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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.
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Episode #464: "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse"
54:57
54:57
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On this week's show we have one movie to talk about but boy is it a big one! We're reviewing SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE (1:44)! We have a couple more critiques than we did of the previous film in the franchise, but we have a lot to say about this excellent sequel from its styles of animation to its editing, pacing, score, new characters, a…
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Episode #463: "The Little Mermaid," "Influencer," and "Days of Daisy"
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54:45
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Megan kicks off this week's show by offering her thoughts on Disney's new live-action adaptation of THE LITTLE MERMAID (2:18), which features a fantastic performance and amazing vocals from lead Halle Bailey. Next, we all discuss Kurtis David Harder's smart and entertaining horror movie INFLUENCER (9:50), which subverts expectations in a number of …
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Episode #462: "The Starling Girl" and "Consecration"
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59:56
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Evan is off this week, so Dave and Megan review CONSECRATION (3:18), Cristopher Smith's disappointing supernatural horror film, starring Jena Malone who investigates her brother's death at a convent. Then we discuss Laurel Parmet's excellent nuanced drama THE STARLING GIRL (24:42), starring Eliza Scanlen as a 17-year-old in a fundamentalist Christi…
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Episode #461: "The Mother" and "BlackBerry"
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1:01:44
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This week we start by reviewing Matt Johnson's tech bro dramedy BLACKBERRY (2:27), which stars Glenn Howerton, Jay Baruchel, and Johnson himself, and chronicles the meteoric rise and fall of the famous BlackBerry smartphone. Next, we cover Niki Caro's Netflix action film THE MOTHER (29:37), which stars Jennifer Lopez as a sniper and former arms dea…
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Episode #460: "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" and "You Can Live Forever"
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58:14
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Evan starts this week by plugging his appearance on a long-time friend's podcast Seeing Read with Jim and Kelly, the show that answers the age-old millennial question: Was the book really better than the movie? He had a really fun time with them comparing M. Night Shyamalan's KNOCK AT THE CABIN to the book CABIN AT THE END OF THE WORLD! Evan and Me…
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Episode #459: "Sisu," "Judy Blume Forever," and "Polite Society"
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55:40
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Dave is back! But before we jump into this week's movies, he offers his own very different take on EVIL DEAD RISE (2:37)! Megan kicks off our reviews of new films with her thoughts on Nida Manzoor's delightful feminist action comedy POLITE SOCIETY (9:48). Then we all discuss Davina Pardo and Leah Wolchok's timely and vital documentary JUDY BLUME FO…
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Episode #458: "Evil Dead Rise" and "Beau is Afraid"
1:03:12
1:03:12
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Dave is on vacation this week, so Evan and Megan review this week's movies as a duo! We start off with Ari Aster's latest film BEAU IS AFRAID (2:56), which follows an anxiety-ridden man (Joaquin Phoenix) confronting an escalating series of terrifying situations as he embarks on a Kaufmanesque odyssey home to his mother. We have a LOT to say about t…
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Episode #457: "Mafia Mamma" and "Showing Up"
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49:26
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This week we're reviewing MAFIA MAMMA and SHOWING UP! We start by discussing Kelly Reichardt's dramedy SHOWING UP (3:22), which stars Michelle Williams as a sculptor trying to pursue her artistic work while contending with the struggles of daily life. Next, we cover Catherine Hardwicke's comedy MAFIA MAMMA (27:42), which stars Toni Collette as an A…
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Episode #456: "How to Blow Up a Pipeline" and "Joyland"
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58:30
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58:30
We start the show this week by reviewing Saim Sadiq's heartbreaking Pakistani drama JOYLAND (2:58), which is about a man (Ali Junejo) from a patriarchal family who becomes a backup dancer at a burlesque club and falls for the strong-willed trans woman (Alina Khan) who runs the show. Next, we cover Daniel Goldhaber's tense environmental thriller HOW…
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Megan is off this week, so Evan and Dave hit the mics to talk TETRIS, the surprisingly tense spy thriller (question mark?) about the fraught negotiations between the Soviet government, Nintendo, a couple crooked English billionaires, and Henk Rogers, a coder-turned-game-inventer-turned-game-company-founder. And yes, the KGB gets involved. Over on P…
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This week, we (Evan, Dave, and Megan) review RODEO (2:06), Lola Quivoron's emotionally-intense French drama, a fascinating character study starring Julie Ledru as a tough, independent dirt bike rider who becomes a part of a turbulent group of male bikers. Next, we discuss RYE LANE (25:36), Raine Allen-Miller's charming, witty, and vibrant British r…
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Episode #453: "Boston Strangler," "Leave," and the 2023 Oscars
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1:01:37
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This week, we start by sharing our thoughts on the 2023 Oscars (2:47)! Then we review Alex Herron's intriguing, but not particularly scary horror film LEAVE (16:27), which follows a young woman (Alicia von Rittberg) trying to uncover her origins after she learns she was abandoned in a cemetery wrapped in a blanket with satanic symbols as an infant.…
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Episode #452: "Scream VI" and "Your Place or Mine"
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1:06:52
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To start this week, we discuss Aline Brosh McKenna's directorial debut, YOUR PLACE OR MINE (2:13). This Netflix rom-com, which divides us, stars Reese Witherspoon and Ashton Kutcher as long-distance best friends who figure out their romantic feelings for each other while she stays in his apartment in NYC for grad school and he takes care of her son…
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Episode #451: "Creed III," "The Year Between," and "La Civil"
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1:03:43
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Dave leads off by reviewing Michael B. Jordan's directorial debut, CREED III (2:15), which isn't as strong as the other films in the CREED series but has a compelling antagonist played by Jonathan Majors. Next, we all discuss THE YEAR BETWEEN (13:45), writer/director/star Alex Heller's semi-autobiographical dramedy about a college student named Cle…
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Episode #450: "Cocaine Bear," "Linoleum," and "The Quiet Girl"
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1:02:21
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Megan kicks things off this week with a review of the Elizabeth Banks-helmed COCAINE BEAR (2:54), a grisly and gory, dark comedy about a bear that accidentally ingests cocaine and goes on a murderous rampage. Then, Evan and Dave tackle Colin West's LINOLEUM (11:44), a frustrating sci-fi drama starring Jim Gaffigan as the host of a failed children's…
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Episode #449: "Return to Seoul" and "Somebody I Used to Know"
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59:07
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We kick off the show this week by reviewing Dave Franco and Alison Brie's surprisingly nuanced romcom SOMEBODY I USED TO KNOW (2:09). It tells the story of a reality show producer (Brie) who returns to her quaint hometown and reconnects with her ex Sean (Jay Ellis), who is engaged to a woman (Kiersey Clemons) that reminds her of the person she used…
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Episode #448: "Magic Mike's Last Dance," "Attachment," and "The Outwaters"
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1:04:24
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This week we discuss Gabriel Bier Gislason's queer Jewish horror film ATTACHMENT (2:51), a smartly-told tale about a Danish woman (Josephine Park) who falls for a Jewish woman (Ellie Kendrick) but discovers some disturbing things after traveling back to London with her. Next, Megan and Dave cover MAGIC MIKE'S LAST DANCE (21: 47), Steven Soderbergh'…
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Episode #447: "Shotgun Wedding" and "Erin's Guide to Kissing Girls"
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52:58
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After the past few weeks of watching movies that have made us want to tear our hair out, we finally get a respite. ERIN'S GUIDE TO KISSING GIRLS (3:44) is a sweet teen rom-com that we all found delightful, even if we thought there were some gaps in characterization and story, and some uneven performances. (That makes it sound like we didn't like it…
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Episode #446: "Life Upside Down," "Blood," and 2023 Oscar Nominations
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54:50
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We kick off the show by discussing our reactions to the 2023 Oscar nominations (2:25), which dropped earlier in the week. Next, we review Brad Anderson's frustrating horror/thriller BLOOD (15:46), which stars Michelle Monaghan as a desperate mother trying to protect her son after he gets bitten by a dog and undergoes an unsettling transformation. T…
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Welcome to a wacky week on Spoilerpiece. You're gonna hear hotter takes than usual when we discuss SICK (2:42), a new horror-thriller from producer and co-writer Kevin Williamson. Is it like SCREAM? Is it something new? Who's to say what's new in Earth's bizarre new cinematic landscape? The second movie is THE SON (25:26), starring Hugh Jackman and…
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Episode #444: "Skinamarink" and "Saint Omer"
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59:27
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This week we start by reviewing Alice Diop's emotionally compelling French courtroom drama SAINT OMER (3:11), which is about the trial of a Senegalese immigrant accused of killing her infant daughter. Then we cover Kyle Edward Ball's hyper-stylized indie horror flick SKINAMARINK (24:31), which has nothing to do with Sharon, Lois, or Bram. It's a mo…
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Episode #443: "M3GAN," "White Noise," and "The Pale Blue Eye"
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59:53
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Evan is off this week, so it's the Dave and Megan show. But before the Dave and Megan show, Megan goes solo, covering M3GAN (3:01), the wild killer robot sci-fi horror movie, directed by Gerard Johnstone and starring Allison Williams. And - perfect timing - one of Dave's children interrupts and scares the crap out of him as he and Megan discuss sai…
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Episode #442: Our Top 10 Films of 2022
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1:20:11
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It's our last episode of the year! So, as usual, we're revealing our BOFCA ballots as we discuss our respective Top 10 Films of 2022! Unfortunately, Dave couldn't make it this week, but we still share his top 10 before digging into each of our own. You can hear Dave's list starting at 2:55, Megan's at 14:36, and Evan's at 47:39. And in this week's …
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Episode #441: "Women Talking" and "The Fabelmans"
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1:01:10
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We start by reviewing Steven Spielberg's autobiographical film THE FABELMANS (2:14), which explores his love of filmmaking, his parents' marriage, and the antisemitism he experienced growing up. They're themes we've seen him tackle before in his movies, but we're split on whether there's enough unique value that makes this movie worth watching. Nex…
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Episode #440: “Nelly & Nadine” and “The Apology”
54:35
54:35
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54:35
Evan is off this week so Megan and Dave are a duo, and they're a doozy of a duo, because one movie they like, and one movie they really, really don't. They start things off with Nelly & Nadine (3:26), a documentary about an unlikely love story of two women falling in love on Christmas Eve, 1944, in the Ravensbrück concentration camp. Then it's The …
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