The NO NOTES Podcast

The 2024 Oscars results were fairly expected, right?

Lucas Murphy and The Schmear Hunter dig into some far more interesting macro trends, break down the telecast's best and worst moments, and forecast what next year's awards might look like (02:18).

The two then review one of the most electrifying new films of the year, Rose Glass' A24 neo-noir thriller 'Love Lies Bleeding' starring Kristen Stewart (31:16).

Teddy Kim then joins to discuss FX's epic new miniseries 'Shōgun,' based on James Clavell's uber-best-selling novel. The case is made why this is the show to be watching right now (50:33).

~no spoilers throughout~

Host: Gabriel Frieberg

Producer: Pavlo Melnyk

Music: Justin Friedman

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The film event of the year? The best sci-fi movie since The Empire Strikes Back? The biggest epic since Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers?

Sena Adjei joins the show to help The Schmear Hunter break down every aspect of Denis Villeneuve's new film, Dune: Part 2. They set the stage, providing some context and lead-up, before diving into plot specifics (23:14).

The episode wraps with a discussion of the film's rapturous reception and a look ahead to awards potential and Dune: Messiah (1:41:37).

Host: Gabriel Frieberg

Producer: Pavlo Melnyk

Music: Justin Friedman

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Berlinale 2024 has come and gone, and here to break it all down is Deputy Culture Editor for Euronews, David Mouriquand. 

We give our big-picture thoughts on the festival (1:32) before diving into some festival lowlights (10:11). We then rank our Top 5 favorite films of the festival (23:40) before covering some other notable releases and the award winners (54:00).

Host: Gabriel Frieberg

Producer: Pavlo Melnyk

Music: Justin Friedman

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We open with some on-the-ground coverage of this year's especially fraught Berlinale, digging into the film festival's political undercurrents (2:38).

Teddy Kim comes by to close the case on True Detective: Night Country. We dive under the ice to unpack the finale (9:13) before discussing some big-picture thoughts and the series' overall reception (34:22).

Next, it's a trip to France, courtesy of SchmearCast's French dispatch, Elvire Audi. We discuss and debate two brand new works, the romantic cooking film The Taste of Things (47:47) and Apple TV+'s Dior vs. Channel period drama The New Look (1:07:54).

Host: Gabriel Frieberg

Producer: Pavlo Melnyk

Music: Justin Friedman

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Kicking things off with a review of the bleak box office and the Sandworm-sized savior on the horizon, before diving into some fascinating undercurrents from last week's TCAs, including the future of FX and a ranking of Schmear's most anticipated upcoming Apple TV+ series (1:28)

Sena Adjei returns to the show to wrap up our conversation on Mr. and Mrs. Smith. We break down Episodes 5-8 (10:59) and then dive into our thoughts on a potential Season 2 renewal for the promising series (41:27).

Teddy Kim helps me unpack the puzzling, remedial storytelling in True Detective: Night Country. We cover Episode 4 (49:44) and Episode 5 (1:02:59).

Host: Gabriel Frieberg

Producer: Pavlo Melnyk

Music: Justin Friedman

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We kick things off with an ultra-fast recap and analysis of Sundance 2024, along with Schmear's rankings of what he saw (2:27).

Sena Adjei comes on to talk the new Donald Glover/Maya Erskine series, Mr & Mrs. Smith. We discuss the series' tumultuous development yet impressive and stylish end product (14:14). We then dive into the specifics of Episodes 1-4 (35:10).

Jesse Aaronson swings by for Criterion Corner Week 5, where we break down Robert Townsend's prescient satire of Black Hollywood Hollywood Shuffle and discuss how it directly influenced Cord Jefferson's Best Picture-nominated American Fiction (54:23).

Host: Gabriel Frieberg

Producer: Pavlo Melnyk

Music: Justin Friedman

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In "What I'm Watching," The Schmear Hunter briefly shares his thoughts on Wonka, All Of Us Strangers, and the new Apple TV series Masters of the Air (1:30).

Teddy Kim comes by to help break down Episode 3 of True Detective: Night Country (6:35). Is the mystery deepening or is the series just spinning its wheels?

Lucas Murphy joins the pod to discuss two of the buzziest shows of January: Fargo S5 (34:47) and The Curse (56:40).

Wrapping up with Criterion Corner Week 4, Jesse Aaronson comes on to talk David Lynch's 1980 period biopic The Elephant Man (1:29:30)

Host: Gabriel Frieberg

Producer: Pavlo Melnyk

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The Schmear Hunter rants and raves about the unfortunate Oscar nominations (2:06) and gives some big picture thoughts. Teddy Kim comes on to break down Ep 2 of True Detective (17:51). I liked it more than Ep 1, and he liked it less—find out why.

For Criterion Corner, we tackle some supposed masterpieces (50:10). Jesse Aaronson watches The Battle of Algiers and I check out Paul Schrader's Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters. Find out if they live up to the hype.

Host: Gabriel Frieberg

Producer: Pavlo Melnyk

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The Schmear Hunter hits some Hollywood news, including the chalk Emmy results and the unfortunate review bombing of True Detective (01:05), before giving a shoutout to the new AMC+ series Monsieur Spade (10:45).

Teddy Kim comes on to help break down Ep 1 of True Detective (16:40).

For Criterion Corner, Jesse Aaronson and I unpack the 1993 Clinton campaign documentary The War Room (56:44).

Host: Gabriel Frieberg

Producer: Pavlo Melnyk

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The Schmear Hunter hits some industry news (1:27) and then discusses some TV & movies he's currently enjoying, like Fargo S5, Criminal Record, and The Delinquents (7:20).

Teddy Kim comes on to recap and review the good, bad, and ugly of True Detective as a TV project (11:20). We then preview True Detective S4 Night Country which airs Sunday on Max (30:08).

Finally, Jesse Aaronson stops by to talk Criterion Challenge 2024. We compare and contrast two knock-out movies we watched for Week 1 (44:50).

Host: Gabriel Frieberg

Producer: Pavlo Melnyk

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