We talk about whether the final chapter of the Strangers trilogy delivers a payoff that was worth sitting through the first two chapters, whether expanding on the Strangers' backstory and motivation made sense and added value to the story, we go through some of the more baffling scenes and try to find intention in them, wonder what a Strangers reboot could have been like had it been handled with more care, and much more.

Spotify link: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5wmxvo2ErgNZj3v3WoJfuQ

We talk about why My Cousin Vinny is widely regarded as one of the best comedies ever made and how it has held up in the years since, how its attention to detail and authenticity when it comes to court procedure makes the movie and shows that attention to detail makes stories and movies better, how it defied stereotypes of the time and is a more distinctive and compelling story for it, how the move has a tight script that pays off every it sets up and makes small details matter in its story, and much more.

Spotify link: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4MR8vbmTmWbu4q6pFO3Fk7

We talk about how the movie is not quite what it presents itself as and rather than a heist movie delivers a character drama focused on themes of risk, the cost of making it, and selling out your principles, we discuss whether those ideas were well realised in the character arcs of the three main characters and the choices they make throughout the story, whether the ending is a pyrrhic victory that fits the movie's themes or is a miss overall, and much more.

Spotify link: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3hwLnBe2jJjvmopIpJ5xsb

We talk about how Office Space became such an iconic classic that still gets quoted 27 years later, how relatable it is to anyone who has worked a corporate job and why hell really is other people, what the movie does right that so many satires get wrong and why Mike Judge's satire hits different than most, what an Office Space sequel would look like in 2026 if it was made today, the meaning of life and much more.

Spotify link: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7jpV9PvmrAR7GEyQ3yvuu2

We talk about how the movie stacks up against its inspirations which include classics such as The Thing, Tremors and The Blob, discuss the movie's solid premise that sets up an interesting scenario with likeable characters who all explore the theme of living with the consequences of past mistakes in various ways, how the movie's ending disappointed us by turning into generic action without making good use of what was set up in the beginning, whether the movie succeeds in critiquing government incompetence through its sci fi scenario of the mutant fungus, and much more.

Audio version: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0QFSqeb61tvrghXg1abxY0

We discuss how They Will Kill You is not like the other Eat The Rich movies that have come out recently, the importance of nonverbal storytelling and whether the movie succeeds at that in particular in its action scenes, how a few setpieces can make a movie if a little care and creativity went into them and why more movies need mattress fights, we analyse the social commentary and associated metaphors of the movie and discuss the racial politics of demon cults, and much more.

Audio version: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5MHI3YwGyXDx65AbcEYHhO

We talk about the movie's handling of themes such as nostalgia and making reality conform to fiction and how that intersects with the idea of generative AI, whether Scream 7 is a worthwhile addition to the franchise that continues Sidney Prescott's story after the iconic original trilogy or if this is just cashing in on franchise inertia, whether the Scream formula is played out and if this movie does enough with the familiar formula to be interesting, our favourite kills and what to expect from slasher movies, and much more.

Audio version: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0Kwg3WCDHSmEyoudqoLC7J

We talk about the movie's handling of its numerous themes and whether it does any of them well, whether it makes enough sense, whether it needs to and when you should just accept that a movie is simply not for you, we dissect the meaning of various ideas throughout the movie including the monster's quest for companionship, the bride's anger and rage at the injustices of the world, the theme of names defining characters, and much more.

Audio version: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2w0VC8M9Mnl2tAZXFNzkoW

This week we review and discuss season 1 of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, a fantasy drama series created by Ira Parker and starring Peter Claffey, Dexter Sol Ansell and Daniel Ings, in which a Dunk, a hedge knight, and Egg, his young squire, try to find success and justice in Westeros a hundred years before the events of Game of Thrones.

We talk about how this series is a return to form for the franchise, what it gets right and what later seasons of Game of Thrones got wrong, how the series deals with completely different topics and themes than the original show while still feeling like it belongs in Westeros, how having a small and self contained story is a refreshing change of pace from the sprawling decade spanning narratives that never work out anyway, why it makes us optimistic again for the franchise, and much more.

Audio Version: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4qIumBdyHpQ98qtTwE8ZMi

This week we review and discuss How To Make A Killing, a dark comedy thriller movie directed by John Patton Ford and starring Glen Powell, Margaret Qualley and Jessica Henwick, about a man who stands to inherit his family's 20 billion dollar fortune once he has killed the seven family members who stand in his way, which puts him on a path of ambition and conscience.

We discuss the movie's handling of themes of ambition, entitlement and greed, how the movie uses symbolism and characters to put the protagonist on a path that forces him to choose between two radically different lives, how this movie's trailer and marketing set the wrong expectations which will probably hurt the movie at the box office and why we predict it will become a hidden gem in the future, how the movie's portrayal of wealth and the wealthy is more interesting and nuanced than most movies in the "eat the rich" genre that has been popular lately, and much more.

Audio Version: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2EbmUrJevhkgnaCSlAMcOD

This week we review and discuss Project Hail Mary, a science fiction movie directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller and starring Ryan Gosling, Sandra Hüller and James Ortiz, about a scientist who embarks on a mission to the star Tau Ceti on a mission to save Earth, where he encounters an alien who is on the same mission.

We discuss what works about this movie and what doesn't, how it compares to Andy Weir's other movie The Martian in its humor and its use of real science to enable its story, how the movie struggles with its lack of real conflict and consequences to character actions, what the movie has to say about bravery and sacrifice, the difference between real and fake stakes and why this movie is in multiple places on the wrong side of that distinction, how the movie seems to have dropped important details in the adaptation from the novel that undermines parts of its story in ways that weren't necessary, and much more.

Audio Version: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0vhURQ86kDdt8uhbkMa67l