Piecing It Together Podcast

On the 492nd episode of Piecing It Together, we are LIVE at Downtown Cinemas in Las Vegas to talk about SISU: ROAD TO REVENGE! I'm joined by Jake Gonzalez, Chase Gifford and Carolyn Luckett to talk about this over the top action sequel. Puzzle pieces include Mad Max Fury Road, Death Wish, Indiana Jones and First Blood.

As always, SPOILER ALERT for Sisu: Road To Revenge and the movies we discuss!

Written by Jalmari Helander

Directed by Jalmari Helander

Starring Jorma Tommila, Stephen Lang, Richard Brake

So...

On the 491st episode of Piecing It Together, we are LIVE from Maya Cinemas in Las Vegas with Steven Hughes, Anthony Elias and Carolyn Luckett to talk about The Running Man! This new take on the classic story is directed by Edgar Wright, stars Glen Powell and is a blast. Puzzle pieces include Idiocracy, The Truman Show, Die Hard and Hard Boiled.

As always, SPOILER ALERT for The Running Man and the movies we discuss!

Written by Edgar Wright and Michael Bacall

Directed by Edgar Wright

Starring Glen Po...

On the 490th episode of Piecing It Together, we conclude our FilmQuest Film Festival 2025 coverage as Emily Zercher and Shane Brady join me to talk about Hacked: A Double Entendre of Rage Fueled Karma. This follow-up to our previous episode lets the filmmakers react to our puzzle pieces and share some of their actual influences as well as stories from the making of the film.

As always, SPOILER ALERT for Hacked: A Double Entrende of Rage Fueled Karma and all of the movies we discuss!

Check out FilmQuest at https://www.filmquestfest.com...

On the 489th episode of Piecing It Together, we continue our FilmQuest Film Festival 2025 coverage as Hana Kazim joins me to talk about Hacked: A Double Entendre of Rage Fueled Karma. We also talk about Hana's own short film Yathoom making this a double dose episode. Puzzle pieces for Hacked include Hackers, The Beekeeper and John Wick.

As always, SPOILER ALERT for Hacked: A Double Entrende of Rage Fueled Karma and Yathoom and all of the movies we discuss!

Check out FilmQuest at https://www.filmquestfest.com

And also check out...

On the 488th episode of Piecing It Together, we continue our FilmQuest Film Festival 2025 coverage as Jake Myers joins me to talk about Appofeniacs. We also talk about Jake's own feature Kombucha making this a double dose episode. Puzzle pieces for Appofeniacs include Tarantinto, Lynch and South Park. Puzzle pieces for Kombucha include The Substance, Inside Llewyn Davis and Office Space.

As always, SPOILER ALERT for Appofeniacs and Kombucha and the movies we discuss!

Check out FilmQuest at https://www.filmquestfest.com

And also check out FilmQuest on Instagram @filmquest

On the 487th episode of Piecing It Together, we kick off our FilmQuest Film Festival 2025 coverage as Jonna Jackson joins me to talk about Orion. We also talk about Jonna's role in the festival and her own work in film and music. Puzzle pieces for Orion include Event Horizon, Saw, The Abyss and Closetland.

As always, SPOILER ALERT for Orion and the movies we discuss!

Written by Anne Vithayathil

Directed by Jaco Bouwer

Starring Andrew McCarthy, Drew Van Aacker

Jonna Jackson is the as...

On the 486th episode of Piecing It Together, Michael Klug joins me to talk about A House Of Dynamite. This thriller from Kathryn Bigelow is a look at a dozen people's response to an impending nuclear theat. Puzzle pieces include The War of the Worlds, WarGames, Dunkirk and Independence Day.

As always, SPOILER ALERT for A House Of Dynamite and the movies we discuss!

Written by Noah Oppenheim

Directed by Kathryn Bigelow

Starring Idris Elba, Rebecca Ferguson, Jared Harris, Tracy Letts, Gabriel Basso

Netflix

On the 485th episode of Piecing It Together, Chad Clinton Freeman joins me to talk about Guillermo del Toro's new take on the classic monster tale, Frankenstein! Chad was my guest years ago for an episode on the original Frankenstein, so this episode bookends decades of adaptation of the classic story. Puzzle pieces include Ex Machina, Re-Animator, Chappie and The Crow.

As always, SPOILER ALERT for Frankenstein and the movies we discuss!

Written by Guillermo del Toro

Directed by Guillermo del Toro

Starring Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Mia Go...

On the 484th episode of Piecing It Together, filmmaker/author Steven Bernstein joins me to talk about Sorry, Baby. This dramedy from A24 and writer/director/star Eva Victor has a finger on the pulse of a very specific kind of young person that we're both fascinated by. Puzzle pieces include Lost In Translation, Janet Planet, Girls and Days Of Heaven.

We also talk about Steven Bernstein's history in Hollywood and his new project GRQ The Movie.

As always, SPOILER ALERT for Sorry, Baby and the movies we discuss!

Written by...

On this special episode I’m joined by Jason Harris of Awesome Movie Year to talk about the trailers for a whole bunch of movies coming out in November 2025. This month’s lineup includes Die My Love, Frankenstein, Trap House, Jay Kelly, Now You See Me Now You Don't, Nouvelle Vague, Wicked For Good, David, Zootopia 2, Eternity, The Thing With Feathers, Predator Badlands, The Running Man, Keeper and SISU: Road To Revenge.

As always, SPOILER ALERT for all of the movies we discuss!

Jason Harris is a writer and stand-up comedian (not just...

On the 483rd episode of Piecing It Together, we are LIVE from Downtown Cinemas in Las Vegas for the 40th anniversary of The Last Dragon! Jason Harris, Tab Lloyd and Mikey VIP join me for this wild action comedy produced by Berry Gordy. Puzzle pieces include Dolemite, Streets Of Fire, I'm Gonna Git You Sucka and Kill Bill.

As always, SPOILER ALERT for The Last Dragon and the movies we discuss!

Jason Harris is a writer and stand-up comedian (not just here in Las Vegas). He also co-hosts the Awesome Movie Year Pod...

On the 482nd episode of Piecing It Together, Eric Langberg joins me to talk about Kiss Of The Spider Woman. This musical remake takes its prisoners on a wild, over-the-top technicolor ride with J.Lo! Puzzle pieces include Cabraet, Babylon, Sucker Punch and This Is Me... Now.

As always, SPOILER ALERT for Kiss Of The Spider Woman and the movies we discuss!

Written by Bill Condon

Directed by Bill Condon

Starring Diego Luna, Tonatiuh, Jennifer Lopez

Lionsgate

Eric Langberg is a fi...

On the 481st episode of Piecing It Together, Tia Bean joins me to talk about Freakier Friday! This long awaited sequel to the Jamie Lee Curtis / Lindsay Lohan switchup comedy is now out on Disney+! Puzzle pieces include 17 Again, Step Brothers, Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Mean Girls.

As always, SPOILER ALERT for Freakier Friday and the movies we discuss!

Written by Jordas Weiss

Directed by Nisha Ganatra

Starring Jamie Lee Curtis, Lindsay Lohan, Julia Butters, Sophia Hammons, Vanessa Bayer

Disney

Ti...

On the 480th episode of Piecing It Together, we are LIVE from Downtown Cinemas with Sam Novak, Johnny Molinaro and Nic Patrick to talk about Tron: Ares! The third in the cult series takes the videogame action to the real world and featured a killer soundtrack by Nine Inch Nails. Puzzle pieces include Pixels, Terminator, Alien: Covenant and Ex Machina.

As always, SPOILER ALERT for Tron: Ares and the movies we discuss!

Written by Jesse Wigutow

Directed by Joachim Ronning

Starring Jared Leto, Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Jodie Tu...

On the 479th episode of Piecing It Together, it's a super episode as I'm joined by Joe Black, Luis Samra, Jason Harris, Samantha Soriano, Derrick Murray and Paul Hibbard to talk about One Battle After Another! Paul Thomas Anderson's latest is the movie of the year and we all couldn't wait to talk about it. Puzzle pieces include Duel, Carlitos Way, Goodfellas and many of the other films of Paul Thomas Anderson.

As always, SPOILER ALERT for One Battle After Another and the movies we discuss!

Written by Paul Thomas Anderson

...

On the 478th episode of Piecing It Together, we are LIVE from Downtown Cinemas in Las Vegas with William-Patrick Coleman, KL Martin and Bob Jomes to talk about Good Boy! This horror story from the point of view of a dog has caught a lot of buzz, and as a huge dog lover and the lead of a doggy rock group The Pup Pups, of course I had to do a show on this one. Puzzle pieces include Scooby Doo, The Thing, The Others and Poltergeist.

This episode is dedicated to the memory of...

On the 477th episode of Piecing It Together, Josh Bell joins me to talk about Fight Or Flight! Josh Hartnett is having a blast in this hectic non-stop action flick. Puzzle pieces include Passenger 57, Bullet Train, Con Air and Kill.

As always, SPOILER ALERT for Fight Or Flight and the movies we discuss!

Written by DJ Cotrona and Brooks McLaren

Directed by James Madigan

Starring Josh Hartnett, Katee Sackhoff, Julian Kostov, Charithra Chndran

Vertical

Josh Bell is a film critic whose re...

On this special episode I’m joined by Jason Harris of Awesome Movie Year to talk about the trailers for a whole bunch of movies coming out in October 2025. This month’s lineup includes Play Dirty, Roofman, Killing Faith, The Smashing Machine, Steve, Kiss Of the Spider Woman, The Woman In Cabin 10, Anenome, After The Hunt, The Black Phone 2, Pets On A Train, Good Fortune, Good Boy, Tron: Ares, Bugonia and Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere.

As always, SPOILER ALERT for all of the movies we discuss!

NOTE: Poolman actually comes out on O...

On the 476th episode of Piecing It Together Podcast we are LIVE from Downtown Cinemas to talk about HIM with guests Korey Kilgore, Samantha Soriano and Patrick Nelson. This crossroads between football and the devil was produced by Jordan Peele but doesn't quite come together the way we'd hoped. Puzzle pieces include Whiplash, Rosemary's Baby, Late Night With The Devil and Smile 2.

As always, SPOILER ALERT for HIM and the movies we discuss!

Written by Skip Bronkie, Zack Akers, Justin Tipping

Directed by Justin Tipping

Starring Marlon Wayans, Ty...

On the 475th episode of Piecing It Together we are LIVE from Maya Cinemas in Las Vegas with Teresa O'Hara, Danny Chandia and Darlene Dalmaceda to talk about A Big Bold Beautiful Journey! This magical romance from Kogonada starring Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell explores all kinds of ideas about love and life. Puzzle pieces include Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, What Dreams May Come, La La Land and Hot Tub Time Machine.

As always, SPOILER ALERT for A Big Bold Beautiful Journey and the movies we discuss!

Written by Seth Re...

On the 474th episode of Piecing It Together, Ryan Pak of Soundtrack Your Life Podcast joins me to talk about Spinal Tap II: The End Continues! Against all odds, these rockers are still with us, still rocking and still hilarious. Puzzle pieces include A Mighty Wind, Popstar, Kingsman: The Golden Circle and Happy Gilmore 2.

As always, SPOILER ALERT for Spinal Tap II and the movies we discuss!

Written by Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, Rob Reiner

Directed by Rob Reiner

Starring Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, Ro...

On the 473rd episode of Piecing It Together, we are LIVE from AMC Town Square after an early screening of The Long Walk with film critic Daniel Howat. This adaptation of the Stephen King novel from JT Mollner and Francis Lawerence features a great young cast and a lot of walking. Puzzle pieces include Speed, Ploattoon, Cool Hand Luke and The Hunger Games.

As always, SPOILER ALERT for The Long Walk and the movies we discuss!

Written by JT Mollner

Directed by Francis Lawerence

Starring Cooper Hoffman, David Jo...

On the 472nd episode of Piecing It Together, we are LIVE from Downtown Cinemas to talk about The Conjuring: Last Rites, the "final" (sure) film in the hugely successful Conjuring universe. Puzzle pieces include The Haunted, Mirror Mirror and The Entity.

As always, SPOILER ALERT for The Conjuring: Last Rites and the movies we discuss!

Written by Ian Goldberg, Richard Naing, David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick

Directed by Michael Chaves

Starring Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Mia Tomlinson, Ben Hardy

New Line Cinema

Gina Mi...

On the 471st episode of Piecing It Together, real life private detective Natasha Hall joins me to talk about Honey Don't! The latest from Ethan Coen and his wife Tricia Cooke continues their trilogy of lesbian detective stories. Puzzle pieces include The Long Goodbye, Bottoms, Red State and of course, the films Natasha Hall and Suffrage which are based on Natasha's life.

As always, SPOILER ALERT for Honey Don't! and the movies we discuss!

Written by Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke

Directed by Ethan Cooke

Starring Margaret Qualley, Au...

On the 470th episode of Piecing It Together we are LIVE from Downtown Cinemas in Las Vegas to talk about The Toxic Avenger! I'm joined by Michael Keene, William-Patrick Coleman and Brianna Florian to discuss this new take on the Troma classic. Puzzle pieces include Freaked, Super, Little Nicky and Frankenstein.

As always, SPOILER ALERT for The Toxic Avenger and the movies we discuss!

Written by Macon Blair

Directed by Macon Blair

Starring Peter Drinklage, Jakob Tremblay, Taylour Paige, Kevin Bacon, Elijah Wood

Troma / Legendary

...

On this special episode I'm joined by Jason Harris of Awesome Movie Year to talk about the trailers for a whole bunch of movies coming out in September 2025. This month's lineup includes The Baltimorons, Highest 2 Lowest, The Long Walk, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale, Xeno, One Battle After Another, The Strangers: Chapter 2, Gabbys Dollhouse: The Movie, The Conjuring: Last Rites, A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, Spinal Tap II: The End Continues and Him.

As always, SPOILER ALERT for all of the movies we discuss!

Jason Harris is a writer and stand-up comedian (not just here...

On the 469th episode of Piecing It Together, Ryan Luis Rodriguez joins me to talk about Eddington. Ari Aster's pandemic dark comedy is unsurprisingly polarizing, but we both loved it. Puzzle pieces include No Country For Old Men, Nashville, Eyes Wide Shut and First Reformed.

As always, SPOILER ALERT for Eddington and the movies we discuss!

Written by Ari Aster

Directed by Ari Aster

Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, Luke Grimes, Austin Butler, Emma Stone

A24

Ryan Luis Rodriguez is a po...

On this special bonus episode of Piecing It Together, I’m actually reposting a guest apperance I recently did on LA Podfidential with host Chauncey Telese where we discussed our most anticipated films of the rest of 2025!

The original version of this conversation is available at https://www.lafbnetwork.com/la-podfidential/

As always, SPOILER ALERT for any of the movies we discuss!

Make sure to check out LA Podfidential at https://www.lafbnetwork.com/la-podfidential/

Follow LA Podfidential on Twitter @LAPodfidential

And Follow Chauncey on Twitter @bigchaunc64

My sixt...

On the 468th episode of Piecing It Together, we are LIVE from Maya Cinemas in Las Vegas with Celine Ochoa, William Moessinger and Ernest Curcio to talk about Zach Cregger's wildly anticipated Weapons! Puzzle pieces include Longlegs, Lost Highway, The Hunt and Tangled.

As always, SPOILER ALERT for Weapons and the movies we discuss!

Written by Zach Cregger

Directed by Zach Cregger

Starring Josh Brolin, Julia Garner, Alden Ehrenreich, Austin Abrams, Amy Madigan

Warner Bros

Celine Ochoa is a filmmaker from Las...

On the 467th episode of Piecing It Together, Joe Black and Jason Harris join me to talk about Happy Gilmore 2! As far as legacy sequels go, it kind of does the best and the worst of what these movies do. Puzzle pieces include Clerks 3, Alien Resurrection, Top Gun Maverick and Rocky.

As always, SPOILER ALERT for Happy Gilmore 2 and the movies we discuss!

Written by Tim Herlihy and Adam Sandler

Directed by Kyle Newacheck

Starring Adam Sandler, Christopher McDonald, Benny Safdie, Julie Bowen, Bad Bunny

Netflix

On the 466th episode of Piecing It Together, we are LIVE from Downtown Cinemas to talk about The Naked Gun with Jason Harris, Doug Ecks and Mason Gordon. Puzzle pieces include Mission: Impossible, Batman, Arrested Development and Airplane II.

As always, SPOILER ALERT for The Naked Gun and the movies we discuss!

Written by Dan Gregor, Doug Mand, Akiva Schaffer

Directed by Akiva Schaffer

Starring Liam Neeson, Pamela Anderson, Paul Walter Hauser, Danny Huston

Paramount

Jason Harris is a writer and sta...

On this special episode, Jason Harris joins me again to talk about some upcoming movies. We use the usual puzzle pieces format on some trailers for movies that are coming out in August 2025. This month’s episode includes Together, Freakier Friday, Fixed, Nobody 2, Americana, Honey Don't!, The Thursday Murder Club, Caught Stealing, The Roses, The Toxic Avenger, The Naked Gun and Weapons.

I also shout out some listener provided puzzle pieces from movies we covered in the month of July including pieces from Daniel Millward and The Vern.

Jason Harris is a wri...

On the 465th episode of Piecing It Together, we are LIVE from Maya Cinemas with Faith Nault, Perry Markle and C Jack to talk about The Fantastic Four: First Steps! This next step in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has a lot riding on it. Puzzle pieces include Oppenheimer, The Wizard of Oz, Star Trek and Pieces Of A Woman.

As always, SPOILER ALERT for The Fantastic Four: First Steps and the movies we discuss!

Written by Josh Friedman, Eric Pearson, Jeff Kaplan, Ian Springer

Directed by Matt Shakman

St...

On the 464th episode of Piecing It Together, The Vern joins me to talk about The Surfer. Who doesn't want to watch Nic Cage get tortured on an Australian beach for 90 minutes? Puzzle pieces include Mandy, Eden Lake, Swiss Army Man and After Hours.

As always, SPOILER ALERT for The Surfer and the movies we discuss!

Written by Thoams Martin

Directed by Lorcan Finnegan

Starring Nicolas Cage, Finn Little, Julian McMahon

Roadside Attractions / Lionsgate

The Vern hosts the Cinema Recall Podcast

On the 463rd episode of Piecing It Together, Jason Harris joins me to talk about The Ballad Of Wallis Island. This sweet indie features a folk singer and his biggest fan, stuck on an island. It's a delight. Puzzle pieces include Once, A Mighty Wind, Local Hero and Inside Llewyn Davis.

As always, SPOILER ALERT for The Ballad Of Wallis Island and the movies we discuss!

Written by Tom Basden and Tim Key

Directed by James Griffiths

Starring Tom Basden, Tim Key, Carrey Mulligan, Akemnji Ndjifornyen

Fo...

On the 462nd episode of Piecing It Together, Jason Harris joins me to talk about Freaky Tales. This collection of crazy stories spread across one wild night in Oakland is inspired by the classic Too Short song. Puzzle pieces include Suburbia, Decline of Western Civilization, House Party and The Fog.

As always, SPOILER ALERT for Freaky Tales and the movies we discuss!

Written by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck

Directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck

Starring Pedro Pascal, Jay Ellis, Ben Mendelsohn, Angus Cloud, Too Short

...

On the 461st episode of Piecing It Together, we are LIVE from Downtown Cinemas in Las Vegas to talk about Superman! I am joined by Mike Davis, Antonio Llapur and David Tovar to discuss James Gunn's new take on the iconic superhero starring David Corenswet. Puzzle pieces include Blue Beetle, Ali, John Wick and The Incredibles.

As always, SPOILER ALERT for Superman and the movies we discuss!

Written by James Gunn

Directed by James Gunn

Starring David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult

Warner Bros / DC

...

On this special episode of Piecing It Together, I’m taking a break from movies to share with you all my new album Three Chords and the Pooch by The Pup Pups! This collection of novelty/comedy songs about my dog Harvey (and in some cases sung by him) is the 5th album by The Pup Pups and dare I say… The best one yet? As of 7/11/2025 the album is available to stream on all the major streaming platforms and the limited edition CD can be purchased on Bandcamp.

Check out https://thepuppups.bandcamp.com to buy the limi...

On this special episode of Piecing It Together, Ben Miller joins me to discuss our Top 10 favorite films of 2025 so far. Along with our lists we get into some honorable mentions and talk about the weird year that 2025 has been so far.

As always, SPOILER ALERT for any of the movies we discuss!

Ben Miller is a film critic and runs Ice Cream For Freaks at https://icecream4freaks.com/

Follow Ben on Twitter @nebisben

My latest David Rosen album MISSING PIECES: 2018-20...

On the 460th episode of Piecing It Together, Derrick Murray joins me to talk about Ballerina, the latest entry in the John Wick series. Ana De Armas leads this spin off that expands the world in some really fun ways. Puzzle pieces include Rogue One, Black Widow, Rumble In The Bronx and Hot Fuzz.

As always, SPOILER ALERT for Ballerina and the movies we discuss!

Written by Shay Hatten

Directed by Len Wiseman

Starring Ana De Armas, Anjelica Huston, Gabriel Byrne, Lance Reddick, Norman Deedus, Ian McShane, Keanu Re...