Category Archives: Podcast Reviews

FilmWonk Podcast – Episode #165 – “Birds of Prey” (dir. Cathy Yan), “Same Boat” (dir. Chris Roberti), “The Way Back” (dir. Gavin O’Connor)

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On this week’s podcast, Glenn and Daniel venture back in time with director Chris Roberti to a time when we could all gather aboard a cruise ship and secretly shoot a romantic comedy about time-traveling assassins, with Same Boat, which hits VOD on Tuesday 4/7. We also catch up with Birds of Prey, an impressive return to the brightest and most colorful parts of the DCEU after a whole lot of grimdark, and actor Ben Affleck‘s spotty attempt to do the same, with The Way Back (01:06:21).

Still from "The Way Back"

May contain NSFW language.

FilmWonk rating (Birds of Prey): 7/10 (Glenn), 5/10 (Daniel)
FilmWonk rating (Same Boat): 7.5/10 (Glenn), 7/10 (Daniel)
FilmWonk rating (The Way Back): 4 out of 10

Show notes:

  • [02:38] Review: Birds of Prey
  • [22:46] Review: Same Boat
  • [34:13] Spoilers: Same Boat
  • [47:04] Review: The Way Back
  • There is a super-quick spoiler section at the end of the episode for The Way Back. You’ll know it when it comes.
  • Music for this episode is a song that I’ve always maintained is about time-traveling assassins, plus a Barracuda.
  • We mentioned Mick LaSalle‘s scathing review of Birds of Prey from the San Francisco Chronicle – to varying degrees, we did not agree!
  • Stay tuned at the end for an audio artifact that occurred during a break in recording that sounded suspiciously like Daniel threatening to cut off Glenn’s face.

Listen above, or download: Birds of Prey, Same Boat, The Way Back (right-click, save as, or click/tap to play on a non-flash browser)

FilmWonk Podcast – Episode #164 – "Blow the Man Down" (dir. Bridget Savage Cole and Danielle Krudy), "Lady Macbeth" (dir. William Oldroyd)

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On this week’s podcast, Glenn and Daniel venture back in time to before The Incident when were all still able to go outside, to see Florence Pugh‘s starmaking debut in the uneven Lady Macbeth. Then they check out what will probably be the first of many streaming selections, a seaside crime caper new this weekend on Amazon Prime, Blow the Man Down (57:36).

Still from "Lady Macbeth" (2016 film)

May contain NSFW language.

FilmWonk rating (Blow the Man Down): 7.5/10 (Glenn), 5/10 (Daniel)
FilmWonk rating (Lady Macbeth): 7 out of 10

Show notes:

  • [02:46] Review: Lady Macbeth
  • [13:32] Spoilers: Lady Macbeth
  • [38:53] Review: Blow the Man Down
  • [53:28] Spoilers: Blow the Man Down
  • Music for this episode is a pair of shanties.

Listen above, or download: Blow the Man Down, Lady Macbeth (right-click, save as, or click/tap to play on a non-flash browser)

FilmWonk Podcast – Episode #163 – “Onward” (dir. Dan Scanlon)

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In this week’s podcast, Glenn and Daniel roll for initiative with Pixar’s latest foray into the fantastical, Onward (23:51).

May contain NSFW language.

FilmWonk rating: 6/10 (Glenn), 8/10 (Daniel)

Show notes:

  • Music for this episode is magic.
  • Stay tuned afterward for an adorable interview.

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

FilmWonk Podcast – Episode #162 – “The Invisible Man” (dir. Leigh Whannell), “Horse Girl” (dir. Jeff Baena), “Miss Americana” (dir. Lana Wilson)

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On this week’s podcast, Glenn and Daniel check out a very personal new film co-written by and starring Alison Brie, now available on Netflix – and we also check out Leigh Whannell and Jason Blum‘s attempt to revive the Dark Universe by replacing spectacle with an intimate and harrowing psychological drama starring Elisabeth Moss.

…then we gush about T-Swift for 5 minutes (53:00).

Still from "The Invisible Man" (2020 film)

May contain NSFW language.

FilmWonk rating (Horse Girl): 7 out of 10
FilmWonk rating (The Invisible Man): 7.5 out of 10
FilmWonk rating (Miss Americana): 7 out of 10

Show notes:

  • [02:36] Review: Horse Girl
  • [15:19] Review: The Invisible Man
  • [34:00] Spoilers: The Invisible Man
  • [48:06] Review: Miss Americana
  • Music for this episode is the tracks “Horse With No Name” by America and the third title track.

Listen above, or download: The Invisible Man, Horse Girl, Miss Americana (right-click, save as, or click/tap to play on a non-flash browser)

FilmWonk Podcast – Episode #161 – “Little Women” (dir. Greta Gerwig), “Uncut Gems” (dir. Josh and Benny Safdie)

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On this week’s podcast, Glenn and Daniel (with special guest Erika Spoden) descend into the darkness of consummate gambler and exhausting presence Howard Ratner, played with once-per-decade skill by Adam Sandler. Then we cleanse our palates with the thoughtful and colorful delights of Greta Gerwig‘s bold new adaptation of Louisa May Alcott‘s Little Women (01:06:39).

Still from "Uncut Gems"

May contain NSFW language.

FilmWonk rating (Uncut Gems): 8/10 (Erika), 9/10 (Glenn and Daniel)
FilmWonk rating (Little Women): 8.5/10 (Erika and Glenn), 8/10 (Daniel)

Show notes:

  • [02:21] Review: Uncut Gems
  • [17:14] Spoilers: Uncut Gems
  • [38:39] Review: Little Women
  • Music for this episode is the track “The Stranger” by Billy Joel and “The Morning” by The Weeknd, from the soundtrack to Uncut Gems.
  • CORRECTION: While discussing Kevin Garnett‘s appearance in Uncut Gems, we referred to a previous casting of an NBA player in the 2015 film Trainwreck, and mistakenly said that it was Kobe Bryant playing a version of himself in that film. It was in fact LeBron James.

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

FilmWonk Podcast – Episode #160 – “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” (dir. J.J. Abrams), “Christmas in Connecticut” (dir. Peter Godfrey)

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On this week’s podcast, Glenn and Daniel conclude the Trilogy of Trilogies and finally figure out the answer to the question posed in the best film of the new Star Wars trilogy: What is it all for? But first, we take a gander at a ghost of Christmas past as Daniel selects his very favorite holiday film, a rom-com farce from 1945 (01:16:48).

May contain NSFW language.

FilmWonk rating (Christmas in Connecticut): 10/10 (Daniel), 5/10 (Glenn)
FilmWonk rating (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker): 6 out of 10

Show notes:

  • [00:21] Review: Christmas in Connecticut
  • [21:53] Review: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
  • [46:46] Spoilers: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
  • Music for this episode is a pair of tracks from John Williams‘ score to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

Listen above, or download: Star Wars IX, Christmas in Connecticut (right-click, save as, or click/tap to play on a non-flash browser)

FilmWonk Podcast – Episode #159 – “1917” (dir. Sam Mendes), “Marriage Story” (dir. Noah Baumbach)

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On this week’s podcast, Glenn and Daniel return to the Western Front with Sam Mendes‘ groundbreaking, single-shot World War I drama, 1917. And then we check out a war of a different sort with Noah Baumbach’s artful confessional about divorce, Marriage Story, now streaming on Netflix (01:22:39).

Still from "Marriage Story"

May contain NSFW language.

FilmWonk rating (1917): 7/10 (Daniel), 8/10 (Glenn)
FilmWonk rating (Marriage Story): 8 out of 10

Show notes:

  • [02:04] Review: 1917
  • [21:06] Spoilers: 1917
  • [36:11] Review: Marriage Story
  • Music for this episode is a pair of tracks from the 1944 Burl Ives 78 RPM record (as digitized on the Internet Archive), The Wayfaring Stranger. The tracks are titled The Wayfaring Stranger and The Bold Soldier. 
  • CORRECTION: In our example of the scale of warfare prior to World War I, we greatly overstated the number of casualties at the Battle of Antietam in the American Civil War – historians place the total at 22,717 dead, missing, or wounded (source). 
  • We made frequent reference to Dan Carlin‘s World War I historical podcast, Blueprint for Armageddon. Highly recommended work from a master historical storyteller.

Listen above, or download: 1917, Marriage Story (right-click, save as, or click/tap to play on a non-flash browser)