Spoilerpiece Theatre Evan Crean, Megan Kearns, and David Riedel
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- TV & Film
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Boston film critics Evan Crean, Megan Kearns, and David Riedel help you decide what to watch by sharing spoiler-filled reviews of the latest blockbusters and independent films, across genres, including films by women, nonbinary, LGBTQ+, and BIPOC filmmakers.
Opening music: "My Life as a God" by Augean Stables.
Closing music: "Pants Party" by Oilhead.
Show edited by Otto Klammer.
Logo design by Rita Csizmadia.
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Episode 510: "The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare" and "We Grown Now"
This week Megan took one for the team and checked in on Guy Ritchie’s latest, THE MINISTRY OF UNGENTLEMANLY WARFARE (2:38). Does this based-on-a-true-story movie take Ritchie down some less traveled paths? Or is it standard Guy Ritchie fare? Megan has the answers! Evan and Dave join Megan to talk about WE GROWN NOW (17:52), writer/director Minhal Baig’s coming-of-age story of two boys growing up in Chicago’s Cabrini-Green complex in the early 1990s. Over on Patreon, in honor of its 50th anniversary, we talk about Francis Ford Coppola’s THE CONVERSATION.
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Episode 509: "Civil War" and "The Greatest Hits"
Perhaps you’ve heard the brouhaha surrounding writer-director Alex Garland’s Kirsten Dunst-starring CIVIL WAR (2:18) and wondered what it’s all about (um...a civil war...in the United States...in the near future). Wonder no more! Megan and Dave saw it, and they have things to say: unkind, complimentary, and all points in between. One of them hated it. One did not, acknowledging its strengths as well as its flaws. Then Evan joined Megan and Dave to watch THE GREATEST HITS (32:15), starring Lucy Boynton and Justin H. Min, and written and directed by Ned Benson. And guess what? NOT A ROM-COM, which Evan and Dave both thought it was when they hit play. No, it’s a pretty serious look at grief with a romantic/fantasy (and a smidge of comedy) twist. We all liked it! And over on Patreon, we talk about James Cameron’s 1989 film THE ABYSS, which was recently released for the first time on 4K.
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Episode 508: "The People's Joker" and "Girls State"
This week on the show we Megan and Dave tackled the controversial (to Warner Bros.) THE PEOPLE’S JOKER (1:53), director/co-writer/editor/star Vera Drew's queer coming-of-age superhero parody. Good sound design, good visuals. What else is good about it? Then Evan, Megan, and Dave talk about the documentary GIRLS STATE (24:27), directors Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine’s companion piece to their 2020 doc BOYS STATE. Following a group of teenage girls from Missouri as they navigate a week-long immersive democratic experiment, the Spoilerpieces have a range of views. And over on Patreon, in honor of its 90th anniversary, we talk about the classic (?) romcom IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT.
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“Femme” and “Ennio"
Dave can't join us, so it’s just Megan and Evan this week! First, Megan reviews Giuseppe Tornatore’s lengthy, yet fascinating documentary ENNIO (2:35) about the life and work of Italian film composer Ennio Morricone. Then we both discuss Sam H. Freeman and Ng Choon Ping’s gritty queer thriller FEMME (16:18), which captivated us, but left us with some complicated feelings. And in this week’s Patreon exclusive audio, we chat about the winner of our poll on women-directed films, Lynne Ramsay’s psychological drama WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN!
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Episode 506: "Late Night with the Devil" and "Road House"
On this week’s show, Megan and Dave kick things off with LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL (2:18), Cameron and Colin Cairnes's nasty found-footage horror thriller starring David Dastmalchian and featuring demonic possession, heads on fire, garroting by necklace, all wrapped up in a nifty 1970s production design. Bonus: Michael Ironsides does the opening voiceover! Then Evan, Megan, and Dave watched director Doug Liman’s update of ROAD HOUSE (21:03). Jake Gyllenhaal picks up Patrick Swayze’s reins and beats the snot out of (checks notes) countless people. And there’s a man-eating crocodile thrown in for good measure. But is it any good? Over on Patreon, we talked about CRAZY, STUPID, LOVE., the 2011 comedy featuring recent Oscar-winner Emma Stone.
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Episode 505: "Love Lies Bleeding," "Stopmotion," and "Frida"
Megan kicks things off this week with talk of LOVE LIES BLEEDING (2:16), Rose Glass's intense queer thriller starring Kristen Stewart and Katy O'Brian. Verdict? LISTEN (ha). Next Dave and Megan review STOPMOTION (6:11), Robert Morgan's horror movie starring Aisling Franciosi and featuring lots of compelling stop-motion animation. Megan likes it but wishes it delved deeper, and Dave thinks they should have stopped this motion picture from being a thing. Lastly, Evan, Megan, and Dave all discuss FRIDA (17:37), Carla Gutierrez's dynamic Frida Kahlo documentary that everyone liked. Over on Patreon, we talk about the 2024 Oscars. If you’re a member, head on over and take a listen. If you'd like to join, for $5 you can listen to bonus episodes each week, and vote in monthly polls.
Customer Reviews
One of the Best
There are a lot of film and tv podcasts out there. Most of them are just a couple of people talking about movies they love. That’s cool. But it is very hard to find a movie podcast that goes beyond just banter.
Enter Spoilerpiece Theatre. Evan, Megan, and Dave are all great professional film critics. This podcast dives much deeper than your typical film show. They all see a ton of new movies and tv shows, and they have great in-depth opinions.
My favorite feature of the show is the breadth of films they cover. This is truly a show for film lovers and people looking to discover new films. I see a lot of movies, and I had not heard half of the movies they covered in their year-end show.
More than anything, Spoilerpiece is an engaging listen for cinephiles. I love hearing people talk about film, but it goes to another level when the hosts are educated and passionate about film and tv. That is Spoilerpiece Theatre.
Grating
I will admit I only listened to one episode because I was looking for discussions about ‘When Evil Lurks’ but what I got was an obnoxious guy explaining the plot dropping f-bombs every other word while the woman laughed loudly. So hey… maybe that’s your thing.
My FAVORITE Podcast!!!
I've been listening for well over a year, and every week I look forward to Friday to hear about new movies and what the guys are up to.
My favorite is when the guys hate a movie and rip into it, or when one hates a movie and the other one likes it and there's a spirited debate.
It's also very refreshing to hear about the movie as a whole, because in some cases it was more enjoyable being prepared for the movie so I knew things to look for (foreshadowing, etc.), and other times if it's a bad movie I know I can wait to watch.
Regardless, it's always a barrel of laughs and wicked good fun, especially when there's singing!!!