"This Is Spinal Tap" (1984), also known as "This Is Spın̈al Tap: A Rockumentary by Martin Di Bergi," is a mockumentary comedy directed by the legendary Rob Reiner in his feature debut and co-written with stars Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer, who play members of the fictional heavy metal band Spinal Tap, hilariously dubbed "one of England's loudest bands." Satirizing rock star excess and the earnest style of classic rock documentaries, the largely improvised film earned critical acclaim, modest box office returns, and later a devoted cult following that cemented its status as a landmark of the mockumentary genre and the source of the iconic phrase "Up to eleven." Selected for preservation by the Library of Congress in 2002, the film will finally get a sequel, "Spinal Tap II: The End Continues," with Reiner, Guest, McKean, and Shearer reuniting for one last concert in September 2025. Director Rob Reiner was kind enough to speak with us about his work and experience making the film, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out The Golden 41st Anniversary 4K restoration of "This Is Spinal Tap" (with a special intro from Rob Reiner) in theaters from July 5th-7th, 2025 (get your tickets here) from Bleecker Street and will feature the first look at "Spinal Tap II: The End Continues." Thank you, and enjoy!

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"The Old Guard 2" is a sequel to 2020's "The Old Guard" starring Charlize Theron, KiKi Layne, Matthias Schoenaerts, Marwan Kenzari, Luca Marinelli, Veronica Ngô, and Chiwetel Ejiofor reprising their roles from the first film while Henry Golding and Uma Thurman join the cast. Director Victoria Mahoney was kind enough to speak with us about her work and experience making the film, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which is now streaming on Netflix. Thank you, and enjoy!

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"Jurassic World Rebirth" is a standalone sequel to "Jurassic World Dominion" (2022), the fourth "Jurassic World" film and the seventh installment overall in the "Jurassic Park franchise." With a whole new cast and shot on 35mm using anamorphic lenses, the film from director Gareth Edwards is an attempt to harken back to what thrilled audiences most about the original movie. Before the film's world premiere, Edwards was kind enough to speak with us about his work and experience making the film, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which is now playing in theaters nationwide from Universal Pictures. Thank you, and enjoy!

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"40 Acres" had its world premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival, where it received positive reviews for Danielle Deadwyler's performance, the tension and action created by R.T. Thorne, and the supporting performances by the rest of the cast, including Michael Greyeyes. The film follows a family of African American descendants who settled in rural Canada in 1875, after the American Civil War, and are now fighting for their survival amid a post-apocalyptic world two hundred years later. Thorne and Deadwyler were both kind enough to speak with us about their work and experience making the film, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which is scheduled to be released in theaters by Magnolia Pictures on July 2nd, 2025. Thank you, and enjoy!

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"Heads Of State" is the new action-comedy from director Ilya Naishuller ("Hardcore Henry" and "Nobody"), starring John Cena and Idris Elba, two world leaders who must set aside their rivalry to thwart a global conspiracy after becoming targets of a ruthless foreign adversary. Co-starring Priyanka Chopra, Jack Quaid, Paddy Considine, Stephen Root, and Carla Gugino, the film features numerous laughs and elaborate action set pieces for your friends and family to enjoy over the Fourth of July weekend. Naishuller was kind enough to speak with us about his work and experience making the film, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which is scheduled to be released on Amazon Prime Video on July 2nd, 2025. Thank you, and enjoy!

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For Episode 448, Nadia Dalimonte, Sara Clements, Alyssa Christian, Will Mavity, and I are here to discuss our Midyear Oscar Winners and our most anticipated Oscar contenders from the second half of 2025. We tie this conversation into this week's poll as we ask, "Which Possible Oscar Contenders Are You Most Looking Forward To For The Rest Of 2025?" We also reveal the winner of last week's poll, where we asked, "Which Is The Best Film Of 2025 So Far?" We also share our reactions to the trailers for "Bugonia," "Roofman," "Eden," and "Splitsville," answer your fan-submitted questions and more! Thank you all for listening, supporting, and subscribing. We look forward to seeing you all again next week as we'll start turning a specific eye toward the upcoming fall film festivals.

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For this week's main podcast review, Katie Johnson, Giovanni Lago, Joselyn Safadi, Brendan Hodges & Will Mavity join me to review and discuss the newest film from Joseph Kosinski, "F1" (Or "F1 The Movie" depending on who you ask) starring Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Tobias Menzies & Javier Bardem. Set in the world of Formula One racing, Kosinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer aim to deliver the most authentic and immersive racing movie ever made while retaining the magic that made their last collaboration, "Top Gun: Maverick," such a success. What did we think of it? Please tune in as we discuss the story, performances, racing sequences, Hans Zimmer's score, its awards season chances, and more in our SPOILER-FILLED review. Thank you for listening, and enjoy!

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"Sorry, Baby" had its world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award and received ecstatic reviews for Eva Victor, making her feature directorial debut (she also wrote and stars in the film). Following its screening at the Cannes Film Festival in the Directors' Fortnight section, Victor was kind enough to speak with us about their work and experience making the film, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which will open in select theaters from A24 on June 27th. Thank you, and enjoy!

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THIS IS A PREVIEW PODCAST. NOT THE FULL REVIEW. Please check out the full podcast review on our Patreon Page by subscribing over at - https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture

Our 2009 retrospective continues with one of the most memorable summer blockbusters of that year, J. J. Abrams's reboot of "Star Trek" starring a whole new cast including John Cho, Ben Cross, Bruce Greenwood, Simon Pegg, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Winona Ryder, Zoe Saldaña, Karl Urban, Anton Yelchin, Eric Bana, and the returning Leonard Nimoy. Seen as a success the year it was released, it spawned two sequels and renewed interest in "Star Trek" as a franchise, which continues on television to this day. But how has this particular film aged in the 16 years since? Please join Josh Parham & Dan Bayer, and me as we discuss the cast, their performances, Abrams's direction, the story's themes, the visual effects, Michael Giacchino's score, its awards season run, and more in our SPOILER-FILLED review. We appreciate your support and hope you enjoy our review! Thank you!

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"Hot Milk" is a drama film written and directed by Rebecca Lenkiewicz (making her directorial debut) based on the 2016 novel by Deborah Levy. The film was selected in Competition at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival, where it competed for the Golden Bear. It tells the story of a mother (Fiona Shaw) with a strange illness and her daughter (Emma Mackey) embarking on a journey to the Spanish coast to find a cure. Lenkiewicz and Shaw were kind enough to speak with us about their work and experience making the film, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which will open nationwide in theaters from Independent Film Company on June 27th. Thank you, and enjoy!

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