Boston film critics Evan Crean, Megan Kearns, and David Riedel help you decide what to watch by sharing spoiler-filled reviews of the latest blockbusters and independent films, across genres, including films by women, nonbinary, LGBTQ+, and BIPOC filmmakers. Opening music: "My Life as a God" by Augean Stables. Closing music: "Pants Party" by Oilhead. Show edited by Otto Klammer. Logo design by Rita Csizmadia.
…
continue reading
1
Episode 515: "Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga," "Atlas," and "Hit Man"
1:00:16
1:00:16
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:00:16
Dave, after initially going to the wrong theater, made it to the FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA (3:21) screening. He yaps about it, and then Megan and Evan join him for Jennifer Lopez’s new sci-fi flick, ATLAS (11:32), about A.I. that’s - natch - trying to wipe out humanity. A.I. is on everyone’s minds lately, right? Too bad there wasn’t some originality …
…
continue reading
1
Episode 514: "Babes" and "You Can't Run Forever"
53:40
53:40
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
53:40
What happens when all three critics on Spoilerpiece have problems with both movies on the docket? Listen and you’ll find out! First up is director/co-writer Michelle Schumacher’s YOU CAN’T RUN FOREVER (2:26), a wannabe thriller starring Schumacher’s husband J.K. Simmons, Schumacher’s daughter Olivia Simmons, and a bunch of people who apparently did…
…
continue reading
1
Episode 513: "Let It Be" remastered, "Evil Does Not Exist," and "Force of Nature: The Dry 2"
1:05:35
1:05:35
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:05:35
This week there’s a music documentary, an eco-fable set in Japan, and Dave’s favorite cinematic subgenre: Australian detective stories starring Eric Bana! To start things, Dave fills Megan and Evan in on Michael Lindsay-Hogg’s remastered LET IT BE, which crawled so Peter Jackson’s GET BACK could fuggin’ sprint. Megan watched EVIL DOES NOT EXIST, sa…
…
continue reading
1
Episode 512: "The Fall Guy," "New Life," and "Unfrosted"
54:08
54:08
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
54:08
This week Megan fills Dave and Evan in on the Ryan Gosling/Emily Blunt-starring THE FALL GUY (2:03), which is an update of the TV series "The Fall Guy" (bet you didn't see that one coming). Is it good? Bad? Somewhere in between? Then Megan and Dave talk about the genre hyphenate NEW LIFE (12:56), which seems to be one thing (suspense thriller) and …
…
continue reading
1
Episode 511: "Boy Kills World," "Butterfly in the Sky," and "Humane"
58:23
58:23
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
58:23
This week on the show, we got some wires crossed (which is to say *Dave* got some wires crossed). So he mistakenly watched BOY KILLS WORLD (2:24), the new Bill-Skarsgård-kills-the-shit-out-of-everyone movie, instead of BUTTERFLY IN THE SKY (12:33), a new documentary about “Reading Rainbow.” But fear not! Megan and Evan watched BUTTERFLY IN THE SKY,…
…
continue reading
1
Episode 510: "The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare" and "We Grown Now"
49:51
49:51
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
49:51
This week Megan took one for the team and checked in on Guy Ritchie’s latest, THE MINISTRY OF UNGENTLEMANLY WARFARE (2:38). Does this based-on-a-true-story movie take Ritchie down some less traveled paths? Or is it standard Guy Ritchie fare? Megan has the answers! Evan and Dave join Megan to talk about WE GROWN NOW (17:52), writer/director Minhal B…
…
continue reading
1
Episode 509: "Civil War" and "The Greatest Hits"
1:02:36
1:02:36
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:02:36
Perhaps you’ve heard the brouhaha surrounding writer-director Alex Garland’s Kirsten Dunst-starring CIVIL WAR (2:18) and wondered what it’s all about (um...a civil war...in the United States...in the near future). Wonder no more! Megan and Dave saw it, and they have things to say: unkind, complimentary, and all points in between. One of them hated …
…
continue reading
1
Episode 508: "The People's Joker" and "Girls State"
59:49
59:49
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
59:49
This week on the show we Megan and Dave tackled the controversial (to Warner Bros.) THE PEOPLE’S JOKER (1:53), director/co-writer/editor/star Vera Drew's queer coming-of-age superhero parody. Good sound design, good visuals. What else is good about it? Then Evan, Megan, and Dave talk about the documentary GIRLS STATE (24:27), directors Jesse Moss a…
…
continue reading
Dave can't join us, so it’s just Megan and Evan this week! First, Megan reviews Giuseppe Tornatore’s lengthy, yet fascinating documentary ENNIO (2:35) about the life and work of Italian film composer Ennio Morricone. Then we both discuss Sam H. Freeman and Ng Choon Ping’s gritty queer thriller FEMME (16:18), which captivated us, but left us with so…
…
continue reading
1
Episode 506: "Late Night with the Devil" and "Road House"
55:06
55:06
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
55:06
On this week’s show, Megan and Dave kick things off with LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL (2:18), Cameron and Colin Cairnes's nasty found-footage horror thriller starring David Dastmalchian and featuring demonic possession, heads on fire, garroting by necklace, all wrapped up in a nifty 1970s production design. Bonus: Michael Ironsides does the opening vo…
…
continue reading
1
Episode 505: "Love Lies Bleeding," "Stopmotion," and "Frida"
48:09
48:09
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
48:09
Megan kicks things off this week with talk of LOVE LIES BLEEDING (2:16), Rose Glass's intense queer thriller starring Kristen Stewart and Katy O'Brian. Verdict? LISTEN (ha). Next Dave and Megan review STOPMOTION (6:11), Robert Morgan's horror movie starring Aisling Franciosi and featuring lots of compelling stop-motion animation. Megan likes it but…
…
continue reading
1
Episode 504: "American Dreamer" and "Damsel"
1:00:28
1:00:28
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:00:28
This week Megan and Dave tackle AMERICAN DREAMER (2:07), and it ain’t pretty. Sure, Peter Dinklage and Shirley MacLaine are fine. And sure, Dave laughed at a few things. But that’s about all the positives we have for it (hoo boy, do we get amped up during this talk!). Then Evan, Megan, and Dave watched DAMSEL (22:40), the new dragon’s-gonna-eat-ya-…
…
continue reading
1
Episode 503: "Dune: Part Two" and "Spaceman"
53:47
53:47
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
53:47
This week, Megan and Dave discuss DUNE: PART TWO, Denis Villeneuve's sci-fi epic starring Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, and Rebecca Ferguson. Dave found the fatalism inherent in its story rendered it dramatically inert, even if he dug its look (despite the on-the-nose Nuremberg rally-inspired sequence) and some of the performances. Megan loved the sp…
…
continue reading
1
Episode 502: "Lovely, Dark and Deep" and "Players"
58:32
58:32
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
58:32
It’s been two weeks since we talked horror at Spoilerpiece, so Megan and Dave remedied that by watching Teresa Sutherland’s LOVELY, DARK AND DEEP, a bump-in-the-night-type thriller that plays out in a national park. While Megan and Dave came to roughly similar conclusions about the movie’s technical aspects and Georgina Cambell’s lead performance, …
…
continue reading
1
Episode 501: “Orion and the Dark” and “The Hobby”
53:12
53:12
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
53:12
Megan is back! And to kick things off, she and Dave talk about the animated film ORION AND THE DARK (2:33). Yes, it’s screenwriter Charlie Kaufman’s first foray into children’s films. But is it any good? Not surprisingly, Megan and Dave have divergent views. But who liked it and who did not?!! (Eh, it’s exactly what you think.) Then Evan, Megan, an…
…
continue reading
1
Episode 500: "Out of Darkness" and "Restore Point"
47:13
47:13
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
47:13
Spoilerpeeps, this is the 500th episode of the show. Megan couldn’t make it this week, leaving the duo of Riedel & Crean. (That doesn’t roll off the tongue like Hall & Oates. Such is life.) Dave watched OUT OF DARKNESS (2:04), a survivor horror film (so its marketing says) set 45,000 years ago, about six people struggling in a new, vast, inhospitab…
…
continue reading
1
Episode 499: "The Taste of Things" and "Scrambled"
47:50
47:50
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
47:50
This week we talk about THE TASTE OF THINGS (2:05), which features many of Dave’s loves: Juliette Binoche, French food, romance, and tobacco (Megan liked it, too). This deliberate romantic drama, about a gourmand (Benoît Magimel) and his gifted cook (Binoche), is directed by Trân Anh Hùng. It's beautifully photographed, meticulously staged, and it …
…
continue reading
1
Episode #498: "Self-Reliance" and "Sometimes I Think About Dying"
43:37
43:37
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
43:37
This week, we cover two movies dealing with loneliness and connection. Megan reviews SOMETIMES I THINK ABOUT DYING (1:56), Rachel Lambert's poignant and sweet comedy-drama starring Daisy Ridley as a shy and isolated person who meets someone new (Dave Merheje). Then we (Evan and Megan) discuss SELF-RELIANCE (14:23), Jake Johnson's uneven comedy — wh…
…
continue reading
Thanks for patience with the delay in posting the show this morning. This week Megan and Dave talk about ORIGIN (2:51), director and screenwriter Ava DuVernay's adaptation of Isabel Wilkerson's book Caste, starring Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor as Wilkerson, Jon Bernthal as Wilkerson's husband Brett, and Niecy Nash-Betts as Wilkerson's cousin and best frie…
…
continue reading
1
Episode 496: "Mean Girls," "The Settlers," and "Good Grief"
57:59
57:59
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
57:59
There’s no way to scrub quickly through the previous 495-ish episodes to find out, but it’s possible we’ve never had two movies featured in the main episode that are so tonally at odds. First, Megan talks about MEAN GIRLS (2:01), the new enjoyable musical comedy about teen cliques based on the Broadway musical, which is adapted from the 2004 film. …
…
continue reading
1
Episode 495: "Memory" and "Leave the World Behind"
1:05:54
1:05:54
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:05:54
We start of 2024 with two not-depressing movies: A love story bathed in trauma (MEMORY at 3:25) and a maybe-end-of-the-world drama where one of the characters is so selfish you hope they walk into the ocean and never return (LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND at 21:31). Over on Patreon, we talk about the 1993 animated film BATMAN: MASK OF THE PHANTASM. Take a …
…
continue reading
1
Episode #494: Our Top 10 Lists from 2023
1:07:08
1:07:08
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:07:08
For the last Spoilerpiece of 2023, we keep with the tradition of sharing our top 10 films of the year. Evan starts (2:51), followed by Megan (20:15) and Dave (43:22). there are tangents aplenty, and not much overlap between lists. We had a lot of fun with this one. And if you're so inclined, please take a listen to our Patreon bonus episode, in whi…
…
continue reading
1
Episode #493: "Anatomy of a Fall" and "All of Us Strangers"
59:43
59:43
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
59:43
This week we talk about Canne's 2023 Palme d'Or winner ANATOMY OF A FALL (3:02). Was it a fall? Or a push? Then it's ALL OF US STRANGERS (27:56), a movie so sad Dave has to shut off his mic. Twice. And please check ot our Patreon. This week we talk about our non-movie recommendations for 2023.
…
continue reading
1
Episode #492: "Saltburn" and "American Fiction"
1:19:02
1:19:02
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:19:02
Megan is on vacation, so Evan and Dave are joined by friend of the show Kristen Halbert! Together the three of them discuss whether SALTBURN (4:10) is the kind of film you'd recommend to your friends or enemies. Then it's AMERICAN FICTION (28:37), starring Jeffrey Wright and familial angst (among roughly a dozen other plots). And don't forget to li…
…
continue reading
1
Episode #491: "Eileen" and "The Holdovers"
54:37
54:37
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
54:37
Megan is off this week so that leaves Evan and Dave to contend with Alexander Payne's latest, THE HOLDOVERS (2:30). Question to the audience that we pose to ourselves: Aside from ELECTION, do you remember Alexander Payne movies after you've seen them? And then there's EILEEN (23:46) - which Megan loved, btw - with its hour of being one movie and it…
…
continue reading