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PODCAST

Off Screen Death

Michael Denniston and David Giannini

A podcast about all the things we must do before the inevitable. Mostly watching movies. However one host intends to use that time wisely by looking at respected lists of curation from the likes of Sight And Sound or the AFI"s Top 100. Meanwhile the other watches a lot of STARZ. Really. An unreasonable amount of STARZ. And yet he heroically finds the time to podcast. Before he dies. This is OFF SCREEN DEATH. Hosted by Michael Denniston and David Giannini. Artwork by Nathan Thomas Milliner. Music

tv & film film history

All Episodes

00:37:21

Mamma Mia! (RT 55%)

Off Screen Death ·

2022/05/24

"A sage once advised being wary of movies in which the people on screen are having more fun than the people in the audience. MAMMA MIA, was that good advice." Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times is a bit of a fuddy duddy when it comes to Meryl Streep dancing with her ladies and having sex with a few men in this jukebox musical... and no, one hose didn't know what that term was but he immediately imagines a similar adaptation of GOOD WILL HUNTING with the musings of Elliot Smith. Pretty much the

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00:28:32

Parallel Mothers (Dave's #1 Movie of 2021)

Off Screen Death ·

2022/05/23

"Alas, it is Almodovar in my least favorite mode: As the man who crafts soap-operatic excuses for actresses like Cruz to weep at length." Dennis Harvey of 48 Hills, like many critics in history, gets it absolutely wrong. Yes, we agree that there are soap opera dynamics at play here, but in our (MUCH BETTER) opinion, Cruz acts admirably and downright calm, as opposed to “weeping at length. “Parallel Mothers is a movie of infinite tenderness, that rare ode to motherhood that acknowledges mothers as

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00:37:22

Everybody Wants Some!! (Mike's #1 Movie of 2016)

Off Screen Death ·

2022/04/30

"As small and specific as it is, EVERYBODY WANTS SOME!! feels improbably expansive, even universal. As Jake's endless Friday night turns into the inevitable Monday morning, it turns out that his lost weekend was all about being found." Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post gets it and gets us. Mike and Dave finally get to talk about one of the great hangout movies of all time, from the master of the genre, Richard Linklater. “It's as if Linklater is bound by a bro code that obliges him to present

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00:44:55

The Slugger's Wife (RT 0%)

Off Screen Death ·

2022/04/29

"Simon's not in a lighthearted mood, and so the silliness of the story gets bogged down in all sorts of gloomy neuroses, angry denunciations, and painful self-analysis." Sounds like Roger Ebert is ALSO not in a lighthearted mood as he watched Neil Simon and Hal Ashby's THE SLUGGER'S WIFE. Neither were we. BUT THEN... the pathetic antics of our toxic romantic lead just keep going and one host became charmed. The other can never be charmed and his name is Dave. Enjoy Michael O'Keefe unbelievably play

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00:35:19

Bull Durham (1001 Film #804)

Off Screen Death ·

2022/04/28

"Bull Durham is a treasure of a movie because it knows so much about baseball and so little about love." Roger Ebert, who apparently has no faith in humanity, still finds a way to give Bull Durham a positive review. We, at Off Screen Death, have a bit more hope but still enjoyed the same things that he did. “The acting in Bull Durham cannot be faulted and should be remembered at Oscar time. Sarandon has one of the juiciest female roles in years and she makes you think no one could play it

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00:36:27

How Do You Know (RT 31%)

Off Screen Death ·

2022/04/27

Give us all the movie stars in an expensive romcom and we still want more Kathryn Hahn. That's just one of the many complaints from one co-host as we celebrate the return of baseball this April with our own list of the sport as featured in film. "Instead of juicing it up with jokes, Brooks has inadvertently given us another story of the American condition, which is that of absolute and incorrigible self-centredness" was the take from Anthony Quinn of the Independent. And while not wrong... a little

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00:34:23

House of Gucci (2022 Oscars #1 Snub)

Off Screen Death ·

2022/04/01

"It's a long and poorly paced and plays too loose with the facts. Oh well!" "The bonkers true story that chronicles the unraveling of the Italian fashion empire is also first-class frothy and fun entertainment.” This is from Mara Reinstein of US Weekly, but it might as well be from Mike. Whatever, who cares? It’s fun and dumb! “House of Gucci isn't aggressively bad, but it is undeniably tedious, threadbare, and unengaging.” Yes, Richard Whittaker of the Austin Chronicle! Dave agrees, either be

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00:59:51

The Batman (RT 86%)

Off Screen Death ·

2022/03/10

"We deserved it. I mean, if you get a pummeling, you deserved it. But isn't it wonderful to remember a time that America was once so innocent that all we had to worry about was the next Batman movie?" - Joel Schumacher Are we really wasting another weekend on a new release? Well it’s Batman (excuse me, THE BATMAN) and the whole world is watching so what do you expect? Your regular hosts, plus Derek, host of The Grand Gesture and Your List, My Command (kind of) joins the fray. It’s strange, but for

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00:35:10

Marry Me (RT 60%)

Off Screen Death ·

2022/03/01

"The corpse of Notting Hill is reanimated, frightfully, in this star-crossed rom-com about love across the fame divide." Kevin Maher of The Times certainly seems to be a fan of that Julia Robert/Hugh Grant classic. Or at least very defensive about it. So are we! Which is why we feel slightly bad picking on Owen Wilson's battle between his youthful screen persona and the natural aging process in the new Peacock release (God, help us) MARRY ME. So we attempt to find a better romcom in his filmography

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00:37:42

JFK (1001 Movies #864)

Off Screen Death ·

2022/02/22

"Stone's film is hypnotically watchable. Leaving aside all of its drama and emotion, it is a masterpiece of film assembly." Once again, Roger Ebert states succinctly what it takes podcasters near an hour to say, repeatedly. But yes, we agree with Roger. JFK is Oliver Stone’s one absolute masterpiece. And indeed, it is a movie you (and we) should watch (or rewatch) before you die. True to our usual selves, we also rate Kevin Costner’s attractiveness in one moment and seriously discuss why no one

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00:44:11

Belfast/Odd Man Out (1001 Movies #210)

Off Screen Death ·

2022/02/08

"It will warm the hearts of a lot of people, including a lot of Academy voters. Is it the best picture of the year? A) Too early to tell, and B) No, but, really, it's fine." Ty Burr of Ty Burr's Watch List damning with faint praise... which is more than one host can muster for the latest throwback to Miramar Oscar schlock of the 90s. Instead he'd rather talk about how to use a random sequence of singing that involves Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph. Not Kenneth Branagh. This movie is crap. Let's see

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00:39:20

Scream/Blade Runner 2049 (1001 Films #1210)

Off Screen Death ·

2022/02/02

"It's at a certain point toward the finale that this SCREAM becomes almost as drearily repetitious as the reboot culture it skewers." Pat Smith of Slant Magazine lines up SCREAM for a stab wound, and sadly, we mostly agree. One of our hosts is kind to the movie, and the other is Dave. We talk about waiting too long, the lack of difference between Scream 4 and 5, and how these kids never quite live up to noted thespians like Matthew Lillard and Jamie Kennedy. But then we move on to a great movie

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00:46:45

Eternals/The Hunger (RT 55%)

Off Screen Death ·

2022/01/11

"All superhero movies are ridiculous. That's where the super part comes in. With good superhero movies, you don't notice the ridiculousness- or it doesn't matter. With ETERNALS, you notice." While we are just now catching up to Mark Feeney of the Boston Globe (conveniently timed for its ultimate destiny as a square on Disney+) we find ourselves looking for more comforting ridiculousness in... ... sexy vampires. Not just any sexy vampires. Sexy vampires as played by Catherine Deneuve, David Bowie and

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00:46:56

King Richard/Life as a House (RT 47%)

Off Screen Death ·

2022/01/04

"Venus and Serena Williams are the names we rightly remember, but KING RICHARD remains fixated on the male bravado that pushed for them to get their names out there in the first place." Allegra Frank of Slate has no time for male bravado... whereas anyone who has listened to OFF SCREEN DEATH knows that is all this podcast is. Toxic and potent masculinity. So much so that for the failed but mostly well reviewed (ignore our chosen splat above) new Will Smith film we turned our podcasting eye to the

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00:33:55

The Godfather Part II (AFI #32; Sight and Sound #31)

Off Screen Death ·

2021/12/31

"Godfather sires weak son." “Coppola’s ambitions THE GODFATHER PART TWO is a slow, aimless and annoyingly restless movie which purports to be about gangsterism but is, in fact, about the boredom of waiting.” These two reviews from The Philadelphia Enquirer (Desmond Ryan) and Philadelphia Daily News (Joe Baltalke), respectively, are placed here for your mockery (seriously, what is going on in Philly??) Obviously, THE GODFATHER PART II is a piece of great American art. That being said, your hosts

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00:32:31

Lucky You (RT 29%)

Off Screen Death ·

2021/12/28

"Feels like SHOWGIRLS without the tits or dancing." Joshua Rothkopf of TIME OUT is a fan of two things... but not Curtis Hanson's LUCKY YOU. Is Eric Bana to blame for this Diet Coke version of ROUNDERS? Can't be. For he was nominated for Australian Film Institute International Award for Best Actor. What about America's Sweetheart for decades in Drew Barrymore? Maybe. But it most certainly can't be Debra Messing's fault. Even though she is the only reason this film was programmed on this podcast

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00:30:18

Last Night in Soho/Repulsion (1001 Movies #462)

Off Screen Death ·

2021/11/01

"Were we supposed to have found it entertaining? There's more horror latent in this notion of the movie audience than in the film itself." And if Pauline Kael's unkind words about Roman Polanski's REPULSION don't do it for you... how about Father Time Rex Reed for LAST NIGHT IN SOHO? “Depraved, delirious, and downright stupid, Last Night in Soho is two hours of amateurish drivel by B-movie director Edgar Wright that pretends to be half-retro Swingin’ Sixties comedy and half-horror thriller. It is

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00:32:05

Rashomon (Sight and Sound #26)

Off Screen Death ·

2021/10/18

"A film that demonstrates that how you tell your story is just as important as what the story entails." Matt Neal of ABC Radio Australia taps into exactly what makes Rashomon truly great. Sure, many films have cribbed from this style, but none have reached the heights of Akira Kurosawa. But listen in to our discussion, because we talk not only about Rashomon and the Rashomon Effect; but also about the performances, and the outright cynicism of a beloved classic. Subscribe on Apple

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00:35:15

Enduring Love (RT 59%)

Off Screen Death ·

2021/10/11

"The whole film... is not thrilling or moving; it is interesting, which is fine by me but will not make it a huge success." Mark Steyn of The Spectator is washing his hands of this stalker film ENDURING LOVE starring Daniel Craig and Rhys Ifans but we are just getting into it as we learn many deep secrets about one host. Such as: Dave is afraid of balloons. Dave likes to see James Bond kissing another man. But be efficient about it; no lollygagging. And Mike likes the movie but would honestly

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00:31:17

The Tree of Life (1001 Movies #1147)

Off Screen Death ·

2021/09/21

"The lack of story or purpose is annoying and at times, the film is too experimental. Topping things off is an abrupt and unsatisfying ending which doesn't leave us with good feeling towards the film." Amy Curtis of We Got This Covered agrees with one of our hosts, especially regarding Malick’s lack of a story. We will call that host... the hero. “If you truly give in to the beauty of this amazing film, you might even find yourself changed by it. How often can you say that at the cinema?” Brian

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99 results

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