Filmspotting

Filmspotting is a podcast that is hosted by two film buffs; Adam Kempenaar and Sam Hallgreen. Together Adam and Sam review the latest films, analyse classic movies, discuss listener feedback, and generally discuss a wide variety of movies.

In its present format the show is released once a week and runs for about an hour. Filmspotting (formerly Cinecast) has been running for well over a year and currently (July, 2006) there are 116 shows in the archives. All of these shows are available as direct downloads at www.filmspotting.net or the more recent episodes via the RSS subscription. The show has excellent sound quality and runs very smoothly from a production standpoint.

Sam and Adam will generally see one new release a week and spend 10-15 minutes discussing their views of the said film. Recent movies that they have reviewed include: Pirates of the Caribbean and Superman Returns. What make these discussions so interesting are the very different perspectives that Adam and Sam bring to the show. Adam is known as the host with the more traditional opinions, while Sam’s point of view is often slightly left of centre. Some of the most interesting episodes are when the two hosts are at odds with each other. I have rarely completely disagreed with either host and find myself increasingly respecting what Adam and Sam have to say, and almost always find that their experience coincides with my own film experience.

Another interesting feature of this podcast is the ‘Top 5’ section of the show. The guys will take one particular theme and compile a list of appropriate films from their own cinema experience. Recent ‘Top 5’s’ have included ‘Male Bonding Movies, ‘Religious Movies’, and ‘Top 5 One-Timers (Disturbing Movies) Revisited’. This feature is a great way to get ideas for your movie queue, however at times it can be frustrating to hear the same movie appear in different ‘Top 5’ lists.

While the latest Hollywood blockbusters are reviewed on a regular basis, Adam and Sam frequently go back in film history and explore a variety of movies on various themes in their ‘Movie Marathon’ feature. Some themes that have been explored in these ‘Movie Marathons’ are: musicals, westerns and, currently, screwball comedies. They will do this in a very systematic way and review a given theme over a five week period. The five movies are posted on the Filmspotting website so that if the listener wants to they can watch one movie a week along with the hosts.

Filmspotting is a very well produced podcast that I would recommend every film lover subscribe to. I have found that over a period of months my knowledge of movies, actors, film genre and film history has increased. This knowledge by itself would be pretty useless except that it helps me more fully appreciate all that the world of movies has to offer.

Podcast Rating: 10 out of 10

Click on this link to subscribe to the RSS link of this podcast.