Still walking? Still talking? A more appropriate question might be still conscious? We have varying responses to this week’s feature film Still Walking by auteur Hirokazu Kore-eda. But before we slip into that sleeping bag, John gets rather malevolent about Malignant, Max lets the listener decide the quality of his watches, and Hunter details the last notable film of an Italian horror master. Stay tuned (and awake!) for Max’s quality Stanpick, John’s sketchy Dream Stream and a Bleak of the...

You think you've had a rough day? Okay, you probably have, but Bob Hoskins is about to take you on a 24 hour crash course in crisis management in John Mackenzie's 1980 crime-drama The Long Good Friday. Before that, we delve into what we've recently watched, including a discussion on just how often a remake supersedes the original. Hint: it ain't that frequent. We reach the end of an era with one (or is it two?) of Max's final Stanpicks before a new star enters his radar. John's Dream Stream...

This week we explore the dark depths of Dragonwyck, directed by Joseph Mankiewicz in 1946, with our first guest on the show! Daniel Epler from The Cobwebs podcast joins us for a so-so journey into drug addiction (signs include a few days worth of stubble), oleander poisoning, and a rare Gene Tierney miscasting. Max shares his second Tierney of 2022 pick, John sends us on a trippy journey with his Dream Stream, and Hunter graces us with the horrors of nuclear war in his Bleak of the Week. Join...

This week, we join along with Sophia Loren as she attempts to track down her husband, Marcello Mastroianni, in post-war Russia. We also learn the darker meaning behind the titular sunflowers. Max wraps up his Stanpicks with a real stinker (starring *the* Ronald Reagan), John sends us on a mind-bending suspenseful yacht trip with his Dream Stream, and Hunter warns us about the hotel guests you accept in his Bleak of the Week. Join us again next week as we travel to the halls of Dragonwyck,...

We're diving back into another interesting directorial debut from 1990. This week, we're talking about The Juniper Tree, directed by Nietzchka Keene, starring one of the great artists of our time, Bjork. It's not an easy movie to discuss at length, so this episode won't overstay its welcome. We also hear John talk about his recent experience with a bleak of the week that Hunter talked about last week. Max has a great Stanpick, John recommends an 80s cult classic for a free dream stream, and...

This week, we've got a bit of a head-scratcher. An exploding frog, a child who never had the innocence to lose, and a man who dreams of sleeping with goats are just a handful of interesting aspects of Phillip Ridley's feature-length debut film, The Reflecting Skin. We also talk about what we've been watching recently; Max has a Stanpick of the week, John provides a free Dream Stream, and Hunter has a Bleak of the Week that is NOT for children. Tune in next week for our review of The Juniper...

In this week’s episode, we're talking bank robberies and how difficult it is to stay out of prison. Join us on a wild chase across Texas as we review 2016's "Hell or High Water", directed by David Mackenzie and starring Chris Pine and Ben Foster as two brothers trying to save their family's estate through some questionable means, all while being tracked down by Jeff Bridges. We also discuss our most recently watched and as always you won't want to miss our bonus segments: Max's Stanpick of...

In this week’s episode, we talk about big news, little news, and all the dog-biting news in between. That’s right, read (well, listen) all about it as we cover Billy Wilder’s 1951 film “Ace in the Hole”, starring an ever-magnetic Kirk Douglas as a journalist who will stop at nothing to get his career back. We also discuss our most recently watched, as well as a few more of our best first-time watches in 2021. Apologies as well to Spike Lee in this episode, we’re huge fans of his work, not so...

Before Harrison Ford led us on a wild ride  in "The Fugitive" there was the completely unrelated journey of a little kid in NYC "Little Fugitive" (1953). Before "L'Atalante" (1934) maybe there wasn't a whole lot going on cinematically. With sound anyway. Nonetheless, these are John's two favorite first time watches of the year. Across this episode we'll traverse the celluloid timeline from (Jean)Vigo to Viggo (Mortensen), discuss what we've watched recently (quite a lot actually), gaze into...

Don't listen to Hunter, this is not episode eight. This is episode nine. This week, we talk about some of our most anticipated releases of 2022, what we've been watching recently, and then we review two of Hunter's favorite discoveries of the year. First, we learn how to pronounce Andrzej Wajda before we review his masterpiece, Kanal. In our second review, we continue to struggle with pronunciations of the names of the cast and crew of the legendary samurai film, The Sword of Doom. These are...

We're finally back with a brand new, essential, must-listen episode! We talk about what we've been watching recently, Max gives his Stanpick of the week, and John has a stellar free stream recommendation. In the main event, we each count down our top five crime film discoveries of the year. There's some crossover but a number of great titles are discussed. Hope you enjoy it! You can follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/semi_cinematic Facebook:...

Neo-noirs, the modern noir, are they sometimes an improvement on the original genre or do they fall flat in comparison? We delve into this with this week’s watches. We start off with Carl Franklin’s Devil in a Blue Dress (1995), a Denzel Washington gem with a stellar performance from an unhinged Don Cheadle. Then we try to stay cool in seedy, sweaty Florida in Lawrence Kasdan’s Body Heat (1981).  We'll chat about what we've been watching recently, and Max gives us his Stanpick of the week....

Noir or not noir, that's this week's question. Or is it? Pack your bags and your best trench coat; we're heading to Europe for an Italian and a French foray into the genre. We'll begin with Mario Monicelli's Big Deal on Madonna Street (1958), which encompasses a variety of genres (is noir one of them?) and then sink deep into the French underworld in Jean-Pierre Melville's Le Doulos (1962).  We'll chat about what we've been watching recently, and Max gives us his Stanpick of the week. John...

After a month of terror and senseless violence, we're excited to talk about one of the most beloved film genres. We're celebrating Noirvember all month long, and this week we review two classics: Max Ophuls The Reckless Moment (1949) and Robert Wise's Odds Against Tomorrow (1959).  We talk about what we've been watching recently, and Max gives us his Stanpick of the week. There's also an extended conversation on how taste in movies changes over the years and the complexity of giving star...

Mercifully, October is coming to an end, and we're all excited about taking a break from horror movies. In today's episode, each of us counts down our top five first-time horror movie watches from this month. From timeless classics to 90s remakes, it's a great discussion on a variety of films.  You can follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/semi_cinematic Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/semicinematicpod Semi Cinematic on Letterboxd:...

Are you a fan of gross-looking space horror and nervous Chris Kattan performances? Then you’re in the right place. Join us for the third episode of the Semi-Cinematic podcast as we wrap up our October journey into the highest and lowest caliber films of the horror genre. After John’s slug-centric selections in episode 2, Max reveals his campy picks for one of the (arguably) lowest caliber eras of horror, the 90s. We review his first time watch, William Malone’s House on Haunted Hill (1999)...

We're back baby! It's time for the second episode of the Semi-Cinematic podcast. Today's episode continues our October foray into the high-test and potentially lowest caliber films of the horror genre. After Hunter's classic horror anthology selections in episode 1, this episode John takes us to a wild and scary place indeed, the 1980's. We review his first time watch, Jack Sholder's The Hidden (1987) and his pick to rewatch, Fred Dekker's Night of the Creeps. As always, we'll first discuss...

Welcome to the first episode of the Semi-Cinematic podcast. In today's episode, we let listeners know what to expect from the show, and each host talks about their taste in movies. We also talk about what we've been watching recently before moving into our main reviews. We're dedicating all of our October episodes to high and low-caliber films in the horror genre. This week, we review two classic horror anthologies. Roger Corman's Tales of Terror and the Amicus produced Tales from the...