Jen and the Film Critic

What I love most about preparing for this podcast is realising I haven't actually uploaded the last episode. Whoops! Sorry everyone, but the good news is that there's a whole 'nother ep' coming by end of next week! Featuring movies you remember...won't that be fun?!

Featuring: Sinners, Thunderbolts*, Final Destination: Bloodlines, The Surfer, Siticulosa, Good One, Bogancloth, Motel Destino, The Accountant 2, The Amateur, The Minecraft Movie, Cloud, Warfare, Four Mothers, Death of a Unicorn, Drop, La Cochina and The Woman in the Yard, Jesus!

Happy 30th everyone! Good lord, we've done 30 of these things and to celebrate, we have way too many movies to discuss! Enjoy this bumper episode of Jen and the movie guy!

Featuring: Novocaine, Love Hurts, A Working Man, Marching Powder, Mickey 17, In the Lost Lands, Snow White, Captain America: Brave New World, Opus, Companion, Hans Zimmer and Friends: Diamonds in the Desert, Kim's Video, Black Bag, September 5th, I'm Still Here, Seed of a Sacred Fig, Sister Midnight, The Last Showgirl, The Monkey, Heart Eyes, Flow, Memoir of a Snail, Hard Truths, Bridget Jones: Mad About the...

Oof, sat on this one for a hot month! Sorry for that folks, but hopefully it will help bridge the gap because episode 30 is going to be with you in April. But find here all the best that January had to offer!

Featuring: The Brutalist, Nosferatu, A Better Man, A Complete Unknown, A Real Plan, Flight Plan, Babygirl, Wolf Man, Maria, Sonic 3, We Live in Time, Vermiglio and a surprise film! (a surprise even to Paul).

Jen is back! And she has a word or two to say about that fake Jen we had last time. Mostly complimentary ones. But she's back now, and it's time for the last bunch of movies of 2024 before we spend the first half of 2025 watching movies from 2024. Whoo!

Featuring: Murder Most Fowl, Red One, Hot Frostie, Nickel Boys, Gladiator 2, Mufasa, Moana 2, Wicked Part 1, Kraven, Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim, Scenario(s), Nightbitch, On Becoming a Guinea Fowl, All We Imagine As Light, Conclave, Juror No. 2, and Heretic.

The film critic has finished his degree and is ready to catch up on all the movies he missed this year! ....and then just two short months later he's ready to release that episode! Next episode with the last of the year coming soon!

Featuring: Inside Out 2, Bad Boys: Ride or Die, Horizon: Chapter One, A Quiet Place: Day One, Kinds of Kindness, Maxxxine, Longlegs, Twisters, Trap, Alien: Romulus, Blind Twice, AfrAId, Kneecap, The Substance, Speak No Evil, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Joker: Folie à Deux, A Different Man, Transformers One, and Megalopolis.

...Wait, this never published! Oh my god, we finished this in November! Jesus christ, well here is our review of last year's London Film Festival, including Mum reviews! Oh, except Jen couldn't make it so Sara Keep fills in. She's better than Jen in every single way.

Featuring: (in alphabetical order) 2073, Anora, Architecton, Blitz, Cats of Gokogu Shrine, Chain Reaction, Eight Postcards from Utopia, Endurance, Grand Theft Hamlet, Harvest, Hemel, Hexham Heads, Holloway, In Heat, It's Not Me, Kamay, Mother Vera, My Stolen Planet, Pepe, Piece by Piece, Queer, Room Next Door, Rumours, Sanatorium Under the Sign...

It's the most wonderful time of year again! ...no, not that one...or that one...Ok, you can stop guessing; it's Widescreen Weekend! A brilliant celebration of the widescreen formats of the 1950s and beyond! Jen and her film critic review this year's festival programme. Also, we have clips from Pauls interview with festival programmer Rebecca Hill!

Come to the festival: https://www.scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk/cinema/widescreen-weekend

Read the full interview: https://screenmayhem.com/widescreen-weekend-2024-line-up-revealed/

Stop listening to this and go see Furiosa, damn it! Jen's seen it since, I've seen it again, do your part! Watch Furiosa! Then come back to see if I liked it...I'm seeing it again tomorrow.

Featuring: Furiosa, Challengers, Fall Guy, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Hit Man, The Beast, If, Sting, Strangers: Chapter 1, Abigail, Hoard, and Made in England: The Films of Michael Powell.

Jen and her film critic want to talk about one of the biggest films of the year! Unfortunately, one of them is a little weirdo who likes complicated and contrived bits that go on too long. And now that's your problem too!

Featuring: Civil War, Back to Black, Godzilla X Kong, Ghostbusters Frozen Empire, Monkey Man, The First Omen, Immaculate, Mother's Instinct, Late Night with the Devil, Lisa Frankenstein, Robot Dreams, La Chimera, Wicked Little Letters, Evil Does Not Exist, Perfect Days, The Sweet East, Drive Away Dolls, Love Lies Bleeding and another one...

Oops, we're running late again! No Dune Part Two this time, folks. Don't worry, though; we've got a great big review of that coming right up. But first relive those heady pre-Arrakis days of February 2024.

Featuring: Argylle, The Taste of Things, Madam Web, Mean Girls, The Iron Claw, The Colour Purple, American Fiction, The Kitchen, The Boys in the Boat, One Life, The Beekeper, Night Swim, and Baghead.

January has been a wild month! We can now bring you the December episode of our podcast, which includes all the big releases from the last six weeks of 2023, including some very divisive films!

Featuring: Ferrari, Aquaman 2, Rebel Moon, Godzilla Minus One, The Three Musketeers Part 2: Milady, Wonka, Femme, Anselm, Wish, Napoleon, The Hunger Games: A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Thanksgiving, Saltburn, Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, and Silent Night.

October and November continued the 2023 narrative of cinematic disruption as Marvel floundered and indie films reigned! Indie films backed by massive institutions or globally famous celebrities, sure, but indie nevertheless! Take that, big studios. Please save cinema, Taylor.

Featuring: Killers of the Flower Moon, The Marvels, The Eras Tour, The Eternal Daughter, Anatomy of a Fall, Five Nights at Freddy's, Cat Person, How to Have Sex, Bottoms!, Dream Scenario, The Exorcist Believer, and Sumotherhood.

It's that time of year again! Yes, one month after LFF when Paul finally finished editing the monster batch of reviews that include some of the biggest films of next year and some obscure little gems!

Featuring: Cobweb, Fingernails, Memory, The Goldman Case, Samsara, The Pigeon Tunnel, Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry, May December, Maestro, Priscilla, The Killer, Occupied City, The Boy and the Heron, Red Rooms, Fallen Leaves, Do Not Expect Too Much From The End of the World, Monster, Eileen, The Holdovers, Close Your Eyes, The Royal Hotel, Scala!!!, The End We Start From, All of Us...

Already feeling the pinch of the then-upcoming film festival, Paul tries to review 11 films without notes but with a terrible cough. He also experiences audio issues so apologies if the audio drops out a little in places. Jen, meanwhile, would rather talk about Babies, the stock market, and genuinely helpful life advice. What a nerd.

Featuring: The Creator, Equaliser 3, Exepnd4dables, Dumb Money, Haunting in Venice, Cobweb, The Nun 2, Scrapper, The First Slam Dunk, The Old Oak, and Love Life!

Uh oh, the unnamed film critic has covid. So be prepared for a slightly more medicated than usual rundown of the biggest films of the month!

Featuring: Blue Beetle, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, Gran Turismo, Haunted Mansion, The Meg 2, Strays, Joy Ride, Kokomo City, Theatre Camp, Paris Memories, and The Innocent.

Jen and her film critic have gathered to discuss the film event of the year: the simultaneous release of Greta Gerwig's Barbie and Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer. They're going to need some help though. Jen has invited a friend of the podcast, Katy Maydon, to bring a bit of historical background and Barbie energy to proceedings.

Featuring: Oppenheimer, Barbie

What a chaotic month! Sure things flopped and flop things flipped! Into the box office that is. What? It's a been a month of surprises, so Jen needs her film critic to break it down into easy to manage pairs of films! How long shall this conceit last? You might be surprised!

Featuring: Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Part 1, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Spiderman: Across the Spider-verse, The Flash, Asteroid City, No Hard Feelings, Insidious: The Red Door, The Boogeyman, Pretty Red Dress, Medusa Deluxe, Elemental, and Reality

We recorded a couple of weeks ago so we have Eurovision on our minds as we discuss the big movies of May! Also all the smaller better movies of May.

Featuring: The Little Mermaid, Fast X, Guardians of the Galaxy 3, Beau is Afraid, Evil Dead Rise, Hypnotic, Return to Seoul, The Blue Caftan, The Eight Mountains, Under the Fig Trees, Polite Society, The Three Musketeers: D'Artagnan, Sisu and Master Gardener.

Jen had a lovely holiday in Japan! Yay! Now she has to catch up on six weeks of film releases. Yor.

Featuring: Renfield, Dungeons and Dragons: Among Thieves, Super Mario Brothers, Shazam 2, John Wick 4, Scream 6, Air, Suzume, 65, Rye Lane, Pearl, God's Creatures, The Night of the 12th, and the Pope's Exorcist

Struggling to adjust to a monthly release, Paul reviews 11 films whilst Jen frantically googles the attractive people he mentions and offers him soft insults. Neither would have it any other way!

Featuring: Creed 3, Antman and the Wasp Quantumania, Knock at the Cabin, Cocaine Bear, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, Broker, Skinarmarink, What's Love Got to Do with It?, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, Blue Jean, and Creature.

Time to round up the big January releases and here in the UK we've got lots and lots of Oscar movies to cover! As well as a hilarious killer robot girl film, a hilarious Gerard Butler performance, and a good thriller!

Featuring: M3GAN, Plane, Missing, Babylon, The Fabelmans, Empire of Light, The Whale, Man Called Otto, Till, and Tar.

It's four weeks ago! Paul is very sick and Jen is very full of rich food. Time to talk about the last month of movies!

Featuring: Avatar: The Way of Water, Corsage, White Noise, All Quiet on the Western Front, Violent Night, She Said, Tori and Lokita, and Strange World.

Jen and her film critic have just a little bit more film festival to report! Thanks to the LFF's commitment to accessibility and digital methods of film distribution, a big bunch of movies were available online this year, and both Jen and her critic were able to dive on in!

Featuring: Hidden Letters, Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power, Crows are White, Inland, Utama, An Avocado Pit, The Woodcutter's Story, Our Lady of the Chinese Shop, 1976, Geographies of Solitude, and A Room of My Own.

Jen has her film critic experience some real highs and lows this episode with superhero movies, horror films and a gay rom com! Who could ask for anything more?

Featuring: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Black Adam, The Woman King, Bros, Halloween Ends, The Menu, Barbarian, Smile, and Aftersun!

Paul has seen a ludicrous number of films and is ready to share his thoughts! This is a giant preview of some of the biggest movies heading your way in the next year!

Featuring (deep breath): Matilda, You Will Not Be Alone, Joyland, Boy from Heaven, The Wonder, Aisha, Bones and All, Next Sohee, Godland, The Stranger, The Origin, Saint Omer, My Father's Dragon, Alcaras, The Whale, Enys Men, Triangle of Sadness, Empire of Light, Rodeo, Cloud Messenger, Women Talking, The Banshees of Inesherin, Inland, Decision to Leave, Pinochio and Till. Settle in folks!

The LFF has started! And before he back absolutely overwhelmed with galas and Chalamet, the film critic was able to catch some choice press previews!

Featuring: EO, NightMare, Blaze, Chee$e, One Fine Morning, Lynch/Oz, Blue Island, Fragments of Paradise, and Sick of Me.

September was a long and strange one and now it's time to reflect before the spooky month starts! We've got troubled productions, sexy genies, messy metaphors, and the first Christmas film of the year? Also Idris Elba punches a lion.

Featuring: Don't Worry Darling, Three Thousand Years of Longing, Crimes of the Future, See How they Run, Moonage Daydream, Beast, and Ticket to Paradise.

The pressure is on as Jen races to record an episode with her film critic before her excellent holiday. Luckily she didn't sleep well and Paul just had a hot bath so both sides are quite sleepy. Come enjoy their thrilling, giddy energy!

Featuring: Nope, Bodies Bodies Bodies, Bullet Train, The Invitation, The Feast, Where is Anne Frank? and Prey.

Whoops! Paul over-compensated for a seemingly dry cinematic season and now has to talk about ten movies (well, nine and a bit). Come see some heated discussion of Marvel, Netflix, Elvis and the podcasts second ever hot take!

Featuring: Thor Love and Thunder, Elvis, The Grey Man, The Black Phone, Where the Crawdads Sing, The Railway Children Return, Mad God, Ithaka and Man Vs Bee.

It's the summer blockbuster season! So what better time to talk about folk horror films Men and All My Friends Hate Me? We will also talk about the dinosaur movie and the plane movie and that one with Buzz Lightyear in it, but we know why you're really here! We also talk about casting a diverse James Bond!

Featuring: Jurassic Park Dominion, Top Gun Maverick, Lightyear, Men, All My Friends Hate Me, Earwig and Nitram.

It's Sundance London 2022 and Paul has spent 24 of the last 48 hours in a cinema watching movies. Now it's 11.00pm and Jen has to listen to this awful man review 12 films!

Featuring: Brian And Charles, Good Luck To You Leo Grande, Free Chol Soo Lee, Hatching, Fire Of Love, Sharp Stick, Resurrection, The Princess, Honk For Jesus, Save Your Soul, We Met In Virtual Reality, Watcher, and A Love Song!

It's multiple-multiverse films this week as Jen and her film critic explore the bizarre realities of Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness and Everything Everywhere All At Once. Will they also happen upon a universe in which Stephen King adaptation Firestarter is good?

Featuring: Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, Everything Everywhere All At Once, Firestarter, Vortex, Benediction and Dashcam.

Two of the most anticipated films of the week came out this week, but never mind, it's time to discuss Viking revenge dramas, WW2 spy dramas, medieval lesbian nun dramas, Nicholas Cage dramas, and pregnancy drama drama! We also take a little look at the terrifyingly immense Cannes film festival all the goodies it has ins tore for you.

Featuring: The Northman, Operation Mincemeat, Benedetta, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, Happening, Ennio and a preview of the Cannes Film Festival.

Jen and her film critic visit the always excellent BFI FLARE festival to experience the latest and greatest from the world of LGBTQI+ cinema!

Featuring: Sublime, Sirens, Sound of Scars, Manscaping, Being Bebe, Fracture, North by Current, First Fallen, A Distant Place, Jimmy in Saigon and more!

In this massive episode we review eight brand new movies: Morbius, Sonic 2, The Lost City, X, Ambulance, Turning Red, Boiling Point, and Compartment No. 6.

Jen and her film critic, Paul Salt, take on The Batman and the three or four movies brave enough to share a release window with it.

Featuring: The Batman, Ali and Ava, Red Rocket, Cyrano, The Duke, and The Godfather.

This week Jen has her film critic review Uncharted, Moonfall, Death on the Nile, Flee, Nightmare Alley, Amulet and The Worst Person in the World! Enjoy and sorry again that we're really bad at saying names.

Watch as the Film Critic completely destroys his credibility by disliking a critical darling and enjoying a silly bit of nonsense.

Reviews: Scream, Parallel Mothers, Memoria, The Souvenir Part 2, Belfast, The 355, The King's Man and Men in Black, weirdly.

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Jen asks her film critic about that new Matrix film, the remake of West Side Story, the bafflingly titled Licorice Pizza, TITANE!, The Lost Daughter and The Tragedy of Macbeth. The only real tragedy would be to miss it!

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This week Jen asks Paul to review Spiderman: No Way Home, Lamb, C'mon C'mon, Resident Evil: Welcome to Racoon City, House of Gucci, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and Spencer!

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