#114 50/50 Movie Review
Available on Netflix. An otherwise healthy twentysomething has a comically early midlife crisis when he gets slapped with a cancer diagnosis -- and a 50-50 chance of survival. Grade: C-
Feb 04, 2016•4 min
A Dilettante TV & Film Review
This podcast uses widely accessible works of art in film and television to discover truths about the human condition that are symbolically reflected in the culture captured within each work. This podcast also reviews the quality of the work in creating its symbolism and in the truth it attempts to convey.
Last refreshed: ⓘ
Follow this podcast in the Metacast mobile app to refresh it and see new episodes.
Podcasts are better in Metacast mobile app
Don't just listen to podcasts. Learn from them with transcripts, summaries, and chapters for every episode. Skim, search, and bookmark insights. Learn more
Episodes
#113 Before I Disappear Movie Review
Available on Netflix. As he's about to commit suicide, downcast Richie is interrupted by his estranged sister asking him to babysit her daughter. When events force Richie to spend more time with his niece than expected, she prompts him to reassess his dark views of life. Grade: A-
Jan 30, 2016•4 min
#112 The Revenant Movie Review
Available in Theatres. A frontiersman on a fur trading expedition in the 1820s fights for survival after being mauled by a bear and left for dead by members of his own hunting team. Grade: A-
Jan 21, 2016•5 min
#111 Sling Blade Movie Review
Available on Netflix. Simpleminded Karl has just been released from a psychiatric hospital, where he'd been confined since age 12 for murdering his mother and her lover. He lands a job at a garage fixing motors and befriends a young boy -- but can Karl outrun his past? Grade: A
Jan 14, 2016•5 min
#110 Steve Jobs Movie Review
Now available in select theatres. Steve Jobs takes us behind the scenes of the digital revolution, to paint a portrait of the man at its epicenter. The story unfolds backstage at three iconic product launches, ending in 1998 with the unveiling of the iMac. Grade: A
Nov 26, 2015•5 min
#109 Foxcatcher Movie Review
Available on Netflix. Preparing for the 1988 Olympics, two sibling wrestlers cross paths with a paranoid schizophrenic millionaire in this drama based on a true story. The competitive Schultz brothers soon learn their new acquaintance is a dangerous distraction. Grade: A
Nov 12, 2015•5 min
#108 Lincoln Movie Review
Available on Netflix. Director Steven Spielberg takes on the towering legacy of Abraham Lincoln, focusing on his stewardship of the Union during the Civil War years. The biographical saga also reveals the conflicts within Lincoln's cabinet regarding the war and abolition. Grade: D
Oct 29, 2015•4 min
#107 American Sniper Movie Review
Available on Netflix. Based on his memoir of the same name, this military biopic centers on legendary sniper Chris Kyle, who amassed a record number of kills on the battlefield during his 10-year career as a Navy SEAL. Grade: A-
Oct 22, 2015•4 min
#106 Red Flag Movie Review
Available on Netflix. In Red Flag, a filmmaker takes hi independent film on tour hoping to escape the pain of his recent breakup. Grade: A
Oct 17, 2015•4 min
#105 To the Wonder Movie Review
Available on Netflix. Soon after returning to his native Oklahoma with a beautiful woman he met in Paris, Neil finds himself drifting toward an old friend. Meanwhile, the woman he brought back with him has unfinished business with her first husband. Grade: A
Oct 01, 2015•4 min
#104 Nightcrawler Movie Review
Available on Netflix. Eager for any work that will make ends meet, Lou Bloom joins the flock of camera crews prowling the nighttime streets of Los Angeles in search of scandal and crime. But before long, Lou finds himself caught in the tabloid limelight. Grade: A
Sep 24, 2015•5 min
#103 Blue Velvet Movie Review
Available on Netflix. In this surreal independent thriller from writer-director David Lynch, an innocent man gets mixed up in a small-town murder mystery involving a kinky nightclub chanteuse and a kidnapper with a penchant for snorting helium. Grade: B
Sep 18, 2015•5 min
#102 They Came Together Movie Review
Available on Netflix. In this semi-spoof of romantic comedies, candy company exec Joel falls for Molly, who owns a corner candy store he's tasked with closing. Their road to romance is filled with oddball obstacles, not the least of which is Molly's utter hatred for Joel. Grade: A-
Sep 11, 2015•4 min
#101 Castaway Movie Review
Available on Netflix. After FedEx systems engineer Chuck Noland's (Tom Hanks) plane crashes in the Pacific Ocean, he finds himself fighting to survive on a deserted island with nothing but a painted volleyball -- a silent partner he names Wilson -- for company. An acting tour de force for Hanks (who received a Golden Globe Award for his performance), this drama from director Robert Zemeckis is a fascinating abstract about the indomitability of the human spirit. Grade: B-
Sep 06, 2015•4 min
#100 Nymphomaniac Movie Review
Available on Netflix. A self-diagnosed nymphomaniac reveals a lifetime of sexual experiences to a man who saves her from being beaten in an alley. As the aging but charming bachelor tends to the woman, she shares erotic details of encounters from her youth to her present. Grade: A
Sep 03, 2015•5 min
#99 Togetherness TV Review
Available on HBO. Togetherness follows two couples living under the same roof who struggle to keep their relationships alive while pursuing their individual dreams. Grade: B
Aug 30, 2015•5 min
#98 The Conversation Movie Review
Available on Netflix. Francis Ford Coppola follows The Godfather with this intimate film about an audio surveillance expert who faces a moral quandary when he suspects that a couple whose conversation he's been hired to record will be murdered. Grade: B+
Aug 27, 2015•5 min
#97 Frank Movie Review
Available on Netflix. An aspiring musician joins a band of eccentrics led by an enigmatic singer -- who wears a fake head -- and his unstable girlfriend. Creative tension mounts as the group retreats to the woods to cut an album. Grade: A-
Jul 23, 2015•5 min
#96 The Two Faces of January Movie Review
Available on Netflix. A tour guide and part-time con artist finds himself caught in a dangerous arrangement when he meets a wealthy couple sightseeing in Greece.
Jul 16, 2015•5 min
#95 The Verdict Movie Review
Available on Netflix. A washed-up, ambulance-chasing attorney gets a chance at redemption when his friend tosses him an open-and-shut medical malpractice case. But instead of accepting an easy cash settlement, he takes the powerful defendant to court. Grade: A
Jun 04, 2015•5 min
#94 It's Such a Beautiful Day Movie Review
Available on Netflix. Award-winning animator Don Hertzfeldt unites three short films about a hapless guy named Bill with new material to create this feature-length tale. Grade: A+
May 21, 2015•5 min
#93 Copenhagen Movie Review
Available on Netflix. Philandering his way across Europe to find the grandfather he's never met, William unexpectedly befriends a 14-year-old who changes how he sees women. Grade: B
May 14, 2015•5 min
#92 Bird People Movie Review
Available on Netflix. When two strangers yearning to escape their discontented lives eventually cross paths in a Paris airport hotel, neither of them is prepared for the series of surprises that follow their chance meeting. Grade: B
Apr 16, 2015•5 min
#91 Wetlands Movie Review
Available on Netflix. An unapologetically sexy and vulgar romantic comedy based on the best-selling novel by Charlotte Roche. When an embarrassing shaving accident lands rebellious teen Helen (Carla Juri) in the hospital, she develops an unlikely bond with her male nurse (Christoph Letkowski) who she seduces with stories of her sexual adventures while using her illness to reunite her divorced parents. Grade: B-
Apr 09, 2015•4 min
#90 Why Stop Now Movie Review
Available on Netflix. On the day piano prodigy Eli is to audition for a famous conservatory, he gets sidetracked by an attempt to stash his cocaine-addled mother, Penny, in rehab. When Penny is denied admittance, Eli enters into a bizarre partnership with her dealers. Grade: B+
Apr 03, 2015•4 min
#89 A Coffee In Berlin Movie Review
Available on Netflix. Nothing seems to go right for Niko Fischer: His girlfriend dumps him, he loses his driver's license, and his father cuts him off financially. With nothing else to do, he wanders around Berlin, crossing paths with a slew of eccentric characters. Grade: A
Mar 26, 2015•4 min
#88 The Station Agent Movie Review
Available on Netflix. When his only friend dies, a man with dwarfism relocates to an abandoned train station in rural New Jersey, intent on living the life of a hermit. But his solitude is interrupted by his colorful neighbors. Grade: B+
Mar 20, 2015•4 min
#87 Get Low Movie Review
Available on Netflix streaming. Oscar winners Robert Duvall and Sissy Spacek team up to tell the true story of irascible Felix Bush, a backwoods Tennessee loner who planned his funeral in 1938 while he was still around to attend -- and enjoy -- the proceedings. Grade: A-
Mar 12, 2015•5 min
#86 Snowpiercer Movie Review
Available on Netflix streaming. The Earth's remaining inhabitants are confined to a single train circling the globe as revolution brews among the class-divided cars. Based on a French graphic novel and set in a new ice age, this futuristic thriller stars a top-notch ensemble cast. Grade: C
Mar 06, 2015•5 min
#85 Election Movie Review
Available on Netflix streaming. Tracy Flick (Reese Witherspoon) appears to have the election for student council president sewn up until one of her teachers, Mr. McAllister (Matthew Broderick), rounds up a worthy opponent: a popular and naïve varsity football player (Chris Klein) whose knee injury has him sidelined for the season. Tracy is desperate to win the race at any cost. But Mr. McAllister is just as determined to see Tracy -- a textbook overachiever -- soundly defeated. Grade: A+
Feb 27, 2015•5 min
For the best experience, listen in Metacast app for iOS or Android