feature docu...

For this episode, we check out Josh Ruben's horror-comedy whodunit, Werewolves Within, based on the popular computer game. We also list a few of our choices for the scariest non-horror movies.  For this week's streaming homework, we discuss Troma's 1990 release, the cult-comedy, Frankenhooker. 

For this episode of the podcast, we review the horror sequel/reboot, Candyman, produced by Jordan Peele's company, Monkeypaw. We also discuss why some online haters love to complain about the popularity of A24. As our streaming homework, we review the 1998 X Files movie and judge if it stands alone well enough apart from the television series. 

For this episode, we review James Wan's latest horror feature, Malignant. We cover the latest movie news. For our streaming homework, we also discuss the 1983 punk drama, Suburbia.