The emotional quicksand in On a String is palpable, yet oddly endearing. Leave it to consummate down-player Dylan Baker to drop the zinger that nails the ideal tone by stopping a small venting rant from his on-screen daughter to say, “I hate to break it to you, but you’re not that special.” In different hands, this could all be stretched to an epic length and height to be played as a Poor Man’s Tar as some kind of toxic roller coaster making larger, bolder points.
Read MoreFor their 241st and 242nd episodes, two warrior film critics, two bow-stringing dads, and two myth-teaching school teachers, Will Johnson and Don Shanahan, present two episodes dividing a lengthy discussion on Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey. For this meaty and manly deconstruction, the pod welcomed back frequent and favored guest, Cati Glidewell of The Blonde in Front.
Read MoreFor their 240th episode, two meticulous film critics, two decision-heavy dads, and two L.A.-loving school teachers, Will Johnson and Don Shanahan, complete a quick two-episode arc on films inspired by recent summer vacation travel. Last week, Will's trip to Japan brought forth a reassessment of Lost in Translation. This week, it's Don's turn as he returns from the City of Angels with Michael Mann's Heat burning brightly on his mind.
Read MoreFor their 239th episode, two jet-set film critics, two midlife crisis dads, and two culturally open school teachers, Will Johnson and Don Shanahan, begin a two-episode arc on films that inspired recent travel from our two hosts. This month, Will got back from a transformative solo trip to the nation of Japan, meaning Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation became the immediate reflection point for an episode.
Read MoreIt begs the question of what it would actually take to win the attention and approval of the device-centered youths of today. Would it be what’s in the film, as in a set of parents instituting a cold turkey removal of wi-fi, a migration to analog country isolation, and the nudging increase of go-out-and-get-dirty experiences? Sure, that stuff tends to work in fictional movies, but what about stepping out of the movie itself to the theatrical and streaming marketplaces.
Read MoreA master of all things moody and mysterious, Dafoe is the chief reason to approach this narrative based on Panos Karnezis’s 2007 novel. The enigmatic star, singing and dancing at a few points, is granted all latitude to explore the framed space, and the camera is entranced to follow him. However, back to its ugly soap opera traits, outside of actively worshipping Dafoe completists, absorbing the undesirable heights of Jiménez’s bleak film is hard to recommend.
Read MoreWhen a creative person gets the fullest chance to tell a piece of their autobiographic story through their chosen medium, that’s a special result worth celebrating. Lauren Caster is wonderfully granted that very freedom as she writes, directs, and stars in the gracious independent film Rhythm Is a Dancer.
Read MoreNo son or daughter wants the “Alvin!” treatment from any incarnation of Alvin and the Chipmunks. Olmo isn’t just the title of the new film from Mexican director Fernando Eimbcke that played at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival and as a Panorama selection at the 75th Berlinale. It’s the word you hear hollered most often, much to the dismay of the character who bears the name, played by Night Swim newcomer Aivan Uttapa.
Read MoreThanks to their committed and brave performances of showing life’s difficulties parallel to the carefree and united fun, the question isn’t “will-they” or “won’t-they” like other rom-coms. It’s should they because of the prudence being paced so smoothly and realistically next to the pleasures. Built that way, any fulfillment found in it all becomes much more rewarding.
Read MoreFor their 238th episode, two firefighting film critics, two propeller-driven dads, and two very much still alive school teachers, Will Johnson and Don Shanahan, follow up last week's blockbuster episode about a couple of heroic pilots with another featuring the same profession. On the heels of a new Steven Spielberg film last month, the two pointed their compass to 1989's Always, a Spielberg blind spot for Don that needed to be doused with fire-extinguishing podcast time
Read MoreIn the film critic and podcast circles I’ve come to be a part of, sometimes you find fascinating peers and, other times, they find you. Through my station at Ruminations Radio Network’s Cinephile Hissy Fit podcast, I was recruited by the hosts of PopFilter’s “Movie of the Year” podcast to guest on an episode breaking down a hit from the year 2006. The featured film is the indie darling Little Miss Sunshine. On the show, the hosts and guests score points for good jokes, intelligent responses, or correct trivia answers.
Read MoreFor their 237th episode, two alien-punching film critics, two crop-dusting dads, and two speechifying school teachers, Will Johnson and Don Shanahan, saw it fit to celebrate our nation's 250th birthday with the 30th anniversary of Roland Emmerich's Independence Day. Both hosts consider it one of the best pure summer blockbusters ever made and something that should be as annual a staple for the titular holiday as BBQs and fireworks.
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