Hey everyone! Perry and I got together recently to record the first We’re Watching Here of 2024. We thought the best way to kick it off was to start out by talking about the best movies of 2023. Yes, you can read my list on this site, but I’ll just give you a quick heads up that my list for the podcast is just slightly different because of one film I saw near the end of 2023. Also, you don’t want to miss Perry’s top 10! The night we recorded was also on the day Oscar nominations were announced, so we chat a bit about that as well.

These monthly(ish) chats with Perry have been a highlight for me going on about five years now., and I look forward to them continuing in 2024. Give it a listen here or on Podbean and Spotify!

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Hey all,

I’m going to keep this quick, but I’m excited to share the next episode of We’re Watching Here today. Perry and I take a look at the recent Michigan Movie Critics Awards winners, and then discuss two new Netflix releases: Todd Haynes’ May December and David Fincher’s The Killer.

It’s going to be a busy week here at Chrisicisms. On Wednesday, I’ll have my list of 10 runners up films from 2023, and then on Friday, I’ll have my top 10 non-movie choices for the year, which wraps up my thoughts on books, music, TV and more. After that, I’ll be taking a break until after Christmas, but there’s already stuff in the hopper for early 2024!

Again, thank you for listening!

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It’s a national holiday for movie nerds: there is a new Martin Scorsese film opening!

Last time Scorsese released a film, it was The Irishman, which Perry and I both named our favorite film of 2019. Four years later, Marty is back with the epic and sprawling Killers of the Flower Moon, based on the non-fiction best-seller and staring Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone and Jesse Plemons.

Perry and I sat down earlier this week to discuss our reactions to Scorsese’s latest. Is it another must-watch, like The Irishman? Or does the three-and-a-half-hour runtime turn this story of American greed into a slog? Listen and find out! And then head to CinemaNerdz to read my review!

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!

It’s been a minute, as the kids say, since Perry and I were able to sit down and talk movies, so I’ll keep the preamble short. But I was really excited to chat about the fall movie season with him. After the bombardment of blockbusters that takes up the summer, I usually enter fall a bit burned out on movies, so it’s refreshing to get to September and have the opportunity for the big prestige picks and festival favorites to make their rounds.

Perry and I each picked three movies to talk about that will be discussed between now and the end of the year; plus, there was a consensus pick that should surprise no one. All that, plus a really robust “What We’re Watching” segment.

Enjoy and subscribe!

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After this, I promise I’m done talking Barbenheimer — at least until we get to the end of the year.

But what can I say? It was a huge weekend. The rare post-pandemic box office weekend where the numbers are truly astounding and the films are beloved by both critics and audiences.

So, of course, Perry and I are going to nitpick them to death. :-)

We say several times that both Barbie and Oppenheimer are really good movies. They both get our high endorsements from both of us! But like any great films, there’s a lot to engage with, and we probably nitpick the negatives more than the positives…mainly because it’s all the stuff that no one else is talking about. It was a fun conversation, as always. And at the end of it all, I’m glad that this was a weekend where legitimately good films found audiences. That’s encouraging.

I think I’m all Barbie and Oppy’d out for now. But I’ll be back on Friday with a new entry in my Summer of 1993 series!

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

Originally for the latest episode of “We’re Watching Here,” Perry and I were going to talk about Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City. Unfortunately, I was unable to see it before our recording (it is available on PVOD, and I’m hoping to catch up with it soon).

But Perry suggested maybe we talk about FX’s acclaimed dramedy The Bear, which recently finished its second season on Hulu. And I was delighted to do just that. Like few other shows, The Bear has involved me on an emotional level. It’s smart, tense, brilliantly acted and manages to kick you in the feels when you least expect it.

And don’t worry: We’re also able to chat a bit about Asteroid City, which Perry has seen. And I rave a little about Nicole Holfocener’s You Hurt My Feelings, which I really enjoyed. So, there’s a lot to enjoy this week. Might as well just leave you to it! Enjoy!

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Hi all,

I’m going to keep the preamble short because there’s a lot of fun talk for you to listen to and I want you to have the time.

As I explain in the episode, Perry and I had a bit of an unexpectedly long break from We’re Watching Here, mainly due to some crazy scheduling conflicts on my end. So, this episode is our first one since our Oscar episode in March, which is a bit crazy. Thankfully, I think that should be the last big conflict for a bit and we should be back up to doing one or two of these a month.

Our original plan was to continue our Robert Altman series with Short Cuts, but as I explain in the podcast, getting a copy of that has been a bit difficult (but it will happen!). So instead, we decided to do a mega “What We’re Watching” episode, and we hit a lot. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret; Last Action Hero; BlackBerry and Master Gardener. PLUS, some talk about TV and Quentin Tarantino’s latest book. I hope you enjoy it!

This is going to be a busy week here. Wednesday or Thursday, I’m going to have a fun piece about a recent pop culture adventure I had. And then Friday or Saturday, I’ll have my thoughts on Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. I’m taking bit of a break from Summer of 1993 this week, but next week I’ll be doubling up with two star-driven thrillers from that year.

Plus, a reminder: Beginning July 1, certain posts will be for paying subscribers only. Certain things (such as this podcast and at least one essay a week) will remain free. But others will be for subscribers only; my past archive will also be for subscribers only. If you’re enjoying what you read here, consider supporting this newsletter; every subscriber is greatly appreciated!

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Our second "It’s My Favorite” episode is coming a tad later than we initially wanted, but I think it’s a fun conversation that goes longer than we anticipated.

The fun thing about talking TV lately is that it’s as much about discovery as it is analysis. There’s so much TV that I’m constantly having new things recommended to me; it might take me forever to get around to it, but it’s fun to constantly have new things to put in the queue.

And so, in this episode, Matt, Beth and I talk a lot about TV, but there isn’t one particular show where all three of us are totally familiar with it. Matt and Beth love Succession, but I haven’t seen episode one. Beth’s raves about Yellowjackets (which Matt hasn’t seen) reminded me that I need to go back and finish the first season. And Beth hasn’t seen Shrinking, and Matt and I are split on it. It’s a fun conversation, and a reminder of how much I enjoy talking pop culture with friends these days.

I’ll have another newsletter post on Friday, and Perry and I will do a We’re Watching Here later this month — I just have to clear out three hours to watch Short Cuts so we can continue our Robert Altman marathon. And keep your eye on CinemaNerdz; I’ll have reviews for Dungeons and Dragons and Tetris shortly, and plan to head out to see The Super Mario Bros. Movie with the kids this weekend and write a review for 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

Hey everyone!

We’ll have my typical weekly newsletter hitting in the next day or so (it’s been a busy week), but I wanted to make sure to get this latest episode of We’re Watching Here posted today while there’s still time to talk this week’s Oscars.

It should be no surprise that I was very happy with the results of Sunday’s 95th Academy Awards. My favorite movie of the year, Everything Everywhere All at Once, was the night’s big winner, taking home not only Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay, but also winning awards in three out of the four acting categories, as well as a trophy for editing. I still remember seeing this movie almost exactly a year ago and thinking “what a brilliant little movie — too bad it will be too weird for audiences and award bodies.” So, to sit here today and realize it was recognized as the best film of 2022 makes me feel pretty good.

No one I know loves the Oscars or is as knowledgeable about them as my co-host, Perry. And so, it only made sense that our latest episode of We’re Watching Here talk about our reaction to the show and the winners. Perry had the great idea for us to rank our preferences for Best Picture, and I found it to be a great way to talk about these films one last time.

I hope you enjoy this episode; it was a lot of fun to record! We’ll have another We’re Watching Here in April, continuing our look at the films of Robert Altman.

Like I said, more to come this weekend. But I hope you love this episode! (Note: There was a point where I made a flub and said I’d edit it out, but upon going through the recording, I couldn’t find it. In the interest of getting this up, I figured I’d just go ahead and release it as is).

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

Today, I’m introducing a new feature to this newsletter. It’s a podcast we’re calling It’s My Favorite.

I knew for awhile that I wanted to try incorporating a new podcast feature here. I spend most of my time telling you all about the movies and TV I love, and it’s great fun. But I thought it might be interesting to regularly chat with other people about the things they’re enjoying from month to month.

It got me missing the first podcast I ever hosted, called It’s My Favorite. I started that show back in 2015, when we were all in the midst of the Serial craze. I talked to my friend and former co-worker Matt, and he brought in his good friend, Beth, and we did that show — as well as a variation on it called Wasting Time — for about five years. I have so many fond memories of sitting around Matt’s apartment recording that show: Making sure our microphone balanced correctly on the pile of books we put in the center of the table, editing out his cat’s “meows,” editing the audio and knowing that a big spike in the volume meant we hit a portion where we all were laughing really hard.

I wanted to do a show like that again, and my instinct was to bring in some critics and guests to see what they were liking from week to week. And then I thought, “it would be fun to get Matt and Beth back in here a few times.” And then, the more I thought about it, the more I thought, “I really just want to do that show again.” (This is the same process that led to me asking Perry to join me for We’re Watching Here a few years after our first podcast, Far From Hollywood…and it was a good process, so why not do it again?).

So, that’s what this is. Me and some friends chatting about “pop culture, life and our favorite things.” I’m hoping we do this about once a month, supplemented by a few bonus episodes where I’m joined by guests. Anything we’re liking that month is on the table — movies, books, music, articles, funny stories. It’s just an excuse to hang out.

This first episode felt just like old times (except that we’re recording via Zoom instead of at Matt’s dinner table). We talk about HBO’s The Last of Us, Peacock’s Poker Face, and the films The Banshees of Inisherin and The Menu. It’s a fun discussion, and it was great to hang out with these guys again. I’m already looking forward to next month!

Right now, the podcast is a free component of this newsletter. And bear with us as we figure out our individual recording levels and the technology. I’m also mulling over a few subscriber-only newsletter options that I want to implement in the next few months, and it’s possible we might do a split where some episodes go behind a paywall. But I don’t envision that happening until spring/summer. I hope you enjoy! We’ll be back later tonight with my spoiler-filled thoughts on Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.

Thanks for reading Chrisicisms! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

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