Skip to content
The Spool

The Spool

Unraveling Pop Culture One Thread at a Time
Main navigation
  • Podcasts
    • More of a Comment Really
    • Hall of Faces
  • Movies
  • TV
  • Patreon
  • News
    • Awards
  • About
  • Contact

Author: Michael Snydel

You’ll want to get to know “Our Friend”

Our Friend
T T Read More

Jason Segel, Dakota Johnson, and Casey Affleck forge a treacly, generous bond in a drama that almost drowns in its own schmaltz.

Michael Snydel Posted on January 23, 2021January 23, 2021

“Hunted” speaks out of both sides of its mouth

hunted
T T Read More

Vincent Paronnaud’s over the top slasher film wants to say something about misogyny while treating its female lead as an object to be abused.

Michael Snydel Posted on January 11, 2021January 11, 2021

The Top 25 Films of 2020

The Best Films of 2020
T T Read More

From The Assistant to Wolfwalkers, we guide you through the cinema that survived a devastating 2020 and made it to our screens — and hearts.

Michael Snydel Posted on December 15, 2020January 3, 2021

“Gunda” is a wordless symphony of the lives of livestock

Gunda
T T Read More

Viktor Kossakovsky’s deeply anthropological look at the everyday rhythms of farm life bursts with precision and quietly devastating purpose.

Michael Snydel Posted on December 11, 2020December 11, 2020

“Fireball” is a dense, fascinating look at more of Werner Herzog’s interests

Fireball: Visitors From Darker Worlds
T T Read More

The documentary about the destructive beauty of meteors is equal parts perplexing and engaging.

Michael Snydel Posted on November 12, 2020November 12, 2020

“Blood Vessel” nicely fills in that post-Halloween void

Blood Vessel
T T Read More

Writer-director Justin Dix pits WWII shipwreck survivors against monsters in a sometimes too restrained but fun horror adventure.

Michael Snydel Posted on November 5, 2020November 6, 2020

“May the Devil Take You Too” offers stylish, overstuffed scares

May the Devil Take You Too
T T Read More

Timo Tjahjanto brings his maximalist sensibilities to a followup that tries to be several different horror movies at once.

Michael Snydel Posted on October 30, 2020October 30, 2020

“The Secret Society of Second-Born Royals” inherits its charms from better franchises

Secret Society of Second-Born Royals
T T Read More

Disney+ tries to blend its love of princes and princesses with its new focus on superheroes, with mixed results.

Michael Snydel Posted on September 26, 2020September 26, 2020

In Soviet Russia, “Sputnik” scares YOU

Sputnik
T T Read More

Alien parasites wreak havoc on Mother Russia in this pulpy, viscerally effective creepfest.

Michael Snydel Posted on August 14, 2020August 14, 2020

“The Painted Bird” loses itself in its own detached misery

The Painted Bird
T T Read More

Václav Marhoul’s three-hour WW2 fable is a brutal film tied up a bit too rigidly in its meticulous depictions of violence.

Michael Snydel Posted on July 16, 2020July 16, 2020

War is hell, and unfortunately, so is “The Outpost”

The Outpost
T T Read More

Rod Lurie’s military thriller about the Battle of Kamdesh can’t quite nail its critique about the horrors of war.

Michael Snydel Posted on July 3, 2020July 3, 2020

With “Wasp Network,” Olivier Assayas loses his sting

Wasp Network
T T Read More

Olivier Assayas’ latest is a clunky thriller that resists cinematic convention to its detriment.

Michael Snydel Posted on June 19, 2020June 20, 2020

“The Vast of Night” is a fuzzy, evocative sci-fi debut

The Vast of Night
T T Read More

Andrew Patterson’s tale of strange goings-on in ’50s New Mexico is full of detail, even if it doesn’t reach its full potenial.

Michael Snydel Posted on May 27, 2020May 27, 2020

“Driveways” is an achingly delicate cry for empathy

Driveways
T T Read More

Andrew Ahn’s sophomore film is one of the year’s most understated masterworks, with a beautiful sendoff for Brian Dennehy.

Michael Snydel Posted on May 8, 2020May 8, 2020

“Thousand Pieces of Gold” remains a layered tale of colonialism

Thousand Pieces of Gold
T T Read More

Newly restored in 4K by Indiecollect and released by Kino Lorber, Nancy Kelly’s 1991 western softly explores racial and gender-based oppression in late-1800s America.

Michael Snydel Posted on April 27, 2020April 27, 2020

“Coffee & Kareem” is Bitter on the Palate

Coffee & Kareem
T T Read More

Netflix’s latest buddy cop comedy is a dated, hateful mess that doesn’t deserve the screentime.

Michael Snydel Posted on April 3, 2020April 3, 2020

Ben Affleck Finds His Way Back to “The Way Back”

The Way Back
T T Read More

The much-memed movie star finds his footing again in a familiar but satisfying redemption story.

Michael Snydel Posted on March 6, 2020March 6, 2020

“The Rhythm Section” Struggles to Stay in Tune

T T Read More

Though cinematographer Reed Morano shows some directing chops, the Blake Lively thriller is uneven in style & tone.

Michael Snydel Posted on January 29, 2020January 29, 2020

Posts navigation

Previous1 2 Next
© 2021 The Spool. Podcast logo by Josh Hollis. Made with love by Pixelgrade
Footer navigation
  • About
  • Contact
Secondary navigation
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Mail
  • Feed
  • Patreon
  • Search

Begin typing your search above and press return to search. Press Esc to cancel.