Filmspotting: Streaming Video Unit (SVU)

It's been six (mostly) wonderful years of Filmspotting: Streaming Video Unit, but on this episode, Matt and Alison say goodbye. First, in honor of JUSTIN BIEBER: NEVER SAY NEVER, which they talked about in their first episode (yup) back in 2012, they take a look at a movie that owes a lot to that documentary — Lonely Island's POPSTAR: NEVER STOP NEVER STOPPING. Then they devote the rest of the podcast to answering listener questions about everything from the future of the film industry to THE ADVENTURES OF FORD FAIRLANE. Thanks for listening, everyone!

Hosts' Choice Review: "Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping"

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Older Filmspotting: SVU Episodes

Remnants of the IFC News Podcast

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Remember how when we were kids we battled a nightmare clown terrorizing our small town and devouring children? No? Maybe it was just us then. On this episode of Filmspotting: Streaming Video Unit, Matt and Alison take a look at the 1990 TV miniseries version of Stephen King's IT, now available on Hulu, and then recommend some other clown movies, scary and otherwise, available to rent or stream right now. They also share some important (and sad) news about the future of the podcast.

Listener's Choice Review: "It" (1990)

Queue Shots: Clown Movies

Behind the 8-Ball:

3 New Streaming Releases

Alison: The Young Karl Marx / A Star Is Born / Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael

Matt: Lady Bird / Yellow Submarine / Paramount2 Listener Recommendations

1 Random Film From Our Netflix "My Lists"

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Get your skates straight and put out that cigarette, because on this week's show, Matt and Alison are talking 2017's Tonya Harding biopic I, TONYA, which was recently added to Hulu. Then, inspired by the sport that made Harding famous (before The Incident made her infamous), they recommend some other movies (and one television series) that feature ice skating, all available to rent or stream.

Listener's Choice Review: "I, Tonya"

Queue Shots: Movies (And One TV Show) Involving Ice Skating

Behind the 8-Ball:

3 New Streaming Releases

Alison: The Chinese Exclusion Act / Bad Genius / Boarding Gate

Matt: The Disaster Artist / The Quick and the Dead / The Debt Collector

2 Listener Recommendations1 Random Film From Our Netflix "My Lists"

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Is John Woo's latest movie a return to form for the director, or something closer to self-parody? On this episode of Filmspotting: Streaming Video Unit, Matt and Alison debate the merits of MANHUNT, Woo's 2017 thriller, which was recently released as a Netflix original. Then, despite MANHUNT taking place in Japan, they use Woo's place as an influential force in Hong Kong film to recommend some other Hong Kong action movies, all available to rent or stream.

Listener's Choice Review: "Manunt"

Queue Shots: Hong Kong Action Movies

Behind the 8-Ball:

3 New Streaming Releases

Alison: Beatriz at Dinner / The Student / Shanghai JoeMatt: Evil Genius / Ace in the Hole / The Toys That Made Us2 Listener Recommendations

1 Random Film From Our Netflix "My Lists"

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There comes a time when a young girl blossoms into a woman, and sometimes that woman turns out to possess terrifying powers that are some kind of allegory for the female sexuality. On this episode, Matt and Alison take a wander through the genre of the supernatural coming of age story, recommending some titles to rent or stream right now. It's all the better to accompany their main review of Joachim Trier's 2017 THELMA, about a teenager from a strict, repressed background who discovers a lot about herself — a lot more than fits into the expected definition of reality — when she goes off to college.

Listener's Choice Review: "Thelma"

Queue Shots: Supernatural Coming of Age Movies

Behind the 8-Ball:

3 New Streaming Releases

Alison: BPM (Beats per Minute) / Psychokinesis / Murder on the Orient Express

Matt: Last Flag Flying / Planet of the Apes / Manhunt

2 Listener Recommendations

1 Random Film From Our Netflix "My Lists"

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"People come to the Oasis for all the things they can do, but they stay for all the things they can be." Presuming, that is, those things are licensable bits of IP. On this episode, Matt and Alison use Steven Spielberg's latest, READY PLAYER ONE, as an excuse to talk about all sorts of movies that turn up in the reference-heavy dystopian adventure, including their main review of Brad Bird's beloved 1999 THE IRON GIANT. And as always, the titles they talk about are all available for rental or streaming right now.

Listener's Choice Review: "The Iron Giant"

Queue Shots: Movies Referenced in Ready Player One

Behind the 8-Ball:

3 New Streaming Releases

Alison:  24 Hour Party People / Saturday Church / Lost in Space

Matt: Kodachrome / Lust for Life / The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story

2 Listener Recommendations

1 Random Film From Our Netflix "My Lists"

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On this episode, Matt and Alison talk cults versus communes, xenophobia, sexual liberation, immigration fraud, religious freedom, and also putting beavers into blenders in order to use the resulting goo to taint the water supply. Yes, they're going deep into WILD WILD COUNTRY, Netflix's stranger-than-fiction docuseries about the 1980s clash between the followers of the Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and the locals in Oregon area where they attempted to build a utopian community. Then, as a nod to the series' sibling filmmaking team, Chapman and MacLain Way, they recommend some other brother-director titles available to rent or stream.

Listener's Choice Review: "Wild Wild Country"

Queue Shots: Movies Made By Brothers

Behind the 8-Ball:

3 New Streaming Releases

Alison: AMO / The Killing of a Sacred Deer / The Florida Project

Matt: Reservoir Dogs / You Don't Mess With the Zohan / Nailed It

2 Listener Recommendations

1 Random Film From Our Netflix "My Lists"

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Pour a row of martinis and ready your finest 1930s repartee, because on this episode of Filmspotting: Streaming Video Unit, Matt and Alison sample THE THIN MAN, available via TCM's new partnership with FilmStruck. And, in honor of Nick and Nora Charles making constant alcohol consumption look so good, they spend the second half of the episode recommending some other movies about drinking that are available to rent or stream right now.

Listener's Choice Review: "The Thin Man"

Queue Shots: Movies About Drinking

Behind the 8-Ball: 

3 New Streaming Releases

2 Listener Recommendations

1 Random Film From Our Netflix "My Lists"

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Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome — in this episode of Filmspotting: Streaming Video Unit, Matt and Alison pay a visit to Weimar-era Berlin by way of the German period drama BABYLON BERLIN, co-created by Tom Tykwer and streaming on Netflix. Then they talk about how the city tends to be portrayed on screen, recommending some other Berlin-set titles that are available to rent or stream.

Listener's Choice Review: "Babylon Berlin"

Queue Shots: Berlin Movies

Behind the 8-Ball: 

3 New Streaming Releases

2 Listener Recommendations

1 Random Film From Our Netflix "My Lists"

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It's no sleep 'til Rego Park, Queens, in this episode of Filmspotting: Streaming Video Unit, in which Matt and Alison consider the uneasy charms of the Safdie brothers' New York set-thriller GOOD TIME, starring Robert Pattinson and currently streaming on Amazon. Then they recommend some other staying-up-all-night movies that are available to rent or stream, from the romantic to the nostalgic to the dystopian. 

Listener's Choice Review: "Good Time"

Queue Shots: Movies That Take Place In One Night

Behind the 8-Ball: 

3 New Streaming Releases

2 Listener Recommendations

1 Random Film From Our Netflix "My Lists"

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