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The Obsessive Viewer Podcast – Ep 319 – Roger Ebert’s Great Movies Part 1: Duck Soup (1933) and After Hours (1985) – The Painter and the Thief, 13 Reasons Why, and Sunshine – Guest: Ben Sears

In our inaugural Ebert’s Great Movies Review Series episode, our contributor and friend Ben Sears joins me to discuss the Marx Brothers’ Duck Soup (1933) and Martin Scorsese’s After Hours (1985) from Ebert’s “Great Movies” list. For Potpourri, we discuss the documentary The Painter and the Thief and the first handful of episodes from 13 Reasons Why’s final season.

By Matt Hurt Posted on

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Ben’s Column: Greyhound (2020) Review

Greyhound bears a striking similarity to last year’s 1917, in that there’s a clear endpoint objective at stake, and the characters we spend the most time with are frustratingly opaque. But whereas 1917 took time to reflect and add at least a little characterization between its video game-like checkpoints, Greyhound only stops and pauses for a scant few moments.

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Movie Review: Irresistible (2020)

By transposing a high stakes political arena onto a small town rural America setting, Jon Stewart’s Irresistible takes a relatively low key approach to its ribbing of the world of campaign finance. It is not simply a “fish out of water” story. Nor does it attempt to romanticize the quaint small town it occupies. Instead, Stewart uses this juxtaposition to call attention to the absurdity of campaign fundraising in a fairly unique manner.

By Matt Hurt Posted on

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The Obsessive Viewer Podcast – Ep 318 – The Vast of Night & The King of Staten Island – Da 5 Bloods, The Wrong Missy, and AMC Theaters’ Reopening Plans – Guest: Ben Sears

This week, our contributor and friend Ben joins me to review the retro sci-fi film, The Vast of Night and the new Judd Apatow film The King of Staten Island. We also talk about drive-in movies and AMC’s plans to reopen. For Potpourri, we discuss the Netflix films Da 5 Bloods and The Wrong Missy.

By Matt Hurt Posted on

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Movie Review: 7500 (2020)

Fans of Joseph Gordon-Levitt won’t be disappointed by this intimate thriller. His commitment to the material, the character, and his craft itself, is on full display in 7500. Despite being methodical in its dialogue and a slower burn narratively than a more conventional fare, 7500 is a solid thriller centering around a strong lead performance.

By Matt Hurt Posted on

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Ben’s Column: Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets (2020) Movie Review

There are no talking heads, no title cards (save for the occasional running clock to show the passing of the day), and no opening crawl giving the history of the bar or who these people are. Some stay throughout the entirety of the film, some try to stay and end up drinking too much, and some we only meet halfway through, but each one the Ross brothers feature makes a memorable impression.

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Movie Review: The Invisible Man Returns (1940) – Universal Classic Monsters 9

The Invisible Man Returns may not be as engaging and thrilling as 1933’s The Invisible Man. But it does have the pedigree of having Vincent Price’s first horror movie performance and what a performance it is. Price enters the shoes of the Invisible Man well and embodies what it means to be this potentially tragic character even if the character beats are a bit muddled on the page.

By Matt Hurt Posted on

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The Obsessive Viewer Podcast – Ep 315 – cOVid-19 Film Festival Day 39 (cOVid Potpourri) – Middleditch & Schwartz, Mike Birbiglia’s The New One, John Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch, Community, and Richard Jewell

In the midst of a global pandemic and stay at home orders all over the country, I am coping by watching movies and podcasting about them as if they were part of a Film Festival. In this episode, Kyrsten joins me as we review 2019’s Richard Jewell and the brilliant Middleditch & Schwartz improv specials on Netflix. We then chat about a bunch of other comedy streaming selections.

By Matt Hurt Posted on