Spoilerpiece Theatre Episode 184: First They Killed My Father
Sareum Srey Moch looks terrified in Angelina Jolie's First They Killed My Father.
“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 184 below, we review My Beautiful Laundrette, Doctor Zhivago, and First They Killed My Father. This week’s episode starts with Dave fresh off of My Beautiful Laundrette (6:30), which he saw as part of Coolidge Corner Theatre’s series dedicated to Daniel Day-Lewis, “I’m Finished!” It’s all over the place with a million plot threads and an impossibly large cast, but boasts a terrific grit and excellent performances. Next up is Kris, who just finished reading Boris Pasternak’s Doctor Zhivago and rewatched David Lean’s adaptation starring Omar Sharif (21:17). Kris wishes he were more impressed with the film after reading the novel, but is he breaking his own rule of separating films from source material by lowering his opinion of a movie he enjoyed? Maybe, and he’s the first to admit it. The episode then closes things out with a recap of First They Killed My Father (36:42), Angelina Jolie’s film about life under the Khmer Rouge. We are split — Dave and Kris enthusiastically in favor, with me on the fence as to whether it’s a success in its own terms.
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 .