We're back with a Spoiler Filled episode of one of the year's most anticipated films, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. John, Josiah and special guests, Steph and Alec talk all things Star Wars and get into the nitty gritty of what was good, bad and ugly with the last film in the Skywalker saga. Disagree with our thoughts, and opinions? Let us know by sending in a message. John and Josiah will be back to record a second episode about this film after another viewing or two. Needless to say, go see this movie!

This week Josiah & John viewed Academy Award Nominated Writer/Director, Noah Baumbach's latest film, Marriage Story, in the comfort of Josiah's home on Netflix. That's right! Got Netflix? Turn that bad boy on and watch Marriage Story today, and then come back and listen to this podcast.

Josiah & John get to the bottom of this ingeniously written and directed Rian Johnson film and discuss how all of the elements from acting to production design play an incredibly significant role in the storytelling in this spoiler filled episode. This is a film that we enjoyed from beginning to end.

We are not saying anything here that would spoil anyone even though this is a spoiler review. You have to listen to hear our thoughts about Bong Joon-ho's genre bending film. This funny, haunting, metaphorical, exciting, moody, masterwork of Korean cinema is worth the look. If you have not seen the movie, listen to our SPOILER FREE podcast to help you decide to see it and if you have joined us in our comfortable podcast home and hear our thoughts.

This week Josiah, John and Alec all see The Lighthouse, Robert Eggers' masterwork of cinematic craft. Trapped in a car and then studio, our intrepid hosts slowly go mad trying to decipher the chronologically fractured, psychologically distorted, story of two men struggling to live day by day in a remote lighthouse with storms, mermaids and a really angry seagull. There is so much to talk about and we hope you will stick around for this thoughtful reflection of the film. 

Rule #101 of surviving Zombieland is to listen to the Racking Focus Podcast. This week we brave the post apocalyptic wasteland that is  Zombieland 2: Double Tap.  Josiah and John are joined by regular guest host, Alec Maks. Listen as we discuss this sequel to the 2009 horror/comedy, what we liked about it, what worked and offer a spoiler-filled review of the film.

Josiah and John get lost in the gritty world of 1970's Gotham and consider the traumatic, violent, psychologically deceptive world of the Joker. Their love of this film as a work of cinema is undeniable but the conversation reels out into questions of vigilantism, fame, celebrity, morality and filmmaking.  "Joker" is a film that requires though and reflection. The craftsmanship of the film inspired us to an extraordinary  conversation

This week John and Josiah had some real scheduling problems, especially when the movie theatre seriously abbreviated the showings of The Goldfinch. We only had time to do our "Hot Take" segment in the car, but we still had  volumes to share about this high society novel adaptation. Listen to the reasons why we DISAGREE with the critical rating for this movie on Rotten Tomatoes. We loved this masterwork of technique and although it is long, it tells a rich and rewarding, tension-filled, story exploding of beautiful imagery composed of with masterful design elements.

This week Josiah and John are taking a trip to Derry to confront IT CHAPTER TWO.  This adaptation of the lengthy Stephen King novel is eaqually lengthy, running 2 hours and 50 minutes. As a sequel to IT Chapter One, It is serviceable, but "it" does not reach the same horror heights. Full of quality jump scares and some excellent acting, pacing is the challenge for the filmmakers. We are joined by Alec in the car, and haunted by a security guard, as we give our immediate take on the film and then we take some time to put the film in context in "chapter two" of our podcast with just Josiah and John.

This week John and Josiah brave the perils of wifi and video streaming to watch the 2018 film SHOPLIFTERS by respected Japanese director, Hirokazu Koreeda. We loved this movie but found it challenging to watch, both because of technical issues and the deep dive into common day Japanese culture. There is much to talk about this one, available on HULU as we publish. It received the Palme D'or at Cannes and was nominated for an Academy Award. It raises the question of what is a family and how does one proceed ethically when living in an economically difficult position. This is a puzzle box of love, relationship and theft.

Although neither John nor Josiah are die hard Springsteen fans, they are both fans of Gurinder Chadha's love letter to the lyrics of the Boss (event though they can be difficult to parse) and this charming film about England in the 1980s. The movie deals with racism, fascism, love and family with some beautiful camera work and some well designed musical set pieces. There is much to discuss.

Josiah and John spend a few hours in Hell's Kitchen this week with the cinematic adaption of the Vertiogo graphic novel, The Kitchen. They entered the theater with high hopes for a women led ganster main course. Did Warner Bros serve a tasty recipe cooked up or was the dinner burnt?