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With the new Oasis doc Don't Look Back in Anger coming soon to theaters—and inspiring this month's ⁠Movie Death Match⁠ (The Last Waltz vs. Stop Making Sense)—we're sharing Adam and Josh's Top 5 Music Docs from 2023.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From the writer/directors of Game Night and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, Apple TV’s Cold War comedy Mayday was a promising title on the 2026 streaming movie calendar. Unfortunately, Matt and Jordan agree that the film isn’t the equal to those earlier films (no thanks to a phoned-in performance from Ryan Reynolds), despite a clever premise and the presence of Kenneth Branagh, who is having the time of his life. Matt digs into Branagh’s strange career in the Rec Seg, suggesting an early Branagh effort (as both director and star) as an alternative, and Jordan answers with a film that finds Christian Bale as a fighter pilot caught behind enemy lines. Plus, Bran-agh Flakes!, a Jordan-hosted game.

(Timecodes will not be precise with ads.)

Intro (00:00:00–00:05:43)

Mayday (00:05:44–00:26:32)

Rec Seg! (00:26:33–00:44:40)

Game: Bran-agh Flakes (00:44:41–01:02:24)

New to Streaming / Credits (01:02:25–01:11:29)

Show Notes

Now Streaming on Bazooga - A Filmspotting: SVU Archive⁠ https://letterboxd.com/samvanhallgren/list/now-streaming-on-bazooga-a-filmspotting-svu/⁠

Pre-Order Matt's book "Funny Business: The Old-School Wedding Crashers and Knocked-Up Virgins Who Changed Comedy Forever" (Coming October 6th):⁠ https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/790241/funny-business-by-matt-singer/⁠

Feedback: Email us at feedback@filmspottingSVU.com

Follow Matt on Blue Sky: @mattsinger.bsky.social

Follow Jordan on Blue Sky: @jhoffman.bsky.social

Follow the Show:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/superpulse/⁠⁠ https://www.facebook.com/FilmspottingSvu⁠

Follow the Show:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/superpulse/⁠⁠ https://www.facebook.com/FilmspottingSvu⁠

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Alexander Ullom’s feature debut, It Ends, has been billed as a horror movie, but it’s more of an existential exercise wrapped inside a genre premise. That same description could be applied to Solaris, though Andrei Tarkovsky’s 1972 science-fiction classic takes nearly twice as long to ponder the nature of life in a situation where death has no meaning anymore. So this week we’re discussing whether Solaris’ deliberate pace and opaque symbolism work toward or against its emotional core, its relative accessibility compared to Tarkovsky’s other work, and what about the film invites its reputation as the “anti-2001.” Then in Feedback, a listener brings an alternative reading to our recent discussion of War of the Worlds as a response to 9/11.

Please share your thoughts about Solaris, It Ends, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

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 NEXTPIC26 for 15% off.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chris Klimek convenes a battle of the bands between two of the most acclaimed concert films ever made: Jonathan Demme's Stop Making Sense and Martin Scorsese's The Last Waltz.

One is a lean, propulsive document of Talking Heads at the height of their powers, transforming a live performance into something theatrical and strangely transcendent. The other is a star-studded farewell to The Band that expands beyond a single concert into a sweeping elegy for an era of rock and roll itself.

Arguing for The Last Waltz is Steven Hyden (Is This It: The Never-Ending Rise and Fall of The Strokes and Rock and Roll), who contends that Scorsese's film is more than a concert movie: it's the definitive cinematic statement on rock music and its mythology. Representing Stop Making Sense is Elizabeth Cantwell (Bright Wall/Dark Room), who makes the case that Demme's film remains the more immersive, inventive, and enduring work of cinema.

Is the greatest concert film about a band, or about rock and roll itself? Which movie best captures the power of live music on screen? Choose your winner at moviedeathmatch.com.

CHAPTERS

Intro / Meet the Advocates (00:00:00-00:09:55)

Rd. 1 The Movies in Their Time (00:09:56-00:45:03)

Rd. 2 The Movies in Our Time (00:45:04-01:14:53)

Rd. 3 The Movies for All Time (01:14:54-01:29:55)

The Verdict / Credits (01:29:56-01:35:42)

More From Elizabeth:

-One Must Imagine Talking Heads Happy

https://www.brightwalldarkroom.com/2025/07/11/stop-making-sense-one-must-imagine-talking-heads-happy/

-Bright Wall/Dark Room Podcast

https://www.brightwalldarkroom.com/podcast/

-Assault on Precinct 13 and Schrödinger's Cat

https://www.brightwalldarkroom.com/2026/06/15/assault-on-precinct-13-john-carpenter-schrodingers-cat/

More From Steven:

-Indiecast

https://art19.com/shows/indiecast

-Evil Speakers | Substack

https://stevenhyden.substack.com/

-There Was Nothing You Could Do

https://www.dacapopress.com/titles/steven-hyden/there-was-nothing-you-could-do/9780306832062/

-Your Favorite Band Is Killing Me

https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/steven-hyden/your-favorite-band-is-killing-me/9780316259156/

More From Chris:

Reviewing the opening of David Byrne’s 2008-9 Everything That Happens Will Happen Today tour for the Washington Post

Pop Culture Happy Hour: David Byrne’s American Utopia

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

SUBURBAKNIGHT: Act Three

Walter Knope has spent most of his life avoiding confrontation.

That is about to become difficult.

Walter, Samantha and Bobby Joe cross the street armed with a sword, a crossbow, a mace, a revolver and one deeply impractical suit of medieval armor.

Richard is waiting.

So is the rest of the neighborhood.

Inside Richard's house they discover the party has evolved into something considerably less HOA-approved. Music. Neon. Blood. An orgy full of succubi. Richard sitting above it all like Satan's sexiest homeowners association president.

Samantha asks where her daughter is.

Then shoots Richard through the eye with a crossbow.

It barely slows him down.

Written by Nick Bannister, SUBURBAKNIGHT reaches its gloriously unhinged conclusion as Walter's fight to save his family becomes a full-scale supernatural war over everything he thought he had already lost.

Richard separates them.

Walter gets beaten nearly unconscious. Samantha is pulled into a seductive nightmare built from everything she thinks she wants. And Bobby Joe does what any legendary demon hunter would do when confronted with actual demons.

He runs.

Unfortunately, Richard isn't finished with him either.

Bobby Joe finds himself inside the greatest fantasy of his life: back on the set of Terror Vision, surrounded by beautiful women telling him he's brilliant.

Even Bobby Joe eventually realizes something is wrong.

When the illusion breaks, he finds Mia.

Or at least something wearing Mia.

One conveniently placed antique mirror later, Bobby Joe finally discovers that some of his monster-movie bullshit may actually be useful.

For perhaps the first time in his life, Bobby Joe Williams earns the title:

Demon Hunter.

Mia is safe.

Her parents aren't.

So Bobby Joe locks her in his van and goes back inside.

Walter and Bobby Joe reunite, fight their way through Richard's newly demonic neighbors and discover something hidden beneath the perfect suburban house.

A passageway.

An underground chamber.

And portraits proving Richard has been doing this for centuries.

At the end of the tunnel, Walter finds Samantha.

Richard has already gotten to her.

Now Walter has to do something harder than fighting a demon.

He has to remind his wife why she loved him in the first place.

College. Their first night together. Bringing Mia home. Losing his father. Twenty years of marriage, mistakes, resentment, forgiveness and everything that somehow survived underneath it.

For once, Walter gets the words right.

And Richard discovers that a disappointing middle-aged husband with an antique sword, a pissed-off wife and a washed-up horror host can be surprisingly difficult to kill.

What follows involves swords, guns, fire, a full-size demon, one extremely unfortunate anatomical injury and Bobby Joe's panel van.

Because sometimes saving your marriage takes work.

Sometimes it takes therapy.

And sometimes it takes blowing up an incubus.

Starring Darin Toonder, Jim O'Heir, Jade Tailor, Jack Daniel, Rob Fitzgerald, Logan Laurel, Emily Brolin, Ashley Platz, and Zeke Alton.

Produced by Table Read Podcast and Manifest Media Productions, LLC.

Executive Produced by Jack Levy, Shaan Sharma, and Mark Knell.

Find The Show : Table Read Podcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With The Dog Stars in theaters, Adam and Josh invited Vulture’s Roxana Hadadi to the show for a Ridley Scott Draft. Picks one and two are easy: Alien or Blade Runner. But what about the third pick? And will divisive Scott films like Prometheus and Kingdom of Heaven get any love? Plus, a Golden Brick nomination for the new Filipiñana, thoughts on the passing of Dolly Parton and Tim Curry, 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 (00:00:00-00:02:08)

Ridley Scott Draft, Pt. 1 (00:02:09-01:05:14)

Filmspotting Family (01:05:15-01:11:14)

Ridley Scott Draft, Pt. 2 (01:11:15-01:42:50)

Brickspotting: Filipiñana (01:42:51-01:46:50)

RIP Dolly Parton, Tim Curry (01:46:51-01:53:04)

Massacre Theatre (01:53:05-01:59:42)

Credits / Releases (01:59:43-1:48:48)

Notes: 

-Who won the Ridley Scott Draft?

https://www.filmspotting.net/top-5-lists-archive/1079-ridley-scott-draft

-"Eva Green rules the much longer, much better director’s cut of Kingdom of Heaven"

https://www.avclub.com/eva-green-rules-the-much-longer-much-better-director-s-1846466625

-"Alexander Siddig Answers Every Question We Have About Kingdom of Heaven"

https://www.vulture.com/article/alexander-siddig-tells-us-everything-about-kingdom-of-heaven.html

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-shirts and more.⁠ 

⁠https://www.filmspotting.net/shop⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow:

-Watch Filmspotting on YouTube:

⁠https://youtube.com/filmspotting⁠

-Adam/Filmspotting:

⁠Letterboxd⁠ |⁠ Instagram⁠ |⁠ Facebook⁠ | ⁠Bluesky⁠

-Josh/LarsenOnFilm:

⁠Letterboxd⁠ | ⁠Instagram⁠ |⁠ Facebook⁠ | ⁠Bluesky

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With Ridley Scott's The Dog Stars in theaters and our own Ridley Scott Draft (with Vulture's Roxana  Hadadi) coming Friday, we're sharing this 2017 Sacred Cow review of Scott's sci-fi classic. Michael Phillips joined Adam and Josh.

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.

When the story of a movie’s financing and troubled post-production are more compelling than the movie itself, you’ve got problems. And in this case, you’ve got Desert Warrior, a 7th-century, Saudi Arabia-set — and financed — epic starring Anthony Mackie along with Sir Ben Kingsley and Sharlto Copley. Matt and Jordan review the Rupert Wyatt-directed curiosity, and use the film to recommend an American desert-set indie from the early 2000s and another (undeservedly) unloved Rupert Wyatt film. Plus, a listener request for “sad man” movies on the Criterion Channel, and a game that has Matt and Jordan remembering — or trying to remember — summer movies from the year 2012.  

Intro (00:00:00–00:04:10)

Desert Warrior (00:04:11–00:31:57)

Rec Seg! (00:31:58–00:48:14)

Listener Request Seg! (00:48:15–01:08:01)

Game: Mark My Words! (01:08:02–01:32:32)

New to Streaming / Credits (01:32:33–01:42:15)

Show Notes

Now Streaming on Bazooga - A Filmspotting: SVU Archive⁠ https://letterboxd.com/samvanhallgren/list/now-streaming-on-bazooga-a-filmspotting-svu/⁠

Pre-Order Matt's book "Funny Business: The Old-School Wedding Crashers and Knocked-Up Virgins Who Changed Comedy Forever" (Coming October 6th):⁠ https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/790241/funny-business-by-matt-singer/⁠

The Best and Worst Movies of Summer 2012 (According to Us)

https://screencrush.com/best-worst-movies-summer-2012/

Feedback: Email us at feedback@filmspottingSVU.com

Follow Matt on Blue Sky: @mattsinger.bsky.social

Follow Jordan on Blue Sky: @jhoffman.bsky.social

Follow the Show:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/superpulse/⁠⁠ https://www.facebook.com/FilmspottingSvu⁠

Follow the Show:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/superpulse/⁠⁠ https://www.facebook.com/FilmspottingSvu⁠

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Platt family is barely surviving, and that’s before their neighborhood is inexplicably dropped millions of years into the past and overrun by hungry dinosaurs. The End of Oak Street isn’t nearly as concerned with explaining that premise or exploring its characters as it is with facilitating dino mayhem and nostalgia for the films of writer-director David Robert Mitchell’s youth. That can be to the film’s benefit and detriment, both of which we cover in this week’s discussion, before bringing Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds back in to see how these two family survival narratives compare in their respective ideas about flawed parents, imperiled children, and the universal human desire to not get eaten. Then in Your Next Picture Show we consider a couple of possible alternate pairing for Oak Street, one featuring aliens, one featuring dinosaurs, and both underrated.

Please share your thoughts about War of the Worlds, The End of Oak Street, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Next Pairing: Alexander Ullom’s It Ends and Andrei Tarkovsky’s Solaris

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 NEXTPIC26 for 15% off.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Film critic Robert Daniels (⁠RogerEbert.com⁠, The New York Times) joins Michael Phillips to test one of Hollywood's most enduring bits of studio wisdom, attributed to producer Samuel Goldwyn: "Pictures are for entertainment, messages should be delivered by Western Union." From I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang, High Noon, and The Best Years of Our Lives to Origin, Don't Look Up, and Triangle of Sadness, Michael and Robert discuss why some films are elevated by their ideas while others collapse under them, and whether the most effective message movies are the ones that never look like message movies at all. Join the conversation by emailing ⁠movieracket@filmspotting.net⁠.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Adam and Josh return with guest Rico Gagliano (MUBI Podcast) for Part 2 of their Top 5 Needle Drops. This episode brought to you by Anderson, Linklater, Fincher, and Scorsese. 

Notes:

-The Sigur Rós song “Starálfur” means "staring elf," not "little elf." Josh harmar mistökin.

Feedback:

-Email us at feedback@filmspotting.net⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠-⁠Ask Us Anything⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and we might answer your question in bonus content.

Support:

-Use code “summer” for 20% off a Filmspotting Family membership (thru 8.31)

http://filmspottingfamily.com

-Filmspotting Shop for T-shirts and more.⁠ 

⁠https://www.filmspotting.net/shop⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow:

-Watch Filmspotting on YouTube:

⁠https://youtube.com/filmspotting⁠

-Adam/Filmspotting:

⁠Letterboxd⁠ |⁠ Instagram⁠ |⁠ Facebook⁠ | ⁠Bluesky⁠

-Josh/LarsenOnFilm:

⁠Letterboxd⁠ | ⁠Instagram⁠ |⁠ Facebook⁠ | ⁠Bluesky

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

SUBURBAKNIGHT: Act Two

Walter Knope has finally discovered the one thing worse than suspecting your new neighbor is a sex demon.

Being right.

Inside Richard's immaculate house, Walter gets the confirmation he was looking for. The Maitlands are dead. Richard isn't human. And he isn't just interested in Samantha.

He wants everything Walter has.

Walter tries to warn Sam. It goes badly.

What starts as an argument about Richard quickly becomes an argument about money, sex, failure, jealousy and every other thing a married couple has been politely not saying out loud. Sam packs a bag. Walter, terrified Richard will get to her, practically helps her leave.

Written by Nick Bannister, SUBURBAKNIGHT is a wicked suburban horror-comedy about marriage, masculinity and what happens when your midlife crisis actually grows horns.

Walter needs someone who understands monsters.

Enter Bobby Joe Williams.

Local horror host. Full-time drunk. Part-time monster expert. Possibly the least reassuring person you could want standing between your family and eternal damnation.

Bobby Joe confirms the bad news. Richard is an incubus. He feeds on souls, controls his victims through desire and, unfortunately, appears to be immortal.

Meanwhile, Richard has already started remaking the neighborhood.

Walter goes looking for Andy and instead finds him dead in the bathtub, his wife Alli transformed into something considerably less neighborly. Walter barely escapes with his life.

Then Samantha comes home.

Richard is waiting.

This time, Sam sees him too.

When Richard finally drops the charm and shows them what he really is, he offers Walter everything he ever wanted. Money. Freedom. A fresh start.

All he wants in return is Samantha.

Walter says no.

Then Mia introduces Richard's face to a medieval mace.

For a moment, it feels like the Knopes may actually have this thing under control.

Then Richard takes their daughter.

Now Walter and Sam are done running. They need Mia back. They need help.

Unfortunately, the closest thing they have to a professional is Bobby Joe Williams in boxer shorts drinking margarita straight from a blender pitcher.

So they do what any responsible parents would do.

They raid the failed antique business.

Crossbow. Mace. Axe. Sword. Armor.

Walter's junk has finally found a purpose.

And across the street, Richard is waiting.

Starring Darin Toonder, Jim O'Heir, Jade Tailor, Jack Daniel, Rob Fitzgerald, Logan Laurel, Emily Brolin, Ashley Platz, and Zeke Alton.

Produced by Table Read Podcast and Manifest Media Productions, LLC.

Executive Produced by Jack Levy, Shaan Sharma, and Mark Knell.

Find The Show: Table Read Podcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rico Gagliano (MUBI Podcast) joins Adam and Josh for the Top 5 Needle Drops, a conversation so robust we split it in half. Plus, the new It Ends earns a Golden Brick nomination, and listeners tell us the best third feature since 2020.

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 (00:00:00-00:02:37)

Rico Gagliano Welcome / Top 5 Intro (00:02:38-00:24:52)

Top 5 Needle Drops (#5-4) (00:24:53-01:02:51)

Filmspotting Family (01:02:52-01:07:33)

Golden Brickspotting: It Ends (01:07:34-01:18:20)

Polls (01:18:21-01:33:27)

Credits / Releases (01:33:28-1:37:57)

Feedback:

-Email us at feedback@filmspotting.net⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠-⁠Ask Us Anything⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and we might answer your question in bonus content.

Support:

-Use code "summer" for 20% off a Filmspotting Family membership (thru 8.31)

http://filmspottingfamily.com

-Filmspotting Shop for T-shirts and more.⁠ 

⁠https://www.filmspotting.net/shop⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow:

-Watch Filmspotting on YouTube:

⁠https://youtube.com/filmspotting⁠

-Adam/Filmspotting:

⁠Letterboxd⁠ |⁠ Instagram⁠ |⁠ Facebook⁠ | ⁠Bluesky⁠

-Josh/LarsenOnFilm:

⁠Letterboxd⁠ | ⁠Instagram⁠ |⁠ Facebook⁠ | ⁠Bluesky

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

David Robert Mitchell’s The End of Oak Street drops an ordinary family into extraordinary circumstances, forcing them to focus all their energy on surviving— and maybe, just maybe, learning to understand each other along the way. That structure, combined with Oak Street’s Spielbergian spectacle, pointed us toward 2005’s War of the Worlds, which fuses H.G. Wells’ 1898 novel to images and emotions that draw on the attacks of 9/11. How that approach holds up a quarter-century removed from the events that inspired it is up for discussion this week, along with where War of the Worlds falls on the Steven Spielberg Alien-Encounter Continuum, and just how close that sentimental ending comes to ruining the movie entirely. Then in Feedback, a listener, with an assist from Orson Welles, invites us to get galaxy-brained on the nature of homage as it relates to cinema generally and this podcast specifically. 

Please share your thoughts about War of the Worlds, The End of Oak Street, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

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 NEXTPIC26 for 15% off.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 2023, Adam and Josh took another look at 1988's Midnight Run for its 35th anniversary. The Robert De Niro/Charles Grodin action comedy was an early and somewhat controversial inductee in the Filmspotting Pantheon, a decision they use their conversation to defend.  

Unlock the full archive, Filmspotting Discord, ad‑free + bonus episodes, and more when you ⁠join the Filmspotting Family⁠. Promo code: summer for 20% off through Aug. 31.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Happy Madison Productions is now cranking out movies starring two generations of Sandlers: paterfamilias Adam and daughters Sadie and Sunny. Earlier this year, Sadie starred in Netflix’s college-set Roommates, and now it’s Sunny’s turn in Don’t Say Good Luck, a tear-jerker that pairs family drama with high school musical drama. And it’s a pairing that Matt and Jordan agree works pretty well, thanks to the director Julia Hart (Fast Color, I’m Your Woman), solid work from Sandler, and a great performance by Melanie Lynskey as Sunny’s mom. Plus, a “Nepo Baby” streaming rec from Matt, and one from Jordan for a forgotten Oscar-winning Canadian film from the early 2000s. And Matt hosts another round of Portmanteau-to-Toe.  

Intro (00:00:00–00:03:16)

Don’t Say Good Luck (00:03:17–00:24:27)

Rec Seg! Nepo Babies and Canadian Oscar-winners (00:24:28–00:39:07)

Game: Portmanteau-to-Toe (00:39:08–00:58:57)

Mailbag / New to Streaming / Credits (00:58:58–01:11:25)

Show Notes

Now Streaming on Bazooga - A Filmspotting: SVU Archive⁠ https://letterboxd.com/samvanhallgren/list/now-streaming-on-bazooga-a-filmspotting-svu/⁠

Pre-Order Matt's book "Funny Business: The Old-School Wedding Crashers and Knocked-Up Virgins Who Changed Comedy Forever" (Coming October 6th):⁠ https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/790241/funny-business-by-matt-singer/⁠

Feedback: Email us at feedback@filmspottingSVU.com

Follow Matt on Blue Sky: @mattsinger.bsky.social

Follow Jordan on Blue Sky: @jhoffman.bsky.social

Follow the Show:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/superpulse/⁠⁠ https://www.facebook.com/FilmspottingSvu⁠

Follow the Show:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/superpulse/⁠⁠ https://www.facebook.com/FilmspottingSvu⁠

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Film music historian and journalist ⁠Tim Greiving⁠, author of John Williams: A Composer's Life, joins Michael Phillips to explore one of the foundational dilemmas of movie music, courtesy of legendary composer Max Steiner: "The hardest thing in scoring is to know when to start and when to stop." From King Kong and The Adventures of Robin Hood to Jaws and Star Wars, Michael and Tim trace the history of film scoring through competing philosophies: wall-to-wall music versus strategic restraint, foreground versus background, spectacle versus psychology. And yes, even The Odyssey enters the conversation They discuss Williams's lasting influence, memorable director-composer partnerships, and whether the best movie music tells us what we're seeing or reveals what the characters themselves cannot say. Join the conversation by emailing ⁠movieracket@filmspotting.net⁠.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is The End of Oak Street the best Spielberg movie of 2026? Or is one of your hosts committing movie heresy? Adam and Josh review David Robert Mitchell's dinosaur-filled family adventure and consider whether there's more on its mind than blockbuster thrills. Plus: thoughts on the Anthony Bourdain biopic Tony, Willem Dafoe in Late Fame, and Adam's conversation with the creators of the Table Read podcast.

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 (00:00:00-00:02:23)

The End of Oak Street (00:02:24-00:49:09)

Spoiler Talk: The End of Oak Street (00:49:09-01:10:34)

Filmspotting Family (01:10:35-01:17:04)

Tony (01:17:05-01:22:22)

Late Fame (01:22:23-01:41:26)

MLB at Field of Dreams on Netflix (01:41:27-01:45:52)

Introducing: Table Read Podcast (01:45:53-01:59:42)

Massacre Theatre (01:59:43-02:08:57)

Credits / Releases (02:08:58-2:11:44)

Notes:

-Myth of the American Sleepover Review | Ann Arbor Observer

⁠https://annarborobserver.com/myth-of-the-american-sleepover/⁠

Feedback:

-Email us at ⁠feedback@filmspotting.net⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠-⁠⁠Ask Us Anything⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and we might answer your question in bonus content.

Support:

-Use code "summer" for 20% off a Filmspotting Family membership

⁠http://filmspottingfamily.com⁠

-Filmspotting Shop for T-shirts and more.

⁠⁠https://www.filmspotting.net/shop⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow:

-Watch Filmspotting on YouTube:

⁠⁠https://youtube.com/filmspotting⁠⁠

-Adam/Filmspotting:

⁠⁠Letterboxd⁠⁠ |⁠⁠ Instagram⁠⁠ |⁠⁠ Facebook⁠⁠ |⁠ ⁠Bluesky⁠⁠

-Josh/LarsenOnFilm:

⁠⁠Letterboxd⁠⁠ |⁠ ⁠Instagram⁠⁠ |⁠⁠ Facebook⁠⁠ |⁠ ⁠Bluesky⁠

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kristen Stewart is back in theaters with The Wrong Girls, which is an excuse to share our Top 5 KStew Scenes from 2017. 

Unlock the full archive, Filmspotting Discord, ad‑free + bonus episodes, and more when you ⁠join the Filmspotting Family⁠. Promo code: summer for 20% off through Aug. 31.

"Personal Shopper and the Movies That Haunt Us"

Scott, Morris - Great Performances of 2016

Stewart: Hiding In Plain Sight

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s all fine and good to be sealed up in a house with Wagner Moura and Greta Lee, but the longer Netflix’s new The Last House keeps us there, the more time Matt and Jordan have for questions about the why and the how and… is that broccoli you’re growing in the floorboards, Greta? Matt and Jordan also discuss Netflix’s curious fascination with apocalyptic tales. Then, some Last House-inspired streaming recommendations (Universal Monsters! H.P. Lovecraft!) and a listener streaming request inspires recommendations for a forgotten Emma Thompson movie from the early 90s and a literary adaptation from Roger Corman. And Jordan hosts this week’s game: The Gaul of These People!

Welcome/Intro (00:00:00–00:2:54)

The Last House (00:2:55–00:27:17)

H.P. Lovecraft and Universal Monsters (Rec Seg!) (00:27:18–00:44:30)

Emma Thompson, Roger Corman, and Vincent Price (Listener Request Seg!) (00:44:31–01:03:16)

MLB's Field of Dreams Game on Netflix  (01:03:17–01:09:26)

Game: The Gaul of these People! (01:09:27–01:26:10)

New to Streaming / Credits (01:26:11–01:31:04)

Show Notes

Now Streaming on Bazooga - A Filmspotting: SVU Archive⁠ https://letterboxd.com/samvanhallgren/list/now-streaming-on-bazooga-a-filmspotting-svu/⁠

Pre-Order Matt's book "Funny Business: The Old-School Wedding Crashers and Knocked-Up Virgins Who Changed Comedy Forever" (Coming October 6th):⁠ https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/790241/funny-business-by-matt-singer/⁠

Feedback: Email us at feedback@filmspottingSVU.com

Follow Matt on Blue Sky: @mattsinger.bsky.social

Follow Jordan on Blue Sky: @jhoffman.bsky.social

Follow the Show:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/superpulse/⁠⁠ https://www.facebook.com/FilmspottingSvu⁠

Follow the Show:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/superpulse/⁠⁠ https://www.facebook.com/FilmspottingSvu⁠

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Matt Johnson’s new biopic Tony sidesteps the infamous Walk Hard trap by narrowing its scope to a single summer that would end up shaping the rest of Anthony Bourdain’s life, but not necessarily defining it. Whether that approach is ultimately satisfying to fans of the late celebrity chef and author is up for debate this week, as we’re once again joined by Vulture critic Roxana Hadadi to discuss how Tony plays into and against our expectations of a Bourdain narrative. Then we bring Ratatouille back in for Connections, to compare how these two films introduce us to kitchen culture through the eyes of a newbie. Then for Your Next Picture Show, we recommend two more recent films to fill out a Matt Johnson triple feature.

Please share your thoughts about Ratatouille, Tony, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Next Pairing: David Robert Mitchell’s The End of Oak Street and Steven Spielberg’s The War of the Worlds

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 NEXTPIC26 for 15% off.

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Screenwriter and producer David Kajganich (Suspiria, Bones and All) joins Michael Phillips to test a provocative rule of adaptation from filmmaker Whit Stillman: "You owe everything to the movie and nothing to the original [source]."

But what about the opposite approach? As the Coen brothers once joked about adapting Cormac McCarthy's No Country for Old Men: "One of us types into the computer while the other holds the spine of the book flat." Between those two extremes lies the art of adaptation.

Drawing on more than two decades of adapting novels, memoirs, plays, and films, Kajganich explores when fidelity serves a movie, when it becomes a trap, and why great adaptations sometimes have to break the bones of the original work. As you'd expect, Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey enters the conversation, along with Howards End, The Shining, The Zone of Interest, and Where the Wild Things Are.

Is the best adaptation the one that faithfully recreates its source? Or the one that expresses something new? Join the conversation: email movieracket@filmspotting.net

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Adam and Josh share their favorite discoveries, performances, and scenes from the recently completed Dissident Cinema Marathon, which included Chaplin’s The Great Dictator, Kurosawa's No Regrets for Our Youth, and Rossellini’s Rome, Open City.

Links:
-The Circle Ending Revealed | BFI
⁠old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/review/1960⁠

-Filmspotting Marathons
https://www.filmspotting.net/marathons

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jane Schoenbrun’s uncategorizable third feature, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, marks the director as among the most assured and provocative filmmakers of their generation. Adam and Josh agree that it’s the film of the year so far. Plus, other notable third features this decade, listeners pick their favorite Spider-Man movie, and Adam reviews The Brink of War.

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 (00:00:00-00:02:38)

Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (00:02:39-00:45:20)

Filmspotting Family (00:45:21-00:51:21)

The Brink of War (00:51:22-01:01:11)

Polls (01:01:12-01:11:25)

Credits / Releases (01:11:26-01:15:26)

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 episodes and complete archive access.

http://filmspottingfamily.com

-Filmspotting Shop for T-shirts and more.⁠ ⁠

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Anthony Bourdain, whose early experience working in a restaurant kitchen is chronicled in the new biopic Tony, once singled out Ratatouille as Hollywood’s best depiction of working in a restaurant kitchen, which is all the invitation we need to revisit Brad Bird’s 2007 Pixar classic. So this week, with the help of Vulture critic Roxana Hadadi, we consider how Ratatouille trusts its viewers to accept an audacious premise, and rewards them in emotional payoff; parse the nuances and contradictions of its “anyone can cook” mantra; and lament that its lone female character of consequence falls victim to Trinity Syndrome. And yes, of course this group of critics has some thoughts on Anton Ego and the film’s take on criticism. Then in Feedback, we discuss a short excerpt from a much longer, in-depth analysis we received in response to our O Brother Where Art Thou? episode.

Please share your thoughts about Ratatouille, Tony, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

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 NEXTPIC26 for 15% off.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 2015, Adam and Josh welcomed poster designer Sam's Myth on the show to talk shop and share their Top 5 Movie Posters.

Unlock the full archive, Filmspotting Discord, ad‑free + bonus episodes, and more when you ⁠join the Filmspotting Family⁠. Promo code: summer for 20% off through Aug. 31.

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When the author of “Marvel’s Spider-Man: From Amazing to Spectacular” is the co-host of your show, you don’t avoid talking about the new Spidey movie Brand New Day just because it’s not streaming. So Matt and Jordan use the release of the movie to theorize about its massive box office, and to share some related steaming recommendations. Plus, listener requests for an unsentimental Italian film and a film that offers the same unique pleasures as Leos Carax’s uncategorizable 2012 film Holy Motors. And Producer Sam tests Matt and Jordan’s knowledge of Spider-Man villains with a game called “A Vile Menagerie.”      

Matt’s Spider-Man Bona Fides + Brand New Day (00:00:00–00:25:27)

Rec Seg! Brand New Day-inspired recommendations (00:25:28–00:38:45)

Listener Requests: Italian Films, Movies like Holy Motors (00:38:46–00:50:16)

Game: A Vile Menagerie (00:50:17–01:08:45)

New to Streaming / Credits (01:08:46–01:15:33)

Outtake: Jordan In Hawaii with the cast of Battleship (01:15:34–01:24:24)

Show Notes

Now Streaming on Bazooga - A Filmspotting: SVU Archive⁠ https://letterboxd.com/samvanhallgren/list/now-streaming-on-bazooga-a-filmspotting-svu/⁠

“Marvel’s Spider-Man: from Amazing to Spectacular”

https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Marvels-Spider-Man-From-Amazing-to-Spectacular/Matt-Singer/9781683837442

Pre-Order Matt's book "Funny Business: The Old-School Wedding Crashers and Knocked-Up Virgins Who Changed Comedy Forever" (Coming October 6th):⁠ https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/790241/funny-business-by-matt-singer/⁠

Feedback: Email us at feedback@filmspottingSVU.com

Follow Matt on Blue Sky: @mattsinger.bsky.social

Follow Jordan on Blue Sky: @jhoffman.bsky.social

Follow the Show:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/superpulse/⁠⁠ https://www.facebook.com/FilmspottingSvu⁠

Follow the Show:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/superpulse/⁠⁠ https://www.facebook.com/FilmspottingSvu⁠

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What can your body tell you about a movie? According to legendary Columbia Pictures chief Harry Cohn, everything.

This week's Movie Racket explores Cohn's infamous rule for separating hits from flops. Joining Michael Phillips is Slate film critic Dana Stevens (Camera Man), who helps unpack what that deceptively simple dictum reveals about audiences, critics, attention spans, and streaming culture. Along the way, they cover The Odyssey, Jeanne Dielman, Citizen Kane, and whether laughter, tears, gasps, or simple restlessness can ever be trusted as measures of a film's success.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For the final film in the Dissident Cinema Marathon, Adam and Josh discuss Jafar Panahi’s formally ingenious 2000 film THE CIRCLE, an unflinching chronicle of Iran’s oppressive treatment of women.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After a five-year hiatus, Tom Holland’s Peter Parker is back on the big screen with Spider-Man: Brand New Day, this time battling anonymity, a host of nemeses, and some arachnid-related changes. Adam and Josh have a review. Plus thoughts on the new doc Everybody to Kenmure Street and the latest from Pulse and Cloud director Kiyoshi Kurosawa, The Samurai and the Prisoner.    

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 (00:00:00-00:02:22)

Spider-Man: Brand New Day (00:02:23-00:44:22)

Filmspotting Family (00:44:23-00:48:35)

Everybody to Kenmure Street (00:48:36-01:08:32)

The Samurai and the Prisoner (01:08:33-01:12:39)

Massacre Theatre (01:12:40-01:20:03)

Credits / Releases (01:20:04-01:24:02)

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 episodes and complete archive access.

http://filmspottingfamily.com

-Filmspotting Shop for T-shirts and more.⁠ ⁠

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Follow:

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's been eight years since Adam and Josh did the Top 5 Superhero-Director Combos (We'd Like To See) and still somehow none of their pitches have been given the green light. Maybe that will change with this Archive edition.

Unlock the full archive, Filmspotting Discord, ad‑free + bonus episodes, and more when you ⁠join the Filmspotting Family⁠. Promo code: summer for 20% off through August 31st https://filmspotting.supportingcast.fm/join?sc_promo=summer

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Chris Klimek presides over a multiversal showdown between two of the most beloved Spider-Man films: Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2 and the animated Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

One is a live-action, early-2000s studio blockbuster that crystallized the modern superhero movie — grounded in practical effects, emotional melodrama, and a deeply human Peter Parker torn between responsibility and desire. The other is a radically stylized animated film that reimagines what superhero storytelling can look like, embracing comic book form itself as its visual language.

Arguing for Spider-Man 2 is Matt Singer (Marvel's Spider-Man: From Amazing to Spectacular), who makes the case that Raimi’s film remains the definitive Peter Parker story. Arguing for Spider-Verse is Daisy Rosario, who contends that the film not only updates but expands the Spider-Man mythos. 

Which one better captures the essence of Spider-Man — and why does that question remain so difficult to answer? Choose your winner at moviedeathmatch.com.

More From Matt

Official Site | ScreenCrush | “Funny Business”

More From Daisy

Death, Sex & Money | ICYMI

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With the world’s Spidey sense activated by Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Adam and Josh look back at the webslinger’s first 25 years on screen with their Top 5 Spider-Man Scenes. Yes, even Andrew Garfield gets a little love.

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 (00:00:00-00:02:35)

Top 5 Spider-Man Scenes – Pt. 1 (00:02:36-00:43:30)

Family Madness — Round 2 (00:43:31-00:51:22)

Notes / Poll: Best Spidey Movie (00:51:23-01:05:38)

Top 5 Spider-Man Scenes – Pt. 2 (01:05:38-01:36:46)

Credits / Releases (01:36:47-01:40:12)

Links:

“When Mary Jane Kissed Spider-Man” | The Ringer

https://www.theringer.com/2022/05/03/movies/spider-man-kiss-tobey-maguire-kirsten-dunst

"Goodbye to the Lake Street Screening Room" | RogerEbert.com
⁠https://www.rogerebert.com/features/a-home-away-from-home-goodbye-to-the-lake-street-screening-room

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 episodes and complete archive access.

http://filmspottingfamily.com

-Filmspotting Shop for T-shirts and more.⁠ ⁠

⁠https://www.filmspotting.net/shop⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow:

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey approaches Homer’s epic from a much more literal vantage point than O Brother Where Art Thou, but that doesn’t mean it’s a dutiful, beat-by-beat adaptation. So this week we’re talking through the ways in which Nolan put his personal stamp on one of the most well-known stories in all of literature, from the film’s non-linear structure and preoccupation with time, to the physicality and humanity Nolan brings to this big-screen spectacle about a time of apparent magic. Then in Connections, we look at how these two very different films approach their shared source material, not just in direct character and narrative parallels, but also their interest in the oral tradition and eras coming to an end. Then in Your Next Picture we return to the subject of O Brother ’s music with a recommendation for the 2000 concert film Down From the Mountain.  

Please share your thoughts about O Brother, Where Art Thou?, The Odyssey, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Next Pairing: Matt Johnson’s Tony and Brad Bird’s Ratatouille

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 NEXTPIC26 for 15% off.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Back in 2022, Adam and Josh gave Sam Raimi's Spider-Man the 20th anniversary Sacred Cow treatment. 

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.

Jordan and Matt break format - and Zeus’s Law? - for an Odyssey-themed episode, including thoughts on the new blockbuster film, favorite Christopher Nolan films, and streaming recommendations inspired by the Homeric epic. And then a game, which Jordan dubs "My Big Fat Greek Filmspotting Game."   

The Odyssey (00:00:00–00:23:33)

#1 Nolans (00:23:34–00:47:08)

Rec Seg: Odyssey-inspired recommendations (00:47:09–01:04:23)

Game: My Big Fat Greek Filmspotting Game (01:04:24–01:24:05)

New to Streaming / Credits (01:24:05–01:31:47)

Show Notes

Now Streaming on Bazooga - A Filmspotting: SVU Archive⁠ https://letterboxd.com/samvanhallgren/list/now-streaming-on-bazooga-a-filmspotting-svu/⁠

Pre-Order Matt's book "Funny Business: The Old-School Wedding Crashers and Knocked-Up Virgins Who Changed Comedy Forever" (Coming October 6th):⁠ https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/790241/funny-business-by-matt-singer/⁠

Feedback: Email us at feedback@filmspottingSVU.com

Follow Matt on Blue Sky: @mattsinger.bsky.social

Follow Jordan on Blue Sky: @jhoffman.bsky.social

Follow the Show:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/superpulse/⁠⁠ https://www.facebook.com/FilmspottingSvu⁠

Follow the Show:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/superpulse/⁠⁠ https://www.facebook.com/FilmspottingSvu⁠

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Story analyst Billy Mernit joins Michael Phillips to test one of Hollywood’s most enduring (and slippery) unofficial rules: Howard Hawks’ idea that a good movie is three good scenes and no bad ones.

Mernit, an instructor and writer known as the “guru of rom-com,” brings nearly three decades of reading studio scripts and a working knowledge of how films get evaluated before they ever reach the screen. Together, they dig into what makes a “good scene” in the first place.

Is Hawks’ dictum still useful? Or, like so many Hollywood rules, is it less a law of motion pictures than a reflection of how we choose to remember them?

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey a cinematic gift, or is it a Trojan Horse filled with the director’s narrative obsessions? Maybe both. In their review, Adam and Josh talk about the ways Nolan diverges from Homer’s epic tale, and which of the director’s previous films offer the best insight into his latest.

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.

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 episodes and complete archive access.

http://filmspottingfamily.com

-Filmspotting Shop for T-shirts and more.⁠ ⁠

⁠https://www.filmspotting.net/shop⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow:

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Considering The Odyssey is one of the most famous and influential stories of all time, there had been relatively few attempts to directly translate Homer’s epic poem to the big screen until Christopher Nolan came along to do it at a blockbuster scale. It’s been more common for filmmakers, such as Joel and Ethan Coen, to use it as the loose framework for a flawed hero’s journey home, such as the one undertaken by Ulysses Everett McGill in O Brother, Where Art Thou?, a Depression-era musical comedy that maps on to Homer’s version only in the broadest of strokes. But revisiting O Brother through the lens of its stated source material, as we’re doing this week, is a revealing lesson in the malleability of adaptation, as well as the Coens’ ability to make even one of the most familiar tales in all of storytelling uniquely theirs. Then in Feedback, we finally break our silence on the indie-horror phenomenon that is Obsession.

Please share your thoughts about O Brother, Where Art Thou?, The Odyssey, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

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 NEXTPIC26 for 15% off.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As part of 2020’s Christopher Nolan Oeuvre-view, Adam and Josh revisited The Prestige (2006), which – alongside his current The Odyssey – is among the rare Nolans adapted from existing material.

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.

Matt and Jordan give Hulu’s new multiverse revenge thriller Redux Redux a spin, crediting Kevin and Matthew McManus’s film for its low-budget stylishness and its central performance (by another McManus, sister Michaela). Then some Redux-inspired streaming recommendations, answers to a listener request for off-the-grid heist movies, and a game (“Multi-Box Letter-Verse”) hosted by Producer Sam.

Intro / The Odyssey (00:00:00–00:11:36)

Redux Redux (0:11:37–00:28:27)

Rec Seg (00:28:28–00:45:35)

Listener Request Recs: Off-the-Grid Heist Movies (00:45:36–01:02:42)

Game: Multi-box Letter-verse (01:02:43–01:29:32)

New to Streaming / Credits (01:29:33–01:38:12)

Show Notes

Now Streaming on Bazooga - A Filmspotting: SVU Archive⁠ https://letterboxd.com/samvanhallgren/list/now-streaming-on-bazooga-a-filmspotting-svu/⁠

Pre-Order Matt's book "Funny Business: The Old-School Wedding Crashers and Knocked-Up Virgins Who Changed Comedy Forever" (Coming October 6th):⁠ https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/790241/funny-business-by-matt-singer/⁠

Feedback: Email us at feedback@filmspottingSVU.com

Follow Matt on Blue Sky: @mattsinger.bsky.social

Follow Jordan on Blue Sky: @jhoffman.bsky.social

Follow the Show:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/superpulse/⁠⁠ https://www.facebook.com/FilmspottingSvu⁠

Follow the Show:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/superpulse/⁠⁠ https://www.facebook.com/FilmspottingSvu⁠

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Film critic Amy Nicholson joins host Michael Phillips to test a set of unofficial Hollywood axioms: Preston Sturges’ 11 Rules for Box Office Appeal.

Written (or so the story goes) in the early 1940s, the list is equal parts joke and provocation, a series of blunt, sometimes baffling claims about what makes movies work. But taken together, the rules point toward something more coherent: a theory of cinema built on movement, rhythm, and the constant opening of possibilities.

Amy and Michael dig into what still holds up and what these rules reveal about the way comedy — and movies — create momentum. Is Sturges simply being playful? Or is there real wisdom hiding inside the punchlines?

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Dissident Cinema Marathon continues with Marcel Ophuls’s towering 1969 documentary The Sorrow and the Pity, which challenged the so-called “Gaullist myth” that the French people had largely resisted Nazi occupation.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Adam and Josh take stock of the movie year with their Top 5 Films of 2026 (So Far), making picks that reflect the strength of of the year’s genre offerings, comedies, and intimate dramas. Plus: Massacre Theatre, and Best of ‘26 poll results.

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/chapters may not be precise with ads.)

Intro (00:00:00-00:03:03)

Top 5 of 2026 (00:03:04-00:32:36)

Filmspotting Family: ‘20s/’30s Madness (00:32:37-00:40:52)

Poll: Best of ‘26 (So Far) (00:40:53-00:49:36)

Top 5 of 2026, cont. (00:49:37-01:17:26)

RIP Sam Neill / Massacre Theatre (01:17:27-01:26:54)

Credits / Releases (01:26:55-01:28:56)

Links:

Alison Willmore on Blue Heron | Vulture

https://www.vulture.com/article/review-the-masterful-blue-heron-uses-cinema-as-a-sance.html

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 episodes and complete archive access.

http://filmspottingfamily.com

-Filmspotting Shop for T-shirts and more.⁠ ⁠

⁠https://www.filmspotting.net/shop⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow:

-Watch Filmspotting on YouTube:

⁠https://youtube.com/filmspotting⁠

-Adam/Filmspotting:

⁠Letterboxd⁠ |⁠ Instagram⁠ |⁠ Facebook⁠ | ⁠Bluesky⁠

-Josh/LarsenOnFilm:

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A good chunk of Supergirl’s DNA can be traced back to True Grit by way of the comics miniseries the film is adapting, which is why we paired it with Joel and Ethan Coen’s 2010 version of that story. But as our discussion of Craig Gillespie’s new entry in James Gunn’s revamped DC Universe details, Supergirl often feels less indebted to its space-western source material than to several other superhero films that preceded it, including some of Gunn’s. That makes it tough to balance a film we all consider okay-at-best against a stone-cold Coens classic, but we attempt to anyway in Connections as we consider these two films’ shared interest in vengeance, western tropes, and really, really bad guys with murky motivations. Then in Your Next Picture Show, we honorTrue Grit’s star-making performance with a recommendation for another Hailee Steinfeld film that’s a favorite of this podcast, The Edge of Seventeen.

Please share your thoughts about True Grit, Supergirl, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Next Pairing: Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey and The Coen Brothers’ (yes, again) O Brother, Where Art Thou?

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 NEXTPIC26 for 15% off.

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For this week's Archive episode, we go back to 2014 for the Top 5 Movie Tattoos (That We'd Get). The "we" being Adam and Josh. 16 years later... no tats yet. But they're sticking by (most) of their picks.

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Matt and Jordan deep-dive into the free, ad-supported streaming platform Tubi. They evaluate the platform across five distinct categories: library; playback/interface; reliability; originals; and price. Plus, recommended titles to watch on Tubi, and a recommendations for a listener who is looking for a hangout comedy like semi-obscure 2005 comedy. And Producer Sam hosts this week’s game: Tubi or Not Tubi.

The State of Streaming: Tubi (00:00:00–00:49:36)

Rec Seg: Watch on Tubi (00:49:37–01:01:23)

Listener Request Recs: Hangout Comedies (01:01:24–01:17:23)

Game: Tubi or Not Tubi (01:17:24–01:38:35)

New to Streaming / Credits (01:38:36–01:45:49)

Show Notes

Now Streaming on Bazooga - A Filmspotting: SVU Archive⁠ https://letterboxd.com/samvanhallgren/list/now-streaming-on-bazooga-a-filmspotting-svu/⁠

Pre-Order Matt's book "Funny Business: The Old-School Wedding Crashers and Knocked-Up Virgins Who Changed Comedy Forever" (Coming October 6th):⁠ https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/790241/funny-business-by-matt-singer/⁠

Alissa Quart’s “Hyperlink Cinema” in Film Forum

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/549355e2e4b0a309c8cef596/t/556ca8c0e4b0ca905b2d74ef/1433184448821/QuartonHyperlink%281%29.pdf

Hyperlink Cinema, a Letterboxd List
https://letterboxd.com/sc_elly/list/hyperlink-films/

Handmade Films, a Letterboxd List

https://letterboxd.com/studio/handmade-films/

Feedback: Email us at feedback@filmspottingSVU.com

Follow Matt on Blue Sky: @mattsinger.bsky.social

Follow Jordan on Blue Sky: @jhoffman.bsky.social

Follow the Show:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/superpulse/⁠⁠ https://www.facebook.com/FilmspottingSvu⁠

Follow the Show:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/superpulse/⁠⁠ https://www.facebook.com/FilmspottingSvu⁠

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Welcome to The Movie Racket, a new Filmspotting production hosted by Michael Phillips.

Each week, we’ll test a so-called "law" of cinema — a bit of received wisdom about how movies work, or don’t. For our debut episode, actor Michael Shannon joins the show to examine a provocative claim from François Truffaut: that every film about war ends up being pro-war.

Is it true that a movie about combat, survival, and heroism can never escape the pull of spectacle and the way cinema inevitably renders violence compelling? Shannon reflects on that inherent tension and revisits his experience working on Michael Bay’s Pearl Harbor, a film that presents this question of representation head-on.

So: was Truffaut right? Or does cinema allow for something more complicated than a binary verdict? Join the conversation at movieracket@filmspotting.net.

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Adam and Josh celebrate Fargo's 30th anniversary with a Pantheon Project review (the show’s longest ever) of the Coen Brothers' career-altering 1996 film. Plus, Olivia Wilde's The Invite, David Wain's Gail Daughtry's Celebrity Sex Pass, and listeners choose the best pair of '90s blockbusters.

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/chapters may not be precise with ads.)

Intro (00:00:00-00:03:33)

Fargo at 30 (00:03:34-01:16:58)

Filmspotting Family (01:16:59-01:21:34)

The Invite (01:21:35-01:25:46)

Gail Daughtry’s Celebrity Sex Pass (01:25:47-01:33:56)

Polls (01:33:57-01:41:34)

Credits / Releases (01:41:35-01:44:08)

Links:

-Josh’s Fargo Video Essay

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaRRXpfTyfU

Feedback:

-Email us at feedback@filmspotting.net⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠-⁠Ask Us Anything⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and we might answer your question in bonus content.

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This week's archive episode is Adam and Josh's 2018 Sacred Cow review of the Coen Brothers' period gangster film Miller's Crossing. 

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.