Filmspotting

Latest Episodes:

Top 5 Kristen Stewart Scenes | Archive Aug 19, 2026

Show notes

Kristen Stewart is back in theaters with The Wrong Girls, which is an excuse to share our Top 5 KStew Scenes from 2017.

Unlock the full archive, Filmspotting Discord, ad‑free + bonus episodes, and more when you ⁠join the Filmspotting Family⁠. Promo code: summer for 20% off through Aug. 31.

"Personal Shopper and the Movies That Haunt Us"

Scott, Morris - Great Performances of 2016

Stewart: Hiding In Plain Sight

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Last House and Netflix’s Apocalypse Obsession | SVU Aug 18, 2026

Show notes

It’s all fine and good to be sealed up in a house with Wagner Moura and Greta Lee, but the longer Netflix’s new The Last House keeps us there, the more time Matt and Jordan have for questions about the why and the how and… is that broccoli you’re growing in the floorboards, Greta? Matt and Jordan also discuss Netflix’s curious fascination with apocalyptic tales. Then, some Last House-inspired streaming recommendations (Universal Monsters! H.P. Lovecraft!) and a listener streaming request inspires recommendations for a forgotten Emma Thompson movie from the early 90s and a literary adaptation from Roger Corman. And Jordan hosts this week’s game: The Gaul of These People!

Welcome/Intro (00:00:00–00:2:54)

The Last House (00:2:55–00:27:17)

H.P. Lovecraft and Universal Monsters (Rec Seg!) (00:27:18–00:44:30)

Emma Thompson, Roger Corman, and Vincent Price (Listener Request Seg!) (00:44:31–01:03:16)

MLB's Field of Dreams Game on Netflix (01:03:17–01:09:26)

Game: The Gaul of these People! (01:09:27–01:26:10)

New to Streaming / Credits (01:26:11–01:31:04)

Show Notes

Now Streaming on Bazooga - A Filmspotting: SVU Archive⁠ https://letterboxd.com/samvanhallgren/list/now-streaming-on-bazooga-a-filmspotting-svu/⁠

Pre-Order Matt's book "Funny Business: The Old-School Wedding Crashers and Knocked-Up Virgins Who Changed Comedy Forever" (Coming October 6th):⁠ https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/790241/funny-business-by-matt-singer/⁠

Feedback: Email us at feedback@filmspottingSVU.com

Follow Matt on Blue Sky: @mattsinger.bsky.social

Follow Jordan on Blue Sky: @jhoffman.bsky.social

Follow the Show:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/superpulse/⁠⁠ https://www.facebook.com/FilmspottingSvu⁠

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Anyone Can Cook, Pt. 2 — Tony Aug 18, 2026

Show notes

Matt Johnson’s new biopic Tony sidesteps the infamous Walk Hard trap by narrowing its scope to a single summer that would end up shaping the rest of Anthony Bourdain’s life, but not necessarily defining it. Whether that approach is ultimately satisfying to fans of the late celebrity chef and author is up for debate this week, as we’re once again joined by Vulture critic Roxana Hadadi to discuss how Tony plays into and against our expectations of a Bourdain narrative. Then we bring Ratatouille back in for Connections, to compare how these two films introduce us to kitchen culture through the eyes of a newbie. Then for Your Next Picture Show, we recommend two more recent films to fill out a Matt Johnson triple feature.

Please share your thoughts about Ratatouille, Tony, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Next Pairing: David Robert Mitchell’s The End of Oak Street and Steven Spielberg’s The War of the Worlds

This episode is presented by⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Regal Unlimited⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits. Use code NEXTPIC26 for 15% off.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"You owe everything to the movie and nothing to the original" with David Kajganich | The Movie Racket Aug 17, 2026

Show notes

Screenwriter and producer David Kajganich (Suspiria, Bones and All) joins Michael Phillips to test a provocative rule of adaptation from filmmaker Whit Stillman: "You owe everything to the movie and nothing to the original [source]."
But what about the opposite approach? As the Coen brothers once joked about adapting Cormac McCarthy's No Country for Old Men: "One of us types into the computer while the other holds the spine of the book flat." Between those two extremes lies the art of adaptation.
Drawing on more than two decades of adapting novels, memoirs, plays, and films, Kajganich explores when fidelity serves a movie, when it becomes a trap, and why great adaptations sometimes have to break the bones of the original work. As you'd expect, Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey enters the conversation, along with Howards End, The Shining, The Zone of Interest, and Where the Wild Things Are.
Is the best adaptation the one that faithfully recreates its source? Or the one that expresses something new? Join the conversation: email movieracket@filmspotting.net

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Marathon Awards | Dissident Cinema Aug 16, 2026

Show notes

Adam and Josh share their favorite discoveries, performances, and scenes from the recently completed Dissident Cinema Marathon, which included Chaplin’s The Great Dictator, Kurosawa's No Regrets for Our Youth, and Rossellini’s Rome, Open City.

Links:
-The Circle Ending Revealed | BFI
⁠old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/review/1960⁠

-Filmspotting Marathons
https://www.filmspotting.net/marathons

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma and The Brink of War | #1076 Aug 14, 2026

Show notes

Jane Schoenbrun’s uncategorizable third feature, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, marks the director as among the most assured and provocative filmmakers of their generation. Adam and Josh agree that it’s the film of the year so far. Plus, other notable third features this decade, listeners pick their favorite Spider-Man movie, and Adam reviews The Brink of War.

This episode is presented by⁠ Regal Unlimited⁠⁠, the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits. Use code FILMSPOT26 to take 15% off.

(Timecodes will not be precise with ads.)

Intro (00:00:00-00:02:38)

Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (00:02:39-00:45:20)

Filmspotting Family (00:45:21-00:51:21)

The Brink of War (00:51:22-01:01:11)

Polls(01:01:12-01:11:25)

Credits / Releases (01:11:26-01:15:26)

Feedback:

-Email us at feedback@filmspotting.net⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠-⁠Ask Us Anything⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and we might answer your question in bonus content.

Support:

-Join the Filmspotting Family for bonus episodes and complete archive access.

http://filmspottingfamily.com

-Filmspotting Shop for T-shirts and more.⁠ ⁠

⁠https://www.filmspotting.net/shop⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow:

-Watch Filmspotting on YouTube:

⁠https://youtube.com/filmspotting⁠

-Adam/Filmspotting:

⁠Letterboxd⁠ |⁠ Instagram⁠ |⁠ Facebook⁠ | ⁠Bluesky⁠

-Josh/LarsenOnFilm:

⁠Letterboxd⁠ | ⁠Instagram⁠ |⁠ Facebook⁠ | ⁠Bluesky

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Anyone Can Cook, Pt. 1 — Ratatouille Aug 13, 2026

Show notes

Anthony Bourdain, whose early experience working in a restaurant kitchen is chronicled in the new biopic Tony, once singled out Ratatouille as Hollywood’s best depiction of working in a restaurant kitchen, which is all the invitation we need to revisit Brad Bird’s 2007 Pixar classic. So this week, with the help of Vulture critic Roxana Hadadi, we consider how Ratatouille trusts its viewers to accept an audacious premise, and rewards them in emotional payoff; parse the nuances and contradictions of its “anyone can cook” mantra; and lament that its lone female character of consequence falls victim to Trinity Syndrome. And yes, of course this group of critics has some thoughts on Anton Ego and the film’s take on criticism. Then in Feedback, we discuss a short excerpt from a much longer, in-depth analysis we received in response to our O Brother Where Art Thou? episode.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Top 5 Movie Posters | Archive Aug 12, 2026

Show notes

In 2015, Adam and Josh welcomed poster designer Sam's Myth on the show to talk shop and share their Top 5 Movie Posters.

Unlock the full archive, Filmspotting Discord, ad‑free + bonus episodes, and more when you ⁠join the Filmspotting Family⁠. Promo code: summer for 20% off through Aug. 31.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Making Spidey Sense of Brand New Day’s Historic Box Office Haul | SVU Aug 11, 2026

Show notes

When the author of “Marvel’s Spider-Man: From Amazing to Spectacular” is the co-host of your show, you don’t avoid talking about the new Spidey movie Brand New Day just because it’s not streaming. So Matt and Jordan use the release of the movie to theorize about its massive box office, and to share some related steaming recommendations. Plus, listener requests for an unsentimental Italian film and a film that offers the same unique pleasures as Leos Carax’s uncategorizable 2012 film Holy Motors. And Producer Sam tests Matt and Jordan’s knowledge of Spider-Man villains with a game called “A Vile Menagerie.”

Matt’s Spider-Man Bona Fides + Brand New Day (00:00:00–00:25:27)

Rec Seg! Brand New Day-inspired recommendations (00:25:28–00:38:45)

Listener Requests: Italian Films, Movies like Holy Motors (00:38:46–00:50:16)

Game: A Vile Menagerie (00:50:17–01:08:45)

New to Streaming / Credits (01:08:46–01:15:33)

Outtake: Jordan In Hawaii with the cast of Battleship (01:15:34–01:24:24)

Show Notes

Now Streaming on Bazooga - A Filmspotting: SVU Archive⁠ https://letterboxd.com/samvanhallgren/list/now-streaming-on-bazooga-a-filmspotting-svu/⁠

“Marvel’s Spider-Man: from Amazing to Spectacular”

https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Marvels-Spider-Man-From-Amazing-to-Spectacular/Matt-Singer/9781683837442

Feedback: Email us at feedback@filmspottingSVU.com

Follow Matt on Blue Sky: @mattsinger.bsky.social

Follow Jordan on Blue Sky: @jhoffman.bsky.social

Follow the Show:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/superpulse/⁠⁠ https://www.facebook.com/FilmspottingSvu⁠

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"If my fanny squirms, it's bad. If my fanny doesn't squirm, it's good" with Dana Stevens | The Movie Racket Aug 10, 2026

Show notes

What can your body tell you about a movie? According to legendary Columbia Pictures chief Harry Cohn, everything.
This week's Movie Racket explores Cohn's infamous rule for separating hits from flops. Joining Michael Phillips is Slate film critic Dana Stevens (Camera Man), who helps unpack what that deceptively simple dictum reveals about audiences, critics, attention spans, and streaming culture. Along the way, they cover The Odyssey, Jeanne Dielman, Citizen Kane, and whether laughter, tears, gasps, or simple restlessness can ever be trusted as measures of a film's success.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected