Sitting Around Talking Movies

Not only does the calendar say that Fall is upon us, so does Hollywood. The all-important award bait movies for grown-ups are starting to come to your local theater. And we've gotten to see some of them. We start with "The Weight" which is an action drama starring Ethan Hawke and Russell Crowe. Bill Bregoli saw it and he'll tell you all about it. Then we've got "Wild Horse NIne" which has been burning up the film festival circuit. It's got Sam Rockwell and John Malkovich as CIA agents hanging around Easter Island. Bill McCuddy will fill you in. Neil Rosen will tell you about "New York: A Documentary Film" which is from director Ric Burns and is on PBS. We also talk about the new seasons of "Slow Horses" and "The Gentlemen." And we've got another serious film called "Fjord" staring Sebastian Stan. Oh, and there's a film with Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh called "Mayday." So check it out.

Judging from what's already happened so far in 2026 we may look back on 2025 as the good old days. So we decided to take a look back and tell you our best and worst movies of 2025. Neil Rosen and Bill McCuddy both take a different approach while Bill Bregoli demurred because he thinks the entire year's offerings were pretty much "meh," But we also have some new movies to talk about. We start with "The Housemaid" starring Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney, who contractually has to be in every other movie being filmed these days. We all saw it and we actually all agreed on it. And speaking of Amanda Seyfried, we also have "The Testament of Ann Lee" which is giving her some Oscar buzz. Plus we have "Song Sung Blue" with Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudon singing more Neil Diamond songs than doctors would recommend. Then there's "The Choral" starring Ralph Fiennes as a choir master. Just what audiences are craving for these days. Plus there's "We Bury the Dead" because someone thought we should start 2026 with a zombie movie. Then again, why not? So listen in and put off all those New Year's resolutions you're probably not going to keep anyway.

Award season is nigh, so is the holiday movie season. All the movies are heavily advertised and publicized now. But not all of them are worth your good money, In fact, we may save you a lot of money this time around. We start with "Marty Supreme." It's this year's award bait movie starring Timothee Chalamet. There was one last year too but this one is about a ping pong player. Really. We all saw it and let's just say we pretty much agree on it. We've also all seen "Jay Kelly." "It stars George Clooney as a movie star named Jay Kelly. It's got Adam Sandler in it too. Our thumbs all pretty much pointed in the same direction on this one too. But which way? Then there's "Is This Thing On?" starring Will Arnet as a standup comedian going through a divorce. "Aren't they all? You ask. Yes, but they're not all directed by Bradley Cooper. We've also got a quirky fable called "100 Nights a Hero" which probably won't play in a theater near you but should you watch it when it inevitably streams? And there's "Merrily We Roll Along" which is a filmed version of a Broadway musical which people payed big money to see. But even crappy Broadwaymusicals cost big money to see. Is this worth paying a movie price to watch? There's more. There's the streaming series "Pluribus" and tales of film company parties too. Plus we'll fill you in on who got snubbed by the Golden Globes and the Critics Choice Awards. And by our count we may save you over $100 bucks you would have wasted at the movies so you owe us a listen.

In this very special episode our very own Neil Rosen and Roger Friedman of Showbiz411.com sit down with Woody Allen in his New York townhouse for a wide ranging and eye opening discussion. Woody has been doing publicity for his first novel "What's With Baum," but the conversation goes far beyond that. He talks about his many triumphs. Included in those are the 50 movies he’s made, winning the Oscar for “Annie Hall,” and the many actors he’s worked with. And speaking of "Annie Hall," Woody also expresses his feelings over the passing of his co-star and muse Diane Keaton. It's a fascinating discussion so listen in!

Not only is Fall in the air but you can tell it's also time for the serious movies. The award show bait, the film festival films. The films you heard someone talk about at a party. We've seen some of them and we're going to let you know which are worth your time and money. We start with "Kiss of the Spider Woman." It's been on film before and even on Broadway. But now it's a movie musical. Neil Rosen kind of went nuts on this one. Then there's the latest from Paul Thomas Anderson called "One Battle After Another: which stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Sean Penn. Bill McCuddy will let you know what he thought of that one. Neil then fires back with "Blue Moon" which stars Ethan Hawke and it tells the story of ells the story of Lorenz Hart's struggles with alcoholism and mental health as he tries to save face during the opening of "Oklahoma!". Not to be outdaone, Bill Bregoli tells us about the long awaited sequel "Spinal Tap: The End Continues" about everyone's favorite fictional heavy metal band. He also saw "Roofman" which stars Channing Tatum as a charismatic criminal, who on the run from the police, hides in a hidden space of a toy store. We've also got "The Smashing Machine" which stars Duane Johnson as you've never seen before, the Paul Greengrass action film "The Lost Bus," and a little gem of an action movie called "Dead of Winter" which stars, beleive it or not, Emma Thomson. And since you may need a drink after listening to us we've got the new streaming series "House of Guinness." So listen in.