'Press Play With Madeleine Brand': Tom Cruise, Colleen Hoover, 'The Last First: Winter K2' and 'Atonement'

Lots to talk about on KCRW as Christy Lemire and I review the weekend's new releases. We discuss Digger, disagree about Verity and look at two smaller films: a documentary about a deadly mountain climb and an indie about the aftermath of the Iraq War. You can hear our conversation down below.

Kevin Morby - "Badlands"

I think I may be close to officially slotting Little Wide Open as "exceedingly melodic but not especially affecting," but I will continue to enjoy its title track. 

'Atonement' Review

It was on my second viewing of Reed Van Dyk's Atonement when its quiet power really got to me. I reviewed this sensitive, astute drama for the Los Angeles Times. 

'Verity' Review

The twisty, sexy thriller Verity is meant to be silly and trashy. But is it any good? My review is live at Screen International.

'Digger' Review

The wait is over: Is Tom Cruise's Digger a disaster, a masterpiece or somewhere in the middle? My review is up at Screen International.  

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: 'Primetime,' Mahershala Ali and 'Heart of the Beast'

On this week's episode, we disagree on two movies: Primetime and Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother. Then, Will asks me about Brad Pitt's new survival thriller, Heart of the Beast. We also make some predictions about the MLB playoffs. Hear it all down below.

'Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty!' Review

There's nothing quite like a great dance movie. Sadly, Josef Kubota Wladyka's romantic comedy-drama ends up falling far short of greatness. I did quite like Rinko Kikuchi in it, though. My review of Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty! is up at the Los Angeles Times.

Zurich 2026: 'Tenzing' Review

One of the last films I saw at Toronto was Tenzing, which tells the story of Tenzing Norgay (Genden Phuntsok), the Himalayan Sherpa who accompanied Edmund Hillary (Tom Hiddleston) on his historic scaling of Mount Everest. It's an interesting life that's been turned into a so-so film, which served as the opening-night screening for Zurich. You can read my review here. 

'Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother' Review

In Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother, Mahershala Ali plays a Muslim hitman forced to raise his kids on his own after his wife dies. Religion and pulp thrills mesh in this fun thriller. My review is up at the Los Angeles Times. 

Boards of Canada - "The Word Becomes Flesh"

I've been digging Inferno all year, but it took a rewatch of Backrooms for me to realize that one of its highlight tracks is used quite well during the end credits.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: The 10 Best Films From Our First 500 Episodes

To celebrate our 500th episode, we each listed our 10 favorite films since the podcast started in early 2016. It is wild to think we've been doing this so long. Thanks for listening: This is a fun episode.