Rocky Horror: Episode Zero - The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

Film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold are working backwards through film history, and in Season 2, they're using THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW as the starting point!  

This week, Bibbs and Witney revisit THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, an early sci-fi sensation from future Oscar-winner Robert Wise, about first contact with an alien species, who have a message for humanity about how we should live! Is it still one fo the best science fiction movies ever? And how, oh how, did it influence ROCKY HORROR?

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The Iron List #16 | The Best Movies About Sex!

Every month on THE IRON LIST, the Patrons of the Critically Acclaimed Network get to pick a topic for a giant-sized episode!  

This month it's THE BEST MOVIES ABOUT SEX!

That doesn't necessarily mean the most erotic motion pictures, or the most graphic. It means the films that are about the topic of sexuality and have something interesting and engaging to say about them. Some of them are fun, some are harrowing, but they all attempt to speak meaningfully about sex!

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We've Got Mail #68 | Which New Categories Should the Oscars Add?

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 importance of production design in movies, which new categories the Oscars should add to the ceremony, why some critics need to rethink the way they critique romance in movies, why critics need to champion old films nobody has heard of, the half-remembered scenes in movies we just can't place, and more!

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Critically Acclaimed #162 | Flora and Ulysses, The Map of Tiny Perfect Things, The Mauritanian, Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar, After Midnight, Judas and the Black Messiah, Blithe Spirit, Cinema Paradiso

AAAAAARGH we're reviewing so many new movies this week on CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED! 

This week, William Bibbiani and Witney review the new releases FLORA AND ULYSSES, THE MAP OF TINY PERFECT THINGS, THE MAURITANIAN, BARB AND STAR GO TO VISTA DEL MAR, AFTER MIDNIGHT, BLITHE SPIRIT and JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH!

Also this week, on THE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED STREAMING CLUB, Bibbs and Witney review the celebrated and nostalgic Italian classic CINEMA PARADISO! 

Give it a listen! 

Rocky Horror: Episode Zero - The Celluloid Closet (1995)

Film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold are working backwards through film history, and in Season 2, they're using THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW as the starting point!  

This week, Bibbs and Witney explore one of the greatest documentaries ever made about movies and Hollywood: THE CELLULOID CLOSET (1995) puts the whole of film history - up until 1995 - in context by exploring the way movies depicted queerness, and the impact those depictions had on multiple generations of moviegoers!

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We've Got Mail #67 | What's Wrong With Revenge Movies?

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 the history of GODZILLA, their favorite unusual entries in popular film franchises, the behind the scenes revelations about Buffy and Angel, why it's okay not to like a filmmaker's filmography, what the fundamental problem is with revenge movies, and whether old-fashioned "b-movies" are dying out!

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My Dinner With My Dinner WIth Andre (with The Movie Guys!)

William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold are inviting fascinating people to watch MY DINNER WITH ANDRE, a film about fascinating people having a conversation, and have their own conversation about it!

This week's guests are Paul Preston and Adam Witt from THE MOVIE GUYS, two of the funniest movie commentators in the business, whose video STAR WARS: A PLAY-BY-PLAY COMMENTARY is one of Bibbs's favorites. 

Follow them on Twitter at @TheMovieGuys, @PPrestonLA and @Adam_Witt!

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Your Critically Acclaimed | Black Lightning & Sunshine on Leith

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 it's a special double feature of films that aren't well known in America: the Russian superhero blockbuster BLACK LIGHTNING, and the Scottish jukebox musical SUNSHINE ON LEITH, featuring songs by The Proclaimers!  

Do these films deserve a bigger overseas audience? Bibbs and Witney are about to find out!

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We've Got Mail #66 | Do We ACTUALLY Miss Blockbuster Video?

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 why we need to rethink the way talk about art for older demographics, which Muppets they'd like to puppeteer, the difference (if there is one) between "film criticism" and "film reviews," and why maybe we shouldn't get too nostalgic over Blockbuster Video!

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Canceled Too Soon #204 | Utopia (2020)

Our annual SUDDENLY LAST SEASON event continues! William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold are exploring some of the biggest shows that lasted only one season (or less) within the last year on CANCELED TOO SOON!

This week, it's UTOPIA! This Amazon Prime series, based on a cult British TV show, tells the story of conspiracy fanatics who track down a rare comic book that predicts the future of viral outbreaks, on the eve of a global pandemic! The timing... may have been bad on this one.  

William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold are about to find out if UTOPIA was... CANCELED TOO SOON!

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Critically Acclaimed #161 | Hal Holbrook, Christopher Plummer, Malcolm and Marie, Earwig and the Witch, A Glitch in the Matrix, Searching for Bobby Fischer

We're saying goodbye to MORE legends and saying hello to some REALLY mixed bag films on CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED!  

This week, William Bibbiani and Witney review the new releases MALCOLM AND MARIE, EARWIG AND THE WITCH and A GLITCH IN THE MATRIX!  Also this week, on THE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED STREAMING CLUB, Bibbs and Witney review Bibbs's favorite movie... SEARCHING FOR BOBBY FISCHER!  

But first, they must say goodbye to two more dearly departed acting titans: HAL HOLBROOK and CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER! 

Give it a listen! 

Rocky Horror: Episode Zero - Rope (1948)

Film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold are working backwards through film history, and in Season 2, they're using THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW as the starting point!  

This week, Bibbs and Witney get tied up with Alfred Hitchcock's ROPE! The innovative suspense thriller about two young, queer-coded men who decide to commit the perfect murder was filmed to look like one, long, continuous take, and tackles difficult philosophical concepts while also just being a heck of a lot of fun! And wouldn't you know it, it plays suspiciously like a certain ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW dinner scene...

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We've Got Mail #65 | What Hitchcock Film Should You Start With?

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 what film you should watch first if you're just starting out with Alfred Hitchcock, advice for the mid-20s, older movies our listeners discovered for the first time in 2020, the anxiety that comes with realizing you can't see every film, and the impact of SCORPIO RISING on the heavy metal music scene!

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Critically Acclaimed #160 | Cloris Leachman, Cicely Tyson, The Little Things, The Queen of Black Magic, Palmer, The Stunt Man

We're saying goodbye to legends and saying hello to some mixed bag films on CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED!  

William Bibbiani and Witney are back and reviewing the new releases THE LITTLE THINGS, THE QUEEN OF BLACK MAGIC and PALMER!  

And this week on THE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED STREAMING CLUB, Bibbs and Witney get meta in the Oscar-nominated cult classic THE STUNT MAN!  

But first, they must bid farewell to some dearly departed acting titans: CICELY TYSON and CLORIS LEACHMAN!

Give it a listen!