River Cities Reader Podcast

River Cities Reader Podcast

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River Cities Reader Podcast episodes

  • October 16, 2026, with Dave and Darren — “Other Mommy,” “The Social Reckoning,” and “Angel and the Badman”

    Dave Levora, Darren Pitra, and Mike Schulz discuss film and what it will take to remove Aaron Sorkin from the film world. Which may involve removing him from the world entirely.

    Discussed:

    • Other Mommy (dir Rob Savage, starr Jessica Chastain, Jay Duplass, Arabella Olivia Clark, Dichen Lachman, Arian Moayed, and Karen Allen).
    • The Social Reckoning (dir Aaron Sorkin, starr Mikey Madison, Jeremy Allen White, Jeremy Strong, Bill Burr, Betty Gilpin, and Billy Magnussen).
    • Angel and the Badman (dir Julio Quintana, starr Zachary Levi, Neal McDonough, and Tommy Lee Jones).

      • To be discussed later:

      • Street Fighter (dir Kitao Sakurai, starr Noah Centineo, Andrew Koji, Callina Liang, Joe “Roman Reigns” Anoa’i, David Dastmalchian, Cody Rhodes, Eric André, Andrew Schulz, Vidyut Jammwal, Orville Peck, Don Lee, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, and Jason Momoa).
      • Whalefall (dir Brian Duffield, starr Austin Abrams, Josh Brolin, Elisabeth Shue, John Ortiz, Jane Levy, and Emily Rudd).
      • Sense and Sensibility (dir Georgia Oakley, starr Daisy Edgar-Jones, Esmé Creed-Miles, Caitríona Balfe, Frank Dillane, Herbert Nordrum, George MacKay, and Fiona Shaw).
      • The Elon Musk documentary Musk (dir Alex Gibney).
      • Nathan Fielder’s documentary about Elizabeth Holmes, You Can See Everything.
      • Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother (dir Bassam Tariq, starr Mahershala Ali, John Cho, Giancarlo Esposito, Abubakr Ali, Tramell Tillman, Tiffany Boone, and Laith Nakli).
      • You Can’t Leave (dir Scott Windhauser, starr Spencer Boldman, Paola Andino, Thomas Bauer, and Taylor Murphy).
      • Crawlers (dir Angel Gómez Hernández, starr Matilda Lutz, Gregg Sulkin, William Miller, and Melina Matthews).
      • Trust Me, I’m a Doctor (dir Thane Economou, starr Linda Hamilton, Abbie Cornish, Kal Penn, and Al Sapienza).

        • “Other Mommy,” “The Social Reckoning,” and “Angel & the Badman”

        21 min
      • October 8, 2026, with Dave and Darren — “Verity” and “Digger”

        Dave Levora, Darren Pitra, and Mike Schulz discuss film and the unforeseen success of Coyote vs Acme, which is satisfying for reasons other than its quality (Warner Bros Disccovery wanted to shelve it and declare a tax write-off, given their own lack of faith in CvA).

        Under scrutiny:

        • Verity (dir Michael Showalter, starr Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson, Josh Hartnett, Ismael Cruz Córdova, and Irina Dvorovenko).
        • Digger (dir Alejandro G Iñárritu, starr Sabina Berman, Alexander Dinelaris Jr, and Nicolás Giacobone).

          • Scrutiny tk:

          • Angel and the Badman (dir Julio Quintana, starr Zachary Levi, Neal McDonough, and Tommy Lee Jones).
          • The Social Reckoning (dir Aaron Sorkin, starr Mikey Madison, Jeremy Allen White, Jeremy Strong, Bill Burr, Betty Gilpin, and Billy Magnussen).
          • Other Mommy (dir Rob Savage, starr Jessica Chastain, Jay Duplass, Arabella Olivia Clark, Dichen Lachman, Arian Moayed, and Karen Allen).
          • April X (dir Michel K Parandi, starr Connor Storrie, Lilly Krug, Tudor Chirilă, Șerban Pavlu, and Tourialay Akbari).

            • “Verity” and “Digger”

            17 min
          • October 1, 2026, with Dave and Darren — “Primetime,” “Heart of the Beast,” and “Forgotten Island”

            Dave Levora, Darren Pitra, and Mike Schulz discuss film and the limited number of ways one can pronounce “Anaconda.”

            Scrutinized:

            • Primetime (dir Lance Oppenheim, starr Robert Pattinson, Merritt Wever, Skyler Gisondo, and Phoebe Bridgers).
            • Heart of the Beast (dir David Ayer, starr Brad Pitt, J K Simmons, Anna Lambe, and Uber).
            • The Disney animated fantasy comedy Forgotten Island (irs. Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado, voice H E R [aka Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson], Liza Soberano, Dave Franco, Jenny Slate, Manny Jacinto, Dolly de Leon, Jo Koy, Ronny Chieng, Kevin McCann, and Lea Salonga).

              • To be scrutinized:

              • Verity (dir Michael Showalter, starr Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson, Josh Hartnett, Ismael Cruz Córdova, and Irina Dvorovenko).
              • Digger (dir Alejandro G Iñárritu, starr Sabina Berman, Alexander Dinelaris Jr, and Nicolás Giacobone).
              • Rolling Loud: The Movie (dir Jeremy Garelick, starr Owen Wilson, Matt Rife, Christine Ko, Christian Convery, Henry Winkler, Jolene Blalock, Sexyy Red, Ty Dolla Sign, Ski Mask the Slump God, and Travis Scott).

                • “Primetime,” “Heart of the Beast,” and “Forgotten Island”

                19 min
              • September 24, 2026, with Dave and Darren — “Resident Evil,” “The Weight,” and “Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom”

                Dave Levora, Darren Pitra, and Mike Schulz talk film and wonder aloud what will happen when super-hero films become a ruinous investment for the movie studios.

                Under present scrutinization:

                • The Resident Evil reboot (dir Zach Cregger, starr Austin Abrams, Zach Cherry, Kali Reis, Johnno Wilson, and Paul Walter Hauser).
                • The Weight (dir Padraic McKinley, starr Ethan Hawke, Russell Crowe, Julia Jones, Austin Amelio, Avi Nash, Lucas Lynggaad Tonnesen, George Burgess, Cameron Brady, Avy Berry, Alec Newman, and Sam Hazeldine).
                • The stop-motion animated comedy horror Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom (dirs Steve Cox and Matthew Walker, voice Justin Fletcher, John Sparkes, Kate Harbour, Dani Dyer, Roman Kemp, Nina Sosanya, and Paul Whitehouse).

                  • Under future scrutinization:

                  • Heart of the Beast (dir David Ayer, starr Brad Pitt, J K Simmons, Anna Lambe, and Uber).
                  • Primetime (dir Lance Oppenheim, starr Robert Pattinson, Merritt Wever, Skyler Gisondo, and Phoebe Bridgers).
                  • The Disney animated fantasy comedy Forgotten Island (dirs Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado, voice H E R [aka Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson], Liza Soberano, Dave Franco, Jenny Slate, Manny Jacinto, Dolly de Leon, Jo Koy, Ronny Chieng, Kevin McCann, and Lea Salonga).
                  • An encore presentation of Avengers: Endgame with new footage, a custom introduction, and a new post-credits scene — a grand total of two additional minutes (dirs Anthony and Joe Russo, starr Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Paul Rudd, Brie Larson, Karen Gillan, Danai Gurira, Benedict Wong, Jon Favreau, Bradley Cooper, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Josh Brolin).

                    • “Resident Evil,” “The Weight,” and “Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom”

                    16 min
                  • September 17, 2026, with Dave and Darren — “Practical Magic 2,” “The Uprising,” “Runner,” and “Hope”

                    Dave Levora, Darren Pitra, and Mike Schulz talk film and the demerits (considerable) and merits (nugatory) of Oasis.

                    Under present scrutinization:

                    • Practical Magic 2 (dir Susanne Bier, starr Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Dianne Wiest, Stockard Channing, Joey King, Lee Pace, Maisie Williams, and Xolo Maridueña).
                    • The Runner (dir Kevin Macdonald, starr Gal Gadot, Damian Lewis, and Alfred Enoch).
                    • The Uprising (dir Paul Greengrass, starr Andrew Garfield, Jamie Bell, Stephen Dillane, Tom Hollander, Cosmo Jarvis, Thomasin McKenzie, Jonny Lee Miller, Woody Norman, and Katherine Waterston).
                    • Hope (dir Na Hong-jin, starr Hwang Jung-min, Zo In-sung, Jung Ho-yeon, Taylor Russell, Cameron Britton, Alicia Vikander, and Michael Fassbender).
                    • The rock documentary Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger (dirs Will Lovelace and Dylan Southern, starr los hermanos Gallagher).

                      • Under future scrutinization:

                      • The Resident Evil reboot (dir Zach Cregger, starr Austin Abrams, Zach Cherry, Kali Reis, Johnno Wilson, and Paul Walter Hauser).
                      • The stop-motion animated comedy horror Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom (dirs Steve Cox and Matthew Walker, voice Justin Fletcher, John Sparkes, Kate Harbour, Dani Dyer, Roman Kemp, Nina Sosanya, and Paul Whitehouse).
                      • The Weight (dir Padraic McKinley, starr Ethan Hawke, Russell Crowe, Julia Jones, Austin Amelio, Avi Nash, Lucas Lynggaad Tonnesen, George Burgess, Cameron Brady, Avy Berry, Alec Newman, and Sam Hazeldine).

                        • “Practical Magic 2,” “The Uprising,” “Runner,” and “Hope”

                        17 min
                      • September 10, 2026, with Dave and Darren — “By Any Means,” “Onslaught,” “Fall 2: Deadpoint,” and “Mother Mary”

                        Dave Levora, Darren Pitra, and Mike Schulz talk film and the launch of the Mystery Science Theater 3000 reboot. Score!

                        Under scrutiny:

                        • By Any Means (dir Elegance Bratton, starr Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Mark Wahlberg, Nicole Beharie, Josh Lucas, LisaGay Hamilton, LaChanze, Ethan Embry, David Strathairn, and Giancarlo Esposito).
                        • Onslaught (dir Adam Wingard, starr Adria Arjona, Dan Stevens, Eric Wareheim, Reginald VelJohnson, Michael Biehn, Alex Pereira, Drew Starkey, and Rebecca Hall).
                        • Fall 2: Deadpoint (dirs Peter and Michael Spierig, starr Harriet Slater, Arsema Thomas, Tom Brittney, and Grace Caroline Currey).

                          • Under future scrutiny:

                          • Practical Magic 2 (dir Susanne Bier, starr Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Dianne Wiest, Stockard Channing, Joey King, Lee Pace, Maisie Williams, and Xolo Maridueña).
                          • The Runner (dir Kevin Macdonald, starr Gal Gadot, Damian Lewis, and Alfred Enoch).
                          • The Uprising (dir Paul Greengrass, starr Andrew Garfield, Jamie Bell, Stephen Dillane, Tom Hollander, Cosmo Jarvis, Thomasin McKenzie, Jonny Lee Miller, Woody Norman, and Katherine Waterston).
                          • Hope (dir Na Hong-jin, starr Hwang Jung-min, Zo In-sung, Jung Ho-yeon, Taylor Russell, Cameron Britton, Alicia Vikander, and Michael Fassbender).
                          • The rock documentary Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger (dirs Will Lovelace and Dylan Southern, starr figure it out, alright?).

                            • “By Any Means,” “Onslaught,” “Fall 2: Deadpoint,” and “Mother Mary”

                            21 min
                          • September 3, 2026, with Dave and Darren — “Coyote vs Acme,” “It Ends,” “Buddy,” “The Dog Stars,” and “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma”

                            Dave Levora, Darren Pitra, and Mike Schulz talk film and the latest of Mark Wahlberg’s crimes against humanity.

                            Under review:

                            • Coyote vs Acme (dir Dave Green, starr Will Forte, Lana Condor, Tone Bell, Luis Guzmán, Martha Kelly, P J Byrne, Kenneth Choi, and John Cena; voice Eric Bauza, Candi Milo, and Jim Cummings).
                            • It Ends (dir Alexander Ullom, starr Phinehas Yoon, Akira Jackson, Noah Toth, and Mitchell Cole).
                            • Buddy (dir Casper Kelly, starr Cristin Milioti, Delaney Quinn, Patton Oswalt, Michael Shannon, Topher Grace, and Keegan-Michael Key).
                            • The Dog Stars (dir Ridley Scott, starr Jacob Elordi, Josh Brolin, Margaret Qualley, and Guy Pearce).
                            • Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (dir Jane Schoenbrun, starr Hannah Einbinder, Gillian Anderson, Jack Haven, Arthur Conti, Eva Victor, Zach Cherry, Sarah Sherman, Dylan Baker, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Quintessa Swindell, Kevin McDonald, Jess McLeod, Aren Buchholz, Florence Barrett, Ryan McEwen, Louise Weard, and Patrick Fischler).

                              • Under consideration for forthcoming review:

                              • Onslaught (dir Adam Wingard, starr Adria Arjona, Dan Stevens, Eric Wareheim, Reginald VelJohnson, Michael Biehn, Alex Pereira, Drew Starkey, and Rebecca Hall).
                              • Fall 2: Deadpoint (dirs Peter and Michael Spierig, starr Harriet Slater, Arsema Thomas, Tom Brittney, and Grace Caroline Currey).
                              • By Any Means (dir Elegance Bratton, starr Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Mark Wahlberg, Nicole Beharie, Josh Lucas, LisaGay Hamilton, LaChanze, Ethan Embry, David Strathairn, and Giancarlo Esposito).

                                • “Coyote vs Acme,” “It Ends,” “Buddy,” “The Dog Stars,” and “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma”

                                20 min
                              • August 27, 2026, with Dave and Darren — “Insidious: Out of the Further,” “Tony,” “The Magic Faraway Tree,” “Mutiny,” and “Spa Weekend”

                                Dave Levora, Darren Pitra, and Mike Schulz talk film and the unmissability of Buddy.

                                Reviewed:

                                • Insidious: Out of the Further (dir Jacob Chase, starr Amelia Eve, Brandon Perea, Maisie Richardson-Sellers, and Lin Shaye).
                                • Tony (dir Matt Johnson, starr Dominic Sessa as Bourdain, Emilia Jones, Dagmara Domińczyk, Rich Sommer, Stavros Halkias, Leo Woodall, and Antonio Banderas).
                                • The Magic Faraway Tree (dir Ben Gregor, starr Andrew Garfield, Claire Foy, Nonso Anozie, Nicola Coughlan, Jessica Gunning, Jennifer Saunders, and Rebecca Ferguson).
                                • Mutiny (dir Jean-François Richet, starr Jason Statham, Annabelle Wallis, Adrian Lester, Jason Wong, Roland Møller, Arnas Fedaravicius, Adrian Lester, and Ramon Tikaram).
                                • Spa Weekend (dirs Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, starr Isla Fisher, Leslie Mann, Anna Faris, and Michelle Buteau).

                                  • Forthcoming:

                                  • Coyote vs Acme (dir Dave Green, starr Will Forte, Lana Condor, Tone Bell, Luis Guzmán, Martha Kelly, P J Byrne, Kenneth Choi, and John Cena; voice Eric Bauza, Candi Milo, and Jim Cummings).
                                  • The Dog Stars (dir Ridley Scott, starr Jacob Elordi, Josh Brolin, Margaret Qualley, and Guy Pearce).
                                  • Finding Emily (dir Alicia MacDonald, starr Angourie Rice, Spike Fearn, Minnie Driver, Sadie Soverall, Cora Kirk, Jack Riddiford, Isabella Laughland, Yali Topol Margalith, Kat Ronney, Phil Wang, Timothy Innes, Nadia Parkes, Prasanna Puwanarajah, Amber Grappy, Anthony J Abraham, Scarlett-Mai Grant, Faye Campbell, Tash Major, Carl Blakeley, Julia Rogers, Trudy Akobeng, Fiona Allen, Toby Rothwell, Dalu Thebe, Emily Ash, Nathan Foad, Hannah Greensmith, and Harry Trevaldwyn).
                                  • It Ends (dir Alexander Ullom, starr Phinehas Yoon, Akira Jackson, Noah Toth, and Mitchell Cole).
                                  • Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (dir Jane Schoenbrun, starr Hannah Einbinder, Gillian Anderson, Jack Haven, Arthur Conti, Eva Victor, Zach Cherry, Sarah Sherman, Dylan Baker, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Quintessa Swindell, Kevin McDonald, Jess McLeod, Aren Buchholz, Florence Barrett, Ryan McEwen, Louise Weard, and Patrick Fischler).
                                  • Idiots (dir Macon Blair, starr Dave Franco, O’Shea Jackson Jr, Mason Thames, Kiernan Shipka, Nicholas Braun, and Peter Dinklage).
                                  • Legend of the White Dragon (dirs Sean and Aaron Schoenke, starr Jason David Frank, Jason Faunt, Cerina Vincent, Ciara Hanna, Aaron Schoenke, David Ramsey, Rachele Brooke Smith, Andrew Bachelor, Michael Madsen, and Mark Dacascos).
                                  • Colony (dir Yeon Sang-ho, starr Jun Ji-hyun, Koo Kyo-hwan, Ji Chang-wook, Kim Shin-rok, Shin Hyun-been, and Go Soo).
                                  • Buddy (dir Casper Kelly, starr Cristin Milioti, Delaney Quinn, Patton Oswalt, Michael Shannon, Topher Grace, and Keegan-Michael Key).

                                    • “Insidious: Out of the Further,” “Tony,” “The Magic Faraway Tree,” “Mutiny,” and “Spa Weekend”

                                    22 min
                                  • August 20, 2026, with Dave and Darren — “The End of Oak Street,” “The Brink of War,” “Nimrods,” and “The Last House”

                                    Dave Levora, Darren Pitra, and Mike Schulz talk film and the ungodly plethora of previews.

                                    In theatres now:

                                    • The End of Oak Street (dir David Robert Mitchell, starr Anne Hathaway, Ewan McGregor, Maisy Stella, and Christian Convery).
                                    • The Brink of War (dir Michael Russell Gunn, starr Jeff Daniels, Jared Harris, J K Simmons, Hope Davis, Branka Katić, Aya Cash, Guy Burnet, John Ross Bowie, Adrian Rawlins, and Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson).
                                    • Nimrods (dir Lee Kirk, starr Mason Thames, Kylr Coffman, Ryan Foust, Jenna Fischer, Angela Kinsey, Fred Armisen, Bobby Lee, Jolene Keen Ruffalo, Ignacio Diaz-Silverio, Sean Gunn, Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, Tré Cool, and Mckenna Grace).
                                    • The Last House (dir Louis Leterrier, starr Greta Lee, Wagner Moura, Riley Chung, Emma Ho, Noah Alexander Sosnowski, Gabriel Chung, Audrey Anderson, Ali Asghar Shah, Sid Edwards, and Eveline Reynolds-Boison).

                                      • Forthcoming:

                                      • Insidious: Out of the Further (dir Jacob Chase, starr Amelia Eve, Brandon Perea, Maisie Richardson-Sellers, and Lin Shaye).
                                      • Mutiny (dir Jean-François Richet, starr Jason Statham, Annabelle Wallis, Adrian Lester, Jason Wong, Roland Møller, Arnas Fedaravicius, Adrian Lester, and Ramon Tikaram).
                                      • Tony (dir Matt Johnson, starr Dominic Sessa as Bourdain, Emilia Jones, Dagmara Domińczyk, Rich Sommer, Stavros Halkias, Leo Woodall, and Antonio Banderas).
                                      • The Magic Faraway Tree (dir Ben Gregor, starr Andrew Garfield, Claire Foy, Nonso Anozie, Nicola Coughlan, Jessica Gunning, Jennifer Saunders, and Rebecca Ferguson).
                                      • Spa Weekend (dirs Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, starr Isla Fisher, Leslie Mann, Anna Faris, and Michelle Buteau).
                                      • It Ends (starr Alexander Ullom, starr Phinehas Yoon, Akira Jackson, Noah Toth, Mitchell Cole, Jon Linstad, Jenny Doyle, and Ian Weir).
                                      • Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (dir Jane Schoenbrun, starr Hannah Einbinder, Gillian Anderson, Jack Haven, and Patrick Fischler).

                                        • “The End of Oak Street,” “The Brink of War,” “Nimrods,” and “The Last House”

                                        21 min
                                      • August 13, 2026, with Dave and Darren — “One Night Only,” “I Want Your Sex,” and “Ice Cream Man”

                                        Dave Levora, Darren Pitra, and Mike Schulz talk film and the odd bluegrass musician.

                                        Under review:

                                        • One Night Only (dir Will Gluck, starr Monica Barbaro, Callum Turner, Maya Hawke, Julia Fox, Molly Ringwald, LeVar Burton, Okieriete Onaodowan, Este Haim, Ziwe, King Princess, Ben Marshall, Nicholas Braun, Quintessa Swindell, Michelle Hurd, Charlie Gillespie, Kam Patterson, Pete Davidson, Bobby Canavale, and Jay Ellis).
                                        • I Want Your Sex (dir Gregg Araki, starr Olivia Wilde, Cooper Hoffman, Mason Gooding, Chase Sui Wonders, Johnny Knoxville, Margaret Cho, Roxane Mesquida, Charli XCX, and Daveed Diggs).
                                        • Ice Cream Man (dir Eli Roth, starr Ari Millen, Charlie Zeltzer, Shiloh O’Reilly, Kiori Mirza Waldman, Sarah Abbott, and Benjamin Byron Davis).

                                          • Coming attractions:

                                          • Nimrods (dir Lee Kirk, starr Mason Thames, Kylr Coffman, Ryan Foust, Jenna Fischer, Angela Kinsey, Fred Armisen, Bobby Lee, Jolene Keen Ruffalo, Ignacio Diaz-Silverio, Sean Gunn, Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, Tré Cool, and Mckenna Grace).
                                          • The End of Oak Street (dir David Robert Mitchell, starr Anne Hathaway, Ewan McGregor, Maisy Stella, and Christian Convery).
                                          • The animated adventure comedy Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie (dir Cal Brunker, voice Carter Young, Mckenna Grace, Terry Crews, Jennifer Hudson, Fortune Feimster, Jameela Jamil, Bill Nye, Paris Hilton, Snoop Dogg, and Henry Bolan).
                                          • The filmed stage musical SIX The Musical Live!
                                          • The Brink of War (dir Michael Russell Gunn, starr Jeff Daniels, Jared Harris, J K Simmons, Hope Davis, Branka Katić, Aya Cash, Guy Burnet, John Ross Bowie, Adrian Rawlins, and Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson).

                                            • The Rivals of Amziah King (dir Andrew Patterson, starr Matthew McConaughey, Angelina LookingGlass, Scott Shepherd, Rob Morgan, Tony Revolori, and Kurt Russell).

                                            “One Night Only,” “I Want Your Sex,” and “Ice Cream Man”

                                            18 min

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