The Film Board is on the road with Frances McDormand in Chloé Zhao’s new film Nomadland. Do McDormand and Zhao deliver the goods and is the film worth all the awards it’s already raking in? Short answer: they definitely do and it definitely is. Andy Nelson, Steve Sarmento, and Tommy Metz III meet in the board room to talk about the film, now streaming on Hulu, and what they thought of it. Tune in! Join the conversation with movie lovers from around the world on The Next Reel’s Discord channel ! ...
Feb 23, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Season 9Ep. 14
Shaka King delivers a strong second film with Judas and the Black Messiah, his new film that follows FBI informant Bill O'Neal as he infiltrates Chicago’s Black Panther party to get close to Chairman Fred Hampton. Is this the political biopic we need right now? How brilliant are Lakeith Stanfield and Daniel Kaluuya in the lead roles? And does the film hold up as more than just a history lesson? The Film Board convenes to talk through the film and give you their verdict! Join the conversation wit...
Feb 16, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Season 9Ep. 13
The Film Board convenes to discuss Fisher Stevens’ new film Palmer starring Justin Timberlake, Juno Temple, Alisha Wainwright, and Ryder Allen. Does it deliver the emotional punch it sets out to deliver, or does it end up feeling more like a well-made Lifetime movie? And does the film do its job in delivering something the family can use to talk about gender nonconformity? Andy Nelson, Mandy Kaplan, and Tommy Metz III meet in the board room to talk about the film, now streaming on Apple TV Plus,...
Jan 31, 2021•1 hr•Season 9Ep. 11
The Film Board convenes to talk about Ramin Bahrani’s new Netflix film The White Tiger as our first film discussion of 2021. What does the film have to say about India’s caste system and does it relate universally to the haves and have nots? The performances are great, particularly from Adarsh Gourav as the lead, but the structure is a bit of a stumbling block for us. But is it enough of a stumble to keep us from enjoying it? Andy Nelson, Ocean Murff, and Kyle Olson meet in the board room to tal...
Jan 26, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Season 9Ep. 10
Believe it or not, we’re hitting 100! That’s right, our 100th episode today discusses the 100th film we’ve discussed on The Film Board. Wonder Woman 1984 broke the seal on Warner's year of day-and-date releases, giving us the return of Gal Gadot in full armor, and Mando out of his.So how has WW84 set the stage? Is it fine watching it at home or did we miss the big screen feel? Did it hold up to the quality the first film surprisingly delivered? Or does it feel like so many other films in the DCE...
Dec 29, 2020•1 hr 17 min•Season 9Ep. 8
We’re finally in the last month of 2020 and the entertainment industry is mulling through new layers of execution and release. In this first week of December, Netflix released Mank by David Fincher, keying our imagination towards remembering old Hollywood. It’s a bit of a legacy labor of love for Fincher in that the screenplay was written by his father and was originally intended to be made years before Jack Fincher’s death in 2003. It focuses on the politics of filmmaking in the 1930s, how thos...
Dec 08, 2020•1 hr 18 min•Season 9Ep. 6
2020 is slowly but surely coming to a close and most people are feeling like that shift can’t come fast enough at this point. This last week we Americans all did our best to celebrate our Thanksgiving in ceremonies modified by the COVID-19 Pandemic. Netflix released Hillbilly Elegy on the Tuesday before the holiday and some may see the Appalachian memoir as a bit non-festive. Critics have been pretty hard on this one directed by Ron Howard and starring Glenn Close and Amy Adams. The Film Board w...
Nov 30, 2020•1 hr 12 min•Season 9Ep. 5
It’s less than three weeks until the American presidential election and each passing day in this country seems to stack fraught anxieties atop one another. Timing our existential stress perfectly, this week Netflix released The Trial of the Chicago 7, a political courtroom drama written and directed by Aaron Sorkin. The film examines Vietnam War protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention and the trial to prosecute leaders of the different organizations that protested. The film conveys m...
Oct 20, 2020•59 min•Season 9Ep. 4
Things are changing in the entertainment industry. COVID-19 has changed the way the world consumes movies. Over the past month, we’ve begun to see some new releases open in limited theater capacities while others continue to be held back because of a world that can’t currently create a literal “blockbuster.” It presents a bit of a challenge for us with The Film Board in trying to select movies that are globally available to both our hosts as well as our audience. Different titles are popping up ...
Sep 08, 2020•1 hr 15 min•Season 9Ep. 3
“The power goes where it always goes, to the people that already have it.” 2020 has given us a new understanding of what dog days can mean. Historically the label has been reserved for the hottest days of the year because ancient peoples believed it could bring “fever or catastrophe.” Upon consideration, “Fever & Catastrophe” could be an accurate tagline for a film named 2020. Coming out of that traditional period of extreme summer heat, the release of new films to streaming services and vid...
Aug 18, 2020•54 min•Season 9Ep. 2
COVID-19 has created a unique dearth in the film industry. We’ve all been seeking something to look forward to this summer and Disney+ provided a glimmer last week by releasing a film version of Hamilton captured live from Broadway in 2016. In a sea of theater at home releases that leave the world questioning what constitutes the very definition of film, entertainment is on the cusp of revolution and sets a stage for Lin-Manuel Miranda’s groundbreaking musical to further demonstrate the importan...
Jul 07, 2020•1 hr 20 min•Season 9Ep. 1
Theaters are not quite open yet. The Coronavirus is still a major threat in the world and even though some businesses are reopening, the film industry continues its holding pattern. Because of that, new releases in the “Theater at Home” paradigm are getting all different kinds of creative digital structures. Prices for new releases can range on different platforms, but you can also get some brand new movies coming up with the subscription services too. This past weekend, Netflix released Da 5 Bl...
Jun 16, 2020•1 hr 15 min•Season 8Ep. 13
What have you been up to? Seen any good movies lately? It’s not always easy to find them, but “Theater at Home” releases are available and more titles are being announced all the time. The Film Board will continue to gather its thugs and spoil them for you as we find them out there in the streaming universe until we can all get back and see our beloved big screens. Capone was released to most major streaming services on May 12th. It stars Tom Hardy in another one of his signature transformation ...
May 26, 2020•53 min•Season 8Ep. 12
Everything is changing right now and movies are no exception, so we gathered a geographically and socially distanced gang of thugs to talk about a new "Theater at Home" release. We were initially going to talk about Guns Akimbo in February, but it got soft pushed back right smack into the middle of the stay at home quarantine. It's available now from a variety of outlets, so we're going to spoil it for you on this show and you can decide if it's worth your stream surfing time at home.Pete Wright...
Apr 07, 2020•58 min•Season 8Ep. 11
“Don’t 'first amendment' me.”What a weird time to be alive, right? It seems appropriate for Blumhouse to release a political powderkeg in the middle of a national state of emergency quarantine that’s been wildly politicized across the spectrum. There’s no better time for us to talk about The Hunt because even though a lot of activities near you have been canceled, most theaters are still open for business. So our Gang of thugs defied the most outlandish parameters of social distancing to start u...
Mar 17, 2020•51 min•Season 8Ep. 10
“Don’t let him haunt you.” Blumhouse has done it again - The prolific production company has already knocked out its second release of the year with this month’s Film Board subject: The Invisible Man. February seems to be a great time for the genre as past Febs have had us profiling Get Out and Happy Death Day 2U. (Both of them Blumhouse beauties as well.) Leigh Whannell brings this one to us and while it might not be as gory as the rest of his filmography, this one is meant to thrill with inten...
Mar 03, 2020•55 min•Season 8Ep. 9
Here’s something you may not have expected to open up 2020: a Guy Ritchie film about organized crime released in part by Miramax. Maybe around the turn of the century, sure, but we’ve got a fresh take on Guy Ritchie gold that came out in theaters this week with The Gentlemen. Naturally, we want to take a nip of this particular concoction and see how it holds up to the good old recipe of the past. This one has a fun cast of fan favorites with Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunnam, Michelle Dockery,...
Jan 28, 2020•1 hr 4 min•Season 8Ep. 8
The Film Board Gathers! This week on the show, we're on a journey to save a marriage through therapy, comedy, and 30 straight nights of sex!30 Nights of Sex to Save Your Marriage has hit streaming services and we are honored to have one of the filmmakers with us to talk about it...a filmmaker who happens to be one of our very own. Join Pete Wright, Steve Sarmento, and Andy Nelson as we grill writer/director Tommy Metz III on the long road of production and release of his first feature film. Film...
Jan 27, 2020•55 min•Season 8Ep. 7
What a brilliant end to a decade! We’re wrapping it up with the ultimate film in the Skywalker Saga from that Star Wars galaxy far, far away: Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker. It will likely be impossible for us to talk about this without revealing major spoilers about this film that’s 42 years in the making, so tune in if you’re cool with sapping some of the surprises or go see it and then check in with us here as our conversation goes deep into its story, its execution, its charac...
Dec 24, 2019•1 hr 11 min•Season 8Ep. 6
CJ and Jordan from The Nerd Critic podcast are taking over the feed today to share the first of their series leading up to next weekend’s big release with the first of the JJ-Star-Warsies in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Like what you hear, but you’ve never heard of The Nerd Critic? No worries! Just head over to reelcontender.com , or find them in Himalaya , Apple Podcasts , or anywhere else you get your podcasts. Like we do!Enjoy the show, and be on the lookout for a little Next Reel invasion o...
Dec 14, 2019•1 hr 19 min
SURPRISE! The Film Board snuck out and saw an advance screening this month, so we’re in spoiler Shangri-la to chat about Knives Out before it's even officially released! It’s a traditional “whodunit” that Rian Johnson has packed full with family entanglements that make multiple money murder motives. There’s so many reasons we wanted to check this thing out and many of them come from the remarkable cast including Daniel Craig, Jamie Lee Curtis, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, and others.Join Tommy Me...
Nov 26, 2019•58 min•Season 8Ep. 5
It’s deja vu all over again as The Film Board tackles a second sequel month in a horror realm. This one has a serious cast blasting away with comic relief in Zombieland: Double Tap. It's been ten years since the original, and the marketing wasn’t shy about bringing up how its stars have shifted. So has anything changed in the land of Z since Emma Stone, Jesse Eisenberg, Abigail Breslin, and Woody Harrelson have hauled in so many awards and nominations?Join Tommy Metz III, Pete Wright, and Justin...
Oct 22, 2019•1 hr 10 min•Season 8Ep. 4
Let’s go back to school with It Chapter Two. The Film Board made a pact last month that we’d return to Derry with the other losers if It came back. Well It’s here and in this one, the kids are all grown up with Jessica Chastain, Bill Hader, and James McAvoy playing our heroes. Will the sequel have the record-setting legs of its predecessor? Is It the greatest Stephen King thriller of all time? There’s a lot to talk about here as long as we’ve got the courage to fight the fear.Join Tommy Metz III...
Sep 10, 2019•1 hr 8 min•Season 8Ep. 3
The Film Board returns from hiatus this week and we figured that we’d welcome everyone back in by answering the question - Where’d You Go, Bernadette. The Richard Linklater film stars Cate Blanchett and is based on the book by Maria Semple. While the book is a collection of fictional correspondence meant to take the reader on creative scavenger hunt, the film sets up to be a deeper dramedy about how hard it is to be human and how we cope with managing our extreme strengths and debilitating weakn...
Aug 20, 2019•57 min•Season 8Ep. 2
There have been some great British music biopics in the last year. They tend to garner some criticism for the way that history is manipulated to make movie drama. Also each one handles the original artists’ music in different ways. This month, Danny Boyle’s Yesterday was released in theaters and it shares with us the joy and the experience of The Beatles’ music by imagining a world where they didn't exist. That’s one way to ditch the criticism - go full fiction!This story is meant to be a romanc...
Jul 12, 2019•54 min•Season 8Ep. 1
"That’s a twist. That’s very twisty." You may or may not have a connection to the world of the pocket monsters affectionately called Pokémon, but this month The Film Board is following its new movie in theaters that seeks to sate the adorable appetites of fans young and old in Pokémon: Detective Pikachu. It’s a CGI romp that’s meant to depict the clever characters of the card game in a way that places them photoreal by our side in the real world, much like the Pokémon Go! app has done in an anim...
May 14, 2019•57 min•Season 7Ep. 10
The teams at Disney have put out specific warnings and requests not to spoil Avengers: Endgame, but you know this thing is the core of what The Film Board is all about! If you don’t want to be spoiled, don’t click on this because we all saw the movie and are just itching and scratching to discuss it with you and dispense with the spoilage! There’s so much to cover and talk about with this one and this show is bursting at the seams with reverent homage, nitpicky nonsense, and wild speculation abo...
Apr 30, 2019•1 hr 7 min•Season 7Ep. 9
"I’m not what you think I am." Attention true believers! The Film Board is approaching the home stretch of the Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase Three. It's wrapping up over two successive months here in 2019. The big one of course is next month's Avengers: Endgame, but first let's dig into the penultimate Captain Marvel. The conversation on this episode will potentially spoil 22 films' worth of successive blockbuster suspense, so consider yourself forewarned.Pete Wright, Andy Nelson, Steve Sarmen...
Mar 12, 2019•1 hr 11 min•Season 7Ep. 8
"Uh, Who is this crazy white girl?" Horror abounds for The Film Board in February and this year is no different. We woke up in the same scary month this year with Happy Death Day 2U specially released for the sweetheart holiday in the middle of Valentine's week. It’s quite surely a screaming sequel and it really would be terribly odd if you tried to tackle it without the first one (from 2017) too, so be prepared as you click with us here because we’re going to spoil them both in this show.Take t...
Feb 19, 2019•1 hr 5 min•Season 7Ep. 7
“We’re finally being let into the universe.” Happy New Year everyone! The Film Board is respawning for you here this January with Glass from M. Night Shyamalan. Is it a sequel to Unbreakable? Is it a sequel to Split? Or is it something altogether different? The debate about this film should be super with an angle on origin and another on a Special Edition Showdown and openings for more. Be certain that when you join on this one it will be riddled with spoilers aplenty.On this show, we’ll gather ...
Jan 22, 2019•1 hr 2 min•Season 7Ep. 6
