Filmspotting

Noir-vember continues with this week's Filmspotting Archive drop: Adam and Josh's 2024 Sacred Cow review of Chinatown, which they did for the film's 50th anniversary. Unlock the full archive, Filmspotting Discord, ad‑free + bonus episodes, and more when you ⁠join the Filmspotting Family⁠. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are challenges and rewards to watching Lee Chang-dong’s Possible Love, the director’s follow-up to 2018’s Oscar-nominated Burning. The rewards come from the film itself, which deftly explores the exploitation of Korea’s working class as an issue of capitalism and class. The challenges come with the platform: can you give Lee’s deliberately-paced, nearly three-hour film the attention it deserves via Netflix? Matt and Jordan found themselves on opposite ends of the challenge/reward spectrum. Plus, streaming recommendations for films like Possible Love; a listener request for films about losing bodily autonomy (like this year’s Obsession); and Producer Sam hosts the most intricate movie game in SVU’s short history. Intro (00:00:00–00:02:05) Possible Love (00:02:06–0:33:40) Rec Seg! (0:33:41–00:48:14) Listener Request Seg! Losing Bodily Autonomy Movies (000:48:15–01:13:18) Game: A Tisket-a-Tasket, A Movie Game Acrostic (01:13:19–01:31:3

ScreenCrush critic, author, and Filmspotting SVU co-host Matt Singer joins Michael to test one of comedy’s most enduring mottos: comedy should punch up, not down. Drawing on comments from comedian George Carlin and a generation of screen comedies that pushed boundaries in every direction, they explore how the adage might apply to the movies Singer writes about in his latest book, Funny Business. They discuss how comedy changed in the age of streaming, why theatrical comedies have become endangered, what separates a great comedy from a merely successful one, and whether movies can still bring broad audiences together in an increasingly fragmented culture.Join the conversation by emailing themovieracket@filmspotting.net.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Adam and Josh finally get a chance to talk about the movie that everyone is talking about: Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s You Can See Everything. Along with some (well demarcated!) Spoiler Talk about the movie, they share poll results about the best docs of the 2020s (so far), and Josh weighs in on Laika’s Wildwood and the Palme d’Or-winning Fjord from Romania’s Cristian Mungiu.     This episode is presented by⁠ Regal Unlimited⁠⁠, the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits. Use code FILMSPOT26 to take 15% off. (Timecodes will not be precise with ads.) Intro (00:00:00-00:02:42) You Can See Everything (00:02:43-00:27:11) Filmspotting Family (00:27:12-00:33:27) You Can See Everything cont. (00:33:28-00:54:31)  Spoiler Talk: You Can See Everything (00:54:31-00:1:17:22)  Wildwood (01:17:23-01:23:10) Fjord (001:23:11-01:28:15) Polls (01:28:16-01:39:10) Credits / New Releases (01:39:11-01:43:16) Notes: Feedback: -E

As co-director of You Can See Everything, Nathan Fielder is unusually present in front of the camera, arguably overshadowing the film’s ostensible subject, disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes. That’s just the start of the film’s unconventionalities, which we’ll get into more next week, but first we’re revisiting a 1979 comedy that predicts Fielder’s turn as the stealth protagonist of his own documentary. As a prototype of the mockumentary form, as well as a satire of the then-nascent genre of reality television, Albert Brooks’ deeply meta debut feature Real Life encourages the audience to recognize an essential fact about documentary filmmaking, which is that cameras inevitably affect the behavior of those in front of it. And this week in Feedback, we correct an oversight in our recent discussion of The Social Network, and touch on some of the other titles we considered for this pairing. Please share your thoughts about Real Life, You Can See Everything, or an

What better way to kick off Noir-vember than with a Sacred Cow review of arguably the greatest noir ever made, Billy Wilder's 1944 classic Double Indemnity. Originally reviewed in 2022 as part of the Barbara Stanwyck Marathon.  Unlock the full archive, Filmspotting Discord, ad‑free + bonus episodes, and more when you ⁠join the Filmspotting Family⁠. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With Godzilla Minus Zero coming to theaters this weekend, Matt and Jordan took it upon themselves to brush up on the “King of the Monsters.” Helping them out is guest Aaron Neuwirth, co-host of the 2 Black Guys Talk Godzilla podcast. Between them, they recommend five Godzilla titles that are available to stream. Plus, a listener request for whimsical - but still informative! - documentaries. And Matt hosts this week’s game: Letterboxd-ing — Roland With the Punches Edition.  Intro (00:00:00–00:03:07) Streaming Godzilla movies w/Aaron Neuwirth (00:03:08–01:00:34) Listener Request Seg: Whimsical Docs (01:00:35–01:23:33) Game: Letterboxd-ing — “Roland With the Punches Edition” (01:23:34–01:40:25) New to Streaming / Credits (01:40:26–01:51:08) Show Notes 2 Black Guys Talk Godzilla https://2blackguystalkgodzilla.substack.com/ “Stomping Through “Godzilla” History: Where to Begin & What To Watch | Aaron Neuwirth https:/

For our Noirvember edition, Chris Klimek convenes a showdown between two noir classics featuring unforgettable Orson Welles villains: Carol Reed's The Third Man and Welles's own Touch of Evil. One is a postwar mystery set amid the shattered streets and shadows of occupied Vienna, featuring Welles as the charmingly monstrous Harry Lime. The other is a feverish border-town nightmare with the filmmaker buried beneath prosthetics as corrupt police captain Hank Quinlan. Arguing for The Third Man is Matt Gourley (Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend, With Gourley and Rust, James Bonding), who contends that Reed's masterpiece transcends noir, combining unforgettable atmosphere, moral ambiguity, and one of cinema's greatest endings. Representing Touch of Evil is Anne Thompson (IndieWire, Screen Talk), who makes the case that Welles's final Hollywood film is a singular feat of visual storytelling and one of the boldest achievements ever produced within the studio system. Which Welles villain casts the longer shadow, and

Adam and Travis welcome Samantha N. Sheppard, PhD, Associate Professor of Cinema and Media Studies at Cornell University, to discuss Steve James's landmark 1994 documentary Hoop Dreams. Drawing on research from her new book, The Basketball Film: A Cultural and Transmedia History, Sheppard explains why Hoop Dreams stands as the defining work of the basketball film genre. The conversation explores the film's complicated relationship to competition, bell hooks' famous critique, and why the stories of Arthur Agee and William Gates continue to resonate more than three decades later. Along the way, Sheppard reflects on her own path to becoming one of the leading scholars of sports cinema and shares some personal favorites from the basketball movie canon. Next Episode: –The Hurricane with Grant Wiedenfeld, Ph.D., MFA (University of Toronto) Links: –Email the show at fos@filmspotting.net. -Sporting Blackness: Race, Embodiment, and Critical Muscle Memory on Screen Theme Music: –King of the Corpse Flo

For Halloween week, Adam and Josh revisit the movie that reanimated the slasher, Wes Craven’s 1996 meta-horror classic Scream. Plus, highlights from the 5th annual Refocus Film Festival and Massacre Theatre.  This episode is presented by⁠ Regal Unlimited⁠⁠, the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits. Use code FILMSPOT26 to take 15% off. (Timecodes will not be precise with ads.) Intro (00:00:00-00:01:55) Scream at 30 (00:01:56-00:30:43) Filmspotting Family (00:30:44-00:34:56) Scream cont. (00:34:57-00:1:03:28) Refocus Film Festival (00:1:03:29-01:15:07) Massacre Theatre (01:15:08-01:22:23) Credits / New Releases (01:22:24-01:26:47) Notes: -Refocus Film Festival https://refocusfilmfestival.org/ Feedback: -Email us at feedback@filmspotting.net⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠-⁠Ask Us Anything⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and we might answer your question in bonus content. Support: -Join the Filmspotting Family for bonus shows, archive access, and more. http://filmspottingfamily.com -Filmspotting Shop for T-s

A few weeks out from The Social Reckoning’’s tepid theatrical debut, it’s safe to say Aaron Sorkin’s “spiritual sequel” to 2010’s The Social Network won’t match its successor’s box-office success, nor is it likely to be as fondly remembered in 16 years’ time. There are many ways in which the newer film goes astray, which we cover in our opening discussion of Reckoning, before bringing Network back in for Connections to consider how much of each film’s vision of Mark Zuckerberg’s social-media empire can be attributed to/blamed on Sorkin specifically. Then in a Zuck-inspired Your Next Picture Show, we briefly review a very long documentary about another tech billionaire whose name has become something of a four-letter word over the years: Alex Gibney’s Musk. Please share your thoughts about The Social Network, The Social Reckoning, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpicturesho

For Halloween week, we're going deep into the Archive for Adam and Josh's 2013 Sacred Cow review of William Friedkin's The Exorcist.  Unlock the full archive, Filmspotting Discord, ad‑free + bonus episodes, and more when you ⁠join the Filmspotting Family⁠. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For the final episode in Spook-tober, Jordan and Matt share the defining scares of their childhoods and respond to listener requests for campy and creeping dread horror movies. And then — the horror! — Jordan takes a turn hosting America’s fastest growing game show: Portmanteau-To-Toe.  Intro (00:00:00–00:03:07) The Movies That (De)Formed Us (00:03:08–00:39:56) Listener Request Seg: Campy and Creeping Dread Horror Movies (00:39:57–01:09:09) Notes / Game: Portmanteau-To-Toe (01:09:09–01:24:09) New to Streaming / Credits (01:24:10–01:32:31) Show Notes Now Streaming on Bazooga - A Filmspotting: SVU Archive⁠ https://letterboxd.com/samvanhallgren/list/now-streaming-on-bazooga-a-filmspotting-svu/⁠ Order Matt's book "Funny Business: The Old-School Wedding Crashers and Knocked-Up Virgins Who Changed Comedy Forever" (available now!):⁠ https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/790241/funny-business-by-matt-singer/⁠ Matt’s book tour! matt-singer.net Bazooga jingl

Film critic Bilge Ebiri (Vulture, New York Magazine) joins Michael Phillips to test one of Alfred Hitchcock's most famous assertions: "There is a distinct difference between suspense and surprise." Drawing on Hitchcock classics including Sabotage, Rear Window, Notorious, and Psycho, Michael and Bilge explore why the 'Master of Suspense' believed audiences should dread an explosion more than simply be startled by one. They discuss Hitchcock's notorious "grave error" in Sabotage, the enduring power of the night-vision sequence in The Silence of the Lambs, the unresolved terror of Zodiac, and what contemporary filmmakers such as Jordan Peele and Zach Cregger have learned from Hitchcock's approach. Join the conversation by emailing ⁠themovieracket@filmspotting.net⁠.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How do you reimagine a beloved novel like Jane Austen’s Sense & Sensibility without losing what people love — and expect — from an Austen adaptation? Whatever it is, director Georgia Oakley appears to have figured it out. Adam and Josh praise Oakley’s earthy and unfussy film. Plus, a recap of their weekend at the Chicago International Film Festival, which included a screening of Pawel Pawilkowski’s Fatherland, and — for Josh — a 30th anniversary screening of Cheryl Dunye’s Watermelon Woman. Also, Josh’s review of Whalefall, and listeners rank the most anticipated movies of the fall.   This episode is presented by⁠ Regal Unlimited⁠⁠, the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits. Use code FILMSPOT26 to take 15% off. (Timecodes will not be precise with ads.) Intro (00:00:00-00:03:08) Sense & Sensibility (00:03:09-00:25:34) Filmspotting Family (00:25:35-00:30:35) Sense & Sensibility, cont. (00:30:3

Aaron Sorkin has said his new The Social Reckoning is not a sequel so much as a companion piece to David Fincher’s The Social Network, which Sorkin also scripted. Whatever you call it, though, these two films are undeniably linked, not just by Sorkin’s involvement, but especially by their interest in the tech-bro enigma that is Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. So this week we’re returning to 2010 and The Social Network to consider how the film’s depiction of Facebook’s then-recent origin story plays from our social-media-saturated present; how Sorkin’s script and Jesse Eisenberg’s performance as Zuckerberg find humanity, and maybe even sympathy, in a pointedly unlikable protagonist; and how Fincher made it all work on screen, from the instant-classic Facemash montage to a final shot we’ll be forever refreshing in our minds. Then in Feedback, a longtime friend of the show shares some thoughts prompted by our recent episode on William Friedkin’s Sorcerer. P

Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette is back in theaters this week for its 20th anniversary. In 2017, along with a review of Coppola's The Beguiled, Josh and guest host Angelica Jade Bastien shared their Top 5 Sofia Coppola Scenes. Unlock the full archive, Filmspotting Discord, ad‑free + bonus episodes, and more when you ⁠join the Filmspotting Family⁠. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From none of the people who brought you Barbie comes a new film inspired by (or mandated by?) the Mattel corporation. It’s Matchbox: The Movie! And it stinks. But in what ways exactly does it stink? The answers may surprise you. Matt and Jordan discuss. Plus, Jordan’s thoughts on the conclusion of Prime Video’s Carrie limited series, which was reviewed on last week’s show; a Rec Seg featuring titles — one adapted from a video game, the other from a toy — that fare better than Matchbox; a listener request for slow-burn horror movies; and the return of Portmanteau-to-Toe: a Movie Trivia Game.  Intro / Carrie recap (00:00:00–00:08:41) Matchbox: The Movie (Apple TV) (00:08:42–00:33:42) Rec Seg! (00:33:43–00:47:41) Listener Request Seg: Slow-Burn Horror Movies (00:47:42–01:05:33) Game: Portmanteau-To-Toe (01:05:34–01:24:55) New to Streaming / Credits (01:24:56–01:34:08) Show Notes Jordan: “What 6 Different Versions of This Sex

Can a movie change your life? In a 1960s interview, Stanley Kubrick posed a deceptively simple provocation: "I wonder what percent of people ever actually encounter a work of art that changes them."This week, New York Times Chief Film Critic Manohla Dargis joins Michael Phillips to test this proposition against a lifetime of moviegoing. Together, they reflect on films that expanded their sense of what cinema could do — from Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless and Every Man for Himself to Kubrick's own 2001: A Space Odyssey — and discuss the difference between a movie that alters your life and one that offers you a profound experience.Join the conversation by emailing themovieracket@filmspotting.net.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With the fall film festival season (mostly) in the rearview and release dates set through the end of the year, Adam and Josh hold a Fall Movie Preview Draft that sees them largely ignoring obvious picks like Avengers: Doomsday and Dune: Part Three in favor of battling over some of the most intriguing indies still to come. Plus, a review of Aaron Sorkin's The Social Reckoning and Massacre Theatre.   This episode is presented by⁠ Regal Unlimited⁠⁠, the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits. Use code FILMSPOT26 to take 15% off. (Timecodes will not be precise with ads.) Intro (00:00:00-00:02:25) ‘26 Fall Preview Draft (00:02:26-0:25:19) Filmspotting Family (0:25:20-00:31:25) Preview Draft, cont. (00:31:26-1:02:41) The Social Reckoning (1:02:42-01:30:58) Massacre Theatre (01:30:59-01:36:46) Credits / New Releases (01:36:47-01:44:01) Notes: -Yes, for some reason James Caan appeared on a Fall Preview cast list for “Cliff Booth” along with his son. No