David Oyelowo and Madina Nalwanga in QUEEN OF KATWE
2016 Movie ReviewsBOFCAMoviesSpoilerpiece Theatre

Spoilerpiece Theatre Episode 115: Queen of Katwe

Evan Crean

“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 115 below, we review Queen of Katwe and The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years. This week we get in on the game of using three fictional characters to describe ourselves. Then Kris and I talk about the 70mm and Widescreen Festival at the Somerville Theatre (at 7:04), where we saw Tron and Sleeping Beauty. While discussing how beautiful these films look, we each share new elements that they discovered by watching them on the big screen. After that, Dave provides a “Riedel’s Recap” of Green Room (at 15:56), which offers specific comparisons to Jeremy Saulnier’s previous movie Blue Ruin. Next, Kris delivers a “Keeping up with the Jensons” about Demon (at 21:32), where he offers a very different take on the picture than me. Dave transitions into The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years (at 29:57), a Ron Howard documentary that attempts to whitewash tensions between the band’s members. Finally, Kris and I close out with Queen of Katwe (at 39:10), a Disney sports movie about chess, which is carried by good humor and cute kids learning about life.

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 .