Cup of Tea Critiques Podcast
A podcast brought by the team that brings you cupofteacritiques.com, the site that encourages critical viewing of film so you can decide for yourself if they’re your "cup of tea." Reading the tea leaves of the film industry is challenging. Each week on the podcast, the team peels back the layers on a movie genre or industry trend to offer aspiring filmmakers some clarity and guidance on what is often rough and indecipherable terrain that is the film and television industry. So, grab a deep brew for a deep look and some hilarious moments.
Music by Julian Hartwell (Say No More - Gh3dEJ)
Fair Use Notice: The movies and TV series excerpted and discussed on the Cup of Tea Critiques Podcast are copyrighted productions. Cup of Tea Critiques Podcast refers to them for the purposes of social commentary and constructive criticism of the productions’ content, which constitutes "fair use" as codified in section 107 of U.S. Copyright law.
Episodes
52 episodes
The Devil Wears Prada 2 and Other Movies Loosely Based on Real People
The Devil Wears Prada 2 was recently released in theaters, and it is tearing up the box office—earning $253 million worldwide in its opening weekend. Like its predecessor, the sequel stars Meryl Streep as Miranda, whose character is lo...
What makes comedies like Office Space and Bad Boys rewatchable?
Do you still find My Cousin Vinny funny? Let’s go back even further. Do you still laugh when watching Beverly Hills Cop? How is it that some comedies are ephemeral, but others can be rewatched decades later and still have you ...
Project Hail Mary and Other Space Movies
The release of Project Hail Mary and near simultaneous launch of Artemis II make this an opportune time to explore space movies. For some of us, the term space movies is a misnomer, since they often encompass movies where the alien act...
The Infamous Game of Thrones Starbucks Cup and Other Gaffes in Film and Television
Some mistakes in movies and television, like the infamous Starbucks cup in the Game of Thrones scene or the fifty-star flags in Oppenheimer (set before Alaska and Hawaii achieved statehood), are just gaffes that make you shake...
Are Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, The Hangover, and The Matrix Epic Films or Just Good Movies?
Epic Films. Even the label sounds lofty, doesn’t it? Webster has interesting synonyms for “epic”: majestic, monumental, magnificent, impressive. Collins views it in terms of time and scale: long, extended, classic, grandiose. On th...
From The Sandlot to Moneyball: Peanuts, Cracker Jacks, and Baseball Movies
When pitchers and catchers report for spring training, our antennas are raised in anticipation of the upcoming baseball season. A recent article published in the
From The Negotiator to The Rip: Where’s the straight line through crooked cop movies?
Surprisingly, The Rip, a box office-worthy movie starring Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, opened on Netflix in January. Though we are glad about the choice to release a potential box office hit on streaming, the reasons behind it are conve...
Is January Dump Month real or a self-fulfilling prophecy?
How many times did you go to the theater in January to see a movie? If you responded with a number greater than zero, this would be surprising. Why? January has long been considered “dump month” for movies, since studios typically use this time...
Audio Collage: What’s next up for cinema centering Black people?
How do you remember studying history during Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Black History Month? Let me guess, memorizing names and facts. Boring! They can have value, though; so, let me add one more. Did you know that Black History...
Streamers vs Box Office: Should awards access be limited?
Have you seen a really good streaming movie on Netflix, Apple TV+, or Hulu? I mean a film that was so good, you felt it should have received theatrical release and major award considerations. There are several reasons why this probably didn’t h...
Yes Repeat No—Wait, What? A Conversation with Filmmaker Michael Moshe Dahan
We often think about our identities as multilayered (Black, White, Italian, Mexican, man, woman), but rarely do we think of them as intersectional, or even that others might view them as clashing or contradictory. Imagine, for instance, that yo...
Home Alone or Die Hard: Just what exactly is a Christmas Movie?
It’s that time of year again where we gather the family together and pull out the holiday movies. What are some of your favorites to watch? Home Alone? Jack Frost? Maybe A Charlie Brown Christmas is an absolute must f...
From Casino to Forrest Gump to Bad Boys: why do we quote movies?
What are some of the funniest movie lines that come to mind for you? Now think of one or two of your favorites that were more serious than funny. There are a host of reasons cinema quotes stay with us for years and sometimes decades after we ha...
Avatar in IMAX 3D? Nah, it’s time for 4DX and beyond!
Seen a movie on a rooftop? In a park? How about a cemetery? Yes, it is a thing. But hey, they say don’t knock anything until you try it. How we watch movies in theaters has changed over just the last fifty years or so. We have gone from drive-i...
Do concert films like Renaissance and The Eras Tour provide a solution to box office woes?
Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé and Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour were undoubtedly huge successes, and the decision to transform them into concert films was genius. For about forty years, live concerts by superstar artists have b...
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere and the Recent Biopic Craze
Did you enjoy A Complete Unknown, Fade to Black, and Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere? These and similar productions have enjoyed theatrical releases over the last several years. What do you suppose is motivating ...
The Inglourious Basterds Experience: Dubbing or Subtitles?
Remember the old Godzilla and Gamera movies from the 1970s, where the dialogue you heard was perpetually out of sync with the character’s lips on screen? Or have you watched a French film with English subtitles and the charact...
Horror Movies: Why do we like to be scared?
Are you a fan of horror? Some people watch movies in the genre year-round, others only during holidays like Halloween. Some people avoid the genre altogether. After all, the movies are often dark, ghoulish, and intensely violent in surreal ways...
Changing Lanes: What are the risks and benefits of being typecast in film?
It is fun being in your comfort zone as an actor, you know, when you’re getting roles in your established specialty (i.e. comedy, rom‑com, action). But what if you wanted to break the mold, try something in a different genre or as a different t...
Why do we love and hate blaxploitation films?
Despite spanning only five years in the mid‑1970s, the blaxploitation era of filmmaking left an indelible mark on the film industry and in the hearts and minds of many in the Black community. While some insist the movies contributed to what wer...
What makes a good (or bad) villain? [Replay]
Darth Vader. Thanos. Lucy van Pelt! What are the qualifications for a villain in your story? Does it even need to be human? Maybe your villain is something more abstract. What villains are your cups of tea? Write us a review and share some of y...
Horror or Thriller: What's the Difference? [Replay]
Was Heretic more of a thriller than a horror movie? What's the difference? Check out our article on the Cup of Tea Critiques
How does an actor pull off two roles in the same film?
One of many challenges an actor can embrace is playing multiple roles in the same production. But what goes into the preparation and execution? What elements raise or lower the degree of difficulty? Join us on the Cup of Tea Critiques Podcast a...
Just how important are costumes and props in film?
Have you ever considered how much research is needed to ensure the style and fit of a character’s outfit matches the period of the film? What about something as benign as the badge on a police officer’s uniform, the walker a character uses, or ...
How do boxing movies stand out from their sports counterparts?
There is no doubt that studios produce movies like Rocky, Creed, Cinderella Man, and Ali primarily for entertainment. What boxing movies like these typically have in common, though, is a hyperfocus on flawed ...