Filmspotting

ScreenCrush critic, author, and Filmspotting SVU co-host Matt Singer joins Michael to test one of comedy’s most enduring mottos: comedy should punch up, not down. Drawing on comments from comedian George Carlin and a generation of screen comedies that pushed boundaries in every direction, they explore how the adage might apply to the movies Singer writes about in his latest book, Funny Business. They discuss how comedy changed in the age of streaming, why theatrical comedies have become endangered, what separates a great comedy from a merely successful one, and whether movies can still bring broad audiences together in an increasingly fragmented culture.Join the conversation by emailing [email protected] omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Adam and Josh finally get a chance to talk about the movie that everyone is talking about: Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s You Can See Everything. Along with some (well demarcated!) Spoiler Talk about the movie, they share poll results about the best docs of the 2020s (so far), and Josh weighs in on Laika’s Wildwood and the Palme d’Or-winning Fjord from Romania’s Cristian Mungiu.     This episode is presented by⁠ Regal Unlimited⁠⁠, the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits. Use code FILMSPOT26 to take 15% off. (Timecodes will not be precise with ads.) Intro (00:00:00-00:02:42) You Can See Everything (00:02:43-00:27:11) Filmspotting Family (00:27:12-00:33:27) You Can See Everything cont. (00:33:28-00:54:31)  Spoiler Talk: You Can See Everything (00:54:31-00:1:17:22)  Wildwood (01:17:23-01:23:10) Fjord (001:23:11-01:28:15) Polls (01:28:16-01:39:10) Credits / New Releases (01:39:11-01:43:16) Notes: Feedback: -Email us at [email protected]⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠-⁠Ask Us Anything⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and we might answer your question in bonus content. Support: -Join the Filmspotting Family for bonus shows, archive access, and more. http://filmspottingfamily.com -Filmspotting Shop for T-shirts and more. ⁠https://www.filmspotting.net/shop⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow: -Watch Filmspotting on YouTube: ⁠https://youtube.com/filmspotting⁠ -Adam/Filmspotting ⁠Letterboxd⁠ |⁠ Instagram⁠ |⁠ Facebook⁠ | ⁠Bluesky⁠ -Josh/LarsenOnFilm ⁠Letterboxd⁠ | ⁠Instagram⁠ |⁠ Facebook⁠ | ⁠BlueskySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As co-director of You Can See Everything, Nathan Fielder is unusually present in front of the camera, arguably overshadowing the film’s ostensible subject, disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes. That’s just the start of the film’s unconventionalities, which we’ll get into more next week, but first we’re revisiting a 1979 comedy that predicts Fielder’s turn as the stealth protagonist of his own documentary. As a prototype of the mockumentary form, as well as a satire of the then-nascent genre of reality television, Albert Brooks’ deeply meta debut feature Real Life encourages the audience to recognize an essential fact about documentary filmmaking, which is that cameras inevitably affect the behavior of those in front of it. And this week in Feedback, we correct an oversight in our recent discussion of The Social Network, and touch on some of the other titles we considered for this pairing. Please share your thoughts about Real Life, You Can See Everything, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. This episode is presented by⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Regal Unlimited⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits. Use code NEXTPIC26 for 15% off.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What better way to kick off Noir-vember than with a Sacred Cow review of arguably the greatest noir ever made, Billy Wilder's 1944 classic Double Indemnity. Originally reviewed in 2022 as part of the Barbara Stanwyck Marathon.  Unlock the full archive, Filmspotting Discord, ad‑free + bonus episodes, and more when you ⁠join the Filmspotting Family⁠. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With Godzilla Minus Zero coming to theaters this weekend, Matt and Jordan took it upon themselves to brush up on the “King of the Monsters.” Helping them out is guest Aaron Neuwirth, co-host of the 2 Black Guys Talk Godzilla podcast. Between them, they recommend five Godzilla titles that are available to stream. Plus, a listener request for whimsical - but still informative! - documentaries. And Matt hosts this week’s game: Letterboxd-ing — Roland With the Punches Edition.  Intro (00:00:00–00:03:07) Streaming Godzilla movies w/Aaron Neuwirth (00:03:08–01:00:34) Listener Request Seg: Whimsical Docs (01:00:35–01:23:33) Game: Letterboxd-ing — “Roland With the Punches Edition” (01:23:34–01:40:25) New to Streaming / Credits (01:40:26–01:51:08) Show Notes 2 Black Guys Talk Godzilla https://2blackguystalkgodzilla.substack.com/ “Stomping Through “Godzilla” History: Where to Begin & What To Watch | Aaron Neuwirth https://www.firstshowing.net/2019/stomping-through-godzilla-history-where-to-begin-what-to-watch/ Now Streaming on Bazooga - A Filmspotting: SVU Archive⁠ https://letterboxd.com/samvanhallgren/list/now-streaming-on-bazooga-a-filmspotting-svu/⁠ Order Matt's book "Funny Business: The Old-School Wedding Crashers and Knocked-Up Virgins Who Changed Comedy Forever" (available now!):⁠ https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/790241/funny-business-by-matt-singer/⁠ Matt’s book tour! matt-singer.net Bazooga jingle by Dave Van Hallgren Feedback: Email us at [email protected] Follow Matt on Blue Sky: @mattsinger.bsky.social Follow Jordan on Blue Sky: @jhoffman.bsky.social Follow the Show:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/superpulse/⁠⁠ https://www.facebook.com/FilmspottingSvu⁠ Follow the Show:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/superpulse/⁠⁠ https://www.facebook.com/FilmspottingSvu⁠See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For our Noirvember edition, Chris Klimek convenes a showdown between two noir classics featuring unforgettable Orson Welles villains: Carol Reed's The Third Man and Welles's own Touch of Evil. One is a postwar mystery set amid the shattered streets and shadows of occupied Vienna, featuring Welles as the charmingly monstrous Harry Lime. The other is a feverish border-town nightmare with the filmmaker buried beneath prosthetics as corrupt police captain Hank Quinlan. Arguing for The Third Man is Matt Gourley (Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend, With Gourley and Rust, James Bonding), who contends that Reed's masterpiece transcends noir, combining unforgettable atmosphere, moral ambiguity, and one of cinema's greatest endings. Representing Touch of Evil is Anne Thompson (IndieWire, Screen Talk), who makes the case that Welles's final Hollywood film is a singular feat of visual storytelling and one of the boldest achievements ever produced within the studio system. Which Welles villain casts the longer shadow, and which film deserves to survive? Choose your winner at moviedeathmatch.com. (Times will not be precise with ads.) Intro / Meet the Advocates (00:00:00-00:12:01) Rd. 1 – The Movies in Their Time (00:12:02-00:24:14) Rd. 2 – The Movies in Our Time (00:24:15-00:46:49) Rd. 3 – The Movies for All Time (00:46:50-01:05:33) The Verdict / Credits (01:05:34-01:13:04) More From Anne: -IndieWire https://www.indiewire.com/author/anne-thompson/ -Sight & Sound: Who voted for Touch of Evil? https://www.bfi.org.uk/film/829f71c1-8c9d-5294-b77d-93de81913c9d/touch-of-evil -The $11 Billion Year: From Sundance to the Oscars… https://www.amazon.com/dp/0062218018 More From Matt: -“Normal Like Me” https://deathbed.ghost.io/normal-like-me/ -Superego https://www.gosuperego.com/ Follow Chris: -Instagram | Bluesky | XSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Adam and Travis welcome Samantha N. Sheppard, PhD, Associate Professor of Cinema and Media Studies at Cornell University, to discuss Steve James's landmark 1994 documentary Hoop Dreams. Drawing on research from her new book, The Basketball Film: A Cultural and Transmedia History, Sheppard explains why Hoop Dreams stands as the defining work of the basketball film genre. The conversation explores the film's complicated relationship to competition, bell hooks' famous critique, and why the stories of Arthur Agee and William Gates continue to resonate more than three decades later. Along the way, Sheppard reflects on her own path to becoming one of the leading scholars of sports cinema and shares some personal favorites from the basketball movie canon. Next Episode: –The Hurricane with Grant Wiedenfeld, Ph.D., MFA (University of Toronto) Links: –Email the show at [email protected]. -Sporting Blackness: Race, Embodiment, and Critical Muscle Memory on Screen Theme Music: –King of the Corpse Flowers by Oxykitten | SpotifySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For Halloween week, Adam and Josh revisit the movie that reanimated the slasher, Wes Craven’s 1996 meta-horror classic Scream. Plus, highlights from the 5th annual Refocus Film Festival and Massacre Theatre.  This episode is presented by⁠ Regal Unlimited⁠⁠, the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits. Use code FILMSPOT26 to take 15% off. (Timecodes will not be precise with ads.) Intro (00:00:00-00:01:55) Scream at 30 (00:01:56-00:30:43) Filmspotting Family (00:30:44-00:34:56) Scream cont. (00:34:57-00:1:03:28) Refocus Film Festival (00:1:03:29-01:15:07) Massacre Theatre (01:15:08-01:22:23) Credits / New Releases (01:22:24-01:26:47) Notes: -Refocus Film Festival https://refocusfilmfestival.org/ Feedback: -Email us at [email protected]⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠-⁠Ask Us Anything⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and we might answer your question in bonus content. Support: -Join the Filmspotting Family for bonus shows, archive access, and more. http://filmspottingfamily.com -Filmspotting Shop for T-shirts and more. ⁠https://www.filmspotting.net/shop⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow: -Watch Filmspotting on YouTube: ⁠https://youtube.com/filmspotting⁠ -Adam/Filmspotting ⁠Letterboxd⁠ |⁠ Instagram⁠ |⁠ Facebook⁠ | ⁠Bluesky⁠ -Josh/LarsenOnFilm ⁠Letterboxd⁠ | ⁠Instagram⁠ |⁠ Facebook⁠ | ⁠BlueskySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A few weeks out from The Social Reckoning’’s tepid theatrical debut, it’s safe to say Aaron Sorkin’s “spiritual sequel” to 2010’s The Social Network won’t match its successor’s box-office success, nor is it likely to be as fondly remembered in 16 years’ time. There are many ways in which the newer film goes astray, which we cover in our opening discussion of Reckoning, before bringing Network back in for Connections to consider how much of each film’s vision of Mark Zuckerberg’s social-media empire can be attributed to/blamed on Sorkin specifically. Then in a Zuck-inspired Your Next Picture Show, we briefly review a very long documentary about another tech billionaire whose name has become something of a four-letter word over the years: Alex Gibney’s Musk. Please share your thoughts about The Social Network, The Social Reckoning, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Next Pairing: Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s You Can See Everything and Albert Brooks’ Real Life. This episode is presented by⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Regal Unlimited⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits. Use code NEXTPIC26 for 15% off.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For Halloween week, we're going deep into the Archive for Adam and Josh's 2013 Sacred Cow review of William Friedkin's The Exorcist.  Unlock the full archive, Filmspotting Discord, ad‑free + bonus episodes, and more when you ⁠join the Filmspotting Family⁠. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.