This week on The First Run, since everyone is talking about ‘Challengers’, Chris and Matt watched ‘Boy Kills World’. Genre films are the bread and butter of The First Run, and no amount of Zendaya led love triangles and threesomes will keep them from their revenge-action films. Was there even an Eiffel Tower in ‘Challengers’? Don’t waste anyone’s time. Hooked by the H. Jon Benjamin narration, Is there enough butt-kicking to save the day? Then it’s on to the IFC/Shudder original, ‘Late Night With...
May 03, 2024•57 min
This week on The First Run, Chris and Matt bust out the garlic and crosses as they check out ‘Abigail’, a treatise in how terrifying precocious children can be. Then they slog into the Zack Snyder muck once more so you don't have to with ‘Rebel Moon: The Scargiver’. They'll give you the rundown on the big physical media releases, the Viper Video and Streaming Picks of the week then they wrap it all up with their favorite untrustworthy characters with the Top 5 Traitors in Film. 00:00-10:37: Intr...
Apr 26, 2024•1 hr
This week on The First Run, Chris and Matt embed themselves in Alex Garland’s latest (and final?) directorial effort, ‘Civil War’. If you’ve ever wondered what would happen in the United States if society finally broke down over which way the toilet paper should be hung. Or maybe it was if Chicago pizza is real pizza? Something bad, I’m sure. There’s the crack-shot rundown of the big releases on Physical Media, featuring the Streaming and Straight to DVD and Streaming Picks of the Week. Then Mat...
Apr 19, 2024•57 min
How do you feel about nuns in peril? Well, if you're for it, then the guys have a treat for you. This week, Chris and Matt do a deep dive into the Nunsploitation renaissance of 2024 with ‘The First Omen’ and ‘Immaculate’. They give you the rundown of the big releases on Physical media, featuring the Straight to DVD and Streaming Picks of the Week. Then Matt and Chris wrap up the show with their Top 5 Horror Prequels. How has there not been a Howling prequel? 00:00-15:09: The First Omen 15:10-22:...
Apr 12, 2024•51 min
This week on The First Run, Chris and Matt book a round trip back to Hollow Earth to check in on our good buddy, King Kong. Nope, sorry. Just Kong. It’s ‘Godzilla X Kong: New Empire’. Not only do we get a big box full of Kong, we get a bunch more giant apes, a baby Kong, and an ancient ice breathing titan. And if we’re lucky, maybe Godzilla will show up too. From there it’s on to the big releases in Physical Media, featuring the Streaming and Straight To DVD Picks of the Week! There’s a quick di...
Apr 05, 2024•54 min
This week on The First Run, Chris and Matt sign out their weird, grumpy uncles from the assisted living home for yet another trip to the paranormal well with ‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’. Does the gang still pack an unlicensed nuclear accelerator punch? Then Matt and Chris ask the age-old question “Can you improve upon B-Movie perfection?” with the latest product from the strip mining of the 80’s, ‘Road House’. There’s the gnarly takedown of the big releases in Physical Media, featuring the Str...
Mar 29, 2024•59 min
Well, well, well. It’s our big 700th episode extravaganza, that we’ll be treating like every other episode. This week on The First Run, Chris and Matt check back into the Rose Glass hotel for more raw and earnest filmmaking. This time out, it’s Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian in the lesbian crime thriller, ‘Love Lies Bleeding’. Then it’s a blast from the past. One of the more influential horror films in Chris’ development, it’s Peter Jackson romance slpatter-fest mashup, ‘Braindead’ or how it’s...
Mar 22, 2024•1 hr 11 min
This week on The First Run, Chris and Matt check out one of two 2024 films about imaginary friends. First up, it’s the latest Blumhouse horror joint, ‘Imaginary’. What happens if your imaginary friend turns out to be a jerk? Two films about imaginary friends in a single year doesn’t sound like a lot but it’s weird that it happened. Then they check out the latest product of Millie Bobbie Browns indentured servant contract with Netflix, ‘Damsel’. As always there’s the big release on physical media...
Mar 15, 2024•54 min
This week on The First Run, Chris and Matt saddle up a grand poppa Sandworm and ride into Dune-iverse with Dune Part 2. While it’s Christmas morning for Matt, after Part 1, Chris felt like he needed to see Part 2 in order to get the whole experience. Whelp, swing and a miss on that one. As we’re clearly in the middle of a larger story, how does Dune Part 2 measure up against the great second films in sci-fi cinematic history? Or should Chris cut the spice intake and chill a bit. Then it’s on to ...
Mar 08, 2024•54 min
This week on The First Run, Matt’s been bitten by a Sumatran Rat Monkey and is feeling a bit under the weather, but we shall soldier on! First up, it’s Ethan Coen’s solo debut, ‘Drive Away Dolls’, featuring Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan as two lesbian friends on a road trip that take a turn south, literally and figuratively. Then the Nic Cage-essiance continues with ‘Dream Scenario’. Or does it? There’s the briefcase full of Physical Media Picks, featuring the Streaming and Straight...
Mar 01, 2024•51 min
This week on The First Run, ‘Madame Web’ breaks a Sony/MCU record. But not one of the good ones. Could the critics be wrong and just simply unable to appreciate a fun action film? Or is it just another example of ‘go woke, go broke’?!? Can Dakota Johnson finally cross the Tatum Line for Chris? Then, as a potential welcome respite, Matt and Chris partake in some fine, elegant filmmaking with ‘Riki-Oh: The Story Of Ricki’. After a decade of Chris trying to catch up with the Chinese Martial Arts Sp...
Feb 23, 2024•56 min
This week on the First Run, Chris and Matt head back to the Stone Age and huddle closer to the flames to ward against the terrors of the night with ‘Out of Darkness’. Then they watch Jason Statham be the Stathamest Statham he can be as he bucks against type as a man who’s the best at what he does but what he does isn’t very nice in ‘The Beekeeper’. As always they give you the big releases on physical media, the Straight to DVD and Streaming Picks of the Week. Then they wrap all this up with thei...
Feb 16, 2024•51 min
Let’s try and break into the algorithm and go viral. At the Grammy’s this past Sunday, Tay-tay herself, MISS Taylor Swift announced her new album, ‘The Tortured Poets Department’, dropping April 19th. Throughout the show, Matt and I will be dropping tidbits about the new album with a full discussion its production and an early listen to the first single, her cover of Tracy Chapman’s Turn Right Back Around. There also by some brief talk about the latest film from the twisted mind of Matthew Vaugh...
Feb 09, 2024•50 min
This week on the First Run, Chris and Matt take a leisurely trip to the bucolic Polish countryside where everything is totally normal and nothing is out of place with The Zone of Interest. Then they shift gears to take in some mom-tainment for a change with the swimming biopic Nyad. They run down the big releases on physical media, give you their straight-to-DVD and streaming picks of the week then wrap it all up with the bottom half of their favorite films of 2023. 00:00-15:07: The Zone Of Inte...
Feb 02, 2024
This week on The First Run, it’s primary night! Can Nikki Haley topple Donald Trump and steal a primary win? Can Joe Biden win the state without even being on the ballot? Will Ron DeSantis now feel comfortable removing the lifts from his cowboy rasslin’ boots? And after that Chris and Matt are going to discuss Cord Jefferson’s ‘American Fiction’, nominated for 5 Oscars, including Best Picture! Then it’s on to the rallying cry film that’s got all the Q’Anon folks all foamed up in the jammies, It’...
Jan 26, 2024•55 min
This week on The First Run, it’s all A24 all the time. First up is the tragic story of the Von Erich wrestling family in Sean Durkin’s ‘The Iron Claw’. Then the Matt and Chris delve into the relationship between two friends as their lives diverge across the decades with Celine Song’s ‘Past Lives’. As always, they bring you the big releases on Physical Media, featuring the Straight to DVD and Streaming Picks of the Week. Then Chris and Matt wrap it all up with another round of Call It! What horri...
Jan 19, 2024•1 hr 4 min
This week on The First Run, it’s a Matt Howell special! It’s biopic week! We’re only missing horror comedies or plays to push Matt over the top. First up, Michael Mann’s ‘Ferrari’, featuring Adam Driver as the titular spaghetti loving talking car, Ferrari. Then Bradley Cooper’s passion project, ‘Maestro’, featuring the life and times of potentially America’s greatest composer, Leonard Bernstein. Cooper co-writes, directs, and stars as the titular Maestro, Lenny Bing-bongs! There’s the mouthwater...
Jan 12, 2024•53 min
This week on The First Run, Matt and Chris review three films for you! Lord help us. First up is the difficult to describe critical darling ‘Poor Things’, starring Emma Stone. Is it delightfully weird, a little too self-satisfied with its indulgences, or maybe it’s both? Then we check out ‘Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom’, the death rattle of the often disappointing DCEU. Finally, we’ll visit our ol pal Zack Snyder in his Star Wars-40k-Dune mish-mash ‘Rebel Moon: Child of Fire’. As always, there's ...
Jan 05, 2024
Sadly, Chris is on the injured list with a bad head cold and no voice. So enjoy this brand new opening from Matt and a re-broadcast of our 2023 Preview featuring the 10 films Chris and Matt were most excited about. How did that end up shaking out…? Don’t worry, the guys will be back next week with an extra super-sized gorgeous episode featuring ‘Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom’, ‘Poor Things’, ‘Rebel Moon Part 1: A Child Of Fire’, and the 2024 Preview! Holy cats that’ll be fun! See you next week!...
Dec 29, 2023•26 min
This week on The First Run, Chris and Matt fire up the ol’ Netflix engine to discuss a pair of…interesting films. First up, the Obama’s produced ‘Leave The World Behind’. Sam Esmail’s adaptation of the book brings together a great cast as they deal with something kind of potentially cataclysmic event. Or not? Maybe? Then it’s on to Todd Haynes’ latest, ‘May December’, featuring Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore. Portman is an actress spending time with Moore as she’s set to portray her in a tv ...
Dec 22, 2023•55 min
This week on the First Run, Chris and Matt check out the latest and supposedly last film by the legendary Hayao Miyazaki, ‘The Boy And The Heron’. Then it’s time to check in on winter break with Alexander Payne’s reunion with Paul Giamatti in, ‘The Holdovers’. There’s the non-denominational review of the big releases on Physical Media, featuring the Straight to DVD and Streaming Picks of the Week. Matt and Chris then wrap up the show with…something to do with Rolling Stones Top 50 Action Movies ...
Dec 15, 2023•1 hr 1 min
This week on The First Run, Chris and Matt rejoice in the return of the OG Kaiju, it’s ‘Godzilla: Minus One’! We’re back in post-war Japan, and Big G’s ready to tear stuff up. But instead of being an allegory for post atom bomb destruction, now we’re focusing on the people at ground level. Expanding the human side of the story is a gamble. Is there enough Godzilla smash though…? Then the guys turn to Shudder for a horror spin on one of Chris’ favorites, ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’ with, ‘It’s A Wond...
Dec 08, 2023•1 hr 7 min
This week on the First Run, Chris and Matt catch up with Sir Ridley Scott and his irrepressible English hatred of the French with the historical spectacle, ‘Napoleon’. Then they check out the love child of Call Me by Your Name and The Talented Mr Ripley with ‘Saltburn’, the latest from writer/director Emerald Fennell of ‘Promising Young Woman’ fame and the reason Chris was so insistent to see it. As always, there’s the breakdown of the big releases on Physical Media, featuring the Straight to DV...
Dec 01, 2023•59 min
We’re early! Happy Thanksgiving! This week on The First Run, Chris and Matt fire up the oven, mash the potatoes, un-can the cranberries, and whatever else has to be done to prepare for Eli Roth’s ‘Thanksgiving’. How does the latest expansion of the Grindhouse trailers hold up? Then it’s the latest (and greatest?) film in the MCU, this time it’s ‘The Marvels’! Captain Marvel, Captain Marvel, and Ms. Marvel team up to stop the Kree from devasting the galaxy. And maybe an X-Man or 2 may show up to ...
Nov 23, 2023•57 min
This week on the First Run, Chris and Matt discuss David Fincher’s latest cinematic tryst with Netflix as he returns to his roots with his latest, ‘The Killer. Then Matt gives into Chris and checks out ‘Bottoms’, which attempts to answer the question “Can movie teenage lesbians be creepy hornballs too?” They’re sure you’ll be shocked by the answer. They run down the big Physical Media releases of the Week to get you pumped for Black Friday, give you the Streaming and Straight to DVD picks of the...
Nov 17, 2023•1 hr
This week on The First Run, it’s people falling out of buildings to their doom week on the big show. First up, Chris and Matt discuss this year’s Palm d’Or winner, ‘Anatomy Of A Fall’, a court room drama that is praised for its standout performance by Sandra Hüller as a woman accused of killing her husband. Did she? Didn’t she? Does it matter? Then Chris gets his Poirot itch scratched as Branagh returns to direct and star in ‘A Haunting In Venice’. After an okay first film, a dull second, is thi...
Nov 10, 2023•47 min
This week on The First Run, your ancient hosts, Chris and Matt, attempt connect with their inner Zoomer child and answer the question “What if Chuck E. Cheese was a homicidal maniac?” when they check out ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s’. Then the guys fill the gaping raunchy sex comedy hole in their lives with Jennifer Lawrence and ‘No Hard Feelings’. As always there’s the stuffed crust pizza level of awesome that is the big releases on Physical Media, featuring the Straight to DVD and Streaming Picks ...
Nov 03, 2023•1 hr 2 min
This week on The First Run, Chris and Matt buckle in for Martin Scorsese’s ‘Killers Of The Flower Moon’. Do you enjoy sprawling epics revealing truths about our country’s past, and perhaps ourselves? Or are you complaining about its three and half hour run time? Do you consider Scorsese’s films like going to the DMV? Are you a jerk? Do you wonder if you’re a jerk? By the end of the show, you’ll know. Then, is the dearth of haunted scarecrows movies over? It’s ‘Dark Harvest’! There’s the spine-ti...
Oct 27, 2023•1 hr 12 min
This week on The First Run, dem bois resist the siren song of our future pop overlord and her brainwashed horde by skipping the theater this week. That’s right…Chris and Matt stayed home…and it was glorious. The guys keep spooky season rolling with the latest installment from the V/H/S found footage horror anthology with Shudder’s ‘V/H/S/85’. Then they take a hard right turn into a completely different kind of creepy with four Wes Anderson short films based on the writings of Roald Dahl: ‘The Wo...
Oct 20, 2023•1 hr 13 min
This week on The First Run, William Friedkin spins so hard in his grave that he’s able to power the entire eastern seaboard as Chris and Matt discuss David Gordon Green’s latest horror hijacking with ‘The Exorcist: Believer’. Does the legacy sequel possess us all once again with fear and dread? And is that fear and dread more about having to watch the next 2 films in this planned trilogy? Then Chris continues to anger Matt as they discuss ‘When Evil Lurks’, a film that will be on Shudder before ...
Oct 13, 2023•55 min
