Best pod ever

I found this while trying to find a podcast that discussed ‘Blast of Silence’. Was excited that they just released an episode the day prior. But after an hour of talking about everything but the movie, and seemingly 20 minutes of Star Trek talk, I gave up. I didn’t mind too much listening to them talk about movies or shows I was interested in, but the Star Trek talk bummed me out.

I'd like to meet them for lunch at Taco Time.

This podcast needs to be more focused and concise. We don’t need to have 1 hr ramblings about Star Trek.

Since when reading Wikipedia out loud is film review? Please have some self decency at least!

I’m only up to episode 32 (I’ve skipped some here or there), and I think sometimes these guys have really, really awful takes on stuff (one dude hating on Seven Samurai is bull), but for some reason I like it. Just prepare to think the hosts are super dumb sometimes.

I remember the days when the hosts actually used to seem to like watching Criterions. Sadly, it seems those days are over. I guess there’s always Star Trek season 29 to discuss for an hour or 30 year old X-men cartoons. Oh well.

Annoying intro music and even more annoying banter. These guys just drone on and on about nothing for 30+ mins before getting to the flick. At least include the time stamps so that we can skip the intro.

Was excited to listen this episode after watching this great film. However extremely disappointed and bored to death listening to the two hosts rambling over an hour about everything except the this movie.

I can listen to these guys talk about good or crappy movies all day long. Their banter is funny and their movie reviews are for people who are not movie snobs. Great job! Keep it going.

he is

Bad. When you fast forward to minute 30 of a 2 hour plus podcast and they haven't gotten to the goods, that means (shock!) they're going to waste your time. Tighten up fellas.

Hey! Do you enjoy reminiscing about Kevin Smith’s charming early comedies? Are you sick to death of movie podcasts that consistently spend half the episode going on about food recipes or 90s tv shows? Do you, my well-reasoned friend, want two hosts to give the consistently great films put out by Criterion the respect they truly deserve? Then give this podcast a try!

I refer to these guys as “the Canadian Teens” when I mention the podcast in passing as they sound very young. In fact, RJ sounds like he would look like Fogell/McLovin. It’s not fun when they don’t like something (Jarrett- Samurai/Kurosawa) but it’s fun when they do (Pygmalion, A Night to Remember). Pretty good taste. Relatable.

Okay, so some people really dislike this podcast, which I guess is fine (although I find it pretty funny that one pretty negative reviewer says, "If you don't like it, then don't review it"). I can definitely understand why people wouldn't enjoy this if they want professional, film-critic-level commentary on Criterion Movies. The first episode I listened to, I started shouting at my speakers asking when they would actually talk about the movie. But once I understood the format, I rolled with it, and I find the back-and-forth between Jarrett and RJ pretty entertaining, even if I don't always agree with it or them. And yeah, sometimes I'm sad when they don't like movies that I think are great, but you know what? People have different opinions, that's just the way the world works. Jarrett opens each podcast by saying they "have no choice" but to watch every Criterion in order - that makes me think a bit about MST3K, which I also really enjoy, but definitely isn't for everyone. If you don't like the Creeps, then move on and live your life. They aren't hurting your precious film canon by (gasp) having opinions about movies that were meant to be watched and discussed. And if you don't like the format, go find a podcast you do like, or start one of your own. And go watch "Fishing With John" and learn to lighten up a little bit. Thanks for the podcast, guys!

Absolutely terrible. I don't know how they get to use the Criterion name but they should be sued out of existence. I had to listen for 1 hour and 3 minutes into the Yojimbo episode and the hosts sums up his thoughts with "I don't like Samurai movies"?? 1 hour and 3 minutes of total drivel before they finally get around to talk about Yojimbo. If you don't like it then don't review it, don't talk about it. You are beyond terrible at this podcasting game, don't make any more. Please stop.

Takes some getting used to like all podcasts but I like this show a lot

I am writing a rebuttal to the bad reviews. For me the long recordings and the beginning banter is amazing. The podcast has a lofi style but gives it more character and relatability. A lot movie critics are pretentious and unapproachable. These guys are the exact opposite. I really appreciate their honest and detailed opinions from scene to scene. Film is my lifeblood and it’s refreshing to hear others who feel the same way! Keep up the good work guys!!!!!

Instead of 2.5 hr long episodes, they could easily edit them down to half that time. Too much idle chit chat and long, exhausting sound clips for me. The hosts are ok but their personalities get a little old after awhile. But hey, other people might be into it.

And I love movies, too. And Criterion. And ghouls! This podcast is very fun, laid-back, and perfect for people who appreciate film and aren’t elitist jerks about it. Give it a listen, yeah?

Not every film discussion needs to be film school, it also doesnt need to pander to popular tastes. Listening to this podcast is like listening to two friends, just passionately talking about films they love, hate and are apethetic about. Its more than worth a listen.

I started listening to this podcast with the episode on The 400 Blows. There are lots of Criterion collection podcasts out there, but I'm always willing to try a new one. First of all, it's always a bad sign for me when podcasters take too long to get into their topic. These guys spend 54 minutes, that's right almost AN HOUR, of the show talking about what they watched that week and film news. I skipped most of it so I can't tell you if it's any good, but if you're going to spend less than half of the podcast talking about the subject matter, just do a movie news podcast. Second of all, these guys know nothing about The Criterion Collection. One host in particular certainly hadn't seen this film before watching it for the podcast. If you haven't seen a film as fundamental as The 400 Blows, you have a lot of film education left to get before starting a Criterion Collection podcast. Then he goes on about how mediocre it is and chooses to make fart jokes about it rather than do ten minutes of research to understand the films context. Serious, I can't express enough how little research they did. The (slightly) more well informed host seemed to have done some, but he constantly mispronounced names of characters, actors, and the Cahiers du Cinema, which the other host had never even heard of! I don't want to sound like a snob, but you have to be educated in the subject matter before you do your podcast. I'm pretty sure just about everyone with a cursory interest in classic cinema is familiar with the Cahier du Cinema as it is one of the most significant publications in film history. This is a poor podcast for which the hosts were ill-prepared, and it kind of seemed like they were simply using the Criterion context to capitalize on the brand name to get people to listen to their "what we watched this week" segment.