Filmspotting – Movie Reviews
Hosts Adam Kempenaar and Josh Larsen review new and classic movies, offering "affable, insightful film analysis since 2005" (NY Times).
Episodes
25 years ago, the Coen Brothers followed up their Oscar-winning "Fargo" with a stoned shaggy dog riff on film noir. It bombed at the box office only to become a beloved cult film. Also like their best, everything matters.
'Sacred Cow' Review: "The Big Lebowski" (05:04)
'Brickspotting' Review (JL): "Rodeo" (47:39)
Filmspotting Madness Rd. 3 (01:04:34)
'Marathon' Review: "Sansho the Bailiff" (01:27:24)
(Times may not be precise with ...
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March 10, 2023 • 80 min
It takes a star of great confidence to play opposite the electrifying Jonathan Majors. And while CREED III's Michael B. Jordan is up to the challenge of his rival, can the same be said about the movie itself?
Review: "Creed III" (03:02)
Review (JL): "Scream VI" (29:23)
Filmspotting Madness Rd. 2 (42:17)
(Times may not be precise with ads)
Resources/Links:
Filmspotting Madness
https://filmspotting.net/madness
Chicago Critics Film Fe...
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March 3, 2023 • 124 min
Adam and Josh compare Oscar ballots with the Chicago Tribune's Michael Phillips, sharing picks for who will win, who should win, and who should have been nominated in the Supporting and Lead Actor and Actress categories (02:49). Then they introduce some of the Rd. 1 matchups in Filmspotting Madness 2023: Best of the 1960s (01:06:34) and announce the lineup for the year's first Filmspotting Marathon - Sight & Sound Top 100 Blind Spo...
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February 24, 2023 • 103 min
Coming on the heels of the era-defining “The Godfather” in ’72, the 1973 movie year had a lot to live up to. But if Adam and Josh’s Top 5 of 1973 (02:56) is any indication, it more than delivered. Featuring early-career masterpieces from Terrence Malick, Martin Scorsese and, yes, George Lucas, plus the decade’s most terrifying horror film, influential films from abroad, and so much more, ’73 not only met the standard set a year ear...
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February 17, 2023 • 76 min
With Steven Soderbergh's sly, sexy, and exuberant contribution to the musical genre coming to a close with the release of the third and, presumably, final film in the Magic Mike trilogy, Adam and Josh see the series off with the Top 5 Magic-est Mike Moments (01:15), a celebration of the films' many memorable dance sequences. Plus Josh's review of the new "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" (21:47), and Adam's thoughts on "The Integ...
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February 10, 2023 • 84 min
After a string of lush, star-filled productions in the ‘50s, Alfred Hitchcock went small(er) and sinister with Psycho, which went on to become Hitchcock's best-known film and one of the most influential films of the last sixty years. For this Sacred Cow deep dive (02:04)—reviewed in anticipation of the upcoming Best of the '60s edition of Filmspotting Madness—Filmspotting considers a picture that remains unnerving and full of myste...
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February 3, 2023 • 99 min
M. Night Shyamalan is on the short list of big-budget filmmakers who reliably bring original stories to the multiplex, which means that enthusiasm for his new work can be somewhat out of step with his recent track record. But with their Top 5 Shyamalan Moments (01:13), Adam and Josh prove that the director's best work is deserving of close attention. Working with ace collaborators like cinematographers Roger Deakins and Tak Fujimot...
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January 27, 2023 • 78 min
Gerwig, Nolan, Wes, Scorsese. The new movie year is full of promise. For their 2023 MOVIE PREVIEW, Adam and Josh look to avoid getting burned by the promise of films that disappear from the movie schedule like desert mirages (will we finally see you this year, Kelly Reichardt's "Showing Up"?) and try to keep their hopes afloat for a year that appears even more IP-heavy than normal (Barbie! Wonka! Spidey! Indy!). Per tradition, the ...
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January 24, 2023 • 29 min
Pleasant surprises, notable snubs, and some conflicted feelings about diversity and representation were all part of the conversation for this "Reaction Shot" to the 2023 Oscar nominations. Note: Michelle Yeoh is the first person who identifies as Asian to ever be nominated for best actress; some previously nominated actresses may have hidden their Asian ancestry.
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January 20, 2023 • 135 min
Delayed nearly three years by the pandemic, but, in many ways, 18 years in the making, the show's live NYC debut was worth all the waiting. Joined by Slate's Dana Stevens and Griffin Newman from the Blank Check podcast, plus Matt Singer (ScreenCrush) and Alison Willmore (Vulture), formerly of Filmspotting: SVU, Adam and Josh brought the year-end Wrap Party to the stage at Brooklyn's Bell House in front of a packed house. In additio...
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January 13, 2023 • 90 min
With the help of regular collaborators Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig, Noah Baumbach leaves the big city - and reality - behind for his ambitious adaptation of Don DeLillo's WHITE NOISE. An absurdist meditation on death nested in a consumerist satire (or vice versa?) that riffs on Elvis, Hitler, car crashes, pharmaceuticals, marriage, and family life, Adam and Josh agree that Baumbach's big swing is a mostly successful one. Also on t...
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December 22, 2022 • 193 min
In 2005, Filmspotting established an elite list of the top films of the year. Its purpose was to teach the lost art of filmmaking and to ensure that the handful of films that made the list were the best in the world.
They succeeded.
Today, Filmspotting calls it the films of the year roundtable.
Listeners call it:
TOP TEN.
This year, guest critics Michael "Fiddlesticks" Phillips and Marya "Zig Zag" Gates join Adam and Josh to name...
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December 13, 2022 • 43 min
It's been so long since the first "Avatar" that it came out two years before Josh was even on the show. But back in 2009, Josh was a fan of James Cameron's 3D game-changer. And he wasn't alone. The film, despite its lack of cultural cache a dozen years later, was a critical as well as a box office success. Adam, on the other hand, was one of the film's harshest critics. Will Cameron's return to Pandora have Adam seeing the error of...
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December 9, 2022 • 120 min
With Adam and Josh facing a deadline for submitting their Chicago Film Critics Association best of the year ballots, they use this episode to hash out their picks for the best supporting and lead performances of the year—from heavy hitters like Cate Blanchett, Colin Farrell, and Michelle Yeoh to the stars of lesser-seen films like “Aftersun,” “Causeway,” and “Decision to Leave.” Plus reviews of Guillermo del Toro’s stop-motion PINO...
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December 4, 2022 • 33 min
Greatest film of all time? You better believe it belongs in the conversation. From Sept. 2020, Adam and Josh discuss their first experience with Chantal Akerman's masterpiece as part of their Overlooked Auteurs Marathon.
RELATED LINKS
Filmspotting's (Unofficial) Sight & Sound Ballots
Filmspotting Family Top 100 Poll Results
Filmspotting Sight & Sound List Companion
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December 2, 2022 • 75 min
With THE FABLEMANS, what appeared to be Steven Spielberg’s portrait of the filmmaker as a young man turns out to be a more complicated autopsy of a family coming apart at the seams—that happens to have a budding filmmaker there to document it. Adam and Josh have lots of praise for Spielberg, his co-conspirator/co-screenwriter Tony Kushner, and the film’s cast, but a few minor issues may reflect a weakness that appears more broadly ...
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November 23, 2022 • 107 min
Luca Guadagnino's BONES AND ALL is a coming-of-age story with an unusual twist: cannibalism. Starring Timothée Chalamet and Taylor Russell, the film was adapted by writer David Kajganich from a 2015 novel by Camille DeAngelis. Kajganich had previously written adaptations for Guadagnino's "A Bigger Splash" (based on the 1969 Jacques Deray film "La Piscine") and his 2018 remake of Dario Argento's cult horror film "Suspiria." In his c...
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November 18, 2022 • 86 min
For the second installment in his "Knives Out" series, Rian Johnson leaves the family squabbling behind for a trip to a luxury island where murder most foul befalls the filthy rich. GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY shows Johnson hasn't lost his ability to pair social commentary with crackerjack entertainment. Unfortunately, director Ryan Coogler’s return to the “Black Panther” franchise is a less successful venture. While Coogler ...
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November 11, 2022 • 106 min
Director Charlotte Wells's AFTERSUN documents a holiday that 11-year-old Sophie takes with her loving but troubled father (played by Paul Mescal). The debut feature is one of the best and most sneakily heart-rending films of the year. It also inspires this week's Top 5: Father-Daughter Duos, with Adam and Josh sharing picks from Ozu, Nolan, Bogdanovich, and Spike Lee, along with a pair of inventive docs made by daughters about thei...
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November 9, 2022 • 15 min
Josh, Sam, and Adam discuss the launch of the new Filmspotting Family membership platform and how you can help support and grow the show.
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