Fast film talk with shelf-space standards.
Movie Madness treats the weekly movie pile as both assignment and obsession. Eric Childress and regular counterparts sort through theatrical releases, streaming titles, documentaries, and physical-media editions with blunt verdicts and deep film-reference reflexes.
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Movie Madness is a film-review workbench with a lot of tabs open. Eric Childress anchors a rotating, familiar conversation that treats moviegoing as weekly labor, long memory, and recurring argument. The show moves fast. One stretch may cover a Netflix true-crime documentary, a limited theatrical release, an AI documentary, a horror sequel, and a festival title that one person saw and another only just received as a screener. Another episode may leave the new-release pile behind and head straight for shelves: Blu-rays, 4Ks, Criterion discs, steelbooks, transfer talk, studio announcements, and the stubborn pleasure of owning films in a format that cannot be quietly removed from a service. The tone is relaxed but not loose. Plot summaries keep getting interrupted by judgment, actor names become critical shorthand, and release details matter because the show is always thinking about where a movie came from, how it is being sold, and whether it deserves the attention being asked of it. It can be dry. It can be impatient. It can also pause for real enthusiasm when a festival lineup, a 35mm anniversary screening, or a strong documentary earns it. Recent episodes place Movie Madness in a recognizable film-culture circuit: South by Southwest, Chicago Critics Film Festival, Music Box Theater screenings, Criterion upgrades, Sundance carryovers, and the weekly scramble of theatrical and streaming openings. The show is especially good at making the ordinary mechanics of criticism audible. Who saw which title? Which film slipped through? Which release is being saved for next week? Which title looked promising and then collapsed under its own story logic? Those practical details give the criticism a lived-in texture. Movie Madness is not a hype machine and not a nostalgia bath. It is closer to two or three film people comparing notes at speed, armed with old references, new screeners, format preferences, and limited patience for weak material. The result is useful for listeners who want opinions with context: not just whether a movie works, but how it sits among festival buzz, franchise history, physical-media culture, and the exhausting abundance of modern releases.
Made for: For movie watchers who track new releases, festival titles, documentaries, and physical media with equal curiosity. It especially suits listeners who like criticism that is conversational, specific, and willing to call a weak film weak.
What sets it apart: Movie Madness stands out by pairing weekly review triage with serious physical-media attention. It treats Blu-rays, 4Ks, festival programming, theatrical availability, and director history as part of the same movie ecosystem.
Movie Madness is a weekly podcast hosted by Chicago film critic Erik Childress presenting movie reviews, interviews, film festival coverage, DVDs, awards, box office and much more! erikthemovieman.substack.com
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Movie Madness pairs candid current-film judgments with detailed physical-media coverage and a collector's concern for keeping older movies accessible.
Movie Madness works in two distinct modes, both guided by Eric Childress's appetite for particulars. Movie-review conversations with Steve move through current theatrical and streaming releases, weighing performances, action scenes, narrative logic, and whether a film earns a…
A Blu-ray shelf gets a defense attorney; your next movie night gets a second opinion.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A quick six-film round where Austin, Amanda Ogle's Camry, and a Billy Idol correction add useful texture.
Movie Madness turns Eric Childress's return from Austin and South by Southwest into a brisk six-film review run, with a Sundance catch-up folded into the opening stretch.
A collector's tour through format wars, Clouseau history, and the week's Blu-ray chatter.
Movie Madness leans into physical media with easy enthusiasm, moving from Blu-rays and 4Ks to the Blu-ray-versus-HD-DVD fight and the comfort of keeping movies on a shelf instead of at the mercy of shifting access.
Seven titles, a broken ending, and a Milla Jovovich performance the hosts still find worth noting.
Movie Madness spends most of its attention on seven new titles, while keeping its sharpest focus on the Milla Jovovich film in theaters and on an ending that Eric Childress and Steve Prokopi say simply does not land. They work through the twist, note Paul W. S.
Blunt, specific movie criticism for a strange pre-Oscars week, from a bloody seashell kill to a clear non-recommendation.
Movie Madness lands in the odd pre-Oscars stretch, when even Eric Childress and Steve Procopi seem unsure what should be released at all. That uncertainty becomes the episode's useful frame as they move through seven films across streaming and theaters, with some loose early…
A brisk six-movie roundup where folk horror gets tested and the next movie queue starts to form.
Movie Madness turns a six-movie roundup into a brisk, argumentative check-in on what makes a genre label stick. Eric Childress and Steve Bercopi skip a full review of Psycho Killer, even with its zero percent start hanging in the air, then move into a sharper dispute over…
A format-war opening settles into sharp physical-media talk and a wary look at a short-film gimmick stretched too far.
Movie Madness starts with the old home-video battles, moving from laser discs and DivX to Blu-ray and HD DVD before easing into the kind of weekly physical-media talk Eric Childress and Peter Sabzynski clearly enjoy.
A light release week finds its point in the gap between a beloved Russ Meyer film and a bare-bones disc.
A light physical-media week turns into a neat question about what collectors actually pay for: the film, the object on the shelf, or the supplements that make a release feel like an occasion.
Mike Muncer and a different guest dissect two horror films per episode, by subgenre.
This episode provides updates on the Movie Madness podcast's success, host Eric Childress's other media projects, and upcoming events in the Critics' Classics film series.
Host Erik Childress and guest Peter Simzinski review new physical media releases, starting with Criterion's 4K upgrade of the 1946 film noir 'Gilda.' They discuss Kino's silent classic 'The Thief of Baghdad' from 1924 and Russ Meyer's exploitation film 'Faster, Pussycat!
Host Erik Childress and guest Peter Sabzynski review new physical media releases, starting with Criterion's 4K edition of the Coen Brothers' overlooked noir 'The Man Who Wasn't There'.
Eric Childress and Steve Procopi open Movie Madness episode 689 with Review Catch-Up segments on Forgotten Island and Alex Gibney's 'Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie', which Rushdie narrates himself.
The hosts of Movie Madness Podcast discuss their week of movie-watching, including reviews of films like Munich and Ballistic, with a focus on Lena Headey's performance.
This episode announces the full lineup and ticket details for the Chicago Critics Film Festival, featuring films like 'The Invite' with Olivia Wilde and 'The Sun Never Sets' with Dakota Fanning.
This episode of the Movie Madness podcast discusses recent physical media releases, focusing on titles like Gilda in 4K, with hosts Eric Childress and Peter Subzinski.
This episode features movie reviews with host Eric Childress and guest Steve Prokopi, focusing on six titles including a true crime documentary about cyclist Mariah Wilson.
The Movie Madness Podcast hosts discuss upcoming film reviews, including 11 titles like an AI documentary and movies featuring Mackenzie Ziegler, with guest Steve Prokopi.
Rose Byrne's `Toe` is the clearest recommendation in `Movie Madness` Episode 638, where Amanda Ogle fights a towing company over her stolen Toyota Camry in Seattle.
The show opens on physical media.
Eric Childress opens by talking about Munich, a movie he has revisited after a long gap.
This episode of the Movie Madness Podcast discusses upcoming physical media releases, including Criterion's edition of the Coen brothers' film The Man Who Wasn't There, with hosts Eric Childress and Peter Sabzynski.
Eric Childress and Steve Procopi face a thin release week.
Eric Childress and Steve Bercopi run through six movies while leaving Psycho Killer on the sidelines.
This episode introduces various movie-related content and projects by the host, including podcasts, TV segments, and film screenings, but does not yet address the main topic about Lucinda Dickey.
This episode serves as a promotional announcement for the host's various media projects, including podcasts, TV segments, and film events.
This episode is a promotional announcement for the host's various media projects, including podcasts, TV segments, and film events.