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‘Run Terry Run’ Is Worthy of Its Heroic Subject | Exclaim!
Run Terry Run is a stirring documentary of this young man, one that will likely reduce you to tears.
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Patton | The LAMBCast
The LAMB community chose wisely this month because all of the guests were enthusiastic about the movie. We had a range of experience with the film, some of the group saw it when it came out in 1970, and one person saw it for the first time the night before we recorded this episode. James Wilson had suggested “Patton” for the poll and he had lots of incite about the making of the film and the General himself. Howard Casner, suggests that maybe the glorification of Patton the General is a bit overdone, but never the less finds the movie…
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Canadian Film Draft | Contra Zoom
Recently The Big Picture Podcast visited TIFF headquarters and did a Canadian film draft, unfortunately it missed the mark for us at CZP. So we are here to rectify things. Joining Dakota on the draft is Matthew Simpson, Bil Antoniou host of BGM and Riviera Rats, and Matt Sheardown host of Cinema on a Shelf and I Can’t Believe You Haven’t Seen. Listening Links: Be sure to check out the other guests on this episode!
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2026 Fantasia Festival Wrap Up | Contra Zoom
The 2026 edition of the Fantasia Festival, which was held from July 16th – August 2nd in Montreal, celebrates the best in horror and genre cinema. We look at six films that played and give our thoughts on them. Joining the show are Jeff Bulmer, host of Classic Movies Live and Matthew Simpson, editor of Northern Reel. Listening Links:
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Rope | The LAMBCast
The guests this week have a lot to say about the technique, but also about the casting, performances and subtext of the film. Dave Anderson suggested the movie, so he leads the discussion and chooses some important points the contemplate. Matthew Simpson shares a surprising secret about the movie in his own history with Hitchcock movies, and Howard Casner shakes his head when some of us don’t see the things that he sees in the film.
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Movie Review: “The Odyssey” Is a Feast for the Senses | ForReel
Christopher Nolan’s latest epic movie of the same name reframes the story to interrogate the plight of a guilt-ridden protagonist even in the wake of victory – his failures, his flaws, and his regrets while questioning if this hero can ever go home again, or if he even should.
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‘Tight Lettuce’ Paints a Compelling, Tragic Story of Substance Abuse | Northern Reel
Bodo is, to put it mildly, a mess, and while everyone is at their wits’ end with what to do about him, Joel remains steadfast in his support. It’s an effective inversion of the story, where usually it’s the parent trying to save their child; in this story, it’s the child trying to save his father.
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$927 MILLION Weekend – Does Spider-Man Brand New Day Deserve It? | This Week On ForReel
This Week On ForReel is a special DOUBLE HEADER! Derrick Murray hosts conversation with Matthew Simpson and special guests Robert Ortiz from Geek Vibes Nation and Sean Boelman from Fandom Wire.
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‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ Takes Another Look at Marvel’s Most Enduring Character | Awesome Friday!
Spider-Man is Marvel’s most enduring character. If you’re not sure what I mean by that, not only has he had ongoing comic book series since the 1960s, but Spider-Man: Brand New Day is the fourth standalone entry in its particular series, which rebooted the series for the second time in the last two decades (and also exists alongside the Spider-Verse film series, happening at the same time). There’s a reason for this: Spider-Man is great. He is, arachnid DNA and all, a character that anyone can relate to. A young man who is always being forced to choose between himself…
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Christopher Nolan’s Films Ranked from Worst to Best | Exclaim!
If the definition of a great film is three greats scenes and no bad ones, then Christopher Nolan’s filmography being (at least) five great films and no bad ones must put him in the conversation as one of the best filmmakers of our time, if not all time. He has produced a dozen films since 1998, and his much anticipated 13th film — The Odyssey — arrives this Friday (July 17) and already has extremely positive buzz from those who have seen it. With Homer’s epic on the horizon, let’s take a look back at his filmography, ranked from least to most favourite.…
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2026 Canadian Screen Awards | Contra Zoom
The 2026 Canadian Screen Awards concluded their week long celebration. The big film winners were 40 Acres, Nirvana the Band the Show the Movie and Honey Bunch. Matthew Simpson joins the show as we discuss the big winners, losers and snubs. Listening Links:
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The Big Combo | The LAMBCast
Guest Host Matthew Simpson shepherds the guest through a discussion of the lesser known noir film, and all the guests think that it deserves to be better known. Our resident Noir authority, Howard Casner, has seen the film before, but Matthew and Dave Anderson were new to the film and had lots to say about the shady characters in the story.
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‘Spider-Noir’ Is Peak Nicolas Cage | Exclaim!
“New York City. I was born here, learned to fight here, and fell in love here. A mistake I’ll never make again,” narrates Nicolas Cage in the opening moments of Spider-Noir. Delivered in a pitch-perfect mid-Atlantic accent, Spider-Man climbs a building wearing a trench coat and a fedora, all shot in sumptuous black and white. If this doesn’t excite viewers for Prime Video’s latest series, I don’t know what will. Spider-Noir threads a very delicate needle as an excellent superhero story and a good reminder of the potential in adapting comic book aesthetics to screen, as well as being a great homage to and example of noir…
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Refreshing Remakes | The LAMBCast
The world is full of movie remakes, rip-offs and reboots, but that does not automatically render them worthless. In fact, there are a number of films inspired by an earlier movie that surpass the original and are more memorable.
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‘Exit 8’: Horror Films Reminds Us Why We Need Smaller Stories | Movies We Texted About
Exit 8 is an incredibly straightforward film -a man stuck in an endless hallway- but it reveals things much deeper than anyone would expect.
I am a Rotten Tomatoes-approved, freelance film & television critic and podcast host from Vancouver, Canada! I am a co-founder of the Cascadia Film & Television Critics Association and a voting member of the International Film Society Critics, Pandora International Critics, and the Online Film & Television Association.
I maintain bylines at Exclaim!, Awesome Friday!, That Shelf, ForReel, Movies We Texted About, KeithLovesMovies, and I can be heard regularly on the Contra Zoom Podcast and The LAMBCast.
