Episode 590 – Best Movies of 2025 / Oscars Reactions

Moviewallas is on YouTube!

Welcome back to Moviewallas, your weekly dose of film reviews, movie news, and movie-lover banter — in theatres, on streaming, or in the back of an airplane.

In this episode, Joe, Rashmi, and Yazdi dive into their favorite movies of 2025, comparing personal Top 10 lists and highlighting the films that surprised, moved, and stuck with them throughout the year. From bold international cinema and indie discoveries to major studio releases and festival favorites, the conversation covers a wide range of standout films from the past year.

Along the way the team discusses everything from emotional storytelling and memorable performances to unexpected genre hits and films that sparked passionate debate.

In the final segment, the Moviewallas turn their attention to the 2025 Oscar nominations, sharing reactions to the biggest categories — including Best Picture, Best Director, the acting races, and International Feature — and talking through what surprised them, what made sense, and what they’ll be watching closely on awards night.

If you’re looking for great movie recommendations or want to hear a lively discussion about the year in film, this is the episode for you.

💬 Like, comment, and subscribe if you enjoy smart film conversations with a bit of humor and strong opinions.

🎙️ Hosted by: Joe, Rashmi & Yazdi

📺 Watch on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts

📍 Follow us on Instagram and Twitter: @moviewallas

🌐 www.moviewallas.com


Timestamps:

00:00:00 – Start

00:02:45 – Personal Top Tens

00:03:24 – Resurrection

00:05:15 – The Perfect Neighbor

00:06:44 – F1: The Movie

00:08:41 – Sentimental Value

00:11:53 – Zootopia 2

00:13:02 – Bugonia

00:16:23 – The Secret Agent

00:18:21 – The Voice of Hind Rajab

00:20:16 – One Battle After Another

00:22:27 – A House of Dynamite

00:24:55 – All That’s Left of You

00:27:39 – Sovereign

00:31:04 – Marty Supreme

00:33:12 – No Other Choice

00:35:03 – Black Bag

00:36:58 – Roof Man / A Nice Indian Boy / The Ballad of Wallis Island

00:38:03 – The Materialists

00:40:57 – It Was Just An Accident

00:41:54 – The Left Handed Girl

00:42:46 – M3GAN 2.0

00:45:16 – Sinners

00:51:28 – Predator: Badlands

00:54:16 – Twinless

01:02:59 – Moviewallas Discuss the Oscar Nominations

01:03:48 – Best Picture

01:05:06 – Best Director

01:07:13 – Best Actor

01:09:18 – Best Actress

01:10:59 – Best Supporting Actor

01:11:31 – Best Supporting Actress

01:12:54 – Best Foreign Language Film


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Episode 589 – “Wuthering Heights” / Pillion

Moviewallas is on YouTube!

Welcome back to Moviewallas, your weekly dose of film reviews, movie news, and general banter – in theatres, on streaming, or in the back of an airplane. This week, Joe, Rashmi, and Yazdi tackle two wildly different cinematic experiences: the provocative indie Pillion and Emerald Fennell’s lush, divisive adaptation of Wuthering Heights.

🍫 Snack check: Mango-chili dark chocolate straight from Mexico City sets the tone – bold, unexpected, and a little dangerous. Much like the films we’re reviewing.


📺 Streaming Picks – “I Can’t Find Anything to Watch…”

🌊 Undercurrent (Ullozhukku) – Netflix

A flood traps a grieving family in this intense Malayalam drama we first saw at IFFLA. Claustrophobic, emotionally charged, and unforgettable.

🛥️ Triangle of Sadness – Netflix (Feb 21)

Ruben Östlund’s razor-sharp satire finally lands on Netflix. Gender politics, class warfare, and one dinner scene you’ll never forget.

👑 Bridgerton Season 4 (Part 1) – Netflix

Lavish, romantic, and gloriously anachronistic. If you’re in the mood for swooning and scandal, Netflix has you covered.


🏍️ Pillion

This one sparked serious conversation. A shy young man is pulled into the world of a dominant biker, and what unfolds is funny, uncomfortable, emotional, and surprisingly layered. Anchored by fearless performances from Harry Melling and Alexander Skarsgard, Pillion is bold filmmaking that refuses to play it safe. It’s not for everyone – but it’s undeniably memorable.

🌪️ “Wuthering Heights” (2026)

Emerald Fennell brings maximalist style to Emily Brontë’s classic tale of destructive love. Starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, this adaptation leans heavily into mood, sensuality, and striking visuals. We debate whether the passion translates, whether the characters earn their tragedy, and whether style can carry a story this iconic.


 

💬 Like, comment, and subscribe if you enjoy smart, spoiler-light film discussions with strong opinions and zero pretension.

🎙️ Hosted by: Joe, Rashmi & Yazdi

📺 Watch on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts

📍 Follow us on Instagram and Twitter: @moviewallas

🌐 www.moviewallas.com


 

🕰 Timestamps

00:00 – Start

03:44 – Streaming Picks

04:07 – Undercurrent (Ullozhukku)

06:02 – Triangle of Sadness

09:35 – Bridgerton Season 4

11:25 – Pillion

25:39 – Wuthering Heights

Episode 588 – Scarlet / The Moment

Moviewallas is on YouTube!

Welcome back to Moviewallas – your weekly dose of film reviews, movie news, and general banter (in theaters, on streaming, or in the back of an airplane). This week Joe, Rashmi, and Yazdi are fueled by Costco mango cakes, working through a few new mic-setup quirks, and diving into two very different watches: Scarlet and The Moment. Plus, we’re back with “I Can’t Find Anything to Watch on Video On Demand” – three non-Netflix picks to rescue your queue.

🍰 Snack check + production note Yazdi brings individually wrapped mango cakes (dangerously addictive), and Joe shares a quick update on the podcast audio setup as the team tweaks the new recording gear.

📺 Streaming Picks –

• Just Like Heaven (Paramount+) – Rashmi revisits this warm, early-2000s comfort watch with Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo – “like a hug,” and it still holds up.

• The Librarians (KPBS on YouTube) – Yazdi recommends this timely documentary about banned books and the librarians caught in the middle, including the very real threats some have faced.    • Banned Books and the Librarians Caught in …  

• Die My Love (MUBI) – Joe champions Lynne Ramsay’s polarizing, visceral fever-dream starring Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson – a film that’s less about plot and more about impact. (Even if you don’t love it, the performances are the reason to watch.)

🎬 Scarlet A new animated feature from Mamoru Hosoda (director of Mirai), Scarlet delivers absolutely stunning visuals – the kind you want to pause and frame – with a story that sparked debate. The group agrees the animation is breathtaking, but wrestles with pacing, mythology, and how well the emotional beats translate. If you love ambitious animation (and don’t mind a little chaos in the world-building), you’ll want to hear where everyone lands.

🎬 The Moment A mockumentary-style satire set in the pop-music machine, The Moment wins the room with its humor, self-awareness, and industry-side-eye. Even coming in with mixed familiarity on Charli XCX, all three hosts get pulled into the absurdity – with major shout-outs for the comedic timing, the supporting cast, and how sharply it skewers the push-pull between “art” and “commerce.” This one surprised us, and we break down why it works even if you don’t know the pop world it’s playing in.

💬 Like, comment, and subscribe if you enjoy spoiler-light film talk with strong opinions, snack tangents, and the occasional tech gremlin.

🎙️ Hosted by: Joe, Rashmi & Yazdi

📺 Watch on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts

📍 Follow us on Instagram and Twitter: @moviewallas

🌐 www.moviewallas.com

🕰 Timestamps

00:00 – Start

03:11 – Streaming Picks

04:41 – Just Like Heaven

05:58 – The Librarians

07:52 – Die My Love

12:42 – Scarlet

23:17 – The Moment

#Moviewallas #MoviePodcast #Scarlet #TheMoment #StreamingPicks #JustLikeHeaven #TheLibrarians #DieMyLove #MamoruHosoda #CharliXCX #FilmPodcast #MovieReviews #TooManyMoviesTooLittleTime

Episode 587 – Shelter / 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple

Moviewallas is on YouTube!

🎧 This week on Moviewallas, Joe, Rashmi, and Yazdi dive into survival, rivalry, obsession, and bone-crunching dystopia. From intimate indie drama to franchise horror spectacle, Episode 587 covers it all — plus a few streaming picks you won’t want to miss.

🍪 Snack check: We kick off with Spanish olive-oil tortas (cookie-meets-cracker perfection) and some very questionable peanut-butter choices by Joe.

📺 Streaming Picks

🏒 Heated Rivalry (HBO) – Yazdi brings the steamy Canadian hockey romance that somehow evolves from “wait, what is this?” into genuinely moving TV. He makes the case that the third (and especially the fifth) episode is elite-level television – if the sauciness doesn’t scare you off.

🇮🇳 Dhurandhar (Netflix) – Rashmi recommends this sprawling, hyper-violent underworld saga with a killer soundtrack and a serious macho streak. The group discusses its intensity, and why a 3.5-hour runtime may be best tackled across two nights.

🧗 Skyscraper Live / Free Solo (Netflix) – Joe explains why the live Alex Honnold Taipei 101 climb is perhaps more stressful than enjoyable, then re-recommends the actual classic: Free Solo.

This week’s Movies:

🎥 Shelter A remote Scottish island, a rescue that changes everything, and Jason Statham in full lone-wolf mode. Shelter is exactly the kind of tense, brooding action-thriller premise that sounds like perfect weekend viewing – and it sparked a fun debate for us about what works, what doesn’t, and what we wish the movie leaned into more. If you like Statham, isolated settings, and movies that invite “wait… hang on” moments, you’ll want to hear where we landed.

🧟 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple The rage-virus universe expands again – this time with a different directorial voice and a very specific kind of intensity. Only one of us saw The Bone Temple, which made for a great, spoiler-light breakdown: what the sequel is aiming for, how it shifts the tone from the previous film, and why it’s clearly going to be a big conversation-starter for fans of the franchise. If you’ve been following this series, the podcast chat is the safest way to decide if it’s your kind of entry.

🎙️ Plus: Oscar-season confusion (as always), travel colds that won’t quit, and the tease of an upcoming special on the 2025-2026 awards season and your annual “Muggies.” ⸻

🕰 Timestamps

00:00 – Start

04:27 – Streaming Picks

04:37 – Heated Rivalry

08:45 – Dhurandhar

13:58 – Skyscraper Live / Free Solo

18:15 – Shelter

29:33 – 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple

#Moviewallas #MoviePodcast #Shelter #28YearsLater #BoneTemple #HeatedRivalry #Dhurandhar #FreeSolo #FilmReview #StreamingPicks #TooManyMoviesTooLittleTime

Episode 586 – Primate / Send Help / Mercy

🎬 Moviewallas with Joe, Rashmi, and Yazdi is back with a brand-new episode kicking off 2026 movie watching!

This week, the crew dives into three 2026 releases:

  • Primate – A claustrophobic, gory creature-thriller about a genetically altered chimp that goes on a murderous rampage inside a remote oceanfront home.

  • Send Help (dir. Sam Raimi) – A wildly entertaining, darkly comic survival thriller starring Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien, where a stranded employee and her detestable boss must rely on each other after a plane crash.

  • Mercy – A near-future sci-fi thriller about a detective who has 90 minutes to prove his innocence to an AI judge… and mostly fails to convince our hosts.

Along the way, Joe, Rashmi, and Yazdi talk late Happy New Years, recent travels, San Diego Film Critics Society awards overlap with the Oscars, snacks on camera, horror vs thriller, genre tropes, Sam Raimi’s legacy, Rachel McAdams’ incredible range, and why some great premises collapse in execution.

Two solid recommendations, one big disappointment, and plenty of banter.

If you love movies, this show is for you.

👍 Like

💬 Comment

🔔 Subscribe

Too many movies. Too little time.

Episode 585 – Ella McCay / The Housemaid

🎬 Moviewallas Episode 585

🎧 Welcome back to Moviewallas — your weekly fix for smart, spoiler-free movie reviews and cinephile banter. In Episode 585, Joe, Rashmi, and Yazdi return to a two-feature format, covering a buzzy new political dramedy from James L. Brooks and a genre-bending psychological thriller from Paul Feig. Along the way, they catch up on trailers, discuss new clip mics, and celebrate the San Diego Film Critics Society awards season.

👉 Full list of winners now live at https://www.sdfcs.orgAttachment.tiff


   

🎬 Ella McCay

Written and directed by James L. Brooks, Ella McCay is a 2025 political dramedy about a rising political star (Emma Mackey) navigating public scrutiny, personal relationships, and generational conflict in the run-up to an election. With an ensemble that includes Jamie Lee Curtis, Woody Harrelson, Jack Lowden, Ayo Edebiri, and Albert Brooks, the film blends wit, idealism, and emotional nuance — marking Brooks’ return to filmmaking after a 13-year hiatus.

🎬 The Housemaid

From Paul Feig comes an unexpected turn into psychological suspense. The Housemaid is a dark, stylized thriller set in a glossy Manhattan high-rise, where a seemingly docile domestic worker gradually upends the life of her wealthy employer. With echoes of Single White Female and Parasite, Feig’s latest blends social satire and tension into something uniquely disquieting.


💬 Like, comment, and subscribe if you love film conversations that go beyond the press release. Have thoughts on Ella McCay or The Housemaid? Let us know in the comments.

🎙️ Hosted by: Joe, Rashmi & Yazdi

📺 Watch on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts

📍 Follow us on Instagram and Twitter: @moviewallas

🌐 www.moviewallas.com


🕰 Timestamps

00:00 – Start

06:06 – Streaming Picks

06:56 – Relay

09:00 – Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery

11:59 – Caught Stealing

15:40 – Ella McCay (dir. James L. Brooks)

26:21 – The Housemaid (dir. Paul Feig)


#Moviewallas #MoviePodcast #EllaMcCay #JamesLBrooks #EmmaMackey #TheHousemaid #PaulFeig #PsychologicalThriller #SDFCS #SanDiegoFilmCriticsSociety #StreamingPicks #FilmDiscussion #TooManyMoviesTooLittleTime