WKGC Public Media

WKGC Public Media

Broadcasting from the campus of Gulf Coast State College in Panama City, we are the Emerald Coast’s local public radio station. Our mixed format lineup of shows provides listeners with national, local, and student-produced cultural programming, news, and a variety of music to enrich your day. Our on-air personalities engage listeners by igniting curiosity, enriching minds, and cultivating relationships within the Emerald Coast Community through our high-quality, thought-provoking content. 90.7 WKGC Public Media--education, entertainment, and everything in between.

  1. 1d ago

    ReelTalk 10/19/2026 reviewing STREET FIGHTER (2026) with Sean Boelman

    Some movies divide audiences because of politics. Others divide audiences because of style. And then there are movies like Street Fighter, which seem to divide audiences based on one deceptively simple question: What did you come to see? For longtime fans of the games, the new Street Fighter delivers many of the recognizable pleasures one might expect: familiar characters, costumes that echo the games, signature moves, a 1990s setting, and plenty of references aimed squarely at players who grew up with the franchise. For me, however, those ingredients never developed into a dramatically satisfying movie. I found it clunky, exhausting, and strangely incoherent—a film with all the right fighters but not enough reason for them to be fighting. The characters are there. The moves are there. The nostalgia is there. The story, however, often feels like an afterthought. Street Fighter may be one of those movies where the most interesting discussion begins after the credits. For some viewers, seeing these characters recreated faithfully—the costumes, the moves, the personalities, the nostalgia—is enough to make the experience work. For others, myself included, those elements are only pieces of a motion picture. They still need a story to connect them. And maybe that is why the response has been so polarized. We are not necessarily disagreeing about what is on the screen. We may be disagreeing about what matters most once it gets there. That is also why conversations like this are more valuable than declaring that someone is or is not a “real fan.” Fandom is not a test. You can love a game and dislike its movie, love the movie and barely know the game, and you can sit across from a friend, disagree almost completely, and still have a much better conversation because of it. And that makes today’s conversation particularly interesting, because my returning guest landed more positively on the movie than I did. Joining the show once again is film critic Sean Boelman.

  2. Oct 11

    10/12/2026 ReelTalk reviewing OTHER MOMMY with Brad Biewer

    Choose anOTHER movie. Every now and then, a horror movie introduces an idea so intriguing that you immediately begin imagining all the directions the filmmakers could take it. Other Mommy has one of those ideas. Based on Josh Malerman’s Incidents Around the House, the story follows Bela, a young girl who develops a relationship with a sinister presence inside her home—an entity that looks uncannily like her own mother. Jessica Chastain plays both Bela’s mother and the mysterious Other Mommy, while Rob Savage directs. And beneath the horror mechanics is a genuinely provocative idea concerning motherhood—one I won’t explain in detail because doing so would venture into spoiler territory. Unfortunately, intriguing ideas alone do not make a successful motion picture. What frustrated me about Other Mommy is that neither a compelling narrative nor meaningful characters emerge from the movie’s disjointed collection of scenes. The imagery is unsettling. The camera is active. The effects are elaborate. Jessica Chastain is committed. But the screenplay often feels more like an outline than a fully developed story. Other Mommy contains a genuinely unsettling idea. It has a committed Jessica Chastain, striking imagery, elaborate visual effects, and a director clearly interested in creating something visually memorable. But movies are not simply collections of images, concepts, or intentions. They require dramatic architecture. Characters must matter. Scenes must build. Conflict must evolve. And the ideas beneath the surface need enough narrative structure to rise above it. In retrospect, Other Mommy does reveal that there was something meaningful buried beneath all the visual chaos. Unfortunately, it never develops the story necessary to bring that idea fully to life. Joining ReelTalk to talk about Other Mommy is Brad Biewer, host of The Cinema Speak Podcast.

  3. Oct 6

    ReelTalk 10/05/2026 reviewing DIGGER with Sean Boelman

    Satire is a difficult balancing act. It can exaggerate. It can provoke. It can make audiences uncomfortable. But if it wants to say something meaningful about politics, culture, religion, corporate power, or social division, it still has to understand the people and ideas it is satirizing. That is where Digger lost me. The film takes aim at corporate greed, willful ignorance, religion, and the politics surrounding energy production. Those are all worthy subjects for serious—and even outrageous—dramatic treatment. But rather than opening the door to constructive conversation, the screenplay too often reduces those ideas into caricature. What could have been a bonkers, daring, wildly entertaining movie instead becomes clunky, lumbering, and relentlessly heavy-handed. And yet, there are things here worth discussing. The cast is strong. The production design is often mesmerizing. There are worthwhile ideas buried beneath all the noise. Digger contains the ingredients of a fascinating movie. There is a striking visual world, a committed cast, and a group of subjects worth exploring—corporate power, energy, belief, ignorance, and the difficulty of living together when everyone thinks the other side has lost its mind. But satire needs more than targets. It needs dramatic precision, characters rather than positions, and enough space for audiences to think rather than simply be shouted at. There is a wild, funny, provocative movie buried somewhere inside Digger. Unfortunately, the screenplay never quite digs it out. Joining me once again is friend of the show Sean Boelman, film critic at FandomWire and member of the Critics Choice Association.

  4. Sep 28

    ReelTalk 09/28/2026 reviewing HEART OF THE BEAST with Gino Sassani

    Survival movies usually pose a fairly straightforward question: will the characters make it out alive? But the best examples of the genre understand that physical survival may be only half the battle. Brad Pitt takes audiences deep into the Alaskan wilderness in Heart of the Beast, playing James Belmont, a retired Green Beret traveling with Odin, his former combat dog. After a devastating plane crash strands them in the mountains, James and Odin must rely on their training—and one another—to survive. But what impressed me most is that director David Ayer and screenwriter Cameron Alexander make the wilderness only one source of danger. James and Odin enter those mountains already carrying the psychological wounds of war. The result is a survival picture in which the question is never simply whether these two characters can survive what they encounter in the wilderness. The deeper question is whether they can survive what they brought into it with them. It is exhilarating, emotionally affecting, beautifully photographed, and—perhaps surprisingly for this kind of movie—remarkably restrained. And by the time it concluded, this critic was wiping away a few tears before heading home to hug his own dog. Joining me today is returning guest and friend of the show Gino Sassani, editor-in-chief at UpcomingDiscs.com and a member of both the Critics Association of Central Florida and Southeastern Film Critics Association.

  5. Sep 8

    ReelTalk 08/31/2026 reviewing COYOTE VS ACME with Sean Boelman

    Sometimes a movie arrives with a premise so simple and so ridiculous that it sounds impossible to pull off. Wile E. Coyote, after decades of being crushed, blown up, launched from cliffs, and otherwise betrayed by Acme products, decides he has finally had enough. So he sues them. That is the wonderfully absurd setup of Coyote vs. Acme, a live-action and animated comedy that plays like Who Framed Roger Rabbit crossed with Erin Brockovich—all wrapped around a surprisingly heartfelt David-versus-Goliath. The plotting is solid, the characters possess more complexity than you might expect, and the filmmakers clearly understand and love the Looney Tunes legacy. The movie is packed with visual jokes, Easter eggs, and affectionate nods to these characters, while still finding room for a genuinely warm story about courage, failure, and standing up to people with more money, power, and polish than you. And given the movie’s own history—completed, shelved, and eventually released—that underdog story takes on an almost accidental layer of meaning. The movie itself became something of a Wile E. Coyote, refusing to disappear no matter how many times corporate machinery tried to drop an anvil on it.  Joining me once again is friend of the show Sean Boelman, film critic, member of the Critics Choice Association, and editor at FandomWire.

  6. Aug 24

    ReelTalk 08/24/2026 reviewing INSIDIOUS: OUT OF THE FURTHER w/ Brad Biewer

    For over 15 years, horror audiences have been returning to one particular location: the Further. And today, we are reviewing this most recent return in Insidious: Out of the Further, the sixth installment in the Insidious franchise. This franchise has always understood the importance of atmosphere. The red door, the astral plane, the unsettling creatures, and the performances—particularly Lin Shaye’s portrayal of Elise Rainier—have helped establish a mythology that audiences continue to revisit. But horror, like every other genre, requires more than individual ingredients. A creepy setting can create tension. A frightening image can create a memorable moment. A beloved franchise can bring audiences back to theaters. But ultimately, a motion picture requires something more: characters we care about, conflict that develops naturally, and a screenplay that connects those individual pieces into a cohesive dramatic experience. Insidious: Out of the Further introduces several intriguing ideas: a new protagonist dealing with grief and trauma, a new exploration of the Further, and a fascinating expansion of what that supernatural realm can do. Horror has always been a genre built on imagination. A door. A shadow. A sound from another room. A place we should not enter. Insidious: Out of the Further understands those elements. It understands atmosphere, mythology, and the power of unsettling imagery. But ultimately, even the most frightening ideas need a strong foundation beneath them. Because the difference between a collection of scary moments and a memorable horror film is not simply what scares us. It is why we care.

  7. Aug 16

    ReelTalk 08/17/2026 reviewing THE END OF OAK STREET w/ EILFM Podcast

    Dinosaurs are scary again. That may be the simplest way to describe The End of Oak Street, a summertime creature feature that takes prehistoric predators and drops them into one of the most familiar environments imaginable: suburbia. Shot on 35mm film, the movie has a wonderfully warm, slightly soft texture that gives the picture an old-school personality—almost like a 1960s B-movie somehow wandered into the present day. And despite some tonal uncertainty and several thematic ideas that never receive the development they deserve, the movie has heart, momentum, and enough creature-feature energy to make it an entertaining capstone to the summer season. What I particularly enjoyed is how effectively it taps into that childhood fear many of us probably had after seeing Jurassic Park: what if the dinosaurs weren't on some remote island? What if they were in your neighborhood? The End of Oak Street may not fully develop every idea it introduces, and its uncertain balance between horror and dark comedy keeps the movie from becoming quite as cohesive as it could have been. But sometimes a creature feature succeeds because it understands something much simpler: Monsters are supposed to be fun—and occasionally they're supposed to scare us. With its warm 35mm presentation, old-school B-movie personality, brisk pacing, and prehistoric predators invading the comforts of suburbia, The End of Oak Street delivers an enjoyable final dose of summertime movie escapism. Most importantly, dinosaurs are scary again. Joining me today is a guy who's uniquely qualified to answer that question—Steve, half of the duo otherwise known around as “the dinosaur people,” from the Everything I Learned from Movies podcast. Izzy, unfortunately isn't able to join the show. I've appeared on their show many times, and today we're finally turning the tables.

  8. Aug 2

    ReelTalk 08/03/2026 reviewing SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY

    For more than sixty years, Spider-Man has endured because, beneath the mask and the extraordinary abilities, Peter Parker remains one of the most recognizably human superheroes ever created. He worries about money. He disappoints the people he loves. He makes mistakes. And no matter how many times he saves New York—or perhaps the entire world—his victories nearly always come at a personal cost. That humanity is at the center of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, perhaps the darkest Spider-Man movie since The Amazing Spider-Man 2. This is a Peter Parker who bleeds, bruises, and carries the physical and psychological consequences of everything he has endured. The vulnerability gives Tom Holland some of the strongest material he has received as the character and perhaps results in his best performance to date. At the same time, the film makes the unusual decision to tell a superhero story without a traditional central villain. There are threats and adversaries, but no enduring character of opposition to propel Peter through the conventional hero’s journey. The result is a film I found dramatically uneven: thoughtful and well performed, but also slow, heavily melodramatic, and lacking some of the excitement I expect from Spider-Man. Spider-Man: Brand New Day takes Peter Parker into darker and more human territory than most previous entries, giving Tom Holland an opportunity to deliver perhaps his finest performance beneath—or outside—the mask. Whether the movie succeeds may depend on what audiences want from Spider-Man. Those looking for a somber character study may appreciate its focus on injury, trauma, and consequence. Those expecting a more traditional superhero adventure may feel the absence of a central villain and the lack of sustained momentum. For me, it is a thoughtful and strongly performed film that never completely develops into satisfying Spider-Man entertainment. Still, its willingness to show Peter Parker as vulnerable, frightened, and physically fallible reminds us why the character has endured for generations. Spider-Man may possess extraordinary powers, but it is his humanity that keeps audiences returning. Joining me today is someone who has shared many Spider-Man adventures with me—although ours usually involve waiting in queue before riding Spider-Man attraction at Universal’s Islands of Adventure.

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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Broadcasting from the campus of Gulf Coast State College in Panama City, we are the Emerald Coast’s local public radio station. Our mixed format lineup of shows provides listeners with national, local, and student-produced cultural programming, news, and a variety of music to enrich your day. Our on-air personalities engage listeners by igniting curiosity, enriching minds, and cultivating relationships within the Emerald Coast Community through our high-quality, thought-provoking content. 90.7 WKGC Public Media--education, entertainment, and everything in between.

Information

  • Creator
    WKGC Public Media
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    100
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2025 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    WKGC Public Media