The Feminine Critique Podcast

Episode 153. Orphan Pillow Monster Catchup Spectacular: Howdy partners! It's another big ol' catchup, where Christine and Emily wrangle their wild lists of what they've been watching (which is suitably 80% in the horror genre). We save the spoilery talk on Orphan: (Esther's) First Kill, Nope, and Yellowjackets for the final fully warned segment. Before that, highlights include the career of Isabelle Fuhrman, the horror community's ranking of new films based on which streaming platform they land on, and our evolution on the works of Michael Mann. Movies on the docket: Everything Everywhere All At Once, The Novice, Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead, Nobody, Vengeance, Young Frankenstein, Margeaux, 10 x 10, The Beautician and the Beast, the remake of The Hitcher, Amulet (again because it's spectacular), Clash of the Titans, At Granny's House (aka the one that's sort of like The Room), Mosquito, #Like, The Believers, Child's Play 2, Meander, They/Them, The Long Night, The Black Phone, Prey, and other stuff!

152. I, Mad Nocturnal Animal: Put on your most stylish pair of oversized reading glasses because we're BOOKING IT! Christine and Emily welcome super special regular ghost star Jason Fozzie Bare Nelson to discuss a pair of films about the art of reading (among a LOT of other things). First up is 1989's I, Madman, an odd little spin on the slasher streaming now on Tubi. Next is the better known Nocturnal Animals (currently streaming on Netflix), Tom Ford's gorgeous, complicated movie about gorgeous and complicated people. Be sure to follow Jason's QUERYING journey (now that Emily knows what that means) via Twitter @fozziebare. Drive safely!

151. Catchup Twins!: Movies! TV! Twins! Nudity! Actresses from Game of Thrones who deserve better projects! It's another big catch-all catchup where Emily and Christine dive into what they've been watching, including but not limited to:AmuletNothing But the NightThe ChangelingThe Deep HouseWatcherThe SadnessThe TwinThe ForestThe OwnersFreakyTorn HeartsThe MatrixThe ResortThe CanyonlandsEdge of the AxeThe ToyboxStrangers:Prey at NightIncredible Shrinking ManInvasion USADangerously CloseJosie & the PussycatsSpiceworldand Xena!

150. Mary Reilly's Frankenstein: How does one celebrate the sesquicentennial anniversary of lazy podcasting? With not one but TWO Marys, of course! It's a super gothic 150th episode spectacular as Christine and Emily tackle two very ‘90s adaptations of some very 19th century literary properties: 1996's Mary Reilly and 1994's Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Take your shirt off and have yourself a good, well-oiled Branaghian time!

149. Catchup with a BONUS Reading Rainbow: Here we go again! Christine and Emily reunite to barrel through a whole bucket of recent watches, plus an extended discussion about how we apparently process books differently when we read. It's a SUPER NERD EDITION IN THE BEST WAY. We also go into a somewhat spoilery discussion of Hulu's Fresh (but with fair warning). The rest of the list includes (BUT IS NOT LIMITED TO) the following:CommunionXPride & Prejudice & ZombiesDead & BuriedPopcornDon't Knock TwiceImmortalsThe Lost CityDeep Water8 Men OutThe Witch Who Came From the SeaRitualsVirus 32In the EarthI Blame SocietyPledge NightSeanceV/H/S 94Choose or DieThe BoxFunhouseAntlersTitanic 666Ruthless PeopleBulworthThe Lost DaughterDaylightWhy no new documentaries are as good as the one about FyreFestThe AlienistAstrid & Lily Save the WorldLife & BethDon't forget to support Christine's darn good writing at christinemakepeace.com!

148. Funeral Parade of the Stardust Brothers: Christine and Emily welcome SPECIAL GUEST STAR cartoonist Abby Denson to gleefully drool over two super special films. First up is Toshio Matsumoto's Funeral Parade of Roses, a 1969 experimental queer drama that deserves a whole lot more attention. Next is Macoto Tezuka's zany 1985 rock musical The Legend of the Stardust Brothers. THERE WILL BE ROCK ZOMBIES. Don't forget to learn more about Abby at abbydenson.com, and pick up a copy of her latest book, UNIQUELY JAPAN, available wherever books happen!

147. Catchup: The Subheading Edition (with cleaned audio!): Welcome back to another big batch catchup episode with what Christine and Emily have been watching! There's LOTS to discuss, including (BUT NOT LIMITED TO) Heartbreakers, the Alien quadrilogy, Kimi, In the Cut, The Blue Lagoon, Spencer, The Grifters, House of Gucci AND The Last Duel, No Exit, Cast a Deadly Spell, The Deep House, Pledge Night, White Nights, 300: Rise of an Empire, West Side Story, The Last Thing Mary Saw, Robert, and lots of sequels that refuse to put numbers or subheaders in their title: Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2022 and Fivecream/5cream/Scream 5, the last of which gets some well-warned spoilers. Don't forget to buy Christine's book where books are sold!

146. The Blackcoat's Valentine: Hello lovers! We're diving into February with, well, a movie formerly titled February and one set on the month's most famous day. Up first is the “I Can't Believe It's 21 Years Old” Valentine, a throwback slasher with big highs and lows. We follow it up with Osgood Perkins' debut The Blackcoat's Daughter, a chilly tale of a whole lot of stuff we don't particularly understand. Tell us what we missed on Facebook or Twitter (@femininepodcast). Also, buy Christine Makepeace's book!

145. A Titanic Load of Catchup: We're back, and as usual, we've brought a boat load of stuff to talk about! A TITANIC load, you might say. Just kidding: DID YOU KNOW CHRISTINE HAS NEVER SEEN TITANIC? Side note: we don't actually discuss Titanic, but if you want her to watch it, please tell us. So what DO we talk about? A lot, including: Don't Look Up, Passing, Tick Tick Boom, The Power of the Dog, Being the Ricardos, Resident Evil, all things Matrix, The Burning, Son, All the President's Men, Escape Room: Tournament of Champions, Spiral (the Saw one), and most importantly, The Princess Switch 3: Romancing the Crown. It's a LOT of Vanessa Hudgeons. And other stuff. Have a listen!

7.4 Nine Kittens of Christmas: Break out the catnip! Emily is back solo Hallmark's The Nine Kittens of Christmas (aka Nine Lives of Holidays, which does NOT roll off the tongue). That's right: WE'VE GOT A SEQUEL. AND KITTENS. Also, sour cream. Also, a note to our lovely listeners: due to some family health matters, this will likely be the last Stocking Stuffer of the season. There's a chance we'll resume in a few weeks to tackle a few more merry titles, but unlike Hallmark, life is unpredictable. Hope to be back soon, but until then, listen to those sage old people, be on the lookout for those friendly strange men that might actually be Santa in disguise, toast your empty coffee cup for the world to hear the echo, and keep your ears open for those pubic domain holiday songs (yeah, I did that on purpose). 

Stocking Stuffer 7.3 Single All the Way: Let's see: there's the holly and the ivy, Dasher and Dancer, and now, the REAL iconic duo of the holiday season, a young Kathy Najimy and young Roger Ebert (aka Emily and special guest star Jason Fozzie Bear Nelson). It's a gleeful Stocking Stuffer as the pair dive into Netflix's Single All the Way (plus a LOT of other things). Top that latte with whipped cream and have a listen!

Stocking Stuffer 7.2 One December Night: The polar express keeps rolling, but we're making a quick stop in upstate New York on this One December Night! Emily is joined by the one and only Head Hauntress, 5-time guest star Elizabeth Katheryn Gray to tackle Hallmark Movies & Mysteries (and maybe Murders?) 2021 star-studded tale of fading rock stars reuniting. Yes, IT'S THE BRUCE CAMPBELL & PETER GALLAGHER HALLMARK MOVIE!

Stocking Stuffer 7.1 Next Stop, Christmas: The CGI snow is falling, empty coffee cups a'flowing, and red-and-green decked carolers are singing O Tannenbaum in perfect harmony as the town gathers together to find the perfect Christmas tree. Also, somewhere in Yonkers, Emily is drinking…a lot. That's right! Stocking Stuffers are back! We start the season with Hallmark's time travel(ish) 2021 original, Next Stop COMMA Christmas. Back to the Future references galore! This is a solo outing, but Christine will join in on a future episode, along with a gaggle of exciting special guest stars. So hang the holly, mix the eggnog, polish those dangly earrings you keep stored in your sassy sidekick jewelry box, and strap in. We've only just begun.

144. Pulsing Potato Head Catchup: Buckle up: we're just regular Working Girls, Jolt'ing Down a Dark Hall with our Snake Eyes on the way to a Slumber Party Massacre, where we're Most Likely to Murder The Lodgers because did you know? There's Someone Inside Your House!  That's right: it's a catchup! Lots of movie talk, including Zola, F9, The Green Knight, High Fidelity and the works of Christine's new crush John Cusack, Annette, Dolls, Perfect Blue, the Paranormal Activity Purge franchise, and more. We close it out with some Midnight Mass chatter.  Don't forget! Check out Emily discussing Parasomnia on the ReaniMates podcast, and for the love of all things good in this world, buy Christine's book, The Sound of Breaking Glass.

143. Laid to Rest Dies Tonight: Break out of that deadbox: you've got things to do! It's time for a very special episode where Christine and Emily are joined by delightful Texans Angela & James to dive deep into 2009's Laid to Rest and of course, everyone's favorite reason to have Peacock other than figure skating and the complete Murder, She Wrote: Halloween Kills! It's a very gooey episode. To cyberstalk our guests, check out @equaloppdork and @barbcult. AND DON'T FORGET! Christine's new collection of incredibly special short stories is available now! Find THE SOUND OF BREAKING GLASS on that place where you buy everything or contact her (@Xtine_Makepeace) for your autographed copy. Illiteracy dies tonight!

Episode 142 (Or So). Malignant Candy & Much More: Light that jack-o-lantern and pour yourself a pumpkin beer. It's October, and Christine and Emily are here to bring you a full batch of our most recent horror watches. We start with detailed discussion of 2021's big horror releases (Candyman and Malignant) which does go into spoiler territory. Listen for the music at the 27-ish minute mark for when that's done, because after, WE GOT LOTS MORE! Topics include but are not limited to folk horror, zombies, escape room horror, anthology horror and the V/H/S series, Demonic, a gaggle of horror remakes, the full Chucky franchise, Swallow, Byzantium, Death of Me, Alison's Birthday, Doppelganger, the Muppets Haunted Mansion, and perhaps most importantly, HALLOWEEN ON ICE! Have a listen, shout at your earbuds, use air quotes, or come chat with us on our Facebook group of via Twitter @femininepodcast. HAPPY SPOOKY SEASON TO ALL!

141. Chardentity: Put on your best Givenchy sheath dress and most comfortable (but stylish) flats: we've got three hours to chat! Christine and Emily are joined by the one and only Jason “Fozzie Bare” Nelson to tackle a pair of twisty, joyous genre hodgepodges. After an extended round of what our special guest star has been watching (which turns into some rumination on racism is reality competitions, the juggernaut of the Real Housewives world, and Penny Dreadful spoilers) we dive into 1963's delightful Charade and 2003's Identity. We go into full detail on both, so make sure you watch them before listening. Find Jason's witty repartee online @fozziebare, and be sure to subscribe to Christine Makepeace's newsletter (@xtine_Makepeace) for updates on her new book!

140. Honeymoon Keeps You Alive: Emily wanted Christine to watch some movies, so here's the episode that made it happen! It's a newlywed nightmare double with Leigh Janiak's 2013 debut Honeymoon and Colin Minihan's What Keeps You Alive from 2018. We BEG you to watch the films before listening, as both pack some solid surprises (all of which we go into juicy spoilery detail on the episode). Don't forget to check out Christine's newsletter! Follow her on twitter (@Xtine_Makepeace) for more!

139. Fear Street Catchup: It's a summertime catchup! Christine and Emily dive full-force into some of the newest releases, including the Fear Street trilogy, Black Widow, Army of the Dead, and A Quiet Place II. Other subjects of note: Till Death, Shocker, Vamps, Spiral, No Escape Room, The Amusement Park, Soccer Mom Madam, Reversal of Fortune, a deep dive into The Stand, a very important warning about serial killers on roller blades renting apartments on Roosevelt Island, and much, MUCH MUCH more. Enjoy!

138. A Big Blob of Catchup: We're back! It's a marathon of Christine  and Emily chatting about, well, everything, including (BUT NOT LIMITED TO):ThemCruel SummerThe Third DayThunder ForceA Perfect GetawayTurbulence AND Turbulence 3The ArrivalRed PlanetGodzilla Vs. KongComing 2 AmericaImmortal BelovedCasablanca (it's a thing)Psycho 2-4Amityville: The Evil EscapesAs Above So BelowHis HouseGhost of WarPossessorQuick ChangeShudder's Lucky, Slaxx, & Anything for JacksonPeninsulaWonder Woman 1984The TollEmily's run-through of Oscar nominationsAND SO MUCH MORE!

137. Voyage of the Speed Racer: Buckle up! We're back to discuss a pair of ridiculously fun and colorful gems. The delightful artist/author Abby Denson joins Christine and Emily to tackle 1984's sci-fi musical Voyage of the Rock Aliens (streaming via Amazon Prime) and 2008's Speed Racer. Expect much ‘80s fashion adoration, Craig Sheffer cheekbone worship, and massive misunderstanding involving race cars and milk. Be sure to check out Abby's new ADORABLE graphic comic, Kitty Sweet Tooth (us.macmillan.com/books/9781250196774) available wherever books are sold. Learn more at abbydenson.com and follow her on Twitter @AbbyDenson! Also, ROCK ALIENS!

136. Cam Forever: Clean those bedsheets and dust off your webcam! We're back with a delightful dive into two outstanding, innovative, and fairly new genre films. Anthony Isaac Bradley joins Christine and Emily to discuss Ben and Chris Blaine's 2015's Nina Forever (streamable now on Shudder and Amazon Prime) and the Daniel Goldhaber/Isa Mazzei's Cam, from 2018 and streaming on Netflix. There's also a fair amount of spoiler-free Twin Peaks talk, because life is good. Be sure to check out Anthony's work on Certified Forgotten and follow him via Twitter (@abradley24) and Instagram (bubblebathwithclotheson)!

135. Massive Catchup!: Strap in for a whole lot of movie (and TV) talk! Christine and Emily have an epic catchup discussion on a whole lot of stuff, including (BUT NOT LIMITED TO):I May Destroy YouMonsterlandthe various NXIVM documentariesThe IntruderFreaky FridayGone GirlFox LuxBirds of PreyGhosts of WarEliSpiralShadow In the CloudSummer of ‘84Train, and a deep dive into why early 2000s horror was the worst.

134. When Animals Lure: We're back! Christine and Emily emerge from the Stocking Stuffer hangover with an INCREDIBLY special treat! Special guest star Carol of the Cultural Gutter is here to help navigate the murky waters of primal female sexuality (and a lot of other stuff!) with two recent European genre films. First up is Jonas Alexander Arnby's 2014 surprise monster movie When Animals Dream, followed by Agnieszka Smoczynska's 2015 mermaid horror musical debut, The Lure. We had a blast dissecting these films, and hope you enjoy the blood and scale-covered ride. Be sure to follow Carol's work over at the Cultural Gutter for tons of thoughtful coverage of your favorite disreputable art, as well as Christine's editing work over at Certified Forgotten and Emily's movie ramblings at The Deadly Doll's House. READING IS COOL, OKAY?

Stocking Stuffers 6.14 Christmas Ever After + the Season Wrapup!: Another year, another season finale! Emily wraps up the Stocking Stuffers series with a quick look at Lifetime's Christmas Ever After, then a deeper dive into the best/worst list. Yes it's January, but we make our own rules around these parts.

Stocking Stuffer Special! An Interview With A New York Christmas Wedding's Otoja Abit: We've got a special end-of-hell-year treat just for you! Emily and gay guardian hipster angel of The Feminine Critique, Fozzie Bare, just couldn't get enough A New York Christmas Wedding, so we went to the very source of Netflix's hit for a special interview with writer/director/actor Otoja Abit! Learn all about making a low budget Christmas movie on the streets of New York in the middle of summer, how to find sexy variations of Oh Christmas Tree, what it means to be an ally to the LGBTQ community, and why sometimes, you have no choice but to wear a bra in bed.Otoja is an absolute delight, and our conversation took more turns than a cab driver lost in NYC. Be sure to check out A New York Christmas Wedding on Netflix and Jitters, the short film that started it all, over on Amazon Prime. You can learn more about Otoja's projects at willfulproductions.com and on social @ohabit and @willfulproductions.