Filmspotting

It’s a safe bet that anyone within earshot has grown tired of my exuberant championing of Filmspotting, a weekly podcast from Chicago Public Radio featuring cinephiles Adam Kempenar and Sam Van Hallgren, both of whom had immersed themselves in film studies at their respective universities. The podcasts may be procured through a free weekly subscription obtained on iTunes. Filmspotting succeeds wonderfully because Kampenar and Hallgren’s love of film transcends their “critic-speak,” assuring their reputation as film criticism’s best and hippest voices since Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert. Filmspotting podcasts usually contain two reviews of films in theaters, a DVD segment, listener e-mail and comments, and a weekly “Top Five” list (think of the film High Fidelity’s obsessive lists) that includes attention to culture-clash films, scary moments, movies on deception and directors of the future. Current episodes are released weekly, yet older podcasts prove just as entertaining. A nice touch to the production is that the program transitions feature music by The Black Heart Procession, M. Ward, Arcade Fire and Camera Obscura, to name a few. Filmspotting may well be required listening for the casual movie fan, the well-schooled film fanatic and expert.