The Filmcast

The conversation remembers Patrick Stewart’s extraordinary career before exploring films and shows including a New York pickpocket portrait, a derivative crime thriller, a divorce turned legal battlefield, and postwar Germany’s political ghosts. It closes with an enthusiastic look at Wildwood, Laika’s lavish stop-motion fantasy, from its Portland-inspired world to its brutal fairy-tale spectacle and painstaking craftsmanship.

Germain Lussier, io9’s senior entertainment reporter covering film, TV, comics, and genre culture, joins a lively discussion of AMC’s Interview with the Vampire. The panel explores its decadent style, queer and racial reinterpretations, toxic charisma, vampire ethics, immortality’s costs, unreliable memory, sumptuous music, and Claudia’s impact. BJ Colangelo also delivers a passionate defense of the series.

The panel weighs Clayface’s grotesque body horror and the case for smaller superhero films, praises The Diplomat’s political intrigue, and unpacks Wicker’s feminist fantasy romance. They also discuss Musk, Nobody Wants This, and Kung Fu Soccer before diving deep into You Can See Everything, a tense, self-aware portrait of Elizabeth Holmes that blurs documentary truth, manipulation, and psychological thriller.

Travis Knight, filmmaker, animator, producer, and Laika CEO, discusses directing Wildwood. He explores the years of artistic growth behind its creation, stop-motion’s collaborative challenges, and advances in puppets, cinematography, materials, and visual effects. Knight also examines technology’s role in filmmaking and the film’s balance of darkness, joy, and emotional honesty.

The hosts revisit Ken Russell’s uncut The Devils, a faith-and-crime story, and a revealing Norm Macdonald documentary. They also discuss Avatar’s bold mythology expansion, Carrie’s cyberbullying update, and a quirky magical-realist mystery. The main event is Street Fighter, praised for its anime-inspired style and game references while criticized for sidelined characters, too few fights, and a chaotic ending.

Reviews span Silicon Valley lawyers in Cupertino, midlife turmoil in Youth, Steinbeck’s dark East of Eden, grief and magic in Small Prophets, and Matilda the Musical. The centerpiece examines Aaron Sorkin’s journalism drama about Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen, debating its idealism, performances, free-speech battles, sexism, and the unsettling gap between exposing corporate harm and creating real change.

The discussion ranges from the exploitative makeover world of The Swan to the mythic music of Hadestown and the glorious chaos of The Play That Goes Wrong. Reviews tackle Idiots, Lanterns, and Brothers before turning to Digger, an extravagant climate satire featuring Tom Cruise, theatrical excess, elite power, artistic catharsis, and a divisive vision of societal collapse.

A twentieth-anniversary drive through Cars leads to questions about its strange car society, while Akira gets a passionate defense in 4K. The discussion also visits heartfelt teen musical drama, cynical animation, and Golden Axe satire. The main attraction is Primetime, a dark media critique featuring an unsettling Chris Hansen performance and a sharp look at televised vigilantism, exploitation, and moral compromise.

The crew weighs in on The Weight, Shaun the Sheep, Slow Horses, Neagley, and Hulu’s Furious. They explore the thrills and drawbacks of watching baseball in Apple Vision Pro, debate unruly movie theater behavior, and unpack Taskmaster’s Dungeons & Dragons energy. The centerpiece is a spoiler-filled deep dive into Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil, from inventive scares and game-inspired visuals to creature designs and sequel possibilities.

The hosts explore the sprawling, wonderfully strange world of The History of Concrete, a Cold War adventure that turns Kenneth Branagh into an action star, and the underrated comedy Colin from Accounts. They also discuss grief in Miss You, Love You and the mood-boosting brilliance of Taskmaster before diving into Hope’s creature action, alien reveal, political subtext, and divisive ending.