Thank God For Movies

Minari is a semi-autobiographical family drama film from A24 and is written and directed by Lee Isaac Chung. It stars Steven Yeun, Han Ye-ri, Yuh-Jung Youn, Alan Kim, Noel Kate Cho, and Will Patton. Jon, Will, and Abby review this Sundance 2020 favorite, which will be available via On Demand on February 26. This review is an excerpt from Episode #208 of the Cinemaholics Podcast. Our intro music th...

If you care a lot about all the new releases this week, then you’ve come to the right place. This week we discuss the new Netflix dark comedy thriller I Care a Lot , which stars Rosamund Pike as a ruthless con artist (Con Girl?) who meets her match when crossing a gangster (Peter Dinklage) and his mother (Dianne Weist). We also review Minari , Flora & Ulysses , and a few other films that...

Yuh-Jung Youn is a legendary Korean actor whose film and television work spans over 55 years. In the new A24 film, Minari , she stars alongside Steven Yeun, Han Ye-ri, Alan Kim, Noel Kate Cho, and Will Patton as the grandmother of an immigrant family trying to achieve the American Dream in 1980s rural Arkansas. The film was directed and written by Lee Isaac Chung, and Yuh-Jung is now the first Kor...

Jon Negroni and Will Ashton review  The Map of Tiny Perfect Things , a new sci-fi romantic dramedy that is now available on Amazon Prime Video. The film was directed by Ian Samuels and written by Lev Grossman, and it stars Kathryn Newton and Kyle Allen. This review is an excerpt from Episode #207 of the Cinemaholics Podcast. Our intro music this week is “Uno” by Mr Scroop. LINKS F...

Abby, Jon, and Will review  Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar , an absurdist comedy from Lionsgate directed by Josh Greenbaum and co-written by Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, who play the titular Barb and Star, a pair of lovable, well-coiffed, middle-aged best friends who go on a vacation that ends up being a bit more bizarre than they (and we) expected. The cast also includes Jamie Dorn...

Jon Negroni and Will Ashton review the new Netflix film, To All the Boys: Always and Forever, which is the third and likely final entry in the "To All the Boys" trilogy, based on the YA novels by Jenny Han. Lana Condor and Noah Centineo return as the series' central couple, now grappling with the possibility of their relationship ending in the face of differing college paths. This review is a...

After a few weeks apart, the Cinemaholics trio is back together again! And our main review discussion this week is Shaka King’s Judas and the Black Messiah , a buzzy awards-level movie on HBO Max starring Daniel Kaluuya as the iconic Black Panther Fred Hampton and Lakeith Stanfield as the “Judas” who betrayed him in late-60s Chicago. We also continue our discussion about movie tr...

Special guest Chris Vognar joins us for a bonus review of "Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel," a new 4-part, true-crime documentary series on Netflix from Joe Berlinger. It gives a comprehensive account of Elisa Lam's tragic disappearance in 2013, and how it may or may not be related to the eery, notorious, infamous, and downright spooky Hotel Cecil located in downtown Los Angeles. Be...

Little Fish is a romantic sci-fi drama starring Olivia Cooke and Jack O'Connell as a loving couple trying to navigate a pandemic that inflicts memory loss and dementia, seemingly at random. The film was directed by Chad Hartigan from a screenplay by Mattson Tomlin, and it's based on a short story by Aja Gabel. LINKS Follow us on Twitter: Abby Olcese , Jon Negroni ,  Will Ashton Subscribe to&n...

Rodney Ascher's latest documentary,  A Glitch in the Matrix , asks the question: Are we all living in a simulation? Jon and Will review this recent Sundance favorite and whether or not it's worth becoming part of your own reality.  LINKS Follow us on Twitter: Abby Olcese , Jon Negroni ,  Will Ashton Subscribe to  our YouTube channel  so you can watch us live every week! Su...

If you’ve ever overhead an argument between Jon and Will right here on Cinemaholics, you’re pretty much prepared for Malcolm and Marie , a new Netflix film directed and written by Sam Levinson. This enclosed black-and-white drama stars Zendaya and John David Washington, and critics are pretty split on this film about relationships and, well, critics. Also in the show, we play some list...

Special guest Cory Woodroof joins us for our recap of the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. We discuss our favorite films of the fest, plus some of the buzziest flicks you'll probably hear more about in the year ahead. LINKS Follow us on Twitter: Abby Olcese , Jon Negroni ,  Will Ashton Subscribe to  our YouTube channel  so you can watch us live every week! Support our show on  Patr...

Now on Apple TV+,  Palmer stars Justin Timberlake as a former college football player (and ex-convict?) who mentors a gender-queer child played by Ryder Allen. The film was directed by Fisher Stevens and written by Cheryl Guerriero. June Squibb, Juno Temple, and Alisha Wainwright co-star. Special thanks to our guest, Kimber Myers , for coming on the show this week!  LINKS Follow us on Tw...

Special guest Kimber Myers joins Abby this week to talk about The Little Things , a neo-noir crime thriller on HBO Max starring Denzel Washington, Rami Malek, Jared Leto, and Natalie Morales. They also discuss Palmer , which just came out on Apple TV+ and stars Justin Timberlake and Juno Temple. Intro music:  “Morning Commute” by Mark Generous Show Notes: 00:00:00 – Int...

For our first official milestone of 2021, we’re discussing Charlie Chaplin’s classic silent film City Lights , which this month celebrates its 90th anniversary since release. This long-celebrated romantic comedy was of course written, directed, and produced by Chaplin, who also stars in it as his iconic character, the Tramp. Along for the ride is Virginia Cherrill as the blind girl who...

Directed by Frank Oz,  In & of Itself  is a filmed version of the live stage production of the same name, which features Derek DelGaudio as a conceptual magician and storyteller who leads a live audience (and us) through an unpredictable maze of questions and ideas that address our individual identities.  LINKS Follow us on Twitter:  Jon Negroni ,  Will Ashton , ...

Now on Netflix,  The White Tiger  is the latest film from director Ramin Bahrani. Based on Arvind Adiga's debut novel of the same name, the film centers around a young Indian servant (Adarsh Gourav) who falls in with a wealthy couple (Rajkummar Rao and Priyanka Chopra) who push him to rethink his place in society.  LINKS Follow us on Twitter:  Jon Negroni ,  Will Ashton ,&...

Start spreading the news. The Cinemaholics are back this week to discuss the latest Tom Hanks movie directed by Paul Greengrass, which just happens to be a western set in post-Civil War Texas. Fun! We also review The White Tiger , In & of Itself , Our Friend , Some Kind of Heaven , and The Marksman . Intro music:  “In Green” by No. 18 & Soul Food Horns Show Notes: 00:00:00...

Phyllida Lloyd, director of  Mamma Mia! and  The Iron Lady , returns to the big screen with  Herself , a new uplifting drama starring and co-written by Clare Dunne. The film had a warm reception at Sundance last January and is now available to stream on Amazon Prime Video. LINKS Follow us on Twitter:  Jon Negroni ,  Will Ashton ,  Abby Olcese Subscribe to  our Yo...

The first "major" COVID movie is here! And it's a romantic comedy...heist movie? Sort of? Join us as we parse through the insanity that is  Locked Down , which just released on HBO Max. It was directed by Doug Liman ( Edge of Tomorrow ) and written by Steven Knight ( Locke ). The film stars Anne Hathaway, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and a star-studded cast of Zoom call cameos we probably shouldn't give...

One afternoon on a Sunday, the Cinemaholics got together to review Regina King’s debut feature film, One Night in Miami , which stars Kingsley Ben-Adir, Leslie Odom Jr, Eli Goree, and Aldis Hodge. Also in this episode, you’ll hear some mini reviews for “WandaVision,” The Ultimate Playlist of Noise , and more. And some extended discussion over Locked Down and Herself . Show...

OK, “reel” talk. 2020 was…interesting. It was definitely the most unique year of film in the last century of moviegoing. But throughout all the weirdness, we here at Cinemaholics found ourselves captivated by no small number of great projects from veteran filmmakers, first-time directors, and plenty of independent voices. In our annual “best of the year” show, we eac...

We’re celebrating the new year with some tonally different new movies this week. First up is Pieces of a Woman , a new melodrama hitting Netflix this week, which stars Vanessa Kirby and Shia LaBeouf. Then we get into Sylvie’s Love , a new throwback romance on Amazon Prime starring Tessa Thompson and Nnamdi Asomugha. Finally, Will and Abby discuss The Midnight Sky on Netflix, directed b...

To officially conclude this year's Extra Milestone lineup, Jon Negroni and Will Ashton of the Cinemaholics podcast joined forces with me one last time to discuss two distinct (and oddly holiday-centric) auteur-driven classics. We start our conversation by digging through the muck of Terry Gilliam's Brazil, a bureaucratic odyssey of madness often regarded as one of the greatest films of all time. A...

We had an out-of-body experience over the holidays checking out some major blockbuster films that hit streaming instead of theaters. There’s Pixar’s Soul , the latest from Pete Docter, which stars Jamie Foxx and Tina Fey. And we also cover the controversial Wonder Woman 1984 from Patty Jenkins, which stars Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Kristen Wiig, and Pedro Pascal. Finally, we end the show...