Michael Phillips drops in for a look back at the first half of the year in film, including praise for "Showing Up," Nicole Holofcener's "You Hurt My Feelings," "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret" and more.  -Top 5 Films of 2023 (So Far) (03:29) -Next Week/Notes (46:16) -Massacre Theatre (55:30) -Top 5 Films of 2023, cont. (01:00:22) (Times may not be precise with ads) Resources/Links: -”Living With the Men of Paul Schrader’s ‘Man in a Room’ Trilogy” https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/21/movies/master-gardener-paul-schrader-joel-edgerton-oscar-isaac-ethan-hawke.html -”Showing Up: A Masterwork About an Artist’s Life” https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/showing-up-reviewed-a-masterwork-about-an-artists-life Feedback: Email us at [email protected] Ask Us Anything and we might answer your question in bonus content. Support us: -Join the Filmspotting Family for bonus episodes and complete archive access. http://filmspottingfamily.com -T-shirts (and more) on sale at the Filmspotting Shop. https://filmspotting.net/shop Contact us: https://twitter.com/filmspotting https://facebook.com/filmspotting https://letterboxd.com/filmspotting https://twitter.com/larsenonfilm https://facebook.com/larsenonfilm https://letterboxd.com/larsenonfilm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What seemed like a one-off, late-career masterpiece from ‘70s icon Paul Schrader (2017’s “First Reformed”) has now become a loose series of films about solitary men struggling with past sins. Where does the new MASTER GARDENER rank among the director’s “Man in a Room” trilogy? -Review: “Master Gardener” (04:49) -Review (AK): “BlackBerry” (30:46) -Next Week/Notes (39:03) -Marathon Review: “Sans Soleil” (42:41) (Times may not be precise with ads) Resources/Links: -"Cinematographer Kirsten Johnson discovers what it means to examine the world as she reflects on her profession” https://www.salon.com/2017/10/22/twenty-five-years-of-the-world-on-film/ Feedback: Email us at [email protected] Ask Us Anything and we might answer your question in bonus content. Support us: -Join the Filmspotting Family for bonus episodes and complete archive access. http://filmspottingfamily.com -T-shirts (and more) on sale at the Filmspotting Shop. https://filmspotting.net/shop Contact us: https://twitter.com/filmspotting https://facebook.com/filmspotting https://letterboxd.com/filmspotting https://twitter.com/larsenonfilm https://facebook.com/larsenonfilm https://letterboxd.com/larsenonfilm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New films from Christopher Nolan, Greta Gerwig, and Wes Anderson may be the auteur-driven must-sees of the summer, but Adam and Josh go deeper for their Top 5 Summer Movie Questions.   -Summer Movie Preview (02:51) -Next Week/Notes, Polls (43:43) -Marathon Review: “Mirror” (56:15) (Times may not be precise with ads) Resources/Links: -“Greta Lee Couldn’t Touch Teo Yoo While Filming Past Lives” https://www.vulture.com/2023/01/sundance-2023-vulture-spot-greta-lee-celine-song.html Sponsor: “L’Immensità” – Now Playing in Select Theaters. More at CinemaMadeinItaly.com. Feedback: Email us at [email protected] Ask Us Anything and we might answer your question in bonus content. Support us: -Join the Filmspotting Family for bonus episodes and complete archive access. http://filmspottingfamily.com -T-shirts (and more) on sale at the Filmspotting Shop. https://filmspotting.net/shop Contact us: https://twitter.com/filmspotting https://facebook.com/filmspotting https://letterboxd.com/filmspotting https://twitter.com/larsenonfilm https://facebook.com/larsenonfilm https://letterboxd.com/larsenonfilm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's been six years since the last "Guardians of the Galaxy" movie, and while Josh finds VOL. 3 wildly misguided, Adam will slow-motion strut with the crew. Plus, Draft Day for Killmonger and Thanos.   -Draft: MCU Villains (02:16) -Review: “Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3” (50:13) -Massacre Theatre (01:10:24) -Chicago Critics Film Fest w/Steve Prokopy (01:13:01) -Doc10 Film Festival / AK on “Subject” (01:20:29) (Times may not be precise with ads) Resources/Links: -Who won the MCU Villains Draft? https://poll.fm/12220581 -MCU Ranked, Adam  https://letterboxd.com/filmspotting/list/ranked-marvel-cinematic-universe/ -MCU Ranked, Josh https://letterboxd.com/larsenonfilm/list/marvel-cinematic-universe-ranked/ -Chicago Critics Film Festival https://www.chicagocriticsfilmfestival.com/ -Doc10 Film Festival https://www.doc10.org/ Feedback: Email us at [email protected] Ask Us Anything and we might answer your question in bonus content. Support us: -Join the Filmspotting Family for bonus episodes and complete archive access. http://filmspottingfamily.com -T-shirts (and more) on sale at the Filmspotting Shop. https://filmspotting.net/shop Contact us: https://twitter.com/filmspotting https://facebook.com/filmspotting https://letterboxd.com/filmspotting https://twitter.com/larsenonfilm https://facebook.com/larsenonfilm https://letterboxd.com/larsenonfilm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Enigmatic, tortured, funny. It’s the Oscar-winning actor’s best from his '90s breakthrough to his partnerships with Shyamalan, Gray, PTA—and Todd Phillips. -Top 5: Joaquin Phoenix Performances (03:21) -R.I.P. Harry Belafonte (28:00) -Review (JL): “R.M.N.” (30:53) -Review: “Beau Is Afraid” (50:59) -Top 5, cont. (01:18:07) (Times may not be precise with ads) Resources/Links: -Joaquin Phoenix on David Letterman (Feb. 2009) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2M6hRfCp0k -”What’s Really Going On In Beau Is Afraid” https://slate.com/culture/2023/04/beau-is-afraid-movie-ending-explained-maybe.html Feedback: Email us at [email protected] Ask Us Anything and we might answer your question in bonus content. Support us: -Join the Filmspotting Family for bonus episodes and complete archive access. http://filmspottingfamily.com -T-shirts (and more) on sale at the Filmspotting Shop. https://filmspotting.net/shop Where else you can find us: https://twitter.com/filmspotting https://facebook.com/filmspotting https://letterboxd.com/filmspotting https://twitter.com/larsenonfilm https://facebook.com/larsenonfilm https://letterboxd.com/larsenonfilm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices