As a rule, I’m not a fan of “repurposed” podcasts – the kind where a broadcaster takes a radio program and makes it available in downloadable form. This type of podcast is rarely more than TiVo for your radio. There’s nothing unique or special about it.

There is, however, one very notable exception: The BBC Five Live’s Simon Mayo program, which once a week features movie critic Mark Kermode, Ph.D. Kermode successfully combines the sensibilities of an auteur with a deep love of B movies and the talent to eviscerate a film with uncanny charm. Dr. Kermode, whose Ph.D. thesis was on horror fiction, never fails to be energetically entertaining, whether he is declaring the death of narrative cinema (something he often encourages his listeners to yell in a crowded a theater) or claiming that it’s okay to be a vegetarian and eat fish because, “fish deserve to die for failing to evolve out of the oceans.” (more…)

On Halloween eve, three kids set out to uncover the mystery of the ramshackle house across the street, where anything or anyone that lands on the lawn eerily disappears. Monster House, directed by newcomer Gil Kenan and executive-produced by industry legends Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis, is a horror film for kids with poignancy and a happy ending. But it takes some getting used to. (more…)