Filmspotting

From none of the people who brought you Barbie comes a new film inspired by (or mandated by?) the Mattel corporation. It’s Matchbox: The Movie! And it stinks. But in what ways exactly does it stink? The answers may surprise you. Matt and Jordan discuss. Plus, Jordan’s thoughts on the conclusion of Prime Video’s Carrie limited series, which was reviewed on last week’s show; a Rec Seg featuring titles — one adapted from a video game, the other from a toy — that fare better than Matchbox; a listener request for slow-burn horror movies; and the return of Portmanteau-to-Toe: a Movie Trivia Game.
Intro / Carrie recap (00:00:00–00:08:41)
Matchbox: The Movie (Apple TV) (00:08:42–00:33:42)
Rec Seg! (00:33:43–00:47:41)
Listener Request Seg: Slow-Burn Horror Movies (00:47:42–01:05:33)
Game: Portmanteau-To-Toe (01:05:34–01:24:55)
New to Streaming / Credits (01:24:56–01:34:08)
Show Notes
Jordan: “What 6 Different Versions of This Sex Comedy Say About the Countries That Made Them”
https://foreignpolicy.com/2026/09/04/review-the-invite-film-international-versions/
Now Streaming on Bazooga - A Filmspotting: SVU Archive⁠ https://letterboxd.com/samvanhallgren/list/now-streaming-on-bazooga-a-filmspotting-svu/⁠
Order Matt's book "Funny Business: The Old-School Wedding Crashers and Knocked-Up Virgins Who Changed Comedy Forever" (available now!):⁠ https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/790241/funny-business-by-matt-singer/⁠
Matt’s book tour!
matt-singer.net
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Can a movie change your life? In a 1960s interview, Stanley Kubrick posed a deceptively simple provocation: "I wonder what percent of people ever actually encounter a work of art that changes them."

This week, New York Times Chief Film Critic Manohla Dargis joins Michael Phillips to test this proposition against a lifetime of moviegoing. Together, they reflect on films that expanded their sense of what cinema could do — from Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless and Every Man for Himself to Kubrick's own 2001: A Space Odyssey — and discuss the difference between a movie that alters your life and one that offers you a profound experience.

Join the conversation by emailing themovieracket@filmspotting.net.
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With the fall film festival season (mostly) in the rearview and release dates set through the end of the year, Adam and Josh hold a Fall Movie Preview Draft that sees them largely ignoring obvious picks like Avengers: Doomsday and Dune: Part Three in favor of battling over some of the most intriguing indies still to come. Plus, a review of Aaron Sorkin's The Social Reckoning and Massacre Theatre.
This episode is presented by⁠ Regal Unlimited⁠⁠, the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits. Use code FILMSPOT26 to take 15% off.
(Timecodes will not be precise with ads.)
Intro (00:00:00-00:02:25)
‘26 Fall Preview Draft (00:02:26-0:25:19)
Filmspotting Family (0:25:20-00:31:25)
Preview Draft, cont. (00:31:26-1:02:41)
The Social Reckoning (1:02:42-01:30:58)
Massacre Theatre (01:30:59-01:36:46)
Credits / New Releases (01:36:47-01:44:01)
Notes:
-Yes, for some reason James Caan appeared on a Fall Preview cast list for “Cliff Booth” along with his son. No, it didn’t occur to Adam that he was dead. (He is.)
-”The Family Guy” has the famous “It insists upon itself” joke – not “The Simpsons.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYAi5aI_NPc
-Refocus Film Festival
https://refocusfilmfestival.org/
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Primetime is a far-from-straightforward take on a true story, using the mid-aughts TV phenomenon To Catch a Predator and especially its host, Chris Hansen, for a darkly comic exploration of the morally murky place where ambition and justice overlap. It’s a tonal high wire act that gets a lot of mileage out of Lance Oppenheim’s expressively stylized direction and strong performances from Robert Pattinson, Merritt Wever, and Skyler Gisondo, but whether that all adds up to a satisfying film is up for debate this week. Then we bring 1957’s Sweet Smell of Success back in for Connections to discuss how it and Primetime both navigate protagonists who punch down from their moral high ground, and the bygone media environments that enable them, all while maintaining a sense of humor. Then, for anyone looking for a fuller picture of To Catch a Predator’s rise and fall, we offer a Your Next Picture Show for David Osit’s 2025 documentary Predators.
Please share your thoughts about Sweet Smell of Success, Primetime, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.
Next pairing: Aaron Sorkin's The Social Reckoning and David Fincher's The Social Network.
This episode is presented by⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Regal Unlimited⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits. Use code NEXTPIC26 for 15% off.
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The 1991 movie year turns 35 this year. T2, Barton Fink, Boys in the Hood. In 2014, Adam and Josh looked back a mere 23 years for their Top 5 of '91.


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