The Binge Movie Podcast

We’re thankful for many things, but not necessarily the three movies we review this week: Pixar’s important but undercooked COCO, the hamfisted retelling of Charles Dickens’ Christmas Carol inspiration in THE MAN WHO INVENTED CHRISTMAS, and the crowd-pleasing but by-the-numbers feminist activism of THE DIVINE ORDER.

In this special episode, we’re joined by film/TV critic Inkoo Kang for a spoiler-filled discussion about the year’s most controversial movie: Louis C.K.’s I LOVE YOU, DADDY. Its release was canceled and you might never see it, so we’re here to tell you everything that happens.

It’s an embarrassment of awards-season riches this week as Rebecca and Jason flip for the vigilante-justice jolt of THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI, the hilarious and personal high school comedy LADY BIRD, and the deadpan Swedish satire THE SQUARE.

Rebecca is surprised to love THOR: RAGNAROK (and less surprised to also love the intimate nun drama NOVITIATE), while Jason rejects the lame rush-job sequel A BAD MOMS CHRISTMAS in favor of the transcendent AIDS activism drama BPM (BEATS PER MINUTE).

How terrified should Californians be of ONLY THE BRAVE? Rebecca and Jason give their answer. They also review the queer history lesson of TOM OF FINLAND and the rom-com documentary DINA.

We welcome filmmaker Sean Baker for a discussion of his brilliant new movie, THE FLORIDA PROJECT, then dive into reviews of the civil rights superhero story MARSHALL, the shocking and sensual PROFESSOR MARSTON AND THE WONDER WOMEN, and Noah Baumbach’s THE MEYEROWITZ STORIES (NEW AND SELECTED) with its revelatory performance by...Adam Sandler?!?

Jason figures out what he’s allowed to say about BLADE RUNNER 2049, while Rebecca encounters her actual self in LUCKY and her ideal self in CHAVELA.

In which we go on a wild ride with Tom Cruise and his wandering Southern accent in AMERICAN MADE; assess the pros and cons of the inappropriately amusing VICTORIA & ABDUL; and are thoroughly schooled on the realities of chronic fatigue syndrome in the gripping doc UNREST.

They’re back! In their super-sized first episode of the fall movie season, Rebecca and a post-TIFF Jason offer a mini-review of the ultra-polarizing MOTHER! before diving into four full reviews: Emma Stone and Steve Carrell in the delightful and subversive BATTLE OF THE SEXES; the sneakily conservative KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE; the refreshing and powerful STRONGER; and the lacerating honesty (f...

In which we review the markedly different heist movies GOOD TIME by the Safdie Brothers starring Robert Pattinson, and Steven Soderbergh's LOGAN LUCKY with Channing Tatum; the affecting sci-fi drama MARJORIE PRIME with Jon Hamm; and welcome a special guest, Instagram pathos expert David Fitzgerald, for a spoiler-filled review of Aubrey Plaza in INGRID GOES WEST.

We dive into three movies that all made us even more anxious about the state of the world: Kathryn Bigelow's racial historic drama DETROIT, the regrettably named climate change doc AN INCONVENIENT SEQUEL: TRUTH TO POWER, and the feel-good coming-of-age doc STEP.

We surrender to the awesome force of Charlize Theron in ATOMIC BLONDE, compare LANDLINE to our memories of the '90s, and rail against THE INCREDIBLE JESSICA JAMES for failing Jessica Williams.

Rebecca and Jason parse through the pluses and minuses of Christopher Nolan's war epic DUNKIRK, fall for the rowdy good time of GIRLS TRIP, and contemplate the nasty period noir of LADY MACBETH.

After counting down the best and worst movies of 2017 at the mid-year point, Rebecca and Jason praise the exhilarating freshness of SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING, the poignant poetry of A GHOST STORY, and the hilariously ribald raunch of THE LITTLE HOURS.

In which we praise the humor and heart of THE BIG SICK, contemplate the true genre identity of Sofia Coppola's THE BEGUILED, and prepare to be in the unimpressed minority about BABY DRIVER.

In which Rebecca barely survives her river of tears triggered by Bong Joon Ho's OKJA, then she and Jason break down the many problems with THE BAD BATCH (and its filmmaker) and try making sense of the Cate Blanchett art experiment MANIFESTO.

In which we celebrate the raunchy female hilarity of ROUGH NIGHT and the moderates triumphing over extremists in THE WOMEN'S BALCONY, then play another round of "Spoil That Sh*t!" with the catastrophic family drama/murder movie THE BOOK OF HENRY.

In this special Pride Month episode, we take a break from new releases to look back at the LGBTQ-themed movies that shaped us as queer film lovers growing up in the ‘90s. Films discussed include BOUND, THE OPPOSITE OF SEX, HIGH ART, BEAUTIFUL THING, ALL OVER ME, IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK 2, AND THE CELLULOID CLOSET.

In which we sift through the one-two punch of summer stinkers PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES and BAYWATCH, then break down the Bryan Cranston toxic masculinity drama WAKEFIELD.

In which we unpack the homoeroticism of dueling Michael Fassbenders in ALIEN: COVENANT, do our best to appraise the muted joys of EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING despite being 25 years past its target age demo, and revel in the deliciously dark humor of PREVENGE.

In this Mother's Day edition of The Binge, we review three new releases about mothers both in peril and imperiling: the Amy Schumer-Goldie Hawn comedy SNATCHED, Guy Ritchie's irreverent action flick KING ARTHUR: LEGEND OF THE SWORD, and the intense Australian captivity thriller HOUNDS OF LOVE.

In which we compare GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 to its original and find it lacking; wildly diverge in our feelings about the Emily Dickinson biopic A QUIET PASSION; praise the acting and filmmaking of BUSTER'S MAL HEART while wishing the movie itself made more sense; and decide Julian Assange is the absolute worst while discussing Laura Poitras' RISK.

We welcome showbiz journalist Andrew Hampp to review the steamy yet undercooked Canadian lesbian erotica of BELOW HER MOUTH, the enlightening and inspiring activist documentary CITIZEN JANE: BATTLE FOR THE CITY, and the revealing glimpse into a great director's creative process offered by DAVID LYNCH: THE ART LIFE.

In which we praise the buoyant British ode to filmmaking THEIR FINEST, dig into the ethical quandaries of the Romanian drama GRADUATION, then give you all the spoilers you could ever want for the Anne Hathaway monster movie misfire COLOSSAL and the mediocre Fatal Attraction rehash UNFORGETTABLE.

In which we see what happens when we dive into THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS with no prior knowledge of the franchise, then name our favorite movie sequels of all time.