Crit Club

The Crit Club doesn't want to live on this planet anymore, so we're reading the vibrations of the 1974 experimental jazz movie Space Is the Place. Following the music, the philosophy and the interstellar aspirations of Sun Ra, Space Is the Place unfolds a cosmic story about Black identity. Sun Ra plays a prophet of Black excellence and a shepherd to usher Black people into the heavens and away from systemic racism and institutional exclusion of white power structures. It's a truly unique ride. Other things we discussed: Welcome II the Terrordome Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song Wave Twisters When I Get Home Lemonade Licorice Pizza Don't Look Up Yellowjackets Breaking Bad Join us next week, when we continue this exploration of the stars with the 1972 Andrei Tarkovsky classic Solaris. Watch along and join the discussion. And drop us a line! You can email us at critclubcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter with the handle @critclubcast.

We're back from holiday break in time to bring you a nice British romantic drama, aggressively titled Sunday Bloody Sunday. Sorry, The Edge fans, you won't find any U2 here. Rather, it's a contemplative, wry story about finding what we need from each other and from love. So basically, any U2 song. That's a joke. U2 is bad. But what do the rest of the Crit Club think about U2, or this movie? Listen and find out. Other things we discussed: Jubilee Desert Hearts Multiple Maniacs Better Watch Out Lord of the Rings The Artful Escape The Witcher Shang-Chi And join us next week for a WIZARD PICK (rippin' guitar solo). Our Great Northern friend has picked a hallucinogenic jazz opus for us, in hopes of opening the closed doors of our limited perception: 1974's Space Is the Place. Watch along and rise to a higher vibration with us! And drop us a line! You can email us at critclubcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter with the handle @critclubcast.

That's not a rusty saxophone playing echoing through a dirty LA alleyway you hear, that's the Crit Club investigating the 1975 Dick Richards mystery movie Farewell, My Lovely. Based on the excellent Raymond Chandler book of the same name, Farewell, My Lovely follows rumpled private dick Phillip Marlowe who's found himself in league with the enormous Moose Mallow, a lost jade necklace and an awkward friendship with a newsie. Will we find enough evidence to love this film, or will the trail go cold? Ya gotta listen to find out! Other things we talked about: - The Big Lebowski - Devil in a Blue Dress - Brick - Who Framed Roger Rabbit - Fargo - Chinatown - Psychonauts 2 - Roma - The Great - Hotel Deluna - Star Wars Visions - Scrooged - The Power of the Dog -OLD (The movie about a beach that makes you old.) Join us next week where we'll discuss the 1971 relationship drama Sunday Bloody Sunday. And drop us a line! You can email us at critclubcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter with the handle @critclubcast.

Your beloved Crit Club rises from the dregs of the previous week's watch with 1966's Daisies. This Czechoslovakian funhouse mirror of a movie from director Věra Chytilová is filled to the brim with bohemian delight and nihilistic exhibitionism. Plot-wise, you might say it follows two women named Marie as they scrape together an existence in their Soviet paradise, but Daisies is not at all worried about plot. Did we find this deconstructed collage of surrealist reality compelling enough to join into the feast, or did this film's waste of food turn our stomach? You'll have to listen to find out, you nosy person. Other things we discussed: - Jubilee - The Lure - Playtime - Holy Mountain - Mulholland Drive - Multiple Maniacs - Violet Evergarden - Metroid Dread - Black Lady Sketch Show - Midnight Mass - The Last Blockbuster - Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street - Old (that movie about the beach that makes you old) Join us next week where we'll watch Dick Richards' 1975 Farewell, My Lovely, a neo-noir murder mystery that's an adaptation of the 1940 Raymond Chandler book. I finally get to talk about Raymond Chandler. And drop us a line! You can email us at critclubcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter with the handle @critclubcast.

Well, well, well, it seems like the Crit Club took their recent fascination with adult animation just a bit too far this week as we try to shake off the patina of slime that 1973's Belladonna of Sadness dipped us in. While we expected to watch an animated, mature-themed romp, fate had other, crueler plans. We're not even going to hide our attempt to tease you into listening for our opinions: this was a wretched movie and we talked about its wretchedness. Other things (that were much nicer) that we discussed: - Tokyo Godfathers - The Witch - Perfect Blue - Paprika - Amelie - Point Break - Mulholland Drive - John of God - Midnight Mass - The Righteous Gemstones - Titane Join us next week while we shake off this trash and watch the avant garde 1966 Czechoslovakian surrealists adventure Daisies. I promise we will roll higher on this one. And drop us a line! You can email us at critclubcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter with the handle @critclubcast.

We're celebrating (U.S.) Thanksgiving the right way: with quiet, sad, potentially boring family time. This week, the Crit Club watched Olivier Assayas' 2008 film Summer Hours, a contemplative movie about siblings dealing with the loss of their mother. With different priorities and different expectations of life, two brothers and a sister reckon with what will become of their family's legacy and what they will leave for their children. Will we find this film layered and complex like a well constructed Thanksgiving stuffing? Or will this movie set us up to snooze like an overdone turkey? Wouldn't you like to know! Other things we talked about: - Still Walking - Personal Shopper - Bram Stoker - The Sparks Brothers - Last Night in Soho - Tombstone - Love on the Spectrum - Censor - OLD (the movie about the beach that makes you old) Next week, we'll be watching the 1973 animated movie Belladonna of Sadness. You can join us in watching it if you'd like, but you might want to skip this one and just listen to our episode instead... And drop us a line! You can email us at critclubcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter with the handle @critclubcast.

As the sun slips away earlier and earlier, it's only natural for the Crit Club to spend this time imagining what it would be like to bound through sunny British meadows like rabbits. In aid of this, we watched the 1978 animated classic Watership Down, based on the 1972 Richard Adams novel of the same name. The surprisingly serious movie takes viewers on an adventure with a renegade group of rabbit wanderers as they look for a new home and safety. Will we find solace and comfort in the raw watercolors of independently funded animation, or will we side with those dastardly humans and their lack of concern for all things in nature? Come find out! Other things we talked about: - The Green Knight - Jubilee - Heavy Metal - The Hobbit - Firewatch - Disco Elysium - Kirsten Dirksten - Fair Companies - Only Lovers Left Alive - OLD (the movie about a beach that makes you old) Join us next week when we watch Olivier Assayas' 2008 contemplative family drama Summer Hours. And drop us a line! You can email us at critclubcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter with the handle @critclubcast.

And Crit Club is back! We've returned from our extended summer vacation to rejoin the world of cinema, starting with Jacques Tati's 1967 spectacle of a film Playtime. Focusing on how the modern world buzzes and shines with its steel and glass, this very creative movie plays with how people clumsily bumble through it. Will the Crit Club be won over by its futuristic vision of modernity, or will nostalgia hold us back? Give a listen and find out! Other things we talked about: - Star Trek: Voyager - She - Pig - Roadside Picnic - Abroad in Japan - Australia the cookbook - Inside - Eighth Grade Join us next week, where we'll discuss the 1978 animated classic Watership Down. And drop us a line! You can email us at critclubcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter with the handle @critclubcast.

Welcome to another Wizard Pick™! On this week's Crit Club, our dear co-host Wizard Chris takes us on something of an… uneven journey with the 1970 “horror” film Equinox. Eleven years before Evil Dead, Equinox follows four friends who venture into mysterious woods to discover an ominous book and an eternal evil. They are plagued by oddly designed claymation monsters and a park ranger named Asmodeus. Sigh. Who knows if it's a movie worth watching, but it's an episode worth listening to! Other things we talked about: Evil Dead Multiple Maniacs Jason and the Argonauts Do Androids Dream of Electric Sleep Voyager Amphibia And drop us a line! You can email us at critclubcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter with the handle @critclubcast.

No longer content with sitting in one country, this week the Crit Club joined icon Grace Jones in a trip around the world. We watched Sophie Fiennes' Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami, which chronicles Jones recording her 2008 album Hurricane, its subsequent world tour and her visit to her family in Jamaica. Come listen to us discuss divas stripped down, musical documentaries, the benefits of confidence and the persistent force of Grace Jones. Other things we discussed: Don't Look Back Bandsplain Shadow and Bone For All Mankind Major League Baseball And join us next week for a WIZARD PICK (rippin' guitar solo). Chris, as Chris does, chose Jack Woods' 1970 monster movie Equinox. Find it on the Criterion Channel, or wherever you get your 1970s supernatural horror movies, and watch along! And drop us a line! You can email us at critclubcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter with the handle @critclubcast.

This week we stayed in the '70s, but moved onto comedy with Elaine May's directorial debut, A New Leaf. This riches to rags film stars a young(er) Walter Matthau scheming to wed the bookish and oblivious Henrietta, played by May, in order to reclaim his wealth. The Crit Club was somewhat divided on this airy screwball comedy of sorts, so come hear who settled nicely into this comedy and who wanted to LEAF it behind. (sorrysorrysorry) Other things we mentioned: - Mikey and Nicky - Ishtar - Real Life - Fear, Anxiety and Depression - Diablo III - The Devil's Candy - The Loved Ones - For All Mankind Join us next week when we watch the 2017 documentary Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami in hopes of spending more time with the legendary Grace Jones. Watch along with us! And drop us a line! You can email us at critclubcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter with the handle @critclubcast.

It was getting seriously embarrassing that the Crit Club has been around this long and still did not have a take on Cassavetes. Coire decided to right that wrong this week and picked John Cassaveses' 1974 film A Woman Under the Influence, a true to life domestic story about mental illness, flailing attempts at emotional intelligence and traumatizing beach days. It led to a great and intense discussion, but we don't want to give our thoughts away just yet. Come listen! Other things we discussed: Robocop :( Mikey and Nickey Humpday Easy I'm Thinking of Ending Things Forged by Fire Nighty Night Garth Marenghi's Darkplace Next week, it's Peter's pick and we're staying in the ‘70s to explore Elaine May's directorial debut. We're watching her 1971 dark comedy, A New Leaf. We'd love for you to join us. And drop us a line! You can email us at critclubcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter with the handle @critclubcast.

Apparently not through with winter, the Crit Club has fled to the Great White North, home of Wizard Chris himself, to learn about Canadian history from Matthew Rankin's deeply weird film The Twentieth Century. Telling the story of former Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, who was apparently something of a weirdo himself, this surrealist acid trip lovingly chides the chilly country with humor, fetishes, and disappointment. Did we gain a greater appreciation of the world's second largest country, or did we have a bad trip? Come find out! Other things we mentioned: - El Topo - Dogville - My Winnipeg - Holy Motors - First Contact - Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell - State & Main Next week, it's Coire's pick and we hope to finally have a take on Cassavetes, by watching John Cassavetes 1974 film A Woman Under the Influence. Will we think he's a genius, misogynist, messiah, alcoholic, or all of the above? Wait and see! And drop us a line! You can email us at critclubcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter with the handle @critclubcast.

As we emerge slowly from the dark doldrums of a cursed winter, the Crit Club is more than eager to take French director Clair Denis up on her offer to Let the Sunshine In. Starring the ever-wonderful Juliette Binoche, and told through a fragmented bits of a broken life, this movie follows a middle age painter in Paris desperately trying to find a connection or maybe herself. Will the Crit Club enjoy the journey or will we crawl back into our hole and wish for six more weeks of winter? Come listen! Other things we mentioned: - Gummo - Cleo From 5 to 7 - The Wire - Dune - Treme - Trixie Mattel - Le Bureau Des Legendes Join us next week when mush our way to the Great White North for a surrealist, and enormously silly, history lesson with Matthew Rankin's 2019 film The Twentieth Century. And drop us a line! You can email us at critclubcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter with the handle @critclubcast.

After weeks of wrestling with some pretty weighty films, the Crit Club was glad to lighten things up a bit with Police Story, Jackie Chan's cartoonish 80s action flick that propelled him onto the international stage. While the stunts are stunning, the tonal shifts are jarring. Come see if we thought this movie stuck the landing or missed its mark. Other things we discussed: - Commando - Die Hard - Predator - Schitt's Creek - Letterkenny - Dune - Zack Snyder's Justice League Join us next week, where we'll return to France (as is our wont) to sink into the middle-aged dating scene, as shown by Claire Denis' 2017 film Let the Sunshine In. And drop us a line! You can email us at critclubcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter with the handle @critclubcast.

This week the Crit Club watched Héctor Babenco's 1981 drama Pixote, about a group of children who fall through the wide cracks in an extremely broken system. It is decidedly not an easy watch, but it left us with a lot to chew on as we discussed both sheer systemic injustices and the filmmaking ethics of putting young actors in potentially harmful situations. Buckle up for a great discussion about how we wrestle with troubling art. Come listen! Other things we discussed: - Full Metal Jacket - Welcome II the Thunderdome - Black Moon - Bob's Burgers - Johnny Mnemonic - Blade Runner - Gravity Falls Next week, we're desperately hoping to find lighter fare with Jackie Chan's 1985 Police Story, an action crime story, written and directed by Chan, that launched him to international stardom. Join us for that! And drop us a line! You can email us at critclubcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter with the handle @critclubcast.

Punk isn't dead to the Crit Club this week as we warp back to experience the intense angst of 1970s Britain with Derek Jarman's Jubilee. This fever dream roughly posits what Queen Elizabeth I would think of Queen Elizabeth II's reign, only to find the Commonwealth has become a lawless, nihilistic dystopia. Is there no future for this movie or will god save our opinion of it? You should listen and find out. Other things we discussed: - The Young Ones - Multiple Maniacs - Welcome II the Terrordome - Binding of Isaac - Saga - WandaVision - Bobs Burgers Join us next week for an onslaught of complicated emotions around Héctor Babenco's 1980 film Pixote, which unabashedly explores the plight of Brazilian kids who fall through the large cracks of an extremely broken system. And drop us a line! You can email us at critclubcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter with the handle @critclubcast.

Journey back to the turn of the 20th century with Crit Club this week as we sit quietly with Jan Troell's delicate 2008 film Everlasting Moments, a movie about a woman caught in the oppressive conventions of rugged Scandinavian society while exploring her pull towards creative expression. As Maria's attraction to photography blossoms, will her stalwart perseverance through multiple hardships bring her story into focus for us? Or will we find the film a bit blurry? Listen and find out! Other things we discussed: - Desert Hearts - The Nightingale - Captain America - Into the Spiderverse - Saga - The Danish Girl - Korean Pork Belly Rhapsody Join us next week when we'll be flung into the anarchic wastelands of 1970s England for the nihilistic punk semi-dystopian film Jubilee. And drop us a line! You can email us at critclubcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter with the handle @critclubcast.

Tired of being shut in, the Crit Club has taken a virtual trip to the mountains of South Korea, but this idyllic hunting lodge we found has a pretty sinister aura. This week, we try to keep up with Kim Jee-woon's 1998 black comedy The Quiet Family, in which a new family business turns into an escalating series of unfortunate events. Give this episode a listen and see if we're won over by this madcap burst of late '90s dark energy, or if we're ready to check out as soon as possible. Other things we discussed: - Shaun of the Dead - Evil Dead - Seven Stages to Achieve Eternal Bliss - The Trixie and Katya Show - Crime Scene Join us next week while take a quiet turn into Jan Troell's 2008 drama Everlasting Moments. And drop us a line! You can email us at critclubcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter with the handle @critclubcast.

This week, the Crit Club revisits the late aughts, and all its existential malaise, with the help of Todd Solondz's 2009 film Life During Wartime. It zooms back into the lives of the Jordan sisters, who were introduced in Solondz's 1998 film Happiness, and catches them at another pivotal point in their lives as they reunited in sun-bleached Florida against a backdrop of a languishing Iraq war. We had plenty to discuss on the themes, the humor and the surreal aura of this film, so come hang out with us! Other things we discussed: - Happiness - She Dies Tomorrow - Valheim - Bridgerton - Gilmore Girls - The Wire - Star Wars: Fallen Order Join us next week, when we prolong our cabin fever with a trip to an isolated South Korean lodge with Kim Jee-woon's 1998 debut, The Quiet Family. And drop us a line! You can email us at critclubcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter with the handle @critclubcast.

This week, Crit Club heads out on a journey in Mali with Souleymane Cissé's film Yeelen. This movie explores an ancient legend of the Bambara people as the young Nianankoro strikes out on his own to confront his father. It's a classic Wizard Chris pick and leads us into a great conversation about myths, filmmaking and the hero's journey. Other things we talked about: - Patherfinder - Moonlight - The Next Picture Show - The Alienist - Framing Britney Spears - RuPaul's Drag Race - Superstore Join us next week when we'll explore Todd Solondz's 2009 film Life During Wartime. It's a classic Coire pick and we'll have plenty to discuss while living in Florida, floundering in the interminable Iraq War. And drop us a line! You can email us at critclubcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter with the handle @critclubcast.

While the Crit Club bunch might look disheveled and slow, all it takes is a movie like Akira Kurosawa's Sanjuro to show everyone just how lightning quick we can be to love a film. We're no sleepy bear of a podcast, we just want you to think that while we stealthily slice our way through this legendary samurai story. Join us while we have a wonderful time discussing this 1962 sequel to Kurosawa's classic Yojimbo, and don't underestimate how quick our wits and how high our praise can go. Other things we discussed: - Yojimbo - Rashomon - Kagemusha - Tacoma - Prisoners - WandaVision - The Dig - The Queen's Gambit Join us next week while we transport back to the Mali Empire in the 13th century to view Souleymane Cissé's 1987 film Yeelen. And drop us a line! You can email us at critclubcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter with the handle @critclubcast.

This week, the Crit Club heads into the dystopian, extremely recognizable near future with Ngozi Onwurah's Welcome II the Terrordome. Onwurah explores Black existence in this speculative fiction story, where Black people are forced to live in a squalid, enclosed slum they call The Terrordome. This gut punch of a film, which is also teeming with vibrant expression, refuses to look away from the fury that centuries of racial injustice has wrought. It's made all the more tragic by how familiar it feels to modern life, despite being made almost 30 years ago. Join us as we discuss this extraordinarily affecting movie. Other things we mentioned: - Do the Right Thing - District 9 - Hateful Eight - The Queen's Gambit - Books of Blood - Tremors - Housu - Mad Men Join us next week, when we're whisked away to feudal Japan to watch Akira Kurosawa's follow up to Yojimbo, 1962's Sanjuro. And drop us a line! You can email us at critclubcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter with the handle @critclubcast.

Who is this? The question, seen pasted on so many ragged flyers in the hell hole that was 1980s New York City, is one the Crit Club tries to answer this week as we discuss Susan Seidelman's debut film, Smithereens. This small drama, set against the spastic doldrums of a post-punk aesthetic, gave us plenty to discuss about the lifestyle, the nostalgia and the city that inspired it. Come find out whether we vibed with its feedback or took the first $600 van we could find out to New Hampshire. Other things we mentioned: Vagabond Desperately Seeking Susan WandaVision Promising Young Woman Mazes and Monsters Join us next week, when we vault forward into the dystopian days ahead with Ngozi Onwurah's Afrofuturist film from 1995, Welcome II the Terrordome.

Wizard Chris had the pick this week, and he took Crit Club on a dangerous journey to Japan's underground with Branded to Kill, an outré assassination story heavily weighted with themes of desire, purpose, professional hierarchy and the smell of rice. Come listen to see if we decide whether this movie deserves to be #1 or covertly shot through plumbing fixtures. Other things we discussed: Killer 7 Tampopo John Wick The Prisoner James Bond, et al. 100 Days My Prince The Wire Wolfwalkers The Mandalorian Stay tuned next week, when we'll make a hard right turn into early '80s NYC punk culture as we watch Susan Seidelman's 1982 movie Smithereens. Reach out to us at critclubcast@gmail.com or @critclubcast on Twitter and give us your thoughts, recommendations, compliments, etc.

It's early January, so the Crit Club is yearning for warmer climates and a little bit of TLC. Hopefully, 1985's Desert Hearts will give us just that. This directorial debut by Donna Deitch is notable in American and queer cinema as being an early film to showcase an earnest romance between two women. Will the winds of Reno win us over, or will we wish the dry air of the Great Basin treated us more kindly? Listen and find out! Other things we discussed: - Watermelon Woman - Doc Hollywood - Vagabond - Dark Souls - Yojimbo -The Wilds -Badlands -Baahubali: The Beginning And join us next week where we'll discuss something very different, as we head to Japan for the 1967 yakuza film Branded to Kill.

Happy end of the year festivities to all! As a celebration of this and a chance to take a mild breather from the heavier films of the past few weeks, the Crit Club is watching the Katherine Hepburn/Cary Grant 1938 rom com Holiday. It was a chance for us to talk rom coms, the Golden Age of Hollywood, and maybe even some holidays. Come listen and see if we're wooed over by the sparks flown by these two grand eggs. Some other things we mention: - Carrington - The Baxter - Annie Hall - His Girl Friday - Princess Bride - When Harry Met Sally - Mank - The Lobster - Dark Souls 3 - Last of Us 2 - Animaniacs - Die Hard Join us next week when we'll return with 1985's romantic drama Desert Hearts. And a very happy new year!

Is there a better way to celebrate this week than with John Waters exploring the holiest of holies in his electric 1970 film Multiple Maniacs? The Crit Club doesn't think so. This blasphemous bit of counter culture celluloid set us talking about everything from queer cinema, Waters' legacy and the history in which this side show was made. It's rosaries and lobsters all the way down, folks. Other things we discussed: - Pink Flamingos - Totally F***ed Up - Seven States to Achieve Eternal Bliss - Pen 15 - Nate: A One Man Show - Bad Hair - Indiscrete - Spanish Princess - A Kitty Cocktail Party (again) Join us next week, in the midsts of these holidays, when we'll lighten the mood with 1938's Holiday. Warning: this Golden Age rom com, starring Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn will feature little to no fornication.

Oh ho! Looks like Louis Malle wants to send Crit Club down the rabbit hole with Black Moon, his 1975 surrealist contemplation on innocence and maturity. But will the acclaimed director of My Dinner With Andre succeed, or will his playful, animal-laden exercise fail to charm the Club? Find out by listening! Other things we talk about in this episode: - Holy Mountain - El Topo - Schitt's Creek - Mullholland Drive - Taxi Driver - mother! - The Pathless - A Very Kitty Cocktail Party - Virgin River - Big Mouth And join us next week, when we'll stare into the abyss of John Waters' imagination with his 1970 movie Multiple Maniacs.

We had such a good time in France, that we decided to stay. Crit Club is once again holed up with an Agnès Varda film in what became a mini marathon of the hallowed director. This week, we're discussing Varda's 1962 classic Cléo From 5 to 7, which follows a young starlet in bustling Paris as she waits for potentially life-threatening test results. Join us in peeling apart this small, electric film. Other things we talked about this week: - Vagabond - It Part 1 and Part 2 - Pierrot Le Fou - Singin' in the Rain - Amulet - The Ninth Gate - Archer - Control - Underworld - The Crown Join us next week where we slowly try to ease away from French movies (it was shot in France, but the dialogue is in English) by watching Louie Malle's 1975 surrealist movie Black Moon.

Faced with an abundance of wanderlust, the Crit Club has struck out on the road, without shelter nor law. This week we discuss Agnès Varda's 1985 film Vagabond (Sans Toit Ni Loi), the price of freedom, the constraints of civilization and Greek metaphors. Come join! Other things we talked about this episode: Bartleby the Scrivener The Master Star Trek: Discovery Indian Match Making The Secret Hades Queen's Gambit Next week, we follow up with yet another Varda film in what became our first mini marathon. We'll watch her 1961 film Cléo From 5 to 7.

Crit Club returns to at least half of its members' roots as we watch this 1976 documentary about a coal miner strike in the eponymous Harlan County, Kentucky. Come for this riveting and revolutionary look at small community collectively fighting for their livelihoods and stay for continuous dunking on capitalism. Other things mentioned in this episode: - Hades - Titus - What We Do in the Shadows - Borat 2 (???) Join us next week when we take a rough trip to France, to ride the rails with Agnès Varda's 1985 film Vagabond.

Not ready for the spooky season to be over? Join the club. The Crit Club! We're back this week with our Halloween themed episode where we discuss Vincent Price's 1973 schlocky romp Theater of Blood. The Criterion Channel has a lot of fun horror selections for scary October (and the far more frightening November), but only one movie has the costumes, the monologues and the fake mustaches of Theater of Blood. Come for the reviews, stay for the trampoline fencing scene. Other things talked about on this episode: - The Lure - Shaun of the Dead - Masque of the Red Death - The West Wing - Star Trek: Discovery - What We Do in the Shadows - It Follows - Bram Stoker's Dracula Join us next week for what became our election episode, as we watch the groundbreaking 1976 documentary Harlan County U.S.A.

To quiet things down a bit, Crit Club takes a look at Hirokazu Kore-eda's 2008 meditative family drama Still Walking. It was Angela's pick, and as her, Coire, Wizard Chris and Peter form a family of their own in discussing this move, will they fall to the same brooding in-fighting and passive aggressive shaming on display in the film? Why don't you listen and find out, nosy. Other media we discussed: Shoplifters Magarosi After Life Yasoira Josu - Tokyo Story Happiness Midnight Diner - Tokyo Stories Samurai Gourmet Easy Happy Christmas Drinking Buddies Join us next week, when Crit Club will belatedly celebrate Halloween with 1973's campy Vincent Price horror film Theatre of Blood.

Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Actually, it's Albert Brooks' 1979 directorial debut Real Life, and Crit Club wants to talk about it. Peter, Coire, Angela and Wizard Chris are back this week to talk about this dark mockumentary, how it stands the test of time now in our reality show lives and where it ranks in the history of comedy. Come listen! Other media discussed during this episode: An American Family (obviously) The Plumber Survivor Judd Apatow movies Monty Python The Jerk Defending Your Life You Only Move Twice (Simpsons) Music for Torching by AM Homes Gone With the Wind Beethoven Beethoven's Second The Bachelor The Bachelorette Love Island Next week join us while we quiet things down a bit with Hirokazu Kore-eda's Still Walking.

The Crit Club crew (Coire, Peter, Angela, and Wizard Chris) takes on Cheryl Dunye's 1994 The Watermelon Woman, a playful fake documentary about Dunye's search for a 1930's Black film actor whom she only knows as the watermelon woman. Part of the new queer cinema, the Watermelon Woman is a stage for Dunye to share her experience as a young, Black lesbian and explore the culture that came before her. Other media we mentioned during our discussion: Clerks Totally F***ed Up F for Fake Adaptation I'm Thinking of Ending Things Go Fish Chasing Amy Mallrats Gummo Tiger King Join us next week as we discuss Albert Brooks' directing debut, 1979's Real Life.

This week, it's Wizard's pick! Crit Club takes on the 1987 Norwegian movie Pathfinder. Written and directed by Nils Gaup, it revolves around the indigenous Sami people of Scandinavia and tells the story of one of their old legends. Other things mentioned in this episode: Pathfinder 2007 Willow Legend Never Alone (Kisima Ingitchuna) Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner Blood Quantum Next week we will watch The Watermelon Woman by Cheryl Dunye. Come join us!

Crit Club heads to Eastern Europe on a cryptozoological safari. This week we're talking about Agnieszka Smoczyńska's 2015 Polish horror musical The Lure. Join us while some of us fall for the sirens' song, and some of us get lost in translation. Other things brought up in this episode: Meshes of the Afternoon - Maya daren Umbrellas of cherbourg - Jacques Demy Ginger snaps - John Fawcett Mulholland drive - David Lynch Demon - Marcin Wrona Rocky Horror Picture Show Tombstone - Clint Eastwood Relic - Natalie Erika James Next week's movie will be 1987's Pathfinder.

Crit Club takes on the Australian New Wave! This week, we discuss Peter Weir's 1979 psychological thriller The Plumber, a truly harrowing story about class, colonialism, and cannibalism.

On the inaugural episode of Crit Club, Coire, Angela, Wizard Chris and Peter look at Greg Arraki's 1993 New Queer Cinema classic Totally F***ed Up.