Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy return to the weekly beat of reviews with seven new titles this week. They include a new 3-D documentary from Wim Wenders (Anselm) and another with the master of giallo (Dario Argento Panico). Leah McKendrick writes, directs and freezes her eggs (Scrambled) plus you can learn all about the making of We Are The World (The Greatest Night In Pop). A pair of streamers serve up animation with an all-Asian cast (The Tiger’s Apprentice) and Charlie Kaufman adapts an anxiety-driven children’s book (Orion and the Dark). Finally, it is time to learn who the real agent….shhhh….we’re not supposed to say (Argylle).

Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy returned to Park City in-person for the first time since 2020 and they brought back a lot of reviews. 18 films are discussed on the show including the latest works from Steven Soderbergh, the Zellner Bros. and the makers of Saint Frances. Jesse Eisenberg delivers his sophomore Sundance effort and it resulted in one of the bigger deals of the fest, though Erik offers his thoughts on the biggest sale. There is praise for Saoirse Ronan, Andre Holland, Carol Kane and Jason Schwartzman and less so for a title that speaks for itself. Documentaries that make you cry were in full effect as were ones that will raise your anxiety. There was something for everyone this fest and hopefully you will get to see them soon.

Peter Sobczynski helps Erik Childress get caught up with a few weeks of Blu-ray releases. They include what may be John Sayles’ finest film along with one of the better Nicolas Cage movies that nearly got buried. There are movies with submarines and others with serial killers and stalkers plus a genuine animated gem you may have missed. One of the best film noirs musicals, post-Vietnam films are available this week along with the Marx Bros. and Rodney Dangerfield as an animated dog. (It’s not the gem.) Peter takes you into the world of Chantal Akerman and Coffin Joe while Arnold Schwarzenegger gets the 4K upgrade for both his comedy and one of his most iconic roles.

A tradition that has gone absent for too long on the podcast has been this show that began with Sergio Mims and Erik Childress on WHPK Radio Chicago and continued on here. Films that has still yet to get the upgrade treatment on physical media and every time a new one emerges you can hear Sergio screaming down “WE GOT ONE!”  We are finally continuing what we started, Sergio, with Peter Sobczynski stepping in to offer his half of 20 titles that still remain dormant on DVD or no physical media whatsoever. Erik and Peter serve up their choices which include films about baseball, politics, journalism and murder. There’s a sci-fi musical and a concert film, true-life tragedies and even farces, satires and other films to laugh at. There is truly something here for everyone and it is time these films receive the upgrade they deserve.

The first new reviews of 2024 are here, even as a few late 2023 titles sneak into the mix. 13 in all starting with Anthony Hopkins, this time not as C.S. Lewis (Freud’s Last Session) and Renny Harlin dialing up some action with Aaron Eckhart (The Bricklayer). An Elvis, a Spock and a monkey go on a strange journey (He Went That Way) while Kaley Cuoco goes on a familiar one as another domesticated assassin (Role Play). MST3K’s Jonah Ray tries to get ahead of his neighbor (Destroy All Neighbors) and Kevin Hart leads a team through the air on a gold heist (Lift). Steve checks out the scary swimming pool (Night Swim) while J.A. Bayona revisits the real life horror of the Andes plane crash (Society of the Snow). Director Steve McQueen connects WWII to the pandemic (Occupied City) and Jake Johnson is forced to connect with someone or die (Self Reliance). Jason Statham burns phishing scammers (The Beekeeper), LaKeith Stanfield tries to one-up Jesus as the Messiah (The Book of Clarence) and a 20-year-old teen classic gets the musical treatment (Mean Girls)

The first Blu-ray show of 2024 with Peter Sobczynski and Erik Childress has got a little of everything. From Bob Hope to Brigitte Bardot and Chuck Norris to Charles Bronson. The directorial debuts of Andrew Davis and the Coen Bros. gets an upgrade as do the trilogies of Satyajit Ray and Park Chan-Wook (at least the second part of his.) Plus does Eddie Murphy’s stand-up hold up and how much is there to remember about Varsity Blues?

On our annual show, Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy make their choices for the standout films of 2023. They are joined once again by Collin Souter of the Christmas Movies Actually podcast to unveil his list as well. Their top 20 is punctuated with a lot of titles you are going to want to remember as they have. What are the ten films that found a spot on all three of their full lists and the four that each made their top tens? Stick until the end to hear their choices in a number of specialty categories that helped make the year so memorable.

Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy close out 2023 with 11 reviews of the season’s most anticipated films and award season hopefuls. Steve checks out the latest crime comedy from Francois Ozon (The Crime is Mine) while families can check out the latest animated work from Illumination (Migration). Jeffrey Wright is a professor tired of stereotypical depictions of black life in literature (American Fiction) and now there is a feature version of the musical version of Alice Walker’s novel (The Color Purple). Sports play a central role in films from directors George Clooney (The Boys in the Boat), Sean Durkin (The Iron Claw) and Michael Mann (Ferrari) while Bradley Cooper can’t help but get in on the biopic trend (Maestro). Can a new rom-com with Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell loosen things up (Anyone But You) or will pure fantasy need to be satisfied by the likes of Zack Snyder (Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire) and James Wan closing out the DC Extended Universe (Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom)?

Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy play a little catchup this week after being off the previous. This week’s review show includes a pair of documentaries about classic bands (Immediate Family) and a legendary filmmaker (Werner Herzog: Radical Dreamer). Erik checks in a wintry monster movie (A Creature Was Stirring) and Steve looks at a filmed stage musical (Waitress: The Musical) and another Dumas adaptation (The Three Musketeers: D’artagnan). It’s the end of the year so it must mean apocalyptic disaster with a pair of films (Concrete Utopia, Leave the World Behind). Mark Wahlberg is another secret killer with a homelife (The Family Plan) which will not be mistaken for two of this year’s award contenders about being outside the walls of Auschwitz (The Zone of Interest) and Emma Stone breaking down the walls of womanhood (Poor Things). Finally, families have their choice between Hayao Miyazaki (The Boy and the Heron), Aardman Studios (Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget) and the origins of a candy maker (Wonka).

The last physical media show of 2023 is here just in time to get your last minute Christmas gifts. They include some wonderful stuff for families including one of the great short films of all time, the animation of Masaaki Yuasa and Shaun the Sheep plus one of the best versions of Pinocchio. One of Spike Lee’s early films gets the 4K upgrade as does films from Walter Hill, David Cronenberg and arguably the best of John Woo’s American resume. Peter Sobczynski and Erik Childress look at the end of the ‘80s 3-D era, a trio of horror titles throughout the decades and a remote-dropper musical. They also look at a trio of mysteries including an ‘80s cult classic, Peter Falk in all his complete ‘70s glory and the ultimate one from the ‘60s brought to vivid life by Oliver Stone in the ‘90s that is one of the must-owns to end out the year.