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The People’s Joker & Abigail | Awesome Friday Podcast
This week on the show, we’re discussing The People’s Joker, a chaotic but important coming-of-age story that remixes the Batman milieu into something singularly personal and also utterly universal, by Vera Drew. Next, we tackle the locked-house horror thriller Abigail. Listening Links: This week our Patreon supporters can join us for a conversation about what makes movies that are so bad they’re good, and then our most anticipated movies of the year of our Swift 2024 Link: https://www.patreon.com/posts/may-12th-bonus-104146863
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‘Dark Matter’ Is a Dimension of the Multiverse That Looks Kinda Like All the Other Ones | Exclaim!
Multiverses are so hot right now. The idea of a limitless number of parallel dimensions, spinning off from every decision everyone makes, is a household idea and has been at the centre of several movies, such as Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, the animated Spider-Verse films and Everything Everywhere All at Once, and television shows like Loki, Rick and Morty and Devs. Apple TV+’s Dark Matter is the latest entry using this trendy narrative device. Jason Dessen (Joel Edgerton) is a middle-aged college physics professor. He isn’t particularly successful, but he does have a loving family. His wife,…
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‘Star Wars: Tales of the Empire’ Review: Short, Stunning, and Uneven | Movies We Texted About
Each story is told in three episodes, each approximately 15 minutes long. The length of these episodes is key; if they were any longer, there’d be too much opportunity for the story to meander. As told, each is concise and thematically to the point. These are the kinds of stories that short films can be great for. In keeping with the franchise, Tales of the Empire is a mixed bag, albeit with a slightly more stark divide: one of these stories is thoughtful and interesting, and the other is just filler for the sake of filler. Link: https://movieswetextedabout.com/star-wars-tales-of-the-empire-review-short-stunning-and-uneven/
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Doctor Who Review: Ncuti Gatwa Is Off to a Very Fun, Very Silly Start | That Shelf
It feels like this series could have been an immediate follow-up to Davies’s prior run on the series. The tone and style feel in line with Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant’s runs on the series, with a mad alien and a bright-eyed human travelling space and time in a blue box and fixing problems that they happen to stumble across. There are serialized elements, but it also feels a little more episodic than Doctor Who has in recent years, at least so far, which is a welcome change. Of course, the new variables here are Gatwa and Gibson, both of whom seem…
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The King Tide Review: A Stark, Stunning Canadian Thriller | That Shelf
… [D]irector Christian Sparkes captures both the scope and feeling of living in a small but tight-knit community. There’s authenticity to how the characters behave around each other and the closeness with which they speak and act, even when antagonistic. The tone of these scenes at the end is nearly pitch-perfect, and the script by writers Kevin Coughlin, Ryan Grassby, and Albert Shin does a great job of revealing what each individual wants to present themselves as and who they actually are. Combined with the performances and the stark but stunning landscapes of Newfoundland, The King Tide is an excellent character study, a shocking…
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The Planet of the Apes Reboot Trilogy | The LAMBCast
Nine Movies seemed a little overwhelming for a single episode, so Matthew Simpson, of the “Awesome Friday Podcast” suggested that the three reboot films be the subject of our April MOTM Franchise show. The choice came after a tight race between three franchises, separated by a single vote each. Matthew hosts Nicole Ayers from MadLabPost and runner up Sean Homrig, from the Cabot Cove ConFab, in a discussion of the three modern Planet of the Apes films, soon to be joined by a fourth next week. We share our personal journey into the world of the Apes, and explore the…
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Spider-Man 2 | Austin B Media Podcast
In this episode of The Austin B Media Podcast, I talk with guest Matthew Simpson of Awesome Friday. We discuss Spider-Man 2 in spoiler-free and spoiler-filled detail, its legacy, and more. Link: https://austinb.media/latest/the-austin-b-media-podcast-29-spider-man-2-discussion-with-matthew-simpson
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Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver & Civil War | Awesome Friday Podcast
Salutations applications! This week, we’re catching up on the latest from beefcake auteur filmmaker Zack Snyder, the second part of his Seven Samurai riff, Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver, which I promise you is its actual title. After that, Simon finally had a chance to catch up with Alex Garland’s latest film, Civil War, which is a discussion not to be missed. Listening Links: On this week’s bonus show, Simon and Matthew discuss a series of Matthew’s lukewarm takes on pop culture franchises. Matthew created a thread on Threads, so check that if you agree or disagree! As…
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Fallout & Humane | Awesome Friday Podcast
Greetings, programs! Join us this week for reviews of the new Amazon Prime adaptation of Fallout and then the new Canadian dystopian black comedy horror movie Humane, Caitlin Cronenberg’s feature directorial debut. Listening Links This week’s patron bonus episode has us talking about horny 1980s movies and then, fittingly, our favourite David Cronenberg movies. All paid patrons get access to the bonus shows, and support starts at just $2 CAD per month! Link: https://www.patreon.com/posts/april-21st-bonus-102913010
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The Beast & Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire | Awesome Friday Podcast
Greetings Programs! This week on the show, we’re diving into a heady French Science Fiction film, La Bete (The Beast), starring Lea Seydoux and George MacKay, which will be in Canadian cinemas this week. Then we move on to the latest entry in the legendary Monsterverse, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. We have a lot to say about each of them, so let’s dive in! Listening Links: This week’s bonus discussion explores some interesting topics, including a formative animated film from Matthew’s childhood and some movies that were big swings and misses that we still appreciate. We hope…
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The Greatest Hits: A Predictable Flick to Vibe With | ForReel
The plot is also a touch predictable but that doesn’t matter because The Greatest Hits is a vibes movie, and you have to vibe with it. If you can approach it with this mindset, you will likely have a good time. Sure, there’s definitely a scene where Boynton and Min connect via singing along to a song with shared nostalgia (both with each other than the audience), and that is a little shmaltzy, but Boyton and Min are so endearing that it works. Link: https://thisisforreel.com/home/movie-review-the-greatest-hits-a-predictable-flick-to-vibe-with
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The 2024 Canadian Screen Award Nominees and Where to Buy, Rent, or Stream Them | Awesome Friday
It’s nearly time again for the Canadian Screen Awards, which will take place from May 28th to 31st, 2024. This year’s crop of nominees represents stellar Canadian filmmaking. Last year saw some changes in the acting categories. Last year, they were made gender-neutral (and the number of nominees increased to eight). This year, they have been separated into awards for comedy and drama, still with eight nominees each. The awards for Best Adapted and Best Original Screenplays, Best Director, and the John Dunning Award for Best First Feature have all been expanded to allow up to six nominees as well. …
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Civil War Is a Timely, Must-See Cautionary Tale | ForReel
And yet, throughout the film, one clear choice is made: it doesn’t take sides. Early in the story, Dunst’s Lee tells Spaeny’s Jessie that they don’t decide; they document so that others can decide, and that’s the entire film’s approach. It’s never confirmed who started the war or why, or indeed, in many cases, when they encounter people, it’s not always clear which side they’re on. This is because it doesn’t matter: they’re fighting, and the film presents the logical extreme of that fight, and that’s all that matters. It’s tempting to think that the film has nothing to say,…
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Dune: Part Two & Monkey Man | Awesome Friday Podcast!
This week, we’re finally taking on Denis Villeneuve’s Dune Part Two, alongside Dev Patel’s directorial debut action movie Monkey Man. Listening Links: Patreon supporters, be sure to check out this week’s exclusive bonus episode. We start out by asking if there is a certain film you’d like to hear re-scored by a certain composer, and we go to all kinds of places from there! Link: https://www.patreon.com/posts/april-7th-bonus-101973386
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Make/Remake: Road House (1989) & Road House (2024) | Awesome Friday Podcast!
Greetings, programs! We’re back after a two-week hiatus! This week, we’re talking about something a little different: 1989s Road House and 2024s Road House. The former is an 80s action classic with big hair, cheesy dialogue, and throat rips and then the latter is an update that tests the limits of how much Jake Gyllenhaal can carry a movie. Listening Links This week, we have a special guest, Dakota Arsenault, host of the Contra Zoom Podcast. We get into a few topics with him, including movies with the score played live, home video packaging, and the best remakes. Link: https://www.patreon.com/posts/march-24th-bonus-101071880
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.
