Filmspotting

Adam and Travis welcome Samantha N. Sheppard, PhD, Associate Professor of Cinema and Media Studies at Cornell University, to discuss Steve James's landmark 1994 documentary Hoop Dreams.

Drawing on research from her new book, The Basketball Film: A Cultural and Transmedia History, Sheppard explains why Hoop Dreams stands as the defining work of the basketball film genre. The conversation explores the film's complicated relationship to competition, bell hooks' famous critique, and why the stories of Arthur Agee and William Gates continue to resonate more than three decades later.

Along the way, Sheppard reflects on her own path to becoming one of the leading scholars of sports cinema and shares some personal favorites from the basketball movie canon.

Next Episode:

–The Hurricane with Grant Wiedenfeld, Ph.D., MFA (University of Toronto)

Links:

–Email the show at [email protected].

-Sporting Blackness: Race, Embodiment, and Critical Muscle Memory on Screen

Theme Music:

–King of the Corpse Flowers by Oxykitten | Spotify

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For Halloween week, Adam and Josh revisit the movie that reanimated the slasher, Wes Craven’s 1996 meta-horror classic Scream. Plus, highlights from the 5th annual Refocus Film Festival and Massacre Theatre. 

This episode is presented by⁠ Regal Unlimited⁠⁠, the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits. Use code FILMSPOT26 to take 15% off.

(Timecodes will not be precise with ads.)

Intro (00:00:00-00:01:55)

Scream at 30 (00:01:56-00:30:43)

Filmspotting Family (00:30:44-00:34:56)

Scream cont. (00:34:57-00:1:03:28)

Refocus Film Festival (00:1:03:29-01:15:07)

Massacre Theatre (01:15:08-01:22:23)

Credits / New Releases (01:22:24-01:26:47)

Notes:

-Refocus Film Festival

https://refocusfilmfestival.org/

Feedback:

-Email us at [email protected]⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠-⁠Ask Us Anything⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and we might answer your question in bonus content.

Support:

-Join the Filmspotting Family for bonus shows, archive access, and more.

http://filmspottingfamily.com

-Filmspotting Shop for T-shirts and more.

⁠https://www.filmspotting.net/shop⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow:

-Watch Filmspotting on YouTube:

⁠https://youtube.com/filmspotting⁠

-Adam/Filmspotting

⁠Letterboxd⁠ |⁠ Instagram⁠ |⁠ Facebook⁠ | ⁠Bluesky⁠

-Josh/LarsenOnFilm

⁠Letterboxd⁠ | ⁠Instagram⁠ |⁠ Facebook⁠ | ⁠Bluesky

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A few weeks out from The Social Reckoning’’s tepid theatrical debut, it’s safe to say Aaron Sorkin’s “spiritual sequel” to 2010’s The Social Network won’t match its successor’s box-office success, nor is it likely to be as fondly remembered in 16 years’ time. There are many ways in which the newer film goes astray, which we cover in our opening discussion of Reckoning, before bringing Network back in for Connections to consider how much of each film’s vision of Mark Zuckerberg’s social-media empire can be attributed to/blamed on Sorkin specifically. Then in a Zuck-inspired Your Next Picture Show, we briefly review a very long documentary about another tech billionaire whose name has become something of a four-letter word over the years: Alex Gibney’s Musk.

Please share your thoughts about The Social Network, The Social Reckoning, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Next Pairing: Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s You Can See Everything and Albert Brooks’ Real Life.

This episode is presented by⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Regal Unlimited⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits. Use code NEXTPIC26 for 15% off.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For Halloween week, we're going deep into the Archive for Adam and Josh's 2013 Sacred Cow review of William Friedkin's The Exorcist. 

Unlock the full archive, Filmspotting Discord, ad‑free + bonus episodes, and more when you ⁠join the Filmspotting Family⁠. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For the final episode in Spook-tober, Jordan and Matt share the defining scares of their childhoods and respond to listener requests for campy and creeping dread horror movies. And then — the horror! — Jordan takes a turn hosting America’s fastest growing game show: Portmanteau-To-Toe. 

Intro (00:00:00–00:03:07)

The Movies That (De)Formed Us (00:03:08–00:39:56)

Listener Request Seg: Campy and Creeping Dread Horror Movies (00:39:57–01:09:09)

Notes / Game: Portmanteau-To-Toe (01:09:09–01:24:09)

New to Streaming / Credits (01:24:10–01:32:31)

Show Notes

Now Streaming on Bazooga - A Filmspotting: SVU Archive⁠ https://letterboxd.com/samvanhallgren/list/now-streaming-on-bazooga-a-filmspotting-svu/⁠

Order Matt's book "Funny Business: The Old-School Wedding Crashers and Knocked-Up Virgins Who Changed Comedy Forever" (available now!):⁠ https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/790241/funny-business-by-matt-singer/⁠

Matt’s book tour!

matt-singer.net

Bazooga jingle by Andy Wilkowske

https://www.andrewwilkowske.com/

Feedback: Email us at [email protected]

Follow Matt on Blue Sky: @mattsinger.bsky.social

Follow Jordan on Blue Sky: @jhoffman.bsky.social

Follow the Show:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/superpulse/⁠⁠ https://www.facebook.com/FilmspottingSvu⁠

Follow the Show:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/superpulse/⁠⁠ https://www.facebook.com/FilmspottingSvu⁠

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Film critic Bilge Ebiri (Vulture, New York Magazine) joins Michael Phillips to test one of Alfred Hitchcock's most famous assertions: "There is a distinct difference between suspense and surprise."

Drawing on Hitchcock classics including Sabotage, Rear Window, Notorious, and Psycho, Michael and Bilge explore why the 'Master of Suspense' believed audiences should dread an explosion more than simply be startled by one. They discuss Hitchcock's notorious "grave error" in Sabotage, the enduring power of the night-vision sequence in The Silence of the Lambs, the unresolved terror of Zodiac, and what contemporary filmmakers such as Jordan Peele and Zach Cregger have learned from Hitchcock's approach.

Join the conversation by emailing ⁠[email protected]⁠.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How do you reimagine a beloved novel like Jane Austen’s Sense & Sensibility without losing what people love — and expect — from an Austen adaptation? Whatever it is, director Georgia Oakley appears to have figured it out. Adam and Josh praise Oakley’s earthy and unfussy film. Plus, a recap of their weekend at the Chicago International Film Festival, which included a screening of Pawel Pawilkowski’s Fatherland, and — for Josh — a 30th anniversary screening of Cheryl Dunye’s Watermelon Woman. Also, Josh’s review of Whalefall, and listeners rank the most anticipated movies of the fall.  

This episode is presented by⁠ Regal Unlimited⁠⁠, the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits. Use code FILMSPOT26 to take 15% off.

(Timecodes will not be precise with ads.)

Intro (00:00:00-00:03:08)

Sense & Sensibility (00:03:09-00:25:34)

Filmspotting Family (00:25:35-00:30:35)

Sense & Sensibility, cont. (00:30:36-00:46:38)

Fatherland (00:46:39-01:07:00)

Watermelon Woman, Whalefall (01:07:01-01:13:34)

Polls (01:13:35-01:25:35)

Credits / New Releases (01:25:36-01:31:25)

Notes:

-Refocus Film Festival

https://refocusfilmfestival.org/

Feedback:

-Email us at [email protected]⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠-⁠Ask Us Anything⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and we might answer your question in bonus content.

Support:

-Join the Filmspotting Family for bonus shows, archive access, and more.

http://filmspottingfamily.com

-Filmspotting Shop for T-shirts and more.

⁠https://www.filmspotting.net/shop⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow:

-Watch Filmspotting on YouTube:

⁠https://youtube.com/filmspotting⁠

-Adam/Filmspotting

⁠Letterboxd⁠ |⁠ Instagram⁠ |⁠ Facebook⁠ | ⁠Bluesky⁠

-Josh/LarsenOnFilm

⁠Letterboxd⁠ | ⁠Instagram⁠ |⁠ Facebook⁠ | ⁠Bluesky

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Aaron Sorkin has said his new The Social Reckoning is not a sequel so much as a companion piece to David Fincher’s The Social Network, which Sorkin also scripted. Whatever you call it, though, these two films are undeniably linked, not just by Sorkin’s involvement, but especially by their interest in the tech-bro enigma that is Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. So this week we’re returning to 2010 and The Social Network to consider how the film’s depiction of Facebook’s then-recent origin story plays from our social-media-saturated present; how Sorkin’s script and Jesse Eisenberg’s performance as Zuckerberg find humanity, and maybe even sympathy, in a pointedly unlikable protagonist; and how Fincher made it all work on screen, from the instant-classic Facemash montage to a final shot we’ll be forever refreshing in our minds. Then in Feedback, a longtime friend of the show shares some thoughts prompted by our recent episode on William Friedkin’s Sorcerer.

Please share your thoughts about The Social Network, The Social Reckoning, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

This episode is presented by⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Regal Unlimited⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits. Use code NEXTPIC26 for 15% off.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette is back in theaters this week for its 20th anniversary. In 2017, along with a review of Coppola's The Beguiled, Josh and guest host Angelica Jade Bastien shared their Top 5 Sofia Coppola Scenes.

Unlock the full archive, Filmspotting Discord, ad‑free + bonus episodes, and more when you ⁠join the Filmspotting Family⁠. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From none of the people who brought you Barbie comes a new film inspired by (or mandated by?) the Mattel corporation. It’s Matchbox: The Movie! And it stinks. But in what ways exactly does it stink? The answers may surprise you. Matt and Jordan discuss. Plus, Jordan’s thoughts on the conclusion of Prime Video’s Carrie limited series, which was reviewed on last week’s show; a Rec Seg featuring titles — one adapted from a video game, the other from a toy — that fare better than Matchbox; a listener request for slow-burn horror movies; and the return of Portmanteau-to-Toe: a Movie Trivia Game. 

Intro / Carrie recap (00:00:00–00:08:41)

Matchbox: The Movie (Apple TV) (00:08:42–00:33:42)

Rec Seg! (00:33:43–00:47:41)

Listener Request Seg: Slow-Burn Horror Movies (00:47:42–01:05:33)

Game: Portmanteau-To-Toe (01:05:34–01:24:55)

New to Streaming / Credits (01:24:56–01:34:08)

Show Notes

Jordan: “What 6 Different Versions of This Sex Comedy Say About the Countries That Made Them”

https://foreignpolicy.com/2026/09/04/review-the-invite-film-international-versions/ 

Now Streaming on Bazooga - A Filmspotting: SVU Archive⁠ https://letterboxd.com/samvanhallgren/list/now-streaming-on-bazooga-a-filmspotting-svu/⁠

Order Matt's book "Funny Business: The Old-School Wedding Crashers and Knocked-Up Virgins Who Changed Comedy Forever" (available now!):⁠ https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/790241/funny-business-by-matt-singer/⁠

Matt’s book tour!

matt-singer.net

Feedback: Email us at [email protected]

Follow Matt on Blue Sky: @mattsinger.bsky.social

Follow Jordan on Blue Sky: @jhoffman.bsky.social

Follow the Show:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/superpulse/⁠⁠ https://www.facebook.com/FilmspottingSvu⁠

Follow the Show:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/superpulse/⁠⁠ https://www.facebook.com/FilmspottingSvu⁠

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.