In this episode, I take a closer look at the animated feature Arco — a visually imaginative and surprisingly thought-provoking film featuring voice performances from America Ferrera, Natalie Portman, Will Ferrell, Andy Samberg, Mark Ruffalo, and Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

 The story follows Arco, a young boy from the distant future who accidentally travels back in time and meets a young girl caring for her baby brother while her parents work far from home. As the two form an unlikely friendship, they set out to find a way to return Arco to his own time.

 But beneath its adventurous premise, Arcoexplores deeper themes of empathy, environmental responsibility, and the dangers of treating people as “other.” With striking imagery — including a world literally on fire and Arco’s rainbow-streak flight across the sky — the film delivers a message that feels both timely and deeply human.

 Is Arco worth your time? Listen in for my full review — and my final fork rating.

🍴 Movies I Give a Fork About

Movies don’t get stars — they get forks.

Hosted by AJ Jones, this podcast cuts through hype, marketing, and awards buzz to answer one simple question:

Is this movie actually worth your time?

🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts

📸 Follow on Instagram: @moviesigiveaforkabout

🌐 Podcast site: giveaforkmovies.com

New episodes drop when a movie earns a fork.

In this episode, I review If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You, a deeply emotional drama written and directed by Mary Bronstein and featuring an extraordinary Oscar-nominated performance from Rose Byrne.

The film follows a mother struggling to hold her life together while caring for a seriously ill child and managing the emotional weight of parenting largely on her own while her husband works away for long stretches of time.

What unfolds is an unflinching portrait of exhaustion, isolation, and the often-invisible labour of motherhood. 
 The film also features appearances from Conan O’Brien and A$AP Rocky, both delivering surprisingly grounded performances.

If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You may not be an easy watch, but it is a powerful one. 

In this episode, I break down what makes Rose Byrne’s performance so remarkable, the themes the film explores, and whether this emotionally intense story is worth your time — before giving my final fork rating.

🍴 Movies I Give a Fork About

Movies don’t get stars — they get forks.

Hosted by AJ Jones, this podcast cuts through hype, marketing, and awards buzz to answer one simple question:

Is this movie actually worth your time?

🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts

📸 Follow on Instagram: @moviesigiveaforkabout

🌐 Podcast site: giveaforkmovies.com

New episodes drop when a movie earns a fork.

In this episode, I review The Lost Bus, an intense disaster drama starring Matthew McConaughey and America Ferrera and inspired by the real events of the 2018 Camp Fire that destroyed the town of Paradise, California.

The film follows a school bus driver who is suddenly called in to evacuate a group of elementary school children as a fast-moving wildfire closes in on the town. Joined by a teacher from the school, the two must navigate smoke-filled roads, spreading flames, and mounting chaos in a desperate effort to get the children to safety.

 The Lost Bus earned Academy Award nominations for Best Sound and Best Visual Effects, and the film’s immersive sound design and convincing wildfire sequences play a huge role in creating the tension.

 But does the story itself land as strongly as the technical elements?

 In this episode, I break down what worked and where I believe The Lost Bus stands in the Oscar race — and of course, my final fork rating.

🍴 Movies I Give a Fork About

Movies don’t get stars — they get forks.

Hosted by AJ Jones, this podcast cuts through hype, marketing, and awards buzz to answer one simple question:

Is this movie actually worth your time?

🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts

📸 Follow on Instagram: @moviesigiveaforkabout

🌐 Podcast site: giveaforkmovies.com

New episodes drop when a movie earns a fork.

In this episode of Movies I Give a Fork About, A J explores the quietly powerful film Train Dreams, a deeply reflective story set in the logging communities of the early 1900s Pacific Northwest.

The film follows Robert Grainier, played by Joel Egerton, a logger trying to build a life for his family in a rugged and unforgiving landscape. Along the way, the story captures the beauty of ordinary moments, the dangers of frontier work, and the lasting impact of the choices we make — and the ones we don’t.

A J discusses the film’s remarkable storytelling, the subtle symbolism woven throughout its forest landscapes, and the powerful narration delivered by Will Patton. 

With standout performances from Felicity Jones and William H. Macy, Train Dreams becomes more than a period story — it becomes a meditation on love, grief, regret, and the passage of time.

This is not a flashy film.

It’s a thoughtful one.

And sometimes those are the stories that stay with us the longest.

How many forks does Train Dreams earn? 

A J isn’t shy about her opinion. 

Have a listen to find out.

🍴 Movies I Give a Fork About

Movies don’t get stars — they get forks.

Hosted by AJ Jones, this podcast cuts through hype, marketing, and awards buzz to answer one simple question:

Is this movie actually worth your time?

🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts

📸 Follow on Instagram: @moviesigiveaforkabout

🌐 Podcast site: giveaforkmovies.com

New episodes drop when a movie earns a fork.

In this episode of Movies I Give a Fork About, AJ dives into one of this year’s most emotionally resonant Oscar contenders — Sentimental Value, the Norwegian drama that has earned nine  Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, best Adapted Screenplay, best actress in a lead role, and best actor in a supporting role.

AJ explores why the writer-director combination behind the film gives the story such remarkable cohesion, allowing the emotional themes of memory, regret, and family legacy to unfold with quiet precision.

The episode also highlights the extraordinary performance of Stellan Skarsgård, whose Best Supporting Actor–nominated role delivers a deeply nuanced portrayal of a man haunted by the consequences of his past.

With additional acting nominations for Renate Reinsve, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas and Elle Fanning, Sentimental Value demonstrates how powerful restrained performances can be when a film trusts its audience to sit with complex emotions rather than forcing them.

A J breaks down the performances, the storytelling, and why this haunting Norwegian film lingers long after the credits roll.

How many forks does Sentimental Value earn? 

Tune in to find out

🍴 Movies I Give a Fork About

Movies don’t get stars — they get forks.

Hosted by AJ Jones, this podcast cuts through hype, marketing, and awards buzz to answer one simple question:

Is this movie actually worth your time?

🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts

📸 Follow on Instagram: @moviesigiveaforkabout

🌐 Podcast site: giveaforkmovies.com

New episodes drop when a movie earns a fork.

In Episode 12 of Movies I Give a Fork About, A J explores the return to the animal metropolis in Zootopia 2. 

With new characters, new mysteries, and voice talent from stars like Ke Huy Quan, Fortune Femister, Quinta Brunson, Andy Samberg and Danny Trejo, the sequel expands the world of Zootopia while revisiting the partnership between Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde.

Does this sequel manage to capture the charms and wit that made the original such a fan favourite.

And most importantly… how many forks will it get?

🍴 Movies I Give a Fork About

Movies don’t get stars — they get forks.

Hosted by AJ Jones, this podcast cuts through hype, marketing, and awards buzz to answer one simple question:

Is this movie actually worth your time?

🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts

📸 Follow on Instagram: @moviesigiveaforkabout

🌐 Podcast site: giveaforkmovies.com

New episodes drop when a movie earns a fork.

A struggling husband-and-wife Neil Diamond cover band.

A quiet Midwestern love story.

And one performance that earned an Oscar nomination.

In this episode, I break down Song Sung Blue, the musical drama based on the true story of Mike and Claire Sardina — a Milwaukee couple who built an unlikely second act performing Neil Diamond tributes together.

The film received a single Academy Award nomination — for Best Actress, recognizing Kate Hudson (chatgpt://generic-entity?number=0) for her portrayal of Claire — and honestly? That nomination is the reason I pressed play.

And I’m glad I did.

This isn’t flashy prestige cinema.

It’s intimate. A little scrappy. Sometimes uneven.

But it has heart — and a tenderness about partnership, ambition, and holding onto each other when life doesn’t go the way you planned.

We’ll talk about:

• Why Hudson’s performance carries the emotional weight

• Hugh Jackman’s grounded counterbalance

• The “based on a true story” factor

• And whether this movie deserved more awards love — or landed exactly where it should have

It’s one of those films I might have overlooked in a crowded season.

But sometimes the smaller nominees are the ones that sneak up on you.

So the question is: is this a movie you should give a fork about?

Let’s find out.

🍴 Movies I Give a Fork About

Movies don’t get stars — they get forks.

Hosted by AJ Jones, this podcast cuts through hype, marketing, and awards buzz to answer one simple question:

Is this movie actually worth your time?

🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts

📸 Follow on Instagram: @moviesigiveaforkabout

🌐 Podcast site: giveaforkmovies.com

New episodes drop when a movie earns a fork.

A lonely kid.

A cosmic misunderstanding.

And a story that’s less about aliens… and more about belonging.

In this episode, I break down Elio, Disney’s latest animated feature and this year’s nominee for Best Animated Feature Film.

On the surface, it’s a classic space adventure — a young boy obsessed with the cosmos accidentally gets mistaken for Earth’s ambassador to the universe. But beneath the bright colors and intergalactic spectacle, this is a story about grief, displacement, and what it means to feel like you don’t quite fit anywhere.

We’ll talk about:

• Why the emotional themes land harder than the plot

• The dynamic between Elio and his aunt

• Whether the animation style elevates or divides

• And if its Best Animated Feature nomination feels earned

It’s not explosive.

It’s not groundbreaking.

But it is sincere — and sometimes that counts for more.

If you’re willing to experience memory before logic, and identity before language, this might just be a movie you give a fork about.

🍴 Movies I Give a Fork About

Movies don’t get stars — they get forks.

Hosted by AJ Jones, this podcast cuts through hype, marketing, and awards buzz to answer one simple question:

Is this movie actually worth your time?

🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts

📸 Follow on Instagram: @moviesigiveaforkabout

🌐 Podcast site: giveaforkmovies.com

New episodes drop when a movie earns a fork.

Nine Academy Award nominations.

A director who understands monsters better than most filmmakers understand people.

And a film that looks exactly like a nine-nomination movie.

In this episode, I unpack Guillermo del Toro’s haunting reimagining of Frankenstein — a dark, visually stunning adaptation that leans fully into gothic atmosphere while grounding its horror in something deeply human.

We’ll talk about:

• Why this landed a Best Picture nomination

• Jacob Elordi’s Supporting Actor nod

• The adapted screenplay — written by del Toro — and how it reshapes the classic myth

• The craftsmanship behind Costume Design, Makeup & Hairstyling, Production Design, Cinematography, Original Score, and Sound — and why those nominations absolutely track

This isn’t just a monster movie.

It’s prestige cinema wearing scars.

If you’re curious whether gothic horror can carry real awards weight — and whether this version of Frankenstein actually earns its nine nominations — you’re going to want to give a fork about this one.

🍴 Movies I Give a Fork About

Movies don’t get stars — they get forks.

Hosted by AJ Jones, this podcast cuts through hype, marketing, and awards buzz to answer one simple question:

Is this movie actually worth your time?

🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts

📸 Follow on Instagram: @moviesigiveaforkabout

🌐 Podcast site: giveaforkmovies.com

New episodes drop when a movie earns a fork.

A paranoid ex-revolutionary.

A kidnapped daughter.

An old enemy with unfinished business.

One Battle After Another is a 3-hour fever dream — part action thriller, part political satire, part dark comedy — anchored by Leonardo DiCaprio in one of his most unhinged performances.

Inspired by Thomas Pynchon’s Vineland, the film drags Bob Ferguson out of hiding and into a confrontation with his past — and the chaos that never really left him.

In this episode, I break down:

•DiCaprio’s drug-fogged, darkly comedic lead turn

•Standout performances from Benicio del Toro, Regina Hall, and Teyana Taylor

•The uneasy balance between absurdity and genuine emotional stakes

•Why the satire cuts deeper than it first appears

•And what 13 Academy Award nominations actually say about how the industry sees this film

It’s messy on purpose.

It’s sprawling by design.

And it swings very, very big.

But does big mean brilliant?

Let’s give some forks.

🍴 Movies I Give a Fork About

Movies don’t get stars — they get forks.

Hosted by AJ Jones, this podcast cuts through hype, marketing, and awards buzz to answer one simple question:

Is this movie actually worth your time?

🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts

📸 Follow on Instagram: @moviesigiveaforkabout

🌐 Podcast site: giveaforkmovies.com

New episodes drop when a movie earns a fork.