Spoilerpiece Theatre

This week, Megan and Dave check out writer-director Jac Cron’s CHESTNUT (2:19), a low-key (very low-key) queer drama about Annie (Natalia Dyer), who, after graduating college in Philadelphia, falls into a love triangle with Tyler (Rachel Keller) and her maybe-boyfriend Danny (Danny Ramirez). But is Tyler in love with Annie? Or Danny? And is Danny really into Annie? Or Tyler? We have an animated discussion about this one. Then Evan joins Megan and Dave to talk about  FANCY DANCE (23:29), Erica Tremblay's Indigenous drama starring Lily Gladstone as Jax, a Seneca-Cayuga woman searching for her missing sister while caring for her niece, Roki (Isabel DeRoy-Olson). Throw into it Jax’s estranged father (Shea Whigham), an impromptu road trip to a powwow, and the missing-persons investigation for Jax’s sister and it’s an emotional 92 minutes. We all liked this one (one of us loved it). Over on Patreon, we watched THE FIRST OMEN, Arkasha Stevenson's horror prequel starring Nell Tiger Free, so check it out!

This week Megan and Dave check out writer-director Daina O. Pusić’s TUESDAY (1:57), starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus as a mother reckoning with her daughter’s imminent demise when Death arrives - literally - in the form of a size-shifting, talking bird. We had mixed feelings about it, but one of us liked it more than the other. Then Evan joins Megan and Dave for OUTSTANDING: A COMEDY REVOLUTION (21:46), a Netflix documentary exploring the history of LGBTQ+ comedy and featuring some of its biggest names, including Lily Tomlin, Tig Notaro, Suzy Eddie Izzard, and Joel Kim Booster (and a lot more). Over on Patreon, we talk about John Carpenter’s CHRISTINE, because why the hell not?

Welcome the wacky world of Spoilerpiece! Why wacky? Because for our first film, Megan and Dave watched Kit Zauhar's THIS CLOSENESS (2:33), one of the most indie films to ever indie, and we’re not sure it’s a good movie…but it’s not bad, either? And the ending is…we’re not sure also? And every character in it is an assbag, but that’s OK? Good sound work, by the way... WTF is this movie, exactly? Hey, if you see it, you tell us. Then Evan, Megan, and Dave watched JIM HENSON IDEA MAN (23:21), Ron Howard’s Disney+ documentary that goes in-depth-ish on Henson, his early partnership with his wife, his early experimental films, and how that experimentation showed up in lots of projects throughout the rest of his career. On Patreon, we talk about Spike Lee’s CROOKLYN, which turned 30 this year.

What a week for movies! Megan and Dave watched writer/director/composer/co-star Viggo Mortensen’s THE DEAD DON’T HURT (2:30), a bittersweet drama set in the 1860s. Viggo (the only actor Dave permits being called by first name, because it’s fun to say “Viggo”) is Olsen, a Dane, and Vicky Krieps is Vivienne, a French-Canadian, who meet in San Francisco, fall in love, and make a life together in a tiny Nevada town. TDDH is Vivienne’s movie, as it traces her tough, tender, and resilient character from childhood to adulthood. It’s a dense story with lots of twists and turns (and too much to get into in this description) and superior performances by Viggo and especially Krieps, and Megan and Dave loved it. Then Evan, Megan, and Dave talk director D.W. Waterson's BACKSPOT (28:56), a drama about a high school cheerleading team with a cutthroat coach (Evan Rachel Wood) and a squad that will do almost anything to prove themselves. Riley (Devery Jacobs), the squad’s backspotter, thirsts for the coach’s approval, putting

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 on the writers’ minds when they wrote the fuckin’ thing. Then everyone talks about Richard Linklater’s new comedy, HIT MAN (29:53), starring Glen Powell as a fake hit man and Adria Arjona as the woman he falls in love with, who may just be planning on killing her rotten husband. Over on Patreon, we talk about Kubrick’s DR. STRANGELOVE in honor of its 60th anniversary.

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 didn’t know better than to get involved in this thing. (You *can* avoid this shit.) Then there’s BABES (23:55), the new comedy (in air quotes) from director Pamela Adlon, starring and co-written by Ilana Glazer. This thing is getting glowing reviews absolutely everywhere, but not from us. (We saw a different movie, maybe?) Over on Patreon, we yap about a movie we really enjoy: RUN LOLA RUN.

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, said eco-fable, which focuses on a village near Tokyo and a clamping site being developed nearby. This is Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s follow-up to the much-lauded DRIVE MY CAR. Finally, everyone saw FORCE OF NATURE: THE DRY 2, which features Bana reprising the role of Aaron Falk from THE DRY. (Aside: (Dave and Evan’s alternate title: THE WET, as this story is set almost entirely in a rain forest.) Of course, Dave can’t resist doing his bad Australian accent and giggling uncontrollably. But is THE DRY 2 good? We let you know! Over on Patreon we talk about the 1979 comedy THE FRISCO KID starring Gene Wilder and Harrison Ford.

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 then becomes quite another (sci-fi/horror!). And Evan joins Dave and Megan to talk about Jerry Seinfeld's UNFROSTED, the almost entirely untrue story of the creation of Pop Tarts. Over on Patreon we talk about one of Dave's favorites, THREE COLORS: RED, a first-time watch for both Megan and Evan.

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, and to suggest they completely Stan out isn’t far-fetched (though it’s refreshing to hear two of us on the podcast love a moviegoing experience so much). Finally, Megan and Dave watched HUMANE (32:25), Caitlin Cronenberg’s feature directing debut, in which a wealthy family decides which of them will be euthanized in a dystopian Canadian near-future (insert jokes about Canada currently being a dystopia, har har!). And it’s a comedy! Or it wants to be. But we finally have an answer to the age-old question: Which Cronenberg is the least of the Cronenbergs? And over on Patreon, we asked patrons to choose an environmental-themed movie because Earth Day is in April,

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 Baig’s coming-of-age story of two boys growing up in Chicago’s Cabrini-Green complex in the early 1990s. Over on Patreon, in honor of its 50th anniversary, we talk about Francis Ford Coppola’s THE CONVERSATION.

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 it. One did not, acknowledging its strengths as well as its flaws. Then Evan joined Megan and Dave to watch THE GREATEST HITS (32:15), starring Lucy Boynton and Justin H. Min, and written and directed by Ned Benson. And guess what? NOT A ROM-COM, which Evan and Dave both thought it was when they hit play. No, it’s a pretty serious look at grief with a romantic/fantasy (and a smidge of comedy) twist. We all liked it! And over on Patreon, we talk about James Cameron’s 1989 film THE ABYSS, which was recently released for the first time on 4K.

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 and Amanda McBaine’s companion piece to their 2020 doc BOYS STATE. Following a group of  teenage girls from Missouri as they navigate a week-long immersive democratic experiment, the Spoilerpieces have a range of views. And over on Patreon, in honor of its 90th anniversary, we talk about the classic (?) romcom IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT.

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 some complicated feelings. And in this week’s Patreon exclusive audio, we chat about the winner of our poll on women-directed films, Lynne Ramsay’s psychological drama WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN!

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 voiceover! Then Evan, Megan, and Dave watched director Doug Liman’s update of ROAD HOUSE (21:03). Jake Gyllenhaal picks up Patrick Swayze’s reins and beats the snot out of (checks notes) countless people. And there’s a man-eating crocodile thrown in for good measure. But is it any good?  Over on Patreon, we talked about CRAZY, STUPID, LOVE., the 2011 comedy featuring recent Oscar-winner Emma Stone.

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 wishes it delved deeper, and Dave thinks they should have stopped this motion picture from being a thing. Lastly, Evan, Megan, and Dave all discuss FRIDA (17:37), Carla Gutierrez's dynamic Frida Kahlo documentary that everyone liked. Over on Patreon, we talk about the 2024 Oscars. If you’re a member, head on over and take a listen. If you'd like to join, for $5 you can listen to bonus episodes each week, and vote in monthly polls.

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-but-not-if-I-can-help-it flick starring Millie Bobby Brown as a princess who meets said dragon after a bit of marital subterfuge orchestrated by Robin Wright as her nefarious would-be mother-in-law. Following an uneven opening, we thought it pulled together (even if Dave had some choice things to say about his favorite actor ever, Ray Winstone, who plays Brown’s father). And did we like DAMSEL as much as we liked the similar-ish THE PRINCESS from 2022? Over on Patreon, we talk about the 1954 GODZILLA in honor of its 70th anniversary.

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 spectacular film: Dazzling visuals, immersive sound, excellent performances, riveting narrative, and a perceptive critique of colonialism and power dynamics. Everyone watched SPACEMAN, Johan Renck's existential sci-fi drama starring Adam Sandler (well, Dave listened to two-thirds of it for reasons that become clear pretty quickly) and we agree it has flaws. Lots of flaws. But, in the end, does the movie get past those flaws? Will Dave ever like a new release again? TBD on that second question, gang. TBD.  Over on Patreon, the gang checked out Hayao Miyazaki’s delightful 1988 animated fantasy MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO, a first-time watch for two of us. Fun!

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, one of them hated it overall (like, HATED IT) and one of them liked it. First listener to guess who hated it wins a trip down amnesia lane. Then the whole gang watched PLAYERS, a new Netflix romcom starring Gina Rodriguez, Damon Wayans Jr., and a million supporting actors. Listeners, this movie is the definition of meh. It’s too bad, because there’s some serious talent involved. But few things can save crummy writing, except maybe doing a bunch of shrooms so you can space out while watching this below-average collection of silly gags and contrived plot threads. (Spoilerpiece doesn’t advocate you doing shrooms. But we can’t stop you, either.) And over on Patreon, we

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, and Dave discuss THE HOBBY (22:17), a documentary about the trading card boom that kicked into overdrive in 2020 after Covid hit. Sports cards, Pokémon cards, memorabilia, you name it, the doc covers it (with a notable absence of Magic: The Gathering). THE HOBBY is compelling for about half its running time, but its repetitive second half left us yawning. Over on Patreon, to honor the recently departed Carl Weathers, we talk about PREDATOR, which Megan had never seen. It’s a fun conversation! For just $5 per month, you get access to many, many, many bonus episodes and monthly polls. 

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, inhospitably cold environment. What keeps attacking them at night? Probably exactly what you think! Then Evan and Dave watched RESTORE POINT (14:36), a dystopian-adjacent sci-fi film with a great production design, but a story that both of them found lackluster (even if one of them still recommends it). Over on Patreon, we talk about the 1980 comedy USED CARS with Kurt Russell and Jack Warden.