Tuesday, March 31, 2020

Critically Acclaimed #120 | Stuart Gordon, Daniel Isn't Real, The Decline, Crip Camp, There's Something in the Water, Uncorked, and Moonstruck


It's HUGE week for movies on CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED

Film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold explore tons of new streaming movies, including Shudder's horror film DANIEL ISN'T REAL, the Netflix documentaries CRIP CAMP and THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE WATER, the Netflix thriller THE DECLINE, and the Netflix comedy UNCORKED!
Also this week on CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED, we're celebrating the life and career of the late, legendary horror filmmaker STUART GORDON, director of cult classics like RE-ANIMATOR, FROM BEYOND and ROBOT JOX!
Plus, it's an all-new installment of THE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED STREAMING CLUB, where we unearth great movies from streaming services and watch them together! This week it's Cher and Nicolas Cage in the Oscar-winning romantic comedy MOONSTRUCK!

Monday, March 30, 2020

Canceled Too Soon #184 | Star Wars: Droids (1985-1986)


Not every STAR WARS was a blockbuster smash. The Saturday morning cartoon show STAR WARS: DROIDS, starring Anthony Daniels as C-3PO and R2-D2 as himself, only lasted one season, despite featuring huge cameos from popular characters like Boba Fett and IG-88, and tons of ideas, vehicles, planets and even podraces which would eventually turn up in the prequel trilogy!

It was co-created by Oscar-winning sound designer Ben Burtt, and featured a theme song by Stewart Copeland from The Police! That's pretty cool, so maybe - just maybe - STAR WARS: DROIDS was... CANCELED TOO SOON!

Film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold take a trip to a galaxy far, far away to unearth this overlooked chapter in STAR WARS history, just before the premiere of their new STAR WARS podcast: EPISODE ZERO!

Give it a listen!


Thursday, March 26, 2020

We've Got Mail #23 | What's the Best Pokemon Movie Ever?


It's an all-new episode of WE'VE GOT MAIL, the podcast where film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold answer YOUR letters!

This week, Bibbs and Witney talk about their favorite movie drinks, the must-see documentary THE CELLULOID CLOSET, why TV shows always seem to end with a marriage, the secrets of movie projectionists and, of course, the best POKEMON movie ever!

Email us at letters@criticallyacclaimed.net, so we can read your correspondence and answer YOUR questions in future episodes!

Give it a listen!


Tuesday, March 24, 2020

The Iron List #5 | The Best Fantasy Movies Ever Made (That Aren't Blockbuster Franchises)


Every month on THE IRON LIST, the Patrons of the Critically Acclaimed Network get to pick a topic for a giant-sized episode! And this month, since we could all use a little escapism, they picked THE BEST FANTASY MOVIES EVER MADE (THAT AREN'T HIT FRANCHISES)!

Join film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold as they highlight the fantasy films that changed our lives and dazzled our senses, but that aren't part of billion dollar studio-driven film series like the live-action THE LORD OF THE RINGS, HARRY POTTER or CHRONICLES OF NARNIA films!

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Monday, March 23, 2020

Critically Acclaimed #119 | The Platform, Big Time Adolescence, Stargirl, Blow the Man Down and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner!


There aren't any new movies in theaters, but there are still LOTS of new movies! 

This week on CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED, film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold review the sci-fi thriller THE PLATFORM (Netflix), the coming of age drama BIG TIME ADOLESCENCE (Hulu), the other coming of age drama STARGIRL (Disney Plus) and the quirky small-town crime film BLOW THE MAN DOWN (Amazon Prime)!

And since we're all staying home and streaming movies, Bibbs and Witney also kick off the CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED STREAMING CLUB, where they watch classic films currently available on your favorite services. First up, it's GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER, the Oscar-winning drama about Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy dealing, badly, with the news that their daughter is engaged to Sidney Poitier. How does it hold up today? Let's find out together!

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Sunday, March 22, 2020

We've Got Mail #22 | Is '1917' the Best Video Game Movie?


It's an all-new episode of WE'VE GOT MAIL, the podcast where film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold answer YOUR letters!

This week, William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold talk about how to watch movies from different perspectives, the early films of David Lynch, TV edits of movies, and the art of video game adaptations!

Email us at letters@criticallyacclaimed.net, so we can read your correspondence and answer YOUR questions in future episodes!

Give it a listen!


Saturday, March 21, 2020

Canceled Too Soon #183 | Earth*Star Voyager (1988)


TEENS! IN! SPACE! 

The expensive Disney sci-fi mini-series EARTH*STAR VOYAGER was a pilot for a television show that never took off, about attractive and precocious space teens in the future, on a fifty year mission to find a new planet for humanity to live on!

Featuring the stars of REVENGE OF THE NERDS, THE MONSTER SQUAD and THE LONE GUNMEN (and many more), and a score by the great Lalo Schifrin, it's weird that EARTH*STAR VOYAGER has been almost completely forgotten by popular culture. 

Was it really CANCELED TO SOON? Film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold embark on an important mission of their own, to find out!

Give it a listen!


Thursday, March 19, 2020

We've Got Mail #21 | What Makes a Movie an Instant Classic?


It's an all-new episode of WE'VE GOT MAIL, the podcast where film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold answer YOUR letters!  

This week, Bibbs and Witney talk about how the industry is going change because of the global pandemic, the films of Andrei Tarkovsky, the art of art house horror movies, what defines a cult film, and what makes a movie an instant classic!

Email us at letters@criticallyacclaimed.net, so we can read your correspondence and answer YOUR questions in future episodes!

Give it a listen!


Sunday, March 15, 2020

Critically Acclaimed #118 | Onward, The Hunt, First Cow, The Way Back, Spencer Confidential, and Beneath Us!


CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED is back and we're catching up on all the movies we missed, and setting the stage for the next phase of the podcast, as the film industry makes gigantic adjustments because of current events.

So in addition to review the new releases ONWARD, THE HUNT, FIRST COW, THE WAY BACK, BENEATH US and SPENCER CONFIDENTIAL, film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold are announcing a new segments - THE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED STREAMING CLUB - to help navigate the various streaming options while we're all staying home.

Also this week, Bibbs and Witney say goodbye to the late, great COFFIN JOE and MAX VON SYDOW!

Give it a listen!


Friday, March 13, 2020

Canceled Too Soon #182 | Mulholland Dr. (2001) w/ Special Guest: VideoDrew!


The network passed on David Lynch's surreal Hollywood mystery MULHOLLAND DRIVE, but the joke's on the network, because Lynch reshot the ending and released it in theaters, and won awards all over the world for how brilliant it was!

MULHOLLAND DRIVE has got Naomi Watts, Laura Harring, Justin Theroux, Billy Ray Cyrus and Rebekah Del Rio. It's been called one of the best films of the century. But was it... CANCELED TOO SOON?


William Bibbiani, Witney Seibold and their very special guest Drew Grant (aka VIDEODREW) take a look back at a classic movie to see if it would have also made a classic series.

Give it a listen!

Tuesday, March 10, 2020

We've Got Mail #20 | Are 'Cats' and 'Midsommar' the Same Film...?


It's an all-new episode of WE'VE GOT MAIL, the podcast where film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold answer YOUR letters!

This week, Bibbs and Witney talk about the eery similarities because the critically acclaimed horror film MIDSOMMAR and the notorious dud CATS, filmmakers who are great but also inconsistent, movies that changed our perspective on the world, lots and lots of Swedish movies, and the art of film criticism itself!

Email us at letters@criticallyacclaimed.net, so we can read your correspondence and answer YOUR questions in future episodes!

Give it a listen!


Friday, March 6, 2020

Canceled Too Soon #181 | Jean-Claude Van Johnson (2016-2017)


Jean-Claude Van Damme is back, and this time he's a depressed has-been who nobody likes! JCVD stars in JEAN-CLAUDE VAN JOHNSON, a short-lived Amazon Prime action-comedy series in which action superstars like Van Damme are also secret super spies who use their movie productions as a cover for their covert missions!

It stars Jean-Claude Van Damme, it's from the creator of THE EXPENDABLES, and yet it couldn't last more than one season. Was JEAN-CLAUDE VAN JOHNSON... CANCELED TOO SOON?

Film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold pick apart every subversive and ridiculous joke to figure out what makes this weird, wonderful show work!

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Thursday, March 5, 2020

We've Got Mail #19 | New Star Wars vs. New Star Trek!


It's an all-new episode of WE'VE GOT MAIL, the podcast where film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold answer YOUR letters!

This week, Bibbs and Witney talk about whether the new STAR TREK franchise is better than the new STAR WARS franchise, whether a new category would fix the Oscars, if CAHIERS DU CINEMA was totally out of touch!

Email us at letters@criticallyacclaimed.net, so we can read your correspondence and answer YOUR questions in future episodes!

Give it a listen!


Monday, March 2, 2020

Critically Acclaimed #117 | The Invisible Man, Saint Frances, All the Bright Places, and Greed!


Leigh Whannell's remake of THE INVISIBLE MAN really as brilliant as you've heard? Is it - GASP?! - even better than the original?!  

This week on CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED, film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold review the latest horror reboot, the quarter-life crisis drama SAINT FRANCES, the teen coming of age film ALL THE BRIGHT PLACES, and the 1% comedy GREED!

The Invisible Man - 1:35
Saint Frances - 28:27
All the Bright Places - 42:53
Greed - 48:47  


Give it a listen!