Mostly Film

Mostly Film
  • 4.6 (7)
  • Film Reviews
  • Updated Weekly

Friends and film. That's it. That's the show. 🤝 🎥 Every week, Jonathan and JP work through the newest trailers — listing them or nixing them from the Letterboxd watchlist with zero hesitation — dig into everything they've been watching, and break down the biggest stories in movies and television. No pretension, no scorecards, just two people who genuinely love cinema talking about it the way you talk about it with your best friend. Mostly Film is for people who take movies seriously without taking themselves seriously. Find us wherever you get your podcasts and follow along on Letterboxd.

  1. 2h ago

    Take 251 - Tony, Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother, & DIGGER!

    Jonathan and JP are back, and this week the big one finally arrived in theaters. The guys catch up on what's been on their screens lately — films, TV, and a detour into their recent video game rotation before getting into the main event. Then Digger. Tom Cruise, a Southern accent, a pot belly, a combover, and Iñárritu behind the camera. The guys have been waiting on this one since the news dropped, and now it's here. Does it deliver? Is this the film that finally gets Cruise his Oscar, or is it too strange for its own good? All of it gets discussed.

  2. 6d ago

    Take 250: It's PRIMETIME

    Mostly Film – Take 249: What's New Jonathan and JP are back with a lighter week — but Primetime makes it count. List It or Nix It kicks things off with the newest trailers before the guys get into what's been on their screens. Then the main event: Primetime. The guys dig into the film — what works, what doesn't, and whether it delivers on its premise. Plus a revisit of Resident Evil and all its glory The news covers everything worth talking about from the week in film and television.

  3. Sep 21

    Take 249 - RESIDENT EVIL!!!!

    🚨 Emergency Reaction Pod 🚨 Jonathan and J.P. have an instant reaction to Zach Cregger's Resident Evil with a special guest 👀

  4. Sep 1

    Take 248 - FJORD, Her Private Hell, & The Invite

    Mostly Film – Take 248: What's New Jonathan and JP are back with another week of trailers, watches, and whatever Hollywood has been up to. List It or Nix It this week: Ali G, Pokémon: Wild Card, Pendulum, FJORD, Unabomber, Breeder, and A Prayer for the Dying all go through the gauntlet. In What We've Been Watching, Jonathan caught Her Private Hell, Teenage Sex & Death at Camp Miasma, Mutiny, and Coyote Vs. Acme, with the Kids Korner this week covering It Takes Two, The Garfield Movie, and Alice in Wonderland. He's also deep into Breaking Bad on the TV side. JP brings Her Private Hell, The Invite, How to Make a Killing, and The Whisper Man to the table, with Silo, Tires, and Furious keeping him busy on TV. To close out the pod, the guys play a new game

  5. Aug 27

    Take 247: K-19, Firewall, & Paranoia - Harrison Ford In Review

    Mostly Film – Take 247: Harrison Ford In Review — Episode 5B An honest accounting of a difficult stretch. Jonathan and JP cover the long middle — eleven years, three films, roughly $165 million combined box office on budgets totalling nearly $180 million. None of them hits. First, K-19: The Widowmaker. The most defensible of the three — a genuinely ambitious film directed by Kathryn Bigelow, edited by Walter Murch, shot by David Fincher's cinematographer, based on a true Soviet nuclear disaster that was classified for 28 years. Ford was paid $25 million for approximately 20 days of filming and was advised by everyone around him not to take the role. He took it anyway, specifically because Vostrikov wasn't a hero. The surviving crew members sent an open letter objecting to the film. It opened to $12 million domestically on a $90 million budget, ten months after September 11, asking American audiences to empathise with Soviet naval officers. Bigelow's next film was The Hurt Locker, which won her the Oscar. The character of Polenin is based on the man many historians believe prevented World War Three during the Cuban Missile Crisis the following year. Then Firewall. The same Beacon Pictures team that made Air Force One tried to recapture that film's formula. They did not succeed. Ford was found sitting on the airport baggage carousel during a Vancouver shoot, going around in circles on his phone. Virginia Madsen thought his personal voicemail offering her the role was a prank call and didn't return it. Paul Bettany kept being told his punches were too soft until he finally hit Ford at full strength — Ford's response was "that's it." 18% on Rotten Tomatoes. The premise is stronger than the execution. The dog GPS sequence near the end is as bad as advertised. Then Paranoia. Ford in a supporting role behind Liam Hemsworth, reunited with Gary Oldman sixteen years after Air Force One with the dynamic inverted. 5% on Rotten Tomatoes — lower than Catwoman. Opened to $3.5 million domestically. Oldman didn't attend the premiere. The distributor filed for bankruptcy two years later. Jason Hall co-wrote the screenplay and went on to write American Sniper the following year. Richard Dreyfuss appears in a small role and his scenes with Ford are the warmest thing in the film, which tells you everything. Between 2002 and 2013 Ford made eight films outside of Star Wars and Indiana Jones. None of them worked. The question for the episode: was the decline inevitable, or were there different choices available? And is the commercial disappearance of Harrison Ford the movie star the same thing as the disappearance of Harrison Ford the actor?

  6. Aug 25

    Take 246: Club Kid, The Rivals of Amziah King, Spider-Man: Brand New Day

    Mostly Film – Take 246: What's New Jonathan and JP are back, and this week the big one finally arrived. List It or Nix It kicks things off with six trailers — Sacrifice, Double Trouble, Club Kid, Without Blood, Violent Night 2, and Run Hide Fight all go through the gauntlet. In What We've Been Watching, both hosts saw Spider-Man: Brand New Day and there's plenty to say about it. Jonathan also caught The Rivals of Amziah King, before handing things over to the Kids Korner — The Rescuers Down Under, The Amazing Maurice, Smart House, and Little Rascals this week. JP brings Avengers to the table alongside Brand New Day, with Silo, Tires, and Furious on the TV side. The news segment covers everything that dropped this week in Hollywood.

  7. Aug 20

    Take 245 - Sabrina, Air Force One, & What Lies Beneath - Harrison Ford In Review

    Mostly Film – Take 245: Harrison Ford In Review — Episode 5 The persona episode. Jonathan and JP cover three films that each do something deliberately different with Harrison Ford's screen identity — and the results range from underseen gem to all-time blockbuster to one of the more quietly audacious casting decisions of the 1990s. First, Sabrina. Sydney Pollack got Billy Wilder's blessing before he agreed to direct. Winona Ryder turned down the lead because she couldn't face Audrey Hepburn's shadow. Greg Kinnear stepped into his first starring role fresh from hosting Talk Soup on E! Paul Giamatti shows up in a small part. And Ford plays a romantic lead — gentle, comedic, slowly and reluctantly falling in love — in a genre he'd never really inhabited. It made $87 million. Ebert gave it four stars. Ford has called it underrated. The question: does Ford actually work as a romantic lead, or is he always slightly more interesting when he has something to push against? Then Air Force One. Kevin Costner turned it down for The Postman. Ford called the White House himself to get access to the real plane. Randy Newman wrote the entire score, Petersen hated it, Jerry Goldsmith replaced him with twelve days to deliver something new — and part of Newman's rejected work was reportedly recycled into Toy Story 3. Ford insisted Gary Oldman actually punch him in the face. 'Egor Korshunov' is credited as 'Ivan Korshunov' in the end titles. $315 million worldwide. Ford's last film to cross $300 million. The Wall Street Journal ranked President Marshall the greatest fictional president in screen history. 'Get off my plane.' The question: is Air Force One a great film or a great movie — and is there a difference? Then What Lies Beneath. Made by Robert Zemeckis during the production pause on Cast Away while Tom Hanks was losing weight and befriending a volleyball. Screenplay by Clark Gregg — later Agent Coulson. Ford and Pfeiffer together cost $35 million of the $100 million budget. Zemeckis's casting logic was simple: the twist only works if the audience cannot conceive of Harrison Ford as a killer. Pfeiffer is functionally the lead despite equal billing. The bathtub sequence is considered some of the finest technical suspense work Zemeckis has ever done. The question: does the central gambit — using Ford's trustworthiness against the audience — actually work? Air Force One is the last time Ford was the biggest movie star in the world. What Lies Beneath is the last genuinely good original film he made before a long run of misfires.

  8. Aug 18

    Take 244 - Victorian Psycho, The Invite, & End of Oak Street,

    Mostly Film – Take 244: What's New Jonathan and JP are back, and this week Jonathan has apparently been running a full-service children's cinema out of his living room. First, List It or Nix It — thirteen trailers this week. Confinement, The Only Living Pickpocket in New York, Primetime, Animals, Just Play Dead, A Tale of Two Cities, Beware Boiúna, The Bluey Movie, The Yellow Tie, Crawlers, Victorian Psycho, Wicker, and Gentle Monster all go through the gauntlet. Then What We've Been Watching, and there is a lot to get through. Jonathan caught The Invite, End of Oak Street, and The Odyssey on the film side — and then the Kids Korner takeover began. Space Jam, Daddy Day Care, all three Night at the Museum films, Richie Rich, Smart House, The Sandlot, Air Bud, The Day the Earth Blew Up, Prince of Egypt, James and the Giant Peach, Bedtime Stories, Honey I Blew Up the Kid, Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers, and Zathura. JP meanwhile went in a slightly different direction — GoodFellas, Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass, The End of Oak Street, and The Odyssey, with The Sopranos, Silo, and The Devil's Plan on TV. Two very different weeks. In the News: D23 dropped and Marvel made some noise with X-Men casting announcements. The guys break down what was revealed, what it means for Avengers: Doomsday, and whether the multiverse is finally starting to take shape.

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4.6
out of 5
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About

Friends and film. That's it. That's the show. 🤝 🎥 Every week, Jonathan and JP work through the newest trailers — listing them or nixing them from the Letterboxd watchlist with zero hesitation — dig into everything they've been watching, and break down the biggest stories in movies and television. No pretension, no scorecards, just two people who genuinely love cinema talking about it the way you talk about it with your best friend. Mostly Film is for people who take movies seriously without taking themselves seriously. Find us wherever you get your podcasts and follow along on Letterboxd.

Information

  • Creator
    Mostly Film
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    252
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Mostly Film
  • Show Website
    Mostly Film