Eye of the Storm Movie Podcast

In "Have You Seen?" we discuss a movie that some of us know well and others have just now seen for the first time.

This week we revisit Cooties, a zombie comedy from 2014 directed by Jonathan Milott and Cary Murnion and starring Elijah Wood, Rainn Wilson and Alison Pill, about a group of elementary school teachers who fight to survive an outbreak among students that turns them into aggressive zombies when someone eats tainted chicken nuggets.

We talk about how this movie is built around the taboo of showing harm to children in movies and whether...

This week we review and discuss Michael, a biopic movie directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring Jaafar Jackson, Nia Long and Colman Domingo, about the life of Michael Jackson from his beginnings in the Jackson Five to the Bad tour in 1988.

We discuss to what extent it matters how much of a Michael Jackson fan someone is when watching the movie and what we got out of the movie, how that explains the massive split in audience versus reviewer scores the movie has received, whether the movie's storytelling holds up outside the concert scenes, what a Michael Jackson...

This week we review and discuss The Mummy, a supernatural horror movie directed by Lee Cronin and starring Jack Reynor, Laia Costa and May Calamawy, about a family who is reunited with their long-missing, mummified daughter and realize something is wrong with her.

We discuss why the body horror in this movie worked so well for us, why the story for the most part didn't and whether this matters for a movie like this, whether the ending lives up to its potential or if it had the opportunity for something much better and distinctive, whether the movie makes...

In "Have You Seen?" we discuss a movie that some of us know well and others have just now seen for the first time.

This week we revisit Rear Window, a mystery thriller from 1954 directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring James Stewart, Grace Kelly and Raymond Burr, about a wheelchair-bound photographer who spies on his neighbors from his Greenwich Village apartment window and becomes convinced he has witnessed a murder.

We talk about what it is like to watch one of the most celebrated movies of all time as a new viewer in 2026, whether the mystery...

This week we review and discuss Thrash, a Netflix survival thriller movie directed by Tommy Wirkola and starring Phoebe Dynevor, Whitney Peak and Djimon Hounsou, about a group of survivors stranded in a flooded town during a hurricane when a pack of sharks attacks.

We discuss why the movie failed to get us excited about the characters and their struggles, what we expected from the movie based on the promises made by its trailer and marketing, what could have been done with the premise of sharks attacking a flooded town, we go over some of the stranger sequences...

This week we review and discuss The Drama, a dark romantic comedy directed by Kristoffer Borgli and starring Zendaya, Robert Pattinson and Alana Haim, about a couple whose relationship is tested days before their wedding when the bride reveals a dark secret in her past that causes her husband to question everything.

We discuss how we expected very little from the movie based on its promotional material but were pleasantly surprised by how well the movie handled the complexities of its characters and its story, whether the movie justifies its conflict adequately and whether it's a comedy in...

In "Have You Seen?" we discuss a movie that some of us know well and others have just now seen for the first time.

This week we revisit My Cousin Vinny, a comedy from 1992 directed by Jonathan Lynn and starring Joe Pesci, Marisa Tomei and Fred Gwynne, about two New Yorkers are accused in Alabama of a murder they didn't commit and have to rely on their inexperienced cousin Vinny to defend them in court.

We talk about why My Cousin Vinny is widely regarded as one of the best comedies ever made and how it...

This week we review and discuss They Will Kill You, an action movie directed by Kirill Sokolov and starring Zazie Beetz, Myha'la and Heather Graham, about a woman who takes a job in an exclusive New York apartment building in order to save her sister, which quickly turns into a desperate fight for survival.

We discuss how They Will Kill You is not like the other Eat The Rich movies that have come out recently, the importance of nonverbal storytelling and whether the movie succeeds at that in particular in its action scenes, how a few setpieces can...

This week we review and discuss Project Hail Mary, a science fiction movie directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller and starring Ryan Gosling, Sandra Hüller and James Ortiz, about a scientist who embarks on a mission to the star Tau Ceti on a mission to save Earth, where he encounters an alien who is on the same mission.

We discuss what works about this movie and what doesn't, how it compares to Andy Weir's other movie The Martian in its humor and its use of real science to enable its story, how the movie struggles with i...

This week we review and discuss How To Make A Killing, a dark comedy thriller movie directed by John Patton Ford and starring Glen Powell, Margaret Qualley and Jessica Henwick, about a man who stands to inherit his family's 20 billion dollar fortune once he has killed the seven family members who stand in his way, which puts him on a path of ambition and conscience.

We discuss the movie's handling of themes of ambition, entitlement and greed, how the movie uses symbolism and characters to put the protagonist on a path that forces him to choose between two...

This week we review and discuss season 1 of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, a fantasy drama series created by Ira Parker and starring Peter Claffey, Dexter Sol Ansell and Daniel Ings, in which a Dunk, a hedge knight, and Egg, his young squire, try to find success and justice in Westeros a hundred years before the events of Game of Thrones.

We talk about how this series is a return to form for the franchise, what it gets right and what later seasons of Game of Thrones got wrong, how the series deals with completely different topics...

This week we review and discuss The Bride!, a Gothic romance movie directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal and starring Jessie Buckley, Christian Bale and Penelope Cruz, in which a woman who was killed by the mob in 1930's Chicago is reanimated as the bride of Frankenstein, and the two then go on a crime spree in search of freedom.

We talk about the movie's handling of its numerous themes and whether it does any of them well, whether it makes enough sense, whether it needs to and when you should just accept that a movie is simply not for...

This week we review and discuss Scream 7, a horror slasher movie directed by Kevin Williamson and starring Neve Campbell, Isabel May and Courteney Cox, in which Sidney Prescott and her daughter are targeted by another Ghostface killer who appears to be an old enemy.

We talk about the movie's handling of themes such as nostalgia and making reality conform to fiction and how that intersects with the idea of generative AI, whether Scream 7 is a worthwhile addition to the franchise that continues Sidney Prescott's story after the iconic original trilogy or if this is just cashing in on...

This week we review and discuss Cold Storage, a horror comedy movie directed by Jonny Campbell and starring Georgina Campbell, Joe Keery and Liam Neeson, about attempts at containing a parasitic fungus that leaks out of an abandoned military base.

We talk about how the movie stacks up against its inspirations which include classics such as The Thing, Tremors and The Blob, discuss the movie's solid premise that sets up an interesting scenario with likeable characters who all explore the theme of living with the consequences of past mistakes in various ways, how the movie's ending disappointed us...

In "Have You Seen?" we discuss a movie that some of us know well and others have just now seen for the first time.

This week we revisit Office Space, a satirical comedy from 1999 directed by Mike Judge and starring Ron Livingston, Jennifer Aniston and Gary Cole, about employees of a struggling tech company who are weary of their jobs and are looking for a way out of the monotony of the corporate rat race.

We talk about how Office Space became such an iconic classic that still gets quoted 27 years later, how relatable it is...

This week we review and discuss Crime 101, a crime thriller directed by Bart Layton and starring Chris Hemsworth, Halle Berry and Mark Ruffalo, about three people whose lives are caught up in the world of jewel heists.

We talk about how the movie is not quite what it presents itself as and rather than a heist movie delivers a character drama focused on themes of risk, the cost of making it, and selling out your principles, we discuss whether those ideas were well realised in the character arcs of the three main characters and the choices they make...

This week we review and discuss The Strangers - Chapter 3, a horror film directed by Renny Harlin and starring Madelaine Petsch, Gabriel Basso and Ema Horvath, which features the conclusion to the story of Maya who tries to escape the masked Strangers who continue to try to kill her. 

We talk about whether the final chapter of the Strangers trilogy delivers a payoff that was worth sitting through the first two chapters, whether expanding on the Strangers' backstory and motivation made sense and added value to the story, we go through some of the more baffling scenes and t...

In "Have You Seen?" we discuss a movie that some of us know well and others have just now seen for the first time.

This week we revisit Catch Me If You Can, a crime comedy drama directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks and Christopher Walken, about a con artist who evades the FBI for years while being one of the most accomplished forgers of his time and posing as various professions including airline pilots, doctors and lawyers.

We talk about how the movie has held up and why it is the...

This week we review and discuss Primate, a horror film directed by Johannes Roberts and starring Jonny Sequoyah, Jessica Alexander and Troy Kotsur, about an adopted chimpanzee who gets bitten by a rapid animal and becomes violent towards his human family.

We talk about how this is the okayest movie we have seen in a while that delivers exactly on what it promises and nothing else, how review scores are surprisingly high for a movie this basic, whether the movie delivers on suspense and violence enough to carry the movie, how the movie actually does a lot of...

This week we review and discuss Return to Silent Hill, a psychological horror film directed by Christophe Gans and starring Jeremy Irvine and Hannah Emily Anderson. The movie follows the story of James who ventures into the abandoned town of Silent Hill and encounters various nightmares in search of the woman he loves.

We talk about the metaphor that drives the third act and try to make sense of it as someone who is not familiar with the games, why this movie has been treated unfairly by reviews and why reviewers on balance have let the audiences down...

In "Have You Seen?" we discuss a movie that some of us know well and others have just now seen for the first time.

This week we revisit the first three episodes of Frasier, a sitcom that ran from 1993 to 2004 starring Kelsey Grammer, David Hyde Pierce and Jane Leeves.

We talk about why Frasier is our favourite sitcom of all time, how it manages to make characters who are not usually the protagonists of sitcoms relatable while drawing comedy from their unrelatability, why Frasier was the smartest show on television and why comedy benefits from smart...

This week we review and discuss 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, a postapocalyptic drama film directed by Nia DaCosta and starring Ralph Phiennes, Jack O'Connell and Alfie Williams. Following the events of 28 Years Later, Spike is being inducted into a gang led by Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal while Dr Kelson discovers a treatment for the Rage virus.

We talk about how the movie compares to the first part, how it is driven by the conflict between Dr Kelson and Jimmy who represent two opposed sides of humanity between whose example Spike will have to choose in the future...

This week we review and discuss Frankenstein, a gothic science fiction film directed by Guillermo del Toro and starring Oscaar Isaac, Jacob Elordi and Mia Goth, about a scientist who creates a living being through scientific experimentation and then loses control of his creation.

We talk about our reaction to the newest take on the classic Frankenstein story, what worked about it and what didn't, how we were missing a clear thesis in the movie and how the movie ends up being unfocused and cluttered as a result, we discuss whether various storytelling choices worked for us and...

In "Have You Seen?" we discuss a movie that some of us know well and others have just now seen for the first time.

This week we revisit Edge of Tomorrow, a 2014 science fiction action movie directed by Doug Liman and starring Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt and Bill Paxton, about two soldiers stuck in a time loop during an alien invasion.

We talk about how this movie did not make many waves when it came out in part due to its confusing name changes but has turned into a celebrated classic since then, the movie's take...

This week we review and discuss Marty Supreme, a drama movie directed by Josh Safdie and starring Thimothee Chalamet, Gwyneth Paltrow and Odessa A'zion, about a table tennis player in 1952 and his struggles to compete in an upcoming championship against all odds.

We talk about the movie's unconventional storytelling and Chalamet's persuasive performance as an unlikeable jerk the audience can sympathise with, how the movie depicts its flawed characters and their choices without telling the audience how to feel about them, the movie's handling of themes such as fairness, ego and achievement, debate whether the movie's ending elevates...

This week we review and discuss The Housemaid, an erotic thriller movie directed by Paul Feig and starring Sydney Sweeney, Amanda Seyfried and Brandon Sklenar, which follows a young woman with a troubled past who becomes the live-in housekeeper for a wealthy family. Their seemingly perfect life unravels when she discovers their household hides dark secrets.

We talk about whether the movie delivers on its promise of being a throwback to 90's thrillers and whether the near universally positive audience reaction is justified, whether the resolution to the central mystery makes sense and worked for us, whether the...

For our second annual end of year review episode, we take a look back at the movies we reviewed this year and see what movies were successful and which bombed, try to understand what that says about the moviegoing audience this year and speculate what that might mean for what movies might look like in the years to come. After that we rank our top 3 best and worst movies of the year.

Check out our other reviews and clips on all major platforms here:
https://linktr.ee/EyeOfTheStormMoviePodcast

0:00 Intro
0:22 2025 Box Office Analysis
32:52 Worst...

This week we review and discuss Avatar 3: Fire and Ash, an epic science fiction movie directed by James Cameron and starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana and Sigourney Weaver, which follows the story of Jake Sully and his family as they try to live among the Na'vi while being pursued by Colonel Quaritch and the volcano-dwelling Mangkwan clan.

We talk about our very different experiences with the Avatar franchise and how part 3 stacks up against the previous movies, what we thought of the emerging politics of various Na'vi groups, the various character journeys in particular the villains and whether...

In "Have You Seen?" we discuss a movie that some of us know well and others have just now seen for the first time.

This week we revisit Monty Python's Life of Brian, a 1979 biblical comedy movie directed by Terry Jones and starring John Cleese, Terry Gilliam and Michael Palin, about a young Judaean man who is born on the same day as Jesus, and is subsequently mistaken for the Messiah.

We talk about our reactions to seeing the movie widely seen as the best comedy ever made for the first time in 2025, look back at...

This week we review and discuss Fackham Hall, a spoof comedy movie directed by Jim O'Hanlon and starring Thomasin McKenzie, Ben Radcliffe and Damian Lewis, which follows heiress Rose Davenport who is torn between marrying her cousin to save the family estate, and eloping with the man she loves despite class barriers.

We talk about whether Fackham Hall's comedy worked for us, compare favourite jokes, ask whether Fackham Hall deserves to be in one category with timeless classics like Naked Gun and Airplane!, why the movie benefits from meticulous planning and a tight plot and how it compares...

This week we review and discuss Five Nights at Freddy's 2, a horror movie directed by Emma Tammi and starring Josh Hutcherson, Matthew Lillard and Elizabeth Lail, in which Abby Schmidt reconnects with her animatronic friends, leading to events that reveal the origins of Freddy Fazbear's Pizza.

We talk about whether the movie worked for us as somebody not part of the target audience that had never played the games and went into this without a shred of nostalgia, whether there is enough to the movie once you move part the creepy aesthetics of the Freddy Fazbear animatronics, whether...

In "Have You Seen?" we discuss a movie that some of us know well and others have just now seen for the first time.

This week we revisit Rapture-Palooza, a 2013 comedy movie directed by Paul Middleditch and starring Anna Kendrick, Ken Jeong and Craig Robinson, about two people trying to survive in the post-rapture apocalypse while trying to defeat The Beast.

We talk about how this movie bombed in the box office and in reviews and why we think it deserves more credit than it has received, how the movie is not really about religion but...

This week we review and discuss Now You See Me: Now You Don't, a heist movie directed by Ruben Fleischer and starring Jesse Eisenberg, Morgan Freeman and Isla Fisher, about a new generation of magicians who team up with the original Horsemen to take down an evil diamond mining company using their knowledge of magic.

We talk about what the movie improves from the previous installments of the franchise, whether the use of magic was satisfying to us, whether the movie is too crowded by having eight major characters that need to be balanced and whether the movie...

This week we review and discuss Wicked: For Good, a fantasy musical movie directed by Jon M. Chu and starring Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo and Jeff Goldblum, about the relationship between Elphaba and Glinda as they embrace their new identities as the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good.


We talk about whether the movie brought the character arcs set up in the first part to a satisfying conclusion, how the lack of worldbuilding and detail in various character motivations we criticised in the first part drag the second part down in predictable ways, whether...

In our series "Catching Up On", we watch a classic movie that is new to us, and we discuss how we experienced the movie with fresh eyes and try to understand its historical context and cultural impact.

This week we watch "The Wizard of Oz", a fantasy musical from 1939 directed by Victor Fleming and starring Judy Garland, Frank Morgan and Margaret Hamilton, about Dorothy who is transplanted by a tornado from Kansas to the magical land of Oz and has to find a way home while evading the schemes of the Wicked Witch.

We talk about...

This week we review and discuss The Running Man, a science fiction action movie directed by Edgar Wright and starring Glen Powell, William H. Macy and Emilia Jones, about a man who joins a deadly game show as the only way he can earn the money to afford life saving medicine for his child.

We talk about the movie's handling of topics such as inequality, poverty and class warfare and why we were pleasantly surprised by that, in what ways the dystopia the movie predicts came true 20 years ago but isn't all that relevant anymore today, how the...

This week we review and discuss Predator: Badlands, a science fiction action movie directed by Dan Trachtenberg and starring Elle Fanning, Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi and Reuben de Jong about a young Yautja who embarks on an impossible hunt to earn his place in his clan, and encounters a synth on a similar mission.

We talk about whether the movie succeeds at fleshing out the Predators and whether telling a story from their point of view worked for us, whether it deserves its nearly universal acclaim and if it made us want to see more of the Yautja and their...

In "Have You Seen?" we discuss a movie that some of us know well and others have just now seen for the first time.

This week we revisit Good Bye Lenin!, a 2003 german comedy movie directed by Wolfgang Becker and starring Daniel Brühl, Katrin Sass and Maria Simon, about a son trying to hide the collapse of socialist East Germany from his mother as she is recovering from a heart attack.

We talk about how the historical and political satire lands with people who are not already familiar with German history and culture, how the s...

This week we review and discuss Shelby Oaks, a supernatural horror movie directed by Chris Stuckmann and starring Camille Sullivan, Sarah Durn and Keith David, about a woman determined to find her sister, who went missing while investigating the mysterious abandoned town of Shelby Oaks.

We talk about whether the movie's mixed found footage and conventional filming style worked for us, why the ending was the strongest part for us that is not supported by the largely unmotivated mystery that dominates the rest of the movie, why this movie gives Youtube critics becoming filmmakers a bad name, how...

This week we review and discuss The Hand That Rocks The Cradle, a thriller movie directed by Michelle Garza Cervera and starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Maika Monroe and Raul Castilla, about a family who hires a nanny only to discover she has a sinister motive and is scheming to break up their family.

We talk about how this movie compares to the original and how the changes it makes impact the story, why the nanny's motivation was broken in the adaptation and not really replaced with something that fits the new focus of the story, why Maika Monroe...