239: End of Year Show - Part 1

·1 hr 5 min·5 clips

Three friends reveal their controversial top films of 2023 while trying to ignore Geoff's outrageous opinions.

The episode begins with hosts Geoff, Graham, and Neil introducing their end-of-year special, which will be split into two parts. They welcome guest Paul Rincon, a broadcaster and writer, to discuss science fiction films of 2023. Rincon praises 'The Creator' for its original take on AI and Southeast Asian visual style, contrasting it with typical 'rise of the machines' narratives. The conversation covers other sci-fi entries like 'Across the Spider-Verse', 'The Flash', 'The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes', 'Asteroid City', '65', 'M3GAN', and 'Oppenheimer', with Rincon noting the latter's box-office success as a complex biopic. Rincon also shares anticipation for 2024 releases like 'Dune Part Two' and discusses space exploration milestones, including Artemis 2 and India's Gaganyaan mission. After Rincon's segment, the hosts transition to a recurring feature where Geoff and Phil debate film merits. They compare Billy Wilder's 1978 film 'Fedora', starring William Holden, to Wes Anderson's four Roald Dahl short films released on Netflix. Geoff defends 'Fedora' as a fascinating look at star power, while Phil finds it too similar to Wilder's earlier 'Sunset Boulevard'. They then review Anderson's shorts: 'The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar', 'The Swan', 'The Rat Catcher', and 'Poison'. Phil enjoys Anderson's quirky, visual style across all four, particularly praising Ralph Fiennes and the stage-play aesthetics, whereas Geoff criticizes them as over-narrated and prefers 'Poison' for its tension. The episode concludes by teasing part two, where the hosts will reveal their top five films of the year.

As heard by us

A lively year-end film roundtable where Geoff's rule-bending keeps consensus just out of reach.

At The Flicks turns its 2023 end-of-year show into a lively roundtable built around favorite films, friendly friction, and Geoff's proudly outrageous opinions.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You get a festive 2023 movie wrap-up: individual top fives, the At The Flicks combined top seven, Geoff changing the rules, and the promise of arguments still to come.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from At the Flicks