If you’re a movie lover, you no doubt have a love affair with all manner of visual medium. But have you kicked it old-school with simple audio? You probably have, because podcasts are becoming more popular than ever.
Here are my Top 3 that are absolutely required listening for those of us who live and breathe movies!
There are tons of great movies (just as there are tons of great movie podcasts) and there are some truly shitty films. “We Hate Movies” talks about the worst of the worst and makes you love every minute of it. I have revisited some true master-disasters because of how much fun this podcast makes them seem. “We Hate Movies” is hosted by Andrew Jupin, Stephen Sajdak, Eric Szyszka, and Chris Cabin, all members of the comedy collective “Private Cabin” and years of film and entertainment industry experience between them.
“We Hate Movies” is the audio equivalent of passing drinks around with your friends at an intimate viewing of a bad movie. These guys are hilarious and punctuate legitimate film criticism with their own goofy sense of humor. The hosts share an incredible dynamic that is absolutely infectious; you’ll want so badly to hang out with these guys! Which is probably why their live shows consistently sell out. “We Hate Movies” has developed a lot of “in jokes” over time and that all lends itself to the awesome community that has sprung up around the podcast. The back-catalog is vast, so there’s hours of listening available!
Caitlin’s Favorite Episode: The episode on “Winter’s Tale” is one that I can listen to over and over again. Not only is “Winter’s Tale” just a favorite in terms of bad movies, but the guys do a number on it. Bad impressions of Russell Crowe’s bad Irish impression. The concept of Liam Neeson voicing a magical horse. This particular review is comedy gold.
This is something a little different. The podcast is hosted by David Collins, a voice actor, sound designer, and composer that has been with Skywalker Sound since the ’90s. He has spent the bulk of his professional career working with one of the most iconic scores of all time. He knows his shit. “The Soundtrack Show” is a fairly new podcast, so their archive of episodes doesn’t go very deep. But what is there is fucking awesome.
The show has covered broad concepts of soundtrack composition thus far, as well as deep dives into some of the most iconic soundtracks in both film and video games, with more to come!
What I like about “The Soundtrack Show” is that it’s a different kind of movie podcast. Shows that focus on reviews or Hollywood history and gossip are a dime a dozen. Damn entertaining, but common. “The Soundtrack Show” is equal parts film analysis and music theory. Collins discusses great film scores but he also gets into the why. Why, musically, does a score work? What little musical Easter eggs were the greats hiding in there? As a movie buff with a music background, it’s a perfect podcast sandwich that smushes these amazing soundtracks between a slice of talking movies and a slice of educating on music. The more you know about music composition, the more you get out of it, but it’s put out there in a way that is easy to learn. A more elevated option, for the discerning listener.
Caitlin’s Favorite Episode: “JAWS,” by a long shot. The most perfect score of all-time for what is practically a perfect movie. Always love a good shark discussion and the deeper analysis of how John Williams used custom character themes to direct focus was absolutely brilliant!
“Double Toasted” definitely has a home field advantage here, as they’re based in my own backyard of Austin, TX. These guys are a content-producing machine, with several podcasts covering current events, pop culture, and film reviews. They offer an extra little something, as all of their free audio can also be found in video form on their YouTube channel.
Another group of brilliantly funny guys. They’re a little more off-color, a little more adult, and a little more of the full culture spectrum, versus film-specific. It took me a while to discover them but it took no time at all to become a regular listener.
Caitlin’s Favorite Episode: “Tyler Perry’s Acrimony.” There is no one I would rather hear review this film than these guys. Side-splitting, laugh-out-loud, goddamn hilarious. There’s not much more I can say about it. Just go listen.
What are some of your favorite podcasts? How important are reviews to you, when you’re deciding what to go out and see on a weekend? Let us know in the comments below!
Featured image credit: Designed by Freepik
Caitlin is a lean, mean writing machine based in Austin, TX. Her love of film began when she was shown “Rosemary’s Baby” way too early in life. Bylines include The Financial Diet and Film Inquiry. Caitlin is a member of the Online Association of Female Film Critics and the Women Film Critics Circle.