The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: Evil Foster Moms and Tech Bros, and 'Pi'

Two reviews of new movies in this episode. We got creeped out, in different ways, from watching Bring Her Back and Mountainhead. Then, in our Reboot segment, we revisit Darren Aronofsky's 1998 debut. Check it all out down below.

'Press Play With Madeleine Brand': Dissing 'Karate Kid: Legends,' Lamenting 'The Phoenician Scheme'

 

Alison Willmore and I were on KCRW yesterday to talk about this weekend's movie offerings. Check out our reviews of Karate Kid: Legends, The Phoenician Scheme, Bring Her Back and Mountainhead down below.

'Mountainhead' Review

Jesse Armstrong, the man behind Succession, has a new HBO movie about four billionaire tech bros hanging out at one of the dude's swanky Utah pad for a guys' weekend. It's a satire that works best when it's angry, not funny. My review is here.

The Comedies I'm Curious to See in 2024

Will IF stink? What's this movie about a unicorn? I have the answers for you.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: 'The Flash,' 'Elemental' and 'Asteroid City'

This past weekend was heavy with interesting new releases, both big and small. You can hear our takes on the latest DC spinoff, Pixar's misfire and the new Wes Anderson picture down below.

Steve Carell Is the King of Nice

With Minions: The Rise of Gru about to come out, it seemed like a good time to assess Steve Carell's career up to this point. I wrote about his artistic modesty for MEL.

The Legacy of the Frat Pack

There's a new Apple TV+ series, The Shrink Next Door, that stars Paul Rudd and Will Ferrell, two actors who were part of what was known as the Frat Pack. Remember that? For MEL, I looked back at the early Aughts to determine what the big deal was.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: 'Irresistible,' 'Eurovision Song Contest' and 'Manhunter'

On this week's episode, we review two new comedies. Then, in our Reboot segment, we look back at one of Michael Mann's earliest films, Manhunter. Folks, it's good. Hear the whole thing down below.

'Irresistible' Review

Jon Stewart has made his second film, Irresistible, a political satire about a small-town election. The movie made me think about the final years of his Daily Show, which is not a good thing. I explain why over at MEL.

'Space Force' Review

Alas, the much-hyped, super-pricey sitcom from Steve Carell and Netflix is not so good.

The Therapeutic Properties of Watching People Scream in Movies

Random neighborhoods are organizing primal-scream sessions, where people go outside and just yell their heads off in frustration and anger over the pandemic. This got me thinking about how, in movies, characters are yelling all the time. There's something incredibly cathartic about that, which I explore over at MEL.

Some Thoughts on 'Vice'

Wow, did this movie annoy me. I talked about smug laughter (and Todd Snider and The Unknown Known) for MEL.

Some Thoughts on 'Welcome to Marwen'

The movie will sink like a stone, and it's not very good, but Welcome to Marwen is an interesting bad film. I talk about that over at MEL.

'Vice' Review

What a disappointment this Dick Cheney film is. I reviewed Vice for Screen International.

'Beautiful Boy' and the Tensions Between Fathers and Sons

Watching Beautiful Boy, I thought a lot about fathers' relationships with their sons. All children have to break free of the nest eventually, but what if the motivating factor is a son's drug addiction? What does that do to both men? I wrote about that for MEL.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: Astronauts, Bad Times, Kindergarten Teachers, '22 July' and 'Beautiful Boy'

Five new movies are reviewed on this week's podcast, and I'm pretty lukewarm on most of them. I explain why First Man is just OK, Bad Times at the El Royale is superficially entertaining, The Kindergarten Teacher is merely modest and Beautiful Boy is minor. Of the lot, 22 July is my favorite. Hear the whole thing down below.

'The Office': Who's Had the Best Career Since the Show?

I'll be writing more about John Krasinski's A Quiet Place later this week. But for MEL, I decided to dig into the casts of both the U.K. and U.S. versions of The Office to see who's had the most successful career. Of course, "successful" is such a subjective term that it's impossible to measure these things with any scientific accuracy. But, on the other hand, that also makes exercises like this more interesting. You can read my rankings here.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: Thor, 'Lady Bird' and 'Punch-Drunk Love'

On this week's episode, we cover a lot of movies -- well, I do. Will and I review Thor: Ragnarok, while I go solo to discuss Last Flag Flying, Lady Bird and LBJ. Then, we take a little time raving about Punch-Drunk Love, which isn't getting any less wonderful over time. You can hear the whole thing here.

'Last Flag Flying' Review

I suppose that calling Last Flag Flying "a shrug of a movie" doesn't sound very glowing. But this sequel to The Last Detail works in its own low-key way. I'm not sure about Bryan Cranston as Jack Nicholson, though. My review is up at Paste.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: On 'Me and Orson Welles' and 'Holy Motors'

This week's episode features two new reviews: Battle of the Sexes and Kingsman: The Golden Circle. But since you already know how I feel about those movies, let me direct your attention to our Reboot segment, where we discuss Me and Orson Welles and Holy Motors. Unintentionally, we linked together two films that are about the art of performance -- it may be the only thing they have in common, though. You can hear the entire episode here.