Filmbound

Ethan Hawke stars as a pastor wrestling with his faith and a bleak view of the future for himself and the world in writer-director Paul Schrader’s FIRST REFORMED.

Mark Pfeiffer and Paul Markoff also discuss what they believe the role of the film critic is and how they approach the duty.

SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY reveals the origins of the space smuggler in the original trilogy. Director Ron Howard’s film features Alden Ehrenreich as the younger version of the character made famous by Harrison Ford and Donald Glover as the young Lando Calrissian.

In recommendations, Mark Pfeiffer picks writer-director Michael Pearce’s psychological thriller BEAST. Paul Markoff selects BEST OF ENEMIES, Robert Gordon and Morgan Neville’s documentary about the contentious 1968 Buckley-Vidal TV debates.

Ryan Reynolds returns as the wise-cracking mutant in director David Leitch’s DEADPOOL 2. In the sequel Deadpool shows some capacity for personal growth by striving to protect a boy with newly developed superpowers from using them to ruin his life and risk getting killed by Josh Brolin as the time-traveling soldier Cable.

Drawing on two decades-plus as critics, Mark Pfeiffer and Paul Markoff also discuss film clichés they dislike and enjoy.

After her husband surprises her with his desire for a divorce, Melissa McCarthy joins her daughter and goes back to school to finish her college degree in director Ben Falcone’s LIFE OF THE PARTY.

In recommendations, Mark Pfeiffer selects Leigh Whannell’s futuristic action-thriller UPGRADE, and Paul Markoff reflects on how a long marriage gets challenged when new information about the past comes to light in Andrew Haigh’s drama 45 YEARS.

Charlize Theron turns to Mackenzie Davis as a night nanny to help her manage raising three kids, including a newborn, in TULLY. The film reteams the lead actress with director Jason Reitman and screenwriter Diablo Cody, who worked together on YOUNG ADULT.

In the spirit of summer movie season, Mark Pfeiffer and Paul Markoff also discuss sequels, cinematic universes, and crossover films that they would like to see.

Ten years of films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe culminate in AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR from directors Anthony and Joe Russo. Iron Man, Captain America, Blank Panther, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and many other superheroes join forces to fight Thanos, who wants to bring balance to the universe by eliminating half of the life in it.

In recommendations, Mark Pfeiffer encourages chasing down John Woo’s MANHUNT, and Paul Markoff selects Sofia Coppola’s THE BEGUILED.

Joaquin Phoenix searches for missing girls and dishes out vengeance to those who harm them in writer-director Lynne Ramsay’s YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE.

Also, Mark Pfeiffer and Paul Markoff discuss who they believe are the biggest new stars to emerge in the last twenty years and what qualities define stars in Hollywood today.

A head injury causes Amy Schumer to lose all of her insecurities about her abilities and physical appearance, leading her to rise through the ranks of a luxury cosmetics firm in I FEEL PRETTY from co-writers/co-directors Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein.

In recommendations, Mark Pfeiffer praises director Jacques Rivette’s study of the artistic process in LA BELLE NOISEUSE and Roger Ebert’s Film Festival. Paul Markoff recommends writer-director Taylor Sheridan’s murder mystery WIND RIVER.

Writer-director Wes Anderson returns to stop-motion animation with the story of a boy searching Trash Island for his beloved, banished pet in ISLE OF DOGS.

Also, Mark Pfeiffer and Paul Markoff establish the Filmbound Canon, which are their personal collections of all-time great films released beginning in 1995. Mark starts his canon with THE KID WITH A BIKE (LE GAMIN AU VÉLO) from Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne. Paul selects FEVER PITCH directed by Bobby and Peter Farrelly.

After an alien invasion by vicious creatures with ultra-sensitive hearing, John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, and their children must make as little sound as possible to avoid being detected and hunted in A QUIET PLACE.

In recommendations, Mark Pfeiffer wrangles two dramas about the powerful connections between people and horses in director Andrew Haigh’s LEAN ON PETE and Chloé Zhao’s THE RIDER, and Paul Markoff admires the humor and tragedy that Margot Robbie generates as a figure skating star in I, TON