Excuse the Intermission

Send us Fan Mail This week on Excuse the Intermission, we're catching up on everything we missed over the past few months. We break down the latest box office trends, discuss the growing dominance of franchise filmmaking, and dive into Marvel's newest casting shakeups and industry partnership news. We also revisit some of our favorite discoveries from earlier in 2026, sharing the films that surprised us, stuck with us, and are worth adding to your watchlist. It's a packed episode full of movi...

Send us Fan Mail When the throttle opens and Led Zeppelin's iconic riffs fill the theater, you know you're in for something special. F1 roars onto the screen with the perfect fusion of high-stakes racing drama and human storytelling that makes your heart race as fast as the cars themselves. Brad Pitt delivers one of his most compelling performances in years as Sonny Hayes, a former champion dragging the weight of past failures behind him like a parachute. What makes this performance remarkab...

Send us Fan Mail May 2025 marked a historic turning point for theatrical exhibition with box office numbers approaching $1 billion on just 128 releases – half the number required to hit that mark pre-pandemic. This stunning 75% year-over-year growth signals what could be the full recovery of theatrical moviegoing after years of uncertainty. Behind this remarkable surge were five films crossing the $100 million domestic threshold, led by Disney's surprisingly dominant "Lilo and Stitch" ($260M...

Send us Fan Mail When Final Destination: Bloodlines shattered box office expectations with a $100 million worldwide haul, it proved that even after 14 years, Death's design still captivates audiences hungry for creative kills and nail-biting tension. But how does this sixth installment stack up against its predecessors? Join hosts Alex, Max, and Erica as they journey through the entire Final Destination franchise, ranking all six films and dissecting what makes these movies uniquely addictiv...

Send us Fan Mail Ever wondered what happens when film critics turn their analytical gaze toward television? In this captivating episode, Alex and Erica connect virtually to dissect the most compelling shows dominating our screens right now, revealing why these series have become cultural touchpoints worthy of deep exploration. The conversation opens with a fascinating look at HBO's "The White Lotus" and how it revitalized appointment television viewing. They explore the double-edged sword of...

Send us Fan Mail In the chaos of combat, what truly matters isn't the mission, but the harrowing moments that forever bind soldiers together. "Warfare," the latest from filmmaking duo Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza, strips away conventional war movie tropes to deliver something far more visceral and authentic. Based on Mendoza's actual experiences as a Navy SEAL during the Iraq War, this relentlessly tense 96-minute thriller drops viewers into the middle of a mission gone catastrophically wron...

Send us Fan Mail What are the movies we love despite knowing they're not cinematic masterpieces? When the critics pan a film that you can't stop rewatching, should you feel guilty about your enjoyment? In this deeply personal episode, we reunite as a full trio to dive into the concept of "guilty pleasures" in film - those movies we return to time and again despite (or perhaps because of) their perceived flaws. As Erica returns from her travels, she brings with her this question that reveals ...

Send us Fan Mail Stepping into the spotlight this week is our very own Max Fosberg, fresh from his graduation at Seattle Film Institute. In this deeply personal conversation, Max opens up about the transformative journey of pursuing film education in his mid-thirties—a decision that initially felt "almost silly" but ultimately proved profoundly rewarding. The discussion reveals fascinating insights into the practical realities of student filmmaking, where location often dictates creative dir...