No film degrees, no connections, no experience necessary because when it comes to film, we’re “a
(1)
On Episode 264 of the Always the Critic Podcast, we’re back from our holiday break to look back at the year 2023 and rank our top 10 movies of the year.
Rico and Jess take turns naming their top 10 movies of the year. Although they share a few in common, the co-hosts surprise each other with their picks. They also talk about the year 2023 in movies, most memorable scenes/moments in film, the best performances of the year, and the movies that just missed the list.
To all those who celebrate, we wish you a Merry Christmas. Praying for everyone to have a lovely and safe holiday among family and friends and movies and dramas 🎄🫰🏼🎅🏽
Rico and Jess
On Episode 263 of the Always the Critic Podcast, we’re back from our Thanksgiving break to review all the in-theater releases we watched recently, including Saltburn, starring Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi, and Rosamund Pike.
Rico and Jess discuss Emerald Fennell's wild dabaucherous romp Saltburn, the latest from Hayao Miyazaki The Boy and the Heron, Dream Scenario with Nic Cage, and the triumph that is Godzilla Minus One.
Link in bio.
On Episode 262 of the Always the Critic Podcast, we’re back in the Panem to review The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, starring Tom Blyth, Rachel Zegler, Viola Davis, and Peter Dinklage.
Rico and Jess discuss this prequel release from Hunger Games franchise director Francis Lawrence, talking through the plot, the performances from Zegler and Blyth, the ~ballad~ singing, some context missing in the book-to-screen adaptation, the best and most surprising parts of the film, and more in spoilers.
On Episode 261 of the Always the Critic Podcast, we’re back in the MCU to review The Marvels, starring Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, and Iman Vellani.
Rico and Jess discuss the SAG-AFTRA strike ending, the Mean Girls musical trailer, what they’ve been watching since their last episode before diving into this late 2023 release from director Nia DaCosta, talking through the scattered plot, the female relationships at the center of the film, Iman Vellani’s scene-stealing performance as Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel, the singing and the cats and a wasted Park Seo-joon, the predictable third act woes, the overall state of the phase 5 MCU, that mid-credits scene, and more in spoilers.
On Episode 260 of the Always the Critic Podcast, we sing our hearts out and discuss Taylor Swift: The Era Tours!
Rico and Jess discuss the blockbuster concert film. We chat about our favorite moments, what we wished to have seen in the movie and how it stacks up to concert movies we've seen before.
Listen to the episode. Link in bio.
On Episode 253 of the Always the Critic Podcast, it’s a double feature as we review two hotly anticipated movies that won the weekend (possibly the year), Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer.
and first talk about Barbie and how much they connected with the clever, beautiful story and commentary, mentioning the excellent comedy, its celebration of women, the resurgence of the color pink, America Ferrera’s monologue, and the killer OST. Later in the show, Rico and Jess discuss Oppenheimer, (1:01:43) including the stacked cast, the questionable nudity and flawed women characters, the best scenes and most compelling bits of plot, the musical score from Ludwig Göransson, and more.
On Episode 252 of the Always the Critic Podcast, we survive a car chase through the streets of Rome on our review of Mission Impossible: - Part 1, starring Tom Cruise, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Hayley Atwell, and more.
Rico and Jess discuss the 6th MI installment, talking through the plot, the retcons, the practical stunts, Esai Morales’s villain, the excellence of all the ladies in the MI franchise, our top sequences in all of the movies, and more in spoilers.
On Episode 249 of the Always the Critic Podcast, it’s a double feature as we review the R-rated comedy No Hard Feelings and Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City, before the non-spoiler section of our Daebak K-Rambles Past Lives review.
Rico and Jess first talk about No Hard Feelings and how much they’ve missed Jennifer Lawrence, mentioning the rather tame nature of the movie (despite that ONE scene, you know the one), how it succeeded in being heartfelt, newcomer Andrew Barth Feldman’s comedic chops, the welcome addition of Matthew Broderick, and the post-Judd Apatow comedy landscape. Later in the show, Rico and Jess discuss Asteroid City, (XX:XX) including the stacked cast, the strength of the younger cast members, how sucky they found the movie with its incoherent plot, a revelation from Rico about Edward Norton, and Wes Anderson as part of the pop culture zeitgeist, and more.
🎧 Listen on your favorite podcast app!
•
•
•
On ⚡️Episode 248⚡️ of the Always the Critic Podcast, we suit up and enter a new dimension (again) on our review of The Flash, starring Ezra Miller, Michael Keaton, Sasha Calle, and more.
Rico and Jess discuss the latest DC movie, talking through the terrible, uncanny valley CGI, the return of Keaton’s Batman, the divisive figure of Ezra Miller, the state of the DCEU, Barry’s now Hispanic background, Calle’s Supergirl and how we wished we had more of her, the dizzying final act and all the surprising cameos, and more in spoilers.
🎧 Listen on your favorite podcast app!
•
•
•
On Episode 247 of the Always the Critic Podcast, we MAXIMIZE on our review of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, starring Anthony Ramos, Dominique Fishback, Ron Perlman, Peter Dinklage, Pete Davidson, and so many more.
Rico and Jess discuss the latest in the Transformers franchise, talking through the cast list, Anthony Ramos and his rising star power, Pete Davidson’s voice acting for Mirage, the overt 90s OST, favorite scenes, THAT ending, and more.
🎧 Listen on your favorite podcast app!
•
•
•
On 🕸️Episode 246🕸️ of the Always the Critic Podcast, we suit up and enter a new dimension on our review of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, starring Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Oscar Isaac, and so many more.
Rico and Jess discuss the sequel to 2018’s Into the Spider-Verse, talking through the Hispanic representation, the ethical and moral quandaries along with the emotional touchpoints, the emphasis on Steinfeld’s Gwen Stacy and her world’s art style, the portrayal of Oscar Isaac’s Miguel O’Hara, the insane OST, the cliffhanger ending, theories, predictions, and more in spoilers.
🎧 Listen on your favorite podcast app!
•
•
•
On 🏁Episode 244🏁 of the Always the Critic Podcast, it’s all about family on our review of Fast X, starring Vin Diesel, Jason Momoa, Michelle Rodriguez, Ludacris, Tyrese Gibson, Charlize Theron, John Cena, and so many more.
Rico and Jess discuss the first movie in the possible Fast X trilogy, talking through how stacked the cast is and how the franchise seems to lure in Oscar winners, their favorite Fast saga movie, the best and most ridiculous moments and lines, thoughts on Jason Momoa’s new villain, the cliffhanger ending, how [REDACTED] is back, the mid-credits scene, and more in spoilers.
🎧 Listen on your favorite podcast app!
•
•
•
On 💕Episode 243💕 of the Always the Critic Podcast, in honor of Mother’s Day, we queue up our list of best movie moms!
Rico and Jess take turns listing the movie mothers who teach, inspire, or just plain kick ass, citing moms like Sarah Connor (Terminator), Queen Ramonda (Black Panther), Mrs. Incredible (The Incredibles), Molly Weasley (Harry Potter franchise), and more!
🎧 Listen on your favorite podcast app!
•
•
•
On 🦝Episode 242🦝 of the Always the Critic Podcast, we’re back with a brand new playlist on our review of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, starring Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, and so many more.
Rico and Jess discuss the final movie in the Guardians trilogy, talking through how James Gunn decided to go for the emotional jugular (why are we crying over an otter?), the best moments and music, thoughts on the new villain and Will Poulter’s Adam Warlock, how Mantis got to finally shine, the underlying political messages of the film, the mid-credits and end credits scenes, and more in spoilers.
🎧 Listen on your favorite podcast app!
•
•
•
🎉 SURPRISE! New logo!
Hey everyone! I just wanted to pop on here and say thanks for sticking with us during our impromptu hiatus. I went on vacation, and Rico has been dealing with his mom’s very tough cancer diagnosis. To those who’ve reached out and supported us, we appreciate you so much. 🙏🏼
We took some time away from ATC, but we’re back at the movies, we’re excited for this summer season, and we’ve got a NEW LOGO! How cute is it??
👉🏼As always, you can support us by following our socials, subscribing to the podcast, leaving a nice rate and review, and of course, becoming a patron!
🔗 www.patreon.com/alwayscriticpod
On 🔫Episode 240🔫 of the Always the Critic Podcast, we’re back and in a brand-new suit for our review of John Wick: Chapter 4, starring Keanu Reeves, Ian McShane, Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgård, more.
Rico and Jess discuss the latest film in the John Wick franchise, talking through how the John Wick movies rank among the greatest action franchises, the newcomers and how they stacked up, the unassailable action sequences, Skarsgård’s French accent, Keanu’s lack of lines, the future of John Wick, and more in spoilers.
🎧 Listen on your favorite podcast app!
•
•
•
On Episode 239 of the Always the Critic Podcast, we’re back in Philly for our review of Shazam: Fury of the Gods, starring Zachary Levi, Djimon Hounsou, Rachel Zegler, Lucy Liu, Helen Mirren, and more.
Rico and Jess discuss the most recent DC release, talking through how it stacks up to the first movie, the character arcs that impressed and the ones that didn’t, the new additions of Zegler, Liu, and Mirren, third act qualms, THAT demigod’s appearance, both the mid-credits and post-credits scene, the state of DC movies, and more in spoilers.
🎧 Listen on your favorite podcast app!
•
•
•
On 🥊Episode 237🐻 of the Always the Critic Podcast, it’s a double feature as we review Creed III, starring Michael B. Jordan, Jonathan Majors, and Tessa Thompson, and R-rated comedy Co***ne Bear, starring Keri Russell, Alden Ehrenreich, O’Shea Jackson Jr., and Ray Liotta.
Rico and Jess first turning toward the ring, talking about Michael B. Jordan’s directorial debut, the creative and stylistic choices he made, the tangible absence of Stallone’s Rocky and the reasons behind it, comparisons to the previous two movies in the trilogy, favorite moments in the film, and more. Later in the show, Rico and Jess discuss the wild Co***ne Bear, including how entertaining and campy they found the movie, hysterical performances from the cast, how this is Ray Liotta’s final performance, and more.
🎧 Listen on your favorite podcast app!
•
•
•
On Episode 236 of the Always the Critic Podcast, we visit the quantum realm on our review of Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania, starring Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michelle Pfeiffer, Jonathan Majors, and more.
Rico and Jess discuss the most recent MCU release, talking through the dizzying CGI bonanza, the underwhelming utilization of Lilly’s Wasp and Bill Murray, the impressive performance from Majors, the pure lunacy of MODOK, the general disappointment of the entire film, both the mid-credits and post-credits scene, and more in spoilers.
🎧Listen on your favorite podcast app
•
•
•
On 🌴Episode 233🌴 of the Always the Critic Podcast, we hit up the Philippines for a destination wedding on our review of Shotgun Wedding, starring Jennifer Lopez and Josh Duhamel.
Rico and Jess discuss this direct-to-Amazon Prime 2023 action rom-com, talking through J.Lo’s place in the annals of rom-com royalty, the pass-the-baton casting that landed Josh Duhamel the role, the wildly entertaining Jennifer Coolidge, nitpicks with the storytelling, the funniest scenes, and more in spoilers.
🎧 Listen on your favorite podcast app!
•
•
•
On 🍿Episode 232🍿 of the Always the Critic Podcast, we queue up our list of most anticipated 2023 movies!
After talking through their 2023 movie resolutions, Rico and Jess take turns listing 2023 release movies they’re excited to see, citing movies like Barbie, Oppenheimer, Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, and more!
🎧 Listen on your favorite podcast app!
•
•
•
So what did you guys listen to this year? Swipe right to find out!
Tbh, I couldn’t have guessed the top 5 right if I tried. Really quirky mix of episodes!
Are there any movies or topics that you guys want us to cover next year? Let us know in the comments below!
•
•
•
Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Always The Critic Movie Podcast posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Send a message to Always The Critic Movie Podcast:
Clip from our Eternals review / Ep. 181. 🍿 How do you guys feel about it? Tell us in the comments below! ⏰ Be sure to follow us on Tik Tok @alwayscriticpod • • • #marvel #mcu #eternals #tiktok #movies #films #atcpod #alwaysthecriticpod #marvelcomics #marvelmovies #chloezhao #salmahayek #richardmadden #gemmachan #angelinajolie #madongseok #kumailnanjiani #briantyreehenry #filmpodcast #moviepodcast
Want your business to be the top-listed Media Company?
