Always the Critic: A Movie Podcast

On the latest episode of Always the Critic podcast, we’re turning 200!! In honor of making it to 200 episodes, the crew answers a few questions from followers before welcoming special guest Tasha Jones to induct our inaugural movie score hall of fame!

We are joined by our new friend Tasha Jones, aka the official hype girl for John Williams, to nominate 12 movie score tracks that we would induct into our Movie Score Hall of Fame. We nominate movies from luminaries such as Bernard Herrmann, Ennio Morricone, Danny Elfman, and more. Check out the final list by listening, and tell us your picks!

GUEST: Tasha Jones

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On Episode 267 of the Always the Critic Podcast, we head back to spice world of Arrakis for a review of Dune: Part 2, starring Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler, and Florence Pugh. 

Rico and Jess discuss this masterful sequel from prestige director Denis Villenueve, talking through the haunting anti-hero story, the world building and culture building, the performances and characters (justice for Chani!), the amazing score from Hans Zimmer, the most impactful scenes, 2024 Oscar predictions (what could have been had Dune 2 premiered in November 2023!), and more in spoilers.

*Check out our review for Dune (2021) here.

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Drama
Action Adventure

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On Episode 266 of the Always the Critic Podcast, we’re back to look at some of the movies we saw over the last few weeks.

Rico and Jess take turns talking about movies they have watched recently, including Argylle, Anatomy of a Fall, American Fiction, Bob Marley: One Love and The Beekeeper.

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On Episode 265 of the Always the Critic Podcast, we head to WWII Germany to review The Zone of Interest, starring Sandra Hüller and Christian Friedel. 

Rico and Jess discuss this Oscar Best Picture contender from director Jonathan Glazer, talking through the haunting story, the performances and characters, the audacious sound design (also Oscar nominated), the most sickening and impactful scenes, and more in spoilers.

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Drama

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On Episode 265 of the Always the Critic Podcast, we’re looking forward to the 2024 movie slate and we chat about 10 movies we're excited to watch.

Rico and Jess take turns naming 2024 movies that they want to watch. Although they share a few in common, of course the surprise each other with what they left off the list. They also talk about Ariana Grande.

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On Episode 264 of the Always the Critic Podcast, we’re back from our holiday break to look back at the year 2023 and rank our top 10 movies of the year.

Rico and Jess take turns naming their top 10 movies of the year. Although they share a few in common, the co-hosts surprise each other with their picks. They also talk about the year 2023 in movies, most memorable scenes/moments in film, the best performances of the year, and the movies that just missed the list.

For our original Most Anticipated Movies of 2023 episode, listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and more.

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On Episode 263 of the Always the Critic Podcast, we’re back from our Thanksgiving break to review all the in-theater releases we watched recently, including Saltburn, starring Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi, and Rosamund Pike. 

Rico and Jess discuss Emerald Fennell's wild dabaucherous romp Saltburn, the latest from Hayao Miyazaki The Boy and the Heron, Dream Scenario with Nic Cage, and the triumph that is Godzilla Minus One.

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Thriller

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On Episode 261 of the Always the Critic Podcast, we’re back in the Panem to review The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, starring Tom Blyth, Rachel Zegler, Viola Davis, and Peter Dinklage. 

Rico and Jess discuss this prequel release from Hunger Games franchise director Francis Lawrence, talking through the plot, the performances from Zegler and Blyth, the ~ballad~ singing, some context missing in the book-to-screen adaptation, the best and most surprising parts of the film, and more in spoilers.

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Action Adventure

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On Episode 261 of the Always the Critic Podcast, we’re back in the MCU to review The Marvels, starring Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, and Iman Vellani. 

Rico and Jess discuss the SAG-AFTRA strike ending, the Mean Girls musical trailer, what they’ve been watching since their last episode before diving into this late 2023 release from director Nia DaCosta, talking through the scattered plot, the female relationships at the center of the film, Iman Vellani’s scene-stealing performance as Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel, the singing and the cats and a wasted Park Seo-joon, the predictable third act woes, the overall state of the phase 5 MCU, that mid-credits scene, and more in spoilers.

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On Episode 260 of the Always the Critic Podcast, we sing our hearts out and discuss Taylor Swift: The Era Tours!

Rico and Jess discuss the blockbuster concert film. We chat about our favorite moments, what we wished to have seen in the movie and how it stacks up to concert movies we've seen before.

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