Spoilerpiece Theatre

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 which we dicuss the December poll winner, the 1947 holiday classic THE BISHOP'S WIFE.

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.

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 listen to our bonus episode on Patreon, in which we discuss the 1974 heist film THE TAKING OF PELHAM ONE TWO THREE.

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 its half-hour of being a very different movie. And this week on Patreon we talk about the 2009 Duncan Jones movie MOON.

We're only talking about one film this week, but boy, is it a doozy! We review John Woo's SILENT NIGHT, a dialogue-free action movie that stars Joel Kinnaman as a grieving father who exacts bloody revenge on the gangs that killed his son on Christmas Eve. Does the conceit work? We'll let you know! And, in this week's Patreon exclusive audio, we discuss Gregory Hoblit's 1998 supernatural thriller FALLEN starring Denzel Washington! 

Welcome to wherever you are, peeps. And welcome to the last episode of November 2023. Megan and Dave start off talking about POOR THINGS (1:52), Yorgos Lanthimos' hard-to-describe (except we do) story of Bella (Emma Stone), a doctor (Willem Dafoe) who may be Victor Frankensteinesque, and her quest for knowledge and autonomy. It's a ride! And then everyone discusses FRYBREAD FACE AND ME (24:07), a sweet and bittersweet story of a boy from San Diego being sent to live with his grandmother on a Navajo reservation in Arizona. Over on Patreon, we talk about this month's poll winner, PACIFIC HEIGHTS. 

To prosthetic nose or not to prosthetic nose, that is the question. If you've read anything about MAESTRO (3:20), Bradley Cooper's biopic of Leonard Bernstein (starring Cooper and Carey Mulligan), you've probably read about the nose. Well, how about the rest of the movie, damn it? That's what Megan and Dave are here to tell you. Then all three of us watched MAY DECEMBER (27:17), Todd Haynes' new drama starring Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman. If you're getting Mary Kay Letourneau vibes, you're not wrong! We got them, too. And over on Patreon, we discuss Edgar Wright's 2010 fantasy action comedy SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD, one of Evan's favorites, and a first-time watch for Megan and Dave.

EVAN RETURNS!!!!! He fills us in on what he's been doing, and then we get down to biz. First, we talk RUSTIN (3:27), George C. Wolfe's by-the-numbers biopic of gay Black activist Bayard Rustin elevated by Colman Domingo's masterful turn in the title role. Then it's THE MARVELS (26:22), Nia DaCosta's superhero film starring Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, and Iman Vellani, and we answer that age-old question: Does this new Marvel movie make up for the crud that is Phase Four? We have some mixed opinions (one of us found it fun!), as you may expect. Over on Patreon, we talk about the 1944 noir classic LAURA (it's Noirvember, after all), directed by Otto Preminger and starring Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, and Clifton Webb. We have lots of patron tiers, and for $5 you get access to voting in monthly polls and our exclusive audio content, which has a bajillion (technical number) bonus episodes available for you right now! Thanks for your patronage, and welcome back, Evan!

There was some excitement in the Spoilerpiece camp this week, as Dave and Megan noticed THE MARSH KING'S DAUGHTER (2:41) was coming out. A mid-budge thriller with a stacked cast? Yay! Directed by Neil Burger? Um, judgment reserved. Until now. A question Megan asks: Do directors know what to do with Daisy Ridley? And we didn't ask this at the time, but does Neil Burger know what to do with...anything? Such shade cast at the Spoilerpiece HQ! After that, it's QUIZ LADY (27:07), starring Awkwafina, Sandra Oh, and Will Ferrell. It was more fun. And we hope YOU have fun listening! Don't forget to check out Patreon, where we talk about the 1953 classic ROMAN HOLIDAY with Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck.

Ever wondered what's it's like to have freedom of the press stripped from a nation? Wonder no more! BAD PRESS (2:42) follows the struggles of Angel Ellis, a no-bullshit reporter for Mvskoke Media, as she contends with the Muscogee Nation's legislative branch stripping away freedom of the press and essentially kneecapping her and her fellow reporters. It's a terrific nailbiter of a documentary. And Megan graciously indulges Dave as he climbs on his pro-reporter soapbox! Then, after much hype and brouhaha, FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY'S (29:22) is finally upon us, and Megan and Dave saw it! Does FNaF succumb to Curse of the Video Game Adaptation Syndrome (TM)? Or is it worth your time? And on our Patreon, our patrons voted for us to watch GINGER SNAPS, the 2000 horror flick about sisters attached at the hip and the wedge a werewolf bite drives between them. Happy Halloween!

This week we watched two movies. (Correction: Megan watched two movies and Dave watched one movie and then went to Montreal.) One of those movies is really liked, and one is...not. GUESS WHICH IS WHICH! (No peeking.) We kick things off with KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON (2:33), Martin Scorsese's latest I'm-gonna-make-longer-movies-now-that-I'm-older-fuck-it release, and continue with KILLHER (22:05), a slasher movie that's aware that it's a slasher movie. Please don't forget to check out our Patreon, in which we talk about the 1984 film 2010: The Year We Make Contact. That's available for $5/month Patreons (and above), and it's a great conversation (and there are 400-ish other great conversations to listen to, too!). Take a listen!

It's a banner of an episode on Spoilerpiece this week. Megan and Dave agree on not one, but TWO movies! Christmas comes twice a year, baby! After a little pre-movie yappin', they get into NO ONE WILL SAVE YOU (2:46), Brian Duffield's sci-fi horror film starring Kaitlyn Dever, about the long-term fallouts of personal trauma masquerading as an alien invasion flick. Then it's THE ROYAL HOTEL (28:43), Kitty Green's latest Julia Garner-led movie. This time around, Garner and co-star Jessica Henwick, American tourists, end up working in Australia's most remote and most misogynist bar (a guess, but seems on-target) in this psychological thriller. If you're a patron, please head over to the  Patreon and listen to this week's bonus episode on WHEN A STRANGER CALLS, the winner of our home invasion poll. G'day!

Megan and Dave are back to talk about two new horror movies. First, we review WHEN EVIL LURKS (4:19), a brutal possession film by Argentinian filmmaker Demián Rugna that showcases children attacked by dogs, bodies festering with unexplained evil, and children who literally eat their parents. It's a big, wide, wonderful world we live in! The second film is TOTALLY KILLER (27:01), Nahnatchkha Khan's delightful sci-fi horror movie rooted in comedy that still has lots of blood. And it's a time travel movie, too! Starring Kiernan Shipka, Olivia Holt, and Julie Bowen, a teen travels back to the 80s to team up with her mom to stop a serial killer. And be sure to check out our Patreon to hear us talk about Spike Jonze's 2013 human/OS romance HER, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlett Johansson.

Megan returns! This week she and Dave talk about NIGHTMARE (13:18), Kjersti Helen Rasmussen's Norwegian horror film about a demon that lurks in dreams and tries to get itself birthed into the real world. They also talk about the much ballyhooed FAIR PLAY (30:04), Chloe Domont's sharp and complex erotic thriller about a seemingly happy couple (Phoebe Dynevor, Alden Ehrenreich) working for a hedge fund who get thrown a curveball when one of them becomes the other's boss. But before all that, Dave fills Megan in PAW PATROL: THE MIGHTY MOVIE (4:02). That's right! Dave managed to see another big-screen adaptation of his least favorite animated kids' show ever. And over on Patreon, Megan and Dave talk about David Lynch's first two films, ERASERHEAD and THE ELEPHANT MAN.

Dave is once again without his co-hosts, so Jason from Binge Movies sits in! It's a delight to have him, and he and Dave take a battering ram to DARK ASSET (2:18), action-thriller (?) with a million problems and zero solutions. We on Spoilerpiece don't go out of our way to tear a movie to pieces (honest!), but sometimes we're left no choice. Following that, they talk about FLORA AND SON (30:37), writer-director John Carney's latest musical-that's-not-a-musical, starring Eve Hewson, Jack Reynor, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Does the SING STREET/ONCE creator get it right again? In this week's Patreon exclusive audio, we talk abouut Mike Nichols's restrained foray into romantic horror, the very 1994 WOLF starring Jack Nicholson, Michelle Pfeiffer, and James Spader. It's a fun conversation about a bizarro movie.

  With Megan and Evan off this week, Dave is joined by ScreenRun's The Lady-Wan! On ScreenRun, Wan and her co-host Chris Scalzo tackle the films of a particular artist or franchise. This season ScreenRun ran through (ha) the films of John Carpenter, so in that spirit, Wan and Dave take a deep dive into JOHN CARPENTER'S VAMPIRES (1:45), and it ain't pretty (but it is fun). Next they get to a new release: ELEVATOR GAME (17:43), in which a bunch of kinda dumb teens play a game that lands them in The Red World, or gets them torn to shreds by "The Fifth-Floor Woman," or both. It's a movie with an intriguing premise, ideas that don't go anywhere, and a whole lotta blood and guts. And in this week's Patreon exclusive audio, Dave and Wan talk about Michael Mann's 2004 film COLLATERAL, starring Tom Cruise's frosted hair and Jamie Foxx.

It's family/tearjerker week at Spoilerpiece! Evan is off, so Megan and Dave tackle the Adam Sandler family comedy (meaning it's a family comedy and it stars Sandler's family) YOU ARE SO NOT INVITED TO MY BAT MITZVAH (5:24). This movie has everything: Petty gripes, snipes, and pipes. (It doesn't have pipes; Dave just wanted to rhyme. -Ed.) And it features a whole lot of tween/teen angst. (One of us liked it more than the other.) Then at 28:44, the dynamic duo (TM) settles into SITTING IN BARS WITH CAKE, which is exactly what it sounds like, until it turns into a pretty serious drama about two lifelong best friends dealing with one's cancer diagnosis. And patrons! Don't forget to check out this week's exclusive Patreon audio in which Dave and Megan talk about the 1979 nuclear disaster thriller THE CHINA SYNDROME, starring Jane Fonda, Jack Lemmon, and Michael Douglas. It's a fun talk about a great movie. Quick LinksGet Embed PlayerShare on SocialDownload Audio File  

Megan and Dave start the show this week reviewing Jennifer Reeder's stylized feminist horror film PERPETRATOR (2:50), which follows a teen (Kiah McKirnan) with unusual powers pursuing a villain abducting girls at her school. Next, we all cover Ellie Foumbi's excellent thorny thriller OUR FATHER, THE DEVIL (21:18), about a Guinean refugee (Babetida Sadjo) living in France whose life is turned upside down by the arrival of a charismatic Catholic priest (Souleyman Sy Savane), whom she recognizes as the warlord who slaughtered her family. And in this week's Patreon exclusive audio, we talk about a Patron's request: the 1986 animated cult classic TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE!

Megan starts this week's show with a quick review of Angel Manuel Soto's entertaining Latinx superhero film BLUE BEETLE (3:22). Next, she and Dave discuss Charlotte Regan's well-acted drama SCRAPPER (14:47), which follows a 12-year-old girl who connects with her estranged father. Then, we all cover Cory Finley's grim sci-fi satire LANDSCAPE WITH INVISIBLE HAND (26:54), which involves teens (Asante Blackk and Kylie Rogers) who decide to broadcast their courtship for an extraterrestrial audience, but also a lot more. In this week's Patreon exclusive audio, we talk about the winner of our alien poll, Robert Wise's 1951 sci-fi film THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL! 

This week we start by reviewing Dane Elcar's compelling sci-fi horror film BRIGHTWOOD (2:23), which follows a troubled couple (Dana Berger and Max Woertendyke) who become trapped in the woods while they're out for a run. Next, we cover Stewart Thorndike's frustrating horror movie BAD THINGS (24:19), which follows a group of friends (Gayle Rankin, Hari Nef, Annabelle Dexter-Jones, and Rad Pereira) who spend a chaotic weekend at the hotel one of them has inherited. And in this week's Patreon exclusive audio, in honor of the late William Friedkin, we talk about his 1977 thriller SORCERER starring Roy Scheider, Bruno Cremer, and Francisco Rabal.