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PODCAST

Midday Movies

Laura Fones and Stephen Frothingham

Welcome to the Midday Movies podcast, provider of fun, funny, and thoughtful media reviews 2-3x a week. Streaming on @radiotacoma101.9 every Tues/Thurs/Sat at 3pm.

tv & film

All Episodes

00:27:06

Ep 216: “A Complete Unknown” (2024) Exploring...

Midday Movies ·

2025/04/03

WELCOME TO SEASON 2 of MIDDAY MOVIESToday we’re discussing the 2024 Oscar-nominated biopic, “A Complete Unknown.” In it, Bob Dylan is played by Timothee Chalamet as we chart the early rise of Dylan’s career in 1960s New York. An extraordinary time capsule of Cold War highlights, social justice movements, and the American folk music scene, “A Complete Unknown” captures a 1960s that sharply resembles the 2020s. Audiences will thrill at the political tumult, clashing personalities, and beautiful music

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00:31:12

Ep 215: “The White Lotus” (2025) Mike White’s...

Midday Movies ·

2025/04/01

WELCOME TO SEASON 2 of MIDDAY MOVIESToday we’re discussing prestige television series, “The White Lotus” (season 3, 2025). Created, written, and directed by the incomparable Mike White, “White Lotus” is on its third season, with its third collection of luxury vacationers, who have more than a third of life-shattering drama. Taking place in the Thailand White Lotus Hotel (a composite of the Four Seasons and other hotels), we are introduced to a North Carolina family on the brink of legal chaos

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00:33:04

Ep 214: “Mickey 17” (2025, Dir. Bong Joon Ho)...

Midday Movies ·

2025/03/27

WELCOME TO SEASON 2 of MIDDAY MOVIESToday we’re discussing the new sci-fi satire from famed “Parasite” director Bong Joon Ho, “Mickey 17” (2025). Based on the 2022 book, “Mickey7,” this film imagines a future where human printing and consciousness-uploading technology has created a class of worker known as “expendable” — someone who can die and be brought back to life endlessly. The expendable in our story, Mickey Barnes (played by Robert Pattinson), is a member of a space colonization mission

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00:27:18

Ep 213: “Black Bag” (2025) is a Sexy Spy Thriller...

Midday Movies ·

2025/03/25

WELCOME TO SEASON 2 of MIDDAY MOVIESToday we’re discussing the new romantic spy thriller, “Black Bag” (2025). Directed by industry legend Steven Soderbergh, written by industry legend David Koepp, and starring industry legends Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender, this story of married high-level British spies set at odds is brilliant, exciting, and visually beautiful. With an extraordinary ensemble cast (Gustaf Skarsgard, Tom Burke, Marisa Abela, and Naomie Harris) that includes an erstwhile James

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00:24:14

Ep 212: “Captain America: Brave New World” (2025,...

Midday Movies ·

2025/03/20

WELCOME TO SEASON 2 of MIDDAY MOVIESToday we’re discussing the latest addition to the Marvel Captain America franchise, “Captain America: Brave New World” (2025). Sam Wilson, played by Anthony Mackie, has now fully accepted the mantle of Captain America and is out fighting for us in the middle of an international incident. We have a new president, Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (played by Harrison Ford) and a new powerful element discovered in international waters — Adamantium. Beloved characters find

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00:21:21

Ep 211: “Flow” (2024) is the Animated Film that Won...

Midday Movies ·

2025/03/18

WELCOME TO SEASON 2 of MIDDAY MOVIESToday we’re discussing the Oscar-winning animated film, “Flow” (2025). Directed by young Latvian filmmaker Gints Zilbalodis, this multinational movie brought together animators from Latvia, Belgium, and France, was completed entirely in the free-to-use 3D modeling software Blender, and shipped only a few days before its premiere at Cannes Film Festival. The story follows an independent cat whose world is threatened by a massive flood, forcing him to find refuge on

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00:07:20

Midday Mini Ep 2: “Hot Frosty” (Netflix, 2024) is a...

Midday Movies ·

2025/03/13

WELCOME TO SEASON 2 of MIDDAY MOVIESToday we’re presenting you with another Midday Mini! Please enjoy a super-short, super-fun conversation about “Hot Frosty” — a Hallmark-style Netflix movie with great things to teach you about being a pillar of your community. This movie stars Lacey Chabert, Dustin Milligan, Chrishell Stausse, Jo Lo Truglio, and Craig Robinson. It was written by Russell Hainline and directed by Jerry Ciccoritti.We want to know what you think about our podcast! Let us know in this

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00:24:09

Ep 210: “The Monkey” (2025) and Its Stephen King...

Midday Movies ·

2025/03/11

WELCOME TO SEASON 2 of MIDDAY MOVIESToday we’re discussing the latest release by horror film auteur, Osgood Perkins, namely “The Monkey” (2025). Starring Theo James as twin brothers haunted by a malicious toy monkey and based on a Stephen King short story of the same name, “The Monkey” tells a tale spanning two generations of fatherless boys. With loads of Stephen King Easter eggs for horror fans and a huge dose of humor, “The Monkey” is a tale of tragic, unthwartable chaos and bravery in the face

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00:05:24

Midday Mini Ep 1: “Companion” (2025, Dir. Drew Hancock)

Midday Movies ·

2025/03/06

WELCOME TO SEASON 2 of MIDDAY MOVIESToday we’re sharing a Midday Mini! That means a super-short, super-fun discussion of our key takeaways from the romance-themed thriller, “Companion” (2025). This film stars Sophie Thatcher, Jack Quaid, Lukas Gage, Megan Suri, Harvey Guillen, and Rupert Friend. It was written and directed by Drew Hancock, whose previous work is mostly television.We want to know what you think about our podcast! Let us know in this brief survey

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00:32:51

Ep 209: “The Brutalist” (2024) Examines Immigrant...

Midday Movies ·

2025/03/04

WELCOME TO SEASON 2 of MIDDAY MOVIESToday we’re discussing the Oscar Best Picture nominee, “The Brutalist” (2024). Written and directed by Brady Corbet and starring Adrien Brody, “The Brutalist” narrativizes the disorienting and hostile experience of a Jewish immigrant escaping the cataclysm of World War II. In some ways friendly and hospitable, but in others chillingly marked by contempt, our protagonist-architect navigates an America that is hungry for his talent and deeply uninterested in his

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00:27:19

Ep 208: “Nickel Boys” (2024) the Reformatory,...

Midday Movies ·

2025/02/27

WELCOME TO SEASON 2 of MIDDAY MOVIESToday we’re talking about Oscar Best Picture nominee, “Nickel Boys” (2024). Adapted from the 2019 Colson Whitehead novel of the same name and based on the experiences of students at the real-life Dozier School for Boys in Florida, this film shows us the Jim Crow era South literally through the eyes of our protagonists, alongside supplementary archival footage that creates an immersive sense of time and place. Following two boys navigating the titular Nickel

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00:31:48

Ep 207: “Dune: Part Two” (2024) The Empire, The...

Midday Movies ·

2025/02/25

WELCOME TO SEASON 2 of MIDDAY MOVIESToday, the next stop on our tour of Oscar Best Picture nominees is, “Dune: Part Two” (2024). This is the second adaptation of the classic midcentury sci-fi series by Frank Herbert and it takes us right back to the barren desert of Arrakis, where we left our heroes in “Dune: Part One” in 2021. Expanding the world to include the galactic emperor’s (Christopher Walken) seat of power (including Florence Pugh) and the Harkonnen home world, “Dune: Part Two” is largely

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00:30:36

Ep 206: “Wicked” (2024) and the Wonderful World of Oz...

Midday Movies ·

2025/02/20

WELCOME TO SEASON 2 of MIDDAY MOVIESToday we’re discussing our next Oscar Best Picture nominee, “Wicked” (2024). Adapted from the Broadway blockbuster of the same name, which was adapted from the Gregory Maguire book of the same name, which owes its inspiration to the Wonderful Wizard of Oz books by L. Frank Baum — a 20th-century American political satirist. It is brought to life by the incomparable Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande in the lead roles of Elphaba, the “Wicked Witch of the West” and

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00:23:46

Ep 205: “Conclave” (2024) is Rich with Papal Secrets...

Midday Movies ·

2025/02/18

WELCOME TO SEASON 2 of MIDDAY MOVIESToday we’re discussing the papal thriller and Oscar Best Picture nominee, “Conclave” (2024). Starring Ralph Fiennes, John Lithgow, Stanley Tucci, and Isabella Rossellini, and based on a Robert Harris novel of the same name, “Conclave” is a political thriller that takes viewers inside the secret, sacred world of pope elections. After the death of a beloved pope, cardinals from all over the world fly into the Vatican to be sequestered and elect a new leader of the

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00:26:14

Ep 204: “Emilia Pérez” is 2025’s Controversial, Most...

Midday Movies ·

2025/02/13

WELCOME TO SEASON 2 of MIDDAY MOVIESToday we’re beginning our review series of OSCAR’s Best Picture Nominees, starting with “Emilia Perez” (2024), the most academy-nominated film this year. With 13 nomination nods including Best Picture, “Emilia Perez” follows the stories of four remarkable Mexican women — one a literal cartel boss (Karla Sofia Gascon), one who is a mother married to the mob (Selena Gomez), one an overqualified underpaid lawyer (Zoe Saldana), and one a survivor of Mexico’s endemic

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00:21:26

Ep 203: “The Last Showgirl” (2025) Bids Farewell to...

Midday Movies ·

2025/02/11

WELCOME TO SEASON 2 of MIDDAY MOVIESToday we’re reviewing the much-anticipated Las Vegas morality tale, “The Last Showgirl” (2025). Directed by Gia Coppola and written by “Good Place” screenwriter Kate Gersten, “The Last Showgirl” stars Pamela Anderson as a professional dancer whose long-running show on the Las Vegas Strip abruptly closes and leaves her reflecting on the last 30 years of her career. With costumes by Bob Mackie and a powerful cast including Marvel Cinematic Universe alum Dave

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00:23:03

Ep 202: “Babygirl” (2024) and the Mixed Blessing of...

Midday Movies ·

2025/02/06

WELCOME TO SEASON 2 of MIDDAY MOVIESToday we’re discussing the transgressive romantic thriller, “Babygirl” (2024). Written and directed by Halina Reijn and starring Nicole Kidman, “Babygirl” follows an aspirational female CEO — who absolutely “has it all” — whose unexpected affair with a male intern (played by Harris Dickinson) sparks an inner exploration that challenges how she has lived her life thus far. Compared to “50 Shades of Grey,” but 1000 shades more evocative and complex, “Babygirl” is a

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00:53:15

Ep 201: “Nosferatu” (2024) and the Vampire’s...

Midday Movies ·

2025/02/04

WELCOME TO SEASON 2 of MIDDAY MOVIESToday we’re discussing Robert Eggers’ vampire thriller, “Nosferatu” (2024). Released over Christmas and with a knockout cast containing Lily-Rose Depp, Nicholas Hoult, Bill Skarsgard, and Willem Dafoe, this version of Nosferatu is an Eggers passion project more than a decade in the making. Here we discuss the production of this and other versions of the cinematic vampire, the historical context for both Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” and the German expressionist

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00:36:25

[Remaster] Ep 20: Europe is Weird and Doctor Who is...

Midday Movies ·

2025/01/30

WELCOME TO THE REMASTER SERIES, where we take the first 20 episodes of your favorite podcast, MIDDAY MUSINGS, and update them with improved audio and material. We chat about Europe, England and the lovable characters of Doctor Who. We want to know what you think about our podcast! Let us know in this brief survey ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Listen to us on your favorite podcast platform and follow us on social media to stay up to date on upcoming shows and announcements

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00:19:20

[Remaster] Ep 19: Hunger Games & Holiday Traditions

Midday Movies ·

2025/01/29

WELCOME TO THE REMASTER SERIES, where we take the first 20 episodes of your favorite podcast, MIDDAY MUSINGS, and update them with improved audio and material. We talk about the Hunger Games (original and prequel) as well as classic and evolving holiday traditions. Follow us to show your support for the show.We want to know what you think about our podcast! Let us know in this brief survey ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.Listen to us on your favorite podcast platform and follow us on social

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