The Obsessive Viewer
Film and TV Reviews and Podcasts
Despite a couple choices that don’t particularly gel with the overall franchise, the majority of Scream VI works well to deliver the fun slasher frights for which the franchise is known. Though it’s not the franchise love letter that Scream ’22 was, Radio Silence is still breaking new ground in one of the genre’s most beloved and entertaining franchises.
In this episode, Tiny and I review the latest MCU film, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and the new Amazon Prime romantic comedy, Somebody I Used to Know. We also discuss recent entertainment news.
As a sub-franchise within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Ant-Man is a strange anomaly. Initially the many years long passion project of Edgar Wright, Ant-Man was handed off to Peyton Reed in 2014 when Wright exited due to creative differences. The trajectory of the MCUs “little guy” from his humble and heist-driven first film through one sequel, one Civil War, and one saga-concluding Endgame is substantial. But it’s the humor and extreme likability of Paul Rudd’s work in the franchise that makes it all make sense within its greater placement within the MCU. Now Reed is at the helm of his 3rd Ant-Man film and charged with bringing the Multiverse Saga’s big bad, Jonathan Majors’ Kang the Conquerer, to the big screen.
In this episode, I welcome my friend Nick Rogers (from MidwestFilmJournal.com) onto the show to review M. Night Shyamalan’s new film, Knock at the Cabin and the new Netflix comedy, You People. For potpourri, Nick shares his thoughts on 1976’s The Big Racket while I unveil my Chain Link Viewing Project and share my thoughts on 1991’s Stone Cold.
Happy New Year and welcome to The Obsessive Viewer’s 2022 Year in Review episode! It’s our annual episode where Tiny, Mike, and I share our movie viewing stats for the year and our top ten favorite movies lists. So join us as we reflect on another year in our TENTH Year in Review episode!
Well, 2022 is coming to a close and we’re about to usher in a new year. I have no doubt 2023 will be a big year for movies but it will especially big for The Obsessive Viewer since this little corner of the internet will be turning 10 years old in February (with the podcast turning 10 in June). So before I send off 2022 with a bunch of words about stuff I watched and enjoyed, I want to take this moment to thank anyone and everyone reading this for taking the time to read what I write and/or listen to what I record. It’s much appreciated and I’m looking forward to doing this through 2023 and beyond.
In this episode, I welcome my friend Sam Watermeier back to the show to help me close out the year with a breakdown of the Indiana Film Journalists Association top films of 2022. We also go over Sam’s personal top ten list.
It would have been naive to think James Cameron’s storytelling abilities would have changed for the better in the 13 year span between the first two Avatar films. There’s no denying that Cameron is responsible for some of film’s biggest and most innovative titles. Since Avatar is his passion project and Pandora is where he’s looking to park himself for the remainder of his career, it’s simply mind-boggling that this (and 2009’s Avatar) is the best he can muster.
In this episode, I welcome my friends Andy Carr and Mitch Ringenberg back to the show to review Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery and Smile! Then, in a Potpourri segment, Andy and I briefly talk about The Menu and Bones and All.
When it is not held back by a disconnected subplot and an unimaginative character introduction, Wakanda Forever flourishes as an expansive entry in the Black Panther mythos. Above all, however, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is a respectful and loving tribute to Chadwick Boseman’s legacy not only as King T’Challa, but to the actor himself as well.
In this episode, I welcome my friends Brent Leuthold and Joe Shearer back to the show to review the new “spooktacular Shocktober” releases Halloween Ends and V/H/S/99!
In this episode, Ben and I share our thoughts on some of the films playing at this year’s Heartland Film Festival both virtually and in-person in Indianapolis October 6th-16th. For more information on Heartland Film Festival, visit HeartlandFilm.org.
There’s a slight crisis of identity to the tone and pacing of Windfall, overall. The weighty themes and serious nature of the plot sometimes clash with the almost comic tone of some of the situations that arise. When more serious and immediate developments occur, there’s a bit of whiplash for the audience as we’ve moved into a more conventional thriller from the semi-absurd plot in which Windfall feels the most at home.
In this special episode, I am releasing the first 2 episodes of my Patreon-Exclusive episode reviews of Netflix’s Dark here on the main feed. To hear my thoughts on the rest of the series, you’ll need to sign up to our Patreon at the $2 or higher levels at Patreon.com/ObsessiveViewer.
In this episode, I welcome my friends Sam Watermeier and Joe Shearer back to the show to review the new releases Clerks III and Blonde.
In this episode, we continue our journey through Roger Ebert’s “Great Movies” list with reviews of M, The Color Purple, and Magnolia! We also discuss Robert Zemekis, Pinocchio, and the recent passing of Jean-Luc Godard.
There was once some charm to the idea of Smith revisiting the Clerks universe every decade or so to check in with the characters as he (and they) reach certain milestones of aging. However romantic as that notion was at the end of Clerks II, Clerks III obliterates it and ensures that Smith will likely never return to this series. Following the abysmal showing here and in 2019’s Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, which suffered the same nostalgic callback issues as Clerks III, it’s just as unlikely that this reviewer will be persuaded to give Smith’s future work much, if any, attention.
This week on The Obsessive Viewer, Tiny and I share our thoughts on a variety of shows and movies including The Terminal List, House of the Dragon, Glorious, The Rehearsal, and more!
In this episode, Ben and I review the new acrophobic thriller, Fall (currently in theaters) and round out the episode with a review of J.J. Perry’s Day Shift (available on Netflix).
Cosmic horror in a rest stop bathroom sounds like a bizarrely twisted country song. It’s not. It’s the elevator pitch for Glorious, a bizarrely twisted Lovecraftian horror film premiering this week on Shudder. Glorious pits the heartbroken Wes (Ryan Kwanten) against the disembodied voice of a demigod of unimaginable power named Ghat (J.K. Simmons) with the fate of the universe hanging in the balance. It’s not a battle of wills that brings these two together. It’s a request to lend a helping hand so that the universe may continue on its merry way existing and fostering life.
While the tension and most of the visual effects are strong enough to trigger anxiety in even the least acrophobic viewer, Fall’s script seems like someone had an idea and built an unoriginal, cobbled together drama around that concept. If you’re looking for a anxiety producing acrophobic thriller you can shut your brain off for, Fall should deliver. If you’re looking for something a bit more character driven, you’d be better off looking elsewhere.
In this episode, we continue our journey through Roger Ebert’s “Great Movies” list with reviews of The Red Shoes, The Godfather Part II, and Dark City! We also discuss the recent news regarding changes at Warner Bros and HBOMax.
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