Film Podcast Review IX: Movies You Should See

Movies You Should See is a production of Simply Syndicated, the same UK-based folks that produce Left Field Cinema that I gushed over in a prior post. MYSS is produced monthly and ranges in length from 40 to 90 minutes, though most episodes are around an hour in length.

The show is hosted by 4-5 young adults (one woman). The hosts rotate on and off, so the number of hosts per episode varies. They basically spend each podcast dedicated to a single film that they recommend, meticulously going over the plot, performances, direction, cinematography, etc. They get sidetracked into talking about other topics of varying relevance, from completely irrelevant inside jokes to which the audience does not understand to insightful comments about the direction or performances. These are genuinely funny people, though--I did laugh pretty frequently. Ultimately, though, spending up to 90 minutes talking about a film that itself isn't much longer than that left me cold. Through the process of these reviews, I am finding myself trending in this direction--I favor the shorter, tighter podcasts (Left Field Cinema, Film Gang) over the long ones, but I don't think that that is a universal truth. Filmspotting is still one of my favorites at 60 minutes. The difference in Filmspotting (and to a lesser extent, Cinebanter) is that it is organized into clear and concise segments, each of which could be a standalone podcast episode. Every segment is tightly constructed and each host presents his ideas on the subject concisely. Movies You Should See is a stark contrast--these folks just gab on for as long as they like. Sometimes it is funny, sometimes there are insightful thoughts about the film but rarely is that enough to sustain my interest. It's like sitting through a boring movie for one or two great scenes.

Production 6/10
Content 6/10

CORRECTION 2008-07-16