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nothing compares
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Sundance 2022: Nothing Compares examines Sinead O’Connor’s legacy

Kathryn Ferguson presents the fiery singer as bruised and battered, but not unbowed.

emergency
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Sundance 2022: Emergency offers some laughs, but still stumbles

The race and class satire starts out strong, but its Weekend at Bernie’s homage quickly loses steam.

fresh
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Sundance 2022: Fresh is an ambitious thriller that doesn’t quite gel

Despite a strong lead performance & some clever stylistic touches, the provocative Fresh ultimately feels a bit hollow.

Yellowjackets
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How Yellowjackets became the surprise sleeper hit of the winter

The occult horror-mystery about the survivors of a gruesome disaster captured audiences with dark humor & compelling characters.

Book of Boba Fett Episode 4
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The Book of Boba Fett is all action & little talk in episode 4

After a bummer of a plot twist in episode 3, things pick back up as we learn how Boba Fett meets his right-hand woman.

Servant Season 3
Main Category

Servant keeps doing its own thing in season 3

The M. Night Shyamalan supernatural horror series is better if you stop trying to figure out what’s going on.

MOVIES

nothing comparesS
Main Category
Peter Sobczynski

Sundance 2022: Nothing Compares examines Sinead O’Connor’s legacy

Kathryn Ferguson presents the fiery singer as bruised and battered, but not unbowed.
emergencyS
Main Category
Peter Sobczynski

Sundance 2022: Emergency offers some laughs, but still stumbles

The race and class satire starts out strong, but its Weekend at Bernie's homage quickly loses steam.
who we areW
Main Category
Douglas Laman

Who We Are is an expansive yet intimate look at uniquely American horrors

This documentary is no easy watch, but it does prove to be a stirring and necessary one.
brazenB
Main Category
Beau North

Brazen is a hollow attempt at rekindling made for TV movie magic

Netflix continues to dip from the well of nostalgia in a not as tawdry as it wants to be murder mystery.
scream 5S
Main Category
Gena Radcliffe

Scream is a brutal, clever return to form

The spirit of Wes Craven lives on in the fifth installment of horror’s smartest slasher franchise.
Riverdance The Animated Adventure FeaturedR
Main Category
Sean Price

Riverdance: The Animated Adventure has two left feet

Too many farts and too much step dancing overshadow the film's attempts at important lessons.

RIGHT ON CUE

Daniel Pemberton Being the RicardosD
Main Category
January 14, 2022

Daniel Pemberton on capturing the Golden Age sweep of Being the Ricardos

The Oscar-nominated composer goes old-school symphonic for his latest collaboration with Aaron Sorkin.
LISTEN

FEATURES

YellowjacketsH
January 20, 2022
Beau North

How Yellowjackets became the surprise sleeper hit of the winter

The occult horror-mystery about the survivors of a gruesome disaster captured audiences with dark humor & compelling characters.
Sundance 2022S
January 16, 2022
The Spool Staff

Sundance 2022: 10 films we can’t wait to see

After almost two years of virtual-only festivals (of which last year’s Sundance Film Festival was one of the most impressively and cleanly organized), it was..
Star Trek Gene RoddenberryC
January 10, 2022
Ken Lowe

Considering Star Trek without Roddenberry

30 years after the series’ creator passed, what remains of his message as Star Trek is bigger than ever.
Movie Theaters in 2021T
January 7, 2022
B.C. Wallin

The best movie of 2021 was any you got to see in a theater

On a year that let us come back to the theaters, and what that meant for the movies we saw.
Jacques Rivette's The NunK
January 4, 2022
B.L. Panther

KinoKultur: Nunderestimating the sisters

A duo of nunsploitation films from Kino Lorber tests our preconceptions of faith-based cinema.

TV

Book of Boba Fett Episode 4T
Main Category
Megan Sunday

The Book of Boba Fett is all action & little talk in episode 4

After a bummer of a plot twist in episode 3, things pick back up as we learn how Boba Fett meets his right-hand woman.
Servant Season 3S
Main Category
Gena Radcliffe

Servant keeps doing its own thing in season 3

The M. Night Shyamalan supernatural horror series is better if you stop trying to figure out what’s going on.
O
Main Category
Ashley Lara

Ozark delivers slow-burn tension in Season 4 Part 1

The Netflix suspense drama continues to deliver with methodical brilliance.
Search Party final seasonS
Main Category
Reyzando Nawara

Search Party’s co-creators on the thin line between altruism and narcissism

Charles Rogers and Sarah-Violet Bliss look back at their genre-hopping chronicle of millennial life and the journey of the anti-heroine they built with Alia Shawkat.
RuPaul's Drag Race Season 14 Episode 2 RecapT
Main Category
B.L. Panther

This week’s Drag Race tries the same game again, to diminished returns

We see the other group of queens this week, and their introductions leave a lot to be desired.
book of boba fett episode 3T
Main Category
Megan Sunday

The Book of Boba Fett does the Tuskens dirty in episode 3

After two episodes of lighthearted action and adventure, the series takes an unnecessary dark turn.

INSTAGRAM

Cliff Martinez talks about his score for DRIVE on its tenth anniversary, now available on vinyl c/o @invadarecords: #CueCommentary #composer #filmmusic
With reviews of AWAKE, @infinitemov, and PENGUIN TOWN plus a look at the FOR A FREE PALESTINE film series and an interview with the writer-director and the star of ASIA, The Spool is here to get you to the weekend.
Gather round the fire that is the link in our bio and let Reyzando Nawara tell you about how @lovevictorhulu forgets its lead character too often in Season 2.
Peter Sobczynski takes a trip back 15 years into the past to re-evaluate Robert Altman's final film A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION. Ask our bio nicely, in your best radio voice, to show you the link that'll take you past Lake Wobegon and right to our site.
Timeline jumping, spontaneous singing and dancing, and electronic music all share the spotlight as Jon Negroni reviews the first two episodes of @officialloki, Matt Cipolla tries to fall into step with @intheheightsmovie, and Patrick Glennon considers the music of Tangerine Dream.
Gena Radcliffe delivered a pair of reviews for horror films, THE CONJURING: THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT and LISEY'S STORY. One disappointed greatly, one proved surprisingly good if flawed. Haunt the link in our bio for the reviews and answers.

FILMMAKER OF THE MONTH

&
April 30, 2021
Cian Tsang

“Twixt” runs red with the blood of Coppola’s messy ambitions

Francis Ford Coppola's final film to date may not be his best (or even good), but it encapsulates his yearning for creative freedom.
TetroT
April 29, 2021
Michael Guarnieri

The underrated “Tetro” reflects Coppola’s empathetic side

Though pretentious at times, the 2009 drama comes from a fresh new perspective of the filmmaker.
Youth Without YouthI
April 28, 2021
B.L. Panther

In “Youth Without Youth”, Coppola delves into mystic linguistics

Time has largely been kind to the great director's fascinating and flawed modern fable.
The RainmakerI
April 28, 2021
Beau North

In “The Rainmaker”, Coppola directs young Damon masterfully

Coppola brings noir style and gorgeously grody design to his John Grisham adaptation.
The Outsiders&
April 26, 2021
Priyanka Bose

“The Outsiders” is a loving portrayal of young male vulnerability

One of Coppola's most beloved films is a gentle look at teenage boys struggling in a world that has it out for them.
JackT
April 26, 2021
David Rollison

The meant-to-be heartwarming “Jack” is a grotesque misfire

Perhaps the lowest point in Coppola's filmography doesn't get any better upon rewatch decades later.