The Obsessive Viewer
Film and TV Reviews and Podcasts
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.
Day Shift, the debut film from director J.J. Perry, is the latest offering from Netflix’s “throw it all at the wall and see what sticks” streaming blockbuster playbook. Despite dressing up an overdone action movie skeleton with genre fare, Day Shift succeeds by the skin of its stylistic action choreography and fun buddy energy between Dave Franco and Jamie Foxx. Though the story isn’t as meaty or interesting as you might like, the energy and quick pace of the film helps Day Shift stand out from the pack.
James Ponsoldt’s Summering is a peculiar coming of age drama with some slight genre leanings that spring up seemingly out of nowhere. The film is very clearly a riff on Stand By Me, but it doesn’t have the nuance or even the sense of direction that Rob Reiner’s classic film had. Not by a long shot. Instead, Summering is a tonal mess as the characters are haunted by visions of a dead man whose body they discover and (inexplicably) decide to move and desecrate. Again, this is a coming of age drama, so these genre trappings seem completely random and do not fit well in the narrative at all.
In this episode, I am joined by my friends and IFJA colleagues Andy Carr and Joe Shearer to review B.J. Novak’s film, Vengeance ( currently in theaters)and round out the episode with a review of Dan Trachtenberg’s Prey (Hulu).
In this episode Tiny and I review Jordan Peele’s latest, Nope (in theaters) and round out the episode with a review of Hannah Marks’ Don’t Make Me Go (Amazon Prime).
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As he did with Get Out and Us, Nope further proves when we watch a Jordan Peele film, we are in the hands of one hell of a unique genre storyteller. Although Peele’s best work is still his debut, Nope demonstrates considerable growth in his talent behind the camera in terms of scale and overall design. Nope is a spectacle we won’t soon forget.
For 2/3s of its runtime, Hannah Marks’ Don’t Make Me Go is a very solid road trip drama about a father keeping his fatal brain tumor a secret as he takes his teenage daughter to meet her estranged mother. John Cho and Mia Isaac give strong performances in a script that does a respectable job of setting up the dire and dramatic circumstances in which the pair find themselves. It is unfortunate, however, that the other 1/3 of the film squanders that good will by upending itself with an unearned and manipulative story beat that feels too much like Vera Herbert’s script is attempting to trick the audience rather than bring the story to an organic and satisfying conclusion.
Gone in the Night is a nice blend of character drama and thriller mystery. It doesn’t disappoint in its resolution, as long as you buy into a relatively outlandish premise. Anchored by strong performances by Winona Ryder and a calm and cool Dermot Mulroney, Gone in the Night is a solid entry in the growing vacation rental suspense niche of the thriller genre.
In this episode Tiny, Ben, and I review Thor: Love and Thunder and the new Happy Madison Netflix movie, Hustle. Become a patron for exclusive content at Patreon.com/ObsessiveViewer.
In this special episode, I am releasing all of my Patreon-Exclusive episode reviews of Stranger Things 4, Vol. 1 on the main feed. Listen to me share the highs and lows of the seven episodes that were released on May 27 in preparation for Vol. 2, which releases on July 1st. To hear my thoughts on Vol. 2, 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 Andy Carr (Odd Trilogies Podcast) and Brent Leuthold (AwakeInTheDark.com) back to the show to review Scott Derrickson’s The Black Phone and Cooper Raiff’s Cha Cha Real Smooth.
In this episode, I welcome my friend Sam Watermeier from Midwest Film Journal back to the show to review Robert Eggers’ The Northman and Colin Trevorrow’s Jurassic World Dominion. We also discuss one of Sam’s favorite films, Todd Solondz’s 1998 film, Happiness and I give a brief review of Pixar’s latest, Lightyear.
In this episode, we continue our journey through Roger Ebert’s “Great Movies” list with reviews of Dr. Strangelove, Persona, and The Godfather!
In this episode, I welcome my friend Brent from AwakeInTheDark.com onto the show to review Top Gun: Maverick and the new Shudder thriller, Watcher.
In this episode, Tiny, Ben, and I discuss the trailer for Avatar: The Way of Water and review the latest Alex Garland film, Men. We also discuss the new Netflix documentary, Our Father.
In this extended potpourri episode, Tiny and I discuss a handful of recent movies and shows we’ve watched.
Memory, from director Martin Campbell, is the latest in the seemingly never-ending slew of Liam Neeson action films. Its plot is as bare bones as they come as it spins its yarn of a dual narrative between Alex Lewis (Neeson’s hitman with a conscious) and an FBI agent (Guy Pearce) who crosses his path. The straightforward plot finds Alex (who’s battling the early stages of alzheimer’s) turning his gun on those who hired him after he’s contracted to murder a child. Meanwhile, Pearce’s Vincent forms a connection with the young undocumented victim of human trafficking that Neeson has spared.
In this episode, Mike and I review the new film Everything Everywhere All At Once and discuss the upcoming summer movie season and premiere our brand new theme song, A Little Mad Sometimes (Theme from The Obsessive Viewer Podcast) by Mike’s band, As Good As It Gets!
In this episode, Tiny, Ben, and I continue our journey through Roger Ebert’s Great Movies List. In this installment, we discuss Rebel Without a Cause, The Conversation, and My Neighbor Totoro.
For the briefest moment in Deep Water’s increasingly ridiculous tonal massacre of a climax, there’s a slight glimmer that something sort of unique may happen. However, the feeling is fleeting as the film’s ending simply confirms what we’ve already assumed through the previous hour and a half; not only does Deep Water not have any idea what it wants to be, but director Adrian Lyne doesn’t seem up to figuring it out himself. Instead, Lyne poses the question, “What if an erotic thriller was devoid of sexuality while also lacking any suspense whatsoever?” The jumbled and maddeningly awkward Deep Water is the answer and it’s not something that’s worth seeking out.
Though it can be rote at times (and downright bad in some places), The Adam Project manages to be a surprisingly good experience with an unexpected amount of heart.
Turning Red’s core concept of a girl trying to control her newfound ability (or curse) and channel it for her and her friends’ benefit simply lacks the impactful emotional catharsis that is a signature of so much of Pixar’s previous work.
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