Category Archives: documentaries

02.19.21
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MINARI, FRAMING BRITNEY SPEARS, SHOOK, and SATOR on Episode #345

Steven Yeun, Han Ye-ri, Alan Kim, Noel Kate Cho, and Youn Yuh-jung in Lee Isaac Chung's MINARI

We kick off this week’s show with SATOR (2:01), Jordan Graham’s atmospheric horror film about a demon pursuing multiple generations of a forest-dwelling family. Then Megan and Evan review SHOOK (14:09), Jennifer Harrington’s social media-infused horror movie on Shudder. Next, everyone discusses the documentary FRAMING BRITNEY SPEARS (25:49), an episode of THE NEW YORK TIMES PRESENTS series that focuses Britney Spears, the conservatorship controlling her life, and the sexism and misogyny in media that has impacted her life and career. We wrap up with Isaac Lee Chung’s poignant drama MINARI (42:25), which follows a Korean American family’s attempt to start a farm in 1980s Arkansas, starring Steven Yeun, Han Ye-ri, Alan Kim, Noel Kate Cho, and Youn Yuh-jung. And on this week’s Patreon bonus audio, we review a Patron’s choice: Walter Hill’s 1979 action film, THE WARRIORS.

Listen:

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02.05.21
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Sundance 2021 on Episode #343

Sundance Film Festival 2021

SUNDANCE, SUNDANCE, SUNDANCE! We cover the Sundance Film Festival for the first time so we have a LOT of movies to discuss. We kick off with films we saw individually and would recommend: FIRST DATE (3:25), FLEE (6:14), and PASSING (9:21). Then we move on to movies at least two of us have seen: MARVELOUS AND THE BLACK HOLE (15:05), HOW IT ENDS (20:47), BRING YOUR OWN BRIGADE (27:24), and THE WORLD TO COME (37:46). We end with discussions of films all three of us have seen: STREET GANG: HOW WE GOT TO SESAME STREET (48:29), and CODA (59:07), a movie which takes places here in Massachusetts. And on this week’s Patreon bonus audio, it’s even more Sundance! We cover all the other films we’d recommend, but couldn’t squeeze into this episode.

Listen:

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01.15.21
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THE MARKSMAN, HUNTED, DON’T TELL A SOUL, and MLK/FBI on Episode #340

Liam Neeson holds a rife and looks into the sight in the movie The Marksman

For a movie called THE MARKSMAN, we expected a lot more marksmanship

Megan and Evan start this week’s show with MLK/FBI (3:55), Sam Pollard’s compelling documentary about the FBI’s despicable campaign to intimidate and discredit Martin Luther King Jr. during the Civil Rights movement. Next, they cover Alex McAulay’s DON’T TELL A SOUL (12:52), a crime drama thriller about teen brothers (Fionn Whitehead and Jack Dylan Grazer) matching wits with a man (Rainn Wilson) at the bottom of the well. Then, Dave, Megan, and Evan review Vincent Parronaud’s HUNTED (26:44), a wild, modern horror take on the Little Red Riding Hood tale; a woman (Lucie Debay) meets a friendly man (Arieh Worthalter) and is kidnapped and chased. And lastly, they wrap up with the latest Liam Neeson January action movie, THE MARKSMAN (45:16), about a rancher veteran who begrudgingly helps a Mexican boy (Jacob Perez) pursued by a drug cartel. This week’s Patreon bonus audio is a Patron’s choice: Iain Softley’s 1995 cyberpunk film HACKERS.

Listen:

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11.27.20
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UNCLE FRANK, PRINCESS OF THE ROW, ANIMALS, and THE MYSTERY OF D.B. COOPER on Episode #333

Paul Bettany, Sophia Lillis, and Peter Macdissi stand with their hands on a car in the movie Uncle FrankWe hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving Spoilerpeeps! This week we start with ANIMALS (3:13), a drama about hard partying best friends (Holliday Grainger, Alia Shawkat), struggling to grow up. Then it’s the HBO documentary THE MYSTERY OF D.B. COOPER (14:53) about the infamous plane hijacker. Next, it’s PRINCESS OF THE ROW (28:05), a drama about a teen (Taylor Buck) struggling to care for her homeless veteran father (Edi Gathegi). Finally we discuss UNCLE FRANK (41:19), Alan Ball’s 1960s road trip film where a closeted gay uncle (Paul Bettany) and his niece (Sophia Lillis) travel home for the funeral of their patriarch. In this week’s Patreon bonus audio, we talk about the winner of our November poll, Chris Eyre’s 1998 film SMOKE SIGNALS.

Listen:

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11.20.20
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HAPPIEST SEASON, LEAP OF FAITH: WILLIAM FRIEDKIN ON THE EXORCIST, TIME, and THE DARK AND THE WICKED on Episode #332

The family in the film Happiest Season posing together for a family photoDave and Megan lead off this week with Bryan Bertino’s tense possession horror flick THE DARK AND THE WICKED (2:43). Appropriately, the next film on the docket is LEAP OF FAITH: WILLIAM FRIEDKIN ON THE EXORCIST (17:44), a fascinating documentary about the iconic possession horror film. Next they talk about TIME (32:34), a poignant documentary about a woman’s fight to free her husband from prison. Finally, they discuss HAPPIEST SEASON (42:48), Clea DuVall’s moving queer Christmas rom-com, starring Kristen Stewart and Mackenzie Davis. In this week’s Patreon bonus audio, we have a blast covering James Cameron’s sci-fi action film ALIENS, which is Megan’s all-time favorite movie.

Listen:

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11.06.20
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IFFBoston’s Fall Focus and Nightstream on Episode #330

Riz Ahmed shirtless playing drums in the movie Sound of Metal

Riz Ahmed is incredible as Ruben in SOUND OF METAL, which played at IFFBoston’s Fall Focus

After a plug for the Boston Jewish Film Festival, the episode starts with Nightstream, a collaborative event put on in part by the Boston Underground Film Festival. We talk LUCKY (5:16), PELICAN BLOOD (6:34), DARKNESS (9:00), and BLACK BEAR (11:08) from Nightstream. Then it’s films everyone saw at Independent Film Festival Boston (IFFBoston)’s Fall Focus this year. We talk NIGHT OF THE KINGS (15:38), MLK/FBI (18:49), ZAPPA (23:01), MINARI (31:57), FAREWELL AMOR (36:31), FREELAND (39:26), UNDINE (42:05), LITTLE FISH (45:03), and SOUND OF METAL (52:44). In our Patreon bonus audio this week we discuss a Patron’s choice: Frank Gwo’s 2019 sci-fi action flick, THE WANDERING EARTH.

Listen:

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09.25.20
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KAJILLIONAIRE, THE DEVIL ALL THE TIME, RESIDUE, and OTTOLENGHI AND THE CAKES OF VERSAILLES on Episode #324

Gina Rodriguez looks at Evan Rachel Wood, who stares ahead blankly in the movie Kajillionaire

An old feminine hygiene commercial inspires a new band name before the movies this week. Megan and Evan lead with RESIDUE (2:48), Merawi Gerima’s drama that’s a compelling commentary on racism and gentrification. Next, everyone discusses OTTOLENGHI AND THE CAKES OF VERSAILLES (15:18), a food documentary about a special project for The MET. Then they review THE DEVIL ALL THE TIME (29:23), a Netflix crime drama with Tom Holland. Lastly, they cover Miranda July’s KAJILLIONAIRE (47:08), an eccentric crime drama starring Evan Rachel Wood and Gina Rodriguez. In this week’s Patreon bonus audio, we review a Patron’s selection, John Carpenter’s 1995 horror film IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS.

Listen:

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02.07.20
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HARLEY QUINN: BIRDS OF PREY, LES MISERABLES, and MISS AMERICANA on Episode #291

We don’t have to tell which movie this still is form, right?

It’s not a first, but it doesn’t happen often. We can recommend all the movies we watched this week! First up is the Netflix documentary MISS AMERICANA (4:45) starring Taylor Swift. Megan successfully spoilerpieces Dave and Evan into wanting to see it. Following is the French film LES MISÉRABLES (19:26), which is NOT a musical about a bunch of poor French people who stole loaves of bread and spent years in prison. Finally, Megan and Dave talk about HARLEY QUINN: BIRDS OF PREY (36:30), a movie that is a vast improvement over its predecessor, SUICIDE SQUAD, which, not coincidentally, is the subject of this week’s exclusive audio content at patreon.com/spoilerpiece. And please make sure you watch our Oscars live stream on Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020, at 8 PM ET. Download the FREE HotMic app for Apple or Android or at http://hotmic.io and use the promo code RIEDEL.

Download Here – and don’t forget to subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher! Call us at 862-21-PIECE (862-217-4323) or send us an e-mail: spoilerpiece AT gmail.com.

10.25.19
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PARASITE, BLACK AND BLUE, FRACTURED, KNOCK DOWN THE HOUSE, and WHERE’S MY ROY COHN? on Episode #276!

Evan takes Megan and Dave down Thriller Lane (TM) this week to talk about FRACTURED (2:44), a Netflix movie starring Sam Worthington as a man whose family goes missing at a hospital, and BLACK AND BLUE (10:39), a cop flick about a rookie with conflicting loyalties. One Evan thinks was good, the other…not so good. Then Megan and Dave talk KNOCK DOWN THE HOUSE (26:11), a Netflix documentary about the 2018 U.S. elections, featuring four politicians, one of whom happens to be Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Megan follows that up with another political doc, WHERE’S MY ROY COHN? (40:10), about guess who? Finally, Megan and Dave end on Bong Joon-ho’s PARASITE (45:30), a movie that begins in one place and then goes to a very different (and dark!) place. Don’t forget to visit our Patreon page! This week’s exclusive audio for Patreon subscribers is about THE OMEN!

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10.19.19
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UNBELIEVABLE, LUCY IN THE SKY, MEMORY: THE ORIGINS OF ALIEN, and THE KING OF COMEDY ON Episode #274

Merritt Wever and Toni Collette sand with their arms crossed observing something in the Netflix show Unbelievable
Merrit Wever and Toni Collette are believably awesome in Netflix’s UNBELIEVABLE.

This week Megan blows Evan’s mind when she reveals some shocking new information to him about corn. Yes, corn. She and Dave kick off the show by reviewing the utterly disappointing MEMORY: THE ORIGINS OF ALIEN (3:35), a behind-the-scenes documentary that repeats all the same old stories about Ridley Scott’s beloved 1979 film. Then Evan and Dave cover Martin Scorsese’s often-overlooked gem THE KING OF COMEDY (14:38), detailing why JOKER is such an unsuccessful attempt to mimic it. Next Dave and Megan review LUCY IN THE SKY (23:42), a movie so frustrating they wish they didn’t have to talk about it. The one positive thing they can agree on though, is that Natalie Portman goes for broke with her performance. Lastly, all three of them delve into the Netflix mini-series UNBELIEVABLE (35:27), discussing why its first episode is so infuriating, while expounding upon why it’s such an important examination of trauma and a satisfying police procedural with tremendous performances by its leads Kaitlyn Dever, Merritt Wever, and Toni Collette.

Download Here– and don’t forget to subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher! Call us at 862-21–PIECE (862-217-4323) or send us an e-mail: spoilerpiece AT gmail.com.