Are You Screening? Podcast

Tenet finally shows up, but the film that doesn't want you to know what it's about hasn't managed to get people swarming against the pandemic. Is it worth heading to the theater? You can catch the curious case of Bill&Ted returning to the screen decades later at home or in the theater, but is it worth either option? We'll let you know where to put your money.

This week we're reviewing Project Power, talking industry news, and steeling ourselves for a return to theaters.

We're finally back and trying to catch up. Even a pandemic can only keep us away so long, and we're looking at Eurovision, Palm Springs, and The Old Guard this week, with special bonus ratings for Greyhound.   Spoiler - We recommend them all... except Shane doesn't love Eurovision... because he hates elves.

As the lack of theatrical releases really starts to take a toll on us, we'll be going over some great television that's available, and we'll review Sonic the Hedgehog and The Jesus Rolls. As we head into the summer, we are going to try to expand our coverage of TV here, while continuing to get you reviews of as many movies as possible.

Our latest social distancing episode covers Extraction, which is pretty surprising, the AMC vs Universal controversy, and a lot more.

We're finally back at it and reviewing Onward, but we're also going to share our experiences with social distancing and the streaming opportunities available to us all these days.

It was a challenge, and between the two of us it probably covers 200 films, but we've made our lists of the Top 20 Movies of the Decade. In our originally live episode, we take you through our lists, let you know where we think we're crazy, and give you a lot of insights we learned in boiling down a decade into the best on offer. Among other things, we'll let you know some of the most forgotten movies, surprises other people have on their lists, and the movies that we're not putting on ours, no matter how many other people do.

Awards season isn't quite over until we share our own. The "Can't Win" Awards are our own effort to highlight some of the films that aren't getting the attention they deserve. Whether a movie is too niche, too indie, or otherwise just isn't going to get a "real" award, we honor those efforts that go overlooked to one degree or another... well, except Shane, who picks things that got nominated... As usual, we each pick a winner in the big five - Movie, Director, Screenplay, Actor, and Actress. Tune in to find some great movies that a lot of people missed last year. Also, tune in Tuesday for a live show where we tell you our picks for Best Movies of the Decade

Once Oscar season ends, there's usually a lot of room for backlash, but this year a lot of the awards were foregone conclusions... except for Parasite making history. Still, we give you a quick rundown on the winners. We're also reviewing Birds of Prey, and it's one that, perhaps surprisingly, made for quite a gap in our ratings. Screwball fun, or just hopelessly screwball? We'll let you know.

It could only last so long, and though we tried to draw out talking about good movies as much as possible, at some point we had to get here.  It's a weird year for us, and while that seems true of every year, the worst list left us spoiled for choice. Not only the worst of the worst, but our lists diverged a fair amount this time around. And, we have a fair number of movies that are on people's best lists.

We haven't been able to cover everything on the show, as usual, but it's time to let you in on the best of the year anyway. Unusual notes this year - No animated films made it, and unprecedented number of films that are on other people's best list are going to be on our worst lists.

As we close in on the end of award season, we're taking a look at one that not enough people are showering with praise, Little Women. We're also going to run through the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards so that you're up to speed as the Academy Awards grow closer, and so you get some idea where we're heading as our Best Lists also approach.

As the end of the year hits and awards season explodes, we have to take a step back and look the latest in the Star Wars franchise. We may not have gone in with high expectations, but it's hard for anyone to avoid finding some amount of fun in any Star Wars feature... maybe. We'll give you our take on the wrap to the franchise, and let you know about some other end of year titles you don't want to overlook.

Both movies this week have had topsy turvy rides through the media with people promoting them as strong contenders for awards with brilliant casts, then facing certain amounts of backlash with audiences and critics questioning their status. Both have ultimately survived (to this point) and are critical darlings, though Knives Out isn't exactly running toward a lot of awards. As we make our way through the minefield that is the end of the year, we'll let you know where we stand on these, and one of them is a film that I think people are going to return to for years to come.

We're on the eve of award season, and the release of several films that are going to dominate nominations. As we gear up to run through dozens of movies in the next few weeks, we're spotlighting a couple that shouldn't be overlooked. Ford v Ferarri (LeMans '66 everywhere else in the world) is a surprising win, especially for those who aren't drawn to the idea of watching car races for a couple hours, and while we had some problems with the Mr. Rogers effort, it's well worth checking out... though, to be honest, it might not require the theater experience.

As we approach the height of award-bait season, Midway rolls on the scene looking for a war-interested audience. It's a genre that is becoming increasingly niche and efforts that focus on battles need more to draw people in than just an action-packed, historic account of events. Does Midway have what it takes to get people in seats, and is it worthwhile once they show up? We'll let you know how this one fared and if you're likely to sing its praises. We'll also be giving you a rundown of some of the recent TV entries via new streaming services.

We're playing catch-up this week, largely due to a trip to the premiere of The Irishman. We'll be taking a look at that one, Terminator: Dark Fate, Zombieland Double Tap, and Gemini Man so strap in. We're also going to be giving you a quick run through of the films headed to theaters in November, because there is too much to see. As a special treat, direct from the post-premiere press conference, Al Pacino tells a story about a weird acting spin when he was at The Actor's Studio and if nothing else, it cracked up Martin Scorsese.

The box office vote is in, and Joker is a winner, but is it because of the hype - positive and negative - or just because the title is going to draw crowds? If the film is, for example, really bad, or actually has nothing to do with the Joker, would it make as much money just because enough people want to find out? We'll let you know where we landed on this DC adventure, and whether or not it's worth your time.

Slow-paced movies that send big names into space have a pretty good track record, as does writer/director James Gray, but this one looks like it's taking "slow" a lot more seriously. Does that work with... whatever the story is, and can Brad Pitt hold the audience when it doesn't look like he gets a lot of help? We'll let you know if you need to catch this one immediately or not, and we've got some takes on the Emmy's, as well as a few of our thoughts on Joker.

It's hard to imagine two films that are, in some sense, aiming at horror that are more different in their approach, especially when you consider that both need some explanation just to wrap your head around if they are members of the genre at all. These are also two films where expectations may lead you down the wrong path to enjoying them, and they are two films that are better than we thought they'd be... for what that's worth. Tune in and find out our take on these films, and we'll also give you a bit of a rundown of what's headed your way.