When it rains, it pours. But sometimes, it’s a good pour.

On the latest episode of The Discourse – the show where we discuss film news, reviews, and any other pertinent pop culture items that we feel the need to weigh in on – I’m joined by Jenny Nulf (Austin Asian American Film Festival, Austin Chronicle) to discuss the onslaught of new releases that came out this weekend.

Continue reading Looking Back At A Crowded Film Weekend With ‘Old Guard,’ ‘Palm Springs,’ ‘Relic’ & More [Discourse Podcast] at The Playlist.

“The King of Staten Island” and the contemporary King of Comedy come together on this episode of The Discourse, the show where we discuss film and television news, reviews, and any other pertinent pop culture items that we feel the need to weigh in on.

READ MORE: ‘The King Of Staten Island’: A Charming Cast Energizes A Formulaic Story In Judd Apatow’s Latest [Review]

This week, I’m joined by Nick Allen (RogerEbert.com, Vulture, MEL Magazine, The AV Club) to look back on the directorial career of Judd Apatow.

Continue reading Funny With Heart & Dad Vibes: Judd Apatow’s Essentials [Discourse Podcast] at The Playlist.

On this episode of The Discourse – the show where we discuss film and television news, reviews, and any other pertinent pop culture items that we feel the need to weigh in on – I’m joined by Kathia Woods (Cup of Soul, Philadelphia Tribune, Awards Watch) and Ronda Racha Penrice (Zora, NBC THINK, Atlanta Journal Constitution) to discuss the now four-decade spanning career of Spike Lee.

Continue reading The Underrated & Overlooked Films Of Spike Lee [Discourse Podcast] at The Playlist.

Note: This episode was recorded over a week ago, before the current state of affairs. If you have the means, please consider donating to Black Lives Matter and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, among many other organizations, during this time.

It’s a strange, ever-adapting world in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the film industry is no exception.

Continue reading ‘Tenet,’ Reopening Cinemas & The Current State Of The Theatrical Industry [Discourse Podcast] at The Playlist.

Happy Holidays, and a Happy New Year from The Discourse Podcast, the show where we discuss film news, reviews, and any other pertinent pop culture items that we feel the need to weigh in on.

READ MORE: ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’: JJ Abrams’ Film Is The Last Word On The Saga, For Better Or Worse [Discourse Podcast]

On our last episode of 2019, I’m joined by Oktay Ege Kozak (Paste Magazine, DVD Talk) to count down our Top 10 Films of 2019.

Continue reading The Top 10 Films Of 2019 [Discourse Podcast] at The Playlist.

Happy Holidays to you and yours. This season brings forth time-honored traditions of attempting to take it easy at work to spend time with loved ones, and compiling the year-end “Best Of” list and debate online whether or not it’s been a good year for movies.

READ MORE: The 100 Best Films Of The Decade

I’m speaking generally, of course. There are two firmly-held beliefs I have when it comes to making a “Best Of” list that you could tattoo on my forehead, carve on my tombstone, etc.

Continue reading Ryan Oliver’s Top 25 Films of 2019 [Video] at The Playlist.

Not sure if you’ve heard, but there’s a new “Star Wars” film out, and we’re totally confident that the Internet is going to be completely chill and nothing could possibly go wrong…

READ MORE: ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’ Is Fan Fiction On A Galactic Scale [Review]

Other than perhaps “Joker,” there is no other major 2019 release that we have covered on The Discourse Podcast that truly lives up (or down, depending on your viewpoint) to the show’s namesake.

Continue reading ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’: JJ Abrams’ Film Is The Last Word On The Saga, For Better Or Worse [Discourse Podcast] at The Playlist.

I hope you all had a relaxing Thanksgiving, but, if you spent it arguing with your family about politics, then boy do we have a terrific double feature for you on the latest episode of The Discourse.

READ MORE: The 25 Best Films Of 2019

This week, I’m joined by Robert Daniels (812FilmReviews.com, MediaVersity) to discuss two topical, provocative films, albeit vastly different from one another.

Continue reading ‘Queen & Slim’ & ‘Knives Out’ Both Tackle Tough Issues Plaguing America [Discourse Podcast] at The Playlist.

Ladies and gentlemen… start your engines… for another edition of The Discourse, the program where we discuss film and television reviews, news, and anything else in the pop culture zeitgeist that we feel the need to weigh in on.

On this episode, I’m joined by Rafael Motamayor (/Film, Polygon, The Playlist) and Griffin Schiller (FilmSpeak, The Fourth Wall) to primarily discuss two vastly different films, but both share a minor connection in that they’re not only entering this year’s awards race, but they have equal parts bravado and tenderness.

Continue reading ‘Ford V Ferrari’ & ‘Honey Boy’ Might Be Miles Apart But They Have Surprising Similarities [The Discourse Podcast] at The Playlist.

Welcome to another edition of The Discourse, the show where we discuss film news, reviews, and anything in the pop culture zeitgeist that we feel the need to weigh-in on.

On this episode, I’m joined by Clint Worthington (Consequence of Sound, The Spool) to discuss “El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie,” which hit Netflix over the weekend.

Continue reading ‘Breaking Bad’ Is Back In The Cultural Conversation With ‘El Camino’ [The Discourse Podcast] at The Playlist.

Welcome to another edition of The Discourse, the show where we discuss film news, reviews, and anything in the pop culture zeitgeist that we feel the need to weigh-in on.

After a brief paternity leave hiatus—and thank you all for your patience and to the teams behind The Fourth Wall and Be Reel for keeping the lights on while I was away—we are back at the same Bat-Time and same Bat-Channel with regular episodes.

Continue reading Takashi Miike’s ‘First Love’ And The September Films We Missed [The Discourse Podcast] at The Playlist.

Welcome to another edition of The Discourse, the show where we discuss film news, reviews, and any other topics in the pop culture zeitgeist that we feel the need to weigh-in on. And boy oh boy, did we need to come in hot with this one. On this episode, I’m joined by Chris Evangelista (/Film) to discuss “Joker,” the film that is on everyone’s minds and has been on everyone’s minds since the script for the film leaked in August, and the discourse has not slowed down a bit.

Continue reading ‘Joker’ Has Arrived To Burn The Internet Down [The Discourse Podcast] at The Playlist.

Summer 2019 is coming to a close, and with that comes reflection.

On the latest episode of The Discourse – the show where we discuss film reviews, news, and anything else in the pop culture zeitgeist that we feel the need to weigh-in on – I’m joined by Jenny Nulf (No Excuses) to close the book on summer 2019. We discuss the high’s and low’s of the summer, and worry about what theatrical moviegoing will look like next summer and beyond (Tl;DR — Disney was the undisputed champion at the box office with four billion-dollar grossers, and their 2020 summer slate on paper is – for lack of a better term – non-threatening.

Continue reading Looking Back On Summer 2019 With The Films We Missed [The Discourse Podcast] at The Playlist.

Part of the journey is the end… and all things must come to an end.

On this unexpected episode of The Discourse – the show where we discuss film and television news, reviews, and anything else in the zeitgeist that we feel the need to weigh-in on – I’m joined by Playlist Editor-in-Chief Rodrigo Perez to devote an entire episode to the fallout between Disney and Sony over Spider-Man‘s future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Continue reading Spider-Man Studio Drama: It’s Just Business For Disney & Sony [The Discourse Podcast] at The Playlist.

The overwhelming nature of grief and the inability to let go of those who have passed on is universal. Not as relatable is that weight twisted into a hilariously morbid narrative: a child lost to a ritual sacrifice at the hands of a washed-up Christian rock star who has made a deal with the devil for one more shot at stardom. You know, that old chestnut. “Extra Ordinary”— the debut film from Mike Ahern and Enda Loughman — takes nearly every heavy ghost and exorcism film impeded with bereavement, and flips them on their heads with humor and ingenuity to spare, which more than makes up for the times when the film gets away from them.

Continue reading Horror-Comedy ‘Extra Ordinary’ Is An Outrageously Farcical Spin On Ghost Stories [NBFF Review] at The Playlist.

August is one of the more interesting movie months in the calendar year. At once, it’s a dumping ground for major studios to unpack their unwanted, potentially bad, films before kids go back to school. Simultaneously, it’s an opportunity for the smaller distributors to get a jump on awards season to release provocative efforts that would likely be edged out during the fall competition.

On this week’s episode of The Discourse – the show in which we discuss film and television reviews, occasional news, and any other pertinent pop culture items that we feel the need to weigh-in on – we choose to discuss the latter, ignoring the five(!) wide releases that came out this weekend because, well, none of them sounded all that interesting.

Continue reading Sifting Through Provocative Subject Matter In ‘The Nightingale’ & ‘Luce’ [The Discourse Podcast] at The Playlist.

Not sure if you’ve heard or not, but in the world of the “Fast and Furious” films, it’s all about family. So with that, on the latest episode of The Discourse – the show where we discuss film and television reviews, news, and any other items in the zeitgeist that we feel the need to weigh-in on – we’ve recruited an outstanding family of writers.

Robert Daniels (812FilmReviews, Mediaversity), Alisha Grauso (Atom Insider), and Griffin Schiller (FilmSpeak, The 4th Wall) join me this week to discuss “Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw,” the first official spin-off in the nearly twenty-year-old franchise.

Continue reading The Insanity & Imperfections Of ‘Hobbs & Shaw’ [The Discourse Podcast] at The Playlist.

Fire up the projectors, turn on the Cinerama marquee, and take a joy ride down the streets of Los Angeles, for it is time for another edition of The Discourse podcast.

On this episode, I’m joined by Lindsey Romain (Nerdist) to discuss the ninth – and supposedly penultimate – film from Quentin Tarantino, “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood.” The director’s latest – an ode to the final days of Hollywood’s golden era that stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt as a washed-up actor and stuntman – respectively – as well as Margot Robbie as Sharon Tate – is already polarizing those involved in the cultural conversation surrounding the film.

Continue reading Discussing Melancholy, Fame & The End Of An Era In Tarantino’s ‘Once Upon a Time’ [The Discourse Podcast] at The Playlist.

Does the Summer Movie Season have you down? On the latest episode of The Discourse – the show in which we discuss film and television news, reviews, and any pertinent pop culture items that we feel the need to weigh-in on – we hope to cure some of those summertime blues.

The air in the discourse is that this summer has been one of the weaker ones in recent memory. Whether or not that is the case, we hope to at least attempt to reverse that sentiment.

Continue reading Curing The Summer Blues With Notable Indies ‘The Farewell’ & ‘The Art Of Self-Defense’ [The Discourse Podcast] at The Playlist.

In 1975, “Jaws” assured moviegoers that it wasn’t safe to go into the water. 44 years later, that sentiment still remains. Fortunately, it is still safe to podcast, so you’re stuck with another edition of The Discourse, the show where we discuss film and television news, reviews, and any other pertinent pop culture items worth weighing-in on.

On this episode, I’m joined by Meagan Navarro (Bloody Disgusting, Consequence of Sound), and in the first half of the episode, we dive into “Crawl,” the latest film from director Alexandre Aja (“High Tension,” “The Hills Have Eyes“) and producer Sam Raimi.

Continue reading Sinking Our Teeth Into ‘Crawl’ & Our Favorite Animal Attack Horror Films [The Discourse Podcast] at The Playlist.

Drink the water and frolic with us in Sweden on the latest episode of The Discourse, the show where we discuss film and television news, reviews, and any other pop culture items in the zeitgeist that we feel the need to weigh-in on.

This week, I’m joined by Jenny Nulf (Director of Programming, Austin Asian American Film Festival & Co-Host of No Excuses) to dedicate the bulk of our discussion to “Midsommar,” the latest film from “Hereditary” filmmaker Ari Aster.

Continue reading Let’s Go On Summer Vacation With ‘Midsommar’ & ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’ [The Discourse Podcast] at The Playlist.

Welcome to the very first episode of The Discourse Podcast, formally known as The Playlist Podcast!

Why the rebrand, you might ask? Aside from having a nice ring to it and a name to differentiate ourselves from the other wonderful shows on the podcast network, the show has morphed over the last year from merely Rodrigo and I (with occasional input from fellow Playlisters) discussing the big movie of the moment to a rotating door of diverse guests with differing perspectives, weighing in on not just the major film releases of any given week, but television, streaming, and the all-around wave of change in the way we consume our media.

Continue reading Revenge of the Creepy Dolls: ‘Annabelle Comes Home’ & ‘Child’s Play’ [The Discourse Podcast] at The Playlist.

Howdy, partners. Welcome to another edition of The Playlist Podcast, the show where we discuss film news, reviews, and any other pertinent pop culture items. On this week’s episode, I’m joined by Mike Shutt (No Excuses) to discuss this weekend’s major release, in which a toy doll comes to grips with its own sentience and the inevitable existential crisis that follows… but enough about “Child’s Play.”

READ MORE: ‘Toy Story 4’ Is The Surprising, Poignant Epilogue To Pixar’s Finest Franchise [Review]

In all seriousness, we are here to discuss “Toy Story 4,” the latest entry in the long-running Disney/Pixar series, which sees the return of Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), Bo Peep (Annie Potts), and a slew of new characters, most notably Forky (Tony Hale), an arts and crafts project made from a plastic spork who has a fascination with the trash.

Continue reading ‘Toy Story 4’ Overcomes Summer 2019’s Sequel Problem By Proving Itself Necessary [Podcast] at The Playlist.

The great blessing and curse of “The Conjuring” Cinematic Universe is its EC Comics-style of anthology storytelling. Standalone stories based on creepy totems or spooky entities is a refreshing way to continue a horror movie franchise without going down the rabbit hole of demystifying the very thing that made the original film connect in the first place.

READ MORE: The Best Films Of 2019… So Far

Sadly, there’s also a familiar, regurgitated downside to the approach—floors creak, objects float, loud noises crash, and large, empty spaces on one side of the frame become occupied when the camera pans over and back—that make these films feel indistinguishable from one another.

Continue reading ‘Annabelle Comes Home’: A Charming Teen Horror Throwback That Doesn’t Break The Tired ‘Conjuring’ Mold [Review] at The Playlist.

The M.O. of familiarity, convention and rushing-to-get-started desperation in “Men in Black: International” is made abundantly clear from the opening credits and an opening 20 minutes that feels like a frantic car chase and collision. Beginning with the familiar chalkboard-style franchise font (set to Danny Elfman’s score, repurposed by Chris Bacon), instead of introducing anyone, it only details the production companies and the title before elevator-slam-dropping you, in media res, into a clunky and noisy prologue with Agents H (Chris Hemsworth) and T (Liam Neeson) fighting an advanced alien race called The Hive.

Continue reading ‘Men In Black: International’: Sony Should Use A Neuralizer & Mind-Wipe The Audience & This Film [Review] at The Playlist.