Category Archives: Podcast Reviews

FilmWonk Podcast – Episode #147 – “The Hummingbird Project” (dir. Kim Nguyen), “Triple Frontier” (dir. J.C. Chandor)

Posted on by

On this week’s podcast, Glenn and Daniel return from a familial hiatus to check out The Hummingbird Project, a film about laying a more reliable fiber optic line for faster data transmission to game the stock market, so the irony wasn’t lost on us when Daniel had connectivity issues and was only able to watch the first 20 minutes. But you know Jesse Eisenberg will be involved, even if you’re a bit more prepared in advance for his tragic, greedy, tech-infused salesman to also be a diabolical dick. And then we check out an ensemble military heist film from the team behind The Hurt Locker along with director J.C. Chandor, Triple Frontier, an action film with some surprising moral and character depth that feels a bit too big for Netflix (01:00:50).

May contain NSFW language.

FilmWonk rating (The Hummingbird Project): 7 out of 10 (Glenn)
FilmWonk rating (Triple Frontier): 7.5/10 (Glenn), 6/10 (Daniel)

Show notes:

  • [00:34] Review: The Hummingbird Project
  • [06:26] Spoilers: The Hummingbird Project
  • [28:38] Review: Triple Frontier
  • [41:46] Spoilers: Triple Frontier
  • Music for this episode is the tracks “Masters of War” by Bob Dylan, from the soundtrack for Bumblebee, and “For Whom the Bell Tolls” by Metallica, from the soundtrack to Triple Frontier.
  • To see the location of the Tres Fronteras on a map, check out this pinpoint of Isla Chineria, just on the Peruvian side of the border.
  • The scene we remembered from The Hurt Locker actually featured Jeremy Renner wandering all over the grocery store, first on the frozen aisle, and ending on the cereal aisle, which seems to be the source of the callback in Triple Frontier.

Listen above, or download: The Hummingbird Project, Triple Frontier (right-click, save as, or click/tap to play on a non-flash browser)

Advertisements

FilmWonk Podcast – Episode #146 – “Bumblebee” (dir. Travis Knight), “Suspiria” (dir. Luca Guadagnino)

Posted on by

Poster for "Bumblebee"

On this week’s podcast, Glenn and Daniel fulfill a prior threat to fan-favorite intellectual heavyweight Erika Spoden: to make her review a Transformers film. And with all props to Scene Unseen before us, it’s one that Daniel didn’t even bother to watch. Then we drill into Luca Guadagnino‘s operatic horror remake, Suspiria, a film that we started off uneven and disturbed by, only to talk ourselves into watching it again during the ride home (01:04:36).

May contain NSFW language.

Still from "Suspiria"

FilmWonk rating (Bumblebee): 7.5/10 (Erika), 6.5/10 (Glenn)
FilmWonk rating (Suspiria): 7/10 (Glenn/Daniel), 8.5/10 (Erika)

Show notes:

  • [02:59] Review: Bumblebee
  • [24:39] Review: Suspiria
  • [44:54] Spoilers: Suspiria
  • Music for this episode is the tracks “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears for Fears, from the soundtrack for Bumblebee, and “Suspirium” by Thom Yorke‘s excellent score and soundtrack to Suspiria.
  • Correction: Per Wikipedia, the Three Mothers are: Mater Tenebaraum (Mother of Darkness – not death), Mater Lachrymarum (Mother of Tears), and Mater Suspiriorum (Mother of Sighs).

Listen above, or download: Bumblebee, Suspiria (right-click, save as, or click/tap to play on a non-flash browser)

FilmWonk Podcast – Episode #145 – “The Favourite” (dir. Yorgos Lanthimos), “Black Mirror: Bandersnatch” (dir. David Slade)

Posted on by

In the first podcast of the new year, Glenn and Daniel check out their favo(u)rite film of 2018, as well as a tech-infused experimental film from Black Mirror (01:26:20).

May contain NSFW language.

FilmWonk rating (Black Mirror: Bandersnatch): 6 out of 10
FilmWonk rating (The Favourite): 10/10 (Glenn), 9/10 (Daniel)

Show notes:

Listen above, or download: Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, The Favourite (right-click, save as, or click/tap to play on a non-flash browser)

FilmWonk Podcast – Episode #144 – “Aquaman” (dir. James Wan), “They Shall Not Grow Old” (dir. Peter Jackson)

Posted on by

Poster for "Aquaman" (2018 film)

In this week’s podcast, Glenn and Daniel take a magical journey onto the Western Front of World War I with Peter Jackson‘s stunning documentary, They Shall Not Grow Old – easily his most striking and personal project in years. And then we go deep in a world of low expectations and find ourselves pleasantly surprised by James Wan‘s Aquaman (42:35).

May contain NSFW language.

Still from "They Shall Not Grow Old"

FilmWonk rating (They Shall Not Grow Old): 10/10 (Daniel), 9/10 (Glenn)
FilmWonk rating (Aquaman): 6.5 out of 10

Show notes:

  • [00:32] Review: They Shall Not Grow Old
  • [20:17] Review: Aquaman
  • Music for this episode is the track “Mademoiselle from Armentières”, from the soundtrack for They Shall Not Grow Old.
  • We made copious reference to Dan Carlin‘s Hardcore History miniseries about World War I, titled “Blueprint for Armageddon”. You can check out the first part here – highly recommended.
  • For US listeners, as of this writing there is still one more chance to see They Shall Not Grow Old in theaters, on Thursday 12/27. See Fathom Events for tickets.

Listen above, or download: Aquaman, They Shall Not Grow Old (right-click, save as, or click/tap to play on a non-flash browser)

FilmWonk Podcast – Episode #143 – “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” (dir. Joel Coen and Ethan Coen), “The Front Runner” (dir. Jason Reitman)

Posted on by

In this week’s podcast, Glenn and Daniel (with special guest Erika Spoden) check out the new Western anthology from the Coen Brothers, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, and see whether the true grit of a singing cowboy can stand up against the OTP of Math Chicken and Mamma Owl. Confused? Check it out on Netflix, then come back and listen we drill into all six segments. But first, Glenn and Daniel check out their second Jason Reitman film of this year, The Front Runner, and question how a political drama that ticks so many boxes of personal interest for the both of us can feel like it has so little to say (01:23:21).

May contain NSFW language.

FilmWonk rating (The Front Runner): 6/10 (Daniel), 4/10 (Glenn)
FilmWonk rating (The Ballad of Buster Scruggs): 9/10 (Erika), 4/10 (Daniel), 8/10 (Glenn)

Show notes:

  • [02:21] Review: The Front Runner
  • [24:38] Review: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
  • [37:29] Spoilers: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
  • Music for this episode is the tracks “Little Joe The Wrangler (Çurly Joe)” performed by Tim Blake Nelson and “When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings”, performed by Nelson and Willie Watson (of Old Crow Medicine Show), from the soundtrack for The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.
  • The loosely similar political film Glenn was thinking of during our Front Runner discussion was The Ides of March, directed by and starring George Clooney, and co-written by Clooney, Grant Heslov, and House of Cards creator Beau Willimon. Check out the trailer here.
  • The article we referenced was, “The Blinding Whiteness of The Coen Brothers Wild West”, by Nick Martin of Splinter.

Listen above, or download: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, The Front Runner (right-click, save as, or click/tap to play on a non-flash browser)

FilmWonk Podcast – Episode #142 – “22 July” (dir. Paul Greengrass)

Posted on by

This week, Glenn and Daniel take a harrowing journey with Paul Greengrass into yet another hyperrealistic human tragedy, with 22 July, a film about the 2011 Norway attacks and the legal aftermath. This film is as effective as it is upsetting, and if you’re mentally prepared, you can watch it right now on Netflix (37:54).

May contain NSFW language.

FilmWonk rating: 8 out of 10

Show notes:

  • There is no music in this episode – including some of the score didn’t really feel appropriate, so we’ve just included a snippet of the trailer.
  • We make reference to Glenn’s 2010 review of Uwe Boll‘s Rampage – check it out here.

Listen above, or download: 22 July (right-click, save as, or click/tap to play on a non-flash browser)

FilmWonk Podcast – Episode #141 – “Smallfoot” (dir. Karey Kirkpatrick)

Posted on by

Poster for "Smallfoot"

This week, Glenn and Daniel are joined by a special guest…Glenn’s toddler son who’s never seen a movie in theaters before. And so we gamble, maximizing our chances of making it through tantrum-free with a bucket of popcorn and a 90-minute animated musical about yetis and…atheism? The kid made it through unscathed, and we had more to say than expected (31:07)!

May contain NSFW language.

FilmWonk rating: 6.5 out of 10

Show notes:

  • Music for this episode is the tracks, “Wonderful Life” by Zendaya and “Let it Lie” by Common, from the film’s soundtrack.
  • We actually have reviewed another animated film since our fake-review of Minions – we reviewed (and loved) Moana in 2016.
  • Glenn’s current play count on “Rewrite the Stars” is 55, although the true number is probably higher, since he started off binging the soundtrack on YouTube. (GB note: Hell, I’m listening to it as I type this. And I regret nothing!)
  • Stick around at the end.

Listen above, or download: Smallfoot (right-click, save as, or click/tap to play on a non-flash browser)