What does a Film Programmer do? I talk to James McEvoy, Cinema Programmer at the Warwick Arts Centre to fid out: notesonfilm1.com/2025/10/20/j...

What Mike sees in The Rock's performance as desperate Oscar bait and a cynical grasp for artistic legitimacy, José sees the good side of, although we're in agreement that THE SMASHING MACHINE has problems that its positives don't overcome. wp.me/p9y1IP-39J

A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, is beautiful and likeable, but derivative and ultimately unsatisfying. We discuss its lighting, its attitude towards people's histories, and why a rubbish script Mike once wrote makes him particularly keen to sneer at it. wp.me/p9y1IP-37C

Not as dumb as Mike anticipated - but still quite dumb - THE LONG WALK develops surprising thematic depth, showing us a dystopian, totalitarian America in desperate need of revolution, and asking its characters what achieving one might take. wp.me/p9y1IP-37z

ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER is unmissable. A state of the nation film that should define the national conversation. Complex, funny, energetic, and demonstrative of even greater range to Paul Thomas Anderson's abilities than we'd previously thought. wp.me/p9y1IP-370

First-time director Michael Shanks shows a good instinct for tone in TOGETHER, a wonderfully imaginative and original body horror about the fear of commitment. It's one of the best horrors - maybe best films full stop - that we've seen in a while. wp.me/p9y1IP-2XV

EDDINGTON recalls the days of lockdowns, mask mandates and conspiracy theories – days of particular hostility and division in the USA, in which individual freedom does constant battle with the greater good. It's a mixed bag but ambitious. eavesdroppingatthemovies.com/2025/09/08/4...

WEAPONS is interesting, ambitious, creative, and just a bit overpraised. We find plenty to like and plenty to criticise, and reopen the discussion two weeks after having seen it to reconsider it. wp.me/p9y1IP-2XQ

A psychosexual thriller that's neither psychosexual nor thrilling enough, THE SHROUDS is a disappointment from David Cronenberg. eavesdroppingatthemovies.com/2025/09/01/4...

The second of two podcasts in which a comedy Tim who enjoys odd social interactions turns out to be a fantastic presence on the cinema screen and capable of leading a whole film without losing the unique vibe and energy that makes their comedy great.

TIm Key's unique approach to wordplay and social interactions is put front and centre in THE BALLAD OF WALLIS ISLAND, a simply lovely comedy about grief, loss, and loneliness, that filled the Mockingbird cinema with laughter. wp.me/p9y1IP-2U0

The first of two podcasts in which a comedy Tim who enjoys odd social interactions turns out to be a fantastic presence on the cinema screen and capable of leading a whole film without losing the unique vibe and energy that makes their comedy great.

With its idiosyncratic tone, stressful focus on social awkwardness, and departures into surreality, FRIENDSHIP won't be for everyone, but we highly recommend it. Tim Robinson is a fascinating screen presence, and the film earns big laughs from meaningful subject matter. wp.me/p9y1IP-2TV

THE NAKED GUN is rebooted with Liam Neeson in the part that was once Leslie Nielsen’s, and he shows just how hard comedy can be. We discuss everything the film gets wrong. If only they’d asked us for help. wp.me/p9y1IP-2RQ

The Philippou twins share a good eye for imagery, and in BRING HER BACK they put it to use eliciting some truly disgusting effects. We discuss the duo's good delivery of information but weak storytelling, and question the ethics of the use of child actors. wp.me/p9y1IP-2OM

The first Jurassic Park sequel that doesn't have loads of shit bits!

JURASSIC PARK REBIRTH is easily the best JURASSIC PARK sequel, possibly because it cribs so much from the original, but it has plenty of ideas and style of its own too. Easy to recommend. wp.me/p9y1IP-2NO

SUPERMAN kicks off the DCU with audiovisual histrionics - one of us found it truly exhausting to endure. But we agree on the appeal of David Corenswet in the lead role. His moral compass, coupled to an appealing physique and mild lack of smarts, plays well. wp.me/p9y1IP-2NL

Fabulous fun, extraordinary to look at, and filled with all the detail a fan could hope to take issue with, F1 ticks every box for an expensive genre action movie. Is it great? No. Is it good? Yes. Can an advert be considered art? We are checking. wp.me/p9y1IP-2Ns

@mattzollerseitz.bsky.social Hi Matt. We just published our discussion of Riefenstahl. You and/or your followers might be interested in it. No expectation, but if you listen to or share it, please enjoy! If that's the right word. pod.fo/e/2e3525

I had real problems with this in the moment, because I think Leni Riefenstahl is not that interesting and I thought the documentary missed a significant trick in failing to explore the legacy of her work. But on reflection my estimation of it has grown, and the conversation it led to was a good one.

RIEFENSTAHL is an excellent example of how to tell a complex tale with intention, clarity, and concision, while allowing for interpretation of the material presented, and it’ll be the basis of endless conversations. Highly recommended. wp.me/p9y1IP-2Il

A fun film to watch, and a fun podcast to record, following a full week of watching all the Missions: Impossible. Glad the second-to-last film was rubbish so that this one would be better by comparison.

In which the way I move through life is projected onto a big screen for everyone to experience.

José doesn't believe this is the last MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, but is glad it's Cruise's last - the poor dear is just too old. Mike's watched every other M:I film during the week, and tracks changes in the series' aesthetics, comic tone, and sexuality. wp.me/p9y1IP-2Ht

FINAL DESTINATION BLOODLINES resurrects the slasher series without a slasher, in which foiling Death's plans to off you only makes him mad. The Rube Goldberg machine of unlikely domestic accidents brings Mike endless joy; for José, it's the product of a sick society. wp.me/p9y1IP-2FN

SINNERS. A horror musical set in 1930s Mississippi, shot in part on IMAX 70mm film, starring Michael B. Jordan as a pair of identical twins who encounter vampires. It’s as ambitious as that sounds, full of ideas and culturally specific nuance, and José loves it. Mike doesn’t. wp.me/p9y1IP-2EG

We were delighted to be invited to the University of Warwick Film and TV Studies department for a conversation about Eavesdropping at the Movies and the ideas behind our practice of film criticism. It was an enormously satisfying hour and a bit - enjoy! wp.me/p9y1IP-2DP @warwickfilmtv.bsky.social

How does a film quietly make $2bn to become the fifth-highest-grossing film of all time? By being Chinese and animated. NE ZHA 2 picks up where the first left off... then stuff starts happening. So much stuff. We liked it, but it made us feel so very old. wp.me/p9y1IP-2AM

MICKEY 17 disappoints us, the energy and verve the trailer conveyed sadly lacking. Its characterisation is weak, even for a broad comedy, and its ending betrays its tone - but as failures go, it's an interesting one, filled with jokes and ideas. wp.me/p9y1IP-2Ax

Tune in to hear me talk about the Robbie Williams monkey movie yet again

In spite of being joined by glamorous Stephen Glass, this is probably for hardcore fans only; we loved it so much our discussion is almost as long as the film. eavesdroppingatthemovies.com/2025/01/29/4...

We visit the BFI to see THE BRUTALIST in 70mm. Such a big film deserves a big podcast, so we're joined by Mike's brother Stephen, the smarter, sexier Mycroft to his Sherlock. Which makes José Dr. Watson, I suppose. Anyway, the film is great, the podcast doubly so. wp.me/p9y1IP-2vC

Jose trying to stop me talking about the Robbie Williams film

The Brutalist is a very good film but the best part is getting your Burger King on the way home

PRESENCE is an experiment worth experiencing - intriguing, efficient and original, and based on such a compelling idea: what does a ghost story look like from the ghost's POV? While it's a failed experiment in a number of ways, you still must see it. wp.me/p9y1IP-2v6

I make no apology for swearing so much during this podcast. BABYGIRL gave me blue balls. I do apologise for misremembering Sam Taylor-Johnson's name, though.

Neither steamy nor intelligent enough, BABYGIRL is a disappointment despite Nicole Kidman's wonderful performance at its core. We talk sex, fantasy, looking your age, and José's crafty childhood technique for getting into movies he was too young to see. wp.me/p9y1IP-2uS

MARIA features both Pablo Larraín and Angelina Jolie at their best. We talk art, love, music as life, sympathetically showing someone losing themselves and dying without making them a figure of pity. Also Mike talks about the Robbie Williams monkey movie. wp.me/p9y1IP-2uy

MARIA features both Pablo Larraín and Angelina Jolie at their best. We talk art, love, music as life, sympathetically showing someone losing themselves and dying without making them a figure of pity. Also Mike talks about the Robbie Williams monkey movie. wp.me/p9y1IP-2uy

Our YouTube Music subscribers might have found that we've disappeared over the last couple of days. This is because Mike pressed loads of buttons and broke everything. He is now fixing it. We are back and available here: music.youtube.com/playlist?lis... Mike says sorry by the way.

The long-awaited remake of our podcast on 1922's NOSFERATU. We talk silent era colour tinting, getting bogged down in plot, whether horror needs to be scary, sex and love, and SHREK FOREVER AFTER. wp.me/p9y1IP-2sd

The curious case of Interstellar's accents, part one

One of the unexpected pleasures of CONCLAVE was watching someone principled work hard to do a good job and the right thing.

Scandals and manipulation? In the Catholic Church? Never! But somehow CONCLAVE convinces us that such things are possible in its entertaining chamber play about the process of selecting a new Pope. Ralph Fiennes soars, as does that twist. wp.me/p9y1IP-2om

The topic of smell in @allylouks.bsky.social's PhD is not only interesting on its own but also reminded me of our discussion of PARASITE, which her abstract references. José picked up on how the film links odour to class, that no matter what you do, you can't escape the smell of poverty: 1/4

Scandals and manipulation? In the Catholic Church? Never! But somehow CONCLAVE convinces us that such things are possible in its entertaining chamber play about the process of selecting a new Pope. Ralph Fiennes soars, as does that twist. wp.me/p9y1IP-2om

The topic of smell in @allylouks.bsky.social's PhD is not only interesting on its own but also reminded me of our discussion of PARASITE, which her abstract references. José picked up on how the film links odour to class, that no matter what you do, you can't escape the smell of poverty: 1/4

I loved this, but it's a long time since a horror film left me feeling so tense.

JUROR #2, with an idea so brilliant we can't believe we've never seen it before, is complex, compelling, and quietly keeps you on the edge of your seat. We talk about the primacy of the family above all things, and how Clint Eastwood shows us the making of a bad man. wp.me/p9y1IP-2mQ