I am carving out a few minutes to write this because today is the day the NOW What podcast changes formats! It’s going to be a weekly magazine going forward, with at least two stories and a broader mandate beyond the pandemic.

(Not that the pandemic is over, of course — it very much isn’t, and we’ll continue to cover the stories that emerge — but you can only do so many episodes about industries reconfiguring and/or recovering before they all start to repeat the same points.)

Anyway, we’re going to be doing more arts and culture stuff, so today’s episode features a conversation with writer and journalist JP Laroque about recent statements (and apologies) from DaBaby and Matt Damon, and where they fit on the spectrum of celebrity offense. We’ve also got Rad’s interview with Never Have I Ever‘s Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, who is a nice person from Mississauga and seems unlikely to end up having to apologize for anything any time soon. It’s all good stuff, and you should listen to it on your podcatcher of choice, or right here.

Also, print stuff. I offered some suggestions for this year’s Fantasia lineup, and reviewed Annette, Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain and Vivo in this week’s What to Watch page. There’s also a capsule for The Suicide Squad in there, but you should go with my longer review for that one. It’s a pretty dense movie, as you can probably tell from the image above. King Shark is a shark!

Usually when I record an episode of Someone Else’s Movie, I’ve made sure to get the guest’s choice of film at least a couple of days beforehand so I can do any research or rewatching that might be necessary. But because my very special guest David Dastmalchian is shooting a movie in Berlin, and his publicists are in Los Angeles, and this all came together fairly quickly, I was unable to get his pick until we started recording.

Now, this has happened once or twice before, and because I’ve seen a lot of movies I’m usually able to roll with it. But this time, the guest chose a recent film that I managed to miss when it popped up on Shudder last summer: Joko Anwar’s Impetigore.

Fortunately, I’ve seen a couple of Anwar’s other movies and I have a sense of his aesthetic and his interests. Also fortunately, David was not only understanding of the situation but really into the idea of sharing a movie that my listeners might also have missed out on seeing. So we went for it, and we had a pretty great time. You might also enjoy it!

You know the drill: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play and Stitcher to get it instantly, or download it directly from the web. And then you can catch the very first two-part NOW What podcast we rolled out over the weekend, in which Rad assembles a really knowledgable panel to discuss the West Indian diaspora through the prism of the Toronto Caribbean Carnival, which used to be Caribana and which  the pandemic turned into a food-truck festival this year.

(There’s no podcast today, as we’re shifting to a weekly format with new episodes dropping every Friday.  It’ll be fun, I think!)

And then there’s everything else! I scratched off one more name on my Thrilling Adventure Hour cast list by chatting with Nathan Fillion about his role in The Suicide Squad for NOW’s YouTube page; my review of the film will be online tomorrow, if everything plays out as it should.

And of course there’s last week’s What to Watch page, and my longer reviews of Jungle Cruise and The Green Knight, and the monthly lookaheads for Netflix, Crave, Amazon, Disney+ and CBC Gem (later today).  But really, the most important thing I did last week was finally give a TED Talk: Jordan had me on an episode of The Big Story to talk about the precious miracle that is Ted Lasso, and how wonderful it is that Jason Sudeikis, Brendan Hunt and their collaborators made the show we all need right now.

Please watch Ted Lasso. It’ll make your life better. That is all.

Someone Else’s Movie drops its 350th episode today, and while numbers don’t mean anything … well, that’s objectively a lot of  episodes. But I’ve been doing this for almost six and a half years now, so it’s nice to have something to show for it.

And this is a fun episode to hang a milestone upon, as I’m joined by magician and mentalist Cameron Gibson — who’s a member of Jamie Allan’s Illusionarium, the immersive-magic exhibition that opens down at the Toronto Star building Thursday — to discuss the mysteries and wonders of Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige, a movie I was kind of cool on the first time through but have since come to appreciate as a Rosetta stone for the filmmaker’s own career. (Plus the whole “Batman Vs. Wolverine” thing is now pleasantly complicated by the presence of both Black Widow and Maya Hansen from Iron Man Three.)

You know the drill: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play and Stitcher to get it instantly, or download it directly from the web. (We’re using Simplecast now,  but you’ll figure it out.)

And here’s a coincidence: Today’s episode of NOW What touches upon the Illusionarium as well! Kevin and I talked to Lighthouse Immersive’s Svetlana Dvoretsky and Corey Ross a while back, when the project was still unable to set a release date due to Ontario’s COVID restrictions, and it’s an interesting conversation about how they do what they do, and how they’ve had plenty of time to figure out their safety protocols. And last Friday’s episode is also somewhat theatrical, with me talking to Glenn about the return of live theatre to Toronto’s outdoor spaces, and how happy he is to be going out to see shows again. I get it.

But that’s not all, folks: I’m also on this week’s episode of Hollywood Suite’s A Year in Film podcast, discussing the British invasion of 1994 as embodied by Four Weddings and a Funeral and Shallow Grave — two very different films that nicely summarize the explosion of talent and commercial potential in the UK at that point in time. Check it out! And watch those movies again; they both totally hold up.

Want more? Jeez, fine: Here’s me having a quick chat with The Green Knight‘s Dev Patel and Joel Edgerton about finding the right rhythms for David Lowery’s deliberate Arthurian fable, with video and everything, and here’s a conversation with Alex Wolff, who plays two very different roles in Pig and Old. Oh, and here are my reviews of Pig and Old, and the new season of Ted Lasso.

Which brings us to last week’s NOW What to Watch page, I guess, with capsule reviews and a look at Criterion’s dazzling Deep Cover Blu-ray. You’re gonna want to snap that one up.

Fun fact: Both of the podcasts I’m releasing today are really, really short. They’re good, I think, but they’re short.

Not that I’m suggesting they don’t deserve your full attention, of course. At Someone Else’s Movie, I’m joined by Michael Sarnoski — whose first feature Pig is one of the best things I’ve seen this year, and yes it’s the one where Nicolas Cage just wants his pig back — to discuss the bouncy pleasures of Sam Raimi’s 2002 Spider-Man, a choice both surprising and delightful.

Trust me on this: Whether or not you’re interested in the pig movie, you’ll want to check out the episode. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play and Stitcher to get it instantly, or download it directly from the web whenever you damn well feel like it.

And then you can zip on over to the newest episodes of NOW What, which as it turns out are also film focused: Today, I talk to Gaia director Jaco Bouwer about his movie’s voluptuous eco-horror and the cultural anxieties that produced it, and last Friday Rad, Glenn and I discussed the reopening of Toronto movie houses and the very different anxieties the three of us are experiencing as a result.

And then there’s all the writing. Here’s last week’s What to Watch page, and my longer reviews of A Quiet Place Part II and the Fear Street trilogy; I also interviewed Scarborough’s own Eric Bauza about voicing Daffy Duck, Porky Pig and other beloved Warner Bros. animated characters in Space Jam: A New Legacy. That was really fun. I think I’m finally getting the hang of Zoom junkets.

YES I KNOW I’M RUNNING BEHIND BLAME THE EMMYS FOR RECOGNIZING THE WONDERFUL GIFT TO US ALL THAT IS TED LASSO.

Anyway, that happened and it was good.

Also, there’s a new episode of Someone Else’s Movie out in the world, and it reunites me with an old colleague: Gemma Files and I spent most of the ’90s watching movies together, and then she went off to be an author and screenwriter of considerable note.

And now she’s on the podcast, talking about Elliot Goldner’s 2013 found-footage creeper The Borderlands — which was released here under the considerably less evocative title Final Prayer — and the way this particular subgenre of horror opens the door to a lingering, more disturbing flavor of dread. I think she makes a pretty good case.

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play and Stitcher to get the episode instantly, or download it directly from the web and enjoy the conversation! And then you can listen to two brand new episodes of NOW What, because I assume you’ve earned them.

In today’s episode, I ask knowledgeable sports professionals Ainsley Romany and Brendan Dunlop to explain the Euro Cup to me, and why England’s supporters felt empowered to act like total racist shits as soon as their team lost the final; on Friday, Kelsey and I convened a panel of Ontario craft brewers to discuss the growing appeal of experimental beers — even though all I wanted was a nice amber ale. (It turns out I’m not opposed to a fruity gose.)

Want more? There’s last Friday’s What to Watch page, and my guide to the thirteen best episodes of Kim’s Convenience, which took up most of last week and of which I am reasonably proud, considering. Honestly, though, you should watch the entire series. It’s not that much more of an investment, and the rewards are considerable. Like Ted Lasso!

Anyway, there’s a lot more coming this week, and hopefully I’ll be able to post it up on Friday. No promises, though; there’s a lot going on.

On this week’s episode of Someone Else’s Movie, I’m joined by Toronto actor and writer Katherine Cullen — who’s remounting her 2017 stage show Stupidhead! with co-creator Britta Johnson this month in two clever, pandemic-friendly incarnations —  to discuss Wes Anderson’s Bottle Rocket, a movie that turned out to be both a road map to Anderson’s future work and a demonstration of the sort of movie he didn’t want to make.

One thing you’d never call the modern Anderson movie is “shaggy” — no, not even Isle of Dogs —  but that’s exactly what his first one was. We talk about that, and a lot of other things. You should listen! Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play and Stitcher to get the episode instantly if you’re a person of the world like Anthony, or download it directly from the web if you’re more of a DIY type like Dignan. I don’t know what Robert Mapplethorpe would do, he’d probably have someone sync his iPhone for him. That guy’s too soft.

And then, you can enjoy two shiny new episodes of NOW What: Today, Richard and I celebrate Bay Street Video as one of Toronto’s cultural retail pillars along with clerk and critic Mark Hanson, and on Friday’s episode Kelsey and I had a nice long talk about the city’s patios, and what we plan to do with them this summer.

Other stuff? Why, sure! Here’s last week’s edition of NOW’s What to Watch digest, and here are my stand-alone web reviews of The Forever Purge, which is no fun at all and The Tomorrow War, which is a great deal of fun, what with the alien chomp monsters and everything. And just because it went up while I was typing  this, here’s my review of Marvel’s long-delayed stand-alone Black Widow, which will be available on Disney+ this Friday.

And speaking of superhero movies, pour one out for Richard Donner, who died yesterday at the age of 91. His Superman showed everyone how to do it, and gave us Christopher Reeve’s wonderfully human performance besides. Also he offered me some invaluable advice about hounds when he heard Dexter barking like an idiot in the background of a call that one time. I told Alyson Richards about it in last month’s our Goonies SEMcast, though I’m not sure it made the final cut. Lovely guy.

… yeah, I know. I did it again. Got swamped, didn’t post a Friday post, it happens three weeks out of four nowadays and it’s only going to keep happening until things level off, assuming they ever do.

But! Today you get to enjoy a brand new episode of Someone Else’s Movie featuring Scare Me and Werewolves Within director Josh Ruben on Clive Barker’s Nightbreed, which is a fascinating if deeply flawed attempt to launch a franchise from a nascent filmmaker who didn’t really know how to do that. (He’d try again with Lord of Illusions, with similarly messy results.)

But even if Nightbreed doesn’t ultimately work, what resulted is a weird, compelling snapshot of Barker’s obsessions and issues at the time, and Josh and I get into all of that — while also somehow pitching a Darkman remake to each other — in a really energetic conversation. You’ll enjoy it, I think, even if we never really crack what Anne Bobby was supposed to be doing.

So get on it! Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play and Stitcher to get the episode instantly, or download it directly from the web. And then you can move on to two whole episodes of NOW What: Last Friday, I talked to Jocelyn Reynolds and leZlie Lee Kam about Reynolds’ Pride installation Return, Seek, Carry, and today I’ve got a panel with Glenn and Daniel about Disney’s problem with queer representation. They’re both good! Give ’em a listen!

And then there’s all the writing. Here’s last week’s What to Watch column, and here’s a stand-alone review of F9. Also, previews! Here are NOW’s July lookaheads for Netflix, Crave, Disney+, Amazon and CBC Gem.

Like I said, it’s been a busy time.

This week’s episode of Someone Else’s Movie marks a first for the show: In 345 episodes, I’ve never had a guest use a vehicle as a recording booth. But Ilya Naishuller, director of the immensely entertaining Bob Odenkirk shoot-em-up Nobody, is a resourceful man, and managed to find the quietest space on a Moscow movie shoot for our conversation. It worked surprisingly well!

Also, we were talking about Christopher McQuarrie’s The Way of the Gun, a movie I had completely forgotten even existed. But I rewatched it, because I am responsible! Sarah Silverman is in it! I’d forgotten that as well!

Here you go: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play and Stitcher to get the episode instantly, or download it directly from the web. And then you can get to today’s NOW What, in which Enzo and I chat about his Hidden Toronto series; that’s a fun one, even if things in town are a little less fun right now.

Also, yes, I missed out on a Friday update. I blame the NOW Streaming newsletter, that thing takes forever to put together. But you can still catch up on all the stuff you missed — an episode of NOW What in which Rad, Richard and I use the arrival of Bo Burnham’s Inside to discuss the pandemic’s effect on entertainment, a whole new What to Watch page and expanded reviews of Kevin Can F**k Himself and Luca, and a little piece on the Toronto Outdoor Picture Show’s announcement that it’ll be holding screenings in Fort York later this summer, pending the green light from the province.

Sorry about that. I’ll try to get a post up on Friday but … well, work is a lot right now. You may have noticed I didn’t get this up until almost dinnertime.

… because I’m on three podcasts today! Wild, right?

First, there’s that bonus episode of Someone Else’s Movie I was talking about — a giddy ride through Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse with filmmaker Patrick White, a veteran writer-producer whose feature directorial debut Queen of Spades comes to VOD next week. It’s a remake of a 2015 Russian horror movie, and it does some interesting things with the source material … which makes it an interesting counterpoint to Sony Animation’s Oscar-winning Marvel movie, which similarly uses animation to reinvent and refresh its familiar text.

… I mean, you could do Spider-Ham with photorealistic CG, but you probably don’t want to.

Something else you don’t want to do? Miss this episode. So get on it, true believer: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play and Stitcher to get the episode instantly, or download it directly from the web.

Also! There’s a new episode of NOW What, in which I ride along as Glenn talks to Toronto theatre folk Monica Esteves and Mitchell Marcus about their plans for the summer, and why they’re not looking to the provincial government for help. You can find it everywhere, and also at the bottom of this Hot Summer Guide piece.

And then, I’m on today’s episode of The Big Story, talking about how Disney has resurrected event television by returning to a weekly release model for its exclusive series. It’s just a chance to relax and talk about Loki, really.

Text stuff: There’s this week’s What to Watch page, of course, and stand-alone reviews of Netflix’ disappointing Awake and Showcase’s delirious We Are Lady Parts. And I wrote a quick thing about drive-in theatres reopening today, which will be nice.

Have a good weekend, everybody. Stay safe.

Today’s episode of Someone Else’s Movie is one of two I’ll be releasing this week, thanks to a fortuitous alignment of release dates. So you’ll definitely be getting a Friday blog post! That’s a promise!

First, though, let’s look at what’s right in front of us. And it’s singer, songwriter and Bloodthirsty screenwriter Lowell on Bong Joon-ho’s magnificent monster movie The Host, which is still just as weird and fun and intense and thrilling as it was when it first crashed onto the festival circuit fifteen years ago.

Good times, good times. So share the joy!  Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play and Stitcher to get the episode instantly, or download it directly from the web.

And then you can get on to the latest episode of NOW What, which finds me discussing the importance of affordable rehearsal space for Toronto’s musicians with Richard and Flatliners drummer Paul Ramirez. That’s also on podcast platforms everywhere, or right here at the bottom of Richard’s story. Weirdly enough, it ties into the episode I recorded with Ali Weinstein almost exactly a year ago!

And there’s more! NOW’s Hot Summer Guide is already rolling out online, and I’m all over our Movies and TV picks, of course. I also reviewed Marvel’s new Loki series, which premieres on Disney+ tomorrow and is an awful lot of fun.

So that’s plenty, right? Go to listening and/or reading, and I’ll see you back here Friday with more of everything. I promise.