Overinvested

Claire and Gavia dig into Stanley Kubrick's iconic Stephen King adaptation The Shining, one of the most influential horror movies ever made. Starring Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall and child actor Danny Lloyd, this film blends toxic family dynamics with supernatural horror, focusing on a young family who decide to spend the winter alone at a secluded mountain hotel. An ideal choice for midwinter viewing!

Steffan and Gavia share their enthusiastic review of Predator: Badlands, a standalone adventure story that casts a young Predator as the protagonist, teaming up with a perky android (Elle Fanning) to explore an alien planet. Among other topics, this episode covers the excellent casting of breakout star Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, the film's imaginative sci-fi worldbuilding, and director Dan Trachtenberg's genre-savvy approach to action.

Sticking closer to Mary Shelley's novel than most other adaptations, Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein is the culmination of a lifelong dream. His vision echoes the gothic maximalism of Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula, starring Jacob Elordi as a sympathetic interpretation of Frankenstein's Creature. But does this movie measure up to GDT's past hits? Steffan and Gavia have mixed feelings, delving into the film's characterization choices, production values, and relationship with the novel.

Claire and Gavia review some highlights from the 2025 London Film Festival, ranging from big upcoming releases (the new Knives Out movie Wake Up Dead Man) to awards contenders (Chloé Zhao's Hamnet) and exciting indie titles like Kelly Reichart's heist drama The Mastermind, and the queer BDSM romcom Pillion, starring Alexander Skarsgard.

Steffan and Gavia review One Battle After Another, widely hailed as the best film of 2025. Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, this comedic thriller displays startlingly bold politics for a Hollywood studio release, telling a gripping story about leftist revolutionaries, racism, and the violence of American border control. Leonardo DiCaprio and Chase Infiniti star as the central father/daughter duo, opposite Sean Penn as the villain.