In the era of Peak TV, it’s become increasingly common to see filmmakers crossing over to work on the small screen. But what about when it’s the other way around? This week, Matt and Alison look at the film debuts of some famous television creators and talk about how well their approach ends up translating. It’s all inspired by their main review, of Netflix’s original movie TO THE BONE, the directorial debut of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Unreal"'s Marti Noxon.Opening Break: "Colossal"...

To think what people could accomplish, were it not for the pesky families they love! On this episode of the Filmspotting: Streaming Video Unit podcast, Matt and Alison talk ambition, sacrifice, and James Gray’s THE LOST CITY OF Z. Then, in honor of Charlie Hunnam’s career-best turn as the dashing Percy Fawcett, they recommend some other movies about explorers (of various sorts), all available to rent or stream right now.Opening Break: "A Cure For Wellness" "Kong: Skull Island" "The Last...

What do you call a fictional animal that’s adorable, intelligent, and looks like a giant pig crossed with a hippo? In the world of Bong Joon-ho’s OKJA: lunch. On this episode, Matt and Alison discuss the South Korean director’s continent-crossing, genre-defying Netflix original, and what it signals for the streaming giant’s future in movie-making. Then they recommend some other multilingual movies available to rent or stream right now.Opening Break: "Song to Song" "Certain Women" "A Quiet...

Wo, oh, what we want to know, are you willing to watch a nearly four-hour documentary about the Grateful Dead? Matt and Alison did, and talk all about it on this episode of SVU, which takes on both Amir Bar-lev’s Amazon original doc LONG STRANGE TRIP and the larger question of what makes a music doc worthwhile for audiences beyond the hardcore fans. Then they recommend some other music docs worth checking out, all available to rent or stream right now.Opening Break: "T2 Trainspotting" "Life"...

With TWIN PEAKS back on the air after 26 years, Matt and Alison start this episode of SVU by taking a look at the film with which TWIN PEAKS last left off — prequel FIRE WALK WITH ME, which was booed at Cannes back in 1992, but has since been reevaluated as a David Lynch classic. Then, in honor of the way FIRE WALK WITH ME gives the spotlight to Laura Palmer, TWIN PEAKS’ murder victim, they discuss the not-always-grand tradition of the beautiful dead girl on screen, offering examples that...

Does Hulu’s THE HANDMAID’S TALE deserve the hype it’s been getting as the most frighteningly timely series on streaming? In this episode of SVU, Matt and Alison discuss the new Margaret Atwood adaptation and how it attempts, via its visuals, to depict its horrors as experience rather than spectacle. Then, in honor of the show’s main director, cinematographer-turned-filmmaker Reed Morano, they recommend work featuring other female cinematographers, all of it available to rent or stream right...

It’s M. Night Shyamalan’s shared universe and we’re all just living in it in this episode of SVU, in which Matt and Alison debate whether SPLIT is the comeback vehicle it’s been heralded to be for the director, as well as how the movie’s late-revealed connection to another Shyamalan title changes its context. Then they offer up recommendations for some other convention-defying superhero stories on both film and television, all available to stream right now. 

On this episode of SVU, Matt and Alison consider the enchantments of Anna Biller’s retro-styled THE LOVE WITCH, in which Samantha Robinson plays a troubled witch whose romantic escapades have a tendency to turn deadly. Then, inspired by the film’s throwback color saturation, they recommend some Technicolor classics available to rent or stream at home, and discuss whether the full glory of Technicolor translates when it’s not being shown on a big screen.Opening Break: "The Salesman" "La La...

Ken Russell’s famous/infamous 1971 horror drama THE DEVILS is available to stream for the first time ever, and so on this episode of Filmspotting: Streaming Video Unit, Matt and Alison take a look at the film (available in its US cut) and discuss how its provocations hold up. Then, with minimal rending of garments and speaking in demonic voices, they offer up some other religious horror recommendations available to rent or stream right now.Opening Break: "Lion" "Queen of the Desert"...

In honor of the recent passing of Bill Paxton, on this episode of Filmspotting: Streaming Video Unit, Matt and Alison look at the career of the actor and filmmaker. In addition to offering up some favorite roles in movies available to rent or stream right now, they do a deeper dive into his 2001 directorial debut FRAILTY, in which Paxton also stars as a single dad convinced that God has chosen him to kill demons.Opening Break: "Aftermath" "Hidden Figures" "Assassin's Creed"Listener's Choice...

Grab your magnifying glasses and your fake badges — in this episode of Filmspotting: Streaming Video Unit, Matt and Alison do some sleuthing into the surprisingly sprawling genre of amateur detective movies. It’s all inspired by their main review of Macon Blair’s I DON'T FEEL AT HOME IN THIS WORLD ANYMORE, in which a lonely, decidedly non-law-enforcement-professional Melanie Lynskey teams up with Elijah Wood to figure out who robbed her house.Opening Break: "Fences" "Allied" "Mean...

In this episode of Filmspotting: Streaming Video Unit, Matt and Alison decide, once and for all, which of them is the true hootie tootie disco cutie, as they talk THE GREASY STRANGLER. Then they discuss what makes a midnight movie and offer some midnight movie recs, all available to rent or stream right now.Opening Break: "Manchester By The Sea" / "Jackie" / "Catfight"Listener's Choice Review: "The Greasy Strangler"Queue Shots: Paul DanoBehind the 8-Ball: 3 New Releases2 Listener...

Can a magical farting corpse also be a metaphor for self-acceptance? In this episode of Filmspotting: Streaming Video Unit, Matt and Alison discuss whether Swiss Army Man pulls off its attempted combination of body function humor and therapeutic messaging. Then they look at the filmography of one of its stars, Paul Dano, recommending some highlights from the 32-year-old actor's career that are available to rent or stream.Opening Break: "The Edge of Seventeen" / "Moonlight" / "The Girl With...

Fresh from Park City, and feeling anything but, Matt and Alison talk the recently concluded Sundance Film Festival on this episode of the Filmspotting: Streaming Video Unit podcast — and in particular, why the dominance of Netflix and Amazon means you'll be able to stream some of the fest's most talked-about titles very soon. They also delve into cinematographer-turned-director Kirsten Johnson's beautiful meditation on what it means to make a documentary, Cameraperson.Opening Break: "Loving"...

With no shortage of scary stuff happening on their home turf at the moment, Matt and Alison dedicate this episode of the Filmspotting: Streaming Video Unit podcast to some of the more enjoyable sort of horror, all from international sources. After discussion the Iranian UNDER THE SHADOW and its "Babadook"-like qualities, they recommend some other foreign horror available to be rented or streamed right now.Opening Break: "Trespass Against Us" / "Claire In Motion" / "Nerdland"Listener's Choice...

The Filmspotting: Streaming Video Unit podcast kicks off the new year with Matt and Alison trying to take refuge in the nostalgic vision of the past offered in Café Society — but Woody Allen doesn't make this easy. Then they take a look at some other movies featuring love triangles, all available to be streamed or rented right now.Opening Break: "American Honey" "Sully" "Operation Avalanche"Listener's Choice Review: "Café Society"Queue Shots: Films Featuring Love TrianglesBehind the 8-Ball: 3...

It’s that time of year on the Filmspotting: Streaming Video Unit podcast in which Matt and Alison come up with arbitrary categories in order to hand out nonexistent prizes to movies that will never hear about them — yes, it’s the 2016 SVUvie Awards. But first, a discussion of The Lobster, as well as that all important question of which animal we’d choose to spend the rest of our lives as.Opening Break: "Train to Busan" "Equity" "Southside With You"Listeners Choice Review: "The Lobster"The...

After a year packed with unwanted sequels and underwhelming big-budget studio movies, Matt and Alison take solace in last year’s pop-perfect CREED, then recommend some other second films from Sundance breakout directors that you can stream at home right now.Opening Break: "Demon" "Don’t Think Twice" "The Eyes of My Mother"Listeners Choice Review: "Creed"Queue Shots: What Directors of Sundance Breakout Debuts Did For Their Follow-up Film Behind the 8-Ball: 3 New Releases2 Listener...

In their first ever Chicago live appearance at the first ever Chicago Podcast Festival, Matt and Alison take the stage at Schubas Tavern to recommend some streaming films to go to for a little comfort in tough times. And witness the debut of the awe-inspiring SVUvotron 5000!Opening BreakQueue Shots: Cinematic Comfort FoodThe SVUvotron 5000Behind the 8-Ball: 3 New Releases2 Listener Recommendations1 Random Film From Netflix "My Lists"

This week on a new Filmspotting: SVU, Alison and Matt head to Los Angeles, where Nicolas Winding Refn tells a tale of the fashion industry gone mad in THE NEON DEMON. Plus with awards season almost upon us, Matt and Alison catch up with some great movies from 2016 that are already available to rent or stream at home.

Ava DuVernay may be hard at work on Disney's $100 million "A Wrinkle in Time now, but the first thing she did after directing the Oscar-nominated 2014 Selma was to quietly make 13TH, a documentary about mass incarceration and racial injustice in the U.S. that is painfully timely. This week, Matt and Alison talk about the Netflix original and about form versus content, and recommend some other nonfiction work from directors best known for their fiction films, available right now on rental and...

On the new SVU, Matt and Alison review the new Amazon Prime series FLEABAG. And since the show’s main character frequently breaks the fourth wall to talk to viewers, they’re also recommending fourth-wall-breaking movies available to rent or stream at home right now.

Matt Singer and Alison Willmore just returned from a week at the Toronto Film Festival, and they're discussing all of the highlights from LA LA LAND to MOONLIGHT. Plus, Alison and Matt break down the arthouse horror hit The Witch, which is currently available to stream on Amazon Prime.Opening Break: Goat / The ShallowsListeners Choice Review: The WitchBehind the 8-Ball: 3 New ReleasesMatt: Raiders! / The Beatles: Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years / Roman HolidayAlison: Fleabag / Nuts! /...

Matt and Alison took time out from their trip to the Toronto International Film Festival to discuss the offerings from Amazon Prime's latest Pilot Season: THE TICK, JEAN-CLAUDE VAN JOHNSON and I LOVE DICK. Plus, if you like these pilots, they have some other recommendations for films you might enjoy that are available to rent or stream right now.

With America in the midst of one of the craziest elections in recent memory, it's the perfect time to watch a political documentary and on the new episode of Filmspotting: Streaming Video Unit, Matt Singer and Alison Willmore recommend some of their favorites that are available right now on rental and streaming. And speaking of crazy elections and political documentaries, they also review the recent doc WEINER about the rise and fall (sorry) of former Congressman and New York City Mayoral...