Screen Stuff Podcast

Paul and Elgin share their picks for best scene, best performance, and best overall work across all of screendom in the past 12 months. The final edition of the annual screenies awards before we go on indefinite hiatus. We bid you a bittersweet goodbye. Thank you, all, for listening over the past five years!!! We […]

BlacKkKlansman. Elgin and Paul review #BlacKkKlansman: BlacKkKlansman, directed by Spike Lee and written by Charlie Wachtel and David Rabinowitz, and starring John David Washington and Adam Driver. We share our takes on Lee’s latest joint–and they’re both against the critical consensus. Download Podcast (right click and select Save as …) Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe to […]

Crazy Rich Asians, with briefer takes on Mission: Impossible–Fallout, Howard’s End on Starz, Wild Wild Country, and How to Make It in America. Paul and Elgin review #CrazyRichAsians: Crazy Rich Asians (35:35), directed by Jon M. Chu from the screenplay by Peter Chiarelli and Adele Lim, based on the novel by Kevin Kwan, and starring Constance […]

A Very English Scandal. Paul and Elgin review A #VeryEnglishScandal: A Very English Scandal on Amazon Prime (originally on the BBC), written by Russell T Davies, directed by Stephen Frears, and starring Hugh Grant and Ben Whishaw. This three-part minseries tells the stories of Jeremy Thorpe (Grant), a Member of Parliament, and Norman Josiffe/Scott (Whishaw), […]

Sharp Objects, plus some chit-chat on the 2018 Emmy nominations. Paul and Elgin review #SharpObjects: Sharp Objects on HBO, created by Marti Noxon and directed by Jean-Marc Vallée, based on the novel by Gillian Flynn, and starring Amy Adams and Patricia Clarkson. An eight-episode prestige drama (and Vallée’s follow-up to Big Little Lies), Sharp Objects tells the story of journalist Camille […]

Sorry to Bother You, with briefer takes on Kim’s Convenience, Something in the Rain (밥 잘 사주는 예쁜 누나), First Reformed, and Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot Paul and Elgin chat about #SorryToBotherYou: Sorry to Bother You (36:00), written and directed by Boots Riley and starring Lakeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson, Steven Yeun, and Armie Hammer.  […]

Succession. Elgin and Paul chat about #SuccessionHBO: HBO’s Succession, created by Jesse Armstrong (with executive producers Will Ferrell and Adam McKay, among others) and starring Brian Cox, Jeremy Strong, Alan Ruck, Kieran Culkin, Sarah Snook, and Hiam Abbass as the Roys — a rich, powerful New York family that runs a global media empire. Does this latest prestige drama from HBO […]

Dietland Paul and Elgin review #Dietland: Dietland on AMC, created by Marti Noxon, based on the novel by Sarai Walker, and starring Joy Nash and Julianna Margulies. This show is a dark satire about dealing with the beauty industrial complex during the #MeToo era. We discuss Nash’s central performance as Alicia “Plum” Kettle (the show’s plus-size protagonist, who […]

Pose, with briefer takes on Solo: A Star Wars Story, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Incredibles 2, and MoviePass (user experience, plus upcoming changes and competition for the service). Elgin and Paul review #PoseFX: Pose (22:00) on FX, created by Steven Canals, Brad Falchuk, and Ryan Murphy and starring Mj Rodriguez, Indya Moore, and Ryan Jamaal […]

The Letdown. Paul and Elgin review #TheLetdown: The Letdown on Netflix, created by Sarah Scheller and Alison Bell (originally for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation) and starring the latter as Audrey, a woman facing the challenges of being a new mom. A dark-ish half-hour comedy about the pressures of modern-day motherhood (and fatherhood), this new show tackles […]

Cobra Kai. Elgin and Paul chat about #CobraiKai: YouTube Red’s Cobra Kai, created by Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg and starring William Zabka and Ralph Macchio. A sequel set some 30 years after the events of the original The Karate Kid, the hit dramedy has already been renewed for another season on YouTube’s paid streaming […]

Fahrenheit 451, with briefer takes on Dear White People (season 2), The Handmaid’s Tale (season 2), The New Girl (the final season), Avengers: Infinity War, and director Hiro Murai’s work on Barry and Atlanta, among other topics. Paul and Elgin review #Fahrenheit451: Fahrenheit 451 (29:30) on HBO, adapted and directed by Ramin Bahrani and starring […]

The Last O.G., with briefer takes on Pacific Rim: Uprising and The Lost in Space reboot on Netflix. Elgin and Paul chat about #TheLastOG: TBS’s The Last O.G., created by John Carcieri and Jordan Peele and starring Tracy Morgan and Tiffany Haddish. After a terrible auto accident in 2014, the controversial SNL alum Morgan returns to […]

Barry, with briefer takes on High Maintenance (HBO’s season 2), screen supremacy for Sunday night (the latest seasons of Showtime’s Homeland and Billions versus HBO’s and AMC’s past offerings), and Atlanta (season 2 on FX, a.k.a. Robbin’ Season, with a focus on the episode “Teddy Perkins“). Paul and Elgin review #HBOBarry: HBO’s Barry (27:05), created by Alec […]

Killing Eve, with briefer takes on Netflix potentially buying a movie theater chain, the impact of MoviePass, and Ready Player One. Elgin and Paul review #KillingEve: Killing Eve (29:30) on BBC America, adapted for the small screen by Phoebe Waller-Bridge (of Fleabag fame) from the Villanelle novels by Luke Jennings and starring Sandra Oh (as […]

The Looming Tower. Paul and Elgin review #TheLoomingTower: Hulu’s The Looming Tower, based on the 2006 nonfiction book of the same title by Lawrence Wright., stars Jeff Daniels, Tahar Rahim, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Peter Sarsgaard. This ten-episode drama explores the failures in the U.S. intelligence community (most of  them having to do with the rivalry and […]

Ugly Delicious. Elgin and Paul check out #UglyDelicious: Ugly Delicious, a new documentary series from Netflix, produced by and starring Momofuku chef David Chang and New York Times food critic Peter Meehan. Rather than covering a single place, as do so many other food and travel shows, this one focuses on a particular type of food […]

Annihilation, with briefer takes on The Darkest Hour, Brad’s Status, and The Only Living Boy in New York. Paul and Elgin review #Annihilation: Annihilation (21:01), written and directed by Alex Garland and starring Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tessa Thompson, Gina Rodriguez, Tuva Novotny, and Oscar Isaac. Veering away from Jeff VanderMeer’s novel of the same name, Garland’s […]

The Alienist. Elgin and Paul check out The #Alienist: TNT’s The Alienist, a crime drama based on the 1994 novel by Caleb Carr, stars Daniel Brühl, Luke Evans, and Dakota Fanning. This ten-episode thriller (which has nothing to do with space aliens and much to do with the early days of criminal psychology and forensics) […]

The Chi. Paul and Elgin check out #TheChi: The Chi, a new Showtime drama from Lena Waithe, starring Jason Mitchell, Alex R. Hibbert, Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine, and Jacob Latimore. Set on the South Side of Chicago, this sprawling series has already been renewed for a second season. But should you bother trying to get through […]

Black Panther, with briefer takes on SMILF, Altered Carbon, the Winter Olympics and positive Asian (American) representation on TV, the latest seasons of various reality TV shows (including Top Chef, RuPaul’s Drag Race, and Queer Eye), and the non-app version of Mosaic on HBO. Elgin and Paul review #BlackPanther: Black Panther (35:05), co-written and directed […]

The End of the F***ing World [WARNING: adult language in audio clip], but before that quick takes on All the Money in the World and Baby Driver. Paul and Elgin check out #EndOfTheFuckingWorld: The End of the F***ing World, a UK dramedy from Channel 4, available on Netflix. It’s written by Charlie Covell and directed […]

Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams. Elgin and Paul check out #ElectricDreams: Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams, a new anthology series from Channel 4 and Sony Pictures Televisions and available through Amazon Prime. Based on the short stories of Dick, the hour-long episodes feature many well-known actors, including Bryan Cranston, Juno Temple, Janelle Monáe, Greg Kinnear, […]

Phantom Thread, with briefer takes on Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond, Girls Trip, Call Me by Your Name, The Florida Project, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, and I, Tonya. Paul and Elgin review #PhantomThread: Phantom Thread (37:25), written, shot, and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson and starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Vicky Krieps, and Lesley Manville. It’s […]

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Elgin and Paul review #MrsMaisel: Amazon’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, with showrunner Amy Sherman-Palladino and starring Rachel Brosnahan, Alex Borstein, and Luke Kirby. Set in New York in the late 1950s, this gorgeous show (whose period details equal those of Mad Men) focuses on Miriam ‘Midge’ Maisel (Brosnahan), who “accidentally” becomes a […]

Runaways and Disney’s purchase of parts of Fox. Paul and Elgin check out #Runaways: Hulu’s Runaways, with showrunners Stephanie Savage and Josh Schwartz and starring the diverse case of Rhenzy Feliz, Lyrica Okano, Virginia Gardner, Ariela Barer, Gregg Sulkin, and Allegra Acosta. Part teen soap opera (in the tradition of The OC and Beverly Hills, 90210) and part superhero […]

Star Wars: Episode VIII–The Last Jedi, with briefer takes on Lady Bird, Easy (season 2), and Search Party (season 2), plus more discussion on how we plan to (not) consume the art of artists who’ve been accused of sexual assault and misconduct. Elgin and Paul review #LastJedi: Star Wars: Episode VIII–The Last Jedi (38:58), written and directed […]

Mosaic. Paul and Elgin check out #Mosaic: Mosaic, directed by Steven Soderbergh, written by Ed Solomon, and starring Sharon Stone and Garrett Hedlund, among others. This is a free interactive TV series, available  now as an app and later in more traditional form on HBO. Are the “choose your own adventure” format and other features, […]

The Mayor. Elgin and Paul discuss #TheMayorABC: The Mayor, created by Jeremy Bronson and starring Brandon Micheal Hall as the aspiring rapper and newly elected mayor, Lea Michele as his advisor, and Yvette Nicole Brown as his mom. Does this single-cam comedy (both a reflection of and rebuttal to the rise of Trump) offer us anything […]

Justice League, plus a discussion on watching or avoiding screen stuff involving artists and entertainers recently accused of sexual assault or harassment; with additional takes on Too Funny to Fail and One Mississippi season 2, Song to Song and To the Wonder, Mudbound, and The Paperboy. Paul and Elgin review #JusticeLeague: Justice League (42:00), directed by […]

The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) and Mindhunter. Elgin and Paul discuss #MeyerowitzStories and #Mindhunter: The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) (00:56), written and directed by Noah Baumbach and starring Adam Sandler, Ben Stiller, Dustin Hoffman, Elizabeth Marvel, and Emma Thompson. Yet another story of family dysfunction, Baumbach’s latest is featured on Netflix and in […]

I Love You, America and Big Mouth. Paul and Elgin check out #ILoveYouAmerica and #BigMouth: I Love You, America (02:20), hosted by Sarah Silverman. Here’s a new talk from Hulu (no doubt inspired by the Trump presidency) that aims to bridge the gap between folks in red and blue states while making you chuckle. But are […]

Star Trek: Discovery and Blade Runner 2049, plus quicker takes on It, Will & Grace revival, Mr. Robot season 3, Vice Principals season 2, and Better Things season 2. Elgin and Paul review #StarTrekDiscovery and #BladeRunner2049: Star Trek: Discovery (20:15), created by Bryan Fuller and Alex Kurtzman and starring Sonequa Martin-Green, Michelle Yeoh, and Jason Isaacs. What does this latest […]

Disjointed. Paul and Elgin review #Disjointed: A new comedy about selling legal weed from Chuck Lorre (of CBS sitcom fame), Disjointed stars Kathy Bates and features a diverse supporting cast, including Tone Bell and Elizabeth Ho. Does being on Netflix change things enough for this show to escape the conventions of multi-cam sitcoms? We reference Lorre’s […]

Columbus. Elgin and Paul review #ColumbusMovie: The debut movie by Korean-American director Kogonada, Columbus stars John Cho and Haley Lu Richardson (who also appeared in another recent film with an Asian-American male lead, The Edge of Seventeen). With a Korean-American lead and with Sundance cred, the film, set in Columbus, Indiana, which has a rich architectural […]

mother!, plus quicker takes on other screen-related stuff, including pilots for the Deuce and Mr. Mercedes, revisiting The Good Place, Bill Simmons’s The Rewatchables podcast, and season 2 of Insecure. Paul and Elgin review #mother!: mother! (31:25), written and directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Jennifer Lawrence and Javier Bardem. Not a chamber piece, not just […]

Comrade Detective, What Would Diplo Do?, and the annual Screenies awards (for best scene, performance, and overall work in the past 12 months). Elgin and Paul review #ComradeDetective and #WhatWouldDiploDo: A tongue-in-cheek Cold War satire from a communist perspective, Comrade Detective from Amazon Prime stars the voice talents of Channing Tatum and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, but […]

Ozark. Paul and Elgin review #Ozark: A new drama from Netflix, Ozark, by creators Bill Dubuque and Mark Williams and starring Jason Bateman, Laura Linney, and Julia Garner. Does the shadow of Breaking Bad loom too large, or has Ozark differentiated itself enough to become a potential classic of its own? Download Podcast (right click and […]

Logan Lucky, plus quicker takes on the latest season of Game of Thrones; Atypical; Huang’s World; VICE News Tonight’s special report, “Charlottesville: Race and Terror;” and Younger. Elgin and Paul review #LoganLucky: Logan Lucky (32:10), directed by Steven Soderbergh, written by Rebecca Blunt, and starring Channing Tatum, Adam Driver, Daniel Craig, and Riley Keough. What led Soderbergh back […]

Friends from College. Paul and Elgin review #FriendsFromCollege: A new comedy from Netflix, Friends from College, by creators Francesca Delbanco and Nicholas Stoller and starring Keegan-Michael Key, Fred Savage, Nat Faxon, Annie Parisse, Jae Suh Park, and Cobie Smulders. Is this the streaming heir to network classics such as Friends, Seinfeld, or How I Met Your Mother? […]

The Defiant Ones. Elgin and Paul review #TheDefiantOnes: The Defiant Ones, an HBO documentary about music icons (and Beats Electronics founders) Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine, directed by Allen Hughes and masterfully edited by Lasse Järvi and Doug Pray. Not your standard documentary, this four-part series walks us through the rise of both subjects as […]

Dunkirk, plus quicker takes on Spider-Man: Homecoming, Hasan Minhaj: Homecoming King, The Big Sick, Okja, and episode 8 of Twin Peaks: The Return. Paul and Elgin review #Dunkirk: Dunkirk (28:10), written and directed by Christopher Nolan and and starring Tom Hardy, Mark Rylance, and Fionn Whitehead, among others, including Harry Styles. What is the effect of the unconventional structure […]

Claws. Elgin and Paul review #Claws: A new summer thriller from TNT, Claws produced by Eliot Laurence and starring Niecy Nash, Carrie Preston, Judy Reyes, Karrueche Tran, and Jenn Lyon, plus Dean Norris (of Breaking Bad). This show about nail salon workers laundering drug money in South Florida features a diverse cast, strong female characters (who certainly […]

I’m Dying Up Here. Paul and Elgin check out #ImDyingUpHere: Showtime’s I’m Dying Up Here, created by David Flebotte and Jim Carrey, and starring Melissa Leo, Ari Graynor, Al Madrigal, and Andrew Santino, plus Sebastian Stan (a.k.a. the Winter Soldier, in just the pilot). Is this new Showtime show about the 1970s comedy club scene in […]

Twin Peaks: The Return, plus quicker takes on Wonder Woman, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and GLOW. Elgin and Paul review #TwinPeaks: Twin Peaks: The Return (21:27) by David Lynch and Mark Frost and starring Kyle MacLachlan (as three characters) and many actors from the original series and/or longtime Lynch collaborators. Is this Showtime series — airing around 25 […]

Mommy Dead and Dearest. Paul and Elgin review Mommy Dead and Dearest from HBO Documentary Films: The HBO true-crime documentary Mommy Dead and Dearest, directed by Erin Lee Carr. This film centers on the events surrounding the 2015 murder of Dee Dee Blanchard — who had subjected her daughter, Gypsy Rose, to unnecessary medical treatments and lied […]

The Handmaid’s Tale. Elgin and Paul check out #TheHandmaidsTale: Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale, based on the novel by Margaret Atwood, showrun by Bruce Miller, and starring Elisabeth Moss, Yvonne Strahovski, Alexis Bledel, and Joseph Fiennes. This new show — perhaps the strongest original programming yet from Hulu — is set in the theocratic dystopia that is the Republic of […]

Alien: Covenant, plus quicker takes on Mikey Chen on YouTube, Desus & Mero, Great News, I Love Dick, American Gods, and the latest seasons of The Leftovers and Master of None. Paul and Elgin review #AlienCovenant: Alien: Covenant (35:17), directed by Ridley Scott and starring Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Demián Bichir, and Danny McBride. What does the follow-up to Prometheus (and the […]

Win It All. Elgin and Paul check out (and check-raise) #WinItAll: Netflix’s Win It All, directed by Joe Swanberg and starring Jake Johnson and co-written by them both. Neither your standard Hollywood fare nor a mumblecore independent film, Swanberg’s latest Chicago-based collaboration with Johnson is about the charming man-child Eddie, who tries to kick his poker […]

The Son. Paul and Elgin review #TheSon: AMC’s The Son, based on the novel of the same title by Philipp Meyer and starring Pierce Brosnan (who took over for Sam Neill, who dropped out of the project). Set in the early 20th century (with significant flashbacks to the mid-19th century), this drama tells the story of the First Son […]