The A.V. Club Presents Film Club

On this week’s Film Club, our critics A.A. Dowd and Katie Rife are creating a new tradition with the second annual edition of what we like to call the Mid-Year Awards. Last summer, Film Club ran an episode saluting the best performances, screenplays, direction, and films of 2020—a strange year for movies that turned out, despite all odds, to be a very good year for cinema as well. This year, with everyone from Vin Diesel to Steven Spielberg acting as cheerleaders for the return of the theatrical experience, our critics find themselves curiously underwhelmed with what 2021 has had to offer so far.But they push through, and reveal their picks for the best of 2021—a list that includes everything from Marvel blockbusters to African arthouse films.

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One year later than scheduled—and after years of fan demand—Marvel has finally released a starring vehicle for the most opaque of its Avengers, the Russian assassin that switched sides, Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff. How does it stack up against past installments in this forever franchise? And does it manage to deviate from the formula established by its numerous predecessors? On this bonus episode of Film Club, A.A. Dowd, Katie Rife, and special guest Alex McLevy talk about Black Widow, the new Marvel movie playing in theaters and streaming on Disney+. For a larger conversation about the MCU, check out this week’s official, full episode of the podcast.

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Today ends a two-year hiatus for the biggest franchise in movie history. Black Widow, new to theaters and Disney+, is the first Marvel movie to come out since July of 2019, and though a series of television spinoffs have kept the MCU alive in the public imagination, today is the day that this giant blockbuster machine truly lurches back to life. On a brand new episode of Film Club, critics A.A. Dowd and Katie Rife are joined by special guest and fellow A.V. Club staffer Alex McLevy to discuss this ongoing big-screen crossover event—its strengths and weaknesses, its highs and lows, and what the future might hold for Earthiest’s mightiest box-office heroes. And for their thoughts on Black Widow itself, check out this week’s very special bonus episode.

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From its origins 20 years ago as a humble Point Break ripoff featuring fast cars, tough guys, and stolen DVD players, The Fast & The Furious has grown into a global mega-franchise. On this week’s episode of Film Club, critics A.A. Dowd and Katie Rife trace the evolution of this outrageously over-the-top action series, compare it to superhero movies, and share their favorite stunts. Plus, the return of #Candyassgate! And thoughts on the latest entry in the series, the brand new, outrageously oversized F9.

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For the second time in six months, Pixar has released a new movie directly to Disney+. But unlike the existentially minded Soul, the new Luca is a deliberately breezy affair: a 95-minute fairy tale about two teenage sea creatures who take human form and caper across a picturesque Italian town sometime in the late ’50s or early ’60s. On this special bonus episode of Film Club, critics A.A. Dowd and Katie Rife discuss why this especially lithe addition to the studio’s canon didn’t quite melt their hearts and stir their imaginations. Want a bigger bite of Pixar discourse? Check out this week’s full episode, which gets into the diminishing returns of America’s most beloved animation house.

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At this point, Pixar’s legacy as the most beloved of American animation houses is probably secure: No other studio so regularly earns the adoration of audiences, critics, and awards voters alike. All the same, it’s difficult not to notice that the output of Disney’s acclaimed younger sibling has waned a bit in quality and imagination since that magic early run of animated triumphs, the first dozen or so feature released by the Bay Area dream factory. On a brand new episode of Film Club, A.A. Dowd and Katie Rife discuss what makes Pixar at its finest so special—and also try to get to the bottom of why this once infallible creative collective isn’t quite firing on all cylinders anymore. Meanwhile, those curious about Luca can check out a special bonus episode on the studio’s latest all-ages adventure, which hit Disney+ today.

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This week’s for the theater kids, as Film Club’s A.A. Dowd and Katie Rife welcome When Romance Met Comedy columnist and self-described musical nerd Caroline Siede for a discussion of the evolution and appeal of the 21st-century movie musical. From In The Heights to Chicago to the similarities between dance and action choreography, this week’s episode has everything short of our critics bursting into song—and we’re all probably better off without that.

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This weekend, Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga return as Ed and Lorraine Warren in The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. The film is the third feature to dramatize the nominally fact-based cases of the married, real-life, and self-proclaimed paranormal investigators. But it’s also just one part of a larger, extended story—a whole Avengers-style shared universe for the ghosts, demons, and creepy sentient dolls the Warrens supposedly encountered during their heyday. On a brand new episode of Film Club, critics A.A. Dowd and Katie Rife dive into this most Catholic of hit horror franchises, picking their favorites of the series and sharing some thoughts on the new entry now playing in theaters and streaming on HBO Max.

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After a brief spring break, Film Club returns this week to check in on the state of one of our critics’—and, presumably, our listeners’—favorite activities: Seeing movies on the big screen. With COVID-19 vaccinations becoming widely available and theaters reopening around the U.S., we revisit a discussion about cinema safety that began last summer. And with the PSA portion of the podcast complete, Katie Rife and A.A. Dowd embark on another return to normalcy by reviewing two films coming to theaters this Memorial Day. First up is John Krasinski’s long-delayed, hotly anticipated sci-fi horror sequel A Quiet Place Part II, followed by Emma Stone as a young, hip Cruella de Vil in the Disney live-action origin story Cruella.

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Our main reviewer didn’t much care for the new Mortal Kombat movie. Actually, he basically died from boredom watching it. But depending on your sensibilities, there is some fun to be had from this latest Hollywood attempt to move the mayhem of a video-game world into the lucrative arena of the multiplex. On this special bonus episode of Film Club, special guest William Hughes joins critics A.A. Dowd and Katie Rife to discuss the scant merits of the franchise-thirty martial-arts fantasy currently streaming on HBO Max. Want more movie/game crosstalk? Check out this week’s full episode on the spectacularly bad history of movies made from video games.

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