In the driver seat of film podcasts, Fear and Loathing in Cinema sets itself apart with its irreverent blend of pop culture critique, nostalgic deep-dives, and a razor-sharp, at times almost uncomfortably candid, dissection of cinematic relics that were once scorned but now, with the benefit of time, seem worthy of a second look. Hosted by a group of unpredictable yet undeniably insightful voices; Bryan Kluger, a media director with a sharp sense of irony of offensive things; Dan Moran, a lawyer who brings an often absurd legal perspective of the film industry and Kevin Costner; Preston Barta, a film critic with a taste for the heart-warmingly obscure branch of cinema; and Chelsea Nicole, a culture critic who digs into the nuances of social dynamics and horror; Fear and Loathing in Cinema Podcast thrives in that rare space between sincere analysis and gut-busting humor.
In Episode No. 118 of Fear and Loathing in Cinema, our intrepid trio of cinephile hosts; ever curious, perpetually skeptical; trade the hum of the urban sprawl for the howls and snarls of a cinematic jungle. Their quarry? Kraven the Hunter, Sony’s latest foray into the increasingly chaotic patchwork that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe, albeit a cul-de-sac version where Spider-Man is conspicuously absent. Kraven, it must be said, is not a good movie. It may, in fact, be one of the worst-reviewed and most maligned releases of the year, a distinction that would give most films pause, if they could feel shame. But this is corporate IP cinema, and shame is neither a bug nor a feature; it’s irrelevant. The hosts of Fear and Loathing dive in with the weary glee of critics who’ve been here before, armed with industry gossip, gallows humor, and a perhaps-too-personal fondness for watching the cultural scaffolding fall apart.
This Week’s Highlights:
As always, the hosts of this podcast stray far from the beaten path, sidetracking in ways that somehow feel more entertaining than the very movie they’ve gathered to dissect. The absurdities that unfold become a crucial part of the show’s charm, its conversational energy the perfect counterpart to the movie under scrutiny. Among the many bizarre diversions in this week’s discussion:
- There will be a Miami Vice remake with Joseph Kosinski directing.
- The Smashing Machine with the rock as an MMA fighter from A24 has a trailer.
- Kevin Smith has been writing Dogma 2.
- Conclave director Ed Berger will direct the Ridley Scott produced movie with brad pitt called The Riders for A24.
And, of course, the gang winds up pondering the most ridiculous hypothetical of all:What is the Greatest fall from grace from trailer to movie? If that’s not a moment of podcast gold, I’m not sure what is.
Movie Analysis: Kraven The Hunter (2024)
At the heart of the discussion: Is Kraven the Hunter a film, or merely a contractual obligation disguised as one? Sony’s grip on the Spider-Man rogues’ gallery is notoriously slippery, and Kraven, a character who began as a tragic villain, is here recast as a blood-spattered eco-warrior, a lion-mauling survivor with daddy issues and a gym membership. The transformation is less an arc than a lurch, and the film; somehow both self-serious and ludicrous; leans into this new mythology with straight-faced conviction. A voodoo vial turns young Sergei Kravinoff into a half-man, half-beast hybrid; he then embarks on a path of vengeance against poachers and, naturally, a shadowy crime syndicate that kidnapped his brother (who dreams, in a flourish that feels like parody, of becoming a DJ).
Aaron Taylor-Johnson snarls and smolders with conviction; Russell Crowe, as his gruff patriarch, appears to be filming an entirely different movie; one where he’s channeling Tony Soprano through a vaguely Balkan accent. Meanwhile, Rhino yes, that Rhino; receives what might be his most faithful screen interpretation yet, which is, depending on your expectations, either damning or redemptive praise.
The hosts dissect it all: the limp action sequences that strain under the weight of an R rating, the apparent erasure of Spider-Man from a world he once defined, and the broader implications of a studio desperately feeding the IP beast. Through it all, there is laughter, there is wine, and there is a sense that even in the wreckage, there is something to be learned, or at least mocked.
You can’t make this up, but someone did; and Fear and Loathing in Cinema is here to make sense of the nonsense, or die trying.
FEAR AND LOATHING PODCAST APPLE PODCASTS
FEAR AND LOATHING PODCAST SPOTIFY
Thank you for listening.
WRITTEN BY: BRYAN KLUGER
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
