Ridley Scott Draft with Roxana Hadadi and Filipiñana | #1079

With The Dog Stars in theaters, Adam and Josh invited Vulture’s Roxana Hadadi to the show for a Ridley Scott Draft. Picks one and two are easy: Alien or Blade Runner. But what about the third pick? And will divisive Scott films like Prometheus and Kingdom of Heaven get any love? Plus, a Golden Bric…

Blade Runner with Michael Phillips | Archive

With Ridley Scott's The Dog Stars in theaters and our own Ridley Scott Draft (with Vulture's Roxana  Hadadi) coming Friday, we're sharing this 2017 Sacred Cow review of Scott's sci-fi classic. Michael Phillips joined Adam and Josh. Unlock the full archive, Filmspotting Discord, ad‑free + bonus epi…

What Is Hulu’s Desert Warrior and Who Is It For? | SVU

When the story of a movie’s financing and troubled post-production are more compelling than the movie itself, you’ve got problems. And in this case, you’ve got Desert Warrior, a 7th-century, Saudi Arabia-set — and financed — epic starring Anthony Mackie along with Sir Ben Kingsley and Sharlto Cople…

"Pictures are for entertainment, messages should be delivered by Western Union" with Robert Daniels | The Movie Racket

Film critic Robert Daniels (⁠RogerEbert.com⁠, The New York Times) joins Michael Phillips to test one of Hollywood's most enduring bits of studio wisdom, attributed to producer Samuel Goldwyn: "Pictures are for entertainment, messages should be delivered by Western Union." From I Am a Fugitive from …

Top 5 Needle Drops (Pt. 2)

Adam and Josh return with guest Rico Gagliano (MUBI Podcast) for Part 2 of their Top 5 Needle Drops. This episode brought to you by Anderson, Linklater, Fincher, and Scorsese.  Notes: -The Sigur Rós song “Starálfur” means "staring elf," not "little elf." Josh harmar mistökin. Feedback: -Email u…

Top 5 Needle Drops (Pt. 1) and It Ends | #1078

Rico Gagliano (MUBI Podcast) joins Adam and Josh for the Top 5 Needle Drops, a conversation so robust we split it in half. Plus, the new It Ends earns a Golden Brick nomination, and listeners tell us the best third feature since 2020. This episode is presented by⁠ Regal Unlimited⁠⁠, the all-you-ca…

The Family That's Prey Together, Pt. 1 — War of the Worlds (2005)

David Robert Mitchell’s The End of Oak Street drops an ordinary family into extraordinary circumstances, forcing them to focus all their energy on surviving— and maybe, just maybe, learning to understand each other along the way. That structure, combined with Oak Street’s Spielbergian spectacle, po…

Midnight Run | Archive

In 2023, Adam and Josh took another look at 1988's Midnight Run for its 35th anniversary. The Robert De Niro/Charles Grodin action comedy was an early and somewhat controversial inductee in the Filmspotting Pantheon, a decision they use their conversation to defend.   Unlock the full archive, Film…

Don’t Say Good Luck and the Evolution of Happy Madison Productions | SVU

Happy Madison Productions is now cranking out movies starring two generations of Sandlers: paterfamilias Adam and daughters Sadie and Sunny. Earlier this year, Sadie starred in Netflix’s college-set Roommates, and now it’s Sunny’s turn in Don’t Say Good Luck, a tear-jerker that pairs family drama w…

"The hardest thing in film scoring is to know when to start and when to stop" with author Tim Greiving | The Movie Racket

Film music historian and journalist ⁠Tim Greiving⁠, author of John Williams: A Composer's Life, joins Michael Phillips to explore one of the foundational dilemmas of movie music, courtesy of legendary composer Max Steiner: "The hardest thing in scoring is to know when to start and when to stop." Fr…