podcast Archives -

OBEX MOVIE REVIEW OBEX, the latest film from multi-hyphenate artist Albert Birney, is set in the pre-internet days of the 1980s. In addition to writing and directing, Birney also stars as Conor, a computer nerd and shut-in who lives alone with his dog Sandy. One day, intrigued by an ad, Conor orders a copy of […]

STRANGER THINGS – SEASON 5 PART 3 REVIEW Released in 2016 to relatively little fanfare, Stranger Things quickly became a word of mouth hit, a pop culture phenomenon, and Netflix‘s flagship show. Now, almost a decade later, the show has completed its final voyage. It’s possible the ship might have suffered some damage along the […]

THE ELEPHANT REVIEW According to legend, and a very quick google search, the very first animated story was by French artist Émile Cohl called Fantasmagorie back in 1908. It lasted a little over a minute and featured our protagonist trying to get rid of hats, a clown, and an elephant. Over a century later, a […]

DIGITAL NOISE EPISODE 368: JOHN’S BEST STACK EVER? When John picked up this week’s stack of physical media to watch for Digital Noise, he said, “Chris…this might be the best stack you’ve ever handed me”. So, the suspense begins…did they live up to his hopes? With everything from a legendary documentary about one of the […]

BEST OF 2025 PART THREE Chris and Wright gather a different lineup of regulars and friends to discuss more of the best movies and tv shows of 2025 that MAYBE aren’t the things you’ve heard everyone else talking about. Things have gotten a little looser on this second (in person, third overall) segment as the […]

HOLLYWOOD ROYALTY: DUNAWAY AFTER CRAWFORD – PREVIEW Hosted by Frank Calvillo, Hollywood Royalty: Dunaway After Crawford offers a look at the post-Mommie Dearest career of legendary actress Faye Dunaway. Featuring a variety of guests and titles, we look at the Oscar-winner’s varied body of work from the early 80s to the early 00s, with some […]

BEST OF 2025 PART TWO If you have listened to our Best Of podcasts in the past, you expect to hear Professor Jeff from Rage Select give some of his favorite games (and usually animes) of the year. This year the timing didn’t work out for him to join us at our ‘big crew’ recording, […]

BEST OF 2025 PART ONE We always try to do something a little different every year with our Best Of The Year shows. This year, we decided to get together just the Austin-based folks for a sorta mini-Gathering series of podcasts to take on the best of TV, Film, and Videogames of 2025. The conceit […]

NE ZHA 2 MOVIE REVIEW Ne Zha, the story of a rebellious and powerful child deity in Chinese mythology with origins in Buddhist lore, has been interpreted and adapted throughout the centuries through word of mouth, written folk lore, and like all the best myths, adapted to the silver screen. Therefore it is no surprise […]

WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BETTE & JOAN? – BONUS EPISODE 6: SIGNATURE ROLES “Fasten your seatbelts. It’s going to be a bumpy night!” Welcome to the final bonus episode of What Ever Happened to Bette & Joan?, an ongoing journey through the later careers of Bette Davis & Joan Crawford. This holiday season, we’ve gone […]

IS THIS THING ON? MOVIE REVIEW Comedy can be good for a lot of things but personal healing is not one you hear as much about. Writer/Director Bradley Cooper offers this year in an unusually low-key release his take on the subject, Is This Thing On? Loosely inspired by the life of British comedian John […]

STARRING DICK VAN DYKE MOVIE REVIEW Go over to PBS online and do yourself the favor of watching Starring Dick Van Dyke for FREE! You have no excuse not to enjoy this beautiful documentary that celebrates the life, legacy, and unshakable charm of one of entertainment’s most enduring icons. This film traces Van Dyke’s journey […]

STRANGER THINGS – SEASON 5 VOLUME 2 REVIEW Once again, Netflix has dropped another volume of Stranger Things Season 5 episodes on a major holiday, and once again our reviewers took a break from their vacation plans to binge these three new episodes and record their thoughts ahead of the feature-length finale scheduled to drop […]

TRASH IN THE CAN: THE GRINCH THAT STOLE BITCHES This week, the boys ruin Christmas with the help of a horny ex-con Grinch, drug dealing elves, and more ass shaking than a 2 Live Crew! Returning guest and podcaster, Caroline Sulek, helps us unwrap this trap house Dr. Seuss retelling that reminds us Tubi is […]

HEART/FELT – IT’S IN EVERY ONE OF US: EMMET OTTER’S JUG-BAND CHRISTMAS & A MUPPET FAMILY CHRISTMAS In this holiday roundtable episode of Heart/Felt, I’m joined by returning guests Shira More, Frank Calvillo, and Rhett O’Hara to reflect on Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas and A Muppet Family Christmas. We explore how these intimate seasonal specials […]

INFLUENCERS MOVIE REVIEW Smash that like button and don’t forget to subscribe to that hashtag #MurderBeautifulPeopleOnVacation! Whether you follow on Instagram, Twitter rebrands, TikTok, or are over the hill and on Facebook, Influencers is that Gen X to Z killing spree goodness you need to close out your holiday shuffle as we all dance into […]

SMILING FRIENDS SEASON 3 REVIEW Smiling Friends returns on Adult Swim for a third season and it chronicles the employees of Smiling Friend Inc. and their never ending quest to chase the blues away and help you recognize the brighter days ahead. Smiling Friends employees Pim (Michael Cusack) and Charlie (Zach Hadel) are here to […]

ANACONDA MOVIE REVIEW If you’ve ever seen the 1997 horror film Anaconda starring Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, Jon Voight, Owen Wilson, and Eric Stoltz, you know that it’s not exactly a masterpiece of the genre. And yet, it stubbornly exudes a weird cultural fascination that only comes with movies that are very bad yet oddly […]

WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BETTE & JOAN? – BONUS EPISODE 5: GRANDE DAME GUIGNOL: A CONTINUING EDUCATION “I want this lying bitch out of my house!” Welcome to another bonus episode of What Ever Happened to Bette & Joan?, an ongoing journey through the later careers of Bette Davis & Joan Crawford. Although our travels […]

SONG SUNG BLUE It’s Christmas time so you can expect a few things: people acting like Mariah Carey is some horror movie villain, reconsiderations of the Grinch as a powerful anti-capitalist figure unjustifiably bullied by a bunch of yokels, and lately Hugh Jackman playing a singing role in a film. Song Sung Blue tells the […]

WE BURY THE DEAD MOVIE REVIEW The apocalypse arrives with a bang after a catastrophic military experiment off the coast of Tasmania wipes out nearly all life on the island. Slowly, the dead begin to rise and shamble due to the effects of the fallout. Ava Newman (Daisy Ridley) scours the post-collapse nation for her […]

ALL’S FAIR SERIES REVIEW RIta Rudner once said “Marriages don’t last. When I meet a guy, the first question I ask myself is: is this the man I want my children to spend their weekends with?”. Hulu presents a show about a law firm of ladies helping women turn those I Do’s into I don’t […]

OH. WHAT. FUN. MOVIE REVIEW One Christmas you’re bound in a homemade leather suit decapitating mannequins while eluding the detective skills of a millionaire with daddy issues while awakening your independence and empowering an audience of all ages to do the same in the face of an uncaring apathetic world. Meow! Then three decades later, […]

DIGITAL NOISE EPISODE 367: HIDEOUS MUTANT FREAK CRITICS A long time ago Wright and Chris were walking down a long and lonesome road when all of the sudden shined some shiny…physical media. And our audience said, “Give the best reviews in the world or we’ll eat your souls”. And Chris and Wright looked at each […]

IT: WELCOME TO DERRY SERIES REVIEW Sister duo “Patience and Prudence” sang the cheerful tune A Smile and a Ribbon which said “A smile is something special, a ribbon is something rare. So I’ll be special and I’ll be rare with a smile and a ribbon in my hair.” Decades have passed since the ironically […]

JAY KELLY MOVIE REVIEW Netflix’s Jay Kelly arrives as a quiet, contemplative drama about success, friendship, and the uneasy space between who you were and who you’ve become. Noah Baumbach uses his career-long craft of telling stories that explore themes of success, sacrifice, loss, and existential dread to get George Clooney and Adam Sandler Golden […]

COME SEE ME IN THE GOOD LIGHT MOVIE REVIEW Allen Ginsberg once said “Poetry is not an expression of the party line. It’s that time of night, lying in bed, thinking what you really think, making the private world public, that’s what the poet does.” Andrea Gibson is a poet whose works include the acclaimed […]

WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BETTE & JOAN?: BONUS EPISODE 4: AND THE NOMINEES ARE… Welcome to the fourth bonus episode of What Ever Happened to Bette & Joan?, an ongoing journey through the later careers of Bette Davis & Joan Crawford. Although our travels through Bette & Joan’s post-Baby Jane years may have come to […]

THE HOUSEMAID MOVIE REVIEW Ready for some trashy Paul Feig twisty silliness? The Housemaid is one of those films that you’re either going to be with its over-the-top, elevated Lifetime movie dramatics as super fun, or totally bored by it. Sydney Sweeney plays Millie, a desperate woman with a troubled past who is sleeping in […]

AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH MOVIE REVIEW James Cameron has constantly been pushing the needle throughout his career in terms of visual F/X. If there’s a new Cameron movie, you can be sure you’re going to see some digital work that is the newest and shiniest thing out there. With the third in his Avatar series, […]

UNDER THE STARS MOVIE REVIEW Regarding true love, I give you this quote from the pages of “A Wizard and Glass” by Stephen King. “True love, like any other strong and addicting drug, is boring—once the tale of encounter and discovery is told, kisses quickly grow stale and caresses tiresome…except, of course, to those who […]

THE ABANDONS SERIES REVIEW ‘The way of the gun’ crashes against the power of wealth while the law watches with a big bucket of popcorn in this Netflix series by The Shield and Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter, The Abandons. Fiona Nolan (Lena Headey) is a ruthless calculating homesteader who adopted several orphans to […]

ELLA MCCAY MOVIE REVIEW Writer/Director/Sitcom creating legend James L. Brooks is back with his first feature film in fifteen years with Ella McCay. Emma Mackey plays the titular role and she is a force of nature. When we meet her in the film, she’s a schoolgirl telling off her dad (Woody Harrelson) for being a […]

DIGITAL NOISE EPISODE 366: DOCTOR LORD SIR JOHN GHOLSON ON HOME RELEASES Ok, before you do anything else, go buy the movie Man Finds Tape which is available right now on VOD. John plays the antagonist in this horror film that is getting stellar reviews and lots of attention. It’s well worth your time. And […]

WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BETTE & JOAN?: BONUS EPISODE 3: PRODUCED BY BETTE & JOAN “Must you always let that sister of yours get ahead of you?” Welcome to the third bonus episode of What Ever Happened to Bette & Joan?, our ongoing journey of the later careers of Bette Davis & Joan Crawford. Although […]

JINGLE BELL HEIST MOVIE REVIEW Nice Christmas tree you got there with all that silver and gold on it. Be a shame if something happened to it. Jingle Bell Heist follows Sophia (Olivia Holt) who is all dressed up in red and green, and making cash at the Christmas department store adorned with Christmas trees […]

HEART/FELT – HIS HUMANITY: THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL In this episode of Heart/Felt, I’m joined by friend of the show, Baylor Johnson, for a poignant conversation about The Muppet Christmas Carol, a film born from profound loss and creative resilience. Together, we explore how the first Muppet feature made after Jim Henson’s passing became both […]

LEFT-HANDED GIRL MOVIE REVIEW Director Shih-Ching Tsou once said “I fell in love with my own city again. I spent 23 years of my life in Taipei. That’s home. That’s where my family is. I can never remove that from my brain or my body, and I notice every little detail of the city now. […]

HAMNET MOVIE REVIEW It’s important to remember when looking at biopics about real people that we actually know very little about, that being queeny about the historical details is entirely besides the fact. Guarantee that director Chloé Zhao knew that when she signed up to make the film Hamnet and it was never intended to […]

KILL BILL: THE WHOLE BLOODY AFFAIR MOVIE REVIEW Quentin Tarantino’s tribute to all his favorite geeky things Kill Bill Volume 1 originally came out in theaters in 2003, with Volume 2 following in 2004. They reached the highest gross of a Tarantino release at that point and were largely critically acclaimed. His original cut for […]

THE LOWDOWN SERIES REVIEW Mark Twain once said “If you tell the truth, you won’t have to remember anything”. This great advice seems to go largely unobserved in the Oklahoma city of Tulsa in the FX series, The Lowdown. Lee Raybon (Ethan Hawke) is a bookstore owner that also happens to moonlight as a self […]

TRAIN DREAMS MOVIE REVIEW Denis Johnson once said “If you write fiction, you’re by yourself. There are certain advantages to that in that you don’t have to explain anything to anybody”. An adaptation of one of Johnson’s most cherished novellas is now streaming on Netflix, Train Dreams. Robert Grainier (Joel Edgerton) is a man living […]

MARTY SUPREME MOVIE REVIEW The Safdie brothers appear to have, for now, split up their teamwork. While Bennie took on the UFC Dwayne Johnson movie this year with The Smashing Machine, Josh seems to have retained a bit more of the Uncut Gems/Good Time feel with his latest, Marty Supreme. The film stars Timothée Chalamet […]

BUNNY MOVIE REVIEW There are so many songs about New York from all kinds of artists. From crooners to rappers, the adulation of the big apple can be heard world wide, but the best kind of harmonies that make up the most memorable stories are from the voices of the communities within the city itself. […]

WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BETTE & JOAN?: BONUS EPISODE 2: ROM-COM QUEENS Welcome to the second bonus episode of What Ever Happened to Bette & Joan?, an ongoing journey of the later careers of Bette Davis & Joan Crawford. Although our travels through Bette & Joan’s post-Baby Jane years may have come to an end, […]

STRANGER THINGS – SEASON 5 VOLUME 1 REVIEW The fifth and final season of Stranger Things might leave you feeling nostalgic, not for the 1980s, but for the halcyon days of 2016; back when a streaming series with no pre-release buzz could become a surprise word-of-mouth hit, when unknown child actors were actually the same […]

WAKE UP DEAD MAN: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY MOVIE REVIEW The greatest detective of the 21st century is back with a new mystery, once again written and directed by Rian Johnson and starring Daniel Craig as the quirky Benoit Blanc. This time, he is looking into a ‘locked room’ murder; an arrogant and narcissistic priest […]

HEART/FELT – IT’S WHEN WE LAUGHED: LABYRINTH Fiber artist Tessa Morrison joins me for a deep dive into the glittery, goblin-packed world of Labyrinth. We explore its mix of fairytale whimsy, coming-of-age themes, and yes, David Bowie’s codpiece, while highlighting Jim Henson’s bold blend of puppetry and cutting-edge effects that make the film’s imaginative maze […]

TRASH IN THE CAN: THE FOLLOWER This week, the boys dive into the bloody, ring-lit world of clout chasing with a very special guest, actual star of the movie, Stephanie Oustalet! It’s a tale of hashtags, hatchets, and the world’s smallest woman. Join us as we break down 2022’s The Follower, a movie where the […]

WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BETTE & JOAN?: BONUS EP 1: BETTE & JOAN GET CONTROVERSIAL Welcome to the first bonus episode of What Ever Happened to Bette & Joan?, an ongoing journey through late-era Bette Davis & Joan Crawford. Although, our travels through Bette & Joan’s post-Baby Jane years may have come to an end, […]

HAZBIN HOTEL SEASON 2 REVIEW Heaven’s extermination of Hell’s sinners in order to keep the sinner population below the numbers of the righteous has been thwarted by Charlie Morningstar (Erika Henningsen). Along with her girlfriend Vaggie (Stephanie Beatriz) she runs the Hazbin Hotel, a place sinners can go for redemption. Hell isn’t forever anymore after […]

CHAINSAW MAN – THE MOVIE: REZE ARC Tatsuki Fujimoto’s most hellish manga creation has rev’ed up from the the page, onto the tv screens, and moving onto the biggest screens of silver and into our hearts. We are talking about Chainsaw Man The Movie- Reze Arc directed by anime key artist and showrunning legend Tatsuya […]

THE PAPER SERIES REVIEW What are some things you can use the newspaper for? Paper mache for a float or some kind of school art project. Catching droppings at the bottom of your bird cage. A prop for a costume at halloween or a play. However it may surprise you to learn that in the […]

WICKED: FOR GOOD MOVIE REVIEW The most anticipated movie of the year (by studios hoping to pay for the rest of the year’s screwups by this paying for it) is here. The celebrated musical adapted from a book which was a reimagining of the movie which was based on a book has now concluded (?) […]

MUZZLE: CITY OF WOLVES MOVIE REVIEW Surprise! A sequel to a movie you didn’t know exists! Well, at the very least The Screener Squad didn’t know about it. Muzzle: City of Wolves storms onto the scene as the surprise sequel to 2023’s Muzzle, once again centered on Aaron Eckhart’s LAPD K-9 officer Jake Rosser. Still […]

STAR WARS: VISIONS SEASON 3 REVIEW Star Wars: Visions returns with nine bold new animated shorts that push the galaxy far, far away into fresh artistic territory while continuing a few fan-favorite stories like The Duel, The Ninth Jedi, and The Village Bride, as well as 6 brand new visions. Each short brings a different […]

CHAD POWERS SERIES REVIEW Its the 4th quarter with the clock ticking and the game on the line in front of a sea of fans and that one person in the stands that matters more than anything. Lesser men would crumble under the pressure and the moment calls for a true hero. Unfortunately, that’s not […]

THE RUNNING MAN MOVIE REVIEW The Stephen King adaptations won’t stop coming of late and we’ve gotten some pretty good ones like The Life of Chuck and The Long Walk. Now, Paramount is going back to the well with The Running Man, which had a somewhat successful 1987 adaptation as an Schwarzenegger film. Problem with […]

BALLAD OF A SMALL PLAYER MOVIE REVIEW Did you know that there are other casinos in the world and Las Vegas doesn’t corner the market on gambling? It’s true! Also the tables offer more than poker and blackjack. That’s right, sometimes the cards are used for a game called baccarat. It’s a simple game in […]

NOUVELLE VAGUE MOVIE REVIEW In 1959, film critic Jean-Luc Godard set out to direct his first feature, “À bout de souffle” or Breathless as it is known in English. Following Godard’s oft quoted dictum that ‘All you need to make a movie is a girl and a gun’, Breathless tells the story of a louche […]

HEART/FELT – AMERICA’S OLDEST CHILD STAR: FOLLOW THAT BIRD In this episode of Heart/Felt, I’m joined by friend of the show Elliot Williams to talk about Follow That Bird, Big Bird’s big-screen debut. We discuss the film’s gentle mix of road-trip adventure and emotional storytelling, its reflections on belonging and community, and what makes Big […]

DIGITAL NOISE EPISODE 365: WE PICKED THE WRONG WEEK TO STOP SNIFFING GLUE Wright and Chris review all the home releases fit to podcast about. With this mighty stack of titles, only their pure heroism and combined forces of will keep them on point (largely) to tell you about everything from the greatest western out […]

PREDATOR: BADLANDS MOVIE REVIEW Director/writer Dan Trachtenberg gets his third go-round helming a Predator film (definitely watch Prey and Predator: Killer of Killers). This time he gets a theatrical release, like his previous two should have, and again he finds a way to tell a story very different from your traditional Predator film entry. Dek […]

HEDDA MOVIE REVIEW That Gatsby, now he was great, a guy who knew how to throw a party. In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars. You know who else could throw a luxurious party and all for the sake of killing […]

A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE MOVIE REVIEW Tony Scott’s Crimson Tide. John Woo’s Broken Arrow. Heck, even Michael Bay’s The Rock. What do these films have in common? Bad men have THE BOMB and they are threatening to launch. Okay, Gene Hackman as a bad man in Crimson Tide is sort of debatable but that’s what […]

SLOW HORSES SEASON 5 REVIEW Slow Horses Season 5 wastes no time setting up the stakes, starting with a brutal mass shooting in the heart of London. This kicks off a series of terrorist attacks in a politically divided city during the midst of a fraught mayoral campaign. Ordinarily, this would be a job for […]

ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING SEASON 5 REVIEW After four seasons of murders in the building, you would think the titular building would be the least desirable apartment complex in all of Manhattan. Fortunately for fans of Only Murders in the Building, people are still dying to move into The Arconia, home of true crime […]

GEN V SEASON 2 REVIEW You know what uncredited thing they say about college? An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest. But if somebody told you that Godolkin University was your everyday run of the mill college, somebody lied. Last time on Amazon Prime Video’s Gen V, The freshman class was abducted by […]

THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE MOVIE REVIEW In the 1992 film The Hand that Rocks the Cradle, fictional character Peyton Flanders said “When your husband makes love to you, it’s *my* face he sees. When your baby’s hungry, it’s *my* breast that feeds him. Look at you! When push comes to shove… you can’t […]

DIGITAL NOISE EPISODE 364: TWO ALL-TIMER HIDDEN GEMS John and Chris take on a small stack this week but loaded with two older films completely unknown to either of them that instantly elevate to ALL-TIMERS. Like, so good, go see them immediately, tell all your friends about them type of great. You’ll have to listen […]

TASK SERIES REVIEW Remember Mare of Easttown on HBO? A self contained mini series with three acts about an FBI agent with no extended universe, no hanging threads or unresolved plots, and also it was for grown ups? We were watching week to week the dominoes being set up by the hand of cruelty and […]

V/H/S HALLOWEEN MOVIE REVIEW Close down that YouTube browser and put the leftover creepy pasta in the fridge. The time of year has arrived for short form horror films in a nice packaged anthology! Presenting the eighth film in the franchise, V/H/S Halloween. A collection of scary cinema icons and prospects present six chilling tales […]

THE WOMAN IN CABIN 10 MOVIE REVIEW Author Ruth Ware once said “The only advice I can give to aspiring writers is to write the book you would want to read, and hope other people agree”. I don’t know about reading but Netflix sees you, Ruth, and is hoping A Woman in Cabin 10 is […]

HEART/FELT – AN ALL THE TIME JOB: THE MUPPETS TAKE MANHATTAN In this episode of Heart/Felt, I’m joined by Shira More of the Necromancer podcast to dive into The Muppets Take Manhattan. We talk about the film’s more grounded, less zany tone compared to its predecessors, the historic first appearance of the Muppet Babies, and […]

TRASH IN THE CAN: THE PAUL LYNDE HALLOWEEN SPECIAL What do you get when you mix disco, Kiss, the Wicked Witch of the West, and a mountain of cocaine? The Paul Lynde Halloween Special! A variety show so baffling, it makes the Star Wars Holiday Special look restrained. Baylor Johnson joins us for a spooky […]