The Rewind

Josh is joined by Animation Correspondent Joe Morgan to discuss one of the biggest movies of 2024, "Moana 2." They discuss how the film's storytelling was affected by Disney reversing course on making it a TV series, how the new characters introduced since the first movie fit into the world, the quality of the song's without Lin-Manuel Miranda at the helm and much more!

Josh is joined by Clint Eastwood Correspondent Josh Brown and recurring guest Daniel Lima to talk all things "Juror #2." After a digression into where director Clint's politics stand in 2024, they discuss the moral predicament posed by the film's script, if it got the legal minutiae right, the performances from Nicholas Hoult and Toni Collette and much more!

Produced and Edited by Daniel Lima.

Josh is joined by musical theater correspondents Katie Muniz and Maya Mosher to talk all about one of the biggest movie events of 2024, "Wicked." They discuss the lead performances from Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo as Galinda and Elphalba, the effectiveness with which the musical numbers translated to the big screen, whether they agreed with criticisms concerning the look/lighting of the film, the ways in which the events of the film will be given even more context when Part 2 is released in 2025 and much more!

Josh is joined by recurring guest Ben Luben for a very logical double feature. First, they talk about Jesse Eisenberg's second directorial effort, "A Real Pain" (Beginning-47:06) including how it balanced subject matter as heavy as the Holocaust with comedic moments, the performances from Kieran Culkin and Eisenberg, the ways in which it explores a particular type of American Jewish experience and much more! Then, they talk about "Venom: The Last Dance" including the ways in which it struggled where its predecessors succeded in striking the right balance of silliness and serious storytelling, what characters should have been brought back from the earlier movies, if it went too far in trying to tell a story about alien researchers and much more!

Josh is joined by recurring guests Fred Kolb and Elijah Howard to talk about "Gladiator II." They discuss if Ridley Scott and Co. found a worthwhile story to tell that justified revisiting this world more than 20 years after its predecessor won Best Picture, the performances from Denzel Washington, Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal, the film's use of CGI and if it took the audience out of the movie and much more! Spoilers start at 43:12!

Josh is joined by Sean Baker Correspondent John Pulice to talk about one of 2024's best films, "Anora." They discuss the ways in which Sean Baker scaled up from his previous films, the star-making performance given by Mikey Madison in the title role, how the film managed to be both a comedy and a movie about class in America and much more!

Josh is joined by recurring guests Fred Kolb and Matt Frias to talk all about Edward Berger's "Conclave." They discuss how Berger and screenwriter Peter Straughan were able to make a movie about selecting a pope one of the best thrillers of the year, the film's view of ambition and leadership, the performances from a deep cast including Ralph Fiennes and Stanley Tucci and much more!

Josh is joined by Smile Correspondent Andrea DeWitt to talk about the franchise's newest installment, "Smile 2." They discuss the ways in which the newest film differed from its predecessor with respect to how the "Smile Demon" manifested itself, if the storytelling was a bit too all over the place, the impressive scope of the set pieces and where they would possibly like to see the franchise go next!

Josh is joined by recurring guest Kayla Lichtenstein to talk about "We Live in Time." They discuss if director John Crowley used non-linear storytelling effectively in telling a story about the life of a romance, the performances from Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh, the film's challenging storytelling choices when it came to dealing with serious illness and much more!

Josh is joined by animation correspondent Joe Morgan and recurring guest Fred Kolb to discuss one of the most lauded animated films of the year, "The Wild Robot." They discuss how the film felt distinct from other films in which robots become more sentient, it's story of a found family, how it managed to comment on the actions of human beings in the world without human characters, the voice performances and much more!