River Cities Reader Podcast

River Cities Reader Podcast

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River Cities Reader Podcast episodes

  • May 28, 2026, with Dave and Darren — “Star Wars: The Mandalorian & Grogu,” “I Love Boosters,” and “Passenger”

    Dave Levora, Darren Pitra, and Mike Schulz discuss film. This week’s batch? Not encouraging to the future of the human species.

    In theatrers:

    • The Mandalorian & Grogu (dir Jon Favreau, starr Pedro Pascal, Brendan Wayne, Lateef Crowder, Jeremy Allen White, and Sigourney Weaver).
    • I Love Boosters (dir Boots Riley, starr Keke Palmer, Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, Poppy Liu, Eiza González, LaKeith Stanfield, Will Poulter, Don Cheadle, and Demi Moore).
    • Passenger (dir André Øvredal, starr Jacob Scipio, Lou Llobell, Melissa Leo, and Joseph Lopez).

      • In transit:

      • Backrooms (dir Kane Parsons, starr Chiwetel Ejiofor, Renate Reinsve, Mark Duplass, Finn Bennett, and Lukita Maxwell).
      • Pressure (dir Anthony Maras, starr Andrew Scott, Brendan Fraser, Kerry Condon, Chris Messina, and Damian Lewis).
      • The Breadwinner (dir Eric Appel, starr Appel, Mandy Moore, Colin Jost, Zach Cherry, Martin Herlihy, Kumail Nanjiani, and Will Forte).

        • “Star Wars: The Mandalorian & Grogu,” “I Love Boosters,” and “Passenger”

        20 min
      • May 21, 2026, with Dave and Darren — “Obsession,” “Is God Is,” “In the Grey,” and “Marty, Life Is Short”

        Dave Levora, Darren Pitra, and Mike Schulz discuss film. Why is it that most Star Wars fans and that includes Levora are incapable of ginning up much enthusiasm for The Mandalorian & Grogu? Could it be that the last few franchise films, umm, sucked?

        Reviewed:

        • Obsession (dir Curry Barker, starr Michael Johnston, (Inde Navarrette, Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless, and Andy Richter).
        • Is God Is (dir Aleshea Harris, starr Kara Young, Mallori Johnson, Janelle Monáe, Vivica A Fox, and Sterling K Brown).
        • In the Grey (dir Guy Ritchie, starr Henry Cavill, Jake Gyllenhaal, Eiza González, Kristofer Hivju, Fisher Stevens, and Rosamund Pike).
        • The Netflix documentary Marty, Life is Short

          • Previewed:

          • Passenger (dir André Øvredal, starr Jacob Scipio, Lou Llobell, Melissa Leo, and Joseph Lopez).
          • I Love Boosters (dir Boots Riley, starr Keke Palmer, Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, Poppy Liu, Eiza González, LaKeith Stanfield, Will Poulter, Don Cheadle, and Demi Moore).
          • The Mandalorian & Grogu (dir Jon Favreau, starr Pedro Pascal, Brendan Wayne, Lateef Crowder, Jeremy Allen White, and Sigourney Weaver).

            • “Obsession,” “Is God Is,” “In the Grey,” and “Marty, Life Is Short”

            20 min
          • May 14, 2026, with Dave and Darren — “The Sheep Detectives,” “Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard & Soft: The Tour Live in 3D,” and “Mortal Kombat II”

            Dave Levora, Darren Pitra, and Mike Schulz discuss film. Did you know Dave has never watched Dazed and Confused? This news left us floored; and now we don’t know what to do. Perhaps a visit to a screening of the film at The Last Picture House will set us straight and informed.

            Film in theatres:

            • The Sheep Detectives (dir Kyle Balda, starr Hugh Jackman, Nicholas Braun, Nicholas Galitzine, Molly Gordon, Hong Chau, and Emma Thompson; voice Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Bryan Cranston, Chris O’Dowd, Regina Hall, Patrick Stewart, Bella Ramsey, and Brett Goldstein)
            • The concert film Billie Eilish — Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D) (dir James Cameron).
            • Mortal Kombat II (dir Simon McQuoid, starr Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Ludi Lin, Mehcad Brooks, Lewis Tan, Damon Herriman, Chin Han, Tadanobu Asano, Joe Taslim, Hiroyuki Sanada, Karl Urban, Adeline Rudolph, and Tati Gabrielle).

              • Film forthcoming:

              • Obsession (dir Curry Barker, starr Michael Johnston, (Inde Navarrette, Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless, and Andy Richter).
              • Is God Is (dir Aleshea Harris, starr Kara Young, Mallori Johnson, Janelle Monáe, Vivica A Fox, and Sterling K Brown).
              • In the Grey (dir Guy Ritchie, starr Henry Cavill, Jake Gyllenhaal, Eiza González, Kristofer Hivju, Fisher Stevens, and Rosamund Pike).

                • “The Sheep Detectives,” “Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard & Soft: The Tour Live in 3D,” and “Mortal Kombat II”

                16 min
              • May 7, 2026, with Dave and Darren — “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” “Hokum,” “Deep Water,” and “Animal Farm”

                Dave Levora, Darren Pitra, and Mike Schulz discuss film and whether the forthcoming Billie Eilish concert film will open up a dimensional portal.

                On screen:

                • The Devil Wears Prada 2 (dir David Frankel, starr Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, Stanley Tucci, Justin Theroux, and Kenneth Branagh).
                • Hokum (dir Damian McCarthy, starr Adam Scott, Peter Coonan, David Wilmot, Florence Ordesh, Michael Patric, Will O’Connell, Brendan Conroy, and Austin Amelio).
                • Deep Water (dir Renny Harlin, starr Aaron Eckhart, Ben Kingsley, Kelly Gale, Madeleine West, Kate Fitzpatrick, Molly Belle Wright, Jacqueline Lee Geurts, and Lakota Johnson).
                • Animal Farm (dir Andy Serkis, voice AS, Seth Rogen, Gaten Matarazzo, Kieran Culkin, Glenn Close, Laverne Cox, Steve Buscemi, Woody Harrelson, Jim Parsons, Kathleen Turner, and Iman Vellani).

                  • Forthcoming:

                  • Mortal Kombat II (dir Simon McQuoid, starr Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Ludi Lin, Mehcad Brooks, Lewis Tan, Damon Herriman, Chin Han, Tadanobu Asano, Joe Taslim, Hiroyuki Sanada, Karl Urban, Adeline Rudolph, and Tati Gabrielle).
                  • The Sheep Detectives (dir Kyle Balda, starr Hugh Jackman, Nicholas Braun, Nicholas Galitzine, Molly Gordon, Hong Chau, and Emma Thompson; voice Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Bryan Cranston, Chris O’Dowd, Regina Hall, Patrick Stewart, Bella Ramsey, and Brett Goldstein).
                  • The concert film Billie Eilish — Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D) (dir James Cameron).

                    • “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” “Hokum,” “Deep Water,” and “Animal Farm”

                    14 min
                  • April 30, 2026, with Dave and Darren — “Michael,” “I Swear,” and “Over Your Dead Body”

                    Dave Levora, Darren Pitra, and Mike Schulz discuss film while Dave expresses strong feelings about the impending release of The Mandalorian & Grogu.

                    Here and now:

                    • Michael (dir Antoine Fuqua, starr Jaafar Jackson, Juliano Krue Valdi, Nia Long, KeiLyn Durrel Jones, Laura Harrier, Jessica Sula, Mike Myers, Miles Teller, and Colman Domingo).
                    • I Swear (dir Kirk Jones, starr Robert Aramayo, Maxine Peake, Shirley Henderson, Peter Mullan, and Scott Ellis Watson).
                    • Over Your Dead Body (dir Jorma Taccone, starr Jason Segel, Samara Weaving, Paul Guilfoyle, Keith Jardine, Timothy Olyphant, and Juliette Lewis).

                      • Hence and later:

                      • The Devil Wears Prada 2 (dir David Frankel, starr Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, Stanley Tucci, Justin Theroux, and Kenneth Branagh).
                      • Animal Farm (dir Andy Serkis, voice AS, Seth Rogen, Gaten Matarazzo, Kieran Culkin, Glenn Close, Laverne Cox, Steve Buscemi, Woody Harrelson, Jim Parsons, Kathleen Turner, and Iman Vellani).
                      • Deep Water (dir Renny Harlin, starr Aaron Eckhart, Ben Kingsley, Kelly Gale, Madeleine West, Kate Fitzpatrick, Molly Belle Wright, Jacqueline Lee Geurts, and Lakota Johnson).
                      • Hokum (dir Damian McCarthy, starr Adam Scott, Peter Coonan, David Wilmot, Florence Ordesh, Michael Patric, Will O’Connell, Brendan Conroy, and Austin Amelio).

                        • “Michael,” “I Swear,” and “Over Your Dead Body”

                        24 min
                      • April 23, 2026, with Dave and Darren — “Lee Cronin’s the Mummy,” “Normal,” “Lorne,” and “Busboys”

                        Dave Levora, Darren Pitra, and Mike Schulz review the latest crop of cinema and anticipate those on their way. Also, Schulz discusses why he thinks Busboys might be his least-favorite movie of the Snorin’ Twenties. Who would know more about why Schulz feels this way about Busboys than Schulz himself?

                        In theatres:

                        • The Mummy (dir Lee Cronin, starr Jack Reynor, Laia Costa, May Calamawy, Natalie Grace, and Verónica Falcón).
                        • Normal (dir Derek Kolstad, starr Bob Odenkirk, Henry Winkler, and Lena Headey).
                        • The documentary Lorne (dir Morgan Neville, starr a select amount of SNL talking heads).
                        • Busboys (dir Jonah Feingold, starr David Spade, Theo Von, Tim Dillon, Bobby Lee, Trevor Wallace, Jay Pharoah, Charlotte McKinney, and Chris Elliott).

                          • Coming to a theatre near you:

                          • Michael (dir Antoine Fuqua, starr Jaafar Jackson, Juliano Krue Valdi, Nia Long, KeiLyn Durrel Jones, Laura Harrier, Jessica Sula, Mike Myers, Miles Teller, and Colman Domingo).
                          • Mother Mary (dir David Lowery, starr Anne Hathaway, Michaela Coel, Hunter Schafer, FKA Twigs, Atheena Frizzell, Kaia Gerber, Jessica Brown Findlay, Isaura Barbé-Brown, Sian Clifford, and Alba Baptista).
                          • Over Your Dead Body (dir Jorma Taccone, starr Jason Segel, Samara Weaving, Paul Guilfoyle, Keith Jardine, Timothy Olyphant, and Juliette Lewis).
                          • I Swear (dir Kirk Jones, starr Robert Aramayo, Maxine Peake, Shirley Henderson, Peter Mullan, and Scott Ellis Watson).

                            • “Lee Cronin’s the Mummy,” “Normal,” “Lorne,” and “Busboys”

                            21 min
                          • April 16, 2026, with Dave and Darren — “Faces of Death,” “You, Me & Tuscany,” and “Mr Nobody Against Putin”

                            Dave Levora, Darren Pitra, and Mike Schulz love kung fu movies in 33mm stock — great taste, impractical format. Happily, The Last Picture House will be playing nine such films on April 17 and 18. Capital luck there! And they review movies.

                            In house:

                            • Faces of Death (dir Daniel Goldhaber, starr Barbie Ferreira, Dacre Montgomery, Josie Totah, Aaron Holliday, Jermaine Fowler, and Charli XCX).
                            • You, Me, and Tuscany (dir Kat Coiro, starr Halle Bailey, Regé-Jean Page, Marco Calvani, Lorenzo de Moor, Aziza Scott, Nia Vardalos, Isabella Ferrari, and Emanuele Pacca).
                            • The documentary Mr Nobody Against Putin (dirs David Borenstein and Pavel Talankin).

                              • On their way:

                              • The Mummy (dir Lee Cronin, starr Jack Reynor, Laia Costa, May Calamawy, Natalie Grace, and Verónica Falcón).
                              • Normal (dir Derek Kolstad, starr Bob Odenkirk, Henry Winkler, and Lena Headey).
                              • The documentary Lorne (dir Morgan Neville, starr a select amount of SNL talking heads).
                              • Busboys (dir Jonah Feingold, starr David Spade, Theo Von, Tim Dillon, Bobby Lee, Trevor Wallace, Jay Pharoah, Charlotte McKinney, and Chris Elliott).

                                • “Faces of Death,” “You, Me & Tuscany,” and “Mr Nobody Against Putin”

                                15 min
                              • April 9, 2026, with Dave and Darren — “The Drama,” “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” and “Pizza Movie”

                                Dave Levora, Darren Pitra, and Mike Schulz remain besotted by the forthcoming Oscar ceremony while still managing to discuss cinema both in-house and on the make. Levora’s case that The Drama would win an Oscar for Best Trailer has left folks wondering if there should be a whole different award ceremony to celebrate the work of the advertisers in selling those films to the moviegoing public. What would we call them? The Mopies (a shortening of “Motion Picture Arts and Sciences”)? Would the statuettes be cast in an Art Nouveau mold to contrast it with the Oscars’ Art Deco style? All very worthwhile questions.

                                In-house:

                                • The Drama (dir Kristoffer Borgli, starr starr Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Mamoudou Athie, Alana Haim, Hailey Gates, Sydney Lemmon, Zoë Winters, Anna Baryshnikov, and Michael Abbott Jr).
                                • The animated action-adventure comedy The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (dirs Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, voice Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, Keegan-Michael Key, Benny Safdie, Donald Glover, Glen Powell, and Brie Larson).
                                • Pizza Movie (dirs Brian McElhaney and Nick Kocher, starr Gaten Matarazzo, Sean Giambrone, Lulu Wilson, Jack Martin, Peyton Elizabeth Lee, Marcus Scribner, Caleb Hearon, Sarah Sherman, Justin Cooley, and Daniel Radcliffe).

                                  • Out-house:

                                  • You, Me, and Tuscany (dir Kat Coiro, starr Halle Bailey, Regé-Jean Page, Marco Calvani, Lorenzo de Moor, Aziza Scott, Nia Vardalos, Isabella Ferrari, and Emanuele Pacca).
                                  • Beast (dir Tyler Atkins, starr Russell Crowe, Luke Hemsworth, Daniel MacPherson, Mojean Aria, Kelly Gale, George Burgess, Bren Foster, Saphira Moran, and Amy Shark).
                                  • Faces of Death (dir Daniel Goldhaber, starr Barbie Ferreira, Dacre Montgomery, Josie Totah, Aaron Holliday, Jermaine Fowler, and Charli XCX).

                                    • “The Drama,” “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” and “Pizza Movie”

                                    16 min
                                  • April 2, 2026, with Dave and Darren — “Project Hail Mary,” “Ready or Not 2: Here I Come,” “The Pout-Pout Fish,” “They Will Kill You,” and “Forbidden Fruits”

                                    Dave Levora, Darren Pitra, and Mike Schulz have moved their weekly round table from 8:15AM to 9:45AM, which seems preferable. They have twelve minutes to get their thoughts out on what’s in theatre and what’s coming. Amazingly, they cover a lot of ground and come in under the time limit.

                                    In theatre:

                                    • Project Hail Mary (dirs Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, starr Ryan Gosling, Sandra Hüller, James Ortiz, and Lionel Boyce).
                                    • Ready or Not 2: Here I Come (dirs Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, starr Samara Weaving, Kathryn Newton, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Shawn Hatosy, David Cronenberg, and Elijah Wood).
                                    • The animated fantasy comedy film The Pout-Pout Fish (dirs Ricard Cussó and Rio Harrington, voice Nick Offerman, Nina Oyama, Miranda Otto, Remy Hii, Jordin Sparks, Amy Sedaris, Nazeem Hussain, Mark Coles Smith, Grant Denyer, Lloyd Langford, and Mel Buttle).
                                    • They Will Kill You (dir Kirill Sokolov, starr Zazie Beetz, Myha’la, Paterson Joseph, Tom Felton, Heather Graham, and Patricia Arquette).
                                    • Forbidden Fruits (dir Lili Reinhart, Lola Tung, Victoria Pedretti, Alexandra Shipp, Emma Chamberlain, and Gabrielle Union).
                                    • The animated adventure comedy The Super Mario Galaxy (dirs Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, voice Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, Keegan-Michael Key, and Kevin Michael Richardson, Benny Safdie, Donald Glover, Issa Rae, Luis Guzmán, and Brie Larson).

                                      • On Its Way:

                                      • The Drama (dir Kristoffer Borgli, starr Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Mamoudou Athie, Alana Haim, Hailey Gates, Sydney Lemmon, Zoë Winters, Anna Baryshnikov, and Michael Abbott Jr).

                                        • “Project Hail Mary,” “Ready or Not 2: Here I Come,” and “The Pout-Pout Fish”

                                        “They Will Kill You” and “Forbidden Fruits”

                                        12 min
                                      • March 19, 2026, with Dave and Darren — “Reminders of Him” and “undertone”

                                        Dave Levora, Darren Pitra, and Mike Schulz loved the Oscars — why didn’t you?

                                        The afore-discussed:

                                        • Reminders of Him (dir Vanessa Caswill, starr Maika Monroe, Tyriq Withers, Rudy Pankow, Lainey Wilson (in her film debut), Lauren Graham, and Bradley Whitford).
                                        • undertone (dir Ian Tuason, starr Nina Kiri, Adam DiMarco, Michèle Duquet, Keana Lyn Bastidas, Jeff Yung, Sarah Beaudin, and Brian Quintero).

                                          • The soon-to-be-afore-discussed:

                                          • Project Hail Mary (dirs Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, starr Ryan Gosling, Sandra Hüller, James Ortiz, and Lionel Boyce).
                                          • Ready or Not 2: Here I Come (dirs Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, starr Samara Weaving, Kathryn Newton, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Shawn Hatosy, David Cronenberg, and Elijah Wood).

                                            • “Reminders of Him” and “Undertone”

                                            18 min

                                          About River Cities Reader Podcast

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                                          Live to tape interviews with Reader team members as guests on other broadcast, radio and podcast shows. Alive & Free Since 1993. The Quad Cities’ Independent Newspaper. Know More. Do More.