The Surfer, The Wedding Banquet and Another Simple Favour (Movie Squad Podcast #485)
Surf’s up! The Blockbuster Babes bring you a bevy of bodacious reviews from the latest Breakfast with Pam.
First up, Simon Miraudo and Tristan Fidler review radical new Aussie psychodrama The Surfer, starring ‘Our Nic’, Nicolas Cage! In this Yallingup-shot film, Cage plays a businessman who returns to his WA hometown with the intention of reclaiming the childhood home that overlooks his favourite beach, only to face off against the toxic dudes who dominate the surf and warn him, ‘locals only’.
Then, Tristan shares his thoughts on the remake of The Wedding Banquet, starring Bowen Yang, Lily Gladstone and Kelly Marie Tran, all about the farcical comedy of errors that follows two gay couples who intersect for a green card marriage, which gets complicated by their cultural backgrounds (and some meddling mothers and grandmothers).
The Surfer opens in Australian cinemas 15 May (with advance screenings this weekend). The Wedding Banquet is now showing.
Keep listening for Tristan’s pod-exclusive review of Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively’s Another Simple Favour, which has gone straight to Amazon Prime Video… perhaps for good reason.
Be sure to tune in to RTRFM every Friday at 7:30am to hear Movie Squad live on Breakfast with Pam!
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Sinners, The Accountant 2 and An Unfinished Film (Movie Squad Podcast #484)
Our long national nightmare is over: Movie Squad is back from hiatus.
After a few long, long, too-long weekends, Tristan Fidler and Simon Miraudo reunite with Breakfast host Pam Boland to catch-up on the latest releases. But not before they rank the best pope (and pope-adjacent) movies!
With that important business out of the way, Tristan leads a review of Ryan Coogler’s Sinners, which sees the director reunite with his muse Michael B. Jordan (times two!) for a tale of twins who set up a juke joint and battle vampires in Mississippi.
Then, Simon tries to justify his enjoyment (and the existence) of The Accountant 2, wherein Ben Affleck reprises the role of Christian Wolff, a neurodivergent CPA with a penchant for righting wrongs and breaking arms.
Keep listening for a pod-exclusive review of the Chinese docufiction An Unfinished Film, about a production crew that attempts to complete a long-ago-aborted project in Wuhan circa January 2020.
Be sure to tune in to RTRFM every Friday at 7:30am to hear Movie Squad live on Breakfast with Pam! Head here for more details on the Palestinian Film Festival that runs from 2 – 4 May at Luna Palace Cinemas.
And in case you missed it, the Movie Squad caught up with Alexei Toliopoulos and Zachary Ruane to discuss their brand new comedy show Refused Classification, which comes to Perth on 9 May!
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Refused Classification Interview with Alexei Toliopoulos and Zachary Ruane (Movie Squad Podcast #483)
It’s West Coast meets East Coast film fandom on this bonus Movie Squad pod, as Tristan Fidler and Simon Miraudo are joined by Alexei Toliopoulos and Zachary Ruane to discuss their brand new comedy show Refused Classification.
Zach is well known for being one leg of the Aunty Donna tripod, and Alexei is the host of The Last Video Store podcast, but from here on out, they may be best recognised as the alternate timeline version of beloved Aussie critics David Stratton and Margaret Pomeranz, whom they play in Refused Classification.
Their show (a fusion of stand-up, documentary, protest and audacious verbatim theatre) sees Alexei and Zach relaying (and replaying) Margaret’s iconic stoush against the authorities as she attempted to screen the banned film Ken Park in 2003.
Tristan and Simon caught up with Alexei and Zach during their sold-out run of shows at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, and ahead of them bringing Refused Classification to Boorloo for the Perth Comedy Festival, playing The Rechabite on Friday 9 May. (There are also limited tix available for their Melbourne run, thanks to some newly added shows!)
Movie Squad’s on-air segment is on a brief hiatus but keep tuning in to RTRFM and join the Blockbuster Babes for their triumphant return on Friday 2 May at 7:30am with Breakfast host Pam Boland. You can always play catch-up with past episodes of the podcast here.
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Small Things Like These and Warfare (Movie Squad Podcast #482)
War is hell… but Movie Squad is heaven.
This week, with Tristan Fidler away on special assignment, Laura Blundell joins Simon Miraudo and Breakfast host Pam Boland for two bleak and despairing films that send her into a self-admitted spiral.
First up, Laura reviews Small Things Like These, featuring Cillian Murphy in his first major role post Oscar-win for Oppenheimer. It sees him play an Irish coal merchant who witnesses the abusive workhouses for unwed mothers in 1980s Ireland.
Then, Simon reviews Warfare, director Alex Garland’s follow-up to 2024’s Civil War; an even more immersive frontline thriller set during a single campaign of the Iraq War in 2006, told from the ‘memory’ of co-director Ray Mendoza, and starring all the internet’s boyfriends.
Keep listening for a pod-exclusive chat about… Spice World?
Be sure to tune in to RTRFM every Friday at 7:30am to hear Movie Squad live on Breakfast with Pam!
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Head South and Novocaine – No Pain (Movie Squad Podcast #481)
Emergency session! Tristan Fidler and Simon Miraudo are back on the airwaves with Pam Boland to discuss the newly announced Beatles biopics (and its unexpected bisexual agenda).
Then, back to business.
Simon leads a review of Jonathan Ogilvie’s semi-autobiographical NZ punk coming-of-age flick Head South, starring Ed Oxenbould and Benee. (Listen to an interview with Jonathan from On the Record earlier this week!)
Then, Tristan reviews Novocaine – No Pain, the hilariously retitled-in-Australia action comedy starring Nepo Baby All Star Jack Quaid as a mild-mannered (assistant) bank manager who can withstand John Wick-style beatdowns with ease.
Be sure to tune in to RTRFM every Friday at 7:30am to hear Movie Squad live on Breakfast with Pam!
Simon Miraudo and Tristan Fidler review movies every Friday morning on Breakfast With Pam. Now they have their very own podcast that you can subscribe to and listen to!
The Movie Squad RTRFM podcast is where you can hear Simon, Tristan and occasionally special guests discuss movies at length and in detail, covering every kind of topic and every type of movie, from blockbuster extravaganzas to arthouse fare, from celluloid excellence to glorious trash!
Remember: if you need a movie reviewed… call the Movie Squad!
Movie Squad is sponsored by Luna Palace Cinemas.
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