Filmspotting

Adam Kempenaar & Josh Larsen

Adam Kempenaar and Josh Larsen review new and classic movies, offering "affable, insightful film analysis since 2005" (NY Times).

#17 in the Top 100 film history Weekly chart

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Top 10 Filmspotting Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Filmspotting episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Filmspotting for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Filmspotting episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

#859: The Godfather at 50

Filmspotting

02/04/22 • 86 min

As they approached their rewatch of 1972’s THE GODFATHER, Adam and Josh questioned whether they - or anybody, really - could bring anything new to a conversation about a film that has been written about, talked about, watched and rewatched, quoted, and memed pretty much without ceasing since its release a half-century ago. But when they sat down for their Sacred Cow review, the answer was pretty simple: it didn’t actually matter if there is anything new to say; what mattered was the pleasure of watching - and talking about - something so thematically rich, so brilliantly shot and directed, and so damn well acted. (It’s the longest review in the history of the show.)

And, as it turns out, maybe there were a couple of new things to say about THE GODFATHER. Adam has some thoughts about the film as a product of the Vietnam era. And Josh makes the bold suggestion that “The Godfather” could have been an even stronger film if it had paid just a little more attention to one of its more tangential characters. Also: has Al Pacino’s Michael Corleone ever been compared to “Terminator 2"’s T-1000? Seems unlikely.

0:00 - Billboard

1:07 - “The Godfather” at 50

Nina Rota, “The Godfather Love Theme”

56:42 - Next Week / Notes

1:03:52 - Poll: Oscar Snubs

1:19:06 - Outro

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2 Listeners

#853: Best Performances of 2021 / Licorice Pizza / Nightmare Alley

Filmspotting

12/17/21 • 96 min

The end-of-year conversation starts this week as Adam and Josh talk through their Chicago Film Critics Association ballots, naming their favorite 20 or so performances of the 2021 movie year. Plus reviews of LICORICE PIZZA, Paul Thomas Anderson's nostalgia trip to 70s-era San Fernando Valley, and NIGHTMARE ALLEY, a nasty new noir from Guillermo del Toro.

0:00 - Billboard

1:14 - Best Performances of 2021

Taj Mahal, "Tomorrow May Not Be Your Day"

48:16 - Review: "Nightmare Alley"

1:03:20 - Next Week / Polls / Notes

1:13:06 - Review: "Licorice Pizza"

1:30:38 - Outro / Outtake

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2 Listeners

#925: Asteroid City, Past Lives

Filmspotting

06/23/23 • 74 min

The space race and method acting collide in Wes Anderson’s '50s-set ASTEROID CITY, and former sweethearts reunite in Celine Song’s acclaimed debut PAST LIVES.

-Review: “Asteroid City” (01:42)

-Notes (38:21)

-Massacre Theatre (40:30)

-Review: “Past Lives” (47:42)

(Times may not be precise with ads)

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2 Listeners

#852: The Power of the Dog / Campion Oeuvre-view Awards

Filmspotting

12/10/21 • 96 min

Jane Campion’s filmography is one of the greatest collections of woman-led features in the history of the medium, which makes her latest - THE POWER OF THE DOG - such a startling exception. Set in 1925 against a forbidding Montana landscape, Campion’s film takes place in an utterly masculine domain, with Benedict Cumberbatch’s snarling rancher as the film’s primary focus. But armed with the just-completed Campion Oeuvre-view, Adam and Josh see what is undoubtedly a Campion movie, with its attention finely tuned to gender power dynamics and competing displays of masculinity. They also agree that Campion’s latest is a masterpiece. The Campion love continues in the second half of the show with “We Are The Campions,” the end of Oeuvre-view awards for favorite performances and scenes—and Adam and Josh’s ranked lists of the director’s eight features.

0:00 - Billboard

1:04 - Review: "The Power of the Dog"

Michael Nyman, "The Sacrifice"

36:04 - Next Week / Notes

49:41 - Massacre Theatre

55:58 - Jane Campion Oeuvre-view: Awards

1:29:58 - Outro

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1 Listener

#848: Last Night in Soho / In the Cut (Campion #6)

Filmspotting

11/05/21 • 77 min

Edgar Wright's latest, LAST NIGHT IN SOHO, is another opportunity for the director of "Baby Driver" and "Shaun of the Dead" to bring his visual panache, comic verve, and impeccable musical taste to a genre he clearly adores. Like the films that inspired it, Wright's time-hopping giallo picture – set in both contemporary London and the city in its swinging '60s heyday – takes some nasty turns. But Adam and Josh disagree about whether Wright's film is a thrill-ride that continually upends expectations—or an incoherent jumble of influences. And the Jane Campion Oeuvre-view arrives at the director's own divisive genre film, the 2003 erotic thriller IN THE CUT. Largely dismissed at the time, Adam and Josh make the case that the Meg Ryan-starring film deserves another look.

0:00 - Billboard

1:07 - Review: "Last Night in Soho"

The Kinks, "Starstruck"

26:29 - Chicago Critics Film Festival Preview

34:06 - Next Week / Notes

41:42 - Massacre Theatre

47:13 - Campion #6: "In The Cut"

1:09:45 - Outro

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1 Listener

#849: Passing / Eternals / Bright Star (Campion #7)

Filmspotting

11/12/21 • 90 min

For her debut as a director, actor Rebecca Hall takes Nella Larsen’s 1929 novella about race and identity and turns it into a meditation on the many ways that people “pass” as a means of denying or disguising the truth. Adam and Josh praise the film as a showcase for stars Ruth Negga and Tessa Thompson, and for Hall's emergence of a gifted new filmmaker. Adam wasn’t able to make the weekend’s big release, Marvel’s ETERNALS, but Josh did and was pleased to find plenty of director Chloé Zhao in the film’s bloated running time. Unfortunately, Zhao’s Malickian instincts are forced to compete with the leaden necessities of the franchise. Plus the final film in the Jane Campion Oeuvre-view, 2009's BRIGHT STAR, with Campion bringing an uncharacteristic gentleness to her story of the great love and last years of poet John Keats.

0:00 - Billboard

1:15 - Review: "Passing"

Leonard Cohen, "Suzanne"

30:23 - Josh: "Eternals"

37:02 - Next Week / Notes

47:51 - Polls

57:36 - Jane Campion #7: "Bright Star"

1:21:38 - Outro / Outtake

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1 Listener

#990: Anora, Heretic, Here

Filmspotting

11/15/24 • 93 min

Mikey Madison’s Ani is another memorable Sean Baker hustler but one defined by her defiance. Along with a review of Baker’s euphoric and often hilarious ANORA, thoughts on Hugh Grant in HERETIC and the latest from Robert Zemeckis, HERE.

This episode is presented by Regal Unlimited, the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits.

(Timecodes will not be precise with ads; chapters may start early.)

Opening (00:00:00-00:01:42)

Review: “Anora” (00:01:42-00:37:53)

Next Week / Notes (00:37:54-00:43:08)

Polls (00:43:09-00:50:42)

Reviews: “Heretic,” “Here” (00:50:43-01:11:39)

“Anora” Spoiler Talk (01:11:40-01:28:34)

Notes/Links:

High-quality, royalty-free music, sound effects, and stock footage for creators

https://soundstripe.com/filmspotting

Josh hosts Cinema Interruptus at Siskel Film Center

https://www.siskelfilmcenter.org/interruptus

Feedback:

Email us at [email protected].

Ask Us Anything and we might answer your question in bonus content.

Support us:

-Join the Filmspotting Family for bonus episodes and complete archive access.

http://filmspottingfamily.com

-T-shirts (and more) on sale at the Filmspotting Shop.

https://filmspotting.net/shop

Follow:

https://www.instagram.com/filmspotting

https://letterboxd.com/filmspotting

https://twitter.com/filmspotting

https://facebook.com/filmspotting

https://letterboxd.com/larsenonfilm

https://twitter.com/larsenonfilm

https://facebook.com/larsenonfilm

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1 Listener

#851: West Side Story / Red Rocket

Filmspotting

12/03/21 • 82 min

When it was announced that Steven Spielberg was mounting a new film adaptation of the classic Broadway musical WEST SIDE STORY, it was entirely reasonable to ask, "Why?" Why a new film adaptation and why Spielberg. The 1961 "West Side," directed by Robert Wise, was a Best Picture-winner and is regarded as one of the great movie musicals of all time. Also? Spielberg has never directed a musical. And yet, as revered as that 1961 adaptation is, it is not without its faults, notably the casting of white actors as Latinx characters and a pair of romantic leads (Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer) who don't sing and are arguably the weakest members of an otherwise ace cast. Adam and Josh make the case that with his thrilling new adaptation, Spielberg more than answers the why, without necessarily fixing all of the earlier film's weaknesses. Plus, a review of Sean Baker's latest, RED ROCKET, which has Simon Rex's former adult film star making an ignominious return to his Texas hometown.

0:00 - Billboard

1:06 - Review: "West Side Story"

"Cool" ("West Side Story," Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

41:44 - Next Week / Notes

47:22 - Polls

57:02 - Review: "Red Rocket"

1:14:36 - Outro

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1 Listener

#893: TÁR / Amsterdam

Filmspotting

10/14/22 • 76 min

Director Todd Field ("In The Bedroom," "Little Children") returns after a sixteen-year hiatus with TÁR, the most acclaimed film of his career and possibly of the year. Cate Blanchett stars as an accomplished composer and conductor who faces a personal crisis that could derail her career. Gender politics, identity politics, the "Me Too" movement, cancel culture: the movie circles around these issues without necessarily being about any of them. In their review, Adam and Josh praise the film's complexity and intelligence along with what may be the definitive Blanchett performance. Plus, a review of David O. Russell's latest, AMSTERDAM, a film that is "very wobbly right from the start, regains its balance but is still teetering, and then? Things absolutely collapse." Plus, Blanchett v Swinton and the battle of the seasonably appropriate stop-motion features.

1:20 - Review: "TÁR"

42:03 - Next Week / Notes / Angela Lansbury

48:31 - Polls

57:07 - Review: “Amsterdam"

1:09:19 - Outro

With ‘Tár,’ Todd Field Returns to Directing. Where Has He Been?
Sam smartly points out that TÁR is also an anagram for ART.

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1 Listener

#987: Top 5 SNL Cast Member Performances, Saturday Night

Filmspotting

10/18/24 • 100 min

Adam and Josh share their Top 5 SNL Cast Member Performances... with Kristin Wiig! Eddie Murphy! Adam Sandler! And more. Plus, Adam’s review of Jason Reitman’s SATURDAY NIGHT.

This episode is presented by Regal Unlimited, the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits.

(Timecodes will not be precise with ads; chapters may start early.)

Opening (00:00:00-00:03:11)

Top 5: Performances by SNL Cast Members (00:03:12-00:36:08)

Review (AK): “Saturday Night” (00:36:08-00:46:24)

Filmspotting at Chicago and Refocus Film Fests (00:46:24-00:51:21)

Next Week, Notes (00:51:22-00:55:06)

New Poll (00:55:07-00:59:22)

Top 5, cont. (00:59:23-01:35:13)

Notes/Links:

Refocus Film Festival

Chicago Int'l Film Festival