Runtime

91 Minutes

Show Contents

0:00 Introduction

3:23 Know Your Enemy with guest, Courtney Small

25:18 The New Slang: NIRVANNA: THE BAND, THE SHOW, THE MOVIE

1:10:25 The Other Side: Courtney and Ryan talk further reading after Matthew Johnson’s new film

Links Mentioned on Episode 365:

Episode 245 where Courtney and I discuss THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7

Courtneys review of Miroirs no. 3 on Exclaim!

The Brave Shores song that features in NTBTSTM:

Courtney’s Twitter can be found here. 

The Matinee’s BlueSky can be found here and Letterboxd can be found here. Comments and feedback are welcome and thank you very much for listening. 

Enjoy!

Runtime

91 Minutes

Show Contents

0:00 Introduction

4:14 Know Your Enemy with guest, Heidy Morales

21:59 The New Slang: THE BRIDE!

1:07:50 The Other Side: Heidy and Ryan talk further reading after Maggie Gyllenhaal’s new film

Links Mentioned on Episode 364:

The show notes for Episode 242 where I wrote about not wanting to get drawn into a fleeting cinematic argument.

Episode 287 where we discuss CRIMES OF THE FUTURE

The visual of The Creature from The Black Lagoon swimming beneath Julie Adams, unawares

Mallory O’Meara’s book on the flim, “The Lady from The Black Lagoon”

MILENNIUM MAMBO’s listing on Letterboxd – the banner image is one Heidy found affecting.

Episode 363 where we discuss “WUTHERING HEIGHTS”

Gyllenhaal, Buckley, and Bale discuss with Letterboxd the films that inspired THE BRIDE! in the screening room.

Episode 197 where we discuss A QUIET PLACE (and Lola mentions “Bartleby the Scrivner” at some point)

“Bartleby the Scrivner” by Herman Melville

Maureen O’Hara’s monologue at the end of DANCE GIRL DANCE

Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival

Heidy’s writing on Oscar nominated short, THE GIRL WHO CRIED PEARLS

Heidy can be followed at:

TikTok :: BlueSky :: Letterboxd :: YouTube :: Instagram

The Matinee’s BlueSky can be found here and Letterboxd can be found here. Comments and feedback are welcome and thank you very much for listening. 

Enjoy!

Runtime

91 Minutes

Show Contents

0:00 Introduction

3:02 Know Your Enemy with guest, Ruby Dhillon

23:27 The New Slang: “WUTHERING HEIGHTS”

1:03:02 The Other Side: Ruby and Ryan talk further reading after Emerald Fennell’s new film

Links Mentioned on Episode 363:

Episode 201 where we review HEREDITARY

A photo from my 2017 audience with Boy George and Culture Club:

The Aretha Franklin gowns meme:

Episode 253 where Ruby and I review PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN

Tina Fey on Las Cultaristas podcast talking about the third act of SALTBURN (and how Bowen Yang can no longer criticize other artists work) :

Cineplex’s “Bitter Heartbreak” cocktail – it’s a little hard to tell, but that snifter is the size of a fishbowl:

“Local God” by Everclear – on the ROMEO + JULIET soundtrack and once the theme song to this podcast:

Episode 280 where we talked about CYRANO

Episode 355 where we talked about FRANKENSTEIN

The Stacks podcast episode 396 where the book club pick for the October 2025 was Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein”

The Matinee’s BlueSky can be found here and Letterboxd can be found here. Comments and feedback are welcome and thank you very much for listening. 

Enjoy!

Runtime

69 minutes

Show Contents

0:00 Introduction with guest Simon Columb

3:12 The New Slang – 28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE

56:19 The Other Side: Simon and Ryan talk further reading after Nia DaCosta new film

Links Mentioned on Episode 358:

Episode 350 where Simon and I discussed 28 YEARS LATER

Episode 203 where Rachel West and I discussed LEAVE NO TRACE

Simon’s Letterboxd can be found here. The Matinee’s BlueSky can be found here and Letterboxd can be found here. Comments and feedback are welcome and thank you very much for listening. 

Enjoy!

Runtime

125 minutes

Up for Discussion

1. Introduction and welcome guest Marya E. Gates. (0:00)
2. Rundown of the nominees for adapted and original screenplay (2:33)
3. Rundown of the nominees for Supporting Actress, Supporting Actor, Actress, and Actor (22:30)
4. Rundown of the nominees for Best Direction and Best Picture (1:14:20)
5. Omissions, trends, and predictions (1:37:21)

Links from the show:

Richard Brody’s New Yorker reaction to this year’s Oscar class

Marya’s writing on Roger Ebert

Marya’s 2024 interview with Ethan Hawke

Marya’s Letterboxd review of Marty Supreme

Matineecast 357 where we review Wicked: For Good

Marya’s writing on Letterboxd – and likewise, her Letterboxd Reviews

Marya’s book – Cinema Her Way

Thanks for tuning in.

Marya’s Bluesky feed can be found here. Comments and feedback are welcome, and thank-you very much for listening.

Enjoy!

Runtime

72 minutes

Show Contents

0:00 Introduction with guest Jamie Dew

4:37 The New Slang – COUNTING CROWS: HAVE YOU SEEN ME LATELY?

52:18 The Other Side: Jamie and Ryan talk further reading after Amy Scott’s new film

Links Mentioned on Episode 358:

Steve Hyden’s writing on Counting Crows

The Paul Dano headphone gif from LOVE & MERCY

Jamie’s Letterboxd can be found here. The Matinee’s BlueSky can be found here and Letterboxd can be found here. Comments and feedback are welcome and thank you very much for listening. 

Enjoy!

Up for Discussion

1. Introduction with Hillary Butler and Bob Turnbull
2. THE FIVES (3:02)
3. THE FOURS (15:49)
4. THE THREES (35:49)
5. THE TWOS (1:06:18)
6. THE ONES (1:31:20)
7. HONOURABLE MENTIONS (1:40:39)

Links from The Show:

Hillary’s review of SORRY, BABY from Sundance 2025

The Doctor Manhattan meme:

The “This is Fine” meme:

Matineecast 355 where Jo Ryan and I talk about FRANKENSTEIN

Jonny Greenwood’s original score for ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER ( Apple / Spotify )

Matineecast 353 where Corey Atad and I talk about ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER

Hillary’s Bluesky feed can be found here. Bob’s Bluesky feed can be found here.You can subscribe to the Matineecast via iTunes or RSS

Comments and feedback are welcome, and thank-you very much for listening and all the best for the new year!

Enjoy!

Runtime

77 minutes

Show Contents

0:00 Introduction with guest Jim Laczkowski

4:38 The New Slang: HAMNET

58:28 The Other Side: Jim and Ryan talk further reading after Chloé Zhao’s new film

Links Mentioned on Episode 358:

Sound Opinions podcast

The Chloé Zhao tee I was wearing recording this episode from Girls on Tops

Jim’s Letterboxd can be found here. The Matinee’s BlueSky can be found here and Letterboxd can be found here. Comments and feedback are welcome and thank you very much for listening. 

Enjoy!

Runtime

61 minutes

Show Contents

0:00 Introduction with guest Hillary Butler

2:36 The New Slang: WICKED: FOR GOOD

43:01 The Other Side: Hillary and Ryan talk further reading after Jon M. Chu’s new film

Links Mentioned on Episode 356:

Matineecast 357 where Hillary and I discussed WICKED: PART ONE

Hillary’s review of SENTIMENTAL VALUE

Hillary’s BlueSky can be found here and Letterboxd can be found here. The Matinee’s BlueSky can be found here and Letterboxd can be found here. Comments and feedback are welcome and thank you very much for listening. 

Enjoy!

Runtime

76 minutes

Show Contents

0:00 Introduction

2:49 Know Your Enemy with guest Sharon Gissy

20:06 The New Slang: DIE MY LOVE

59:18 The Other Side: Sharon and Ryan talk further reading after Lynne Ramsay new film

Links Mentioned on Episode 356:

The Director’s Club Podcast, where Sharon features on the B-Side Me Series

The Mental Filmness festival that Sharon curates

Trailer for Let’s Scare Jessica to Death:

The Matinee’s BlueSky can be found here and Letterboxd can be found here. Comments and feedback are welcome and thank you very much for listening. 

Enjoy!

Runtime

64 minutes

Show Contents

0:00 Introduction with guest Jo Ryan

4:07 The New Slang: FRANKENSTEIN

The Matinee’s BlueSky can be found here and Letterboxd can be found here. Comments and feedback are welcome and thank you very much for listening. 

Enjoy!

Runtime

74 minutes

Show Contents

0:00 Introduction

3:11 Know Your Enemy with guest, Vanya Garraway

19:05 The New Slang: THE SMASHING MACHINE

57:58 The Other Side: Vanya and Ryan talk further reading after Benny Safdie’s new film

Links Mentioned on Episode 354:

Vanya’s previous appearances on Episode 328 and Episode 314

Episode 353 where we discuss ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER

Episode 306 where we discuss HEAT

Heidi Gardner as Angel, The Girlfriend in Every Boxing Movie Ever:

Episode 224 where we discuss RAGING BULL

The Paid in Sweat teaser for RAGING BULL:

Vanya’s Twitter can be found here. The Matinee’s BlueSky can be found here and Letterboxd can be found here. Comments and feedback are welcome and thank you very much for listening. 

Enjoy!

Runtime

84 minutes

Show Contents

0:00 Introduction with guest Corey Atad

1:55 The New Slang: ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER

1:05:22 The Other Side: Corey and Ryan talk further reading after Paul Thomas Anderson’s new film

Links Mentioned on Episode 353:

My Blindspot Series post on THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS

Matineecast 306 where we reviewed Michael Mann’s HEAT

coreyatad.com – Corey’s home for all his writing.

justatad.xyz – Corey’s newsletter

A few written pieces by yours truly from TIFF 2025

Corey’s BlueSky can be found here. The Matinee’s BlueSky can be found here and Letterboxd can be found here. Comments and feedback are welcome and thank you very much for listening. 

Enjoy!

THE TESTAMENT OF ANN LEE is a grand retelling of an almost forgotten piece of history. Equal parts Arthur Miller and Busby Berkeley, it features music you could imagine Kate Bush singing and a script that feels like a Bronte sister wrote it.

(Take your pick on which Bronte)

Directed by Mona Fastvold, the film tells the story of Ann Lee (Amanda Seyfried), founder of the Shaker movement – a society of Christian believers looking to build a more equitable and utopian society. The film follows the religion’s beginnings in 1700’s Manchester, and its voyage to America just before The Revolutionary War.

Sermons become elaborate pageants, hymns become musical numbers, ecstatic worship becomes elaborate choreography.

Fastvold’s direction in this film is a masterclass in cinema. The chiaroscuro images of testimonies she captures should be hanging in The Louvre – and each sequence reminds the viewer of the way Gene Kelly used to choreograph camera movements to capture the intricate choreography being staged.

All of this is helped in no small part by Seyfried, who speaks, sings, and screams with her whole self – doing her character proud by seemingly channeling a higher power and daring the audience to look away. She starts with a single sentence, one gentle lyric, one beat of her chest…and before you know it, the gathered faithful around her are filling the screen with a cacophony spirals, bounces, and chants.

She’s one half faith healer, one half rock star.

The voices are intense, the footsteps are heavy, the rooms are dark, the clothing is threadbare. THE TESTAMENT OF ANN LEE is a grand movie in every way – from the smallest prison cell to the vastest New England river valley. It paints a sad story of faith and flesh with bold strokes and makes you wonder why this volume of history is seldom pulled from the shelf.

A tragic swirl of sex and faith, THE TESTAMENT OF ANN LEE is a master class in filmmaking in every regard.

The band takes the stage at the crowded club and the song begins. As the camera sweeps through the crowd, we see a bright twenty-something woman scribbling notes. When asked what she’s doing she responds “I’m a rock critic!”.

Her proud smile could light up the stage.

This is Grace, and Chandler Levack’s MILE END KICKS is her story.

The film follows Grace (Barbie Ferreira) to Montreal for the summer of 2011. She is there in search of the ideal writing conditions to complete a book she has pitched, and generally soak-in a change of scenery. It’s here that she will be introduced to the band Bone Patrol (yes, really). The band’s lead singer and lead guitarist will both have a profound effect on Grace’s plans – both for the better and for worse.

To spend this summer with Grace is to watch her try to untangle the ropes of her life while simultaneously tying the knots tighter.

It’s a season littered with millennial callbacks, cheap beer, great music, and bad decisions. It will bring Grace deep connections, terrible lyrics, squandered chances, and hard lessons. At times it can be hard to watch, but when we take a moment we remember that it must be that much harder to live through. As such, we happily sit next to our heroine outside of a loft party and share a smoke while she laments her latest mistake.

We sit next to her because we too have met the same shitty people she’s meeting; the people who will abuse her, the people who will mindfuck her (sometimes both). They will take, when what Grace really needs is just a little bit of giving. So we will give by bearing witness and quietly listening.

Late in the game, Grace paints a picture of people standing in a semicircle – I dare not try to paraphrase it here.

It’s a beautiful piece of writing that encapsulates imposter syndrome, gatekeeping, and so many other feelings of being excluded. In this moment she is speaking for herself, but also for so many other people (usually women) who have wanted to be seen and heard.

MILE END KICKS is about opening up that semicircle and creating a more complete loop. It wants us to listen a little longer to the quieter people in the conversation …and maybe gain a little perspective along the way.

This one is for those who forget lyrics and get titles wrong – owning these moments as honest feelings and clumsy lessons that ultimately make life more complete.

True intimacy is a rarity in film.

This may be a biproduct of the types of stories that dominate the medium, or possibly even a challenge of the physical scale of the artform itself. To happen upon a film that glows with closeness and warmth is challenging.

Perhaps thats what makes finding intimacy in a film feel like a such a turn of fortune – akin to finding a lucky coin on the sidewalk.

To that end, JULIAN is just such a lucky coin – and we have found it heads-up.

Based on a true story, JULIAN is the tale of Fleur (Nina Meurisse) and Julian (Laurance Roothooft). These women are hit hard by the thunderbolt and fall fast in love in the mid 2010’s. They quickly want to marry, actually hoping to strike out to the 22 nations where gay marriage has been legalized and get married in every one of them. It is a project geared at raising the profile of human rights, and making a bold statement about just how few parts of the world legitimize living so openly.

Midway through the adventure, Julian gets very sick, and their lives become about managing and tending to her health.

JULIAN is a tender film by first-time filmmaker, Cato Kusters. It’s about two people boldly moving through a world that is still very much uncomfortable with their very being. It is romantic, hopeful, heartbreaking, and beautiful in all of the ways.

The film skips forward and backward in time to paint a detailed picture the love Fleur and Julian share. It wants us to see them not only at their most celebratory and joyous, but also at their weakest and more vulnerable. It wants us to understand how each completes the other – the way the beautiful moments are shared and the hardest moments are made bearable.

To this end, it may not be a coincidence that two of the film’s most heartfelt moments are literally whispered promises. One is joyous, one is bittersweet; both are frighteningly honest.

Being so close to these women that we can hear them whisper their most closely-held feelings is the kind of gift that only film can achieve. It places us not only in the room with them at their most vulnerable, but right at the bedside…close enough to hear each sigh and taste each tear.

JULIAN was a bold life lived. It became a loving testament when Fleur documented the relationship in her book, and now it has evolved into a stunning piece of art with this film. It underlines the statement Julian and Fleur made all while being generous enough to illustrate why such statements are still needed.

It is a whispered moment of intimacy at a time where the world is consumed with yelling…and we are all better people after we hear what it whispers.

BOUCHRA is the first animated feature from directors Orian Barki and Meriem Bennani.

It’s the story of Bouchra (voiced by Bennani herself) – a queer coyote who happens to be a New York filmmaker.

Bouchra has a lot on her mind as she tries to bring her vision to life. First there’s the usual anxieties about her art not being good enough. Next, she’s in a gentle push-and-pull with her ex-partner; trying to stay friends and put the past behind them.

Most of all though, Bouchra feels a strain surrounding her relationship with her mother and how her queer identity has affected that bond. Both sides are trying to make sense of where their relationship stands and how it got there…but finding the words to say things left unsaid can be such a challenge.

We can happily report that BOUCHRA is up to the task.

Often BOUCHRA can feel like a rainy afternoon spent sinking into your smartphone – I say that as a compliment.

There is a whole world in our device: Where we go in that world can dictate our mood from moment to moment. There are memories, distractions, cherished pieces of information, and mindless frivolities. Sinking into it can connect us to other people, or isolate us deeply.

This movie knows these sensations well and puts it into the characters eyes and voices, the rooms they stand in, and the world outside the windows. Some of it is complex, some of it is sweetly simple; all of it is beautiful.

To hear BOUCHRA tell it, sometimes art is the therapy we didn’t do.

The therapy would probably be cheaper and more time-efficient, but then we wouldn’t have both the beauty of a new story and the the collective understanding that makes us feel less alone. This is the core of BOUCHRA – a film where the settings, languages, identities, and very characters themselves could be anywhere and anyone.

If a talking coyote can work out her mommy issues, maybe there’s hope for the rest of us!

Oscar Wilde said that the truth is rarely pure, and never simple. People have a way of bending the truth to serve their own needs, and indeed – those needs aren’t always simple.

The latest film by Haifaa Al Mansour illustrates all of this in stunning and deeply satisfying manner.

UNIDENTIFIED is the story of Nawal (Mila Alzahrani) – a divorced woman restarting her life after her infant child died, and working as a hired hand in the police department digitizing case files. This is when a case comes in about an unidentified teenage girl left for dead out in the desert, and Nawal is brought on to the case as a fresh pair of eyes.

While motive is everything when it comes to a murder case, this killing comes with more baggage. Why has no one reported the girl missing? Why has no one come to claim her body?

Nawal sets out to find the truth – and maybe in so doing, the truth behind the truth.

Watching Nawal investigate this case, we look at the world as she does. We see details that the men who usually look into such matters might miss – like the tailoring of a school uniform, = knowing where a girl might get such things done and why. These details coupled with Nawal’s enjoyment of a true crime podcast that doubles as makeup tutorials give her an unexpected advantage.

It steers her both towards who this unidentified girl is and also who might – or might not – be looking for her.

When it comes to UNIDENTIFIED, Oscar Wilde is half right; The truth isn’t pure, but it is very simple.

There are only a handful of reasons why people do what they do, and that is very much the case in this film. The key is being able to spot the simplicity when it’s surrounded by so much complexity.

After all, as the saying goes – things can often hide in plain sight.

Runtime

81 minutes

Show Contents

0:00 Introduction with guest Brian J Roan

3:25 The New Slang: EDDINGTON

33:41 Spoiler Section

60:55 The Other Side: Brian and Ryan talk further reading after Ari Aster’s new film

Links Mentioned on Episode 352:

Brian’s splendid hooch parlour, Schmidt Spirits

Episode 305 where we reviewed BEAU IS AFRAID

The theatrical trailer for EDDINGTON:

Episode 292 where we reviewed DON’T WORRY DARLING

Film Stage Podcast episode 484 where they reviewed DON’T WORRY DARLING

Brian’s reaction to the safe blasphemy of CONCLAVE

The Matinee’s BlueSky can be found here and Letterboxd can be found here. Comments and feedback are welcome and thank you very much for listening. 

Enjoy!

Runtime

84 minutes

Show Contents

0:00 Introduction

1:46 Know Your Enemy with guest Britany A. Murphy

21:15 The New Slang: SUPERMAN

54:05 Spoiler Section

69:30 The Other Side: Britany and Ryan talk further reading after James Gunn’s new film

Links Mentioned on Episode 343:

The kitchen scene in THE IRON GANT

Muses of Media Twitter can be found here. The Matinee’s BlueSky can be found here and Letterboxd can be found here. Comments and feedback are welcome and thank you very much for listening. 

Enjoy!