The Reel Spotlight

In this episode of the Reel Spotlight, Tony with the help of his special guest Nick L' Barrow from NicksFlicksFix shines Hollywood's biggest spotlight on the 96th Annual Academy Awards. Tony and Nick talk about the biggest surprises and snubs concerning the nominations and they make their predictions on who will win. They also briefly chat about Dune Part 2.

0:00 Intro

0:41 Getting to know Nick

16:11 Quick thoughts on Dune Part two

22:07 And the Oscar goes to...

1:26:30 Outro

For the 28th episode of The Reel Spotlight, Tony is joined by Sarah Williams from Popcorn Chat (Instagram & Youtube). The episode is filled with a variety of movie & TV discussions and there's even a chat about an iconic British food staple.

0:00: Intro

0:37: Welcoming Sarah

1:17: Getting to know Sarah

6:38: What makes a good film?

10:00 Brief chat on Oppenheimer

11:28 Talking Barbie for a bit

13:31 Strange Way of Life review

17:00 Halloween chat

23:55 Talking Past Lives

30:38 Chatting about a variety of movies

35:51 Listener questions

47:33 Sarah under the Reel Spotlight

53:30 Beans on toast

58:07 Outro

This episode of The Reel Spotlight focuses on the best, worst, biggest surprises and disappointments of 2023 in films & TV...so far. To discuss all this with Tony is Elliot Collins AKA MovieFiles from YouTube and instagram. The conversation was flowing as Tony & Elliot chatted about all things movies, tv shows, and even some NBA talk.

0:00 Intro

1:58 Getting to know Elliot

16:04 Elliot on tv

19:28 NBA talk

22:47 Rotten Tomatoes

31:41 What Makes a good film

34:37 Biggest disappointments of 2023

40:21 Best Surprises of 2023

52:23 Top 5 films of 2023...so far!

59:16 Elliot under The Reel Spotlight

1:02:53 Outro

I'm joined by Gaius Bolling from G-Reelz and Back to the Blockbuster Podcast to discuss all things SAG-AFTRA strike. We also briefly chat Emmy nominations.

0:00 Intro

0:27 Getting to know Gaius

8:25 2023 movie chat

12:02 Strike chat begins

35:26 Emmy Nods

46:47 Gaius under the Reel Spotlight

51:12 Outro

For this episode of The Reel Spotlight, Tony reviews one of the biggest summers films of 2023, Tom Cruise' Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Part 1. A quick FYI, Tony is reviewing the film (non- spoiler) on his own with no guest. Trying out something new!

Tony is joined by special guest Gabriel de los Santos (AKA Film.booth on Instagram) to discuss HBO's mega hit series Succession. They delve deep into the shows last season while putting a spotlight on the biggest moments, best episodes, and analyze the show's infamous/legendary characters.

0:00 Intro/Thanking Mania

1:40 Getting to know Gabriel

5:58 Succession chat begins

For the 20th episode of The ReelSpotlight, Mania and Tony welcome special guest Jean Carlos Sanchez, known as @MercWithTheMovies on Instagram. Jean joins the podcast to review M. Night Shyamalan's newest film Knock at the Cabin. They also discuss M. Nights filmography and end the episode by answering listener questions. 

0:00 Intro

0:41 Getting to know Jean

7:23 Knock at the Cabin (Non-spoiler)

16:10 Knock at the Cabin (Spoiler chat)

28:58 Random M. Night discussion 

31:11 M. Night Shyamalan's career

1:02:00 Answering questions 

1:14:34 Outros/Goodbyes 

For the first official podcast episode of 2023, Mania and Tony review the first episode of one of the most anticipated shows of 2023, HBO's newest The Last of Us. They also chat about Goodfellas, Tony's Reel recommendation to Mania. 

0:00 Intro

4:00 Review of Episode 1 of The Last of Us (Spoilers)

47:18 Answering questions 

55:41 Tony's Reel Recommendation (Goodfellas)

1:12:34 Mania Reel Recommendation to Tony

1:13:34 Outro

For EP 17, Mania and Tony are once again joined by Shanda (filmforager) & Quinn (viewsbyquinn). In part two of their discussion, we all talk about our best, worst, best surprises, and biggest disappointments in film and tv for 2022.

0:00 Intro

0:57 Worst films of 2022

53:45 Biggest surprises and Disappointments in Movies & TV

1:29:06 Rapid fire Top 5 movies of 2022...so far

1:32:01 Outro

Mania and Tony welcome back Quinn (Viewsbyquinn) and Shandra (Filmforager) to the podcast. Episode 16 is about the holiday spirit as we talk about Christmas movies. We chat about our favs, guilty pleasures, and even the worst holiday films we've seen. We also debate on what makes a movie, a Christmas movie, and we end the episode reviewing Mania's Reel recommendation to Tony, the holiday horror musical Anna, and The Apocalypse.

0:00 Intro

1:11 Worst Christmas movies 

5:21 Christmas guilty pleasures 

16:42 What makes a movie, a Christmas movie?

21:50 Favorite Christmas movies 

1:01:16 Discuss Mania's reel recommendation to Tony (Anna and the Apocalypse) 

1:24:09 Outro

In episode 15, Mania and Tony go in-depth in their non- spoiler & spoiler discussion of Season 1 of the newest live action Star Wars series, Andor. They also discuss the recent rumors of the possible shakeup of the DCEU under James Gunn. They finish the episode talking about reel recommendations.

0:00 Intro 

1:45 DCEU franchise rumors

10:46 Non-spoiler review of Andor

31:41 Spoiler chat of Andor

52:23 Tony's Reel Recommendation to Mania (Raiders of the Lost Ark)

1:03:30 Mania's Reel Recommendation to Tony ( we'll discuss next episode)

1:05:05 Outro

In Episode 14, we interview the young director of the 2022 film Forty Winks, and the upcoming 2023 release Atrabilious, William Atticus Parker. He is also an actor, as well, appearing in his two features and the upcoming studio film "Woody Woodpecker 2". Mania and Tony also chat about Mania's reel recommendation to Tony. Danny Boyle's 2007 Sunshine. They finish the episode by discussing the plethora of movie trailers that dropped last week.

0:00 Intro

2:00 Tony interviews William Atticus Parker

33:33 Discuss Mania's Reel recommendation: Danny Boyle's 2007 Sunshine

38:05 Tony Reel recommendation for Mania 

39:06 Mania and Tony talk about the movie trailers of Cocaine Bear, Transformers: Rise of the Beast, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3, and HBO's The Last of Us

53:00 Outro 

In episode 13 Tony & Mania discuss the latest MCU film, Wakanda Forever. They do a non-spoiler and spoiler review of the film. They also chat about Tony's Reel Recommendation Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. Mania gives her Reel Recommendation to Tony. Also answer some listener questions. 

0:00 Outro 

1:45 Wakanda Forever review (Non-spoiler)

20:53 Wakanda Forever (Spoiler chat)

32:55 Answering listener questions

37:10 Reel Recommendations (Planes, Trains, and Automobiles)

46:23 Mania's Reel Recommendation to Tony

48:53 Outro/random movie talk 

For episode 12, Mania and Tony review Pearl, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, and All Quiet on the Western Front. All reviews are non-spoiler. Also, they start a new segment called "Reel Recommendations" and finish the episode by answering questions. 

0:00 Intro

1:51 Review of Pearl (non-spoiler)

14:54 Review of All Quiet on the Western Front (non-spoiler)

23:51 Review of Weird, The Al Yankovic Story (non-spoiler)

31:44 Reel Recommendation by Tony

33:40 Answering questions 

43:36 Outro

For episode 11, Mania and Tony talk about the House of the Dragon finale. Minwa (@TheArabKhalessi) came in last minute to help us by reviewing and analyzing The Black Queen. We also had some fun in choosing our small council if we were sitting on the Iron Throne, and somehow finish the podcast by ranking the Harry Potter Franchise. 

0:00 Intro

1:10 Analyzing the HOTD finale & season 1 in general

1:27:57 Choosing our small council if we were Queen or King

1:36:08 Ranking the Harry Potter franchise

1:42:10 Outro

For our 10th episode, Mania and Tony welcome Mariah from @Scareathoners (IG). As you see from the title of the podcast, this episode is all about horror. Mania and Tony review Halloween Ends, and then bring on Mariah to chat and discuss Mania's top 3 horror films of all time. 

0:00 Intro

1;29 Review (spoilers) Halloween Ends

9:38 Getting to know Mariah 

15:00 Rapid fire questions for Mariah 

15:31 Discussing Mania's top 3 horror movies of all-time

34:55 Did you know? Exorcist edition 

36:15 Answering listener questions 

51:10 Outro...Peace out

It is all about House of the Dragon in episode 9 of The Reel Spotlight. To review and analyze HOTD latest episode "The Green Council", Mania and Tony welcome back Minwa (@TheArabKhaleesi). Did The House of The Dragon penultimate episode live up to the hype? Listen and find out. 

In Episode 8, our good friend and fellow podcaster from Fellowship of The Mic, Shandra (@Filmforager)  joins The Reel Spotlight. We give our thoughts on the film Barbarian, chat about cheesy horror movies we like, quicks thoughts on The Rings of Power, and a recap of episodes 7 & 8 of House of the Dragon. We finished the pod by answering listener questions. 

0:00 Intro

0:34 Getting to know Shandra 

8:26 Barbarian Review 

16:54 Did you Know? Horror Edition

19:28 Top 3 Guilty Pleasures (Horror Movies)

26:07 Rapid Fire Question (LOTR Edition)

30:40 Quick chat on Rings of Power 

36:47 Review on Episodes 7 & 8 of House of the Dragon

1:09:53 Answering Listener questions 

1:25:45 Outro

For Episode 7, Minwa, also known on Instagram as @TheArabKhalessi joins Mania and Tony as they review Andrew Dominik's newest film Blonde. They also recap episodes 5 &6 of House of the Dragon...and of course, when you have someone named Khaleesi, you know that GOT was also discussed. 

0:00 Intro

0:41 getting to know Minwa

8:00 Blonde Review (spoilers)

24:35 Did you know?

26:20 Rapid fire questions: GOT edition 

29:55 GOT S8 chat

37:41 Recap/review of EP 5 & 6 of HOTD

1:25:26 Answering listener questions 

1:31:19 Outro

In episode 6 Mania and Tony catch up after not recording for two weeks. There's no real topic as Tony and Mania shot the breeze, and the conversation goes from their recent trips to New York City, how Tony likes his eggs, ranking their favorite breakfast cereals and of course talking about movies and tv shows. They finish the episode by answering listener questions. 

0:00 Intro

0:35 New York State of mind

8:15 Rapid Fire Questions to each other 

18:15 Did You Know?

23:05 Answering Listener Questions

51:50 Outro