Inspired by the upcoming MLB All-Star game, Matt and Ed talk about baseball in movies and TV (though through a mixture of tiredness and lack of time they didn't get to A League of Their Own , which is unforgivable since it's the best), with digressions about Soundcloud rappers, the Toronto Raptors, and The Wine Show. 00:00:00 - 00:35:54 - Intro & News 00:35:55 - 01:07:56 - Matt & Ed discuss baseball in movies and TV 01:07:57 - 01:12:48 - SRS Recommends & Outro...
Jul 16, 2018•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 90
Inspired by a tweet from Mark Kermode, this episode is all about the changing face of cinema, and how we experience films in an age where the traditional cinematic experience is being replaced with something very different. Matt speaks to Jaq Chell and Abi Standish from Cinema for All , an organization which helps communities set up their own cinematic experiences outside of traditional theatrical exhibition. Ed and Matt also talk about the ways in which digital filming and distribution shape fi...
Jul 09, 2018•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 89
Inspired by the release of another lackluster Jurassic Park/World movie, Matt and Ed talk about film series that ran too long, wearing out their welcomes with audiences and critics. They also talk about the abuse accusations against Chris Hardwick and the notable silence coming from the comedy and podcast communities, the weird, dumb saga of David Lynch's weird, dumb comments about Donald Trump, and WORLD CUP FEVER. 00:00:00 - 00:10:16 - Intro & World Cup chatter 00:10:17 - 00:23:49 - News 0...
Jul 02, 2018•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 88
With Matt out due to hay fever-related illness, Ed is joined by returning guest Emily Benita to talk about long movies. Why does it feel like movies are getting longer? Is there a certain kind of story that best suits a longer runtime, or is it all in the way a story is told? Which of the two movies about Abraham Lincoln released in 2012 is better? There's only way to find out: LISTEN TO THE EPISODE. 00:00:00 - 00:06:15 - Intro 00:06:16 - 01:00:31 - Ed & Emily discuss long movies 01:00:32 - ...
Jun 25, 2018•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 87
In one of the loopier episodes in recent memory, Matt and Ed discuss heist movies by way of World War II propaganda films, Birch/Hird confusion, and ill-fated BBC sitcoms of the '90s. They also talk about missing out on Doc/Fest, memories of bad Q&As, and toxic Star Wars fans. 00:00:00 - 00:13:40 - Intro 00:13:41 - 00:41:41 - News 00:41:42 - 01:24:30 - Matt & Ed discuss heist movies 01:24:31 - 01:31:12 - SRS Recommends & Outro...
Jun 11, 2018•1 hr 31 min•Ep. 86
Matt and Ed check in on the Bluth family and the goings in - get this - Beverly Hills in the fifth season of Arrested Development , the first half of which debuted on Netflix this week. Has the shift back to a more traditional format after the more experimental fourth season helped the show regain some of its pizazz? How does splitting the season in half affect the dense storytelling for which the series has always been known? Did the now-infamous New York Times interview cast a pall over the ne...
Jun 04, 2018•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 85
A Star Wars movie? In May? It's more likely than you think. Matt and Ed check in on the LucasFilm saga, a whole five months after the last time, to discuss the totally fine Solo: A Star Wars Story . Which actors rise to the occasion and who lets the side down? What's up with those dice? How could it have been more like MacGruber ? These are just some of the questions they address in their comprehensive, spoiler-filled rundown of the perfectly coherent product of a chaotic production. 00:00:00 - ...
May 28, 2018•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 84
Inspired by the recently released remixed version of Arrested Development 's fourth season, Matt and Ed discuss instances where creators re-edited their own work, and the at times noble, at times crassly commercial, reasons behind them. They also talk about the brief, terrible cancellation of Brooklyn Nine-Nine and sift through some of the news stories that came out of Cannes over the past two weeks. 00:00:00 - 00:22:41 - Intro & News 00:22:42 - 01:00:20 - Matt & Ed discuss Directors Cut...
May 21, 2018•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 83
Returning guest Jack Rhoden joins Ed this week to talk about The League of Gentlemen , the much beloved and macabre comedy group who recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of their Perrier award win with three Christmas specials. Those episodes saw the cast return to the horrible, yet charming, then even more horrible town of Royston Vasey in order to reprise their vast array of terrifying and funny characters. Jack and Ed discuss their respective histories with the show, the work that the tea...
May 14, 2018•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 82
Matt and Ed discuss Netflix's Love , the romantic comedy-drama starring Gillian Jacobs and Paul Rust. In addition to praising the show's command of tone and its sprawling, surprising cast, they explore how it compares to co-creator Judd Apatow's other work, highlight the ways in which it manages to capture the feel of modern dating and Los Angeles, and its abundant supply of funny theme songs for movies that don't actually have theme songs. They also wax poetic about Childish Gambino's "This is ...
May 07, 2018•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 81
Matt and Ed have a very SPOILER-heavy conversation about Infinity War. That's pretty much it. For the love of all that is holy, don't listen if you don't want pretty much the entire film's plot revealed. Enjoy!
Apr 30, 2018•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 80
That's right: Jurassic Park turns 25 years old this year and death will come for us all. Matt and Ed discuss the legacy of Steven Spielberg's groundbreaking blockbuster, the ways in which it changed how films are made and sold, and why it became a touchstone for an entire generation (even if they don't like it as much as a lot of people do). They also dig into the Netflix-Cannes feud, the Apu controversy surrounding The Simpsons , and pay tribute to Milos Forman. 00:00:00 - 00:36:30 - Intro &...
Apr 16, 2018•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 79
When it was published in 2011, Ernest Cline's Ready Player One got a fairly warm reception as a diverting mashup of pop culture, gaming, and accessible quest narrative, wrapped up in a warm, comforting blanket of nostalgia for the ephemera of the 1970s and 80s. Over the past seven years, its reputation has proven much more divisive, in part because of Cline's subsequent work, but mostly because the kind of geek culture he celebrated has become much darker and more complicated. Matt and Ed talk a...
Apr 09, 2018•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 78
Inspired by the hand-wringing over the middling performance of Red Sparrow and this tweet by Zoe Kazan , this week's episode is all about movie stars. How has movie stardom changed since the star system first took shape in the early days of Hollywood? Are there any movie stars in the traditional sense now that Hollywood is so franchise focused? Is stardom ultimately more harmful than helpful? Matt and Ed consider all of the above, as well as which recurring characters from Sex and the City they ...
Mar 26, 2018•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 77
For their 200th episode, Matt and Ed are joined by returning guest Emily Benita for a SPOILER-rich discussion about the third season of The CW's Crazy Ex-Girlfriend , and why its depiction of mental illness (combined with amazing songs, a brilliant cast, and a remarkable tonal flexibility) make it one of the best shows on television. They also determine once and for all which way the characters from The Office would have voted in the Brexit referendum. 00:00:00 - 00:04:09 - Intro 00:04:10 - 00:3...
Mar 12, 2018•1 hr 35 min•Ep. 76
Following on from last year, when Ed picked the best Best Picture winners in Oscar history, Matt and Ed join forces to highlight the times when The Academy got Best Director right. Also, since the episode was recorded mere hours before this year's Oscars, they try to predict the major awards so that their foolishness can be preserved for all time.
Mar 05, 2018•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 75
Inspired by some recent stories about people rediscovering ER , Frasier and Friends on streaming services, Matt and Ed spend this week's episode talking about the joy of eschewing the glut of new TV shows in order to dig into the classics, as well as what those older shows can teach us about how television, and culture more generally, have changed. They also discuss the great GQ profile of Brendan Fraser , what their great-grandparents would make of their current jobs, and the pitch for the Frie...
Feb 26, 2018•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 74
BONUS EPISODE! Matt and Ed check in with Star Trek Discovery after the end of its first season. Did the series overcome Matt's inherent Star Trek skepticism? Did the show's charming cast make up for its at time rough writing? Were there too many shocking twists? Was Jesse Plemons' character in The Post an assassin? All these important and totally relevant questions are raised and answered in this episode.
Feb 22, 2018•28 min•Ep. 73
Ryan Coogler's Black Panther , the 18th entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, opened last week to great reviews and record-breaking box office, so Matt and Ed sat down to discuss the cultural and social significance of the film, particularly in regards to whose stories get told by Hollywood. They also shrug at the then-freshly announced BAFTA results and decide which actors could play a "young, sexy" Churchill. 00:00:00 - 00:12:38 - Intro & News 00:12:29 - 01:00:42 - Matt & Ed discuss ...
Feb 19, 2018•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 72
Netflix surprised everyone last Sunday when they announced that the third film in the Cloverfield franchise would be debuting on their streaming service immediately after The Big Game, despite nobody having seen it and there being no advance hype or build up. But was this a bold new approach to film distribution, or the result of Paramount, desperate to offload a bad film, finding an outlet for it? Why not both? Matt and Ed address these questions and more as they address the considerable flaws ...
Feb 12, 2018•1 hr 31 min•Ep. 71
The second season of The Good Place wrapped up this week, so Matt and Ed talk about why it's one of the most exciting, adventurous and moving sitcoms of all time (not to mention super funny). Be warned: there's plenty of spoilers, so best wait until you're fully up to date with The Good Place . They also discuss the New York Times article on Uma Thurman, whether Guillermo del Toro has the Best Director Oscar in the bag this year, and the surprising way in which Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is ...
Feb 05, 2018•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 70
The nominations for the 90th Academy Awards were announced this week, so Matt and Ed talk about the movies they were happy to see get nominated ( Get Out ) and the ones they weren't ( Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri ), as well as what the nominees say about the Oscars as an institution at a time of social upheaval and introspection. They also get mad about Peter Rabbit and mourn the deaths of Dolores O'Riordan, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Mark E. Smith. 00:00:00 - 00:04:31 - Intro 00:04:32 ...
Jan 29, 2018•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 69
As awards season kicks into high gear, Matt and Ed talk about who they think are the best actors working today, a discussion which inevitably gets derailed by talk about Method Acting as an exercise in performative masculinity, the ways in which critics devalue comedic performances, and Adam Driver's chest. 00:00:00 - 00:27:28 - Intro & News 00:27:28 - 01:14:51 - Matt & Ed talk about the best actors working today 01:14:52 - 01:19:20 - SRS Recommends & Outro...
Jan 15, 2018•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 68
It's a brand new year, which means it's time to look ahead at what 2018 has to offer. After laying out their New Year's Resolutions, Matt and Ed sift through the release schedule to highlight some of their most anticipated movies coming out between now and August (with one October release that they forgot to remove from the episode plan), as well as some which they don't have high hopes for but which could still be interesting. They also talk about German New Year's traditions, become possibly t...
Jan 08, 2018•2 hr 10 min•Ep. 67
As the last hours of 2017 slip away, Matt and Ed sit down to look back on the past 12 months and discuss the highs and lows. What movies were shocking successes? What films flopped unexpectedly? And what were the prevailing stories that leapt out to them? They also discuss David Ayer's Bright , a late but strong contender for worst film of the year, before running down the ten best films of the year, as chosen by Shot Reverse Shot's guest contributors. 00:00:00 - 00:03:06 - Intro 00:03:07 - 00:3...
Dec 30, 2017•1 hr 41 min•Ep. 66
It's December, and you know what that means: new Star Wars ! Matt and Ed search their feelings and discuss the considerable merits of Rian Johnson's The Last Jedi , and their own wildly different responses to its bold aesthetics, thrilling action sequences, and surprising complexity. It goes without saying that there are a lot of spoilers. Like, tons. 00:00:00 - 00:19:30 - Intro & News 00:19:31 - 01:41:44 - Matt & Ed discuss Star Wars: The Last Jedi 01:41:45 - 01:47:30 - SRS Recommends &...
Dec 18, 2017•1 hr 47 min•Ep. 65
This week saw the release of James Franco's The Disaster Artist in the U.K., as well as its wide release in the U.S. Based on the book of the same name by Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell, Franco's movie tells the story of the making of The Room , the legendarily terrible "drama" directed by Tommy Wiseau. Matt talks with guest Louise Le Cornu about The Room in general, his experiences organising screenings of the film, and the clear love and affection for it on display in The Disaster Artist , then ...
Dec 11, 2017•1 hr 42 min•Ep. 64
Matt and Ed trudged to cinemas on their respective sides of the Atlantic to watch Justice League , the film that was meant to be the DC universe's answer to The Avengers , but which has underperformed to a startling degree. They discuss the film's difficult production, the missteps that Warner Bros. took over multiple movies that led to Zack Snyder and Joss Whedon having to introduce half the cast of the movie instead of getting on with the plot, and what, if anything, about the movie gives them...
Dec 04, 2017•1 hr 45 min•Ep. 63
It's Matt's Birthday, which means he has free rein to talk about any subject he wants this week. Topics include the biggest pricks in cinema history, male role models in movies, and planning a birthday film festival. 00:00:00 - 00:16:55 - Intro & News 00:16:56 - 00:56:25 - Matt & Ed discuss a bunch of stuff 00:56:26 - 01:05:50 - SRS Recommends & Outro
Nov 20, 2017•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 62
Thirty years ago, the world was first introduced to Frances "Baby" Houseman and Johnny Castle. In the years since, Dirty Dancing has spawned legions of fans, a successful musical adaptation, a misbegotten prequel and a TV remake best left forgotten, which is good going for a low-budget movie starring two relative unknowns with a plot that hinges on an abortion. Matt and Ed are joined by returning guest Michaela Livingstone-Banks to talk about Dirty Dancing as a phenomenon, their favourite moment...
Nov 13, 2017•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 61
