Casually Critical

Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Avengers: Endgame. Casually Critical: Season 4. What do they all have in common, aside from colons? You'll have to press "play" on your device to find out. I know, it's a lot of effort, but today is the present day of the year and people are the way they are, so if it's mercy you're looking for I ain't gonna give it to you. Sorry. Life's a rough friend sometimes. You can always not press play, but then you'll never satisfy the curiosity that has been building inside of you the entire time you've been reading this description. And no, I've got nothing better to do. • • • • • We'd love to keep you updated on our upcoming creative endeavors and tomfoolery. Stay in touch with us on Instagram: @james.fignewton and @danielcarpenterfilms We have websites, too: jamesnewtonart.com and danielcarpenterfilms.com • • • • • Executive Producers and Hosts: Daniel Carpenter, James Newton Sound Design and Audio Mixing: Daniel Carpenter Social Media: James Newton

Help us shape our fourth season! Take the short survey here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdStOaxvzkxaxlzwG_iBMGMGHCKkMI2zuoc6cml1x9_7DcAIA/viewform?usp=sf_link • • • • • Casually Critical: Season Four will premiere on June 9, 2023. Until then... Check us out on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/casuallycriticalpodcast/ We have a Facebook, too: https://www.facebook.com/CasuallyCriticalPodcast/ Maybe email is more your thing: [email protected] • • • • • Executive Producers and Hosts: Daniel Carpenter, James Newton Sound Design and Audio Mixing: Daniel Carpenter Social Media: James Newton

Daniel and James wrap up season three by bringing back the Entertainment Awards, followed by a forecast for 2023's new releases. Don't worry, you can rest easy: the entire episode is spoiler-free! • • • • • Season Three's Entertainment Awards: The Casually Critical Fan Club Award - 3:49 The One-Man Hype Train Award - 4:54 Franchise Killer Award - 6:40 "Good on Paper" Award - 7:35 Marketing Team Creative Influence Award - 9:35 Lemonade Award - 12:33 Participation Award - 14:10 Achievement in Acting - 16:00 Host's Personal Favorite Season Three Episode - 19:09 Achievement in Storytelling - 21:37 Creative Dumpster Fire Reigning Champion - 26:37 • • • • • 2023 Movie Forecast: John Wick: Chapter 4 - 32:35 Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves - 35:07 Dune: Part Two - 38:34 Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3 - 40:52 Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny - 42.57 The Super Mario Bros. Movie- 45:23 Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania - 48:50 Coyote vs. Acme - 52:40 The Flash - 56:17 Strays - 59:33 Haunted Mansion - 1:04:09 Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse - 1:07:26 Off-the-Air Movie Recommendations - 1:14:38 • • • • • Stay tuned for Casually Critical: Season Four, premiering June 9, 2023. Until then... Check us out on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/casuallycriticalpodcast/ We have a Facebook, too: https://www.facebook.com/CasuallyCriticalPodcast/ Maybe email is more your thing: [email protected] • • • • • Executive Producers and Hosts: Daniel Carpenter, James Newton Sound Design and Audio Mixing: Daniel Carpenter Social Media: James Newton

The two reviewers revisit a childhood classic, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), and measure it up against their nostalgia. James reveals one of his favorite animal side characters of all time and Daniel uses the end battle as a case study for setting up an epic moment. Spoiler Review begins at 11:05. • • • • • Want to join in the conversation? We'd love to answer some of your burning questions or hear your feedback about the show. Who knows? Your questions could be featured on one of our episodes! Check us out on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/casuallycriticalpodcast/ We have a Facebook, too: https://www.facebook.com/CasuallyCriticalPodcast/ Maybe email is more your thing: [email protected] • • • • • Executive Producers and Hosts: Daniel Carpenter, James Newton Sound Design and Audio Mixing: Daniel Carpenter Social Media: James Newton

You taunted us. You cajoled us. So we finally did it: we watched the entire season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022). Was it worth the eight-hour investment? Did we have any regrets, or did our viewing experience cause us to do a heel turn on our initial thoughts? Let's face it, you wouldn't be reading this description unless you were a mite bit curious. Go on, then: give this episode a listen. The review begins at 10:00. Spoiler Review begins at 18:57. • • • • • Want to join in the conversation? We'd love to answer some of your burning questions or hear your feedback about the show. Who knows? Your questions could be featured on one of our episodes! Check us out on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/casuallycriticalpodcast/ We have a Facebook, too: https://www.facebook.com/CasuallyCriticalPodcast/ Maybe email is more your thing: [email protected] • • • • • Executive Producers and Hosts: Daniel Carpenter, James Newton Sound Design and Audio Mixing: Daniel Carpenter Social Media: James Newton

Here's a mysterious inquiry: how could Rian Johnson top what he did in his previous whodunit, Knives Out? Is it possible for a sequel to be bigger AND better? And can you objectively appreciate a well-crafted story even when you subjectively disagree with the themes it conveys? Daniel and James grab their cigars, tie their ascots, and polish their spectacles as they seek those confounding answers in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022). Spoiler Review begins at 24:21. • • • • • Want to join in the conversation? We'd love to answer some of your burning questions or hear your feedback about the show. Who knows? Your questions could be featured on one of our episodes! Check us out on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/casuallycriticalpodcast/ We have a Facebook, too: https://www.facebook.com/CasuallyCriticalPodcast/ Maybe email is more your thing: [email protected] • • • • • Executive Producers and Hosts: Daniel Carpenter, James Newton Sound Design and Audio Mixing: Daniel Carpenter Social Media: James Newton

Daniel and James take a break, relax, and answer questions from listeners of the podcast. What's your favorite movie soundtrack? Is music essential to telling a story in film? (3:54) What's a fan theory you wish was true or would improve the property it's about? (14:56) What are the most consistent themes that stick out to you in a film? (23:52) Have you noticed any thematic patterns in the top-grossing box office films of the past decade? (28:45) Is film the best form of storytelling in our generation? (45:17) Should film be the main tool for telling stories in less technologically-advanced cultures? (53:52) Is there a literary/cinematic trope that is necessary for a good story? (1:02:41) What makes a scene truly emotional? (1:12:08) Is Die Hard a Christmas movie? (1:22:03) Daniel's question for James (1:32:48) James's question for Daniel (1:35:49) • • • • • Want to join in the conversation? We'd love to answer some of your burning questions or hear your feedback about the show. Who knows? Your questions could be featured on one of our episodes! Check us out on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/casuallycriticalpodcast/ We have a Facebook, too: https://www.facebook.com/CasuallyCriticalPodcast/ Maybe email is more your thing: [email protected] • • • • • Executive Producers and Hosts: Daniel Carpenter, James Newton Sound Design and Audio Mixing: Daniel Carpenter Social Media: James Newton

Featuring Abbey Frisco as this episode's guest! The two critics step back into the murky, money-dense waters of Marvel Studios as a corporate filmmaker joins them in discussing the first season of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022). Is the show a milestone in female representation, or the latest example of poor, hot-button writing? What if it's both? What if it's neither? Abbey shares her experience as a filmmaker, a marketing professional, and a woman. James unpacks the oversaturation of Marvel's franchise and Daniel keeps confusing She-Hulk for a movie instead of a streaming series. Spoiler Review begins at 47:30. • • • • • Want to join in the conversation? We'd love to answer some of your burning questions or hear your feedback about the show. Who knows? Your questions could be featured on one of our episodes! Check us out on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/casuallycriticalpodcast/ We have a Facebook, too: https://www.facebook.com/CasuallyCriticalPodcast/ Maybe email is more your thing: [email protected] • • • • • Executive Producers and Hosts: Daniel Carpenter, James Newton Sound Design and Audio Mixing: Daniel Carpenter Social Media: James Newton

Is smoking actually bad for you? It is. But this movie isn't (at least in terms of lung cancer)! Daniel and James shed some light onto the inner workings of this dark comedy. What does a tastefully edgy movie look like? How can you trust your audience with your movie's message without blatantly giving it away? Tune in to this episode and find out. Spoiler Review begins at 20:05. • • • • • Want to join in the conversation? We'd love to answer some of your burning questions or hear your feedback about the show. Who knows? Your questions could be featured on one of our episodes! Check us out on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/casuallycriticalpodcast/ We have a Facebook, too: https://www.facebook.com/CasuallyCriticalPodcast/ Maybe email is more your thing: [email protected] • • • • • Executive Producers and Hosts: Daniel Carpenter, James Newton Sound Design and Audio Mixing: Daniel Carpenter Social Media: James Newton

Look, up in the sky! Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it a Boeing F/A - 18/F Super Hornet piloted by Oscar-nominee Tom Cruise?! Is it coming right for me? Am I going to live? When will the questions end? Why is Top Gun: Maverick (2022) so good and yet so worrisome? When will Daniel and James finally turn their brains off and realize that fighter jets go VROOM, end of story? Spoiler Review begins at 19:30. • • • • • Want to join in the conversation? We'd love to answer some of your burning questions or hear your feedback about the show. Who knows? Your questions could be featured on one of our episodes! Check us out on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/casuallycriticalpodcast/ We have a Facebook, too: https://www.facebook.com/CasuallyCriticalPodcast/ Maybe email is more your thing: [email protected] • • • • • Executive Producers and Hosts: Daniel Carpenter, James Newton Sound Design and Audio Mixing: Daniel Carpenter Social Media: James Newton