Matt Damon in THE GREAT WALL
2017 Movie ReviewsMoviesSpoilerpiece TheatreUncategorized

Spoilerpiece Theatre Episode 136: The Great Wall

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 136 below, we review The Great Wall, Fist Fight, and I Am Not Your Negro. At the show’s outset, we wonder what a wiki site run by Kris would be like, before we dive into this week’s movies. First, Kris regales Dave and me with his thoughts on the cinematic implications of the Chinese/American collaboration The Great Wall (at 3:06), an action film with Matt Damon in a non-white savior role that has great creature design, but ultimately is really dumb. Then I spoilerpiece Fist Fight (at 26:43), a completely nonsensical, failure of a comedy, that has bloopers funnier than its entire hour and a half runtime. Lastly, Dave and I explore I Am Not Your Negro (at 45:42), the Oscar-nominated documentary that describes what it’s like to be black in America through the words of author James Baldwin. The brilliant insights Baldwin reveals really resonate with us intellectually and emotionally, although the documentary’s dense content prompts us to recommend more than one viewing, to take in all of its poignant commentary.

Listen to Our Review of The Great Wall:

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 .