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SP 0:00:13
Movie criticism, with prejudice

Two critics.
Two thumbs.
Pointed at the floor.

Matt O'Reilly and Norm Fougere watch everything so you can watch almost nothing. The dreaded double-down is earned, never given.

Latest Reviews Enter the Vault
This week's verdicts † The Last Reel — two thumbs up (it happens) † Heat of the Moment — split decision † Chrome Dynasty — two thumbs down † New in the Vault: Rain Man: The Best Movie Spielberg Never Made † This week's verdicts † The Last Reel — two thumbs up (it happens) † Heat of the Moment — split decision † Chrome Dynasty — two thumbs down † New in the Vault: Rain Man: The Best Movie Spielberg Never Made †

Snap Judgments

Now playing · sixty seconds of thought apiece

The Odyssey

Dir. Christopher Nolan · Epic · July 2026
MattHomer finally got the budget he deserved. The classics always win.
NormThere's a cyclops in it. That's fantasy. I don't do fantasy.
Split Decision

Disclosure Day

Dir. Steven Spielberg · Sci-Fi Thriller · June 2026
MattBest Spielberg in twenty years. I wept at a UFO. No regrets.
NormIt's E.T. with paperwork. Overrated then, overrated now.
Split Decision

Project Hail Mary

Ryan Gosling · Sci-Fi · March 2026
MattGosling saves Earth with math and a spreadsheet. Sold.
NormSmart sci-fi, zero capes. More of this, Hollywood.
Two Up · Rare

Spider-Man: Brand New Day

Tom Holland · Action · July 2026
MattPerfectly fine. Exhaustingly fine. Call me when it's Raiders.
NormSolid action flick. I'll allow it.
Split Decision

Backrooms

A24 · Horror · May 2026
MattI don't do horror. Neither should you.
NormHated it. It's a hallway.
Two Thumbs Down

Toy Story 5

Pixar · Animation · June 2026
MattThey got me again. Thirty years of crying at toys.
NormA toy taught me about mortality. I just wanted popcorn.
Split Decision
▶ Norm's Movie of the Month · August 2026
Norm FougereOne thumb. Way up.

Rain Man (1988)

A drama. No cyclops. He checked.

Four directors, a writers' strike, a 1949 Buick — and Norm's case that Rain Man is the best acting Tom Cruise has ever done, in the best movie Spielberg never made. Matt gets no rebuttal until September.

Read Norm's Full Breakdown →
SP 2:13:00 Rain Man1988 · dir. Levinson † NORM'S PICK †

Fresh Verdicts

All reviews →

The Vault

All retrospectives →
Making Of · 1988

Die Hard Was a Sequel Nobody Wanted

From a contractual obligation to Frank Sinatra to the perfect action film — the unlikely paper trail behind Nakatomi Plaza.

The Shark Wasn't Working: How Jaws Nearly Sank

Vault · 6 min read

The Critics

Matt O'Reilly

The Optimist (Relatively)

Believes every movie deserves a fair shot, then spends 900 words explaining why this one blew it. Weakness: heist films, practical effects, and any scene where someone walks away from an explosion.

Norm Fougere

The Executioner

Has walked out of three movies in his life and written 4,000 words about each. Believes runtime is a promise, third acts are a dying art, and that his thumb rests down by default. Convince him.