Episode 395: ‘Annihilation,’ ‘Game Night,’ ‘The Cloverfield Paradox,’ ‘Early Man’

0:00 – Hello, it’s wintertime in Portland
3:50 – “Annihilation” review
14:50 – “Game Night” review
26:40 – “The Cloverfield Paradox” review, with discussion of seeing movies on Netflix vs at theaters
37:40 – Snider catches up with “Fifty Shades Freed”
41:10 – Bayer catches up with “Early Man”
43:00 – Snider catches up with “Peter Rabbit”
45:20 – Don’t forget Movie of the Month, “Wild at Heart,” which we’ll be discussing next week
46:20 – Don’t forget Oscar Bowling for next Sunday, leading to a funny story about seeing “Bodied” at PIFF last week, and racism, and YouTube
56:20 – New DVDs this week include “The Florida Project” and “Coco”
57:30 – Recap and good day

REVIEWS:
“Annihilation”: B+ 7/10
“Game Night”: B+ 8/10 (BS-approved!)
“The Cloverfield Paradox”: B- 6/10
“Fifty Shades Freed”: D 4/10
“Early Man”: n/a 6/10
“Peter Rabbit”: B- 5/10

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Episode 394: ‘Black Panther,’ ‘Fifty Shades Freed,’ ‘The 15:17 to Paris,’ ‘Peter Rabbit,’ the Oxford Film Festival

0:00 – Hello, Jeff signed up for MoviePass
4:10 – “Black Panther” review
22:45 – “Fifty Shades Freed” review (Bayer only)
29:20 – “The 15:17 to Paris” review (Snider only)
32:50 – “Peter Rabbit” review (Bayer only)
36:50 – Eric reports on last weekend’s Oxford (Mississippi) Film Festival, including “The Last Movie Star,” “Cop Chronicles: Loose Cannons: The Legend of Haj-Mirage,” and “Mohawk”
49:25 – This week’s DVDs are “Wonder” and “Roman J. Israel Esq.”
51:10 – The Portland International Film Festival begins this weekend, has some good stuff
55:00 – This month’s Agent giveaways and Jeff’s TSR Movie Awards, which already set somebody off
1:00:50 – Recap and good day

REVIEWS:
“Black Panther”: B 7/10
“Fifty Shades Freed”: n/a 4/10
“The 15:17 to Paris”: C n/a
“Peter Rabbit”: n/a 5/10

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Episode 393: ‘Hostiles,’ ’12 Strong,’ ‘Maze Runner: The Death Cure’

0:00 – Hello, we’re back from Sundance but here’s a little more about Sundance, plus a Dogcat cameo
4:10 – Not much happening this weekend because of the Super Bowl
6:10 – “Hostiles” review
17:40 – Eric catches up with “The Greatest Showman”
21:40 – “12 Strong” review (Snider only)
25:20 – “Maze Runner: The Death Cure” review (Snider only)
30:00 – Talking about that movie evolves into a discussion of MoviePass and nice theaters, of which both Eric is a fan
33:50 – Jeff watched “Lady Bird” with his wife
35:30 – We’re giving away a few novels to Agents
38:00 – Movie of the Month: “The Howling” (1981)
48:20 – Next month’s MOTM is “Wild at Heart” (1990)
50:10 – This week’s DVDs
51:10 – No show next week, recap and good day

REVIEWS:
Hostiles: B 8/10
12 Strong: B- n/a
Maze Runner: The Death Cure: B- n/a

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Episode 392.4: Sundance Report #4

From the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.

0:00 – We met some listeners
1:35 – “Assassination Nation” review
8:20 – “Sorry to Bother You” review
14:20 – “Hereditary” review
26:10 – Final summary of Sundance 2018

REVIEWS:
Assassination Nation: B- 5/10
Sorry to Bother You: B 7/10
Hereditary: A- 9/10 (BS-approved)

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Episode 392.3: Sundance Report #3

From the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.

0:00 – “Clara’s Ghost” review
6:10 – “Ophelia” review
14:35 – “Arizona” review (Snider)
18:20 – “You Were Never Really Here” review (Bayer)
20:40 – “The Happy Prince” review (Snider)
23:30 – “White Fang” review (Bayer)
26:50 – Miscellaneous chatter and plans and good day

REVIEWS:
Clara’s Ghost: B- 7/10
Ophelia: B 7/10
Arizona: C+
You Were Never Really Here: 6/10
The Happy Prince: C
White Fang: 7/10

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Episode 392.2: Sundance Report #2

From the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.

0:00 – “An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn” review
7:10 – “Leave No Trace” review
15:50 – “Mandy” review (Snider)
19:20 – “Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot” review (Bayer)
22:30 – “Beast” review (Snider)
25:25 – “Hearts Beat Loud” review (Bayer)

REVIEWS:
An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn D 3/10
Leave No Trace A- 8/10 (BS-approved)
Mandy: B-
Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot: 7/10
Beast: B-
Hearts Beat Loud: 10/10

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Episode 392.1: Sundance Report #1

From the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.

0:00 – Hello, this is our Sundance report
1:00 – “Blindspotting” review
7:50 – “Private Life” review
17:20 – “The Guilty” review (Snider)
19:55 – “Half the Picture” review (Bayer)
22:25 – “American Animals” review (Snider)
26:05 – “The Long Dumb Road” review (Bayer)
29:50 – “Night Comes On” review (Snider), with a cameo by Vince @filmdrunk Mancini
33:40 – “Juliet, Naked” review (Bayer)
37:20 – We’re enjoying ourselves so far, Eric met a listener whom we’d previously made fun of, and the drama Jeff was hoping for at the condo did not materialize

REVIEWS:
Blindspotting B+ 8/10 (BS-approved)
Private Life B 7/10
The Guilty: B+
Half the Picture: 6/10
American Animals: B
The Long Dumb Road: 7/10
Night Comes On: B
Juliet, Naked: 8/10

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Episode 392: ‘Phantom Thread,’ ‘Den of Thieves,’ ‘Forever My Girl,’ ‘The Greatest Showman,’ ‘Proud Mary,’ Sundance preview

0:00 – Hello, we’re at Sundance but this isn’t a Sundance show (yet)
1:30 – “Phantom Thread” review
11:45 – “Den of Thieves” review
19:00 – “Forever My Girl” review (Snider only)
23:00 – “The Greatest Showman” review (Bayer only)
26:00 – “Proud Mary” review (Snider only)
29:35 – We have reached a milestone
30:45 – Bayer and young Dylan saw “Paddington 2”; it is retroactively BS-approved; also some talk of the “Isle of Dogs” trailer
36:00 – A few Sundance movies (and roommate drama) that we’re looking forward to
47:30 – Reminder to our Agents that we’re giving away some big heavy books; this week’s DVDs
49:00 – Recap and good day

REVIEWS:
Phantom Thread: B+ 9/10 (BS-approved)
Den of Thieves: C+ 6/10
Forever My Girl: C n/a
The Greatest Showman: n/a 5/10
Proud Mary: C+ n/a

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Episode 391: ‘The Commuter,’ ‘Paddington 2’

0:00 – Greetings, we make our occasional pathetic plea for iTunes reviews
1:15 – “The Commuter” review
10:30 – “Paddington 2” review (Snider only, and he gives Bayer grief for it)
16:15 – “Proud Mary” wasn’t screened (boo); Eric has updated thoughts on “The Post”
18:30 – This week’s DVDs
20:40 – We’re giving away these big movie-art books to Agents
22:45 – We play a round of Pitch Me, where everyone’s a winner
32:20 – Jeff is going/will have gone to the Critics Choice Awards with his mom, expect hilarity
34:50 – Recap and good day

REVIEWS:
The Commuter: B- 6
Paddington 2: B+ –

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Episode 390: 2017 top 10 lists

0:00 – Happy new year! We’re going to tell you our top 10 lists
2:30 – Our top 10 lists
33:30 – Some other movies we liked in 2017
35:30 – Your favorite movies of last year
37:30 – The good things that happened to you last year
42:15 – Movie of the Month: “Stakeout” (1987), which we found, uh, problematic. Next month: “The Howling” (1981)
52:50 – New DVDs this week (“American Made,” “Battle of the Sexes,” “Brad’s Status,” “Breathe”), and we’re giving an Agent a copy of this big book: “Wonder Woman: The Art and Making of the Film”
55:00 – The B.S.-approved movies from last year, recap and good day

Jeff Bayer’s top 10 list:

1 Raw
2 Star Wars: The Last Jedi
3 Wonder
4 Get Out
5 I, Tonya
6 Dunkirk
7 Lady Bird
8 Logan
9 Phantom Thread
10 Professor Marston and the Wonder Women

Eric D. Snider’s top 10 list:

1 Dunkirk
2 Call Me by Your Name
3 Stronger
4 A Ghost Story
5 mother!
6 Baby Driver
7 Get Out
8 Lady Bird
9 Raw
10 Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

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Episode 389: ‘All the Money in the World,’ ‘The Post,’ ‘Molly’s Game’

0:00 – Hello, we had a nice Christmas (probably)
3:00 – “All the Money in the World” review
13:45 – “The Post” review
22:15 – “Molly’s Game” review
32:20 – Don’t forget the Questions of the Week: What was your favorite movie of 2017? And what’s something good that happened to you in 2017?
33:10 – New DVDs (not much)
36:15 – Recap and good day

REVIEWS:
All the Money in the World C+ 5/10
The Post B 8/10
Molly’s Game B 8/10

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Episode 388: ‘Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,’ ‘Pitch Perfect 3,’ ‘Downsizing’

0:00 – Hello, here is what we’re doing for our Christmases
6:00 – “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” review
16:50 – “Pitch Perfect 3” review
27:30 – “Downsizing” review
36:00 – This week’s DVDs, including a giveaway of “Stronger”
40:25 – A question of the week: What was your favorite movie of 2017? And also, what was one good thing that happened in your life in 2017? So, two questions. Then the recap and good day

REVIEWS:
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle B 8/10
Pitch Perfect 3 C 4/10
Downsizing B+ 8/10 (BS-approved!)

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Episode 387: ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi,’ ‘Ferdinand,’ ‘Darkest Hour’

0:00 – Hello, there’s a new “Star Wars” movie so let’s get to it!
1:00 – “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” review
21:25 – “Ferdinand” review (Snider only)
27:15 – “Darkest Hour” review
37:25 – An update on the thing Patreon screwed up, which is fixed now
39:50 – New DVDs this week, including an Agent giveaway of “Home Again” with Reese Witherspoon
42:10 – Recap and good day

REVIEWS:
Star Wars: The Last Jedi: A- 10/10 (BS-approved!)
Darkest Hour: B+ 8/10 (BS-approved)
Ferdinand: C n/a

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Episode 386: ‘I, Tonya,’ ‘BPM,’ catching up on some others

0:00 – Hello, it’s weird there aren’t any big wide releases
2:55 – “I, Tonya” review
19:10 – More complaining about the release schedule
20:10 – “BPM” review (Snider only)
23:20 – Bayer catches up on “American Made,” “Stronger,” and “Wonderstruck,” which Snider reviewed previously
28:15 – “The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)” review (Bayer only)
31:00 – Some Patreon business, plus we’ll have some cool prizes for Agents next month
34:00 – MOTM: “Grave of the Fireflies” (1988)
43:00 – Next month’s MOTM is “Stakeout” (1987)
45:00 – DVDs include “Despicable Me 3” and “Better Watch Out”; we’re giving away two copies of “Better Watch Out” to Agents; recap and good day

REVIEWS:
I, Tonya: B+ 9/10 (BS-approved!)
BPM: B n/a
The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected): n/a 7/10

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Episode 385: ‘The Disaster Artist,’ ‘The Shape of Water,’ ‘Call Me by Your Name’

0:00 – Hello, it’s the holidays, here’s an iTunes review
2:20 – “The Disaster Artist” review
21:30 – “The Shape of Water” review, ending Jeff getting owned
33:45 – “Call Me by Your Name” review
44:15 – Movie of the Month, “Grave of the Fireflies,” is postponed till next week
45:20 – This week’s DVDs are so-so, but we have a giveaway for one lucky agent: DVD/Blu-ray and CD soundtrack of this year’s live-action “Beauty and the Beast”
47:30 – Recap and good day

REVIEWS:
The Disaster Artist: B+ 9/10 (BS-approved!)
The Shape of Water: A- 8/10 (BS-approved!)
Call Me by Your Name: A- 8/10 (BS-approved!)

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Episode 384: ‘Coco,’ ‘Three Billboards…,’ ‘The Man Who Invented Christmas’

0:00 – Hello, an iTunes review, it just was or perhaps almost is Thanksgiving
5:05 – “Coco” review
10:20 – “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” review
28:30 – “The Man Who Invented Christmas” review (Snider only), and talk of Scrooge in movies
35:30 – New DVDs, including a giveaway of “The Hitman’s Bodyguard,” recap and good day

REVIEWS:
Coco: B+ 8/10 (BS-approved!)
Three Billboards…: A- 9/10 (BS-approved)
The Man Who Invented Christmas: B n/a

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Episode 383: ‘Justice League,’ ‘Lady Bird,’ ‘Wonder,’ ‘The Star’ ‘Only the Brave,’ ‘Murder on the Orient Express’

0:00 – Hello, we recorded a “Back to the Future” commentary
3:20 – An iTunes review, segueing into despair at the state of things
6:10 – “Justice League” review
22:40 – “Lady Bird” review
32:00 – We impose Senate rules to get through the next reviews quickly
32:45 – “Wonder” review (Snider only)
34:45 – “The Star” review (Snider only)
37:45 – “Only the Brave” review (Bayer only)
39:45 – “Murder on the Orient Express” review (Snider only)
43:00 – This week’s DVDs: “Atomic Blonde,” “Brigsby Bear,” “Wind River” (a copy of which an Agent can win)
44:40 – Reminder that the Movie of the Month is “Grave of the Fireflies,” recap and good day

REVIEWS:
Justice League: C+ 6/10
Lady Bird: A- 9/10 (BS-approved!)
Wonder: B n/a
The Star: B- n/a
Only the Brave: n/a 8/10
Murder on the Orient Express: C+ n/a

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Episode 382: ‘Thor: Ragnarok,’ ‘Wonderstruck,’ ‘A Bad Moms Christmas’

0:00 – Hello, it’s November, here is an iTunes review with some constructive criticism
4:40 – “Thor: Ragnarok” review
18:20 – “Wonderstruck” review (Snider only)
24:45 – Movie of the Month: “The Great Dictator” (1940)
34:40 – Next month’s MOTM: “Grave of the Fireflies” (1988)
36:00 – Nothing good on DVD this week, but we’re giving away a copy of last week’s “War for the Planet of the Apes” to an Agent (email us to enter)
37:40 – “A Bad Moms Christmas” review
41:30 – No show next week (Bayer’s fault), recap and good day

REVIEWS:
Thor: Ragnarok: B 7/10
Wonderstruck: A- n/a
A Bad Moms Christmas: D 2/10

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Episode 381: ‘Goodbye Christopher Robin,’ ‘Suburbicon,’ ‘All I See Is You’

0:00 – Hello, Dylan’s Halloween costume, an iTunes review, Jeff’s “giggle water”
6:50 – “Goodbye Christopher Robin” review
20:00 – “Suburbicon” review (sadly, not “Subunicorn”)
30:10 – “All I See Is You” review (Snider only)
34:40 – This week’s DVDs
36:10 – Reminder about our MOTM, “The Great Dictator,” which we’ll discuss on next week’s show, then recap and good day

REVIEWS:
Goodbye Christopher Robin: B 7/10
Suburbicon: B- 5/10
All I See Is You: C n/a

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Episode 380: ‘The Florida Project,’ ‘The Snowman,’ ‘Breathe’

0:00 – Hello, a story of a sick child (Jeff’s)
6:30 – iTunes review
8:20 – There are five wide releases, of which FOUR did not screen for critics here
12:45 – “The Florida Project” review
24:00 – “The Snowman” review (Snider only), in which the Nicholas Sparks rule is applied and we reveal the entire plot
35:15 – “Breathe” review (Snider only), ending with brief discussion of Andy Serkis’ upcoming “Jungle Book” movie
41:35 – This week’s DVDs, including a giveaway of “Girls Trip” on Blu-ray; recap and good day

REVIEWS:
The Florida Project: B+ 9/10 (BS-approved!)
The Snowman: D n/a
Breathe: B+ n/a

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