Spoilerpiece Theatre Episode 104: The Secret Life of Pets
In Episode 104 below, we review The Secret Life of Pets, Free State of Jones, and The Man in the Wall. Apparently Erik Estrada doesn’t just play a cop on TV anymore. He’s one in real life too, as we learn in this week’s episode. After we speculate about what would happen if Ponch was charged with police brutality, I review the first movie of the week: The Secret Life of Pets (at 5:48). This cute animated film, which features an all-star voice cast, is strongest when it’s cracking jokes about animal clichés and making you feel genuine danger for its characters, but becomes increasingly predictable as it goes on. Next Kris reveals why Free State of Jones (at 21:11) is a dry film that turns a story about Reconstruction into a VH1 biography. This conversation leads to a tangent on why Gone with the Wind shouldn’t be held in such high regard, before I wrap up with The Man in the Wall (at 42:48), an Israeli thriller that keeps you guessing with its tale of a missing husband and a wife who might have something to do with his disappearance. I eagerly plug its screening at the Somerville Theatre by the Boston Jewish Film Festival and recommend checking it out on Netflix streaming.