By Criticism Is Dead
4.8
8181 ratings
The podcast currently has 55 episodes available.
We discuss The Lost Daughter and Landscapers, two works that explore the complexities of codependency, whether in motherhood or in marriage.
02:53 The Lost Daughter, streaming on Netflix, is a brutal, intimate, unforgettable film about what it means to be a mother.
22:03 Landscapers, a limited series on HBO, is a love story — dressed as a true crime drama — underpinned by questions of fantasy, delusion, and reality.
37:28 Plus, culture notes about Julia Fox and Kanye West at Carbone: a celebrity date to remember (in the pages of Interview Magazine).
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Follow us on Twitter and Instagram. For extended show notes — including links that we reference, plus more — subscribe to our Substack. Inquiries, complaints, and recs for what to watch can go to [email protected].
Music: REEKAH
Artwork and design: Sara Macias and Andrew Liu
We discuss Station Eleven and Don't Look Up, two visions of the end of the world.
03:33 Station Eleven, streaming on HBO Max, is a compelling miniseries about what it means to not just survive, but to live and rebuild.
23:22 Netflix's star-studded Don't Look Up is a perfectly okay Movie With a Message that has attracted far more discourse than anyone needs.
43:17 Plus, instead of our normal culture notes, we do a little grab bag on things we've watched recently but haven't had a chance to mention: Pen15, Insecure, The Matrix Resurrections, Emily in Paris season 2, Selling Tampa, and Queer Eye season 6.
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Follow us on Twitter and Instagram. For extended show notes — including links that we reference, plus more — subscribe to our Substack. Inquiries, complaints, and recs for what to watch can go to [email protected].
Music: REEKAH
Artwork and design: Sara Macias and Andrew Liu
It's our year-end special! To close out 2021, we each present our top 5 picks for film and TV, respectively, from this year.
03:10 Movies!
16:39 TV!
31:11 Bonus: Books!
(For film and TV honorable mentions, check out criticismisdead.substack.com.)
Thank you very much for tuning in this year. We will see you next year!!!!
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Follow us on Twitter and Instagram. For extended show notes — including links that we reference, plus more — subscribe to our Substack. Inquiries, complaints, and recs for what to watch can go to [email protected].
Music: REEKAH
Artwork and design: Sara Macias and Andrew Liu
We discuss Yellowjackets and The Great, two shows about female savagery as a matter of survival, whether that's in the Canadian wilderness or the 18th-century Russian court.
02:43 Yellowjackets, airing on Showtime, is compelling in its depiction of the violence and trauma that a high school girls' soccer team inflict on each other.
20:08 The Great, in its second season on Hulu, is an ahistorical romp that relishes in wicked absurdity as well as some genuinely tender moments.
31:38 Plus, culture notes about New Yorker writer Michael Schulman's profile of Jeremy Strong — and all the weird reactions it has sparked in both readers and celebrities.
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Follow us on Twitter and Instagram. For extended show notes — including links that we reference, plus more — subscribe to our Substack. Inquiries, complaints, and recs for what to watch can go to [email protected].
Music: REEKAH
Artwork and design: Sara Macias and Andrew Liu
In this special episode, we discuss Succession, a show that needs no introduction.
(Note: Spoilers up through S3E7; at the time of recording, we had NOT watched the last two episodes of season 3.)
We're joined by a special guest: Judy Berman, one of our favorite critics, who writes about TV for Time.
04:24 HBO series Succession is among the all-time greats — and here's why.
Follow Judy on Twitter (@judyberman) and check out her writing for Time:
Also, read about us on _Time_'s list of the 10 best podcasts of 2021!!!!!
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Follow us on Twitter and Instagram. For extended show notes — including links that we reference, plus more — subscribe to our Substack. Inquiries, complaints, and recs for what to watch can go to [email protected].
Music: REEKAH
Artwork and design: Sara Macias and Andrew Liu
We discuss The French Dispatch and Selling Sunset, two artifices of reality.
04:38 The French Dispatch, playing in theaters, is very “Wes Anderson” (to borrow a phrase), and we like that.
22:30 Netflix reality show Selling Sunset needs to dial back on the tepid interpersonal drama and bring back more opulent, ostentatious houses to look at.
40:15 Plus, a short debrief on the Great British Bake Off finale and our favorites from this season.
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Follow us on Twitter and Instagram. For extended show notes — including links that we reference, plus more — subscribe to our Substack. Inquiries, complaints, and recs for what to watch can go to [email protected].
Music: REEKAH
Artwork and design: Sara Macias and Andrew Liu
We discuss Scenes From a Marriage and The Harder They Fall, two recent works with mixed reception worth exploring (we love gray areas).
02:44 Scenes From a Marriage, streaming on HBO Max, is hard to watch, but emotionally rich and raw with superb performances.
28:09 Despite its fun flourishes and the seed of a great concept, Netflix’s The Harder They Fall is ultimately more style over substance.
41:46 Plus, culture notes about Taylor vs. Jake.
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Follow us on Twitter and Instagram. For extended show notes — including links that we reference, plus more — subscribe to our Substack. Inquiries, complaints, and recs for what to watch can go to [email protected].
Music: REEKAH
Artwork and design: Sara Macias and Andrew Liu
We discuss The Morning Show and Love Life, two very different shows exploring complicated relationships.
02:40 The Morning Show, streaming on Apple TV+, surprisingly stuck the landing in season 1, but it remains to be seen whether the mess of storylines in season 2 can congeal into a coherent, intelligent whole.
22:42 Love Life, streaming on HBO Max, is pulling off a really good season 2, thanks to quality writing, direction, performances, and more.
37:51 Plus, culture notes about why critics seem to be sour on Eternals (and why fans are sour on critics being sour on Eternals).
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Follow us on Twitter and Instagram. For extended show notes — including links that we reference, plus more — subscribe to our Substack. Inquiries, complaints, and recs for what to watch can go to [email protected].
Music: REEKAH
Artwork and design: Sara Macias and Andrew Liu
We discuss Dune and Space Sweepers, two space operas set against the backdrop of the powerful elite exploiting people and planets.
03:50 Dune, playing in theaters and on HBO Max, is a masterful adaptation of a complex story long considered unfilmable. (P.S. Here are the two pieces about Dune Pelin wants you to read.)
32:27 Space Sweepers, streaming on Netflix, has some good elements, but ultimately squanders its potential as the first Korean space blockbuster.
41:59 Plus, culture notes about fans and studios/networks becoming increasingly fussy about spoilers.
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Follow us on Twitter and Instagram. For extended show notes — including links that we reference, plus more — subscribe to our Substack. Inquiries, complaints, and recs for what to watch can go to [email protected].
Music: REEKAH
Artwork and design: Sara Macias and Andrew Liu
We discuss Maid and The Premise, two shows about the fabric of American society, both socioeconomic and cultural.
03:00 Maid, a Netflix limited series, is a stark, compelling, uncomfortably realistic depiction of what poverty looks like.
28:47 The satirical anthology series The Premise, streaming on Hulu, is wildly uneven but redeemed by one standout episode.
38:45 Plus, culture notes served quibi (“quick bites”)-style this week: some mea culpas, updates, and excitement about works we may have passed judgment on earlier.
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram. For extended show notes — including links that we reference, plus more — subscribe to our Substack. Inquiries, complaints, and recs for what to watch can go to [email protected].
Music: REEKAH
Artwork and design: Sara Macias and Andrew Liu
The podcast currently has 55 episodes available.