FilmWonk Podcast – Episode #181 – “Moxie” (dir. Amy Poehler), “The Courier” (dir. Dominic Cooke)

Poster for "The Courier"

This week, Glenn and Daniel venture back to a bygone era that justifies itself with a touching depiction of friendship amid international espionage, with The Courier, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Mirab Ninidze in a film based on historical events by Dominic Cooke, now out in theaters, and coming soon to Premium VOD platforms. But first, they check out director Amy Poehler‘s 90s-tinged YA adaptation, Moxie, now streaming on Netflix (01:12:17).

Still from "Moxie"

May contain NSFW language.

FilmWonk rating (Moxie): 5 out of 10
FilmWonk rating (The Courier): 7.5 out of 10

Show notes:

  • [02:21] Review: Moxie
  • [34:18] Review: The Courier
  • [46:06] Spoilers: The Courier
  • See Sheila O’Malley‘s review of Moxie on RogerEbert.com, to which we owe our sincere thanks for giving a name to the riot grrrl genre, a phenomenon we’ve been peripherally aware of since 10 Things I Hate About You and the zines we personally read in our 1990s Seattle high schools, but didn’t know the proper name for until now.
  • In our discussion of The Courier, we referred to actress Natalie Walker‘s excellent series of satirical audition videos on Twitter, including this one, an apparent send-up of the thankless role played by Claire Foy in First Man. We were rather pleased that Jessie Buckley had a bit more to do in this film than the typical put-upon, do-nothing wife character of a history-making fellow.

Listen above, or download: Moxie, The Courier (right-click, save as, or click/tap to play)

FilmWonk Podcast – Episode #81 – “Sisters” (dir. Jason Moore), “Star Wars VII” (dir. J.J. Abrams)

Poster for Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens

In this week’s podcast, Glenn and Daniel watch two ladies of television in a venue where they can prolifically swear, and then they swear prolifically at the Internet for betraying them with Star Wars spoilers. Rest assured that our spoilers will come with a warning, and the promise of swift retribution! (41:59).

May contain NSFW language.

Still from "Sisters"

FilmWonk rating (Sisters): 6.5 out of 10
FilmWonk rating (Star Wars: Episode VII): 7.5 out of 10

Show notes:

  • [01:36] Review: Sisters
  • [13:14] Review: Star Wars: Episode VII
  • [29:41] Spoilers: Star Wars: Episode VII
  • Music for tonight’s episode is the “Cantina Band” from Star Wars – Episode VI: A New Hope. Which you already knew, c’mon. Also, “Duel of the Fates“, the only good thing to emerge from Star Wars: Episode I.
  • Andy Serkis‘ character does indeed have a stupid, unmemorable name, and that stupid name is “Snoke”. Not Skorp, Skorn, or Snorp. We regret the error.

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