The Playlist Podcast Network

Joe and Erik champion two small releases hit this week: Birds of Passage and Donnybrook.

Joe and Erik discuss two new movies that show the dexterity of modern horror in Piercing and Velvet Buzzsaw.

The best way to avoid Gene Hackman screaming at you is to listen to Chance Solem-Pfeifer and Noah Ballard celebrate the all-time great actor's 89th birthday on a new Be Reel. This week, they analyze three of his most memorable antagonists in "Superman: The Movie" (1978), "Unforgiven" (1992) and "The Firm" (1993), and then spotlight some favorites from deeper in Hackman's 50-year career. Be Reel is part of The Playlist Podcast Network and is brought to you by California College of the Arts and Converse College's Low-Residency MFA.

While the future of Marvel Netflix's The Punisher remains to be seen, that hasn't stopped showrunner Steve Lightfoot from staying optimistic about continuing the journey of Frank Castle. Lightfoot is currently the showrunner of The Punisher, which is now entering its second season, and also has made notable contributions as a writer and producer on NBC's Hannibal and Netflix's Narcos. I recently spoke with Lightfoot about Season 2 of The Punisher in which he gave some insight into the direction the team would want to take Frank next season and when asked if a Season 3 was happening Lightfoot said the following, "I'd love to do it. I'll do this show as long as people ask me to. Beyond that, I don't know." The Punisher Season 2 finds Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal) on a journey of self-discovery as he comes to terms with taking on the mantle of The Punisher while cleaning up the aftermath his actions caused in Season 1. After saving a girl (Giorgia Whigham) who’s being hunted down by a religious assassin, Frank transitions from being a man haunted by grief, hell-bent on revenge, to a vigilante with a code. During our conversation, we not only discussed the possibility of a third season, but Frank's transformation as a character, Lightfoot's inspiration for some of his favorite action set pieces, and which villains he'd like to integrate into the show next to which the showrunner responded, "I’ve always loved Barracuda. I’d love to find a place to play with that character because I think he’s just a force of nature and funny. Just simply, because I’m such a fan of the actor, it’d be great to tangle with the Kingpin…the idea of pitting Jon against Vincent D’Onofrio for a season would wildly excite me." Vincent D'Onofrio's Kingpin vs. Bernthal's Punisher? Here's hoping Marvel and Netflix keep The Punisher alive for the possibility of showdown alone.

On a new BE REEL, Chance and Noah try to make sense of M. Night Shyamalan's Eastrail 177 trilogy beginning with 2000's "Unbreakable," picking up steam with 2017's "Split," and culminating in the new ostensibly thoughtful comic-book riff "Glass." Spoilers abound, obviously. And Guardian contributor Zach Vasquez joins the show to discuss his new essay: "Shattered Glass: why we need to stop deconstructing our superheroes."

Ryan and Managing Editor Charles Barfield dive into the aftermath of the 2018 Fall/Winter moviegoing season at the box office, discuss what trends have emerged, who was successful, and who bit the dust.

On this episode of Be Reel, Noah Ballard and Chance Solem-Pfeifer look for a way through the newly released "Escape Room" and discuss two of its thrilling enclosed-space predecessors in 2002's "Panic Room" and the 1954 classic "Rear Window.”

Indie Beat - Patrick Wang by The Playlist

Joe and Erik dig into their favorite films and cinematic moments of the year, listing their top 10s and also digging in more depth to review the glorious new film If Beale Street Could Talk.

Ryan, Editor-in-Chief Rodrigo Perez, and Managing Editor Charles Barfield rundown The Playlist's collective picks for the Best Breakthrough Directors of 2018.