Tag Archives: comedy

07.08.16
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THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS, FREE STATE OF JONES, and THE MAN IN THE WALL on Episode #104

Secret Life of Pets

One of the many silly things that animals do in THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS.

Apparently Erik Estrada doesn’t just play a cop on TV anymore. He’s one in real life too, as the guys learn in this week’s episode. After they speculate about what would happen if Ponch was charged with police brutality, Evan reviews the first movie of the week: THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS (at 5:48). According to him, this cute animated film, which features an all-star voice cast, is strongest when it’s cracking jokes about animal clichés and making you feel genuine danger for its characters, but becomes increasingly predictable as it goes on. Next Kris reveals why FREE STATE OF JONES (at 21:11) is a dry film that turns a story about Reconstruction into a VH1 biography. This conversation leads to a tangent on why GONE WITH THE WIND shouldn’t be held in such high regard, before Evan wraps up with THE MAN IN THE WALL (at 42:48), an Israeli thriller that keeps you guessing with its tale of a missing husband and a wife who might have something to do with his disappearance. He eagerly plugs its screening at the Somerville Theatre on July 12 by the Boston Jewish Film Festival and recommends checking it out on Netflix streaming.

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07.01.16
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THE BFG, OUR KIND OF TRAITOR, and EAT THAT QUESTION: FRANK ZAPPA IN HIS OWN WORDS on Episode #103

The BFG

Some of the very very very good motion capture in THE BFG that Kris describes.

Somehow a conversation about moving on this week’s show turns into a digression about sippy cups where Evan shares why he needs them. The episode opens with a first ever joint segment of “Riedel’s Recaps” and “Keepin’ up with the Jensons,” where Kris and Dave talk about MCCABE & MRS. MILLER (at 4:26), one of Dave’s all-time favorite movies. They fill in some blanks left by Charlie’s exploration from the previous episode and use the segment as an opportunity to discuss Robert Altman in general. Then Kris reviews THE BFG (at 18:30), a movie that is neither Disney nor Steven Spielberg’s best work, but it does contain very very very good motion capture. After that Dave covers EAT THAT QUESTION: FRANK ZAPPA IN HIS OWN WORDS (at 36:22), a talking head documentary that only contains one talking head—Frank Zappa himself. He ends up talking about the Zappa family’s recent drama for a bit before Evan wraps up with OUR KIND OF TRAITOR, a bromantic and tedious spy flick featuring Stellan Skarsgard with a BFM (Big Fuckin Mullet) and a silly Russian accent.

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06.10.16
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THE CONJURING 2, NOW YOU SEE ME 2, TALE OF TALES, and WALK HARD: THE DEWEY COX STORY on Episode #100

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A moment between jump scares in THE CONJURING 2.

Spoilerpiece Theatre turns 100 this week, so the guys do something special to thank their fans! Since it’s the 100th episode that also means Dave has finally seen WALK HARD: THE DEWEY COX STORY. Does he appreciate it as emphatically as Kris? Find out starting at the 4:00 mark. Next Evan and Kris cover THE CONJURING 2 (at 17:53), a super long James Wan horror movie with a lot of jump scares and a lot of little annoying things that make Evan very angry. After his anger cools, Evan reviews NOW YOU SEE ME 2 (at 42:38), which has some great magic scenes, but a convoluted plot that relies too much on you remembering information from the first movie. Lastly, Kris discusses TALE OF TALES (at 54:54), a messed up Italian anthology film that confuses the heck out of Dave and Evan with its interwoven tales that have no connection. Kris uses the conversation as an opportunity to state his case about why there should be more anthology films and television shows.

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06.03.16
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POPSTAR: NEVER STOP NEVER STOPPING, THE LOBSTER, NEW JACK CITY, and TENACIOUS D IN THE PICK OF DESTINY on Episode #99

Popstar Movie

Evan’s facial expression during most of POPSTAR: NEVER STOP NEVER STOPPING

This week Kris reveals an ad campaign that makes him irrationally angry. Then it’s onward to four movies! Dave finally watched TENACIOUS D IN THE PICK OF DESTINY (at 4:11), so he’s nervous to talk about with two “D-heads” like Kris and Evan. He shares why it’s objectively not great, while also digging into the parts of it that are fuckin’ hilarious. Evan delivers on a promise as well, by reviewing NEW JACK CITY (at 23:24), which he LOVES for its energy and the way its action scenes are shot. He admits that it’s heavy handed with its messaging and inconsistent in tone, however he lauds it for its important social commentary on race and class. After that Kris jumps in to spoilerpiece THE LOBSTER (at 41:04), which he wasn’t expecting to take him for such a ride. It’s framed, paced, and costumed like an awkward Sundance comedy riffing on Wes Anderson, yet more brutal than unrelenting horror movies. Lastly, Evan concludes with POPSTAR: NEVER STOP NEVER STOPPING (at 52:25). This movie by The Lonely Island is mostly “eh” with a few jokes that hit and a lot of jokes that miss. Plus, in the realm of showbiz mockumentaries it doesn’t really have anything new to say.

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05.27.16
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WEINER and CONFIRMATION on Episode #98

Kerry Washington in CONFIRMATION

Kerry Washington in CONFIRMATION

The sad tale of how Dave broke his middle finger inspires a bizarre horror movie premise on this week’s show. Then Evan’s passing joke about GHOSTBUSTERS leads to a discussion about James Rolfe’s boycott of the new version. Once the guys finish explaining why Rolfe (aka the Angry Video Game Nerd) is wrong, they dig into the political documentary WEINER (at 15:30). All three of them share why this film about Anthony Weiner’s failed run for Mayor of New York City captivated them with its tense interactions and impressed them with its inclusion of his wife Huma Abedin’s perspective. After all their Weiner jokes stop making sense, Evan moves on to cover the HBO movie CONFIRMATION (at 39:34), which chronicles the sexual harassment allegations made against Judge Clarence Thomas during his nomination for the U.S. Supreme Court. Although it feels like too much of a made-for-TV movie, Evan argues that it’s an important story that needs to be told (and seen) since it shares Anita Hill’s perspective and exposes the shady Washington backdoor dealing that actively worked to discredit her. Plus, both Kerry Washington and Wendell Pierce are fantastic in it as Hill and Thomas.

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05.20.16
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NEIGHBORS 2: SORORITY RISING and THE NICE GUYS in Episode #97

Neighbors 2

Carla Gallo, Ike Barinholtz, Zac Efron, Seth Rogen, and Rose Bryne prepare for their big heist in NEIGHBORS 2: SORORITY RISING

Evan’s late discovery of a Hall & Oates hotline (719-26-Oates) inspires him and Dave to sing some of the duo’s biggest hits at the start of this week’s episode. Once they get that out of their system, Kris takes over for the latest installment of “Keepin’ up with the Jensons,” where he actually defends APOCALYPTO, describes why he didn’t hate X-MEN: APOCALYPSE as much as Bob, and reveals how A FIELD IN ENGLAND prepared him for HIGH-RISE’s use of overt metaphor. After they’re all caught up with Kris, Evan spoilerpieces NEIGHBORS 2: SORORITY RISING (at 18:34) by sharing how this well-paced comedy surprisingly tackles racism and sexism between its outrageous pranks and raunchy jokes. Then everyone reviews THE NICE GUYS (at 36:16) by talking about how similar it is to other Shane Black movies like THE LAST BOY SCOUT. Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe have excellent chemistry and can both be quite funny in it, although it’s a lot of missed opportunities. As Kris says, “Plenty to like, just nothing really to love.” Lastly, tune in at 50:18 to find out why past guest Sam Cohen is wrong, and at 56:52 for Kris’s very brief review of Jodie Foster’s MONEY MONSTER.

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05.13.16
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X-MEN: APOCALYPSE, HIGH-RISE, LOUDER THAN BOMBS, and A BIGGER SPLASH on Episode #96

X-Men Apocalypse

Oscar Isaac looks like a Power Rangers villain as Apocalypse in X-MEN: APOCALYPSE

Dave has some stern words for Mother Nature on this week’s show, which features returning guest Bob Chipman. Bob leads off with X-MEN: APOCALYPSE or as Dave calls it, “X-MEN: APOCALYPTO.”  In the process, he discusses how Bryan Singer can’t direct an action scene to save his life and how everything good from the last X-MEN movie happens twice in this one so it’s no longer surprising. Next, Bob and Evan discuss Ben Wheatley’s HIGH-RISE, a dystopian concept film where “everything goes to shit” in completely unsubtle ways. Following their review, Dave delivers his commentary on LOUDER THAN BOMBS, a very male movie about the death of a woman that he describes as a Norman Rockwell piece, if Rockwell dropped acid and got mugged. Finally, Evan covers A BIGGER SPLASH, which is more than just a film about yuppies who hang around a pool. He spoilerpieces Bob and Dave into wanting to see the movie by revealing its sharp humor, its complicated drama, and its unanswered mysteries.

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04.29.16
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KEANU and FIREWORKS WEDNESDAY on Episode #94

Keanu

KEANU stars the most adorable cat of all time. No wonder everyone is fighting over him!

Dave shares songs he has sung with Henry’s name in them, which gives Kris the chance to suggest something extremely clever. After that, Kris reveals his strategy for seeing movies at IFFBoston (also happening this week). Then he quickly follows that up with a segment of “Keepin’ up with the Jensons” where he describes how Evan’s spoilerpiecing of GREEN ROOM allowed him to notice impressive things about its storytelling techniques. Talking about GREEN ROOM’s use of animals lets the guys easily move on to KEANU, the film they all saw this week. KEANU has the cutest fucking cat you’ve ever seen, and it covers comedic territory that has been mined before, although it’s very funny thanks to Key and Peele. Plus it has connections to NEW JACK CITY and George Michael that are hilarious. Finally, Evan wraps up by reviewing the Asghar Farhadi picture FIREWORKS WEDNESDAY. This Iranian drama about the difficulties of marriage was such an engrossing piece, that he struggled to break away from it when he had to leave for work. He finished it later though, and thought it was fantastic, even after it rambled on for a bit.

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04.22.16
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GREEN ROOM and ENTOURAGE on Episode #93

Green Room

Patrick Stewart is tremendous as the leader of a white supremacist gang in GREEN ROOM.

Garfield the cat is a beloved character for some, but not for Dave, as you’ll discover in this week’s episode. He has a bone to pick with Garfield’s creator Jim Davis before the show gets underway. After that, the first film on tap is Jeremy Saulnier’s GREEN ROOM, a fucking intense movie about a punk band fighting a group of white supremacists led by Patrick Stewart?! Although Evan is the only one who has seen it, he manages to spoilerpiece Dave and Kris into wanting to watch it ASAP. In discussing this horrifically violent film, the guys diverge into a tangent about other brutal pictures like A SERBIAN FILM, UNFORGIVEN, and brutally long movies like HEAVEN’S GATE. When they get back on track for the week’s second movie, Dave talks about ENTOURAGE, something he watched out of morbid curiosity. Dave shares why it’s a terrible, terrible movie with the dumbest plot he has ever heard in his life. The whole thing has such an effect on him that he even devolves into talking like the guys in the movie. No worries though, the effect isn’t permanent.

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04.15.16
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THE JUNGLE BOOK, CRIMINAL, and MILES AHEAD on Episode #92

Kevin Costner Criminal

Kevin Costner holding a gun between grunts in CRIMINAL.

A game of “What’s in Evan’s pantry?” turns into quite the conversation about hot dogs and Yankee swaps on this week’s episode. Then Dave offers a correction that leads to another fun game, called “What if Robert Altman directed it?” Kris leads things off by talking about THE JUNGLE BOOK, which looks amazing and has a casual charm to it. Plus it has a death that’s on par with LION KING in terms of “oh fuck…” After that, Evan describes CRIMINAL, a film that’s so zany, he can’t get through it without breaking into giggle fits. Between Tommy Lee Jones playing a neurosurgeon and Kevin Costner’s grunting, you’d be laughing too, trust us. Based on Evan’s account, Kris is absolutely spoilerpieced into wanting to see it. Following that silliness, Kris wraps things up with MILES AHEAD, Don Cheadle’s Miles Davis biopic, that’s not really a biopic. Kris had to Google to figure out what was real, but he appreciates how it doesn’t care about sticking to the facts. He just wishes it went a little further with that angle though.

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