Spoilerpiece Theatre

Welcome to wherever you are, peeps. And welcome to the last episode of November 2023. Megan and Dave start off talking about POOR THINGS (1:52), Yorgos Lanthimos' hard-to-describe (except we do) story of Bella (Emma Stone), a doctor (Willem Dafoe) who may be Victor Frankensteinesque, and her quest for knowledge and autonomy. It's a ride! And then everyone discusses FRYBREAD FACE AND ME (24:07), a sweet and bittersweet story of a boy from San Diego being sent to live with his grandmother on a Navajo reservation in Arizona. Over on Patreon, we talk about this month's poll winner, PACIFIC HEIGHTS.

To prosthetic nose or not to prosthetic nose, that is the question. If you've read anything about MAESTRO (3:20), Bradley Cooper's biopic of Leonard Bernstein (starring Cooper and Carey Mulligan), you've probably read about the nose. Well, how about the rest of the movie, damn it? That's what Megan and Dave are here to tell you. Then all three of us watched MAY DECEMBER (27:17), Todd Haynes' new drama starring Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman. If you're getting Mary Kay Letourneau vibes, you're not wrong! We got them, too. And over on Patreon, we discuss Edgar Wright's 2010 fantasy action comedy SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD, one of Evan's favorites, and a first-time watch for Megan and Dave.

EVAN RETURNS!!!!! He fills us in on what he's been doing, and then we get down to biz. First, we talk RUSTIN (3:27), George C. Wolfe's by-the-numbers biopic of gay Black activist Bayard Rustin elevated by Colman Domingo's masterful turn in the title role. Then it's THE MARVELS (26:22), Nia DaCosta's superhero film starring Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, and Iman Vellani, and we answer that age-old question: Does this new Marvel movie make up for the crud that is Phase Four? We have some mixed opinions (one of us found it fun!), as you may expect. Over on Patreon, we talk about the 1944 noir classic LAURA (it's Noirvember, after all), directed by Otto Preminger and starring Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, and Clifton Webb. We have lots of patron tiers, and for $5 you get access to voting in monthly polls and our exclusive audio content, which has a bajillion (technical number) bonus episodes available for you right now! Thanks for your patronage, and welcome back, Evan!

There was some excitement in the Spoilerpiece camp this week, as Dave and Megan noticed THE MARSH KING'S DAUGHTER (2:41) was coming out. A mid-budge thriller with a stacked cast? Yay! Directed by Neil Burger? Um, judgment reserved. Until now. A question Megan asks: Do directors know what to do with Daisy Ridley? And we didn't ask this at the time, but does Neil Burger know what to do with...anything? Such shade cast at the Spoilerpiece HQ! After that, it's QUIZ LADY (27:07), starring Awkwafina, Sandra Oh, and Will Ferrell. It was more fun. And we hope YOU have fun listening! Don't forget to check out Patreon, where we talk about the 1953 classic ROMAN HOLIDAY with Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck.

Ever wondered what's it's like to have freedom of the press stripped from a nation? Wonder no more! BAD PRESS (2:42) follows the struggles of Angel Ellis, a no-bullshit reporter for Mvskoke Media, as she contends with the Muscogee Nation's legislative branch stripping away freedom of the press and essentially kneecapping her and her fellow reporters. It's a terrific nailbiter of a documentary. And Megan graciously indulges Dave as he climbs on his pro-reporter soapbox!

Then, after much hype and brouhaha, FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY'S (29:22) is finally upon us, and Megan and Dave saw it! Does FNaF succumb to Curse of the Video Game Adaptation Syndrome (TM)? Or is it worth your time?

And on our Patreon, our patrons voted for us to watch GINGER SNAPS, the 2000 horror flick about sisters attached at the hip and the wedge a werewolf bite drives between them. Happy Halloween!

This week we watched two movies. (Correction: Megan watched two movies and Dave watched one movie and then went to Montreal.) One of those movies is really liked, and one is...not. GUESS WHICH IS WHICH! (No peeking.) We kick things off with KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON (2:33), Martin Scorsese's latest I'm-gonna-make-longer-movies-now-that-I'm-older-fuck-it release, and continue with KILLHER (22:05), a slasher movie that's aware that it's a slasher movie. Please don't forget to check out our Patreon, in which we talk about the 1984 film 2010: The Year We Make Contact. That's available for $5/month Patreons (and above), and it's a great conversation (and there are 400-ish other great conversations to listen to, too!). Take a listen!

It's a banner of an episode on Spoilerpiece this week. Megan and Dave agree on not one, but TWO movies! Christmas comes twice a year, baby! After a little pre-movie yappin', they get into NO ONE WILL SAVE YOU (2:46), Brian Duffield's sci-fi horror film starring Kaitlyn Dever, about the long-term fallouts of personal trauma masquerading as an alien invasion flick. Then it's THE ROYAL HOTEL (28:43), Kitty Green's latest Julia Garner-led movie. This time around, Garner and co-star Jessica Henwick, American tourists, end up working in Australia's most remote and most misogynist bar (a guess, but seems on-target) in this psychological thriller. If you're a patron, please head over to the Patreon and listen to this week's bonus episode on WHEN A STRANGER CALLS, the winner of our home invasion poll. G'day!

Megan and Dave are back to talk about two new horror movies. First, we review WHEN EVIL LURKS (4:19), a brutal possession film by Argentinian filmmaker Demián Rugna that showcases children attacked by dogs, bodies festering with unexplained evil, and children who literally eat their parents. It's a big, wide, wonderful world we live in! The second film is TOTALLY KILLER (27:01), Nahnatchkha Khan's delightful sci-fi horror movie rooted in comedy that still has lots of blood. And it's a time travel movie, too! Starring Kiernan Shipka, Olivia Holt, and Julie Bowen, a teen travels back to the 80s to team up with her mom to stop a serial killer. And be sure to check out our Patreon to hear us talk about Spike Jonze's 2013 human/OS romance HER, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlett Johansson.

Megan returns! This week she and Dave talk about NIGHTMARE (13:18), Kjersti Helen Rasmussen's Norwegian horror film about a demon that lurks in dreams and tries to get itself birthed into the real world. They also talk about the much ballyhooed FAIR PLAY (30:04), Chloe Domont's sharp and complex erotic thriller about a seemingly happy couple (Phoebe Dynevor, Alden Ehrenreich) working for a hedge fund who get thrown a curveball when one of them becomes the other's boss. But before all that, Dave fills Megan in PAW PATROL: THE MIGHTY MOVIE (4:02). That's right! Dave managed to see another big-screen adaptation of his least favorite animated kids' show ever. And over on Patreon, Megan and Dave talk about David Lynch's first two films, ERASERHEAD and THE ELEPHANT MAN.

Dave is once again without his co-hosts, so Jason from Binge Movies sits in! It's a delight to have him, and he and Dave take a battering ram to DARK ASSET (2:18), action-thriller (?) with a million problems and zero solutions. We on Spoilerpiece don't go out of our way to tear a movie to pieces (honest!), but sometimes we're left no choice. Following that, they talk about FLORA AND SON (30:37), writer-director John Carney's latest musical-that's-not-a-musical, starring Eve Hewson, Jack Reynor, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Does the SING STREET/ONCE creator get it right again? In this week's Patreon exclusive audio, we talk abouut Mike Nichols's restrained foray into romantic horror, the very 1994 WOLF starring Jack Nicholson, Michelle Pfeiffer, and James Spader. It's a fun conversation about a bizarro movie.