A movie podcast that doesn't care about spoilers
February is a notoriously slow month for film releases, so we took in a couple movies that were released in the past month, Sam Raimi's SEND HELP (2:53), starring Rachel McAdams and Dylan O'Brien as an employee and her boss playing mind games as they attempt to survive on an island following a plane crash; and THIS IS NOT A TEST (15:20), about a group of high schoolers hunkered down in their school, trying to survive a fast-zombie apocalypse. Over on Patreon, we had you vote on Robert Duvall movies, and you chose FALLING DOWN.
This week Evan and Dave buckled in for the new Glen Powell thriller-comedy HOW TO MAKE A KILLING (1:50). While Evan largely enjoyed it, he agreed with Dave that it had a boatload of problems. Over on Patreon, we watched the 1986 slasher flick APRIL FOOL'S DAY.
Dave and Evan were looking forward to Gore Verbinski's GOOD LUCK, HAVE FUN, DON'T DIE (3:22). And then they saw the bloody thing. We'll let you listen and hear our thoughts rather than spill them here. But if you'd like a preview, here's Dave's Letterboxd review. Over on Patreon, we talk about the 2024 thriller RELAY, by the director of HELL OR HIGH WATER.
Evan and Dave settle in to talk about the horror film WHISTLE (1:30), whose marketing tagline is "Don't Blow It." Well, one of us thinks this derivative, bloody as hell, tonally confused schlockfest, which has countless references to other horror movies, blew it, and the other doesn't. Which co-host is which, you wonder? (Take a wild guess.) Over on Patreon, we talk about the wacko 1989 action comedy BLIND FURY.
It's Megan's final episode on Spoilerpiece, and we're very happy to send her off with lively conversations. First up is ISLANDS (5:41), a slow burn thriller about a tennis instructor (Sam Riley) at an island resort who falls in with an unhappy English couple (Stacy Martin and Jack Farthing) and their young son. We all really dug this picture, and think Riley is great in the lead role. Then it's on to A PRIVATE LIFE (30:11), a sort-of comedy, sort-of thriller set in Paris, with Jodie Foster as a psychotherapist who's convinced that one of her patients was murdered. But how is she going to prove it? By making lots and lots of bad (but comic) decisions, including dragging her ex-husband into the adventure. The movie is tonally all over the place, but we all found things to like in it (particularly Megan, who is a bona fide Jodie Foster fan). Over on Patreon, we talk about the 1995 movie TANK GIRL.
This week, Megan tells Dave and Evan about H IS FOR HAWK (2:48), based on Helen MacDonald's memoir about losing their beloved father and, while grieving, adopting a stubborn hawk. Then all three of them talk about DOOBA DOOBA (11:31). This found footage horror film rubbed them all the wrong way. Some of them really wrong. Finally, Megan and Evan discuss THE MYSTERIOUS GAZE OF THE FLAMINGO (36:46). Both Evan and Megan were moved by this movie's embrace of queer joy while it's simultaneously an AIDS allegory. Over on Patreon, we watch the Safdie Brothers' 2017 film GOOD TIME
Before we start talking movies, Megan has some news. Then: We often say on Spoilerpiece that movies we select to review end up being thematically related, even when we don't intend them to be. Well, not today, gang! THE CHORAL (5:50) and THE RIP (24:12) could not be less alike if they're directors (Nicholas Hytner and Joe Carnahan, respectively) made conscious decisions to make them live on opposite ends of the movie spectrum. Evan and Dave take on THE CHORAL (Megan had screener problems), an all-over-the-place drama about a chorus putting together a performance under the heavy cloud of World War I. Ralph Fieness is great. Everything else? Hmm... Then there's THE RIP (and if you forget what this flick is called, it will remind you), which all of us watched. This police thriller about some Miami PD cops seizing a giant stash of cartel money has some tense moments, but overall we didn't love it (even if we didn't hate it). Though we ackowledge Ben Affleck blows the roof off this one. Matt Damon? Not so much. Over on Patreon, we pay tribute to Rob Reiner and talk about A FEW GOOD MEN.
This week we get down to the wire - the DEAD MAN'S WIRE (2:56), that is! (Hey-o!). This drama about a well-known-to-Hoosiers (like Dave) historical incident didn't really work for us. Which incident, you ask? Why, a very public kidnapping! Bill Skarsgård plays a disgruntled Indianapolis resident who holds a mortgage executive hostage over a loan dispute. Featuring an unrecognizable Cary Elwes and Kelly Lynch in small roles (and a recognizable over-the-top - natch - Al Pacino in another), we kind of rip DMW a new one. Following that, we tackle Albert Birney's OBEX (25:57), which is more of a split decision. In it, a man climbs into a fictional 1987 computer game to resuce his dog, avoid cicadas, and battle stop-motion-like skeletons. Over on Patreon, we watched Park Chan-wook's 2003 action thriller OLDBOY.
Welcome to 2026! We start out the year by doing what we do best: Not enjoying a movie that is otherwise being heaped with critical praise! That's right, folks, Evan and Megan didn't really get the critical brouhaha behind THE PLAGUE (2:42). This story about extreme bullying at a water polo camp left them a little cold, and not because the water temperature is a chilly 65 degrees. Dave joins them for WE BURY THE DEAD (21:45), and unconventional the-dead-are-coming-back-to-life tale. This one left Dave cold, but not just because he has a frigid critics' heart. Evan and Megan liked it, and its take on zombieism is different: Not all the dead come back, they don't seem to want to eat you (though a few look like they'll kick the crap out of you), and have things on their minds. Daisy Ridley is excellent in the lead as an American woman in Tasmania looking for her husband, and Brenton Thwaites is solid as a ne'er-do-well trying to do well. Over on Patreon, we watched the 1982 courtroom drama THE VERDICT, starring Paul Newman.
Welcome to the final Spoilerpiece of 2025! We take turns talking about our favorite films of the year. Dave (3:02), Megan (19:35), and Evan (39:30) each have a couple surprising choices sprinkled in. We hope you had a great year, and we'll see you in 2026. Don't forget to check out our Patreon! This week we talk about the 1979 Robert Altman sci-fi flick QUINTET, starring Paul Newman.
This week everyone saw everything, so we start off with Park Chan-Wook's latest, the darkly comic thriller NO OTHER CHOICE (2:51), in which a 25-year veteran of a paper company is laid off and after a series of poor interviews, can't find another job. So he does the next logical thing: He decides to murder everyone in his field who may be more qualified than he is. Yikes! We all had our problems with this (it ain't THE HANDMAIDEN), but we did find things to like. But it seems we're outliers; NO OTHER CHOICE is getting critical raves but we all found it lukewarm for one reason or another. We follw up with Bradley Cooper's latest directorial effort, IS THIS THING ON? (28:44) Alex (Will Arnett, who's dynamite and also co-wrote the script) starts doing stand-up while sorting through the ditritus of his marriage. Tess (Laura Dern, who's dynamite) returns to her first (professional) love, and...things happen! (Sorry. It's 3 a.m.) Two of us really enjoyed this, and one of us did not. Over on Patreon, we talk about the 1985 Martin Scorsese comedy AFTER HOURS.