2016 Movie ReviewsBOFCAMoviesSpoilerpiece Theatre

Spoilerpiece Theatre Episode 98: Weiner and Confirmation

“Spoilerpiece Theatre” is a weekly movie podcast where I talk about new releases with fellow BOFCA critics Dave Riedel and Kris Jenson. We don’t give a shit about spoilers. We just want to talk about the movies.

In Episode 98 below, we review the political documentary Weiner and the HBO movie Confirmation. The sad tale of how Dave broke his middle finger inspires a bizarre horror movie premise on this week’s show. Then my passing joke about Ghostbusters leads to a discussion about James Rolfe’s boycott of the new version. Once we finish explaining why Rolfe (aka the Angry Video Game Nerd) is wrong, we dig into the political documentary Weiner (at 15:30). All three of us share why this film about Anthony Weiner’s failed run for Mayor of New York City captivated us with its tense interactions and impressed us with its inclusion of his wife Huma Abedin’s perspective. After all our Weiner jokes stop making sense, I move on to cover the HBO movie Confirmation (at 39:34), which chronicles the sexual harassment allegations made against Judge Clarence Thomas during his nomination for the U.S. Supreme Court. Although it feels like too much of a made-for-TV movie, I argue that it’s an important story that needs to be told (and seen) since it shares Anita Hill’s perspective and exposes the shady Washington backdoor dealing that actively worked to discredit her. Plus, both Kerry Washington and Wendell Pierce are fantastic in it as Hill and Thomas.

Evan Crean

Hello! My name is Evan Crean. By day I work for a marketing agency, but by night, I’m a film critic based in Boston, MA. Since 2009, I have written hundreds of movie reviews and celebrity interviews for Starpulse.com. I have also contributed pieces to NewEnglandFilm.com and to The Independent, as a writer and editor. I maintain an active Letterboxd account too. In addition to publishing short form work, I am a co-author of the book Your ’80s Movie Guide to Better Living, which is available on CreateSpace and Amazon. The book is the first in a series of lighthearted self-help books for film fans, which distills advice from ’80s movies on how to tackle many of life’s challenges. On top of writing, I co-host and edit the weekly film podcast Spoilerpiece Theatre with two other Boston film critics. I’m a founding member and the current treasurer for the Boston Online Film Critics Association as well. This site, Reel Recon.com, is a one-stop-shop where you can find links to all of my past and present work. Have any questions or comments after checking it out? Please feel free to email me (Evan Crean) at: ecrean AT reelrecon DOT COM .