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PODCAST

2 Cents Critic

What"s new, folks? If you"re in the mood to listen to Arthur Howell (creator of the blog 2 Cents Critic) give his thoughts on books, movies, and TV shows, then join in! Podcast Twitter and Instagram: @two_centscritic Personal Twitter, Goodpods, StoryGraph, and Letterboxd: @arthur_ant18 Website: www.2centscritic.com Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/144101970-arthur-howell

tv & film

All Episodes

02:22:02

#256 – The Summer Hikaru Died | Created by Ryōhei...

2 Cents Critic ·

2026/04/22

Tune in as Hannah, Rebecca, and Sarah (Can I Spoil Something?) head back to the program in order to unpack The Summer Hikaru Died, the 2025 coming-of-age cosmic horror anime series that follows a pair of teenage boys as one of them realizes that his friend isn’t quite here anymore, having been possessed by an eldritch being. The queerness that’s written all over this show, the sexy tree, comparing someone’s insides to raw and marinated chicken, and appreciation for body horror tales like Videodrome

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02:47:30

#255 – Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid (with Andrew of...

2 Cents Critic ·

2026/04/15

Tune in as Andrew (@_theinsomniaclibrary_) collaborates with the podcast for a discussion on Heated Rivalry, the 2019 queer sports romance novel by Rachel Reid that follows star hockey players Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov as their eponymous rivalry quickly and secretly turns into a years-long dynamic of spice and then love. Shane being autism-coded up the wazoo, comparisons between this book and the TV adaptation, the sex scenes being a necessary part of the story, and pushing back against the

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02:16:38

#254 – The Beekeeper | Directed by David Ayer (with...

2 Cents Critic ·

2026/04/08

Tune in as Betsy Gorham (Never Seen It with Betsy and Trent) jumps back onto the program for a dive into The Beekeeper, the 2024 action movie about a beekeeper who dishes out his secret capacity for stepping outside of the law and enforcing justice to take revenge on behalf of a close friend who got swindled by a phishing scam. The effort that this invests into supporting elderly people while portraying scammers as the most sinister assholes in the world, the hilarious commitment to the bee shtick,

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03:13:23

#253 – Better Man | Directed by Michael Gracey (with...

2 Cents Critic ·

2026/04/01

Tune in as Rolo Tony (@PoorOldRoloTony and These Guys Got Juice) regains his seat at the 2CC table for a breakdown of Better Man, the 2024 jukebox musical biopic that recounts the tumultuous life of former Take That member Robbie Williams while reimagining him as a chimpanzee. The hollowness and the parasocial terror of fame, “Come Undone” and “She’s the One” standing out as particularly splendid musical sequences, how surprisingly psychological this ambitious ride gets with Robbie’s POV and his

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01:31:26

#252 – The Paradox Hotel by Rob Hart (with Kate...

2 Cents Critic ·

2026/03/25

Tune in as Kate Hergott (Bookwild) circles back around to the program in order to explore The Paradox Hotel, the 2022 sci-fi mystery-thriller novel by Rob Hart that follows an ill and grief-stricken head of security for a luxury time-travel hotel, which becomes the site for a bloody corpse that’s present and yet isn’t at the same time. The cheerful sort of nihilism, sympathizing with January in all of her complicated facets, and the capitalistic evils of corporate and government forces provide some

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02:12:14

#251 – Last Night in Soho | Directed by Edgar Wright...

2 Cents Critic ·

2026/03/18

Tune in as Gizmo (@basedgizmo) joins in for a plunge right into Last Night in Soho, the 2021 horror film about a fashion design student who’s just moved to present-day London and gets all wrapped up in what appear to be initially glamorous and increasingly terrifying visions revolving around a young woman in the Swinging Sixties. The heavy inspiration that this draws from giallo, how this portrays men and their misogyny, and wishing Jocasta could have been fleshed out beyond her bully stereotype

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03:30:31

#250 – Shoot ‘Em Up | Directed by Michael Davis (with...

2 Cents Critic ·

2026/03/11

Tune in as Rolo Tony (@PoorOldRoloTony) hops back into his guest chair for a review and recap of Shoot ‘Em Up, the 2007 action movie about a carrot-munching drifter who puts his mastery of gun fu to good use by going on a mission to protect a newborn baby from an assassin and his many goons. Comparing this bonkers ride to flicks like John Wick and Falling Down, the spanking gag and other moments of misogyny that haven’t aged well, the surprisingly left-wing themes that you can find while reading

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02:04:18

#249 – Despicable Me | Directed by Chris Renaud and...

2 Cents Critic ·

2026/03/04

Tune in as Jessica Hart (Opinionated Lushes) jumps back onto the show for a breakdown of Despicable Me, the 2010 animated movie about a super-villain who pursues a dastardly mission to prove that he’s the best bad guy around by stealing the moon, all while having to deal with taking care of three orphaned girls. Gru standing out as a subversive antihero, dysfunctional family baggage, trying to lend some nuanced sympathy towards Miss Hattie, and longing for Agnes’s innocence land as a few of the

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02:47:54

#248 – Predestination | Directed by Peter and Michael...

2 Cents Critic ·

2026/02/25

Tune in as Rolo Tony (@PoorOldRoloTony), who’s a Vegas-Residency cohost on These Guys Got Juice, rejoins the podcast in order to navigate Predestination, the 2014 timey-wimey thriller about a time-traveling operative’s efforts to defeat a terrorist and the repercussions that this mission ends up having in its own intricate fashion. Drawing connections from this film to Looper and Tenet, the ways in which a certain major aspect of the story have poorly aged, effective ways to borrow from Inception

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02:07:19

#247 – You’re Next | Directed by Adam Wingard (with...

2 Cents Critic ·

2026/02/18

Tune in as Cory McCullough, AKA Gory Cory (⁠gorycory.net⁠), has re-collaborated with the program to review You’re Next, the 2011 horror movie about a family reunion that seems like it will simply be a regular old gathering for this dysfunctional bunch… until a few homicidal home invaders wearing animal masks suddenly ambush the place. Comparing this flick to Ready or Not and Companion, filmmakers working with the same actors over and over, admiration for Erin, and the confusing logic behind why

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02:37:41

#246 – Top 10 Books of 2025 (with Katrina of...

2 Cents Critic ·

2026/02/11

Tune in as Katrina (@katrinaslibrary) circles back around to 2CC so that she and Arthur can roll out their top ten books of 2025. Hoping that the growing subgenre of romantasy moves away from the likes of Rebecca Yarros and Sarah J. Maas, the importance of supporting armed resistance (including that which comes from Palestine), the deep flaws of Western liberalism, and the pervasive bigotry of anti-Asian racism and misogyny stand out as a few of the subjects on this episode.Create

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01:10:26

Interview with Author Katherine Wela Bogen (Queering...

2 Cents Critic ·

2026/02/07

Jumping onboard the program today is Katherine Wela Bogen, who has just become a debut author by publishing Queering Him, a novel that takes you through the intense and messy relationship between Avra and Kieran. In addition, Katie is a clinical psychology PhD student and cohost of the political podcast SuperHumanizer, concentrating her energy on queerness, sexuality, sexual trauma, supporting Palestine, and more—all from her own bisexual and Jewish perspective. Biphobic attitudes, laying out the

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02:12:45

#245 – Dead Again | Directed by Kenneth Branagh (with...

2 Cents Critic ·

2026/02/04

Tune in as Andy (Fat Dude Digs Flicks Movie Podcasts) regains his comfy old guest seat in order to unpack Dead Again, the 1991 neo-noir romantic thriller about a private investigator’s mission to help an amnesiac and nonverbal woman recover her memories—a path that ends up uncovering a strange connection between her and a murder from several decades ago. Thoughts on Kenneth Branagh as a director, Robin Williams being talented enough to distract us from the exposition-dumping of his side role,

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03:22:30

#244 – Top 10 TV Shows of 2025 (with Anna)

2 Cents Critic ·

2026/01/28

Tune in as Anna (@banananna024/@formergleek) jumps back into their guest seat so that she and Arthur can lay out their rankings of the top ten TV shows of 2025. Hollywood’s campaign to blacklist Melissa Barrera, the relatability of Carol Sturka, defending Trinity Santos, and rejecting the incorrect opinion that Heated Rivalry is merely “yaoi slop” land as some of the discussion matter for this episode.Spoilers for The Studio: 00:41:10 to 00:41:20Spoilers for Severance, Season 2: 01:12:10 to

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02:27:16

#243 – Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé (with...

2 Cents Critic ·

2026/01/21

Tune in as Kate Hergott (Bookwild) jumps onboard the program for a breakdown of Ace of Spades, the 2021 YA mystery-thriller book by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé that follows two Black students at a private school as they endure dogged harassment from an anonymous threat who’s looking to expose their secrets and sabotage all the hard work they’ve put into creating a good life for themselves. Chiamaka being a Blair Waldorf type, the racialized element of Black people’s hair, drawing connections between this

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02:38:11

#242 – Top 10 Movies of 2025 (with Rolo Tony)

2 Cents Critic ·

2026/01/14

Tune in as Rolo Tony (@PoorOldRoloTony) hops back into his guest seat so that he and Arthur can dish out their rankings of the top ten movies of 2025. The hosts’ honorable mentions, encouraging audiences to listen to Black people and Black women’s perspectives on One Battle After Another, the punk rock nature of kindness and hope, and comparing If I Had Legs I’d Kick You to The Babadook and Nightbitch stand out as some of the talking points for this episode.Spoilers for The Long Walk: 23:00 to

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02:17:26

#241 – The Truman Show | Directed by Peter Weir...

2 Cents Critic ·

2026/01/07

Happy New Year! Tune in as Guy Bradford (Jesters of Ravenloft: A D&D Podcast) hops back onto the podcast for this first episode of 2026 in order to break down The Truman Show, the 1998 psychological comedy-drama film about an insurance salesman who comes to realize he’s been the unwitting star of a reality TV program that uses instruments like hidden cameras and paid actors to manufacture and broadcast his life 24/7. All the gaslighting that Truman endures, an old way of “de-aging” actors, the

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03:00:51

#240 – Eyes Wide Shut | Directed by Stanley Kubrick...

2 Cents Critic ·

2025/12/31

Tune in as the Christmas season comes to a close on 2CC! For this fifth and final episode of December (as well as the final episode of 2025), Anna (@banananna024/@formergleek) is hopping back onto the program for a breakdown of Eyes Wide Shut, the 1999 psychosexual drama film about a Manhattan doctor who, after learning his wife had fantasized about sleeping with another man, embarks on a dreamlike journey through the city and into a shadowy underworld that he has no business being in. The

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02:19:43

#239 – Black Christmas (2006) | Directed by Glen...

2 Cents Critic ·

2025/12/24

Tune in as the Christmas fun stays strong on 2CC! For this fourth episode of December, Karyn Raynor (Chick-Lit) is jumping back into their guest chair to unpack Black Christmas, the 2006 remake of the 1974 Christmas slasher horror movie in which a house full of sorority sisters face off against a stalker who terrorizes them with unnerving prank phone calls and a thirst for murder. The differences and similarities between this remake and its OG predecessor, the oddness of the sex tape subplot, grief

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01:54:10

#238 – Love Hard | Directed by Hernán Jiménez (with...

2 Cents Critic ·

2025/12/17

Tune in as this program plunges deeper into the holiday season! For this third episode of December, Clayton Jones II and Shawn Murphy (Men Who Like Men Who Like Movies!) are circling back around to review Love Hard, the 2021 Netflix Christmas rom-com about the fake-dating and matchmaking antics that ensue after a dating column writer travels across the country for a seemingly charming guy and then realizes she’s been catfished. Subverting the Submissive Asian Male stereotype, Shawn’s hate for You’ve

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276 results

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