Grierson & Leitch

Tom Hanks. Emma Watson. John Boyega. Dave Eggers. Patton Oswalt. Bill Paxton, in his last film. The kid from "Boyhood." The guy who directed "The End of the Tour" and "The Spectacular Now." Yes, "The Circle" is a movie with nearly unparalleled pedigree, based off a well-regarded book by one of America's most beloved authors. So how in the world did "The Circle" end up being so jaw-droppingly horrible? We try to dig into what happened. Then, in our Reboot segment, we look back at 1951's "A Streetcar Named Desire," with Vivien Leigh, Kim Hunter, Karl Malden and, of course, a feral, animalistic Marlon Brandon in a performance that changed screen acting forever. And we wrap up with 2005's "A History of Violence," David Cronenberg's adaptation of a famous graphic novel that features Viggo Mortensen, Mario Bello, Ed Harris and William Hurt grappling with, well, violence, and its history. Timestamps: 6:05 "The Circle" 27:40 "A Streetcar Named Desire" 46:02 "A History of Violence" We hope you enjoy. Let us know what you think @griersonleitch on Twitter, or griersonleitch@newrepublic.com. As always, give us a review on iTunes with the name of a movie you'd like us to review, and we'll discuss it on a later podcast. Opening Song: "Will the Circle Be Unbroken?" Nitty Gritty Dirty Band Closing Song: "Me, Marlon Brando, Marlon Brandon and I," R.E.M.

A slow week for new releases -- it's apparently all "Boss Baby" all the time these days -- gives us only one major new release this week, Ben Wheatley's "Free Fire," starring Brie Larson, Cillian Murphy and Armie Hammer. We disagree on it: One of our critics thinks it's a fun experiment, but the other found it mostly tiresome. Then, in our Reboot segment, we discuss how that Sidney Lumet's "Network" doesn't hold up nearly as well as you might remember, and Wes Anderson's "The Royal Tenenbaums" was a step forward for the filmmaker ... but just a peek at what he'd be able to do even better more than a decade later. Timestamps: 4:30 "Free Fire" 17:40 "Network" 38:58 "The Royal Tenenbaums" We hope you enjoy. Let us know what you think @griersonleitch on Twitter, or griersonleitch@newrepublic.com. As always, give us a review on iTunes with the name of a movie you'd like us to review, and we'll discuss it on a later podcast. Opening Song: "Firestarter," The Prodigy Closing Song: "Judy Is a Punk," The Ramones

This week, our critics can neither agree nor disagree: Tim is blissfully ignorant of the "Fast and the Furious" franchise -- he's only see the Tokyo Drift one -- and Will hasn't seen James Gray's "The Lost City of Z" yet. So they ask each other about each film, spoiler-free, so you can make your own decision. (But they're positive on both.) In their weekly Reboot segment, they head back to the late '90s to discuss Jake Kasden's "Zero Effect" and then go WAY back, all the way back to Gary Cooper, for 1958's "Man of the West." Timestamps: 4:00 "The Fate of the Furious" 21:25 "The Lost City of Z" 31:30 "Zero Effect" 48:12 "Man of the West" We hope you enjoy. Let us know what you think @griersonleitch on Twitter, or griersonleitch@newrepublic.com. As always, give us a review on iTunes with the name of a movie you'd like us to review, and we'll discuss it on a later podcast. Opening Song: "Fast Car," Wyclef Jean (featuring Paul Simon) Closing Song: "Two States," Pavement

Two new releases highlight the podcast this week which, last week's show notwithstanding, will not in fact turn into a weekly podcast about "The Room." First, Will and Tim did into the Romanian moral drama "Graduation," which feels like '90s "Crimes and Misdemeanors"-era Woody Allen, but even more spare and despairing. Then they discuss Nacho Vigalondo's "Colossal," which features Anne Hathaway and Jason Sudeikis as two Americans who have the strange, unwitting ability to control monsters attacking downtown Seoul. In this week's Reboot segment, we dig into Michael Mann's "The Last of the Mohicans," which features a brawny Daniel Day-Lewis being hyper intense. There's even a fun skit from the old "Ben Stiller Show" that we added. Stay alive, no matter what occurs! We will find you! Timestamps: 4:06 "Graduation" 18:50 "Colossal" 36:41 "The Last of the Mohicans" We hope you enjoy. Let us know what you think @griersonleitch on Twitter, or griersonleitch@newrepublic.com. As always, give us a review on iTunes with the name of a movie you'd like us to review, and we'll discuss it on a later podcast. Opening Song: "Graduation Day," The Beach Boys Closing Song: "Got A Woman," Eagles of Death Metal

The big new release of the week was "Ghost in the Shell," and Tim and Will actively disagree on it, though neither can arguing that critics of its "whitewashing" have a point. But you should probably just watch "Under the Skin" instead. But that's all fine and dandy, but the REAL fun of this week's show comes in the Reboots. Our first Reboot is Peter Bogdanovich's masterpiece "The Last Picture Show," which feels even more urgent today. But that movie may still not live as long as our second Reboot, Tommy Wiseau's infamous "The Room." Neither Tim nor Will had never seen it. It is fair to say now that they will never forget it. Timestamps: 3:40 "Ghost in the Shell" 21:12 "The Last Picture Show" 38:55 "The Room" We hope you enjoy. Let us know what you think @griersonleitch on Twitter, or griersonleitch@newrepublic.com. As always, give us a review on iTunes with the name of a movie you'd like us to review, and we'll discuss it on a later podcast. Opening Song: "Ghost," Neutral Milk Hotel Closing Song: "Song From A Room," Rachel Glassberg

Grierson is back! Grierson is back! After two weeks away resting his voice after surgery to remove a polyp/nodule from his throat, our beloved co-host returns this week, and man, did we miss him. We dig right into the "Alien" homage/ripoff "Life," starring Ryan Reynolds, Rebecca Ferguson and Jake Gyllenhaal, and Grierson also answers Leitch's questions about "CHIPs" and "Power Rangers," which he didn't see because, hey, life's too short. Also, we have two Reboots, both taped pre-surgery, in case you're wondering why Grierson sounds rougher. First, we tackled Alfred Hitchcock's "The Trouble With Harry," which featured the first on-screen appearance of Shirley MacLaine. Then we delve into the 1988 twins comedy "Big Business," with Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin. Timestamps: 6:35 "Life" 22:26 "CHIPs" 31:27 "Power Rangers" 43:40 "The Trouble With Harry" 56:50 "Big Business" But yes: The real story here is that Grierson is back. We hope you enjoy. Let us know what you think @griersonleitch on Twitter, or griersonleitch@newrepublic.com. As always, give us a review on iTunes with the name of a movie you'd like us to review, and we'll discuss it on a later podcast. Opening Song: "Lust For Life," Iggy Pop Closing Song: "Dead Ringer For Love," Meat Loaf and Cher

Grierson is out for a second consecutive week after having a polyp removed, so we are delighted to welcome the incomparable Christy Lemire, of RogerEbert.com and "What the Flick?" and so many other places to be our guest host this week. She is one of the best film critics on the planet, and without question the nicest. She is also so much smarter than either Grierson or Leitch. So Christy and Will dig into the remake/reboot/rewhatever of Disney's "Beauty and the Beast," and then Will asks Christy about "T2: Trainspotting," and whether it will mess with one's affections for the original. But don't fret: We still have some Grierson, with our previously taped Reboot segments. In those, we discuss cultural touchstone "Easy Rider," man, and we tackle '80s cult hit "Repo Man." Timestamps: 7:30 "Beauty and the Beast" 28:40 "T2: Trainspotting" 42:10 "Easy Rider" 1:01:36 "Repo Man" We hope you enjoy. Let us know what you think @griersonleitch on Twitter, or griersonleitch@newrepublic.com. (We're doing a mailbag show after the new year, so send us questions.) As always, give us a review on iTunes with the name of a movie you'd like us to review, and we'll discuss it on a later podcast. Opening Song: "Beauty and the Beast," David Bowie Closing Song: "Feel the Pain," Dinosaur Jr. Also: Grierson *should* be back next week. Fingers crossed!

Our beloved Tim is out recovering from minor surgery, so we have our first fill-in host to play around with Will: It's Mark Lisanti, of MTV News and formerly of Grantland and Defamer. He is one of our favorite people in the world, and as much as we miss Tim, we are delighted to have him. Mark and Will dig into the new, dull King Kong flick "Kong: Skull Island," and then wrestle with Olivier Assayas' mysterious Kristen Stewart ghost drama "Personal Shopper." You don't have to go without Tim's voice, though. Because we knew Tim was going to miss a few shows, we pretaped a bunch of Reboots. This week, we try to solve our '80s comedies conundrum with "A Fish Called Wanda." Timestamps: 4:30 "Kong: Skull Island" 21:20 "Personal Shopper" 36:20 "A Fish Called Wanda" We hope you enjoy. Let us know what you think @griersonleitch on Twitter, or griersonleitch@newrepublic.com. (We're doing a mailbag show after the new year, so send us questions.) As always, give us a review on iTunes with the name of a movie you'd like us to review, and we'll discuss it on a later podcast. Opening Song: "King Kong," The Kinks Closing Song: "Wicked Wanda," Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks

We've all settled down from the Oscars and are back into the grind of regular releases, and we've had two universally beloved in two weeks: Last week's "Get Out" and this week's "Logan." But maybe we shouldn't consider it that universally beloved, because, well, we're the low men on the totem pole for "Logan." Listen to us explain why. Then, in our Reboot section, we look back at two well-regarded comedies of the past: 1998's "Waking Ned Devine" and 1989's "The Burbs." We also start the show off with a special announcement. It involves polyps. Timestamps: 7:30 "Logan" 28:40 "Waking Ned Devine" 40:25 "The 'Burbs" We hope you enjoy. Let us know what you think @griersonleitch on Twitter, or griersonleitch@newrepublic.com. (We're doing a mailbag show after the new year, so send us questions.) As always, give us a review on iTunes with the name of a movie you'd like us to review, and we'll discuss it on a later podcast. Opening Song: "I Wipe My Ass With Wolverine Fur," The Dead Schembechlers Closing Song: "Let Me Clear My Throat," DJ Kool We miss Grierson already!

So ... those Oscars sure were something! We recap the 2017 Oscars, including the crazy-pants, WHAT? moment in which "La La Land" was briefly and erroneously awarded the Best Picture Oscar before it was rightly given to "Moonlight." For all the Monday morning quarterbacking, though, we find that the moment isn't just a WTF one ... it was actually downright inspiration. Jordan Horowitz for President. The Oscars did not stop us from our regular appointed rounds, though, and we dug into the big new release of the weekend, "Get Out," the Jordan Peele horror-comedy. Then, in our Reboot section, we got very dark: 1995's "Se7en" and 1978's "The Deer Hunter." Neither will make you feel positive about humanity. But hopefully this podcast will! Timestamps: 0:15 The Oscar Moment That Will Never Be Forgotten 26:28 "Get Out" 47:10 "Se7en" 1:09:35 "The Deer Hunter" We hope you enjoy. Let us know what you think @griersonleitch on Twitter, or griersonleitch@newrepublic.com. (We're doing a mailbag show after the new year, so send us questions.) As always, give us a review on iTunes with the name of a movie you'd like us to review, and we'll discuss it on a later podcast. Opening Song: "Everybody Makes a Mistake," Marvin Gaye Closing Song: "Russian Roulette," Rhianna We apologize for some minor audio issues on this one. It's nothing major, but we're cleaning it up for the next show.

The Oscars are less than a week away, and if you want to win your office Oscar pool, we have you covered. We go through every category and predict winners, and then argue who SHOULD have won. We don't even require a commission. OK, only a small one. Then we dig into the Chinese production "The Great Wall," in which Matt Damon has insane hair and there are dragons, sort of. Then, in our Reboot segment, we unpack all that 1984's "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" has to offer us in the year 2017. Timestamps: 4:32 Oscar Preview 39:55 "The Great Wall" 53:15 "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" We hope you enjoy. Let us know what you think @griersonleitch on Twitter, or griersonleitch@newrepublic.com. (We're doing a mailbag show after the new year, so send us questions.) As always, give us a review on iTunes with the name of a movie you'd like us to review, and we'll discuss it on a later podcast. Opening Music: "City of Stars," Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone Closing Music: "Luke Skywalker and Indiana Jones," Phil Pritchett

After a meager first month of the movie release calendar, we finally have a full slate of three new releases this week. Sure, all three of them are sequels, but new movies are new movies: At least we don't have to pretend to care about "The Bye Bye Man." So! New movies! First, we discuss "The LEGO Batman Movie," technically a spinoff of the most popular character from "The LEGO Movie" and, oh yeah, one of the most popular characters in all of American popular culture. Then we dig into Keanu Reeves' blast of an action franchise, "John Wick Chapter Two." And then we slap on our handcuffs and blindfolds for "Fifty Shades Darker." There are so many new releases we didn't even have time for our Reboot section. It'll be back next week. Timestamps: 2:35 "The LEGO Batman Movie" 18:05 "John Wick Chapter Two" 32:10 "Fifty Shades Darker" We hope you enjoy. Let us know what you think @griersonleitch on Twitter, or griersonleitch@newrepublic.com. (We're doing a mailbag show after the new year, so send us questions.) As always, give us a review on iTunes with the name of a movie you'd like us to review, and we'll discuss it on a later podcast. Opening Song: "Batman," Mark Mothersbaugh Closing Song: "Pretty Tied Up (The Perils of Rock & Roll Decadence)," Guns N' Roses

There are no major releases this week -- sorry, "The Comedian" and "Rings" -- so we decided on a special show. Inspired by an email from a reader asking why our show had taken on more a political tone of late, we are steering into the curve, talking about movies that particularly inform our understanding of this specific political moment. Tim's picks: "Singin' in the Rain," "JFK" and "Dogville." Will's picks: "The Siege," "Being There" and "Death Proof." Find out why. Then, in our Reboot section, we discuss Tony Gilroy's 2007 dark thriller "Michael Clayton" and last year's Sundance hit "Other People." Timestamps: 8:20 "Singin' in the Rain" 12:00 "The Siege" 16:50 "JFK" 23:00 "Being There" 29:00 "Dogville" 34:25 "Death Proof" 40:55 "Michael Clayton" 57:00 "Other People" We hope you enjoy. Let us know what you think @griersonleitch on Twitter, or griersonleitch@newrepublic.com. (We're doing a mailbag show after the new year, so send us questions.) As always, give us a review on iTunes with the name of a movie you'd like us to review, and we'll discuss it on a later podcast. Opening Song: "Can't You Tell," Aimee Mann Closing Song: "Chick Habit," April March

America may be in turmoil and chaos, but there's one thing you can always count on: Beautiful actors trying to make themselves look ugly on screen. Thus, this week, we discuss Matthew McConaughey's "Gold," in which Wooderson is bald and has a gut. Good for him. Then, in our reboot section, we dig into Christopher Nolan's breakthrough "Memento," a movie that is obsessively rewatchable. Also, in our quest to find a 1980s comedy that hasn't aged terribly, we give 1983's "Trading Places" a shot. We'll say this: It's better than "Fletch." We also wrap up Grierson's experiences at Sundance 2017. Timestamps: 12:39 "Gold" 25:30 "Memento" 41:10 "Trading Places" We hope you enjoy. Let us know what you think @griersonleitch on Twitter, or griersonleitch@newrepublic.com. (We're doing a mailbag show after the new year, so send us questions.) As always, give us a review on iTunes with the name of a movie you'd like us to review, and we'll discuss it on a later podcast.

The surprise twist ending of this podcast is that there is no twist ending: It turns out everything happened in Philadelphia and there was some sort of supernatural element and M. Night Shyamalan makes a cameo. Yep, this week, Tim and Will discuss Shayamalan's "Split," which is probably his best movie in 15 years and, undeniably, his first big hit in a while. Then Grierson talks about his time in Sundance so far. It is sort of cold. Then, in our Reboot section, we head all the way back to 1949 to discuss Carol Reed's "The Third Man." Don't be melodramatic. Look down there. Tell us: Would you really feel any pity if one of those dots stopped moving forever? (Orson Welles rules.) Timestamps: 5:34 Sundance 2017 Update 13:50 "Split" 33:50 "The Third Man" We hope you enjoy. Let us know what you think @griersonleitch on Twitter, or griersonleitch@newrepublic.com. (We're doing a mailbag show after the new year, so send us questions.) As always, give us a review on iTunes with the name of a movie you'd like us to review, and we'll discuss it on a later podcast. Also, when he's in Sundance, Grierson cries every time he sees a pair of skis.