Claire and Gavia review some highlights from the 2025 London Film Festival, ranging from big upcoming releases (the new Knives Out movie Wake Up Dead Man) to awards contenders (Chloé Zhao's Hamnet) and exciting indie titles like Kelly Reichardt's heist drama The Mastermind, and the queer BDSM romcom Pillion, starring Alexander Skarsgard.
Read MoreSteffan and Gavia review One Battle After Another, widely hailed as the best film of 2025. Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, this comedic thriller displays startlingly bold politics for a Hollywood studio release, telling a gripping story about leftist revolutionaries, racism, and the senseless brutality of American border control. Leonardo DiCaprio and Chase Infiniti star as the central father/daughter duo, opposite Sean Penn as the villain.
Read MoreClaire and Gavia review Spike Lee's new crime thriller Highest 2 Lowest, starring Denzel Washington as a music mogul who faces financial ruin after his son is kidnapped and held to ransom. Among other topics, this episode covers the film’s role as a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low, its bewilderingly terrible orchestral score, and what we can glean about Lee’s directorial voice as he nears his seventies.
Read MoreClaire and Gavia delve into David Cronenberg's fascinating erotic thriller Crash, starring James Spader as a man who develops a fetish for car crashes. Divisive and controversial when it first came out in 1996, it's now regarded as one of Cronenberg's greatest films, celebrated for its peculiar characters and unique brand of sexuality.
Read MoreSteffan and Gavia review Netflix's animated smash-hit KPop Demon Hunters, a fantasy adventure about a demon-hunting KPop girlband. Praised for its brilliant original music and stylish animation, this movie offers a well-observed tribute to KPop and its fandom. But what does its supernatural allegory actually mean?
Read MoreSteffan and Gavia review the first good Superman movie since the Christopher Reeve era, a charming action-comedy from Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn. Leaning into zany comicbook antics, this reboot makes some vague attempts at political commentary - but it’s mostly about resetting Hollywood's vision of Superman as a lovable American icon.
Read MoreSteffan and Gavia review Danny Boyle's thought-provoking sequel to the iconic post-apocalyptic thriller 28 Days Later. Combining zombie thrills with folk horror themes and social commentary about British culture, the film is structured around a coming-of-age story about a boy named Spike, who grows up in a version of England overrun by zombies.
Read MoreClaire and Gavia dig into the chaotic production process and artistic accomplishments of Werner Herzog's acclaimed 1982 historical drama Fitzcarraldo, accompanied by its fascinating making-of documentary Burden of Dreams.
Read MoreSteffan and Gavia discuss Wes Anderson's The Phoenician Scheme, a dark comedy starring Benicio del Toro as a corrupt businessman who attempts to reconnect with his estranged daughter (Mia Threapleton). Among other topics, this episode covers Wes Anderson's trademark aesthetic, his relationship with absurdism, his casting choices, and this film's religious and historical themes.
Read MoreVampire fans Claire and Gavia discuss 2025's biggest horror movie, Sinners. Directed by Ryan Coogler, this historical blockbuster explores the roots of blues music in 1930s Mississippi, starring Michael B. Jordan as a pair of identical twins who open a juke joint in their home town. Among other topics, this episode covers the film's meticulously researched historical storytelling, its imaginative use of music, and its unique vampire mythos.
Read MoreSteffan and Gavia dig into the history and artistry of the iconic folk horror movie The Wicker Man (1973), starring Edward Woodward and Christopher Lee. Among other topics, this episode explores The Wicker Man’s influence on the horror genre, its relationship with the neo-Pagan movement, and its underrated dual identity as a folk musical.
Read MoreClaire and Gavia review William Friedkin's 1980 crime thriller Cruising, starring Al Pacino as a New York cop who goes undercover in local gay bars, searching for a serial killer who targets men in the leather community. Controversial at the time, this film is now praised for its remarkable exploration of masculine identity and violence.
Read MoreSteffan and Gavia review Mickey 17, the new sci-fi comedy from filmmaker Bong Joon Ho (Parasite). Adding to his roster of “weird little guy” performances, Robert Pattinson stars as Mickey, a man who signs a grueling work contract allowing his body to be killed and resurrected again and again. Echoing Bong’s work on films like Snowpiercer and Okja, this provides the basis for a bleak yet absurd anti-capitalist satire.
Read MoreAhead of the 2025 Oscars, Claire and Gavia discuss three of this year's Best Picture nominees: The critically acclaimed romantic dramedy Anora, the blockbuster musical Wicked, and the controversial trans drama Emilia Pérez, a film whose 13 Oscar nominations arrived alongside widespread backlash.
Read MoreSteffan and Gavia discuss Brady Corbet’s historical epic The Brutalist, which stars Adrien Brody as a Hungarian-Jewish architect who emigrates to America after surviving the Holocaust. Among other topics, this episode explores the film’s ambitious technical artistry, its morally complicated historical narrative, and its role as a successor to "American Dream" dramas like The Godfather and There Will Be Blood.
Read MoreClaire and Gavia reveal their respective top 10 films of 2024, covering everything from A-list releases (Challengers) to hidden gems (Timestalker), acclaimed Oscar contenders (All We Imagine as Light) and low-budget horror (Oddity). This year's countdown includes movies from 11 countries, celebrating a truly exciting year in cinema!
Read MoreSteffan and Gavia delve into their mixed feelings toward Robert Eggers’ acclaimed new Nosferatu remake. Among other topics, this episode covers Dracula’s impact on the gothic horror genre, Eggers’ very specific style of historical storytelling, and the complicated relationship between Nosferatu’s Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård) and Ellen Hutter (Lily-Rose Depp).
Read MoreClaire and Gavia discuss the uniquely influential 1989 romcom When Harry Met Sally, written by Nora Ephron and directed by Rob Reiner. Kickstarting Meg Ryan's career as a romantic comedy icon, it follows the lives of two New Yorkers who become friends over a series of chance encounters.
Read MoreSteffan and Gavia review the 2014 crime thriller The World of Kanako, directed by acclaimed Japanese filmmaker Tetsuya Nakashima. Kōji Yakusho stars as a disgraced former cop, whose daughter Kanako goes missing. When his ex-wife asks him to find out what happened, he discovers that Kanako has been living a disturbing double life.
Read MoreClaire and Gavia discuss Gus Van Sant’s iconic queer drama My Own Private Idaho (1991), loosely based on Shakespeare’s Henriad plays. River Phoenix stars as a hustler in Portland, Oregon, who sets off on a journey in search of his long-lost mother, accompanied by best friend and fellow hustler Keanu Reeves.
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