The First Run

This week in The First Run, Chris and Matt discuss Evil Dead Rises 2: ‘Lee Cronin’s The Mummy’.  After a solid effort with ‘The Hole In The Ground’, followed up with ‘Evil Dead Rise’, Cronin takes on the beloved horror monster and gives it a twist. Then there’s the big releases on Physical Media. All this and likely more on this week’s program. 00:00-13:19: Intro/Lee Cronin’s The Mummy 13:20-...

This week on The First Run, Chris and Matt check out the new ‘Faces Of Death’!  The film that dares to ask, does watching violence beget violence? The answer: yeah, dude.  Can the refresh compete with the first viral video, banned in 46 countries no less!  Plus Chris runs down the big releases on Physical Media. 00:00-20:56: Intro/Faces of Death (2026) 20:57-27:26: Physical Med...

This week on The First Run, as the Super Mario Galaxy film rakes in over $372 million, Chris and Matt discuss the latest film from Julia Ducournau, ‘Alpha’!  The director of ‘Raw’ and ‘Titane’ returns with a different kind of horror.  Leaning more into metaphor and drama. But is there any hot lady on car action or cannibalism?  Chris reveals the big releases on Physical Media, and m...

This week on The First Run, Matt and Chris count to 10 and go on the hunt for the devil...for some reason...in ‘Ready or Not 2: Here I Come’. Then, back by popular demand for one show only(?), Chris will give you the rundown of the big releases on physical media.  00:00-18:21: Intro/Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come 18:22-23:29: Physical Media Picks 23:30-25:18: Wrap Up Theme music by Jamal Malachi...

This week on The First Run, Chris and Matt are joined by Darin Lundberg of NostalgiaCast and Back To Bluey to discuss Milana Vayntrub’s latest film, ‘Project Hail Mary’, featuring Ryan Gosling and Sandra Hüller, and directed by Phil Lord & Chris Miller, the team behind the Spider-Verse series.  Does Ms. Vayntrub finally get the recognition she deserves as one of the planet’s pre-eminent a...

This week on The First Run, Chris and Matt find out first hand why this is a movie podcast and not a spooky cast with the haunted podcast flick ‘Undertone’. Then, they give your the results of their annual battle royale for the Oscar winners, an awards show they have opinions on but stopped watching years ago.   00:00-20:25: Intro/Undertone 20:26-27:08: 2026 Oscars Wrap Up 27:09-29:22: W...

Welcome to The First Run 2026 Oscars special! Chris and Matt share their predictions for the big 6 categories: Best Supporting Actress/Actor, Best Actor/Actress, Direction, and Best Picture.  You can also review Matt and Chris’ selections for all the other categories as well as they’ve linked their ballots in the show notes.  Enjoy and good luck on your Oscars Pool! Theme music by Jamal...

This week on The First Run, Chris and Matt celebrate their 800th episode by paying tribute to all you brides out there! First up, Jessie Buckley leads Maggie Gyllenhaal’s (let’s say) reinterpreting of the classic Universal horror film, with ‘The Bride!’.  Then it’s on to one of Scalzo’s holy grails, ‘Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair’. Has the wait been worth it? And in classic TFR fashion w...

This week on The First Run, Chris and Matt check out the latest film that should have gone straight to streaming but somehow slipped through, ‘How to Make a Killing’.  Does Glen Powell retain his positive position over the Tatum Line?  And what happens with a black comedy fails on its central premise? Well, Chris goes from indifferent to angry, thanks to Matt’s prodding.  00:00-21:5...

This week on The First Run, Chris and Matt venture once more into the breach to assist the always effervescent Sam Rockwell save the future in Gore Verbinski’s ‘Good Luck Have Fun Don’t Die’! All that and that’s about it! 00:00-12:33: Intro/Good Luck Have Fun Don’t Die 12:34-15:15: Robert Duvall 15:16-18:06: Wrap Up Theme music by Jamal Malachi Ford-Bey

This week on The First Run, Chris and Matt call an audible and decide to watch ‘Whistle’, the tale of high schoolers who can't leave well enough alone and being supernaturally punished for it in brutal fashion. A tale as old as time, really.   00:00-16:44: Intro/Whistle 16:45-19:12: Wrap Up Theme music by Jamal Malachi Ford-Bey

This week on The First Run, Chris and Matt discuss Sam Raimi’s first horror film since ‘Drag Me To Hell’ from 2009(!) with ‘Send Help’!  And that’s it.  Actually no, Chris has had a breakthrough with the MCU he’s very excited to share with Matt. And that’s it. For real this time. 00:00-14:38: Intro/Send Help 14:39-18:38: Wonder Man 18:39-20:57: Wrap Up Theme music by Jamal Malachi Ford-B...

This week on The First Run, Chris and Matt check out the first true January movie of 2026 with Timur Bekmambetov’s ‘Mercy’, featuring Hollywood’s 4th best Chris (Pratt) and the UK’s best Ferguson (Rebecca). Then, the guys discuss the latest from the bro-iest bros in Hollywood, it’s Ben Affleck and Matt Damon in Joe Carnahan’s ‘The Rip’! Matt and Chris wrap it all up with their 5 Favorite Films of...

This week on The First Run, it’s a jumbo-sized program featuring Chris and Matt discussing Nia DiCosta’s ’28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’.  Picking up moments after the previous films, Spike’s adventures in the cursed Scottish Highlands continue as Ralph Fiennes’s Dr. Ian Kelson and the Jimmy’s take center stage.  Then 2025 wraps with Park Chan-wook’s ‘No Other Choice’ as  Lee Byun...

This week on The First Run Matt and Chris were supposed to see the latest from Park Chan Wook but that didn't happen because Matt is dedicated enough to drive to NYC to see a movie for you. The nerve. Instead, they catch up with The Mastermind, a tragic comedy of errors masquerading as a heist film.  Then, Chris and Matt give you their top 5 most anticipated films of 2026.  00:...

This week on The First Run, Chris and Matt discuss the theatrical directorial debut of Charlie Poling’s ‘The Plague’.  A bunch of punk kids at a waterpolo summer camp encounter something unsettling…themselves.  Plus Matt and Chris begin their Top 10 Most Anticipated Films, starting off with numbers 10-6! 00:00-16:12: Intro/The Plague 16:13-32:10: Most Anticipated Films of 2026: 10-6 32:1...

This week on The First Run, the buzz outweighs Chris and Matt's misgivings when they check out the latest from Josh Safdie, ‘Marty Supreme’. Then, because the guys have some kind of a laugh outside of movies for the show, they break down the top 5 other things they enjoyed in 2025.  00:00-16:25: Intro/Marty Supreme 16:26-19:19: RIP MTV 19:20-41:52: 5 Other Things We Enjoyed in 2025 41:53-45:2...

This week on The First Run, Chris and Matt travel once more to Pandora as the Avatar franchise returns with ‘Avatar: Fire And Ash’.  This time we’re introduced to a new clan, the Mangkwan.  A group of of raiders on the edge of survival willing to do anything to maintain their existence.  Just how far, and how long, will they go?  Well, I can at least guarantee to you this episo...

This week on The First Run, Matt and Chris check out the latest accent from Daniel Craig in Rian Johnson's latest Knives Out mystery, ‘Wake Up Dead Man’. Then Chris will give you his thoughts on the 2025 remake of ‘Silent Night, Deadly Night’. Chris and Matt close out the how by spending a little time saying farewell to the late, great Rob Reiner.   00:00-16:24: Wake Up Dead Man 16:...

This week on The First Run, Chris and Matt discuss the latest by the French husband and wife directing team, Hélène Cattet’s & Bruno Forzani’s  ‘Reflection In A Dead Diamond’.  Known for the striking visual storytelling style, this time they tackle the euro-spy thrillers. Is it a wonderfully mad mash-up of visuals and narrative?  Or unintelligible mess?  Plus, Chris shares...

This week on The First Run, Matt and Chris take a long, dreamy train ride to nowhere, or the answer to everything, with ‘Train Dreams’.  Not Train Wars like Chris keeps wanting to call it.  00:00-14:27: Intro/Train Dreams 14:28-30:04: Wrap-up Theme music by Jamal Malachi Ford-Bey

This week on The First Run, Chris and Matt venture once more to the 1940’s to watch a legendary Finish warrior dispatch a bunch more baddies in ‘Sisu: Road To Revenge’.  Plus it’s the return of Matt’s favorite guest with the 2025 Gift Guide for the Movie Lover in your life! Or just yourself. 00:00-15:05: Intro/ Sisu: Road To Revenge 15:06-29:47: 2025 Holiday Gift Guide 29:48-32:30: Wrap Up Th...

This week on The First Run, Chris and Matt check out the latest from Edgar Wright with ‘The Running Man’, a dystopian film that dares to ask "What would you for $1 billion new bucks?" Also Matt had some technical difficulties with his microphone but it gets better after the intro! 00:00-20:05: Intro/The Running Man 20:06-29:30: Rank ‘Em: Edgar Wright's Films 29:31-31:39: Wrap-Up Theme music b...

This week on The First Run, Chris and Matt delve back into the Predator-verse!  On this adventure, we eschew the Predator trope of the hunter villain, for a story about a honor, redemption, and cliche. Then Yorgos Lanthimos, Emma Stone, and America’s Sweet heart, Jesse Plemons reunite for the latest off-center cinematic experience with Bugonia!  00:00-14:21: Intro/Predator: Badlands 14:2...

This week on The First Run, Chris and Matt check out the latest from Guillermo the Bull Frankenstein. It gets pretty heated discussing the merits of Mia Goth so you don't want to miss this one! 00:00-14:20: Intro/Frankenstein 14:20-23:52: Miscellany/Wrap Up  FindHelp.org Theme music by Jamal Malachi Ford-Bey