Filmspotting

Latest Episodes:

The Circle: Oppression Is an Endless Loop | Dissident Cinema Aug 09, 2026

Show notes

For the final film in the Dissident Cinema Marathon, Adam and Josh discuss Jafar Panahi’s formally ingenious 2000 film THE CIRCLE, an unflinching chronicle of Iran’s oppressive treatment of women.

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Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Everybody to Kenmure Street, The Samurai and The Prisoner | #1075 Aug 07, 2026

Show notes

After a five-year hiatus, Tom Holland’s Peter Parker is back on the big screen with Spider-Man: Brand New Day, this time battling anonymity, a host of nemeses, and some arachnid-related changes. Adam and Josh have a review. Plus thoughts on the new doc Everybody to Kenmure Street and the latest from Pulse and Cloud director Kiyoshi Kurosawa, The Samurai and the Prisoner.

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 (00:00:00-00:02:22)

Spider-Man: Brand New Day (00:02:23-00:44:22)

Filmspotting Family (00:44:23-00:48:35)

Everybody to Kenmure Street (00:48:36-01:08:32)

The Samurai and the Prisoner (01:08:33-01:12:39)

Massacre Theatre (01:12:40-01:20:03)

Credits / Releases (01:20:04-01:24:02)

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Top 5 Superhero-Director Combos (We'd Like To See) | Archive Aug 05, 2026

Show notes

It's been eight years since Adam and Josh did the Top 5 Superhero-Director Combos (We'd Like To See) and still somehow none of their pitches have been given the green light. Maybe that will change with this Archive edition.

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 August 31st https://filmspotting.supportingcast.fm/join?sc_promo=summer

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Spider-Man 2 vs. Into the Spider-Verse | Movie Death Match Aug 03, 2026

Show notes

Chris Klimek presides over a multiversal showdown between two of the most beloved Spider-Man films: Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2 and the animated Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

One is a live-action, early-2000s studio blockbuster that crystallized the modern superhero movie — grounded in practical effects, emotional melodrama, and a deeply human Peter Parker torn between responsibility and desire. The other is a radically stylized animated film that reimagines what superhero storytelling can look like, embracing comic book form itself as its visual language.

Arguing for Spider-Man 2 is Matt Singer (Marvel's Spider-Man: From Amazing to Spectacular), who makes the case that Raimi’s film remains the definitive Peter Parker story. Arguing for Spider-Verse is Daisy Rosario, who contends that the film not only updates but expands the Spider-Man mythos.

Which one better captures the essence of Spider-Man — and why does that question remain so difficult to answer? Choose your winner at moviedeathmatch.com.

More From Daisy

Death, Sex & Money | ICYMI

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Top 5 Spider-Man Scenes | #1074 Jul 31, 2026

Show notes

With the world’s Spidey sense activated by Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Adam and Josh look back at the webslinger’s first 25 years on screen with their Top 5 Spider-Man Scenes. Yes, even Andrew Garfield gets a little love.

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 (00:00:00-00:02:35)

Top 5 Spider-Man Scenes – Pt. 1 (00:02:36-00:43:30)

Family Madness — Round 2 (00:43:31-00:51:22)

Notes / Poll: Best Spidey Movie (00:51:23-01:05:38)

Top 5 Spider-Man Scenes – Pt. 2 (01:05:38-01:36:46)

Credits / Releases (01:36:47-01:40:12)

Links:

“When Mary Jane Kissed Spider-Man” | The Ringer

https://www.theringer.com/2022/05/03/movies/spider-man-kiss-tobey-maguire-kirsten-dunst

"Goodbye to the Lake Street Screening Room" | RogerEbert.com
⁠https://www.rogerebert.com/features/a-home-away-from-home-goodbye-to-the-lake-street-screening-room

Feedback:

-Email us at feedback@filmspotting.net⁠⁠

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

Support:

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http://filmspottingfamily.com

-Filmspotting Shop for T-shirts and more.⁠ ⁠

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Home Sweet Homer, Pt. 2 — The Odyssey | Next Picture Show Jul 30, 2026

Show notes

Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey approaches Homer’s epic from a much more literal vantage point than O Brother Where Art Thou, but that doesn’t mean it’s a dutiful, beat-by-beat adaptation. So this week we’re talking through the ways in which Nolan put his personal stamp on one of the most well-known stories in all of literature, from the film’s non-linear structure and preoccupation with time, to the physicality and humanity Nolan brings to this big-screen spectacle about a time of apparent magic. Then in Connections, we look at how these two very different films approach their shared source material, not just in direct character and narrative parallels, but also their interest in the oral tradition and eras coming to an end. Then in Your Next Picture we return to the subject of O Brother ’s music with a recommendation for the 2000 concert film Down From the Mountain.

Please share your thoughts about O Brother, Where Art Thou?, The Odyssey, 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: Matt Johnson’s Tony and Brad Bird’s Ratatouille

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.

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Spider-Man (2002) | Archive Jul 29, 2026

Show notes

Back in 2022, Adam and Josh gave Sam Raimi's Spider-Man the 20th anniversary Sacred Cow treatment.

Unlock the full archive, Filmspotting Discord, ad‑free + bonus episodes, and more when you ⁠join the Filmspotting Family⁠.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Odyssey Fever! | SVU Jul 28, 2026

Show notes

Jordan and Matt break format - and Zeus’s Law? - for an Odyssey-themed episode, including thoughts on the new blockbuster film, favorite Christopher Nolan films, and streaming recommendations inspired by the Homeric epic. And then a game, which Jordan dubs "My Big Fat Greek Filmspotting Game."

The Odyssey (00:00:00–00:23:33)

#1 Nolans(00:23:34–00:47:08)

Rec Seg: Odyssey-inspired recommendations (00:47:09–01:04:23)

Game: My Big Fat Greek Filmspotting Game (01:04:24–01:24:05)

New to Streaming / Credits (01:24:05–01:31:47)

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

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"A good movie is three good scenes and no bad ones” with Billy Mernit | The Movie Racket Jul 27, 2026

Show notes

Story analyst Billy Mernit joins Michael Phillips to test one of Hollywood’s most enduring (and slippery) unofficial rules: Howard Hawks’ idea that a good movie is three good scenes and no bad ones.
Mernit, an instructor and writer known as the “guru of rom-com,” brings nearly three decades of reading studio scripts and a working knowledge of how films get evaluated before they ever reach the screen. Together, they dig into what makes a “good scene” in the first place.
Is Hawks’ dictum still useful? Or, like so many Hollywood rules, is it less a law of motion pictures than a reflection of how we choose to remember them?

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The Odyssey: Nolan Makes the Ancient Epic His Own Jul 24, 2026

Show notes

Is Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey a cinematic gift, or is it a Trojan Horse filled with the director’s narrative obsessions? Maybe both. In their review, Adam and Josh talk about the ways Nolan diverges from Homer’s epic tale, and which of the director’s previous films offer the best insight into his latest.

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.

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: