The Feminine Critique Podcast

Sound the trombones! It's a Slasher Summer! Christine and Emily dive into some small town woes with 1976's The Town That Dreaded Sundown and 1999 (sorta)'s Cherry Falls. Lots to unpack here. Enjoy?

In their quest to amp up some coverage of lady director movies, Emily and Christine find some common threads between 2009's Julie and Julia (directed by Nora Ephron) and 2021's Titane (directed by Julia Ducournau). Somehow it all makes sense. 

Christine and Emily cordially invite you to the most awkward double wedding in cinematic history. On this obvious episode, the ladies tackle 1935's Bride of Frankenstein and 1985's The Bride. It's a scream!

Don your finest flip flop minidress and hop into our ill-prepared vehicle! We're driving cross-country with two glamorous road trips located on different sides of the world because let's face it: you can't talk about 1994's Priscilla, Queen of the Desert without ALSO talking about 1995's To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything! Julie Newmar. So many long titles with punctuation marks. So many glorious...

Christine and Emily return to look at two of 2025's most interesting genre films that share a lot of thematic elements! First up is the OSCAR NOMINATED The Ugly Stepsister, then the unfairly maligned Him. Spoilers abound. Have at it. 

2025 was…a year! But there were SOME good things that came out of it, and Emily & Christine are here to talk about them!

That's a wrap! Emily takes solo stage for the Stocking Stuffers season finale with the annual ranking and best/worst of the checklist. But first, it's A Pickleball Christmas because how can anyone possibly resist that? Thanks to everyone for following along this year, as we'll resume our usual inconsistent schedule next month! Happy holidays to all you big city businesswomen lawyers, small town nu...

On the 11th day of Christmas, my true love gave me A Christmas Romance! It's a trek back through time with a made-for-CBS TV movie from 1994 starring Olivia Newton-John and a lot of adorable farm animals. Emily calls in the big guns to handle this Christmas stranger: IT'S THE CAST OF NIGHT OF THE LIVING PODCAST! Join Amy, Freddy, & Andy for this gem, and be sure to listen to the internet's lon...

Are you aware of just how many holiday movies play on "The 12 Days of Christmas" title? To be clear, this episode covers 2004's The Twelve (written out) Days of Christmas Eve, directed by Valley Girl's Martha Coolidge and starring Steven Weber and Molly Shannon. The Cultural Gutter's Carol Borden joins Emily to dive into this surprisingly Final Destination-y story. Have a listen and be sure to fol...

Just how much apathy can go into 90 minutes? We're about to find out! Emily is joined by fellow cat lady (and also fellow Emily) Emily Menez to dive into the dark depths of Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever, a 2014 Lifetime original that seems to hate everyone. But it IS set in a mall, so it's not a total loss. Also, Tardar Sauce is a star.  Follow Emily Menez @theemilymenez on Instagram to catch...

Put on your most snuggly, sold-out sweater: we've got an outerwear company to save! Emily enlists the help of The Projection Booth's Mike White to travel back to 2016 for A Christmas In Vermont, where we get a somewhat phoned-in Chevy Chase and a literal phoned-in performance by Morgan Fairchild. Plus, lots of milkshakes.  Follow Mike @projectionbooth.bsky.social and be sure to listen to his many...

The time has come for us to see just how much film quality suffers by conservative values. That's right! 2025's A Cinderella Christmas Ball is a Great American Family production, and you can tell! Emily is joined by blogger, podcaster, and birthday boy Kevin Matthews for this special investigation into fake European kingdoms, magical reversible peacoats, and tongue-less orphans.  Be sure to listen...

"God bless us, everyone," but said in the most monotone line reading possible. It's A Christmas Carol by way of Hallmark! For 2025's Christmas Above the Clouds, Emily is joined by podcasters Brandi & David Jackola. As is customary, tangents ensue. Would you expect anything less?  Be sure to follow  @brandiwine.bsky.social  and  @djevildave.bsky.social  and listen to their Star Trek podcasts Bo...

What better way to spend the holidays than a full week trip with your adult family? Emily hops in the passenger seat of a German motorcar driven by the one and only Jason Fozzie Nelson to sail through the Hallmark Channel's A Keller Christmas Vacation, with plenty of detours to the Hallmark Peacoat Closet.  Be sure to buy Jason's wonderful novel Always By My Side: https://www.amazon.com/Always-Sid...

It's a freaky festive Friday when Emily and guest star Elwood Jones team up for a body swap! Today's movie is 2015's Christmas Trade, starring William Baldwin as a stiff lawyer dad to a perfectly normal 11-year-old who becomes a stumbling buffoon when an ugly magical teddy bear pulls a Vice Versa. Be sure to follow Elwood's various projects: Blog:  https://fromthedepthsofdvdhell.wordpress.com/ Asi...

Don't mess with ex-mas. Emily returns to that shiny Netflix well with the one and only Christine Makepeace to tackle 2025's A Merry Little Ex-Mas, the film that gives us the best of Alicia Silverstone in velvet, Melissa Joan Hart in Dress Barn, and tearaway tuxedos the way they were always meant to be. Don't forget to grab your real or virtual tickets for Emily's upcoming live (and later) show at...

Isn't it weird to see Cozy Cardigan Christmas movies made with budgets? Long-time beloved Special Guest Star Elizabeth Katheryn Gray joins Emily to shop around Sterling's Department Store in Netflix's Jingle Bell Heist. There are twists, turns, and actual songs that cost money! Deep South Wrestling:  https://www.wearedeepsouth.com/ Don't forget to use some of that those stolen jewels to get your t...

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, and you know what that means: Stocking Stuffers are back! Emily starts the season with a solo visit to Garland, Alaska, where Hallmark decides to get vengeance on Candace Cameron Burre by making a sequel without her to 2014's Christmas Under Wraps. This episode includes a far too detailed dissection of 2022's A Cozy Christmas Inn, complete with diversio...

It's the episode where Emily and Christine discuss everything they know about slashers and even more things they don't! We go over the rules, our favorites, our controversies, and much more. Happy Halloween!

Christine and Emily have been busy watching movies and miniseries they enjoyed! Here’s a generally cheerful catchup celebrating a wildly mixed grabbag of media, including Chad Gets the Axe, Popeye, Nashville, Body Count, Yentl, 2025’s I Know What You Did Last Summer, Lake Placid, Alligator, The Lamp, The Long Walk, Tamara, ‘90s miniseries The Langoliers and Merlin, Bed Rest, Children of the Corn V...

Tune up that tractor and pack that pasta salad! On this perfectly thematically tied episode, Christine and Emily explore aging with two wildly different films. First up is M. Night. Shyamalan's OLD, which...doesn't go well. We redeem ourselves with the absolutely astounding feat that is David Lynch's THE STRAIGHT STORY. Spoilers abound everywhere, and all this is best enjoyed with a Miller Lite an...

Pack your swimsuit and slather on that sunscreen! Christine and Emily are heading back toward (or adjacent) to the water with a roundup of their favorite beach-centered movies. We’ve got mystery, sharks, boardwalks, saxophones, and so much more. 

We’re stopping in for a quick catchup episode on our recent watches for 2020s era films! We close with a full detailed dive into Final Destination: Bloodlines, but before that, catch some non-spoiled discussion on: Drop Saw X The Blackening Another Simple Favo r Woman of the Hour Sinners My Mom Jayne The Monkey The Ugly Stepsister Fear Street: Prom Queen The Dark and the Wicked Friendship Juror #2

Christine and Emily just can’t seem to stay out of the water. This week, it’s a pair of recent sporty stories about determined women and people they inspire/enrage. Join us for 2021’s The Novice (streaming on Kanopy and Netflix) and 2023’s Nyad (Netflix). WE HAVE A LOT OF THINGS TO SAY ABOUT HOW IT’S OKAY TO SET GOALS AND ACHIEVE THEM AND OKAY SOMETIMES ALSO TOXIC. It’s a journey. Put on your swim...

We’re on a boat! Well, quite a few of them actually. Christine and Emily go on a sailing expedition to discuss their favorite maritime movies. There will be pirates, snakes, ghosts, mystery, machetes, violins, time loops, and multiple Billy Zanes. Zip up that life vest and come aboard!