The Fan & The Critic

Carson and Paolo argue about whether Charlie Kaufman's films hold up, then dig into a few other recent watches: Onward, I'm Thinking of Ending Things, and #Alive. Instagram: thefanandthecritic

Dr. Mena joins the show to fact-check Hollywood's track record on infectious disease movies — what they get right, what they get hilariously wrong — and ranks ten disease movies we made him watch just for this episode. Instagram: thefanandthecritic

With movie theatres still shut, we catch up on what we've actually been watching at home: The Old Guard, The Domestics, and Joker. Instagram: thefanandthecritic

Lauren joins us to dig into the 2008 Spanish horror movie REC and the five increasingly strange sequels it spawned — what worked, what didn't, and where the franchise should've stopped. Instagram: thefanandthecritic

Andy and Joe are back for round two on video game movies, and this time we actually try to give Hollywood some constructive notes on how to adapt a game without ruining it. Instagram: thefanandthecritic

Of all the movie franchises out there, which one is actually the most fun to watch — not the best, not the most important, just the most fun? Charli and Dan join us to argue it out. Instagram: thefanandthecritic

Did Harry Potter create a generation of social justice warriors? Are the subliminal messages people swear are in old Disney movies real or just internet nonsense? Andrew and Colin join Carson and Paolo to argue about all of it and more. Instagram: thefanandthecritic

Ben and Shadoe join us to break down the career of Canadian actor Keanu Reeves and argue over which role is actually his best — with a Care Bears fact-check thrown in for good measure. Instagram: thefanandthecritic

Paolo and Carson run down their Top 10 movies of 2019 and what they're already looking forward to in 2020. Instagram: thefanandthecritic

Ben and Lauren join us to force ourselves through a stack of genuinely terrible horror movies — Paranormal Entity, Alien vs Hunter, 11/11/11, Zombie Apocalypse, Killer Clowns from Outer Space, Zombeavers, Bone Tomahawk, and Gutterballs — and somehow spend most of the episode talking about literally anything else. Instagram: thefanandthecritic

Manan and Peter join us to draft movie robots onto basketball teams, then argue about who actually won. Check our Instagram for the visual draft board if you want to follow along. Instagram: thefanandthecritic

Fresh off our fifth film festival, Carson rants about the most annoying people you'll meet at TIFF and shares some real advice for anyone thinking about attending one themselves. Instagram: thefanandthecritic

Dan and Lauren bring their Star Trek expertise to the show and promise to keep it strictly movies, not the shows — a promise they break almost immediately, in the best way. Instagram: thefanandthecritic

Allan and Joe join us to dig into romantic comedies — what actually makes one work — and then pitch the rom-com version of a few recent blockbusters. Instagram: thefanandthecritic

Skip the blockbuster you already know is going to let you down — here are a few documentary recommendations instead: Free Solo, Minding the Gap, and Won't You Be My Neighbor? Instagram: thefanandthecritic

Colin and Mat help us elect a Supreme Leader of Earth from a list of sixteen movie characters, build out a full cabinet, and along the way debate whether superhero movies are the best thing in cinema or the worst. Instagram: thefanandthecritic

Aaron and Syed, certified Marvel superfans, drop by to talk about Avengers: Endgame — gushing about Marvel, ignoring the time-travel plot holes, and making demands for what the MCU should do next. Instagram: thefanandthecritic

Welcome to a new series where Carson spotlights overlooked and underappreciated movies from the past month — this time, The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter, Dragged Across Concrete, and Reign of the Supermen. Instagram: thefanandthecritic

Carson and Paolo talk movies for ninety minutes with no consistent theme, no agenda, and no real purpose — just two guys (feat. nobody) talking about whatever's on their minds. Instagram: thefanandthecritic

We talk about the movies we're most excited for in 2019 and pitch some movie ideas based on actual dreams we've had — including superhero predictions and our best guess at how Avengers 4 brings everyone back. Instagram: thefanandthecritic

We wrap up our 2018 conversation by answering questions pulled out of a literal grocery bag. The short version: Annihilation is awesome, Solo is terrible, and Carson sounds far away because he's just being quiet. Instagram: thefanandthecritic

Some lesser-known movies from 2018 that deserve more conversation: Colette, Eighth Grade, Hostiles, Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay, The Wife, Death of Stalin, Gringo, and An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn. Instagram: thefanandthecritic

Aaron and Dan join us to figure out what actually makes a buddy cop movie a buddy cop movie, pit Lethal Weapon against Rush Hour, and run our own buddy cop obstacle course with scene re-enactments along the way. Instagram: thefanandthecritic

Erica and Faye join us for a deep dive into non-Star Wars, non-Marvel animated Disney movies — a Disney Bachelorette draft, Pixar pitch ideas, and a Disney Death Match to settle it all. Instagram: thefanandthecritic

We spend an episode reflecting on the career of Nicolas Kim Coppola, better known as Nicolas Cage, with Ben and Shadoe — including pitching the perfect Cage movie and re-enacting our favourite Cage-outs. Instagram: thefanandthecritic