Michelle Rodriguez in THE ASSIGNMENT.
2017 Movie ReviewsBOFCAMoviesSpoilerpiece Theatre

Spoilerpiece Theatre Episode 143: The Assignment

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 143 below, we review The Assignment and Ali: Fear Eats the Soul. During a conversation about the new Domino’s commercials that parody Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Dave shares a seemingly small aspect of the movie that really gets under his skin. Next he and I review The Assignment (at 7:56), a truly awful film by Walter Hill about a hitman (Michelle Rodriguez) who undergoes forced gender reassignment surgery, and seeks revenge on her mad scientist tormentor (Sigourney Weaver). We pick apart its terrible makeup, its endless exposition, its uninteresting revelations, and its nonsensical plot, which they argue no one could be good in. After that, Kris spoilerpieces Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (at 36:30), a German film he was inspired to watch by Roger Ebert’s “The Great Movies.” He reveals why it’s worth watching, as he describes how the movie’s poignant, complicated love story addresses racism without sensationalizing it.

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 .