Practical Magic 2 VS Bookish; Pressure VS DTF St Louis; Runner VS In The Grey

In this episode: Shauny’s packed cinema week included Pressure, Fall 2, Practical Magic 2, and a revisit to Raiders of the Lost Ark.

• Bookish gets the strongest streaming praise of the week, with Holly describing it as a beautifully made, humane, and comforting mystery series led by Polly Walker and Mark Gatiss.
• Shauny’s Pressure review highlights its focus on the D-Day weather forecast, with strong performances and impressive historical detail, though he felt one church scene was a bit overplayed.
• DTF St. Louis is described as an emotionally smart, award-winning ensemble series about loneliness, connection, and human need, with standout turns from David Harbour, Linda Cardellini, Jason Bateman, Richard Jenkins, Joy Sunday, and Peter Sarsgaard.
• Runner is framed as a slick, old-school action movie about moving a rare liver across Australia under a time limit, with Alan Ritchson and Owen Wilson pairing surprisingly well.
• In the Grey is the week’s weakest cinema pick, with Shauny calling it Guy Ritchie’s worst film and describing it as messy, lazy, and badly acted.

Timestamps

00:00 - Welcome, the podcast premise, and the week’s cinema versus streaming setup
01:34 - Shauny’s big cinema week, including Pressure, Fall 2, Practical Magic 2, and Raiders of the Lost Ark
04:38 - Holly’s week off cinema and the internet outage that kept her at home
06:00 - Shauny’s streaming watches, including In the Grey and the long-delayed DTF St. Louis discussion
08:22 - Why Practical Magic 2 exists and how cult fandom drove the sequel
09:43 - The original curse, Sandra Bullock’s daughters, and the sequel’s core plot
11:09 - Why the sequel feels boring, lazy, and far too long
12:26 - Holly on the books, the lore, and why the adaptation still has a logic behind it
13:46 - Lee Pace, Nicole Kidman, and the dialogue that doesn’t work
16:40 - Why the film’s plot logic keeps collapsing and the bad guy is obvious early
17:34 - Holly on the original film’s appeal, social conditioning, and women’s experience
22:56 - Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman still looking remarkably unchanged after 30 years
24:31 - Holly on Bookish, set after World War II with a bookseller-detective and a lavender marriage
26:43 - Why Polly Walker and Mark Gatiss make Bookish such a joy to watch
28:37 - The Mark Gatiss connection to Sherlock and The League of Gentlemen
30:17 - Holly’s five-star enthusiasm for Bookish and why it feels kind and humane
31:18 - Pressure and the D-Day weather forecast, with Churchill’s recommendation and Eisenhower’s dilemma
34:24 - Authentic military detail, the strong cast, and Damian Lewis as Montgomery
35:54 - The overplayed Sunday service weather scene and why it felt unnecessary
37:17 - Shauny’s final rating for Pressure at 4.5 stars
39:19 - DTF St. Louis and how David Harbour’s real-life image complicated the show’s publicity
40:12 - The murder mystery structure, the app, and the shifting identity of the victim
42:15 - Peter Sarsgaard’s brief but brilliant role and the show’s deeper theme of loneliness
44:06 - Why the ensemble performances and writing make the series Emmy-worthy
45:47 - Moving on to Runner and the confusion with another film called The Runner
46:50 - Alan Ritchson, Owen Wilson, and a high-stakes Australian courier chase
49:10 - The rare liver, the ticking clock, and the black SUV pursuit
51:34 - Why Runner works better than it should, including a clever rotating tire fight scene
52:34 - Alan Ritchson’s Jack Reacher energy and why the role fits him
54:00 - Shauny on In the Grey: a Guy Ritchie film that feels like pure motion without spark
55:56 - Why the film feels like the worst version of a Guy Ritchie template
56:52 - Final scores and the week’s winner, with streaming edging cinema 3.8 to 3.4
58:50 - Listener feedback, Ricky Gervais debate, and the lively comments section
64:52 - Coming next week, including Fall 2 and the Brad Pitt film, plus a preview of Resident Evil