This week on the FilmWonk Podcast, Glenn and Daniel return to the world of cinema with Fritz Lang ‘s classic police procedural (and a prototype of the genre), M (1931), a film from Weimar Germany which hits a bit differently today, but no less powerfully. And then we venture into Brady Corbet ‘s towering and inventive immigrant story (featuring an Oscar-winning performance from Adrian Brody , The Brutalist ( 1:07:37 ). May contain NSFW language. FilmWonk rating ( M ): 10 out of 10 FilmWonk ratin...
Mar 08, 2025
This week on the FilmWonk Podcast, Glenn and Daniel check out two very different takes on thirtysomething nostalgia for your teenage years, first with My Old Ass , starring Aubrey Plaza and feature newcomer Maisy Stella as the older and younger versions of the same person, meeting through the magic of psylocibin. And then we catch up with Luca Guadagnino ‘s fraught and sexy tennis triad, Challengers ( 1:01:26 ). May contain NSFW language. FilmWonk rating ( My Old Ass ): 8 /10 (Glenn ), 8.5/10 (D...
Sep 28, 2024
This week on the FilmWonk Podcast, Glenn and Daniel check in on the latest from director Yorgos Lanthimos and his Poor Things collaborators Emma Stone and co-screenwriter Efthimis Filippou ( The Killing of a Sacred Deer , The Lobster , Dogtooth ), whose presence announces in advance that this is gonna be one of the weird ones. Additional weird ones include Jesse Plemons and Willem Dafoe , and everyone who ventures out to catch this one in theaters ( 36:34 ). May contain NSFW language. [CW: Self-...
Jul 01, 2024
This week on the FilmWonk Podcast, Glenn and Daniel reunite with long-time friend of the pod Erika to review Furiosa , a return to the Mad Max saga which absolutely refused to rest on its laurels conceptually or thematically. Then, at Daniel’s behest, we “see what Jerry Seinfeld is up to” with Unfrosted , new on Netflix. And then we venture back to a gem of a crime dramedy from 2019, Lorene Scafaria ‘s Hustlers (1:17:55) . May contain NSFW language. FilmWonk rating ( Unfrosted ): 7 /10 (Daniel, ...
May 27, 2024
This week on the FilmWonk Podcast, Glenn and Daniel check out Doug Liman ‘s faithful and surprisingly enjoyable Road House remake, a film which somehow finds its feet with a western premise that was dated in the 80s, transplanted here into the Florida Keys, where that decade never ended. And then we reach back into 2023 for an epic of Biblical apocrypha by The Harder They Fall director Jeymes Samuel , The Book of Clarence , a mixed bag of religious satire which somehow manages to give The Life o...
Mar 27, 2024
This week on the FilmWonk Podcast, Glenn and Daniel check out The Beekeeper , an enjoyably uncomplicated John Wick retread which is heavy on bee metaphor and light on everything else. And then they check out The Kitchen , the near-future dystopian sci-fi film on Netflix, set in London’s last remaining social housing unit, and featuring the feature debut of actor Daniel Kaluuya as co-writer/co-director (53:59) . May contain NSFW language. FilmWonk rating ( The Beekeeper ): 6/10 (Glenn ), 5/10 (Da...
Feb 11, 2024
CW: Discussion of abuse This week, Glenn and Daniel follow the western genre into the oil-rich 20th century and the terror of white supremacy in the Osage Nation with Killers of the Flower Moon ( 55:22 ). May contain NSFW language. FilmWonk rating: 10 out of 10 Show notes: [00:23] Review: Killers of the Flower Moon [39:33] Spoilers: Killers of the Flower Moon Native perspectives on Killers of the Flower Moon : Gangsters are the villains in ‘Killers of the Flower Moon,’ but the biggest thief of N...
Oct 22, 2023
This week on the FilmWonk Podcast, we do a #Barbenheimer ( Greta Gerwig ‘s Barbie and Christopher Nolan ‘s Oppenheimer ), then split the difference of pastel colors, artifice, and nuclear testing with one we missed from June, Wes Anderson ‘s Asteroid City . (1:05:52) . May contain NSFW language. FilmWonk rating ( Barbie ): 8 out of 10 (Glenn) FilmWonk rating ( Oppenheimer ): 8/10 (Daniel), 7.5/10 (Glenn) FilmWonk rating ( Asteroid City ): 8 out of 10 Show notes: [02:11] Review: Barbie [ 10 :14] ...
Jul 22, 2023
This week on the FilmWonk Podcast, Glenn and Daniel face the destiny of Harrison Ford , who returns for his third and presumably final legacy sequel to a blockbuster franchise (barring any eventual return to Jack Ryan), Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny . But first, we check out the upcoming raunchy road trip comedy from Crazy Rich Asians screenwriter Adele Lim , Joy Ride , in theaters this Friday (1:10:24) . May contain NSFW language. FilmWonk rating ( Joy Ride ): 7.5/10 (Glenn ), 7/10 (Dan...
Jul 05, 2023
This week, Glenn and Daniel meet a Cocaine Bear ( 28:43 ). May contain NSFW language. FilmWonk rating: 6 out of 10 Show notes: CORRECTION: We misstated Elizabeth Banks ‘ involvement with the Pitch Perfect franchise – she directed Pitch Perfect 2 , and was initially signed to direct Pitch Perfect 3 , but exited the project as director in 2016, reprising her acting role only. “The pirate shanty movie” starring Margo Martindale from early in the pandemic was Blow the Man Down , which we reviewed in...
Feb 26, 2023
CW: Mental health issues This week on the FilmWonk Podcast, Glenn and Daniel find themselves in another February streaming season, as a trope-subverting rom-com drops on Prime Video with Dave Franco and Alison Brie’s new film, Somebody I Used to Know . But first, we check out a 2022 selection we missed, Aftersun , a father-daughter drama from director Charlotte Wells , making her feature debut to great acclaim (including several Best Director awards, and the DGA nomination for best first-time fe...
Feb 13, 2023
This week, Daniel is out sick, and Glenn makes a solo journey (and a bite-sized review) of Knock at the Cabin , the latest dire and sincere world of director M. Night Shyamalan , as an adaptation of a Paul G. Tremblay novel. Tune in next week when Daniel will be back to review Aftersun and a new streaming selection ( 10:55 ). May contain NSFW language. FilmWonk rating: 6.5 out of 10 (Glenn) Show notes: Check out our previous reviews of Shyamalan films: FilmWonk Podcast – Episode #78 – “The Visit...
Feb 04, 2023
This week on the FilmWonk Podcast, Glenn and Daniel venture back to into the vast natural and technological ecosystem that is James Cameron ‘s imagination, with Avatar: The Way of Water , a film we could hardly believe we were watching until the first frame actually appeared. Glenn also shares his spoiler-free thoughts on the myriad delights of Todd Field ‘s Tár , a film which only feels impenetrable from the outside, and by design. And then we return to Force Majeure director Ruben Östlund ‘s s...
Dec 19, 2022
This week, on the 200th Episode of the FilmWonk Podcast , Glenn and Daniel venture out into the world to check out a trio of dramas with an accidental common theme of violent revolution. First, we visit Athena (new on Netflix from director Romain Gavras ), in which a Parisian tower block is under police siege and burning for answers and justice following the murder of a 13-year-old boy by three unknown men wearing police uniforms. Then we return to the wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey world of Iranian...
Oct 13, 2022
This week, Glenn and Daniel check out Prey , a taut new actioner streaming on Hulu featuring the Predator doing what it does best: being hunted on Earth in a film somewhere at the intersection of war, historical drama, and slasher flick. And then we venture into the colorful world of George Miller and much of his team from Mad Max: Fury Road , bringing to life an epic, supernatural romance and an unpretentious look at the nature of humanity ( 57:35 ). May contain NSFW language. FilmWonk rating (...
Aug 27, 2022
This week, Glenn and Daniel once again return to the streaming world following a months-long, baby-induced hiatus with a film purpose-built to tug at fresh parental heartstrings, Don’t Make Me Go , from director Hannah Marks , new on Prime Video ( 39:12 ). May contain NSFW language. FilmWonk rating: 6.5 out of 10 Show notes: [03:32] Review: Don’t Make Me Go [19:55] Spoilers: Don’t Make Me Go We referred back to one of the very early episodes of the podcast – check it out and see if our critical ...
Jul 24, 2022
This week, Glenn and Daniel consider watching a fourth-wall prodding, self-aware film in which Nicolas Cage plays dueling versions of himself, gradually crafting a screenplay and over-the-top conclusion to the very film that we’re watching. But enough about Adaptation. On to The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent . And then we check out an epistemological discourse on the multifaceted foundations of fascist thought, punctuated with fucking, because it’s time to watch a Radu Jude film, which reg...
Apr 23, 2022
This week, Glenn and Daniel wade into the dark, twisted, and borderline satirical look at marriage from Unfaithful director Adrian Lyne , Deep Water . But first, they follow Swiss Army Man directors Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan into their multiverse-spanning sci-fi epic/intimate family drama, Everything Everywhere All at Once ( 54:44 ). May contain NSFW language. FilmWonk rating ( Everything Everywhere All at Once ): 9/10 (Glenn), 6/10 (Daniel) FilmWonk rating ( Deep Water ): 7.5 out of 10 S...
Apr 02, 2022
This week, Glenn and Daniel check out director Matt Reeves and lead Robert Pattinson ‘s take on the Caped Crusader, the fourth in our jaded millennial lives, and find it largely acceptable. Then we check out a musical take on the fictionalized life of Cyrano de Bergerac , from director Joe Wright , adapted from the stage musical by Erica Schmidt , which Daniel thought was solidly fine, and which changed Glenn’s life forever as musicals sometimes do ( 1:08:53 ). May contain NSFW language. FilmWon...
Mar 05, 2022
This week, Glenn and Daniel check out a pair of thrillers, starting with Blacklight, a Liam Neeson thriller currently only in theaters, which provoked rare agreement that it is one of the worst movies we’ve ever reviewed on the podcast. Then we found a breath of fresh air with Steven Soderbergh ‘s Seattle-set (and Seattle-shot) thriller, Kimi , a thoroughly modern take on a Hitchcockian thriller set in the modern, tech-infused, poverty-laden corporate surveillance state in which we live, new on ...
Feb 14, 2022
This week, Glenn and Daniel return to the elaborate moral maze of Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi with A Hero (now streaming on Prime Video ). They debate what’s right and wrong, and whether moral complexity that feels calculated can still effectively serve a good story. Then they venture into the rich narrative world of novelist Elena Ferrante , as adapted by first-time director Maggie Gyllenhaal , with The Lost Daughter (now streaming on Netflix ), for a different sort of moral complexity, ex...
Feb 05, 2022
This week, Glenn and Daniel are joined by returning guest Megan to do a Scene Unseen -style review of a sequel we both greatly anticipated, The Matrix Resurrections (which Daniel was unable to see last week). Then Megan – both Japan expert and marvelous wife to Glenn – delivers a brutal reminder of the healthy interplay between fandom and family by disdaining director Ryusuke Hamaguchi ‘s new adaptation of a Haruki Murakami short story, Drive My Car , which we both compared to previous #1 Glenni...
Dec 22, 2021
This week, Glenn and Daniel welcome back Erika to check out the directorial debut of Halle Berry in Bruised , in which she stars as a disgraced MMA fighter trying to connect with her estranged son. And then we check out Jane Campion ‘s gorgeous, but narratively unfocused adaptation on toxic masculinity in the early 20th century American West, The Power of the Dog , which provoked a wide range of reactions on the podcast. Both films are now available on Netflix. (01:24:17) . *CW: This episode con...
Dec 05, 2021
This week, Glenn and Daniel once again had a busy week as a Marvel film came out for us to review by itself, and we promise that’s a coincidence. Academy Award-winning director Chloé Zhao tries to tell a tale as old as time and bring a new superhero team to life. Tune in as we give Eternals more credit for ambition than execution, in that good, Chronicles of Riddick sort of way ( 49:43 ). May contain NSFW language. FilmWonk rating: 6 out of 10 Show notes: [01:36] Review: Eternals [25:53] Review:...
Nov 07, 2021
This week, Glenn and Daniel check out a French Dispatch, and a series of meandering vignettes which may or may not coalesce into a coherent narrative. And it’s up to our intrepid podcasters (with special guest and friend of the show Jason ) to determine which is which. First, we check out Wes Anderson’s vision of The New Yorker as a star-studded anthology film, then venture back to the 1961 French Left Bank film, Last Year at Marienbad , a bizarre and experimental film that mesmerized us (01:01:...
Oct 23, 2021
*CW: This episode contains mentions of suicide, substance abuse, familial and intimate partner violence, pregnancy loss, and rape, as pertains to the subject matter of each film. This week, Glenn and Daniel check out the misfiring adaptation of the Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen , whose narrative problems stem as much from its original book as from its later casting decisions, then differ sharply on James Wan ‘s ’80s VHS bargain bin throwback, Malignant , whose “Seattle”-set monster antics ch...
Sep 27, 2021
This week, Glenn and Daniel gaze back into last week, when Glenn wrote 2,000 glowing words about writer/director David Lowery ‘s rich, gorgeous, legendary tone poem The Green Knight , which captured both of our imaginations. And then we venture into James Gunn ‘s post- Super return to R-rated comic book storytelling, in a American intervention tale straight out of the Cold War (not in a good way), which is never quite sure whether it’s doing the thing or satirizing the thing. But The Suicide Squ...
Aug 13, 2021
This week, Glenn and Daniel see what’s new from the twisted mind of M. Night Shyamalan , who now has a body of work that we actively look forward to, however we end up reacting to each film . And then we go back to 2012, to check out an overlooked indie coming-of-age LGBT teen romance from that year’s Sundance Film Festival, Mosquita Y Mari , from director Aurora Guerrero (49:18) . May contain NSFW language. FilmWonk rating ( Mosquita y Mari ): 8 out of 10 FilmWonk rating ( Old ): 7 out of 10 Sh...
Jul 24, 2021
This week, Glenn and Daniel check out ScarJo ‘s MCU swansong, and perhaps the start of an action blockbuster career for director Cate Shortland (40:17) . May contain NSFW language. FilmWonk rating: 7 out of 10 Show notes: [01:30] Review: Black Widow [25:33] Spoilers : Black Widow Listen above, or download: Black Widow (right-click, save as, or click/tap to play)...
Jul 16, 2021
This week, Glenn and Daniel return to the car play franchise where the F stands for Fast, Furious, Family, and Fhysics. And then we venture back to 1959 to review Look Back in Anger , a play adaptation starring Richard Burton as a working class bloke in post-war Britain who hates his life and his wife (played by Mary Ure ) nearly as much as he hates himself. We explore whether the film/play which spawned both kitchen-sink realism and the “angry young man” trope can still resonate even 60 years o...
Jun 29, 2021
