Watch This Tonight

Come for my meet-cute encounter with Guillermo Del Toro, stay for discussion of his new Netflix anthology horror show, Cabinet of Curiosities. The first episode is a great evocation of the premise, with a creepy original story starring Tim Blake Nelson who buys the world's creepiest storage unit. The concern with a show like this is that it can be dashed off, B-level material from A-level creatives, but that's not the case here. Everyone is bringing their A game, the first episode is excellent, and this looks like a great way for excellent directors (Guillermo Navarro, Vincenzo Natali, Jennifer Kent) to get to do mini-movies with a beginning, middle and end on each episode. Highly recommended. As always please feel free to reach out on our various socials (@watchthistonightpodcast on TikTok, @BenamorDan on Twitter, watch_this_tonight on Instagram, and Watch This Tonight on Facebook).

Come back to Watch This Tonight as your podcast for the best TV recommendations. If you're enjoying the show, please leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe now for future episodes. Thanks for listening.

Watch This Tonight gets out of the house for this episode, about the out-of-nowhere smash hit horror film Smile. Smile is just finishing up its theatrical run, so if it's still playing in your area I encourage you to seek it out, otherwise it should be available on streaming on Paramount+ and VOD rental within a few weeks from this recording. I can't think of a movie that better breaks down the subjective feeling of anxiety, and it elevates what could have been a throwaway gimmick into a legitimately powerful horror film, with a gonzo, terrifying, nightmare fuel ending. This is one of the better original films to break out at the box office in recent years, and well worth watching even for casual horror fans. A good movie to watch with the lights out at home, if you missed it in theaters.

Watch This Tonight is a movie recommendation podcast and TV recommendation podcast, produced by Voyage Media. You can find other Voyage Media podcasts at voyagemedia.fm

In an unprecedented turn of events, for the first time ever on Watch This Tonight, we're doing the same show, again, because Episode 9 of Andor is so good it immediately vaulted to being the number one show on television for me. The unconventional theme of the series, that no one will rebel against authority unless they are so oppressed they have absolutely no other choice, comes to fruition across the ensemble, from Stellan Skarsgaard's handler, to Diego Luna and Andy Serkis in a Squid Game like prison scenario, contrasted with the enthusiastic nightmare bureaucrats of the empire. Has Andor gained in dramatic power for you? Let me know at [email protected], @BenamorDan (Twitter), watch_this_tonight (Instagram), @watchthistonightpodcast (Tik Tok). Please do the show a major solid and leave us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts if you are enjoying the show.

I have no memory of my first viewing of this film, because at the time I was (one of the only times in my entire life) under the influence of a substance the younger characters in this film adore. So it seemed like a great movie to revisit now, when I'm closer to the Seth Rogen character, vs. when I first saw the film (when I was closer to the Dave Franco character). Neighbors is an almost ideal movie to watch in your 20s, 30s, and 40s, because you'll relate to and enjoy different things about it depending on your age. The film is currently on HBO. I'd love to hear your comfort food movies, let me know at [email protected], @BenamorDan (Twitter), watch_this_tonight (Instagram), @watchthistonightpodcast (Tik Tok). Leave a rating of the show, and if you want to win the lottery (*winning the lottery not guaranteed*) please leave us a review of the show on Apple Podcasts, if you're enjoying the show.

Ahhh Italy. You don't have to have seen Season 1 of HBO's The White Lotus to enjoy season 2. Just hop on the boat with Michael Imperioli, Jennifer Coolidge, F. Murray Abraham, Aubrey Plaza, and Theo James and luxuriate in the Italian sun at another White Lotus resort, replete with troubled relationships, lust, existential crises, opulence, and of course some dead bodies as well. Are you watching? Did you watch Season 1? What are your thoughts on the new season? Let me know at [email protected], @BenamorDan (Twitter), watch_this_tonight (Instagram), @watchthistonightpodcast (Tik Tok). And please leave us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts if you're enjoying the show, I'll read the review on-air and you'll have a lifetime (or maybe like a week) of good karma out in the universe.

Barbarian is an impossible movie to talk about without spoiling. So instead, I decided to talk about Justin Long, and why he might be horror cinema's most underrated and accomplished jack-of-all-trades, great as the wet-blanket boyfriend in Drag Me To Hell, the nightmarish victim of Tusk, and the loathsome misogynist of Barbarian. Is Justin Long secretly original horror cinema's MVP? Let me know your thoughts at [email protected], @watchthistonightpodcast (Tik Tok), @BenamorDan (Twitter) and watch_this_tonight (Instagram). And please leave us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts if you're enjoying the show.

Possibly the most prolific killer in American history. He didn't use a knife, or a gun. He used medication, and the hospital system. He killed people at their most vulnerable, and what makes this story so frightening is that anyone reading this could have been a victim of Charles Cullen if he was working at the hospital you were treated at. The Netflix film about this story, starring Oscar winners Eddie Redmayne and Jessica Chastain, written by 1917's Krysty Wilson-Cairnes, directed by Tobias Lindholm, is based on Charles Graeber's extraordinary, insanely well-researched book about Charles Cullen, this killer nurse who hid in plain sight. I was really anticipating this film. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. Reach out at [email protected], @watchthistonightpodcast (TikTok), @BenamorDan (Twitter), watch_this_tonight (Instagram).

Come back to Watch This Tonight as your podcast for the best movie recommendations. If you're enjoying the show, please leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe now for future episodes.

Thanks for listening.

Watch This Tonight is a movie recommendation podcast and TV recommendation podcast, produced by Voyage Media. You can find other Voyage Media podcasts at voyagemedia.fm

A crime thriller that is arguably just as much an arthouse horror movie, this Netflix film takes an unexpected path into its story, inspired by an infamous true crime from Australia. Joel Edgerton and Sean Harris are tremendous in a nightmare version of Donnie Brasco, with strong shades of Zodiac. This is not going to be for everyone, but if you dig its dreamy, creepy mood, this is a unique, compelling film. Let me know what you thought of The Stranger at [email protected], @BenamorDan (Twitter), watch_this_tonight (Instagram) and now on TikTok @watchthistonightpodcast - and please leave us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or anywhere you're listening if you're enjoying the show.

Bizarrely a comfort food movie for me, I'd love to know if Martin Scorsese's The Irishman works similarly for you. Arguably handicapped because its massive length makes for a trickier watch on streaming, despite being nominated for 10 Oscars it still feels like The Irishman has gone slightly under the radar considering its budget (the film was made for a quarter of a billion dollars) and pedigree (Scorsese, DeNiro, Pesci, Pacino, Zaillian). I've found that the more times I watch the film, the more things I notice and love about it. Where did you land on The Irishman? Let me know at [email protected], @BenamorDan (Twitter), and watch_this_tonight (Instagram). If you listen to and enjoy the show, please drop a five-star rating and a review, and subscribe for future episodes.

Who watches The Watcher? Apparently, a lot of people. This instant hit for Netflix benefits from a great, creepy, what-if-it-happened-to-you premise. But the real fun of it is the darkly subversive nature of the show's relationship to its main characters (Naomi Watts and Bobby Canavale's family) and the murderers' row (at times it feels like literally so) of stellar supporting actors (most notably Jennifer Coolidge doing excellent work, as well as Margo Martindale, Ricard Kind, Mia Farrow, Christopher McDonald, and more). Let me know what you think of The Watcher at [email protected], @BenamorDan (Twitter), watch_this_tonight (Instagram). Did you agree with my highlight of the episode? Did you also notice the same things that bugged me? Send your thoughts, and rate, review and subscribe if you enjoy the podcast.