Spoilerpiece Theatre

Imagine it's 1979. You queue up to see STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE over the holidays. You're super psyched. Not since "Space Seed" have you been so high on the idea of boarding the Enterprise. And then you see ST:TMP and feel like you'd have more fun watching a documentary of William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy talking about taking a shit than you would watching that bloated, dull, space opera. Now imagine it's 1982. You queue up to watch WRATH OF KHAN because it can't be worse than TMP, right? And not only is it not worse, IT'S FUCKING GANGBUSTERS, THE BEST STAR TREK MOVIE ANYONE WILL EVER MAKE, SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER, FUCK YEAH! Now imagine this same scenario, except instead of TMP it's MORTAL KOMBAT from 2021, and WRATH OF KHAN is MORTAL KOMBAT II (3:04). That's right. MORTAL KOMBAT II IS FUCKING GANGBUSTERS, THE BEST MORTAL KOMBAT MOVIE ANYONE WILL EVER MAKE (probably), FINISH HIM, MOTHERFUCKER, FUCK YEAH! Or something like that. Over on Patreon, we talk about Walter Hill's 1982 classic 48 HRS.

This week Evan and Dave dive into THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2 (and by extension, its predecessor DARBY O'GILL AND THE LITTLE PEOPLE). They're both recently (re)acquainted with TDWP from 2006, and they're into the movie's plot driver: The dying journalism industry. But TDWP2 is a movie that wants to have some real-world commentary while also providing escapism, so...does it work? Eh? In any event, it's lovely to Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, and Stanley Tucci sharing a movie screen again. Over on Patreon, we talk about the 2007 thriller BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD with Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke.

This week Dave touches briefly on the documentary LORNE (3:10), about the "Saturday Night Live" creator Lorne Michaels. Then he and Evan talk about FUZE (4:25), the latest from director David Mackenzie, probably known best for HELL OR HIGH WATER (listen to our take here, with our first co-host Kris Jenson; we covered Mackenzie's RELAY on Patreon a couple months back). In FUZE, a British Army major tries to defuse an undetonated World War II bomb in central London while a group of diamond thieves uses the brouhaha surrounding it as cover for a heist. On this week's Patreon episode, we talk about the 1996 comedy-drama BIG NIGHT.

This week Dave checked out the new Bob Odenkirk splatter-fest, NORMAL. Odenkirk co-wrote the story and stars as a temp sheriff who's sent to the tiny burg of Normal, Minn., to hold things down until the town has a special election in eight weeks to replace their recently deceased big cheese law man. But as fate would have it (and contrivance), he finds himself knee-deep in Yakuza money and town is so corrupt that even the lady who owns the yarn store is in on the deal. So, is NORMAL Odenkirk's next NOBODY? Nah. (How's that for alliteration?) But it has its moments. Then Evan and Dave talk about Jonah Hill's latest turn as director, OUTCOME, starring Keanu Reeves as an actor who's just getting past heroin addiction and rebuilding his life, and trying to repair all the bridges he burned along the way. Somebody should have repaired the fuggin' script. Over on Patreon, we talk about the 2009 thriller TRIANGLE.

This week Evan and Dave bring back that ol' chestnut, "Riedel's Recaps," and Dave gives expletive-laden mini-reviews for PROJECT HAIL MARY and UNDERTONE (2:28). Then they move on to the main feature this week, HAMLET (7:50). Yep! Someone made HAMLET again! This adaptation stars Riz Ahmed as the title character, and Dave and Evan are of mixed feelings about this one. Over on Patreon, we talk about FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH from 1982.

This week Dave takes in THE DRAMA (4:17), writer-director Kristoffer Borgli's uneasy drama (with lots of comedy) about an engaged couple, Emma and Charlie (Zendaya and Robert Pattinson). When Emma tells Charlie about the worst thing she's ever done, it sparks a crisis that builds in the week leading up to their wedding. (And it was shot in Massachusetts!) Then Evan and Dave come down on opposite sides of the fence for PRETTY LETHAL (24:39), and action-thriller featuring a group of ballerinas battling their way out of a mob-owned hotel in rural Hungary. Uma Thurman has a lot of fun chewing the scene as the heavy. Over on Patreon, we talk about the 1990 action-thriller BLUE STEEL starring Jamie Lee Curtis and directed by Kathryn Bigelow.

This week Evan and Dave take in SHE DANCES, written by star Steve Zahn along with its director, Rick Gomez. Zahn is fine form in this drama (with lots of welcome comedy) about a father chaperoning his daughter (played by Zahn's daughter Audrey) to a dance competition while they both deal with an incalcuable loss. Zahn and Gomez call in favors from friends Ethan Hawke and Michael Cudlitz, both welcome in small but poignant roles. Over on Patreon, we talk about the 1986 film PLATOON by Oliver Stone.

This week Evan and Dave take a look at WAR MACHINE (1:50), a sort of mean-spirited PREDATOR clone/rip off without the solid acting, story, direction or humor. But at least we had fun talking about it! On Patreon, we talk about the 1986 buddy-cop film RUNNING SCARED with Gregory Hines and Billy Crystal.

SCARED TO DEATH (3:10) is a horror comedy that isn't particularly funny or horrific, but it does feature horror icons Lin Shaye and Bill Moseley, so that's great! (Oh, and Rae Dawn Chong shows up, too. Yay!) The story, however, is one of those nifty ideas - filming a seance in a haunted orphanage that was run by a Satan worshipper (neat!) - that falls flat. The lore doesn't add up, the characters are dopes, and the pacing is off. We don't like to give lower budgeted features a hard time, but we couldn't find much to like here. Over on Patreon, we watch Paul Feig's 2025 thriller THE HOUSEMAID.

This week Dave checked out Maggie Gyllenhaal's latest film as writer-director, THE BRIDE! (1:42), a reimagining of Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" novel and its various film iterations. Starring Jessie Buckley as The Bride (exclamation point) and Christian Bale as The Monster, it's a roller coaster ride that doesn't have either the thrills or chills one may expect, and its stale plotting can't prop up its more ambitious social commentary. And because there was no critics' screening for SCREAM 7 (14:07), Evan and Dave hit the local multiplexes to see it. Is it the shitshow everyone seems to think, or is it better than that? Take a listen to find out! Over on Patreon, we talk about the 2007 action film SHOOT 'EM UP.

February is a notoriously slow month for film releases, so we took in a couple movies that were released in the past month, Sam Raimi's SEND HELP (2:53), starring Rachel McAdams and Dylan O'Brien as an employee and her boss playing mind games as they attempt to survive on an island following a plane crash; and THIS IS NOT A TEST (15:20), about a group of high schoolers hunkered down in their school, trying to survive a fast-zombie apocalypse. Over on Patreon, we had you vote on Robert Duvall movies, and you chose FALLING DOWN.

This week Evan and Dave buckled in for the new Glen Powell thriller-comedy HOW TO MAKE A KILLING (1:50). While Evan largely enjoyed it, he agreed with Dave that it had a boatload of problems. Over on Patreon, we watched the 1986 slasher flick APRIL FOOL'S DAY.

Dave and Evan were looking forward to Gore Verbinski's GOOD LUCK, HAVE FUN, DON'T DIE (3:22). And then they saw the bloody thing. We'll let you listen and hear our thoughts rather than spill them here. But if you'd like a preview, here's Dave's Letterboxd review. Over on Patreon, we talk about the 2024 thriller RELAY, by the director of HELL OR HIGH WATER.

Evan and Dave settle in to talk about the horror film WHISTLE (1:30), whose marketing tagline is "Don't Blow It." Well, one of us thinks this derivative, bloody as hell, tonally confused schlockfest, which has countless references to other horror movies, blew it, and the other doesn't. Which co-host is which, you wonder? (Take a wild guess.) Over on Patreon, we talk about the wacko 1989 action comedy BLIND FURY.

It's Megan's final episode on Spoilerpiece, and we're very happy to send her off with lively conversations. First up is ISLANDS (5:41), a slow burn thriller about a tennis instructor (Sam Riley) at an island resort who falls in with an unhappy English couple (Stacy Martin and Jack Farthing) and their young son. We all really dug this picture, and think Riley is great in the lead role. Then it's on to A PRIVATE LIFE (30:11), a sort-of comedy, sort-of thriller set in Paris, with Jodie Foster as a psychotherapist who's convinced that one of her patients was murdered. But how is she going to prove it? By making lots and lots of bad (but comic) decisions, including dragging her ex-husband into the adventure. The movie is tonally all over the place, but we all found things to like in it (particularly Megan, who is a bona fide Jodie Foster fan). Over on Patreon, we talk about the 1995 movie TANK GIRL.

This week, Megan tells Dave and Evan about H IS FOR HAWK (2:48), based on Helen MacDonald's memoir about losing their beloved father and, while grieving, adopting a stubborn hawk. Then all three of them talk about DOOBA DOOBA (11:31). This found footage horror film rubbed them all the wrong way. Some of them really wrong. Finally, Megan and Evan discuss THE MYSTERIOUS GAZE OF THE FLAMINGO (36:46). Both Evan and Megan were moved by this movie's embrace of queer joy while it's simultaneously an AIDS allegory. Over on Patreon, we watch the Safdie Brothers' 2017 film GOOD TIME

Before we start talking movies, Megan has some news. Then: We often say on Spoilerpiece that movies we select to review end up being thematically related, even when we don't intend them to be. Well, not today, gang! THE CHORAL (5:50) and THE RIP (24:12) could not be less alike if they're directors (Nicholas Hytner and Joe Carnahan, respectively) made conscious decisions to make them live on opposite ends of the movie spectrum. Evan and Dave take on THE CHORAL (Megan had screener problems), an all-over-the-place drama about a chorus putting together a performance under the heavy cloud of World War I. Ralph Fieness is great. Everything else? Hmm... Then there's THE RIP (and if you forget what this flick is called, it will remind you), which all of us watched. This police thriller about some Miami PD cops seizing a giant stash of cartel money has some tense moments, but overall we didn't love it (even if we didn't hate it). Though we ackowledge Ben Affleck blows the roof off this one. Matt Damon? Not so much. Over on Patreon, we pay tribute to Rob Reiner and talk about A FEW GOOD MEN.

This week we get down to the wire - the DEAD MAN'S WIRE (2:56), that is! (Hey-o!). This drama about a well-known-to-Hoosiers (like Dave) historical incident didn't really work for us. Which incident, you ask? Why, a very public kidnapping! Bill Skarsgård plays a disgruntled Indianapolis resident who holds a mortgage executive hostage over a loan dispute. Featuring an unrecognizable Cary Elwes and Kelly Lynch in small roles (and a recognizable over-the-top - natch - Al Pacino in another), we kind of rip DMW a new one. Following that, we tackle Albert Birney's OBEX (25:57), which is more of a split decision. In it, a man climbs into a fictional 1987 computer game to resuce his dog, avoid cicadas, and battle stop-motion-like skeletons. Over on Patreon, we watched Park Chan-wook's 2003 action thriller OLDBOY.

Welcome to 2026! We start out the year by doing what we do best: Not enjoying a movie that is otherwise being heaped with critical praise! That's right, folks, Evan and Megan didn't really get the critical brouhaha behind THE PLAGUE (2:42). This story about extreme bullying at a water polo camp left them a little cold, and not because the water temperature is a chilly 65 degrees. Dave joins them for WE BURY THE DEAD (21:45), and unconventional the-dead-are-coming-back-to-life tale. This one left Dave cold, but not just because he has a frigid critics' heart. Evan and Megan liked it, and its take on zombieism is different: Not all the dead come back, they don't seem to want to eat you (though a few look like they'll kick the crap out of you), and have things on their minds. Daisy Ridley is excellent in the lead as an American woman in Tasmania looking for her husband, and Brenton Thwaites is solid as a ne'er-do-well trying to do well. Over on Patreon, we watched the 1982 courtroom drama THE VERDICT, starring Paul Newman.

Welcome to the final Spoilerpiece of 2025! We take turns talking about our favorite films of the year. Dave (3:02), Megan (19:35), and Evan (39:30) each have a couple surprising choices sprinkled in. We hope you had a great year, and we'll see you in 2026. Don't forget to check out our Patreon! This week we talk about the 1979 Robert Altman sci-fi flick QUINTET, starring Paul Newman.