Canceled Too Soon

CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED is overflowing with movies this week! Film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold ponder the ramifications of undoing the Paramount decision - potentially opening the door to studios buying movie theaters and developing monopolies - and review the new Seth Rogen comedy AN AMERICAN PICKLE, the latest adaptation of THE SECRET GARDEN, the Netflix dance film WORK IT, the Norwegian drama OUT STEALING HORSES, Amy Seimetz's psychological horror film SHE DIES TOMORROW, and the art heist film THE BURNT ORANGE HERESY. Also this week on THE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED STREAMING CLUB, Bibbs and Witney explore William Greaves' experimental documentary SYMBIOPSYCHOTAXIPLASM, about the making of the making of a movie, and it's decades-later experimental sequel! Paramount Decision - 2:13  An American Pickle - 22:41  The Secret Garden - 39:07  Work It - 45:28  Out Stealing Horses - 55:26  She Dies Tomorrow - 1:01:44  The Burnt Orange Heresy - 1:12:35  Symbiopsychotaxiplasm - 1:26:22  Subscribe o

Satan has conquered worlds and vanquished armies, but can he sell more fries than anyone else at McDonalds? That's the plot of the anime series THE DEVIL IS A PART-TIMER, the first installment of our long-awaited ANIME MONTH! Was this wacky series, which combines elements of the situational comedy and episodic fantasy... CANCELED TOO SOON? William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold are about to find out! Subscribe on Patreon at www.patreon.com/criticallyacclaimednetwork for exclusive content and exciting rewards, like bonus episodes, commentary tracks and much, much more! And visit our TeePublic page to buy shirts, mugs and other exciting merchandise!  Follow us on Twitter at @CriticAcclaim, join the official Fan Club on Facebook, follow Bibbs at @WilliamBibbiani and follow Witney at @WitneySeibold, and head on over to www.criticallyacclaimed.net for all their podcasts, reviews and more!  And don't forget to email us at letters@criticallyacclaimed.net, so we can read your correspondence and answer your quest

Film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold are working backwards through film history, using STAR WARS as the starting point! This week on EPISODE ZERO they move into Fritz Lang's silent masterpiece METROPOLIS, which envisioned an unthinkable future full of class warfare, income disparity, unchecked industrialism, and corrupt capitalists running the government. In addition to its influential imagery of gigantic supercities, METROPOLIS also laid the foundation for every movie about robots - or, yes, even droids - that followed! Subscribe on Patreon at www.patreon.com/criticallyacclaimednetwork for exclusive content and exciting rewards, like bonus episodes, commentary tracks and much, much more! And visit our TeePublic page to buy shirts, mugs and other exciting merchandise!  Email us at letters@criticallyacclaimed.net, so we can read your correspondence and answer YOUR questions in future episodes! Follow us on Twitter at @CriticAcclaim, join the official Fan Club on Facebook, follow Bibbs at @Willi

It's an all-new episode of WE'VE GOT MAIL, the podcast where film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold answer YOUR letters! This week, Bibbs and Witney talk about the DVD boxed sets that got away from them, movies that have been ruined by bad editing, our worst movie theater experiences, whether classic movies need context to play today, our favorite movie scenes, and the difference (if there is one) between shocks and scares in horror movies! Email us at letters@criticallyacclaimed.net, so we can read your correspondence and answer YOUR questions in future episodes! Subscribe on Patreon at www.patreon.com/criticallyacclaimednetwork for exclusive content and exciting rewards, like bonus episodes, commentary tracks and much, much more! And visit our TeePublic page to buy shirts, mugs and other exciting merchandise!  Follow us on Twitter at @CriticAcclaim, join the official Fan Club on Facebook, follow Bibbs at @WilliamBibbiani and follow Witney at @WitneySeibold, and head on over to www.critical

CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED is bursting with cinema this week! Film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold say goodbye to the late, great Wilford Brimley and review Shudder's new supernatural/found footage/COVID-19 horror film HOST, Beyonce's Disney Plus visual concept album BLACK IS KING, the ACLU documentary THE FIGHT, Jessica Swale's World War II drama SUMMERLAND, and Katie Holmes learning the secret to life and love in THE SECRET: DARE TO DREAM! Also this week on THE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED STREAMING CLUB, Bibbs and Witney explore René Clair's witty, stylish, romantic and weird I MARRIED A WITCH, starring Veronica Lake as a witch who accidentally falls in love with a man she's cursed! Wilford Brimley - 3:19  Host - 16:39  Black is King - 33:04  The Fight - 45:40  Summerland - 53:34  The Secret: Dare to Dream - 59:50  I Married a Witch - 1:17:21  Subscribe on Patreon at www.patreon.com/criticallyacclaimednetwork for exclusive content and exciting rewards, like bonus episodes, commentary trac

[Note: This episode was reposted due to a missing audio track, which has been fixed. Also, due to tech issues, the audio quality in this episode is lower than usual.] Our Patrons have the power to sponsor an episode of CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED of their choice, and we're calling it YOUR CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED! In this episode, film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold have been asked to present the physical media releases that they are extremely proud to own, and also the ones that they cannot believe are part of their collections... in the bad way. PLUS: This episode is co-hosted by our Patreon sponsor! Email us at letters@criticallyacclaimed.net, so we can read your correspondence and answer YOUR questions in future episodes! Subscribe on Patreon at www.patreon.com/criticallyacclaimednetwork for exclusive content and exciting rewards, like bonus episodes, commentary tracks and much, much more! And visit our TeePublic page to buy shirts, mugs and other exciting merchandise!  Follow us on Twitter at @Crit

CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED may not be discovering new elements, but they sure are analyzing a whole lot of elements in new and classic films! Film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold are reviewing Dave Franco's new slasher THE RENTAL, Marjane Satrapi's biopic about Marie Curie RADIOACTIVE, and Karen Maine's coming of age teen comedy YES, GOD, YES! But first, they say goodbye to the Hollywood legends we lost this week: Olivia de Havilland, the star of THE HEIRESS and THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD, and John Saxon, the star of A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET and ENTER THE DRAGON. Also this week on THE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED STREAMING CLUB, Bibbs and Witney finally catch up with one of the most controversial war movies of all time, THE DEER HUNTER! It's the film that changed the way Oscar campaigning worked forever, and introduced the world to one of the deadliest and most irresponsible games ever conceived. Olivia de Havilland - 3:14 John Saxon - 12:28 The Rental - 21:00 Radioactive - 33:33  Yes, God, Y

William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold are inviting fascinating people to watch MY DINNER WITH ANDRE, a film about fascinating people having a conversation, and have their own conversation about it! This week's guests are Clay Keller and Ryan Marker, the hosts of the SCREEN DRAFTS podcast! Follow them on Twitter at @ScreenDrafts and check out their Patreon at Patreon.com/ScreenDrafts. Email us at letters@criticallyacclaimed.net, so we can read your correspondence and answer YOUR questions in future episodes! Subscribe on Patreon at www.patreon.com/criticallyacclaimednetwork for exclusive content and exciting rewards, like bonus episodes, commentary tracks and much, much more! And visit our TeePublic page to buy shirts, mugs and other exciting merchandise!  Follow us on Twitter at @CriticAcclaim, join the official Fan Club on Facebook, follow Bibbs at @WilliamBibbiani and follow Witney at @WitneySeibold, and head on over to www.criticallyacclaimed.net for all their podcasts, reviews and more! Support the show

When Disney Plus launched it came with a gargantuan bevy of animated Marvel superhero shows from across time and space, and a lot of them were potentially CANCELED TOO SOON!  This week, critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold explore the failed 1979-1980 animated television series SPIDER-WOMAN, a superhero with vaguely spider-like powers who (in the show, not so much the comics) runs a magazine and fights monsters and mad scientists and for some reason hangs out almost exclusively with an incompetent and sexist photographer! Subscribe on Patreon at www.patreon.com/criticallyacclaimednetwork for exclusive content and exciting rewards, like bonus episodes, commentary tracks and much, much more! And visit our TeePublic page to buy shirts, mugs and other exciting merchandise!  Follow us on Twitter at @CriticAcclaim, join the official Fan Club on Facebook, follow Bibbs at @WilliamBibbiani and follow Witney at @WitneySeibold, and head on over to www.criticallyacclaimed.net for all their podcasts, reviews and mo

Our Patrons have the power to sponsor an episode of CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED of their choice, and we're calling it YOUR CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED! In this episode, film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold have been asked to review A STAR IS BORN, the first (and arguably the second) remake of a classic Hollywood tale about a young rising star who falls in love with an aging mentor, whose alcoholism destroys his career just as her own is taking off. The 1954 version was directed by George Cukor and stars Judy Garland and James Mason, and it's considered a Hollywood classic, but is it really better than the celebrated Bradley Cooper/Lady Gaga version? Let's find out! Email us at letters@criticallyacclaimed.net, so we can read your correspondence and answer YOUR questions in future episodes! Subscribe on Patreon at www.patreon.com/criticallyacclaimednetwork for exclusive content and exciting rewards, like bonus episodes, commentary tracks and much, much more! And visit our TeePublic page to buy shirts,

Film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold are working backwards through film history, using STAR WARS as the starting point! This week on EPISODE ZERO they sneak into Steven Spielberg's JURASSIC PARK, a blockbuster monster movie about genetically-engineered dinosaurs that run amok at eat people! George Lucas cited JURASSIC PARK as the film whose effects proved that his visions for the future of STAR WARS were possible, and it's also a bona fide classic in its own right. Subscribe on Patreon at www.patreon.com/criticallyacclaimednetwork for exclusive content and exciting rewards, like bonus episodes, commentary tracks and much, much more! And visit our TeePublic page to buy shirts, mugs and other exciting merchandise!  Email us at letters@criticallyacclaimed.net, so we can read your correspondence and answer YOUR questions in future episodes! Follow us on Twitter at @CriticAcclaim, join the official Fan Club on Facebook, follow Bibbs at @WilliamBibbiani and follow Witney at @WitneySeibold, and h

It's an all-new episode of WE'VE GOT MAIL, the podcast where film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold answer YOUR letters! This week, Bibbs and Witney talk about the bizarre Brucesploitation genre, movies that actually play better at drive-in theaters, movies that were funnier when they were edited for TV, which public domain movies are worthwhile, and why it's still a good idea for people who really love movies to invest in physical media! Email us at letters@criticallyacclaimed.net, so we can read your correspondence and answer YOUR questions in future episodes! Subscribe on Patreon at www.patreon.com/criticallyacclaimednetwork for exclusive content and exciting rewards, like bonus episodes, commentary tracks and much, much more! And visit our TeePublic page to buy shirts, mugs and other exciting merchandise!  Follow us on Twitter at @CriticAcclaim, join the official Fan Club on Facebook, follow Bibbs at @WilliamBibbiani and follow Witney at @WitneySeibold, and head on over to www.critic

CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED is playing catch-up this week! Film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold dig back into the rest of 2020 and review some of the biggest films they missed the first time around: BAD BOYS FOR LIFE, BAD EDUCATION and ONWARD! They also review the new release THE PAINTED BIRD and explore recently unearthed Paul Bartel movie SHELF LIFE, which is being released for the first time EVER after being finished over 25 years ago. And this week on THE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED STREAMING CLUB, Bibbs and Witney try to keep pace with the classic thriller MARATHON MAN! It's a political thriller starring Dustin Hoffman, Roy Scheider, William Devane and Sir Laurence Olivier, about a history student who gets a lot of cardio, who also gets embroiled in a post-WWII conspiracy! Shelf Life - 3:41  Bad Boys for Life - 23:35  Bad Education - 46:51  Onward - 57:45  The Painted Bird - 1:10:25  Marathon Man - 1:25:07  Subscribe on Patreon at www.patreon.com/criticallyacclaimednetwork for exclusive content and exc

The jetpack-wearing superhero who inspired THE ROCKETEER made the jump from Republic movie serials to serialized television in the 1950s, but was COMMANDO CODY: SKY MARSHAL OF THE UNIVERSE a serial that aired on tv, or a tv show that played in theaters? And most importantly, was this imaginative early sci-fi adventure... CANCELED TOO SOON? William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold strap on their rocket-boosters and explore the history, the influence, the silliness, and sometimes the sleepy boredoms of COMMANDO CODY: SKY MARSHAL OF THE UNIVERSE! Subscribe on Patreon at www.patreon.com/criticallyacclaimednetwork for exclusive content and exciting rewards, like bonus episodes, commentary tracks and much, much more! And visit our TeePublic page to buy shirts, mugs and other exciting merchandise!  Follow us on Twitter at @CriticAcclaim, join the official Fan Club on Facebook, follow Bibbs at @WilliamBibbiani and follow Witney at @WitneySeibold, and head on over to www.criticallyacclaimed.net for all their podcasts, revi

Every month on THE IRON LIST, the Patrons of the Critically Acclaimed Network get to pick a topic for a giant-sized episode! And this month we're delving deep into the realm of long-running film series, with an episode dedicated to THE BEST 8TH MOVIES IN A FRANCHISE! Join film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold as they highlight the films that came VERY late in a series and somehow still felt inspired, exciting, brilliant... or at least kinda entertaining!  And there's less overlap between their lists than you might think! Subscribe on Patreon at www.patreon.com/criticallyacclaimednetwork for exclusive content and exciting rewards, like bonus episodes, commentary tracks and much, much more! And visit our TeePublic page to buy shirts, mugs and other exciting merchandise!  Email us at letters@criticallyacclaimed.net, so we can read your correspondence and answer YOUR questions in future episodes! Follow us on Twitter at @CriticAcclaim, join the official Fan Club on Facebook, follow Bibbs at @Wi

Our Patrons have the power to sponsor an episode of CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED of their choice, and we're calling it YOUR CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED! In this episode, film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold have been asked to explore the entire filmography of director JOHN CARPENTER, the director who gave us the original HALLOWEEN, in addition to ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK, THE THING, THEY LIVE, BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA and many, many more classic (and not so classic) films! Email us at letters@criticallyacclaimed.net, so we can read your correspondence and answer YOUR questions in future episodes! Subscribe on Patreon at www.patreon.com/criticallyacclaimednetwork for exclusive content and exciting rewards, like bonus episodes, commentary tracks and much, much more! And visit our TeePublic page to buy shirts, mugs and other exciting merchandise!  Follow us on Twitter at @CriticAcclaim, join the official Fan Club on Facebook, follow Bibbs at @WilliamBibbiani and follow Witney at @WitneySeibold, and head on over

It's an all-new episode of WE'VE GOT MAIL, the podcast where film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold answer YOUR letters! This week, Bibbs and Witney talk about filmmakers they think were wrong about their own movies, when it's okay to set aside a genre you don't like (and why critics don't really have that luxury), how to book guests on your own podcasts, why social media sometimes makes movies feel like work, why Hollywood needs to completely overhaul the way they think about casting, and more! Email us at letters@criticallyacclaimed.net, so we can read your correspondence and answer YOUR questions in future episodes! Subscribe on Patreon at www.patreon.com/criticallyacclaimednetwork for exclusive content and exciting rewards, like bonus episodes, commentary tracks and much, much more! And visit our TeePublic page to buy shirts, mugs and other exciting merchandise!  Follow us on Twitter at @CriticAcclaim, join the official Fan Club on Facebook, follow Bibbs at @WilliamBibbiani a

CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED is stuck in a time loop! CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED is stuck in a time loop!  This week, William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold say goodbye to composer Ennio Morricone and actor Kelly Preston, and review the new sci-fi action-thriller THE OLD GUARD, the time loop comedy PALM SPRINGS, the slow burn horror movie RELIC, the World War II naval adventure GREYHOUND, and the all-star PRINCESS BRIDE remake! And this week on THE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED STREAMING CLUB, Bibbs and Witney release CASTLE FREAK from the catacombs! It's one of the lesser known films from the late, great horror filmmaker Stuart Gordon, and it's extremely loosely based on an H.P. Lovecraft story, and it's VERY cheap and VERY gory!  Ennio Morricone - 2:33  Kelly Preston - 13:38  The Old Guard - 23:49  Palm Springs - 42:36  Relic - 56:11  Greyhound - 1:03:32  Home Movie: The Princess Bride - 1:15:17  Castle Freak - 1:30:36 Subscribe on Patreon at www.patreon.com/criticallyacclaimednetwork for exclusive content and exciting r

Film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold are working backwards through film history, using STAR WARS as the starting point! This week on EPISODE ZERO they take a trek to Monument Valley for John Ford's THE SEARCHERS, starring John Wayne and Jeffrey Hunter as cowboys searching for a lost girl in the American frontier. The film is considered one of the greatest westerns ever made, and it's easy to see why, but its legacy is conflicted and complicated, even though its influence on STAR WARS is clear. Subscribe on Patreon at www.patreon.com/criticallyacclaimednetwork for exclusive content and exciting rewards, like bonus episodes, commentary tracks and much, much more! And visit our TeePublic page to buy shirts, mugs and other exciting merchandise!  Email us at letters@criticallyacclaimed.net, so we can read your correspondence and answer YOUR questions in future episodes! Follow us on Twitter at @CriticAcclaim, join the official Fan Club on Facebook, follow Bibbs at @WilliamBibbiani and follow Wi

[NOTE: We apologize for the lower-quality audio in this episode.] Christian Slater gets his own television series... and so does Christian Slater! MY OWN WORST ENEMY is all about a secret super spy who has a microchip in his brain that activates an alter ego with no memory of saving the world, who has his own completely separate life in suburbia! But when the chip malfunctions and they have to share each other's lives, are either of them up to the task? MY OWN WORST ENEMY may or may not be the best tv show based on a song by Lit, but was it... CANCELED TOO SOON? William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold explore this short-lived spy series with a twist in the latest episode, and figure out whether it's a great series about middle-aged power fantasies, or a bad series that gets trapped by its own internal logic. Subscribe on Patreon at www.patreon.com/criticallyacclaimednetwork for exclusive content and exciting rewards, like bonus episodes, commentary tracks and much, much more! And visit our TeePublic page