Filmspotting

4.6 (4K)
Film Reviews
Updated Weekly

Adam Kempenaar and Josh Larsen review new and classic movies, offering "affable, insightful film analysis since 2005" (NY Times).This show includes AI-generated content.

5h ago

Hazard Pay, Pt. 2 — The Weight

There’s a lot to enjoy about The Weight: the tactile 1930s Oregon setting, strong performances from Ethan Hawke and Russell Crowe, a premise that allows for multiple suspense sequences. But Padraic McKinley’s directorial debut is arguably lacking in thematic heft and visceral grit, particularly when compared to the other film in this pairing. So after considering how The Weight succeeds and struggles on its own terms, we bring William Friedkin’s 1977 cult classic Sorcerer back in to consider how these two films about desperate men given a deadly opportunity differ in their approach to flawed protagonists, bridge-based action scenes, and lone female characters of consequence, and the one plot hole they have in common. Then our returning guest, Vulture critic Roxana Hadadi, offers a Your Next Picture Show recommendation for another 2026 film involving the transportation of dangerous cargo, The Rivals of Amziah King. Please share your thoughts about Sorcerer, The Weight, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Next Pairing: Lance Oppenheim’s Primetime and Alexander Mackendrick’s Sweet Smell of Success This episode is presented by⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Regal Unlimited⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits. Use code NEXTPIC26 for 15% off. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
1d ago

Avengers: Endgame | Archive

Ahead of December's Doomsday, Avengers: Endgame is back in theaters. Here's Adam and Josh with their original 2019 review—including spoilers. Unlock the full archive, Filmspotting Discord, ad‑free + bonus episodes, and more when you ⁠join the Filmspotting Family⁠. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
2d ago

Netflix’s Unabomber Is the Worst Law & Order Episode Ever Made | SVU

Starring Russell Crowe and an all-grown-up Jacob Tremblay (“Room” “”Wonder”), Netflix’s Unabomber was a promising title on the fall streaming slate. Unfortunately, director Janus Metz’s exploitative biopic about the notorious domestic terrorist (and manifesto author) comes up well short of expectations. But Matt and Jordan use the film as an excuse to recommend a couple of films as alternatives—one, an underseen, decade-old indie about a controversial mid-20th century social scientist; the other a stone-cold classic from the ‘90s. Plus, a listener request for contemporary films that look like the period in which they take place. And a ‘90s crime thriller game hosted by Jordan. Intro / Blumhouse Cheetos (00:00:00–00:07:44) Unabomber (00:07:45–00:32:46) Rec Seg! (00:32:47–00:51:27) Listener Req Seg! (00:51:28–01:06:25) Game: LLLE (01:06:26–01:23:58) New to Streaming / Credits (01:23:59–01:39:02) Show Notes Now Streaming on Bazooga - A Filmspotting: SVU Archive⁠ https://letterboxd.com/samvanhallgren/list/now-streaming-on-bazooga-a-filmspotting-svu/⁠ Pre-Order Matt's book "Funny Business: The Old-School Wedding Crashers and Knocked-Up Virgins Who Changed Comedy Forever" (Coming October 6th):⁠ https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/790241/funny-business-by-matt-singer/⁠ Matt’s book tour! matt-singer.net For what film should Alison Willmore make her triumphant return to SVU? https://poll.fm/17448084 Feedback: Email us at feedback@filmspottingSVU.com Follow Matt on Blue Sky: @mattsinger.bsky.social Follow Jordan on Blue Sky: @jhoffman.bsky.social Follow the Show:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/superpulse/⁠⁠ https://www.facebook.com/FilmspottingSvu⁠ Follow the Show:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/superpulse/⁠⁠ https://www.facebook.com/FilmspottingSvu⁠ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
3d ago

"Be Natural" with Marya E. Gates | The Movie Racket

Film critic and author Marya E. Gates joins Michael to explore perhaps the simplest, most influential direction ever given to an actor: "Be natural."The phrase is associated with pioneering filmmaker Alice Guy-Blaché, who posted the reminder in her New Jersey studio more than a century ago. As one of cinema's earliest storytellers, Guy-Blaché helped establish film as a distinct art form, separate from the theatrical traditions that shaped many of its first performers.From Guy-Blaché's silent shorts to the work of Greta Garbo, Janet Gaynor, John Garfield, Nicolas Cage, and Lupita Nyong'o, Michael and Marya examine what "natural" acting really means, and why some of the most truthful screen performances can also be the most stylized. Links:-"Cinema Her Way" | Marya E. Gateshttps://maryaegates.com/cinemaherway/-Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché | VODhttps://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/be-natural-the-untold-story-of-alice-guy-blache -There is one Murnau, Borzage, and Fox Box available on Amazon… for $1,336.Join the conversation by emailing movieracket@filmspotting.net. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
6d ago

Resident Evil and Top 5 Comedy Boom Movies, plus The Incomer | #1082

Adam and Josh welcome Filmspotting SVU co-host Matt Singer for the Top 5 Comedy Boom Movies. Singer’s new book, “Funny Business: The Old-School Wedding Crashers and Knocked-Up Virgins Who Changed Comedy Forever” documents the Frat Pack era of studio comedies that dominated the box office from the early 2000s to the mid-2010s—and gave a generation a lifetime’s worth of movie quotes. Plus, reviews of Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil and the new Scottish indie The Incomer. This episode is presented by⁠ Regal Unlimited⁠⁠, the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits. Use code FILMSPOT26 to take 15% off. (Timecodes will not be precise with ads.) Intro (00:00:00-00:02:17) Top 5 Comedy Boom Movies (00:02:18-1:01:58) Filmspotting Family (1:01:59-01:05:34) Top 5, cont. (01:05:35-01:38:31) Polls (01:38:32-01:52:09) Resident Evil (01:52:10-02:23:50) The Incomer (02:23:51-02:27:36) Credits / New Releases (02:27:37-02:32:25) Notes: Matt Singer’s “Funny Business" https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/790241/funny-business-by-matt-singer/ Feedback: -Email us at feedback@filmspotting.net⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠-⁠Ask Us Anything⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and we might answer your question in bonus content. Support: -Join the Filmspotting Family for bonus shows, archive access, and more. http://filmspottingfamily.com -Filmspotting Shop for T-shirts and more. ⁠https://www.filmspotting.net/shop⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow: -Watch Filmspotting on YouTube: ⁠https://youtube.com/filmspotting⁠ -Adam/Filmspotting ⁠Letterboxd⁠ |⁠ Instagram⁠ |⁠ Facebook⁠ | ⁠Bluesky⁠ -Josh/LarsenOnFilm ⁠Letterboxd⁠ | ⁠Instagram⁠ |⁠ Facebook⁠ | ⁠Bluesky See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sep 23

Ethan Hawke | Archive

With Ethan Hawke back in theaters in the period adventure The Weight, we're sharing Adam's 2018 interview with the always thoughtful and insightful actor. Unlock the full archive, Filmspotting Discord, ad‑free + bonus episodes, and more when you ⁠join the Filmspotting Family⁠. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sep 22

Netflix’s Best of the Best is Actually Kind of the Best | SVU

The new Netflix comedy Best of the Best introduced Matt and Jordan to the world of collegiate competitive Bollywood dance, and they left converts: to the dancing, to stars Maitreyi Ramakrishnan and Priyanka Kedia, and to director Lena Khan’s winning movie (which has a joke-filled script written by comedian Hassan Minhaj and writing partner Prashanth Venkataramanujam). In the Best of the Best-inspired Rec Seg, they recommend an entry-level Bollywood classic and an obscure NYC-set dance movie. Then it’s a pair of single-setting (“bottle”) movies for listener Steven, and Producer Sam hosts a “Let’s Dance!” round of trivia. Intro (00:00:00–00:02:28) Best of the Best (00:02:29–00:20:55) Rec Seg! (00:20:56–00:36:45) Listener Req Seg! “Bottle Movies” (00:36:46–00:52:14) Game: Let’s Dance! (00:52:15–01:08:55) New to Streaming / Credits (01:08:56–01:26:39) Show Notes For what film should Alison Willmore make her triumphant return to SVU? https://poll.fm/17448084 Now Streaming on Bazooga - A Filmspotting: SVU Archive⁠ https://letterboxd.com/samvanhallgren/list/now-streaming-on-bazooga-a-filmspotting-svu/⁠ Pre-Order Matt's book "Funny Business: The Old-School Wedding Crashers and Knocked-Up Virgins Who Changed Comedy Forever" (Coming October 6th):⁠ https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/790241/funny-business-by-matt-singer/⁠ Feedback: Email us at feedback@filmspottingSVU.com Follow Matt on Blue Sky: @mattsinger.bsky.social Follow Jordan on Blue Sky: @jhoffman.bsky.social Follow the Show:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/superpulse/⁠⁠ https://www.facebook.com/FilmspottingSvu⁠ Follow the Show:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/superpulse/⁠⁠ https://www.facebook.com/FilmspottingSvu⁠ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sep 22

Hazard Pay, Pt. 1 — Sorcerer

Padraic McKinley’s The Weight isn’t a remake ofThe Wages of Fear, though it feels deeply indebted to the H.G. Clouzot classic in its thrilling depiction of a group of outlaws on a near-impossible mission across deadly terrain. William Friedkin’s 1977 cult favorite Sorcerer technically isn’t a Wages remake, either — Friedkin insisted it was his own adaptation of the original Georges Arnaud novel — though it’s similarly difficult to watch without thinking about its predecessor. So you’ll forgive us if this week’s revisitation of Sorcerer takes a few detours into Wages as we consider how Friedkin put his own distinctive stamp on this juicy premise, whether the film’s extended prologue works toward or against its narrative momentum, and how much of Sorcerer’s notoriously arduous production comes across on screen. Then in Feedback, a listener provides a recommendation for a recent under-the-radar road movie that follows in the tire tracks of Paris, Texas and Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Please share your thoughts about Sorcerer, The Weight, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. This episode is presented by⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Regal Unlimited⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits. Use code NEXTPIC26 for 15% off. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Adam Kempenaar

Host
Josh Larsen

Host
Rachel Walther

Guest

4.6

out of 5

3,965 Ratings

Take SVU off this feed

1d ago

Dcdcdc83

I’m sympathetic that people need to make money, but the inclusion of SVU (and my subsequent accidental listening of it) onto the Filmspotting feed has not only made me dumber (because of the lack of insight that one of the hosts had) but also angry in how dismissive and actively not funny one of the hosts was (while clearly being so self satisfied in the most annoying way). It was just so bad it’s forced me to leave this review. Please take them off the feed.
Remove the non film spotting podcasts from feed

Aug 15

Mark from Calif

The recent decision to expand the feed to include non Film Spotting podcasts is frustrating. The other podcasts are third rate or of no interest and are now attempting to be nepo-babied by film spotting - the entire purpose of following a podcast is to avoid sifting through others. So dumb.
SVU Disaster

Aug 11

Erictheblonde

Love Filmspotting. (Even though I disagree with Josh about 50% of the time). 5 Stars. But today I got served up an episode of SVU. Wow. Just terrible. Completely rudderless and devoid of any real point of view. The 1st 1/2 of the episode was ostensibly about Spider-Man, but no one ever really made a point or insightful observation of any kind, except that one of the hosts doesn’t like animated movies. The second half just turned into even more meandering with no real theme of any kind at which point I turned it off. It’s a one-star experience. Skipping all future episodes of that dumpster fire. -2 stars for allowing this on the air.
SVU BROUGHT ME BACK

Jul 8

True Three 6 Fan

Matt and Jordan have fully brought me back into the Filmspotting fold. Their rapport is unmatched each episode is complete with the game and excellent recommendation segments, but most importantly an incredibly entertaining conversation

Adam Kempenaar and Josh Larsen review new and classic movies, offering "affable, insightful film analysis since 2005" (NY Times).This show includes AI-generated content.