Are You Screening? Podcast

This week we're looking at Nobody 2, and we have high hopes because we really enjoyed the first one. Is this going to land on the sophomore effort heap, or can a franchise finally keep up the effort? We're also going to check out The Pickup, the Eddie Murphy/Pete Davidson vehicle that screams of utterly unnecessary filler. They are two people who can surprise you, and frequently have, but this one isn't even managing a lot of appeal in promo spots so... We'll let you know everything you need about these and very likely some other interesting things... maybe.

This week we're bouncing things around to bring you a couple of films now (or only) on streaming services. Happy Gilmore 2 might not have been a movie anyone asked for, and there was certainly no sort of need for it at all, but you might find some laughs. The Phoenician Scheme is yet another "most Wes Anderson film ever," and that seems to be a hill with no summit. Full of characteristically deadpan delivery and utterly screwy plot, this is a movie that has something to say... about something. Tune in and get all our thoughts on these polar opposite takes on "comedy."

It's finally The Fantastic Four: First Steps and a big push of hope for Marvel, as strange as that may sound. There are several movies coming up that are going to see Marvel mashing together all their heroes into a super Avengers sandwich and the reintroduction of The Fantastic Four is a big test for making it all work. So, the question is, did we get something that makes it seem like it can all come together into films that people are not only going to see, but champion. You'll have to tune in for our full answer there, but the short answer is that this is a film that screams style over substance in every frame. We're also looking at The Amateur, which is a bit older at this point, but has perhaps been overlooked and is now easier to catch.

This week it's the summer film everyone has been waiting for, Superman. It's a bit of a gamble, and a real test for Gunn and DC, but if nothing else, it's got people talking. We'll let you know all the details, but I will spoil things a bit.... because it's not very positive.

This week, as we return to republishing once again, turned out to be quite the surprise, as we look at two movies that could not have less in common. The Gorge, with high-powered stars and a furiously wonky plot, pulled us in to a surprising degree. Perhaps more surprisingly, Conclave, which I could not really be less interested in on a bullet-point reading, leaned so heavily on its cast that you could hardly help becoming a bit enthralled.

This week is a special episode... sort of, being that we are Bangor, ME residents, and while we didn't love The Life of Chuck, it's a fascinating collaboration-ish with Mike Flanagan taking on a King story. We also take a look at The Accountant 2, the sequel to a film we both rather enjoyed, but a sequel that misses the mark when it comes to justifying its existence.

This week we're catching up more with some republish episodes, and here we're looking at The Brutalist and a couple of others as we were trying to wind up the year.

This week we're finally nailing down our Best of the Year lists, and despite the fact that we say every year is crazy, this one is really nuts when it comes to our lists... at least if you compare them to a lot of other critics. So much money was dumped into things that were supposed to launch onto everyone's radar this year, and so many of them bombed, were rather awful, or both. So what gets on the list, and how does that compare to titles that won awards? Tune in to find out and learn about the movies that shined in '24 Plus, we get to Mickey 17, which should have gotten a lot more attention, even if we didn't exactly love it.

We have a few episodes left in our republishing effort and this week we've got Nosferatu. We kick off taking a shot at Eggers and an interview celebrating the box office success of the film, and then let you in on all the reasons it is mostly underwhelming.

It's that time again, we have to get on to our yearly lists, but before we dive in there, we thought we better touch on the movies we haven't covered, because we don't want people thinking we just didn't see the films that pop up on other people's lists... or that got nominated for things... or won things. We're checking boxes as fast as we can and running though films this week, and you may be surprised to learn which films we need to highlight (because they probably won't be on our Best List)

Awards season has wrapped with the Oscars, but before we get to a rundown of noteworthy films we haven't covered next week, and our Best of the Year lists the week after, we have to visit a truly underwhelming Marvel film. Captain America: Brave New World could barely hold our attention, and it seems fitting to get it out of the way before we start talking about good films.

We continue our insane adventure of republishing/catching up with Joker: Folie a Deux, Brothers, and My Old Ass. It's the strange kick off to the year's film with huge budgets that bombed and a couple of smaller titles that were quite a bit better than expected. The sequel to the massive hit ought to have made plenty of money, but it had trouble long before it came out, and rightly so. We'll let you in on these and more... including just some director bashing.

We're continuing our insane republish/catch-up extravaganza with The Instigators & Jackpot!...two movies that, depending on which of us you side with, maybe are at best unnecessary. We also run through some TV this week, because... at the time... there was a lot we wanted to champion and weren't sure they would get enough attention. Check out our thoughts and share, like, subscribe, and otherwise trick your friends into listening to us.

We continue our catch up/republish adventures with Deadpool & Wolverine, as wild and screwy a movie as 2024 could manage. We also take a helluva shot at the Olympics and the insanity of events.

As we continue with our catch up/republish episodes, we get to Inside Out 2, one of the best of the year, and the impossible to search IF (Imaginary Friends), and finally Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F. It made for a strange episode, because Inside Out 2 was almost indescribably good, but somehow wasn't quite a 10/10, and the other two were passable while filled with flaws that make them potentially annoying.

As we continue to catch up/republish we look at Furiosa and Hitman this week. Two movies that coud hardly be more different, and both a bit disappointing in their own ways. Furiosa, while serviceable and filled with moments of fun, doesn't live up to the expectations set for it, and Hitman just couldn't seem to get out of its own way and wouldn't commit to a story. Give a listen for all the details and be sure to subscribe and share.

This week (?) we're bringing you our Can't Win Awards (again... sort of), and The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. Massive apologies to our fans as many of our episodes over the last six months have been up and down, seemed to be up but weren't really, and have had all sorts of other problems. And, that doesn't even cover some serious delays in publishing. We'll be catching up rather quickly, so further apologies as we shotgun many episodes from the past few months.

This week we look at The Fall Guy and if there's one overall theme to looking at this one, it's that we were both surprised that it worked out pretty well, despite some goofy moments, AND we were just as much surprised by the extent to which this bears no resemblance to the original show... at all. Still, it's mostly a fun, popcorn jaunt with some heart and it surely serves its purpose and hasn't really, in our humble opinion, managed reviews that make a lot of sense, by some anyway. To our fans, some technical and personal difficulties have thrown us for a loop over the summer, and episodes that seemed to be live weren't. Because of this, we'll be pushing out quite a few in fairly rapid succession. Thanks for tuning in, and rest assured we aren't going anywhere.

Two movies that... serve a purpose perhaps, but don't offer much. "Roadhouse" and "Ricky Stanicky" both had more potential, and both can't get out of their own way. Remember, you can also catch the video version of our podcast now on YouTube.

It's that time again, and as much as it is perhaps unnecessary to rewarn people of the worst movies last year, it's now in a list! Thankfully, we don't need to overly revisit bad movies, which means we can also bring you a couple of recent Netflix releases, Damsel and Spaceman. We'll let you know what to stay away from, if you've managed it so far, and who knows what else we'll get up to.