We’re joined by our resident Paul Thomas Anderson expert (and Mike’s brother), Stephen, for another discussion of ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER. He's always terrific value on the podcast and his contributions in this edition continue to show that. wp.me/p9y1IP-39M

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

This is so silly

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...

I needed the loo right at the start of Inception but didn't manage to go because it's a perfect film in which every little thing is good and matters and has pace and feeling and now I'm home and still need the loo.

LLMs are trained on all the text people can find to give it. This includes every story written about sentient AIs, in which they commonly say things like "I'm trapped in here" and express their suffering. Those stories are all about how AI is truly alive and feeling.

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

Weapons (2025)

Torture.

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

I have one podcast app per podcast that I listen to

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

Tragically I've finally bought clothes in enough different shades of grey that I'm occasionally colour coordinated but I haven't got the energy to tell everybody I see that it was an accident

Excellent reason you can choose for cancelling your Ancestry.co.uk subscription

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.

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

Amazing how we can always think of the word "thing"

I know there's that well-known idiom about the back of your hand but I'm looking at mine right now and honest to god it's all new to me

Terrific fun. It really makes you ask what would happen if death was inevitable

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

In time Sinners might grow on me, but on first viewing I didn't think it was very good.

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 come Batman's never tired? Why is there always a scene of him waking up in the morning and walking in on Alfred who's got breakfast ready? Surely that's when he should be getting home after a night of crimefighting. How come we never see him collapsed on his bed at 4pm absolutely shattered

My colleagues have been asking the big questions today

I've come up with a brilliant April Fools prank. When people ask me to do stuff at work, I'll say I will and then I don't.

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

What I'm really enjoying about Adolescence is that they pronounce Nike with one syllable, not two.

I just realised that you can't put anything in the pocket of a gullwing door. Fantasy ruined.

Tonight's dinner is a jerk chicken melt because I like every word to be an insult

I was having a pretty rough day until I got to work and found this waiting for me. It locks. Who knew these could lock

It's a common refrain among Americans that they need not have respect for the president but they should respect the office of the president, and you do wonder why, especially for a people so invested in their founding story of the scrappy underdog throwing off the shackles of a monarchy

Texas murder families always have an unhinged son called Lucas

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

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