Dakota Arsenault - Contra Zoom Pod

250: A24 Retrospective – Slow West

August 29, 2023

On this episode we are looking at 2015’s ⁠Slow West⁠ directed by John Maclean. The film stars Kodi Smit-McPhee as Jay a teenager from Scotland who comes to the wild west in search of the young girl he’s in love with. Michael Fassbender plays Silas, a mysterious man who agrees to help guide Jay across the plains with questionable motivations.

249: The Films of Elvis Presley

August 22, 2023

On August 16th 1977 Elvis Presley died, marking the 46th anniversary of his untimely passing. Currently The Criterion Channel has a 6 movie collection available to stream. We discuss three of the films.

Guest Appearance: The Criterion Shelf – AI

August 18, 2023

Every month Bil Antoniou curates an article picking a collection from The Criterion Channel and sorts its contents into categories – Must-See, Worthy, For…

248: 2023 Fantasia Film Festival Wrap Up

August 15, 2023

For the third year in a row we are covering Montreal’s Fantasia Film Festival, which celebrates the best in horror and genre cinema with an emphasis on international movies.

247: Fantasia Fest Interviews – Satan Wants You and Where The Devil Roams Directors

August 8, 2023

Fantasia Festival is still going on, but we had the chance to interview two sets of directors who had their films screening at this years fest!

Guest Appearance: Spoiled Rotten Episode 255 – Revisiting The Punisher

August 7, 2023

Dakota Arsenault (Contra Zoom Pod) joins to revisit Jonathan Hensleigh’s The Punisher!

Reviews: Sometimes I Think About Dying From Fantasia Festival 2023

August 7, 2023

Sometimes I Think About Dying, starring Daisy Ridley, is a small film that will leave a big impression on viewers and stick in their minds the rest of the year.

Reviews: river From Fantasia Festival 2023

August 3, 2023

Time travel movies are a tricky beast. That hasn’t stopped Japanese filmmaker Junta Yamaguchi, whose first film Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes completely reinvigorated the genre.

246: A24 Retrospective – Ex Machina

August 1, 2023

We continue our series going through the entire catalog of A24’s films. On this episode we are looking at 2015’s ⁠Ex Machina⁠ directed by Alex Garland with special guest Jeremy LaLonde.

Reviews: A Disturbance in the Force: How the Star Wars Holiday Special Happened From Fantasia Festival 2023

July 30, 2023

In what became a lesson in being careful what you wished for, viewers were instead “treated” to the now infamous The Star Wars Holiday Special. What makes it so special is that after a single airing on TV, everyone realized how terrible it was and was never screened again.