The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: Loving 'Weapons,' Debating 'The Naked Gun' and 'Together'

On this week's episode, we're in agreement about Zach Cregger's superb new horror movie. But we don't see eye to eye on the other two films we discuss on the podcast. Check out our thoughts and witty banter down below.

'The Naked Gun' Review

Liam Neeson is no Leslie Nielsen. But I found the new Naked Gun to be pretty darn enjoyable. My review is up at Screen International. 

'Press Play With Madeleine Brand': Reviews of 'Memory,' 'Navalny' and 'The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe'

Amy Nicholson and I had some thoughts about this weekend's new releases. We both liked Hatching and Navalny, but we disagreed on the Netflix documentary The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes. Hear our whole segment down below. 

'Memory' Review

Liam Neeson has had a rough go of it, both personally and professionally, in the last few years. His latest film isn't going to turn things around. I reviewed Memory for Screen International.

'The Marksman' Review

My brother-in-law has a weakness for Liam Neeson action movies. I think he'll like The Marksman, although I was a little more mixed on it. My review is up at Screen International.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: World War II Misery, Scorsese's Religious Epic and 'Demolition Man'

On this week's episode, we differ on The Painted Bird. Then, we have two Reboots: Martin Scorsese's tortured Silence and that nutty slab of 1990s sci-fi, Demolition Man. Hear the whole thing down below.

When Superheroes Get Origin Stories

For our latest Debate Club, we looked at the five best origin-story superhero films. Apologies to those who were mad we didn't include Superman. You can read our thoughts over at SyFy.

Some Thoughts on 'Cold Pursuit'

I saw Cold Pursuit before Sundance. It is a very different movie now than it was then. I talk about that over at MEL, and I remind you again what a great film The Grey is.

'Cold Pursuit' Review

Liam Neeson drives a snowplow in Cold Pursuit, which wants to be a bizarro revenge thriller. It doesn't quite get there. I reviewed the film for Screen International.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: Heists, Westerns, 'The Crimes of Grindelwald' and 'Green Book'

Lots of new movies to discuss. I rave about Widows. I opine on The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. I defend (barely) Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. And I talk to Will about Green Book. (He hasn't seen it yet.) You can hear the whole episode down below.

Some Thoughts on 'The Commuter'

Over at MEL, I wrote a little about The Commuter. Well, not the movie directly. Instead, I riffed on Liam Neeson's action-movie face, the fact that Hollywood is running out of places to set close-quarters thrillers, and why movie characters never are able to use their cellphones to get out of trouble. You can read the whole thing here.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: We Review 'The Commuter,' 'World of Tomorrow Episode Two' and 'The Thing'

Lots of stuff to cover on this week's episode. First, new reviews: We dig into The Commuter and Paddington 2. Then, we show a little love to Don Hertzfeldt's World of Tomorrow Episode Two, which was released through Vimeo at the very end of last year. Then, in our Reboot segment, we take a look back at John Carpenter's The Thing. A very fun show, and you can hear it all down below.

'Press Play With Madeleine Brand': Bears, Polka and Liam Neeson

I was so happy to be back on KCRW yesterday to talk movies. Alicia Malone and I joined Madeleine to review Paddington 2, The Polka King and The Commuter. Check it out here.

'Silence' Review

Silence is a movie that Martin Scorsese has wanted to make for decades. It tells the story of two Jesuit priests (Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver) in the 17th century traveling from Portugal to Japan to hunt down their missing mentor (Liam Neeson). Arduous, demanding, uneven, imperfect, Silence is also a real knockout in certain ways. I struggled with it, which is perfect for a film about faith. My review is live at Screen International.

'Press Play With Madeleine Brand': Talking 'Cinderella'

Today on KCRW, I went on Madeleine Brand's show with my good buddy Justin Chang to talk about this weekend's big movies. We discussed Cinderella, Run All Night and Going Clear. I only liked one of them, and I'm guessing you know which one. You can hear me and Justin right here.

'Run All Night' Review

Wanna wait until pay cable to see Run All Night? That's probably fine. The latest Liam Neeson joint is aggressively OK. I reviewed it for Deadspin, where way too many commenters take issue with my contention that The Grey is fantastic.

'Non-Stop' Review

Die Hard on a plane. Ten Little Indians in the sky. That's Non-Stop, which is just OK enough to make you wish it was lots better. My review is up at Screen International.

(By the way, I'm sure there's some joke to be made about, "Raise your hand if you're disappointed in this movie," but I'm too tired to come up with it at the moment.)

2012 in Review: Why I Love the Ending of 'The Grey'

Continuing with our series of end-of-the-year pieces, Will Leitch and I today took a moment to write about our favorite movie scene of 2012. I went with the ending of The Grey. You can wolf if down here. (And, yes, that may be the worst pun anyone has attempted ever.)

'Taken 2' Review

Liam Neeson! Liam Neeson! Liam Neeson! My review of Taken 2 is up at Deadspin.

taken: liam neeson as action hero

Taken is better than it needs to be, but not quite good enough to recommend. So the credit goes to Liam Neeson, who adds some dignity to the role of the retired government operative who has to save his abducted daughter by, y'know, kicking a lot of ass. My review is up at L.A. Weekly.