Screeners Podcast

We’re definitely in the middle of the Christmas season here in the US, but the Screeners keep ignoring Josh as he begs everyone to be patriotic and review some Hallmark movies like God intended. Instead, we’re talking about Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story this time. The movie features Adam Driver, whom you may remember from a recent Amazon movie about physical torture, in a Netflix movie about emotional torture. ‘Tis the season, right?

And speaking of seasons, award season is in full swing, so let's talk about the Golden Globes! Daniel walks us through the nominations, and the state of the Oscar race.

Anyway, people on Twitter like it, so we’re going to talk about it. Enjoy, and send us your favorite memes on—you guessed it—Facebook or Twitter. If you’re feeling extra-festive, just post them both places; we won’t tell.

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The first Screeners episode of December is anything but short on content—the two movies we’re reviewing represent nearly 6 hours of total runtime. That’s not stopping the critics from gushing about either of them, but this is our show, so we’ll get the final word, thanks.

Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman, now on Netflix after a short run in the theaters, has been in the works for over a decade. The true story has heavy hitters like Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Al Pacino playing Teamsters and mobsters, which seems, shall we say, within their comfort zone. It’s three and a half hours long, though, so is it worth the commitment? Let’s see if we can tell you in less time than it would take you to watch it.

Now, in the spirit of changing gears just a bit, let’s talk about Rian Johnson’s Drama/Mystery/dark comedy Knives Out. The words “whodunnit” and “murder mystery” get thrown around a lot in the reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, but almost always alongside phrases like “more than a” and “not your typical”, which makes one think the reviewers should maybe find something different to call it. Lazy writing aside, it’s getting good buzz, so time to see if the Screeners agree.

When you’ve fully processed all the content here, we’d love to hear what you have to think, and we’re pretty sure you know where to find us. Just in case, though, you know we’re going to remind you: Facebook and/or Twitter. See you there!

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When the Screeners have two reviews in a single episode, it’s pretty rare that they have anything to do with each other. Well, this is the exception that proves the rule. Our theme this episode is...um...”kids”. No, they’re not both kids’ movies per se, but they’re at least about family-friendly entertainment, so we’ll take what we can get.

You know we couldn’t let a shameless cash gra--er, we mean instant classic like Frozen 2 pass us by without at least a word or two, so there’s the first review. And Tom Hanks stars as American treasure Mr. Rogers in the biopic A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, so we’re definitely covering that too. After all, we have to determine whether it was worth being on Josh’s Summer Box Office list...last year.

Gather some G-rated feedback for this episode, and send it to us on Facebook or Twitter before we go back to talking about movies you can’t see with your kindergartner.

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Thrill ride or not, it would seem that most of the Screeners didn’t, um, race to the theater to see Ford v Ferrari. Guess they just live their lives in the slow lane. They should get into gear and go see the movie.

Just kidding; we had a few more scheduling conflicts than normal for this episode—and yes, we’ll stop with the clichés, since you asked so nicely. Anyway, Chad and April saw the movie, and they’re here to tell you whether all the engine noise and stunt driving should send you to the theater too.

And in case you haven’t already seen it on Facebook or Twitter, we figured we’d keep the racing theme going in our Top 3 this time. If you haven’t already cast your vote, well, the links are right there.

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Parasite, despite its subtitles, is a social media darling. Is it a thriller? A mystery? A dark comedy? Yes. So go to the theater and do some reading; at least you’ll be able to keep up with the memes.

That’s not all, though; we have news from a much more lucrative franchise to discuss. Disney’s new streaming service, Disney+, is live now, and it brings with it the Star Wars series The Mandalorian. Several of the Screeners are already on the subscriber roles, and they’re here to tell you if you should join them, either for The Mandalorian or something else.

One more thing! We also dive into the new Stephen King adaptation, Doctor Sleep, the sequel to The Shining. It's a PACKED episode, so hope you stay locked in!

Have you signed up for Bob Iger’s new cash cow yet? Let us know on Facebook or Twitter!

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Special Guest: Tyler Howat.

Sarah Connor is back, but that doesn’t seem to be helping Terminator: Dark Fate at the box office. In fact, it’s a bit of a bomb so far. That’s never stopped the Screeners from reviewing a movie before—but even more disappointing than the ticket sales is the fact that Chris couldn’t be here for this episode. Surely Arnold doesn’t have a chance for a good review now, does he? Maybe Cameron from Halt and Catch Fire can save the day, but we’re not holding our breath.

Oh, and speaking of Ahnold, this is as good a time as any to look back over his storied film career for a Top 3 segment, right? As always, give us your picks over on Facebook or Twitter, and maybe we’ll pick a less financially disastrous movie to talk about next time.

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Special Guest: Tyler Howat.

It looks like October is turning into Netflix Month on the Screeners. We just got done talking about El Camino, and since then, two — two! — more big releases have hit all the streaming devices near you. For this episode, we’ll be taking on Dolemite Is My Name and The Laundromat. Before we do, though, audience participation time: If you had to guess, which do you think got a better critical reception—a Steven Soderbergh drama about the Panama Papers, or a biopic about a vulgar 1970s comedian starring Eddie Murphy? After diving into those reviews, Chad, April, and Daniel play another round of The IMDB Game!

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We’re not sure whether Aaron Paul or Vince Gilligan just needed some cash, or whether it was Netflix’s version of Skynet that came up with the idea for El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, but the title sort of puts the odds in favor of the computer. Whatever its provenance, though, it’s ready to stream now, and there’s a chance it’s the best new release out there right now, so let’s go ahead and dissect it, shall we?

And while we’re on the topic, how about a Top 3 about movies no one want--er, movies based on TV shows? Yeah, “based on TV shows”. Good save there. Don’t forget to give us your picks on Facebook or Twitter!

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The new Batman movie isn’t really a Batman movie, but it’s definitely getting attention. Whether that attention (and Joker itself) is good or bad all depends on your perspective. We won’t take any position here; there will be plenty of time to do that in the episode. We have four hosts for this one, another who saw it but couldn’t make the recording, and even Josh wanted to see it in time, so that should tell you something.

And to maybe lighten the mood a bit, we have a brand-new game brought to us from another podcast by Daniel. No spoilers, but it involves IMDB profiles, and Josh would be terrible at it. Should be fun.

Tell us what you thought about Joker (and...IMDB?) on Facebook and Twitter!

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Special Guest: Tyler Howat.

Goldfinch may have been the first hint, but fall is definitely here now. Lined up (or “queued up”, as they say across the pond) for this episode, we have an intimate space drama starring Brad Pitt and a grand period drama starring...England.

As we write this, Downton Abbey actually has a one-point edge on Ad Astra in terms of Rotten Tomatoes score, so we’ll put that review first...OK; so we’re actually doing it that way because we’re not planning on dishing out any spoilers for the soap opera set on Earth, but we might for the one set in space. Anyway, let’s change the subject. Have you seen either film? Tell us on Facebook or Twitter!

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