Critics On A Bus

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Two best friends get together to review the latest films, film theories, tv shows, multi universes, rankings and more

Cameron Maciver


    • Mar 9, 2022 LATEST EPISODE
    • monthly NEW EPISODES
    • 51m AVG DURATION
    • 52 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from Critics On A Bus

    The Batman Review

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 9, 2022 83:11


    In this episode, Cameron is joined by Nate and Dan to talk about the latest DC film, The Batman.

    Munich - The Edge of War Review

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 28, 2022 46:05


    In this episode, Cameron is joined once again by Aisling to look at the newest Netflix film, Munich - The Edge of War.

    Encanto Review

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 10, 2022 47:45


    If you haven't seen Encanto yet, have you been living under a rock!? In this episode, Aisling returns as she and Cameron chat through Disney's 60th animated film.

    Cameron's Top 10 of 2021

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 4, 2022 33:13


    It's time for everyone's favourite episode of the year, Cameron's Top 10 list! This year, Aisling and Paul go head to head right here in the episode, trying to guess Cameron's list. Who will be victorious, but most importantly, what will be Cameron's top film of 2021?

    Spider-man: No Way Home

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 22, 2021 69:34


    As the year comes to a close, Cameron is once again joined by Dan and Maddie to talk through the latest instalment in the Spider-man story in the MCU.

    Red Notice Review

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 24, 2021 55:15


    In this week's episode, Cameron is joined by another new critic, all the way from America! Nate and Cameron will be talking through one of Netflix' latest hits, Red Notice, starring Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot.

    Dune Review

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 17, 2021 63:55


    In this episode, Paul returns for a classic debate as we get our teeth into Dune, one of the most hotly anticipated films of 2021!

    Shang Chi Review

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 12, 2021 41:42


    We've got a Marvel double-whammy for you this week, as today we're sharing our review of Shang-Chi where Cameron is joined by a new guest critic, Jacob. If you missed seeing this in the cinema, you can catch it on Disney+ from today.

    Eternals Review

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 10, 2021 69:49


    We're back with another review, and this time we're taking on Marvel's latest film, Eternals! Cameron is joined once again by Maddie to dig through the next stage of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

    No Time To Die Review

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 15, 2021 71:08


    It's time for a new episode! This time, we have 2 guest critics joining us. Dan returns, and we are also joined by long time podcast fan Maddie to chat about the latest James Bond film, No Time To Die.

    The Suicide Squad Review

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 10, 2021 56:09


    Dan returns for another review with Cameron! This time, they're talking through James Gunn's The Suicide Squad.

    Black Widow Review

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 20, 2021 51:35


    Cinemas are back, which means we're back too! In this episode, Cameron and Dan talk about the latest addition to the MCU, Black Widow.

    Soul Review

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 24, 2021 55:35


    Sharing our thoughts on the latest Disney Pixar film, Soul!

    Cameron's Top 10 Films of 2020

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 9, 2021 27:07


    What were Cameron's favourite films of the past year, and can Paul beat Cameron's impressive score of 4 correct guesses? Listen to find out!

    Paul's Top 10 Films of 2020

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 6, 2021 27:50


    It's that time of year again, who can guess the most correct? Paul takes us through his favourite films of 2020 while Cameron tries to guess his list.

    Our Favourite Christmas Films

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 23, 2020 38:16


    It's that time of year, let the family arguments over the best Christmas film commence! Which ones will be at the top of our lists?

    Bombshell Review

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 9, 2020 35:53


    Listen to our thoughts on one of the hit films from this year, Bombshell. 2:06 Spoiler Free 8:24 SPOILERS! & Plot 19:37 Performances 24:02 Stylistic Choices 29:27 Critics Corner 30:43 Summaries 32:54 Scores

    The Trial of the Chicago 7 Review

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 25, 2020 50:26


    Reviewing the newest Netflix film, The Trial of the Chicago 7. 0:00 Intro 2:00 What we liked 4:40 What we didn't like 7:10 Would we recommend? 7:30 SPOILER ZONE 7:45 Historical plot context 13:58 The plot 19:47 Cast Performances 32:25 Political Relevance 36:10 The Music 37:45 Paul's Critics Corner 38:30 Awards? 41:58 Summaries 45:00 Scores 48:10 In closing

    Enola Holmes Review

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 5, 2020 52:16


    Get our thoughts on the latest Netflix film, Enola Holmes! 00:00 Intro 01:18 - What we liked 03:30 - What we didn't like 06:09 - Would we recommend SPOILER ZONE 09:40 - The Plot 30:35 - Casting 39:03 - Music 41:44 - Paul's Critics Corner 44:17 - Summaries 47:53 - Scores 50:36 - Thanks for listening

    Does Tenet's Time Travel Work?

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 10, 2020 38:59


    In this special episode, we listen to Cameron and Paul's big tangent from the Tenet review where they debate the ins and outs of time travel in Tenet and the philosophy behind it.

    Tenet Review

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 2, 2020 62:46


    Cinemas are back, Christopher Nolan is back, and most importantly, Paul is back! In this episode, we headed back to cinemas to review Nolan's latest film, Tenet! 1:01 Plot Summary 2:05 Spoiler-Free Discussion 4:32 Spoilers 10:33 Spoiler plot summary 17:36 Plot discussion 26:07 Performances 32:30 Visuals 38:58 Soundtrack 41:36 Nolan's Legacy 50:12 Critics Corner 56:11 Scores

    Project Power Review

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 26, 2020 55:47


    Featuring another special guest this week, Cameron and Dan review the newest Netflix release Project Power. 0:00 - Intro 01:20 - Spoiler-free film summary 02:50 - What we liked 05:40 - What we didn't like 08:40 - Would we recommend SPOILER SECTION 10:30 - The plot in depth 23:25 - Special effects 30:05 - Is this a Superhero film? 34:40 - Acting performances 41:15 - Ideal for streaming services 43:10 - Is TV the way forward (tangent) 45:40 - Critics Corner 47:48 - Summaries 50:20 - Representation 52:25 - Scores 54:30 - Coming up

    Harry Potter Rankings

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 17, 2020 55:21


    Season 3 of Critics On A Bus is here! In this first episode, we have a special guest helping us to rank all 8 of the Harry Potter films.

    Hamilton Review

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 8, 2020 49:16


    By popular demand, we share our thoughts on the musical Hamilton, which was released onto Disney+ last weekend. 3:03 Cameron before Hamilton 6:33 Paul’s love of Hamilton 8:11 Cameron’s first impression 10:02 Music 16:04 Story 25:04 Acting 29:03 Staging 37:06 Translation to TV 41:05 Paul’s Critics Corner 42:53 Summaries and Scores

    Artemis Fowl Review

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 17, 2020 46:06


    In this episode, we review Disney's latest film, Artemis Fowl! Spoiler Free 1:19 What we liked 2:26 What we didn’t like 7:39 Would we recommend? SPOILERS 8:29 Story 17:23 Acting and Writing 29:05 CGI 32:11 Aisling’s Irish Corner 36:31 Paul’s Critics Corner 38:12 Summaries 41:53 Scores

    5 Genres, 5 Films

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 10, 2020 44:47


    We've got a couple of film recommendations for you this week. We've picked some of our favourite movies from 5 different genres. Let us know your favourites from these genres and which ones we should do next! 0:00 Intro 2:44 Musicals 9:33 Sci-Fi 21:22 Superhero 31:45 True Story 38:26 Medieval Fantasy

    Marvel Rankings

    Play Episode Listen Later May 26, 2020 60:52


    In another possibly controversial episode, we take a stab at ranking all 23 films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Find out if our friendship can survive the controversy! Intro to Marvel - 0:45 How the ranking will work - 01:46 General Predictions - 02:41 Top 3 predictions - 05:31 Film 23 to 19 - 06:50 Film 18 to 14 - 11:30 Film 13 to 9 - 18:05 Film 8 to 4 - 35:09 Top 3 - 46:05

    The Mandalorian Review

    Play Episode Listen Later May 5, 2020 49:34


    In honour of Star Wars day this week, we're reviewing The Mandalorian series, which is available to stream now on Disney+. 1:10 What is the Mandalorian? 3:49 SPOILER Plot Summary 5:20 Plot Discussion 8:06 Stand-Alone Episodes 12:39 Production Value 20:37 Baby Yoda 25:49 Characters 28:50 Easter Eggs 34:05 John Favreau 38:25 Paul’s Critics Corner 41:00 Summaries 45:12 Scores

    Extraction Reivew

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 29, 2020 44:19


    Get our thoughts on the brand new film from Chris Hemsworth and the Russo brothers, Extraction. Available now on Netflix. 0:50 Plot Summary 2:02 SPOILER-FREE - Likes 4:03 Dislikes 5:48 Would We Recommend? 7:26 SPOILERS! Action 12:55 One Cut 18:20 Story and Characters 22:05 Heroic Sacrifice 26:44 The Ending 34:30 Unnecessary Complexity 35:03 Critics Corner 35:55 Music 37:55 Summaries 40:44 Scores

    The Great Disney debate

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 22, 2020 52:50


    Paul brings to the table that there is a fundamental issue with Disney movies and Disney +, but is he right? 0:47 What is Disney+? 2:23 The Debate 3:27 Monopolies 5:55 Nostalgia and Remakes 13:42 Scorsese and Crowding Out 21:52 The Brand Effect 30:29 Meme-ability 39:27 Cam’s Mando Rant 43:15 Franchise, Franchise, Franchise 45:45 Disney+ More Specifically 50:00 Plot Twist

    Guilty Pleasures

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 7, 2020 35:50


    We're going to reveal which films are our guilty pleasures! 0:00 - Welcome 01:00 - Introduction 03:00 - Cameron's 1st Guilty Pleasure 05:44 - Paul's 1st Guilty Pleasure 08:23 - Cameron's 2nd Guilty Pleasure 08:45 - Paul's 2nd Guilty Pleasure 11:59 - Paul's 3rd Guilty Pleasure 13:33 - Cameron's 3rd Guilty Pleasure 16:54 - Paul's 4th Guilty Pleasure 19:10 - Time Travel Tangent 22:50 - Cameron's 4th Guilty Pleasure 24:30 - Paul's 5th Guilty Pleasure 26:23 - Paul's Final Guilty Pleasure 27:47 - Cameron's Final Guilty Pleasure 29:50 - Audience Guilty Pleasure movies 32:20 - IMDB Guilty Pleasure list 33:40 - Bonus Guilty Pleasure 34:19 - Paul's small rant

    Pixar Rankings

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 24, 2020 49:05


    Just in time for the launch of Disney+, we rank all 22 Pixar films from best to worst. 00:10 Introduction 01:17 A few points before we start 02:52 - Paul's ranking - 17 to 6 13:13 - Paul's top 5 Pixar films 20:53 - Cameron's ranking - 22 to 6 38:43 - Cameron's top 5 Pixar films 47:17 - The lists are finalised

    Dark Waters Review

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 17, 2020 53:43


    In this episode, we review Mark Ruffalo's latest film, Dark Waters. 00:15 - Intro SPOILER FREE 01:40 - Plot Summary 02:19 - What we liked? 06:09 - What we didn't like? 10:00 - Would we recommend? 11:50 - SPOILER ZONE 12:05 - Extended story details 14:35 - Thoughts on true story details 25:20 - Acting performances 30:59 - Framing of Mark Ruffalo 34:30 - Pacing 37:40 - Opening scene theory 41:20 - Cameron's score corner 43:19 - Paul's critics' corner 44:57 - Oscar snub 46:46 - Summaries 50:26 - Scores 52:49 - what's next

    Onward Review

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 3, 2020 55:53


    We have reviewed the latest pixar animation Onward. 0:54 Spoiler free plot summary 2:00 What did we like? 7:00 What didn’t we like? 11:09 Would we recommend? 11:58 SPOILER ZONE 12:08 Spoiler plot summary 14:34 Characters and acting 25:47 The quest 34:01 Minor qualm 37:18 The emotional quest 45:10 Paul’s critics corner 48:25 Summaries 51:43 Scores

    The Lighthouse Review

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 25, 2020 48:28


    We watched The Lighthouse so you don't have to. 0:51 Plot Summary 2:22 What We Liked (Spoiler Free) 6:20 What We Didn’t Like 9:06 Recommend? 10:50 Deep Summary (SPOILERS!) 17:03 Performances 24:14 Atmosphere and Music 27:24 Greek Mythology and Interpretations 35:15 Paul’s Critics Corner (+Rant) 37:56 Summaries 40:55 Scores

    A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood review

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 18, 2020 43:31


    We review Tom Hank's latest film which got him an Oscar nomination. 0:49 - Plot Summary 1:41 - Spoiler Free 2:05 - Like and Dislikes 7:11 - Recommend? 8:33 - Spoiler Zone 8:34 - Tom Hanks 11:55 - Screen Time Issues 13:08 - Editing 15:17 - Dark Side? 19:45 - Show Format 21:17 - Strange Dreams 25:41 - Emotional Connection 29:02 - Resolutions 30:31 - Misfire 35:00 - Paul’s Critics Corner 36:32 - Summaries 39:20 - Scores

    Parasite Review

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 11, 2020 58:38


    Our review of the winner of Best Picture at this year's Oscar's. Parasite. 1:23 Plot Summary 3:15 Spoiler Free Zone 3:26 What Did We Like? 6:01 What Didn’t We Like? 9:53 Would We Recommend? 11:44 SPOILER ZONE 13:07 Before the First Shift 13:54 Unrecognised Acting? 18:56 First Twist 23:35 Genre Shifts 25:36 Dignity 29:45 Metaphors 33:00 Shocks 39:14 Ending 46:46 Oscars 51:06 Paul’s Critics Corner 52:24 Summary 55:10 Scores

    Uncut Gems Review

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 4, 2020 49:25


    We review our first Netflix original film Uncut Gems: 1:33 Plot Summary 2:50 Spoiler Free Zone 2:56 What We Liked 5:15 What We Didn’t Like 7:32 Would We Recommend? 9:35 SPOILER ZONE! 9:53 Story and Characters 17:01 Writing 20:17 Adam Sandler’s Redemption? 27:29 Music 32:05 The Ending 39:03 Paul’s Critics Corner 41:20 Summaries 45:38 Scores

    The Broken DCEU and How It Fix It

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 22, 2020 51:32


    0:30 Introduction 1:28 DC and Marvel in 2012 3:20 Nolan 4:13 DC and Marvel Villains 6:18 The Dark Knight 7:20 Man of Steel: Or the Fabulous Collapse of one DCEU 14:48 Suicide Squad 16:20 How to Fix It 18:47 Batman v Superman 20:44 Chocolate Lasagne 26:30 Wonderful Wonder Woman 29:06 Justice League 33:08 Aqua Abs 35:04 2019 36:58 Dark or Light? 40:06 Cameron Fixes Everything 45:20 Too Many Villains

    1917 Review

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 12, 2020 53:24


    Our first film review of 2020, were we look at the World War 1 epic 1917. Intro and housekeeping 0:00 Spoiler FREE Territory 1:45 Plot Summary 1:48 General Impressions 3:24 Spoiler Territory 11:49 Actors and Performances 12:08 Oscars? 18:20 Visuals 20:03 The Brutality of War 23:47 Music and Tension Building 25:40 Profundity 30:30 True Story? 38:27 Back to Profundity 41:38 Paul’s Critics Corner 43:14 Minor Qualms 44:37 Summaries and Scores 46:37

    Paul's Top 10 films of 2019

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 7, 2020 36:02


    Paul gives us his list of the top 10 films of 2019, whilst Cameron tries to guess his list to prove his friendship. 1:39 Honourable/Dishonourable Mentions 5:10 No. 10 7:21 No. 9 11:20 No. 8 13:00 No. 7 13:43 No. 6 15:11 No. 5 16:23 No. 4 18:08 No. 3 20:08 No. 2 23:45 No. 1 26:35 Not Another Scorsese Rant

    Cameron's Top 10 films of 2019

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 5, 2020 39:25


    Find out what Cameron thought of films in 2019 and what he put in his top 10. 1:47 Context 5:15 Honourable Mentions 9:02 No. 10 11:04 No.9 13:30 No. 8 14:55 No. 7 16:52 No. 6 19:07 No. 5 20:34 No. 4 22:20 No. 3 23:13 No. 2 24:44 No. 1 28:21 Rant (Not Directed at Scorsese)

    Rise of Skywalker SPOILER REVIEW Part 2

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 1, 2020 55:49


    The continued spoiler filled conversation of our massively in depth review of Rise of Skywalker, find out our scores and where we place this film in our Star Wars ranking.

    Rise of Skywalker SPOILER REVIEW part 1

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 29, 2019 57:17


    Part 1 of our HUGE Star Wars Rise of Skywalker review. This was recorded on the day the film was released. Be aware that this podcast is full of spoilers as we break down the film in its entirety.

    Spoiler free review of Star Wars Rise of Skywalker

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 19, 2019 15:49


    Our first impressions of the latest Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker. We avoid all spoilers, everything we talk about you will know from any of the trailers the film has released. Find out our first thoughts. Our larger review is coming at the weekend.

    We rank all the Star Wars films

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 16, 2019 73:00


    The duel of Critics as Paul and Cameron individually rank all Star Wars films in preparation for Rise of Skywalker. Intro 0:00 Paul’s Star War’s Journey 4:10 Cameron’s Star War’s Journey 7:44 Our Star War’s Journey 12:27 How the Ranking Works No. 10 13:58 No. 9 20:18 No. 8 25:03 No. 7 29:38 No. 6 34:19 No. 5 38:45 No. 4 46:09 No. 3 49:34 No. 1 Announced 54:43 No. 2 55:20 No. 1 61:43 Closing 70:53

    I Suspect Foul Play

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 6, 2019 52:50


    Our review of Knives Out a classic Murder Mystery film. Intro 0:00 Summary 1:09 Rian Johnson 3:32. Self-Conscious Murder Mystery 4:34 Cameron on comedy 6:24 Pacing and Storytelling 14:46 Plot and Early Reveals 17:26 Personal Theories 21:39 Daniel Craig (and his accent) 22:46 Other cast 24:40 Chris Evans 28:42 Ana de Armas 29:52 Whodunnit? 31:26 Politics 39:34 Paul’s Critics Corner 43:39 Summaries 45:10 Scores 47:15

    Into the Unknown

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 28, 2019 57:58


    Our review of Frozen 2 with a special guest star Aisling Maciver. 0:00 Intro. 0:38 Intro for Special Guest 2:23 Plot Summary 4:01 Visuals 9:04 Storytelling 17:30 Paul’s Plot Rant 21:55 Cameron’s Mary Sue 23:19 Aisling’s Counter Attack 27:05 Sisters 28:50 Kristoff’s Journey 31:15 Music 34:11 Paul Defends Kristoff 36:12 Aisling’s 3 Favourites 37:56 Panic! 39:09 Cameron Weighs In 41:10 Paul Weighs In 42:38 Frozen 1 Nostalgia 44:31 Paul’s Politics Corner 48:38 Paul’s Critics Corner 49:16 Summaries 52:17 Scores

    7000rpm

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 23, 2019 51:53


    Our review of Le Mans 66 0:00 Intro 2:13 Summary 4:34 Visuals and Sound 11:05 Character Development 14:17 Acting 16:55 Back to Character Development 20:35 Objections 30:17 The Endings 41:25 Paul’s Critic Corner 44:12 Summaries 47:05 Scores

    Tickitybo

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 14, 2019 44:45


    0:00 Introductions 0:55 Plot Summary 3:08 General Impressions 6:03 McKellen and Mirren 12:40 Storytelling 19:15 Big reveals 30:10 Music 33:25 Paul Rants a Bit More 34:38 Critic’s Corner 37:00 Summaries 38:50 Scores

    Keep it Secret, Keep it Safe

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 26, 2019 46:25


    Episode 2 of Critics on a bus, in this episode we are reviewing Official Secrets. Time stamp information for this podcast incase you want to listen to a specific section: 0:00 – General Introductions 1:48 – Plot summary 3:00 – Thoughts leading up  6:32 – Suspense 10:20 – Mood and styling 12:23 – Kiera Knightley’s performance 15:18 – Oscars discussion 17:50 – Paul’s issues (with the film) 20:39 – Cameron’s counterpoint 21:55 – The hair colour problem 24:30 – Bogus IMDB reviews 28:00 – The film’s ending 33:33 – Other reviews 34:26 – Cameron’s summary 37:09 – Paul’s summary 38:56 – Universities  40:20 – Scoring 45:48 – Future episodes and ending

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