Time to be changed for good! On Close Watch, we recently wrapped up our Oz series with a "wonderful" spoiler-filled Crooked Roundtable on Wicked: For Good, unpacking its political allegory, expanded second act, and bittersweet ending. LINKS BELOW!

On New Year's Eve, it's time for me to unveil my favorite movies, soundtracks and performances of 2025. It's been a tough and hectic year, but my favorites made it worth it. #Movies #Films #FilmSky sonic-cinema.com/wordpress/20...

Tomorrow.

You will be visited by three spirits.

Now watching…

I get that Knives Out had the novelty going for it, and Wake Up, Dead Man is thematically richest, etc. BUT I have realized I am very much a Glass Onion guy. Speaking of, now rewatching...

It’s long, but worth it! Check out our mega podcast on the whole Alien franchise!

When it comes to the works of Rob Reiner, the word iconic doesn’t even do it justice.

One of my favorite scenes in WHEN HARRY MET SALLY… is this fun, little improvised moment in the museum. Notice how Meg Ryan looks off camera to Rob Reiner because she is so thrown off by Billy Crystal’s riffing.

As we mourn Rob Reiner, don’t skip this: he was, pretty much, personally responsible for overturning California’s Prop 8 banning same sex marriage. www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/bus...

Journo friends: looking for those who'd like to submit some short blurbs for a Best Rob Reiner movies post. Got some of the biggies covered but would love to give people the opportunity to share some more love for his work. DMs open.

ICYMI: @imhoreviews.bsky.social of Curtain To Curtain joins Close Watch to discuss 1978's THE WIZ. We explore how the film reframes Oz through the lens of 1970s New York, Motown aesthetics, and groundbreaking Black artistry (including icons Quincy Jones, Diana Ross & Michael Jackson). LINKS BELOW

Rob Reiner was one of the greats. RIP.

We're really happy that people are excited for Predator: Badlands... But Jason from @bingemovies.bsky.social and I were baffled... Even if it's the most successful Predator movie ever now. Fun new episode out now! www.piecingpod.com/home/predato...

Now listening to Jason of @bingemovies.bsky.social count off the Top 25 Warner Bros. Classics to Save Before Streaming Kills Them, and so far, I'm 13 for 25, thank goodness. That are essential films, folks. Nab them before they get stuck behind a paywall.

I feel seen.

ICYMI: Rob and I welcomed Mr. @dthefilmfanatic.bsky.social to Back To Bluey for another installment in our "My Bluey Story" series. Listen as this young man schools us (as he always does) in the ways of finding and storytelling from a BLUEY-centered perspective. On your podcatcher of choice!

Of course, after more than 20 years, I’m here to see this one in the theater. #NowWatching

Now watching!!

Round 3, here we go!!

Round 3, here we go!!

I love Quentin Tarantino's movies, they're a vital part of my career and my life, and every time he does a podcast or gives in an interview it's a sharp reminder of the genuine intellectual danger of spending 30 years of your life with everyone around you treating you like a genius at all times

The reason I love BLUEY is because it gives me a bit of that goodness and joy (in 7-minute increments!) that's missing from my day-to-day. The reason I love doing Back to Bluey is because @crookedtable.bsky.social and I get to discuss how that goodness and joy can be applied in our day-to-day.➡️

New NostalgiaCast! The future is history as Sonic Cinema's @sonic-cinema.bsky.social joins us for an apocalyptic chat about TWELVE MONKEYS from 1995, starring Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt. We discuss the film's mind-bending timey-wimey twists and wackadoo performances (plus more!) below. Enjoy!

#NowWatching in theaters!

Our latest NostalgiaBite is now available, just in time to finish Thanksgiving dinner! Jonny and I talk briefly about PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES starring Steve Martin and John Candy, and about the importance of living in someone else's shoes. Enjoy! youtube.com/shorts/nLKAR...

LucasFilm: Muppet Star Wars Marvel: Squirrel Girl Warner Bros: Batgirl (just finish it) Paramount: Star Trek Lower Decks - The Movie Universal - Key and Peele Meet the Universal Monsters Blumhouse: Twelve Days of Purge-mas Lionsgate: A Very Step Up Wedding Pixar: The Queerest. Movie. EVER.

Batgirl

Seeing WICKED: FOR GOOD for the second(ish) time tonight, this time in DOLBY. Our roundtable discussion will be the epic conclusion to our Oz series on Close Watch. Any questions for my esteemed panel of Ozian guests? Drop ‘em below!

Tonight’s double feature is a real “and Colman Domingo” vibe. First up:

RIP

4 DAYS TILL POPCORN DISABILITIES DROPS! No launch events this week cause of the holiday but you can still preorder copies and I also have 2 December book signing events coming up.

Round 2… #NowWatching

NOW! For our latest Back To Bluey, @crookedtable.bsky.social and I play a round of "The Quiet Game," discuss how Bandit really does do these things to himself, and how guest star Robert Irwin is such a great addition to the Bluey-verse. Grab your Pendragon Moonlight Unicorn your and listen below!👇

Of course I’m here for my first of ?? theatrical viewings of #WickedForGood.

She finally made her dream come true. Well done, Pearl.

🎃 NEW EPISODE ALERT ⚾️ Ep. #312 “Beggar’s Night, Bad with Names, & Baseball Nuttiness” is out everywhere you find podcasts & YouTube! 📺 Check our bio to listen! 🎧 Member of OddPods Media w/ ads by @bfytw.bsky.social & @crookedtable.bsky.social

Great news! Bring us more please! Including maybe this guy?

Also in physical media news, may I present the one and only purchase I made during the Criterion sale. Of course, this one too was inspired by a recent podcast. Hear me and @imhoreviews.bsky.social ease on into THE WIZ this coming week on Close Watch!!

Bingo is the best Heeler and, despite its name, the heart of the show!!

Look what I found at my local used music shop! I fully credit @cinemarecall.bsky.social for this one. Looking forward to checking out the director’s commentary! Check out our conversation about WAKING LIFE at the link below!

New Back To Bluey! In episode 44, @crookedtable.bsky.social and I spend quality time with the youngest Heeler in "Bingo." We discuss how it highlights what we love about Bingo, the larger point it makes about coping and problem-solving, and where it fits within the show's continuity. Link below!

I would have preferred Joe Dante was back, but having Columbus — who wrote the original film — directing is a solid choice too. This feels like a Beetlejuice 2 situation in that I won't believe it's real until I see it, but I'm excited to do so! Practical effects please!!

If you see this, post a vampire that isn’t Dracula.

No one: ... Me: If Universal ever committed to its modern "Dark Universe," which 2020s movie Dracula would they recognize as canon?!?

Did you know The Wizard of Oz got an animated sequel starring Liza Minnelli? Neither did we! On the latest Close Watch, Will Ashton of Cinemaholics joins us to (re)visit 1972's Journey Back to Oz, perhaps the most notable of the many obscure adaptations of L. Frank Baum’s land of Oz. LINKS BELOW!

No one: ... Me: If Universal ever committed to its modern "Dark Universe," which 2020s movie Dracula would they recognize as canon?!?

Hell yes. Pruneface FTW. Still have my action figure of this striking bastard.

Horror fans, The Slashers return THIS FRIDAY to carve up the final years of the boom period, 1985-1989. #FilmSky #HorrorSky #Halloween2025 podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...