Critics On A Bus: Recent Episodes
Cameron Maciver
Film and TV show reviews, fan theories, rankings debates and all things cinema in a podcast.
Theme music composed by Dan Barlow.
In this episode, Cameron is joined by Nate and Dan to talk about the latest DC film, The Batman.
In this episode, Cameron is joined once again by Aisling to look at the newest Netflix film, Munich - The Edge of War.
If you haven't seen Encanto yet, have you been living under a rock!?
In this episode, Aisling returns as she and Cameron chat through Disney's 60th animated film.
It's time for everyone's favourite episode of the year, Cameron's Top 10 list! This year, Aisling and Paul go head to head right here in the episode, trying to guess Cameron's list. Who will be victorious, but most importantly, what will be Cameron's top film of 2021?
As the year comes to a close, Cameron is once again joined by Dan and Maddie to talk through the latest instalment in the Spider-man story in the MCU.
In this week's episode, Cameron is joined by another new critic, all the way from America! Nate and Cameron will be talking through one of Netflix' latest hits, Red Notice, starring Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot.
In this episode, Paul returns for a classic debate as we get our teeth into Dune, one of the most hotly anticipated films of 2021!
We've got a Marvel double-whammy for you this week, as today we're sharing our review of Shang-Chi where Cameron is joined by a new guest critic, Jacob.
If you missed seeing this in the cinema, you can catch it on Disney+ from today.
We're back with another review, and this time we're taking on Marvel's latest film, Eternals!
Cameron is joined once again by Maddie to dig through the next stage of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
It's time for a new episode!
This time, we have 2 guest critics joining us. Dan returns, and we are also joined by long time podcast fan Maddie to chat about the latest James Bond film, No Time To Die.
Dan returns for another review with Cameron! This time, they're talking through James Gunn's The Suicide Squad.
Cinemas are back, which means we're back too!
In this episode, Cameron and Dan talk about the latest addition to the MCU, Black Widow.
What were Cameron's favourite films of the past year, and can Paul beat Cameron's impressive score of 4 correct guesses? Listen to find out!
It's that time of year again, who can guess the most correct? Paul takes us through his favourite films of 2020 while Cameron tries to guess his list.
It's that time of year, let the family arguments over the best Christmas film commence! Which ones will be at the top of our lists?
Listen to our thoughts on one of the hit films from this year, Bombshell.
2:06 Spoiler Free 8:24 SPOILERS! & Plot 19:37 Performances 24:02 Stylistic Choices 29:27 Critics Corner 30:43 Summaries 32:54 Scores
Reviewing the newest Netflix film, The Trial of the Chicago 7.
0:00 Intro
2:00 What we liked
4:40 What we didn't like
7:10 Would we recommend?
7:30 SPOILER ZONE
7:45 Historical plot context
13:58 The plot
19:47 Cast Performances
32:25 Political Relevance
36:10 The Music
37:45 Paul's Critics Corner
38:30 Awards?
41:58 Summaries
45:00 Scores
48:10 In closing
Get our thoughts on the latest Netflix film, Enola Holmes!
00:00 Intro
01:18 - What we liked
03:30 - What we didn't like
06:09 - Would we recommend
SPOILER ZONE
09:40 - The Plot
30:35 - Casting
39:03 - Music
41:44 - Paul's Critics Corner
44:17 - Summaries
47:53 - Scores
50:36 - Thanks for listening
In this special episode, we listen to Cameron and Paul's big tangent from the Tenet review where they debate the ins and outs of time travel in Tenet and the philosophy behind it.
Cinemas are back, Christopher Nolan is back, and most importantly, Paul is back! In this episode, we headed back to cinemas to review Nolan's latest film, Tenet!
1:01 Plot Summary
2:05 Spoiler-Free Discussion
4:32 Spoilers
10:33 Spoiler plot summary
17:36 Plot discussion
26:07 Performances
32:30 Visuals
38:58 Soundtrack
41:36 Nolan's Legacy
50:12 Critics Corner
56:11 Scores
Featuring another special guest this week, Cameron and Dan review the newest Netflix release Project Power.
0:00 - Intro
01:20 - Spoiler-free film summary
02:50 - What we liked
05:40 - What we didn't like
08:40 - Would we recommend
SPOILER SECTION
10:30 - The plot in depth
23:25 - Special effects
30:05 - Is this a Superhero film?
34:40 - Acting performances
41:15 - Ideal for streaming services
43:10 - Is TV the way forward (tangent)
45:40 - Critics Corner
47:48 - Summaries
50:20 - Representation
52:25 - Scores
54:30 - Coming up
Season 3 of Critics On A Bus is here! In this first episode, we have a special guest helping us to rank all 8 of the Harry Potter films.
By popular demand, we share our thoughts on the musical Hamilton, which was released onto Disney+ last weekend.
3:03 Cameron before Hamilton
6:33 Paul’s love of Hamilton
8:11 Cameron’s first impression
10:02 Music
16:04 Story
25:04 Acting
29:03 Staging
37:06 Translation to TV
41:05 Paul’s Critics Corner
42:53 Summaries and Scores
In this episode, we review Disney's latest film, Artemis Fowl!
Spoiler Free
1:19 What we liked
2:26 What we didn’t like
7:39 Would we recommend?
SPOILERS
8:29 Story
17:23 Acting and Writing
29:05 CGI
32:11 Aisling’s Irish Corner
36:31 Paul’s Critics Corner
38:12 Summaries
41:53 Scores
We've got a couple of film recommendations for you this week. We've picked some of our favourite movies from 5 different genres. Let us know your favourites from these genres and which ones we should do next!
0:00 Intro
2:44 Musicals
9:33 Sci-Fi
21:22 Superhero
31:45 True Story
38:26 Medieval Fantasy
In another possibly controversial episode, we take a stab at ranking all 23 films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Find out if our friendship can survive the controversy!
Intro to Marvel - 0:45
How the ranking will work - 01:46
General Predictions - 02:41
Top 3 predictions - 05:31
Film 23 to 19 - 06:50
Film 18 to 14 - 11:30
Film 13 to 9 - 18:05
Film 8 to 4 - 35:09
Top 3 - 46:05
In honour of Star Wars day this week, we're reviewing The Mandalorian series, which is available to stream now on Disney+.
1:10 What is the Mandalorian?
3:49 SPOILER Plot Summary
5:20 Plot Discussion
8:06 Stand-Alone Episodes
12:39 Production Value
20:37 Baby Yoda
25:49 Characters
28:50 Easter Eggs
34:05 John Favreau
38:25 Paul’s Critics Corner
41:00 Summaries
45:12 Scores
Get our thoughts on the brand new film from Chris Hemsworth and the Russo brothers, Extraction. Available now on Netflix.
0:50 Plot Summary
2:02 SPOILER-FREE - Likes
4:03 Dislikes
5:48 Would We Recommend?
7:26 SPOILERS! Action
12:55 One Cut
18:20 Story and Characters
22:05 Heroic Sacrifice
26:44 The Ending
34:30 Unnecessary Complexity
35:03 Critics Corner
35:55 Music
37:55 Summaries
40:44 Scores
Paul brings to the table that there is a fundamental issue with Disney movies and Disney +, but is he right?
0:47 What is Disney+?
2:23 The Debate
3:27 Monopolies
5:55 Nostalgia and Remakes
13:42 Scorsese and Crowding Out
21:52 The Brand Effect
30:29 Meme-ability
39:27 Cam’s Mando Rant
43:15 Franchise, Franchise, Franchise
45:45 Disney+ More Specifically
50:00 Plot Twist
We're going to reveal which films are our guilty pleasures!
0:00 - Welcome
01:00 - Introduction
03:00 - Cameron's 1st Guilty Pleasure
05:44 - Paul's 1st Guilty Pleasure
08:23 - Cameron's 2nd Guilty Pleasure
08:45 - Paul's 2nd Guilty Pleasure
11:59 - Paul's 3rd Guilty Pleasure
13:33 - Cameron's 3rd Guilty Pleasure
16:54 - Paul's 4th Guilty Pleasure
19:10 - Time Travel Tangent
22:50 - Cameron's 4th Guilty Pleasure
24:30 - Paul's 5th Guilty Pleasure
26:23 - Paul's Final Guilty Pleasure
27:47 - Cameron's Final Guilty Pleasure
29:50 - Audience Guilty Pleasure movies
32:20 - IMDB Guilty Pleasure list
33:40 - Bonus Guilty Pleasure
34:19 - Paul's small rant
Just in time for the launch of Disney+, we rank all 22 Pixar films from best to worst.
00:10 Introduction
01:17 A few points before we start
02:52 - Paul's ranking - 17 to 6
13:13 - Paul's top 5 Pixar films
20:53 - Cameron's ranking - 22 to 6
38:43 - Cameron's top 5 Pixar films
47:17 - The lists are finalised
In this episode, we review Mark Ruffalo's latest film, Dark Waters.
00:15 - Intro SPOILER FREE
01:40 - Plot Summary
02:19 - What we liked?
06:09 - What we didn't like?
10:00 - Would we recommend?
11:50 - SPOILER ZONE
12:05 - Extended story details
14:35 - Thoughts on true story details
25:20 - Acting performances
30:59 - Framing of Mark Ruffalo
34:30 - Pacing
37:40 - Opening scene theory
41:20 - Cameron's score corner
43:19 - Paul's critics' corner
44:57 - Oscar snub
46:46 - Summaries
50:26 - Scores
52:49 - what's next
We have reviewed the latest Pixar animation Onward.
0:54 Spoiler-free plot summary
2:00 What did we like
7:00 What we didn’t like
11:09 Would we recommend?
11:58 SPOILER ZONE
12:08 Spoiler plot summary
14:34 Characters and acting
25:47 The quest
34:01 Minor qualm
37:18 The emotional quest
45:10 Paul’s Critics Corner
48:25 Summaries
51:43 Scores
We watched The Lighthouse so you don't have to. 0:51 Plot Summary 2:22 What We Liked (Spoiler Free) 6:20 What We Didn’t Like 9:06 Recommend? 10:50 Deep Summary (SPOILERS!) 17:03 Performances 24:14 Atmosphere and Music 27:24 Greek Mythology and Interpretations 35:15 Paul’s Critics Corner (+Rant) 37:56 Summaries 40:55 Scores
We review Tom Hank's latest film which got him an Oscar nomination. 0:49 - Plot Summary 1:41 - Spoiler Free 2:05 - Like and Dislikes 7:11 - Recommend? 8:33 - Spoiler Zone 8:34 - Tom Hanks 11:55 - Screen Time Issues 13:08 - Editing 15:17 - Dark Side? 19:45 - Show Format 21:17 - Strange Dreams 25:41 - Emotional Connection 29:02 - Resolutions 30:31 - Misfire 35:00 - Paul’s Critics Corner 36:32 - Summaries 39:20 - Scores
Our review of the winner of Best Picture at this year's Oscar's. Parasite. 1:23 Plot Summary 3:15 Spoiler Free Zone 3:26 What Did We Like? 6:01 What Didn’t We Like? 9:53 Would We Recommend? 11:44 SPOILER ZONE 13:07 Before the First Shift 13:54 Unrecognised Acting? 18:56 First Twist 23:35 Genre Shifts 25:36 Dignity 29:45 Metaphors 33:00 Shocks 39:14 Ending 46:46 Oscars 51:06 Paul’s Critics Corner 52:24 Summary 55:10 Scores
We review our first Netflix original film Uncut Gems: 1:33 Plot Summary 2:50 Spoiler Free Zone 2:56 What We Liked 5:15 What We Didn’t Like 7:32 Would We Recommend? 9:35 SPOILER ZONE! 9:53 Story and Characters 17:01 Writing 20:17 Adam Sandler’s Redemption? 27:29 Music 32:05 The Ending 39:03 Paul’s Critics Corner 41:20 Summaries 45:38 Scores
0:30 Introduction 1:28 DC and Marvel in 2012 3:20 Nolan 4:13 DC and Marvel Villains 6:18 The Dark Knight 7:20 Man of Steel: Or the Fabulous Collapse of one DCEU 14:48 Suicide Squad 16:20 How to Fix It 18:47 Batman v Superman 20:44 Chocolate Lasagne 26:30 Wonderful Wonder Woman 29:06 Justice League 33:08 Aqua Abs 35:04 2019 36:58 Dark or Light? 40:06 Cameron Fixes Everything 45:20 Too Many Villains
Our first film review of 2020, were we look at the World War 1 epic 1917. Intro and housekeeping 0:00 Spoiler FREE Territory 1:45 Plot Summary 1:48 General Impressions 3:24 Spoiler Territory 11:49 Actors and Performances 12:08 Oscars? 18:20 Visuals 20:03 The Brutality of War 23:47 Music and Tension Building 25:40 Profundity 30:30 True Story? 38:27 Back to Profundity 41:38 Paul’s Critics Corner 43:14 Minor Qualms 44:37 Summaries and Scores 46:37
Paul gives us his list of the top 10 films of 2019, whilst Cameron tries to guess his list to prove his friendship. 1:39 Honourable/Dishonourable Mentions 5:10 No. 10 7:21 No. 9 11:20 No. 8 13:00 No. 7 13:43 No. 6 15:11 No. 5 16:23 No. 4 18:08 No. 3 20:08 No. 2 23:45 No. 1 26:35 Not Another Scorsese Rant
Find out what Cameron thought of films in 2019 and what he put in his top 10. 1:47 Context 5:15 Honourable Mentions 9:02 No. 10 11:04 No.9 13:30 No. 8 14:55 No. 7 16:52 No. 6 19:07 No. 5 20:34 No. 4 22:20 No. 3 23:13 No. 2 24:44 No. 1 28:21 Rant (Not Directed at Scorsese)
The continued spoiler filled conversation of our massively in depth review of Rise of Skywalker, find out our scores and where we place this film in our Star Wars ranking.
Part 1 of our HUGE Star Wars Rise of Skywalker review. This was recorded on the day the film was released. Be aware that this podcast is full of spoilers as we break down the film in its entirety.
Our first impressions of the latest Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker. We avoid all spoilers, everything we talk about you will know from any of the trailers the film has released. Find out our first thoughts. Our larger review is coming at the weekend.
The duel of Critics as Paul and Cameron individually rank all Star Wars films in preparation for Rise of Skywalker. Intro 0:00 Paul’s Star War’s Journey 4:10 Cameron’s Star War’s Journey 7:44 Our Star War’s Journey 12:27 How the Ranking Works No. 10 13:58 No. 9 20:18 No. 8 25:03 No. 7 29:38 No. 6 34:19 No. 5 38:45 No. 4 46:09 No. 3 49:34 No. 1 Announced 54:43 No. 2 55:20 No. 1 61:43 Closing 70:53
Our review of Knives Out a classic Murder Mystery film. Intro 0:00 Summary 1:09 Rian Johnson 3:32. Self-Conscious Murder Mystery 4:34 Cameron on comedy 6:24 Pacing and Storytelling 14:46 Plot and Early Reveals 17:26 Personal Theories 21:39 Daniel Craig (and his accent) 22:46 Other cast 24:40 Chris Evans 28:42 Ana de Armas 29:52 Whodunnit? 31:26 Politics 39:34 Paul’s Critics Corner 43:39 Summaries 45:10 Scores 47:15
Our review of Frozen 2 with a special guest star Aisling Maciver. 0:00 Intro. 0:38 Intro for Special Guest 2:23 Plot Summary 4:01 Visuals 9:04 Storytelling 17:30 Paul’s Plot Rant 21:55 Cameron’s Mary Sue 23:19 Aisling’s Counter Attack 27:05 Sisters 28:50 Kristoff’s Journey 31:15 Music 34:11 Paul Defends Kristoff 36:12 Aisling’s 3 Favourites 37:56 Panic! 39:09 Cameron Weighs In 41:10 Paul Weighs In 42:38 Frozen 1 Nostalgia 44:31 Paul’s Politics Corner 48:38 Paul’s Critics Corner 49:16 Summaries 52:17 Scores
Our review of Le Mans 66 0:00 Intro 2:13 Summary 4:34 Visuals and Sound 11:05 Character Development 14:17 Acting 16:55 Back to Character Development 20:35 Objections 30:17 The Endings 41:25 Paul’s Critic Corner 44:12 Summaries 47:05 Scores
0:00 Introductions 0:55 Plot Summary 3:08 General Impressions 6:03 McKellen and Mirren 12:40 Storytelling 19:15 Big reveals 30:10 Music 33:25 Paul Rants a Bit More 34:38 Critic’s Corner 37:00 Summaries 38:50 Scores
Episode 2 of Critics on a bus, in this episode we are reviewing Official Secrets. Time stamp information for this podcast incase you want to listen to a specific section: 0:00 – General Introductions 1:48 – Plot summary 3:00 – Thoughts leading up 6:32 – Suspense 10:20 – Mood and styling 12:23 – Kiera Knightley’s performance 15:18 – Oscars discussion 17:50 – Paul’s issues (with the film) 20:39 – Cameron’s counterpoint 21:55 – The hair colour problem 24:30 – Bogus IMDB reviews 28:00 – The film’s ending 33:33 – Other reviews 34:26 – Cameron’s summary 37:09 – Paul’s summary 38:56 – Universities 40:20 – Scoring 45:48 – Future episodes and ending
Episode 1 of Critics on a bus, in this episode we are reviewing Joker in a huge opening episode. Time stamp information for this podcast incase you want to listen to a specific section:. 0:00 Introduction to the podcast 4:00 1 Lead up to the film 7:19 1.1 Joaquin Phoenix casting 11:10 1.2 Summary 12:35 1.3 State of the DCEU 15:54 1.4 Polarised reviews before release 20:11 2 Plot summary and Review 22:15 2.1 Pacing, structure and style 29:07 2.2 Narrative and ending 46:09 2.3 Wayne storyline 57:58 2.4 Father figures 64:30 2.5 Mental health and poverty 70:53 2.6 The stairs 73:20 3 Negative reviews debunked! 80:38 3.1 General Problems with the media 81:30 4 Cameron’s summary 83:27 4.1 Ranking of Joker incarnations 86:00 5 Paul’s summary 88:35 6 Scoring