FRIENDS OF FORREEL


THE LAMBCAST


A troubled star, a staggering franchise, a corporate shake up, and guess what, the film is actually really good. A full contingent of our own superheroes take on "The Flash", the newest DC Comic Book film, and we find lots to recommend, including the lead performance and the return of "Batman". This is a multiverse film in a world overrun by multiverse movies, but there are some strong emotional moments, and best of all, some laughs to be had. We have a cast of guests that is rich in comic lore to guide you through the Universe and help you come out on the other side with as little damage to your own universe as possible.

For movie lovers. the Fabelmans is a dream come true. It is an autobiographical film by the most celebrated filmmaker of the last fifty years. Steven Spielberg takes on a fictionalized version of his own story, and who would not want to see what that looks like? This week, Howard Casner sits in as host and the praise is effusive but tempered by our resident curmudgeon. Michelle William, Paul Dano, Seth Rogan, Judd Hirsh and a surprise cameo, all get accolades from our group of guests. If you love movies and you love hearing people talk about movies, than there is no place else that you want to spend an hour and a half, except maybe a theater.

For a third week in a row we feature a horror film on the Lambcast, a result of October being Halloween Season. Of course if there is a season for Halloween, there is a movie to go with it. Director David Gordon Green wraps up his trilogy reboot, reimagining, sequel, recalibration, whatever you want to call it, and the Lambcast chooses to roast the films like Michael Myers in Halloween 2018.

All three films come in for some criticism, and it looks like it is going to be a race to the bottom with "Halloween Kills" and "Halloween Ends" neck and neck on the road to oblivion. The Lambs this week were not shy about their distain for the choices made in these last two movies. Come and listen and decide for yourself. Has "Halloween" really ended?

After a week off we are back with a film steeped in controversy for some pretty silly reasons. A psychological thriller that is overshadowed by production kerfuffle's and publicity missteps. "Don't Worry Darling" is the second film from director Olivia Wilde and the Lambcast crew is a bit uncertain if it is a step up or a step backwards, or simply a step too far. There are dreams of a better life, but who's dreams are they? Come find out if Harry Styles is dreamy or if Florence Pugh has to carry him.

Finally, the Ghostbusters Sequel that people have been waiting for, I think. Join our team of echo-exterminators in blotting out the last "Ghostbusters" film and embracing the new.


CONTRA ZOOM


The 2023 edition of the ⁠Vancouver International Film Festival⁠ runs from September 28-October 8th. We preview our most anticipated films that are playing. Joining the show is Todd Pengelly a critic from ForReel.

Dakota’s picks include: ⁠I Used to Be Funny⁠, ⁠Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe⁠, ⁠Monster⁠, ⁠Only the River Flows⁠ and ⁠The Teachers’ Lounge⁠.

Todd’s picks include: ⁠Anatomy of a Fall⁠, ⁠Goodbye Julia⁠, ⁠On the Adamant⁠, ⁠Priscilla⁠ and ⁠The Royal Hotel⁠.

We continue our series going through the entire catalog of A24's films. On this episode we are looking at 2014's Locke directed by Steven Knight. The film stars Tom Hardy as a man driving to a hospital as a woman prepares to give birth to his child. On this drive he has to fight potential consequences for making this decision, including telling his wife he cheated on her and his work that on the eve of a massive project he can not be there to oversee it. Joining the show is Thomas Stoneham-Judge is a film critic for the site .

For our special 200th episode Dakota and Rachel decided to look back at films that made them the movie watchers they are today. From fond early moviegoing memories to the first time they were challenged to what made them want to be a critic. They picked five films each and got some voicemails from friends of the show who wanted to share their picks!

Dakota's picks: The Birds/North By Northwest, The Shawshank Redemption, 12 Angry Men, Pan’s Labyrinth and The Great Beauty.

Rachel's picks: The Lion King, The Skulls, Superbad, Soul and The Sound of Music.



With 'Killers of the Flower Moon' just weeks away, film critics Ben and Thomas join together to start at the beginning of Martin Scorsese's career and discuss his 1967 film, 'Who's That Knocking at My Door' starring Harvey Keitel and Zina Bethune.


THE ROLLING TAPE


Premiering at Sundance Film Festival before going wide June 23, Past Lives directed by Celine Song has taken the film community by storm. As a directorial debut and Song’s first venture into filmmaking coming from a theater background, her first film follows Nora and Hae Sung, two deeply connected childhood friends, who were wrest apart after Nora's family emigrated from South Korea. 20 years later, they are reunited for one fateful week as they confront notions of love and destiny. Joined by guest Thomas Stoneham-Judge, we review the film that stars Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, and John Magaro and is being distributed by A24.

The Rolling Tape is a multimedia film and entertainment outlet for podcasts, online publications, and film production. The podcast is a TRT production covering weekly film reviews, industry updates, and awards season news.

Chapter Timestamps:

0:00:00 Introduction

0:15:24 Past Lives Non-spoilers

0:26:56 Past Lives Spoilers


FEELIN’ FILM


In this episode – fellow Seattle Film Critics Society member Thomas Stoneham-Judge from ForReel joins the show to review three films we saw at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

Magazine Dreams – 05:28

Radical – 14:51

Shortcomings – 22:30


NICKFLIX


You never forget your first time...directing a feature film. Join me and my guest Thomas, as we discuss some of our favorite directorial debuts.

Never trust a machine(except the one that you are currently using to listening to my podcast). Join me and my guest Thomas Stoneham-Judge, as we discuss the age old battle of Man vs Machine.


POP ART


ON THE ROAD AGAIN: “Nag, nag, nag.” How hard can it be? Your assignment is to get a witness from point A to point B? What could possibly go wrong, you ask? Sounds like it’s time for Episode 55 of Pop Art, the podcast where my guest chooses a movie from popular culture and I’ll select a film from the more art/classic/indie side of cinema with a connection to it. Today, I am happy to welcome as my guest, blogger. podcaster and film enthusiast Thomas Stoneham-Judge, who has chosen the Ryan Reynolds/Samuel L. Jackson bromance road picture, The Hitman’s Bodyguard, while I have chosen the Clint Eastwood/Sondra Locke romantic action road picture, The Gauntlet, both about people trying to get a witness to trial against almost insurmountable odds. And don’t forget to follow my podcast and comment.

And in this episode we answer such questions as: What is the Wilhelm Scream; What is a Pat Hingle and would you want to be one; Why do Reynolds and Jackson work so well together; What did test audiences scream out at the climax of The Gauntlet; What song do the nuns on the bus sing; who were first cast in The Gauntlet; What happened to the screenplay to The Hitman’s Bodyguard a few weeks before shooting?