Perry and I are back for a new We’re Watching Here, and we didn’t need to apologize for the delay! Just as we’d promised, we returned just a few weeks after our last episode because we have a lot to discuss.

First, in our “What We’re Watching” segment, Perry talks about the new indie drama Sorry, Baby and I chat about the documentary Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse. Then, we bother discuss some new horror movies, with Perry chatting about the Allison Brie/Dave Franco body horror Together and me raving a little bit more about Weapons.

Then, it’s a double feature main event — with two movies that have nothing in common but sand. First, Perry and I talk about Ari Aster’s Eddington — the first Aster movie to get a positive notice from Perry! Then, buckle up: we’re going back 41 years to continue our David Lynch retrospective with a look at 1984’s Dune — a movie that I can’t say is good but that I can say is fascinating!

We’re Watching Here is also available on iTunes and Spotify.

Also: I’m on Collider!

A few weeks back, I teased that I’d accepted a position as a freelance writer for a movie site. Now that my first piece has been published, I can proudly announce that I’ll be writing for Collider, one of the largest and most active entertainment news and features websites around.

I’m already working on several more articles, which I’ll make sure to keep you aware of. As I said, I’ll be writing features for Collider; new release reviews and personal musings will continue to post here. My first piece was an editorial about the misguided update of The Wizard of Oz that opens in Las Vegas later this month. I hope you enjoy!

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chrisicisms.substack.com

Hey everyone. As I explain in the early minutes of this podcast, it took Perry and I a minute to continue our talk about David Lynch because his sophomore film, The Elephant Man, is off streaming and out of print. Thankfully, I was able to track down a copy at my library, and we talk a bit about Lynch’s stirring, emotional film.

Because it had been a sec’ since we recorded, Perry and I also decided to talk about James Gunn’s Superman, as well as some other movies we’d gotten around to this summer. And we’re hoping to be back really soon to talk about Eddington as well as Lynch’s attempt at Dune. Stay tuned! (This podcast is also available on Spotify and iTunes).

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chrisicisms.substack.com

I get into it a bit in the episode, but this is another episode coming after an unanticipated break for We’re Watching Here. Chalk it up to streaming services’ decision to remove The Elephant Man from all platforms and a busy Easter month. But Perry and I are back with a vengeance! I talk a bit about my time listening to Francis Ford Coppola, a recent viewing of Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, and then we dig into Ryan Coogler’s Sinners, which I’ve already written a bit about. Enjoy!

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chrisicisms.substack.com

Hey everyone!

I might be taking a break from writing about movies, but that hasn’t stopped me from talking about them! Perry and I are back, as promised, with a new We’re Watching Here. My apologies that it’s coming a bit after the Oscars; Perry and I recorded this a week prior to posting, but I didn’t get a chance to edit it for a bit.

It’s a quick episode, but it’s jam-packed. We catch up on the Oscars. We pay tribute to Gene Hackman. And then we begin our 2025 journey through David Lynch’s filmography with a look at his debut film, Eraserhead. It was great for this Lynch virgin to talk with someone who holds a true appreciation of the artist, and I can’t wait to continue this journey soon with The Elephant Man.

I hope you enjoy! And if you don’t want to listen here, it’s also available on iTunes and Spotify!

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chrisicisms.substack.com

It’s been a minute since Perry and I sat down to talk movies for We’re Watching Here; probably because we were too busy watching movies in the end of the year onslaught. But we’re back in business, just in time to talk about this week’s Oscar nominations.

There’s a lot to talk about here. How do we feel about an Anora/The Brutalist Best Picture matchup? Who was snubbed? What were our favorite movies from 2024 that received no Oscar love?

All that, plus a fun, Criterion-heavy “What We’re Watching” segment, Perry’s tribute to David Lynch, and more. This year, we’re looking forward to finishing our Robert Altman retrospective, weaving in Lynch’s filmography and more. Subscribe here or on Spotify or iTunes!

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chrisicisms.substack.com

I’m tired.

As I write this, we’re two weeks out our critics group’s votes for the best movies of 2024. I have 14 days and roughly 20-25 movies that I’m still trying to plow through. Jumping into screeners, I’m trying to average at least a film a day. This weekend, I’m hoping to see at least four films somehow. The Monday and Tuesday after Thanksgiving, I’ll sit in a theater with my critic buddies and watch eight movies. It’s exhausting; it’s also some of the most fun I have all year.

I took a break from watching movies to chat with some new releases for a bit with Perry for the latest We’re Watching Here podcast. We chat about a lot. Wicked, Gladiator II, Anora, Memoir of a Snail, Ghostlight, A Real Pain, Conclave and We Live in Time. We had a great time, and I cant’ wait to have even more to chat about in a month!

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chrisicisms.substack.com

It’s been a hot minute since Perry and I have been able to find time to record. Life’s just been a bit busy, with kids’ sports, work craziness, travel, illness and everything else you can imagine. So, when we sat down to record our latest We’re Watching Here episode earlier this week, there was a lot to talk about.

Perry and I start by catching up on some things we’d been watching on our own, including the latest from Francis Ford Coppola and Kevin Smith, as well as two potential contenders for the best movies of the year. Then, buckle up for an in-depth conversation about Jason Reitman’s Saturday Night (which I’ve also reviewed) and Todd Phillips’ Joker: Folie au Deux, a movie that surprised me and led to some good conversation.

We’re heading into the busy time of the year for film critics. Awards season favorites will start screening soon, and critics will start to get For Your Consideration screeners of the year’s films. So, in the coming weeks, get ready for the conversation to shift into a lot of catchups as I try to get my viewing in order for critics’ group votes. And, as I say in the podcast, Perry and I WILL be back before Thanksgiving to begin discussing some of the newest releases.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chrisicisms.substack.com

Hey everyone! I’m going to make this quick, because Perry and I have a jam-packed episode in store for you. Mid-summer is such a busy time for movie critics that it’s hard to single out time to watch and focus on just one old movie. So, Perry and I got together to talk about some new ones and some old ones. Listen to hear us discuss The Bike Riders, A Quiet Place: Day One, Twisters, Love Lies Bleeding, True Lies, Forrest Gump, Beverly Hills: Axel F, and Deadpool and Wolverine. It’s always a lot of fun to talk about movies with Perry, and this was a nice chat during a busy summer.

I’ll also say to stay tuned for our August episode. We have a hum-dinger of a movie picked out for review, and I’m really excited to get to it!

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chrisicisms.substack.com

Man, time got away from me on the We’re Watching Here front. I didn’t realize it until I sat down to post this episode, but the last podcast Perry and I had recorded was our March Oscars post-mortem. Vacations and some general life craziness made it a bit difficult for me to find time to record, but I don’t want anyone to take this as a sign that we’re tiring of this show. We’ve been doing it for about five years, and it’s always a highlight of my month when I can sit and talk movies with Perry.

We decided to devote an episode to movies we hadn’t had a chance to chew on together in the past few months. So, we chat about Dune 2, Furiosa, Late Night With the Devil and Hit Man — all movies I like to varying degrees. Just a heads up that there are spoilers in our Hit Man discussion, but we do issue a warning and it’s near the end of the episode, so if you bail, you won’t be missing anything.

Like we say in the episode, hopefully it won’t be three months until we can record again. I hope we’re back in July. And I’d like to play around with some member-only podcasts, probably just posted by myself. I might play around with that in the next few weeks, so keep your eyes open.

Anyway, I had a great deal of fun recording this episode, and I hope you all enjoy listening to it!

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chrisicisms.substack.com

I’m going to keep this pretty brief, because you know what this is from the title. But Sunday was the 96th annual Academy Awards, and one of my favorite traditions is my annual post-mortem with Perry for our We’re Watching Here podcast. Perry and I jumped on Zoom earlier this week to chat about the show and its winners — we don’t agree on everything here! — and it was a great time. You’re getting it a few days later just because I had some trickery with the file. But I hope you enjoy it! More to come Friday, with a look back at a special movie hitting a big anniversary this month (one of two I’ll be looking at in the coming week!).

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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chrisicisms.substack.com