Category Archives: drama

12.10.21
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HOUSE OF GUCCI, THE CARD COUNTER, and WEST SIDE STORY with Guest Charlie Nash on Episode #387

Lady Gaga smirks with a cigarette in her mouth that she's about to light in the movie House of Gucci

We don’t all agree on HOUSE OF GUCCI, but we do all agree that Lady Gaga is great in it

Frequent guest Charlie Nash stops by this week to fill in for Megan. He offers a quick plug for his new podcast, Almost Major, before he reviews Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of WEST SIDE STORY (6:09), which despite his admitted bias against a particular actor in it, offers great spectacle and inspired tweaks to the original story. Next, we all discuss Paul Schrader’s THE CARD COUNTER (16:30), an intense tale about trauma and guilt starring Oscar Isaac, Tye Sheridan, Tiffany Haddish, and Willem Dafoe. After that we delve into Ridley Scott’s HOUSE OF GUCCI (39:28), a movie about wealth and manipulation that we have polarized reactions to. One thing we do agree on: Lady Gaga is great in it. And in this week’s Patreon exclusive audio, we talk about a Patron’s request, Ted Demme’s 1994 dark Christmas comedy, THE REF, starring Denis Leary!

Listen:

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11.05.21
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FINCH, PASSING, and BEANS on Episode #382

We get a good laugh about how the one-word titles we’re reviewing form a sentence, but after that we get serious about this week’s movies. First, we discuss Tracey Deer’s BEANS (2:22), a layered coming-of-age drama set against the real-life 78-day standoff between the Mohawk community and government forces in 1990 Quebec. Next, we cover Rebecca Hall’s PASSING (22:39), a compelling 1920s drama about race and class starring Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga. Lastly, we review FINCH (42:21), Miguel Sapochnik’s moving post-apocalyptic sci-fi drama about a man (Tom Hanks) who builds a robot that he must teach to take care of his dog. And on this week’s Patreon exclusive audio, we talk about Penny Marshall’s 1992 baseball film A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN starring Geena Davis, Lori Petty, and Tom Hanks! 

Listen:

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10.29.21
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HORROR NOIRE, CHAMELEON STREET, and IFFBoston’s Fall Focus on Episode #381

Horror Noire poster 2

Praise be that film festivals are back! To kick things off, Megan talks about IFFBoston’s Fall Focus, and her experiences watching Pablo Larraín’s biopic SPENCER (2:03), starring Kristen Stewart; Kenneth Branagh’s semi-autobiographical dramedy BELFAST (6:12), starring Caitríona Balfe and Jamie Dornan; Audrey Diwan’s French drama HAPPENING (8:32), starring Anamaria Vartolomei; and Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s international drama-fantasy MEMORIA (10:31), starring Tilda Swinton. Evan joins her to talk about Céline Sciamma’s French fantasy-drama PETITE MAMAN (14:21), Joséphine Sanz and Gabrielle Sanz, and Joachim Trier’s Norwegian drama THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD (20:52), starring Renate Reinsve. Then Evan (with an assist from Megan) takes everyone through Shudder’s HORROR NOIRE (30:25), an entertaining horror anthology film with six stories from Black filmmakers: director Kimani Ray Smith and screenwriters Steven Barnes, Ezra Clayton Daniels, Tananarive Due, Shernold Edwards, Victor LaVelle, and Al Letson. Lastly, Dave and Evan review the 4K restoration of Wendell B. Harris Jr.’s CHAMELEON STREET (44:13), which won the 1990 Sundance Grand Jury Prize and has been hard to find since. And in this week’s Patreon exclusive audio, we feature the monthly poll winner – We asked you to choose from FRANKENSTEIN films and the winner is THE BRIDE, starring Sting and Jennifer Beals. We had a blast talking about it, so check it out and consider becoming a patron!

Listen:

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10.08.21
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THE MANY SAINTS OF NEWARK, NO TIME TO DIE, THE GUILTY, and BINGO HELL on Episode #378

Billy Magnussen, Jon Bernthal, Corey Stoll, John Magaro, Ray Liotta, and Alessandro Nivola stand in a doorway looking out angrily in the movie The Many Saints of Newark

What do we think about THE MANY SAINTS OF NEWARK? Fahgettaboudit!

To kick things off, Dave offers his brief take on Cary Joji Fukunaga’s NO TIME TO DIE (2:30), Daniel Craig’s satisfying final outing as James Bond. Next, we all review BINGO HELL (11:55), Gigi Saul Guerrero’s brief, yet heavy-handed horror comedy that’s part of Amazon’s 2021 WELCOME TO THE BLUMHOUSE series. After that we cover Antoine Fuqua’s THE GUILTY (22:41), a frustrating and problematic thriller about a 911 operator played effectively by Jake Gyllenhaal. Finally, we dig into THE MANY SAINTS OF NEWARK (40:49), Alan Taylor’s extremely disappointing Sopranos prequel about the rise of Tony Soprano. And in this week’s Patreon exclusive audio, we have a blast discussing Joe Cornish’s 2011 sci-fi comedy ATTACK THE BLOCK, starring John Boyega and Jodie Whittaker. 

Listen:

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09.24.21
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DEAR EVAN HANSEN, CRY MACHO, and SMALL ENGINE REPAIR on Episode #376

Ben Platt looking bewildered standing in the spotlight on stage with cards in his hand and a cast on his wrist in the movie Dear Evan Hansen

Ben Platt looking way too old for a high schooler in DEAR EVAN HANSEN

Megan is on vacation, so Dede Crimmins, the Alec Baldwin of Spoilerpiece, is back to fill in! Before we talk about this week’s movies though, Dede has a bone to pick with Dave about MALIGNANT. After that we review John Pollono’s gritty New England drama SMALL ENGINE REPAIR (6:32), about three lifelong friends (Pollono, Jon Bernthal, and Shea Whigham) faced with an ethical dilemma inside a small engine repair shop. Next, we discuss Clint Eastwood’s slow period drama CRY MACHO (25:40), which follows an old cowboy who heads down to Mexico to retrieve his boss’s son. Lastly, we dig into DEAR EVAN HANSEN (44:23), the big-screen adaptation of the Broadway musical that everyone’s talking about. And in this week’s Patreon exclusive audio, we cover Clint Eastwood’s 2008 drama GRAN TORINO! 

Listen:

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07.30.21
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JUNGLE CRUISE, NINE DAYS, and FEAR STREET: PART THREE – 1666 on Episode #368

Dwayne Johnson is Frank and Emily Blunt is Lily in Disney's JUNGLE CRUISE.

Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt are fun to watch, but don’t have much chemistry in JUNGLE CRUISE

What if souls had to interview to be born? That’s the premise of the first film on our docket this week, Edson Oda’s moving drama NINE DAYS (1:59), starring Winston Duke and Zazie Beetz. Next, we review FEAR STREET: Part Three – 1666 (16:14), the satisfying conclusion to Leigh Janiak’s Netflix horror trilogy, which we’ve really enjoyed discussing over the past two episodes. We wrap up with Jaume Collet-Serra’s JUNGLE CRUISE (37:18), the latest Disney ride turned movie starring Emily Blunt and Dwayne Johnson that borrows too heavily from other adventure films, including some of Disney’s. And on this week’s Patreon exclusive audio, we discuss the winner of our video game movie poll: the 2006 Christophe Gans film SILENT HILL! 

Listen:

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07.09.21
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NO SUDDEN MOVE, FALSE POSITIVE, and THE ICE ROAD on Episode #365

Don Cheadle talks on the phone from a phone book while Benicio del Toro waits anxiously outside it in the movie No Sudden MoveIn this week’s edition of “We Should Have Known Better,” we cover Liam Neeson’s latest Old Man Neeson actioner, THE ICE ROAD (3:05), this year’s early winner of the “It Wants to be ‘The Wages of Fear’ or even ‘Sorcerer’ but it’s Really Just a Turd” award. Perhaps that’s harsh, but as scary as Canadian ice roads are in April, even scarier is the prospect of a movie filled with half-baked ideas, crummy special effects, and a villain who has more lives than the Energizer bunny. It’s just wretched. But man, was it fun to talk about! Next is FALSE POSITIVE (19:12), which star Ilana Glazer wrote with its director, John Lee. Who doesn’t love pregnancy horror? (Actually, one of us loves pregnancy horror, but sadly, not this film.) In this case, two of us. As Dave puts it, this is a movie that offsets each good idea it has with a bad one. But one of us liked it! (And though he didn’t mention it in the episode, Dave likes Pierce Brosnan’s beard.) Lastly, it’s NO SUDDEN MOVE (40:20), the new Steven Soderbergh thriller starring lots of his favorite people, including Don Cheadle and Benicio Del Toro. It has a little bit of everything, and screenwriter Ed Solomon is a loooong way from Bill & Ted. And in this week’s Patreon exclusive audio, we talk about WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?

Listen:

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06.25.21
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F9: THE FAST SAGA, WEREWOLVES WITHIN, I CARRY YOU WITH ME, and ZOLA on Episode #363

Vin Diesel drives while Michelle Rodriguez holds onto a hook on the passenger side in the movie F9

Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez living life a quarter mile at a time in F9

This week, we kick off by reviewing ZOLA (2:15), Janicza Bravo’s road trip-crime drama-dark comedy starring Taylour Paige and Riley Keough, which is based on a viral series of tweets. Next, we cover I CARRY YOU WITH ME (17:48), Heidi Ewing’s beautifully moving queer hybrid narrative/documentary film about an aspiring chef (Armando Espitia) who leaves his love (Christian Vazquez) in Mexico for a better life in New York City, but must make serious sacrifices along the way. Then we talk about F9: THE FAST SAGA (34:10), Justin Lin’s latest entry in the FAST & FURIOUS franchise, which is ridiculous but a lot of fun and finally makes good on a long-running fan prediction. Finally, we wrap up with WEREWOLVES WITHIN (49:02), Josh Ruben’s horror comedy mystery starring Sam Richardson and Milana Vayntrub, about eccentric townsfolk trying to figure out which one of them may be a werewolf. And in this week’s Patreon bonus audio, we talk about the winner of our LGBTQIA+ poll, Desiree Akhavan’s 2018 film THE MISEDUCATION OF CAMERON POST!  

Listen:

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06.18.21
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LUCA, LES NÔTRES, and PLAN B on Episode #362

Disney Pixar's LUCA, an animated film about two boy sea monsters

This week, we review our second Natalie Morales film of the year, PLAN B (1:54), a hilarious road trip comedy on Hulu about best friends (Kuhoo Verma and Victoria Moroles) trying to track down emergency contraception in middle America. Next, we discuss LES NÔTRES (24:38), Jeanne Leblanc’s difficult to watch yet excellent French Canadian drama about a pregnant teen (Émilie Bierre), which prompts us to issue a trigger warning about the sexual abuse depicted in the film. Then we cover Pixar’s LUCA (45:55), Enrico Casarosa’s animated Italian adventure-fantasy on Disney+ about sea monsters (Jacob Tremblay and Jack Dylan Grazer) who enter the world of humans and find friendship along the way. As part of our conversation, we delve into whether we also feel like movie is a queer allegory or queer love story, like others have interpreted. And on this week’s Patreon exclusive audio, we talk about Theodore Witcher’s 1997 romance LOVE JONES, starring Nia Long and Larenz Tate, in honor of Black Music Appreciation Month!

Listen:

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06.11.21
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IN THE HEIGHTS, HOLLER, CAVEAT, and THE MITCHELLS VS. THE MACHINES on Episode #361

Anthony Ramos and Melissa Barrera in film In the Heights

On this week’s show, we open with THE MITCHELLS VS. THE MACHINES (2:28), a wild, quirky, and charming animated movie, written and directed by Mike Rianda and Jeff Rowe, featuring a regular ol’ American family struggling to save humanity from a robot apocalypse. It’s a hoot. Next up is CAVEAT (18:12), Damian Mc Carthy’s eerie and unsettling Irish horror film that says, “Oh, you’re not afraid of rabbits? Get a load of this shit” (Dave watched it in broad daylight if that tells you anything). Then there’s HOLLER (34:36), an excellent drama written and directed by Nicole Riegel, about a high school senior (Jessica Barden) who joins a sleekly scummy scrap metal crew while trying to decide whether she’s going to stay in her hit-by-hard-times Ohio hometown or go to college. Finally, we wrap up with IN THE HEIGHTS (45:28), the long-awaited adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegría Hudes’ musical, with a screenplay by Hudes directed by Jon M. Chu. One of us loved it, one of us enjoyed moments, and one of us was kind of “eh.” Free scoop of ice cream if you guess correctly! And in this week’s Patreon exclusive audio, we talk about one of Megan’s favorite sci-fi films, Douglas Trumbull’s SILENT RUNNING, starring a young and super intense Bruce Dern. It’s a first-timer for Evan and Dave.

Listen:

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