Screenland with Brian Lloyd

But then again, maybe it isn't? Who knows.On this week's show, I'm going into 'The Moment', the new mockumentary from @Charli xcx and that it entails. I'm also going into 'Cold Storage' with a strange and wonderful cast in this horror potboiler, and if that wasn't enough for you, I'm also reviewing 'If I Had Legs, I'd Kick You', the new comedy-drama that's actually more like 'Jacob's Ladder' somehow.Elsewhere, my old movie of the week is 'The Paper' in honour of the passing of the late, great Robert Duvall earlier this week.

OK, that title needs a little setup. So basically, there are two movies out this week that I'm talking about - the first is Bart Layton's 'Crime 101', starring Chris Hemsworth, Halle Berry, and Mark Ruffalo. It's good! Kinda unoriginal, but hey, it's a potboiler and those are fine.The other movie, which is the one everyone's talking about, is 'Wuthering Heights' - the latest adaptation by Emerald Fennell. So naturally, put those two titles together in the form of an episode title and you get what you get there. See, it's always better for a joke when you have to explain it.

On this week's episode, we're washed ashore on a remote island with Rachel McAdams and Dylan O'Brien with Sam Raimi pulling the strings in 'Send Help', the gory slice of horror comedy that asks the question, "What if 'Misery' put in some place warm?"Elsewhere, I'm talking about the fallout of 'Melania' and its fucking dismal box office figures and the utter callousness of Amazon and Jeff Bezos. Speaking of fallouts (heh heh), I'm also talking about the finale to 'Fallout' Season 2 and how it's a case of fan service done right, if it even is that at all.Come and get it, Screenlanders!

You might think to yourself, there's no way he could possibly spend a total of 48 minutes shredding Brett Ratner's documentary about the wife of Donald Trump to pieces, right? It's nothing to me, pal. I could do this all day. And I did.I went to the very first public screening of 'Melania: 20 Days To History' at the Cineworld in Parnell Street, Dublin with a group of journalists - including friend of the pod and @NO ENCORE host Dave Hanratty - to see this unrelenting piece of crap. Come and be dazzled as we witness the golden nail in the coffin of American soft power with a documentary! Feast your earholes on comparisons between Brett Ratner and Leni Riefenstahl! Amaze yourself with tales of horrifying incompetence and thievery on his part! Be transformed! Be horrified! All hail the new flesh!

The Oscar nominations have JUST been announced (well, like four hours ago) so it's high time I got up off my ass and nailed my colours to the wall with some predictions on this year's Awards Meat Parade.Elsewhere, 'Mercy' and 'The History of Sound' go under the microscope for analysis and dissection, along with wading very tepidly into the Brooklyn Beckham / Victoria Beckham delulu drama as a treatise on the death of celebrity. No, really.

Full disclosure, I asked a fucking AI piece of shit to write this synopsis because I am just exhausted at this stage. Here goes.Buckle up for a wild ride through the highs and lows of the latest on screen and in print, where we’re dissecting everything from zombie apocalypses to high-stakes hockey romances. We kick things off by checking back in with the undead in '28 Years Later: The Bone Temple', debating whether this latest evolution of the franchise still has some bite or if it’s just dragging its feet. Then, we shift gears to the powerful and deeply moving 'The Voice of Hind Rajab', a project that demands your attention and sparks some heavy-hitting conversation.On the lighter side of life, we’re diving headfirst into the locker room drama of 'Heated Rivalry', discussing why this beloved MM sports romance has us all hot and bothered. Finally, we’re heading back to Westeros (no dragons required... yet) to talk 'A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms'. We break down whether Dunk and Egg have what it takes to carry the mantle of the 'Game of Thrones' legacy. Whether you're a fan of gritty survival, intense documentaries, or swoon-worthy rivals-to-lovers tropes, this episode has a little something for everyone. Grab your headphones and join us for our honest, unfiltered, and probably too-loud opinions on the stories you shouldn't miss.Wow, that's absolutely dogshit. Generative AI is ruining the planet, and that's just more proof of the same. Are you even reading this? Be honest.

This week on 'Screenland', I’m starting things off with a double feature of new reviews. First up is 'Hamnet', where I dig into whether this adaptation captures the soul of the novel, followed by my thoughts on 'Song Sung Blue' starring Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson. We’re looking at whether that star power translates into a hit or if it’s just hitting a familiar note.Then, we have to talk about the elephant in the room: the teasers for 'Avengers: Doomsday'. I’m getting honest about why I think we’re seeing diminishing returns for Marvel and why the "big event" strategy might be losing its spark. After the MCU rant, I’m shifting gears to the brand-new 'Anaconda' movie. With Jack Black and Paul Rudd leading the way, this is a completely different beast than the 90s original, and I’ll tell you if this comedic reimagining is actually worth the watch.Finally, I’m closing out the show by diving down the rabbit hole with the "Conformity Gate" theory for the 'Stranger Things' finale. If you’ve been wondering how they’re going to wrap up the story in Hawkins, this theory about social pressure and the Upside Down is a total game-changer.Make sure to subscribe to 'Screenland' on Spotify and YouTube so you never miss an episode!

We've made it, Screenlanders. It's the SEASON FINALE of Screenland Season 1 and we're going out with the best movies of the year.Joining us on this madcap arbitrary journey through the best and worst of 2025 is the man who made Screenland possible, because he used to force me to stay awake when we were kids and watch The Last Picture Show on RTÉ One, or some random-ass movie on RTÉ Two at midnight on a school night - it's my older brother, Andrew Lloyd.Yes, for an hour and thirty-odd minutes, my brother and I ramble and meander our way through the best of the year, but specifically 'One Battle After Another', 'Bugonia', and Andrew's picks. In fact, here's the list we were both working off.ANDREW'One Battle After Another''Bugonia''The Long Walk''Lurker'BRIAN'One Battle After Another''Black Bag''Train Dreams''Sinners''I'm Still Here''Bugonia''Marty Supreme''Weapons''Friendship''The Naked Gun'

The prevailing logic in theatrical releases for the past three decades has been this - never bet against Big Jim. 'Titanic', 'The Abyss', 'Terminator 2: Judgment Day', 'True Lies' even? Come on. James Cameron is a force of nature. He has set the standard for blockbusters, so why the hell is 'Avatar: Fire and Ash' just so lacklustre and uninspired? Has he lost his touch? Is it simply his willingness to prove a point outpacing his ability to make a good movie? More to the point, who actually gives a shit anymore about Pandora? There's bigger problems right here on Earth.Elsewhere, we preview the best movies of the year - yes, I have to rewrite my list because I saw 'Marty Supreme' and yes, the hype is real - and I get actually close to tears talking about 'The Princess Bride', so stay tuned for vulnerability I guess?Like the show? Leave a comment and a rating!

It's a cruel twist of fate that a movie so bland and upsettingly poor should be heaped in with the worst movies of 2025. Yet, here we are nonetheless.On the chopping block this week is James L. Brooks' well-meaning but misguided attempt at making local politics seem fun and sweet mixed with a romcom in 'Ella McCay', and no, we're not doing that stupid social media challenge either. Grow up.The real portion of the show, however, falls to the worst movies of 2025. And folks, let's be clear on one thing - DO NOT WATCH ANY OF THESE MOVIES. THEY ARE ALL TERRIBLE. I SUFFERED THROUGH THEM SO YOU WOULDN'T HAVE TO. Did you know 'All's Fair' is getting a second season? Yeah, it's because you freaks decide to watch it and see how bad it was. And because of that, now we've got another season of that crap. Don't make the same mistake here.By all means, listen to this episode and enjoy it if you can, but for the love of all that is good and just in this world, do not go and watch these movies out of morbid curiosity or some kind of weird masochistic thing you've got going on. Don't do it. Do literally anything else with the same time you'd waste on these. Read a book. Listen to another podcast. Take a walk. Enjoy a warm cup of coffee. Do anything other than watch these movies.OK, next week's a much better episode. Tough it out.

We're hurtling towards the end of the year, but just before that, we've still got some movies and TV to get through.First off, we're spending 'Eternity' with Elisabeth Olsen, Callum Turner and Miles Teller in this high-concept rom-com set in the afterlife with Irish writer-director Dave Freyne, with a special story about making an absolute CLOWNSHOW out of a Q&A at the Dublin Film Festival.After that, we're going on a retrospective of sorts with Noah Baumbach's latest, 'Jay Kelly', starring George Clooney as a sort-of-satire of himself and a miscast Adam Sandler in this bittersweet bromance about life on screen and life beyond it.To round things up and way, way, way late to the game, we're going in on Vince Gilligan's 'Pluribus'.Good talk! Do it up!

Don't think just because we're now EIGHTEEN episodes in that we're slacking off. Oh no, sir. Not at all.For this week's episode, we're going back to Hawkins for a runthrough of the first four episodes of the fifth and final season of 'Stranger Things', we're going cruising with Alexander Skarsgard and Harry Melling in 'Pillion', and we're raising the dead and the murder mystery genre yet again in 'Wake Up Dead Man'.Elsewhere, Dee Molumby - late of entertainment.ie and the host of Dublin City Council's official podcast, What's The Story Dublin? - is our guest this week with a whopper of a pick in Emerald Fennell's directorial debut, 'Promising Young Woman'. We go in on Fennell's career, the upcoming adaptation of 'Wuthering Heights', is she a stylist or a charlatan, and more besides.Good talk! Do it up!

It's an all-singing, all-dancing version of Screenland this week, folks. No, actually, it isn't.Still and all, I'm trying to wrap my head around why musicals writ large do absolutely nothing for me - is it because I'm dead inside, or do I just hate all human joy in the world? Still and all, it's got Cynthia Erivo and she's just terrific so there's that.In a wonderful bit of counterprogramming, 'Sisu: Road To Revenge' gets a ramble and reminisces about interviewing its taciturn director, Jalmari Helander, for the first one and just general good vibes guy Stephen Lang.To round things all off, we're talking about the exhaustion on Sydney Sweeney and sports biopics generally with 'Christy', based on the life and times of WBA champion Christy Martin. Don't forget to leave a comment and a rating if you enjoyed the show!

Talk about a mixed bag this week, folks.We start off with Dave Hanratty, he of NO ENCORE, lands on the shores of Screenland waving the flag of death for Edgar Wright's reimagining of 'The Running Man', the Stephen King-Richard Bachman novella about reality TV gameshows that never could have imagined a world where Mr. Beast was doing pretty much the same thing. Except, y'know, he's not killing people. That we know of. Currently.Elsewhere, the largely forgettable 'Nuremberg' gets a going over while I get WAAAAAY too personal about Clint Bentley's 'Train Dreams' and, again, get WAAAAAY too personal about turning 4-0 this weekend. I am feeling a lot of *emotions* on this pod, folks. Be prepared.

It's not an exagerration to say that 'All's Fair' is the worst TV show of 2025, maybe the worst TV show of the past two decades. But is it really all that bad? Is it not just campy fun? No, it's not. It's actually a terrifyingly empty look into the world of the rich and is probably the most potent example of how wealthy people shouldn't make art.Yeah, that's right. We're going there with this thing. After that, we're looking at 'Die My Love', the new Lynne Ramsey movie with J-Law and R-Pattz, we're looking at Daniel Day-Lewis returning to acting after nearly eight years away with 'Anemone', we're taking a quick sojourn to Northern England at the turn of the century with Hytner / Bennett's latest offering 'The Choral', and ending things with one of the most enjoyable movies of the year so far in 'Predator: Badlands'. Get it on, do it up! Don't forget to leave a comment, a rating, a cheery anecdote, a missive, a whatever.- Brian x

It's a bonus episode! For this week's offering, we're keeping this brisk and breezy with a semi-review-sort-of-mehness of 'The Witcher' Season 4 with Liam Not Chris Hemsworth replacing Henry Not Superman Cavill in the title role, while bemoaning the fact that most fantasy TV series look cheap and shit.The main course, however, is Yorgos Lanthimos' sci-fi remake comedy 'Bugonia' with Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons squaring off in a 'Misery' meets 'They Live' scenario with aliens, honey, billionaires, and uncomfortable endings. Good stuff. Do it up.

Yes, I'm sorry, I'm very very late with this but I swear, I'm going to make it up to you. How, you might ask?Well, for one, I'm giving you a VERY VERY VERY early review of 'Saipan', the much-anticipated sports drama about the infamous 2002 Saipan incident between Roy Keane and Mick McCarthy, now immortalised in celluloid with Eanna Hardwicke and Steve Coogan taking on the roles. The movie's not out until New Year's Day, man. That's how far ahead of it you're getting. Yeah.Elsewhere, I cracked open the Screenland Suggestion Box with contributions from you - that's right, you specifically - about this and that and other stuff.Yes, I'm dropping this on Bank Holiday Sunday. But you know what? Better late than never. Do it up!!!!!!!

We did it, Joe.Well, sort of. The bathroom renovations are still ongoing. But! We've managed to get a couple of hours free of hammers and noise to bring in Zara Hedderman, music journalist and creator of The Bad Arts on Substack, who has picked 'Something's Gotta Give', the romantic comedy starring the late, great Diane Keaton. No joke, folks - she picked this three weeks ago.Elsewhere, we're discussing Cancel Culture (boring) and Luca Guadagnino's 'After The Hunt' with Julia Roberts and Ayo Edebiri, Ethan Hawke returns for 'Black Phone 2', Colin Farrell does a Fast Show character in 'Ballad Of A Small Player' and brief musings on Aziz Ansari at the Riyadh Comedy Festival mixed with a review of 'Good Fortune', featuring the best casting of the past five years in Keanu Reeves as a well-meaning but slightly dim guardian angel.Less talk, more synthohol. Do it up!

OK, so no guest this week - why, you're probably wondering?Real simple. My upstairs bathroom is getting renovated and nobody wants to record a podcast when there's a small army of builders coming in and out of your house with power drills, hammers, and whatever else they've got going on.So, with that in mind, I'm flying solo this week but the good news is there's some genuine crackers and one pile of dogshit to get through. Up for discussion with myself this week is the long-awaited and not-really-anticipated 'TRON: Ares', Kathryn Bigelow's laugh-a-minute apocalyptic thriller 'A House of Dynamite', the high-concept horror that's got everyone talking 'Good Boy', and rounding it all off with a kitchen-sink drama-biopic 'I Swear'.Next week, I swear, the bathroom will be finished and we'll back to normal with guests. Until then, it's just me. If that bugs you, I am truly sorry but I've got to live like this all the time. You can switch this off at any time. It's always on with me.

Ten episodes later, I'm only just now figuring out how to write these synopses a little better. At least I'm not using a gallon of water to get ChatGPT to do it or some shit.Anyway, this week, I'm talking about Dwayne Johnson and the sexual tension between him and an Oscar nomination for 'The Smashing Machine', go off one about the NFL in Croke Park off the back of 'HIM' and if that wasn't enough, Jim Sheridan's back with another take on the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier with 'Re-Creation'.And because this show is about doing too much all at once, Dave Hanratty of the famous NO ENCORE Podcast is our guest this week. His pick? Aaron Sorkin's The Newsroom. Three seasons of it, folks. That show got three seasons. Wild shit. What even was that show? We get into it.Enjoying the show? Leave a rating, leave a comment, tell a friend, pet a dog, and be nice to strangers.