Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy return to regular reviewing duties this week and they put a nine-spot on the board. There are a pair of documentaries involving Sly Stone (Sly Lives) and the Zep (Becoming Led Zeppelin). The director of Saint Frances & Ghostlight shows the horror of being a doctor (Rounding) while a young woman involved in one night stands may have been literally ghosted (The Dead Thing). Paolo Sorrentino has another tale of beauty (Parthenope) while Miles Teller & Anya Taylor-Joy snipe themselves into each other’s hearts fighting monsters (The Gorge). Then it’s a week of sequels including a continuation of Renee Zellweger’s beloved character (Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy), everyone’s favorite marmalade-loving bear (Paddington In Peru) and the tale of a new Captain and a new President (Captain America: Brave New World).

The next phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is here and so is comic book expert Erik Laws to talk with Erik Childress on how it plays out. Does it follow through on some of the ideas raised by The Falcon and the Winter Soldier or is it merely just continuing a story most many have forgotten about? Laws fills in the blanks left by the treatment of Shira Haas’ Widow and the remnants of the Serpent Society. Is this a genuine new beginning for the Universe or does it continue the rut that has befallen the MCU since Endgame.

Erik Childress & Peter Sobczynski bring you this week’s physical media roundup which includes a great upgrade for the family involving a cat and a mouse. Horror fans get some 4K upgrades from four different decades. Film Noir gets several different takes including through the mind of Woody Allen. A legendary black filmmaker championed over the years by Sergio Mims gets his whole collection. There are early appearances by Sam Elliott, Sean Penn and John Cusack along with a reappraisal of a current Oscar contender. A more positive reappraisal has been happening for years with a Shane Black film now in 4K and Peter takes us down the rabbit hole of the time Jean-Luc Godard made a Shakespeare adaptation for Cannon Films.

Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy return after more than a week in Park City plus virtual screenings for this year’s Sundance Film Festival and they are here to talk about 15 of their favorite films. They include a pair of body horror films about the terror of living happily ever after. There is also the horror of being a parent especially if you live next to the worst kind of Karen. Music plays a role in a lovely story about a washed-up folk singer and a lottery winner plus the heartbreaking tale of an artist taken away from us too quickly. There are more documentaries about the first deaf Oscar winner, teenagers who took on the environmental concerns of their community, the troubling legacy of To Catch a Predator and the consequences of delaying that colonoscopy.  Audiences were treated to standout performances from Dylan O’Brien and the genuine discovery of the debut by a name to remember, Eva Victor. All that plus generational tales of Palestine and the building and rebuilding of America.

After some time off for Sundance, Movie Madness returns to get you caught up on the latest and greatest in Blu-rays. Erik Childress talks to Peter Sobczynski about a couple 4K upgrades from Criterion for Paul Thomas Anderson and Anthony Mann. There are rom-coms with Cary Grant and Clark Gable while Al Pacino tries to find love with possibly a serial killer. They’ve got a possessed authoritarian in the White House (from 1933) and a killer whale on the loose. Music documentaries for Joan Jett and Joan Baez and one of Dario Argento’s best. But it all comes down to a remastered version of a butchered Michael Mann film and a trio of upgrades for one of the kings of sexploitation, Russ Meyer.

Some great titles in physical media this week and Erik Childress is joined by Peter Sobczynski to convince you to pick them up. They include a great modern con artist noir from Criterion and a lost film from Paul Bartel. The ‘70s bring us some sexploitation horror and Sherlock Holmes hunts Jack the Ripper while the ’80s gave us one of the most unique and divisive slasher films. Peter goes to bat for a pair of 4K upgrades from John Carpenter and Tarsem. Finally, there is a trio of new 4Ks from Quentin Tarantino that includes one of Peter’s favorite films and one of Erik’s favorite music cues.

Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy look at eight new movies this week including a unique documentary that combines a video game with Shakespeare (Grand Theft Hamlet). Julia Stiles makes her directorial debut with a romantic weepie (Wish You Were Here) and a locksmith goes on a wild evening (Night Call). Scott Eastwood and Willa Fitzgerald play spies who go off the grid and are sucked back into duty (Alarum) while Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz play spies who go off the grid and are sucked back into duty (Back in Action). There is the tale of the newsroom covering the terrorist attack at the 1972 Olympics (September 5) and a raunchy hangout film with Keke Palmer and SZA (One Of Them Days). Finally, Leigh Whannell continues the alterna-Dark Universe with a new take on a classic Universal monster (Wolf Man).

The final pieces are in place as BAFTA and the Producers/Writers Guilds have unveiled their nominations. That means its time to give it a whirl at what the final Oscar lists are going to look like. Just how much did the BAFTAs influence the acting categories. Did the Writer’s Guild really make a difference in predicting screenplays when half of them were disqualified? If the Producers Guild holds about an 80% predictability rate, which two films get left off? Erik Childress looks at no less than eight films that could be vying for one final Best Picture slot. While he feels confident in the other nine nominees, there is also the potential for an epic bunch of so-called snubbing in all the categories.

Physical media is still here in 2025! Like every other year. Erik Childress and Peter Sobczynski are back to run through the new releases with you. They include a pair of upgraded Kurosawas and Richard Pryor examining his life. John Turturro directs a musical, William Shatner does a horror film in Esperanto and the pair share some fondness for John Frankenheimer’s final film. You will hear about the film that was literally like pulling teeth for Erik while two of Brad Pitt’s best films get fantastic new packages.

Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy are back to start 2025 with reviews…of a lot of 2024 movies. Albeit ones opening wider across the country now. But there are also some brand new releases including documentaries on a film that never was (George A. Romero’s Resident Evil) and the songwriter who never wins an Oscar (Diane Warren: Relentless). Then a family is trapped amidst a pole reversal (Survive) and Adrien Brody tries to build a life in America (The Brutalist). Robbie Williams gets the musical biopic treatment as a chimpanzee (Better Man) while Julianne Moore & Tilda Swinton face a tough life together in Pedro Almodovar’s latest (The Room Next Door). Pamela Anderson finds herself aging out in Vegas (The Last Showgirl) and Marianne Jean-Baptiste gives one of the year’s best performances in the new film from Mike Leigh (Hard Truths). Finally, Gerard Butler returns as Big Nick to get the mastermind robber he lost the first time (Den of Thieves : Pantera).