PODCAST · tv
The Fan & The Critic
by Carson Choi
Carson and Paolo love movies. They don't always love the same movies — and that's the whole show.Two suburban dads who probably spend more time thinking about film than is healthy — get together every month or so, bring in some friends, and talk about movies for way too long. Sometimes it's a deep dive into a genre. Sometimes it's a year-end list that causes more conflict than it should. Sometimes we're not totally sure what it is, but we had a good time making it and hopefully you'll have a good time listening to it.Instagram: thefanandthecritic
Episodes
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Movie Reviews - The Odyssey and Obsession
We talk about two of this year's most popular movies. To tak about the Odyssey, we bring two people who thankfully know the source material much better than we do. Then we talk about Obsession and what wishes we would make with our One Wish Willow. Instagram: thefanandthecritic
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Movies Featuring Wrestlers (feat. Austin and Ben)
We talk about movies featuring current/former wrestlers. These are not movies about wrestlers, but instead usually "bad" action movies with wrestlers in the lead or supporting roles. We then each rate these movies on 4 categories and Ben uses his advanced analytics to determine the King of the…
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Greek Mythology Movies (feat. Ben and David)
Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey has us thinking about every Greek mythology movie ever made — so Ben and David join Carson and Paolo to crown the best Zeus and Hercules, argue over which myths Hollywood still hasn't touched, and cast our own Greek Mythology Cinematic Universe. Instagram:...
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Formative Movie Moments (feat. Ben and Elon)
Ben and Elon stop by to talk about the movies that made us who we are — the ones we watched too young, the ones that hit different now, and the ones we're a little embarrassed to admit shaped us. It starts sentimental, gets weird, gets serious, then gets weird again, and somehow ends with a…
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Top 10 Movies of 2025
Carson and Paolo run down their Top 10 movies of 2025. Carson's list is the usual pretentious indie picks, except this year Paolo's is almost entirely horror — proof that nine years in, we still don't watch the same movies. Instagram: thefanandthecritic
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Christmas Movie Trivia (feat. Ben)
Carson built a Christmas movie trivia quiz that wildly overestimates how much anyone else knows about Christmas movies, Ben included. Spoiler: not everyone has watched Scrooged (1988) twenty-plus times like Carson has, and that shocks him every single time. Instagram: thefanandthecritic
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Best Horror Franchises Ranked (feat. Ben and Peter)
Ben and Peter join Carson and Paolo to dig into the horror franchises that have lasted longest and the ones that should've stopped a sequel or two ago. Expect strong opinions, dumb tangents, and at least one franchise we change our minds about mid-conversation. Instagram: thefanandthecritic
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80s Fantasy Movies and Playing DnD (feat. Peter)
Peter comes back to talk 80s fantasy movies and our ongoing D&D campaign, and yes, it's another two-hour episode. We had a great time recording it — whether you have a great time listening is between you and your podcast app. Instagram: thefanandthecritic
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Movie Reviews - Wicked and Emilia Perez
Carson gets tied to a chair (figuratively, mostly) and forced to sit through a stack of movie musicals, including Wicked and Emilia Pérez, and finds at least one nice thing to say about each. Our guests actually know what makes a musical good or bad, which helps. Instagram: thefanandthecritic
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TV Reviews - Andor S2 and Rogue One revisited
Ten years after Rogue One split the Fan and the Critic right down the middle, Andor season 2 landed and somehow both of us liked it. So we go back and rewatch Rogue One to see if time — and Andor — changed our minds about a Star Wars movie we couldn't agree on. Instagram: thefanandthecritic
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Spotlight - Jackie Chan (feat. Ben and Carlos)
Four dudes sit around and talk about how much they like Jackie Chan. His movies, specifically — though honestly, also just him. Instagram: thefanandthecritic
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Top 10 Movies of 2024
Carson and Paolo run down their Top 10 movies of 2024. As always, Carson leans indie and pretentious, Paolo leans Hollywood and dumb, and somehow the list still works. Instagram: thefanandthecritic
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Movie Reviews - Joker 2 and Megalopolis
It's the end of the year, there are great new releases everywhere, and somehow we decided to spend our limited movie-watching time on the two worst ones instead: Joker 2 and Megalopolis. We don't know why we do this to ourselves either. Instagram: thefanandthecritic
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Zombie Movie Hidden Gems (feat. Ben and Carlos)
Seven years into this podcast and we'd somehow never done a zombie movie episode, despite it being a genre we all love. Ben and Carlos join us to fix that — except instead of the obvious picks, we go deep on two movies almost nobody's heard of: One Cut of the Dead and Seoul Station. Spoiler…
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Franchise Reviews - Starship Troopers (feat. Aleks and Dan)
Everyone's seen the original Starship Troopers. Almost nobody's seen its two terrible direct-to-video sequels — except us now, and Aleks and Dan, who we dragged back for round two of this suffering. We rank all three and explain why you should probably stop at the first one. Instagram:...
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Horror Movie Recommendations (feat. Ben and Carlos)
Ben and Carlos are back, this time bringing their own horror movie recommendations for us to sit through. Will we like them? Will we regret this entire series? Tune in to find out. Instagram: thefanandthecritic
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Movie Reviews - Dune 2 and Rebel Moon 2 (feat. David and John)
Two sequels, two very different outcomes: Dune Part Two and Rebel Moon Part Two went head-to-head in our minds as the year's biggest 'part twos,' and somehow the blockbuster everyone praised let us down while the one everyone wrote off became the year's best surprise. Instagram: thefanandthecritic
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Franchise Reviews - The Conjuring & Annabelle (feat. Ben and Carlos)
Carlos makes us sit through some of the best horror movies of recent years, including entries from The Conjuring and Annabelle universe, and we get extremely off-topic while doing it. Ben and Carson also try to participate while quietly admitting they were too scared to watch some of it the whole...
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Movie Reviews - Rebel Moon
It's been a while since we did a whole episode on one movie, but Rebel Moon demanded it. Is it the worst thing we watched all year? Is it secretly almost great? We still don't have a straight answer. Instagram: thefanandthecritic
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Top 10 Movies of 2023
Carson and Paolo run down their Top 10 movies of 2023 — Carson's still picking pretentious indies, Paolo's still picking dumb Hollywood blockbusters, and somehow it's a list with something for everyone. Instagram: thefanandthecritic
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Movie Dads (feat. Ben and Stephen)
Four dads get together to talk about watching movies and being dads, featuring Ben and Stephen — which is exactly as wholesome and exactly as off-the-rails as it sounds. Instagram: thefanandthecritic
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Movie Reviews - Oppenheimer + Nolan Movies Ranked (feat. Antoni)
Antoni joins us to review Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer, and then we go all the way back and rank his entire filmography from worst to best. It's a long one, but if you've ever wanted to hear two podcasters argue about where Tenet belongs on a Nolan tier list, this is it. Instagram:...
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Best Movie Sidekick (feat. Kyle)
Who is the greatest movie sidekick of all time? Carson, Paolo, and Kyle each bring their own nominee, argue over what even counts as a sidekick, and land on one definitive winner. Instagram: thefanandthecritic Check out Kyle's podcast, Kyle and Dave vs The Machine, where a machine forces them to...
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Book-to-Film Adaptations (feat. Tracey from Off My Shelf)
What makes a movie or TV adaptation actually work — sticking close to the source material, or taking real creative liberties? Tracey from the movie podcast Off My Shelf joins us to dig into book and IP adaptations and where the line is between faithful and free. Instagram: thefanandthecritic…
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Terrible Films from Asylum Studios Part 2 (feat. Dan and Mena)
We didn't learn the first time. Four years after our first deep dive into Asylum Studios' gloriously bad low-budget movies, Dan and Mena return to help us officially declare ourselves experts in their tricks — Two Headed Shark Attack, Jurassic Domination, Atlantic Rim: Resurrection, and Dracula:...
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Movie Reviews - Ant-Man 3 and The Banshees of Inisherin
Would you rather live in the MCU's Quantum Realm or on the island of Inisherin? Carson and Paolo's answers are exactly what you'd expect, and somehow they explain everything about why one of them loved Ant-Man 3 and The Banshees of Inisherin and the other didn't. Instagram: thefanandthecritic
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Top 10 Movies of 2022
Carson and Paolo run down their Top 10 movies of 2022 — pretentious indie picks from Carson, dumb Hollywood blockbusters from Paolo, and a list with something in it for everyone. Instagram: thefanandthecritic
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TV Reviews - Andor Season 1
Carson finally quits Star Wars — or tries to — by refusing to watch another Disney+ show. Then he watches all twelve episodes of Andor anyway, and we talk about why it might be the one that wins him back. Instagram: thefanandthecritic
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Movie Reviews - Easter Sunday, Rings of Power, Bros
A Filipino movie hits theatres, so naturally we have to talk about it. Paolo digs into representation in film and TV while Carson works to understand what that actually means, and we weigh in on the non-controversies swirling around Easter Sunday, Rings of Power, and Bros. Instagram:...
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Movie Reviews - The Gray Man and The Roundup
Carson hates The Gray Man but loves The Roundup. Paolo's take is exactly the opposite. Ninety minutes later, neither of us has changed the other's mind. Instagram: thefanandthecritic
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Multiverse Movies (feat. Ben and Joe)
Marvel's multiverse era hits its peak and Ben and Joe join us to dig into every multiverse movie worth talking about — the good, the overstuffed, and the ones that made our heads hurt in a fun way. Instagram: thefanandthecritic
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Movie Reviews - The Batman
There is a new Batman movie and we talk about it Instagram: houstonwehaveapodcast
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Oscar Character Deathmatch (feat. Bernice and Martin)
Ever wondered what would happen if Oscar-nominated movie characters were thrown into a deathmatch? No? Well, you're the weird one, not us. Bernice and Martin join Carson and Paolo to draft characters from the past decade and run them through a gauntlet of arenas to crown one ultimate survivor....
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Movie Reviews - Licorice Pizza
We revisit some of the movie recommendations we made each other back in 2021, mostly to confirm — again — that Carson and Paolo just don't have the same taste in movies. This time it's Licorice Pizza that proves the point. Instagram: thefanandthecritic
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Music in Movies (feat. Aaron, Jay, and Yoshi)
Musicians Aaron, Jay, and Yoshi stop by to talk about the music that makes movies unforgettable — the scores, the needle drops, and the soundtrack choices that turn a good scene into a great one. Instagram: thefanandthecritic
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Top 10 Movies of 2021
Carson and Paolo go through each of their Top 10 lists of 2021. We disagree on almost every single one. Instagram: thefanandthecritic
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Best Action Scenes in Movies (feat. Dan)
Dan joins us to break down the best action scenes in film, category by category: best 1-on-1 fight, best one-versus-many fight, best army battle, best car chase, and best shootout. Bring your own picks, you'll definitely disagree with ours. Instagram: thefanandthecritic
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Movie Reviews - Dune (2021)
It's an episode about Denis Villeneuve's Dune. We talk about Dune. That's the episode. Instagram: thefanandthecritic
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TV Reviews - Squid Game
We found a little-known Netflix show called Squid Game and decided more people should be talking about it. We also dig into a stack of recent movie trailers that — miraculously — don't have a single superhero in them. Instagram: thefanandthecritic
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Movie Reviews - The Green Knight and Shadow in the Cloud
We talk about the merits of staring at paintings for two and a half hours in The Green Knight, and Paolo somehow finds an actual gem buried in Netflix's trash bucket with Shadow in the Cloud. Instagram: thefanandthecritic
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Movie Reviews - The Tomorrow War
We talk through every movie The Tomorrow War could have been — time-travel epic, alien invasion thriller, family drama — and the one underwhelming version it actually turned out to be. Instagram: thefanandthecritic
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Movie Reviews and Pandemic Movie Pitches (feat. Mena and Nick)
Mena and Nick join us for a packed one: reviews of Army of the Dead and Nobody, then a round of pitching our own pandemic movie ideas — because apparently we hadn't had enough of 2021 yet. Instagram: thefanandthecritic
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Streaming Service Original TV Series (feat. Kelly)
With basically no new movies coming out, we got forced into watching some streaming-service original TV series instead — and Kelly joins us to talk about the handful that actually turned out to be worth it. Instagram: thefanandthecritic
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Movie Reviews - Zack Snyder's Justice League
We recorded our predictions for Zack Snyder's Justice League, watched the whole four-hour cut immediately after, then came back and recorded our real reactions — so you get to hear exactly how wrong we were in real time. Instagram: thefanandthecritic
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The Bens v The Daves (feat. Ben, Ben, Dave, and Dave)
Ben, Ben, Dave, and Dave face off in a battle of the 7th and 140th most popular first names in America, complete with seven movie-based challenges — from performing your favourite movie monologue to pitching a Donald Trump biopic where QAnon is real — to determine who's actually the best....
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Most Anticipated Movies of 2021
Using refined, totally scientific techniques (read: vibes), Carson and Paolo predict the best movies of 2021 before a single one of them has come out. Instagram: thefanandthecritic
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Top 10 Movies of 2020
Carson and Paolo run down their Top 10 movies of 2020 — Carson's pretentious indie picks, Paolo's dumb Hollywood blockbusters, and a list with something for everyone. Instagram: thefanandthecritic
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Wes Anderson Character Draft (feat. Bernice and Martin)
Bernice and Martin join us to draft a team of Wes Anderson characters — a Bill Murray type, a Wilson brother type, a Jason Schwartzman type, a matriarch, a child, and a wildcard — and then put both teams through a gauntlet of high-society shenanigans to crown a winner. Instagram: thefanandthecritic
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Best Action Star of the 2010s (feat. Ben and Ben)
We have an extremely factual, educated, and entirely undisputed debate with Ben and Ben about who deserves to be called the best action star of the 2010s. No notes, no further discussion required. Instagram: thefanandthecritic
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Best Movie Salespeople (feat. Dave and Dave)
Two real sales managers, Dave and Dave, join us to break down how salespeople get portrayed in movies — and then we throw scenarios at them to find out which fictional sales characters they'd actually hire. Instagram: thefanandthecritic
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Carson and Paolo love movies. They don't always love the same movies — and that's the whole show.Two suburban dads who probably spend more time thinking about film than is healthy — get together every month or so, bring in some friends, and talk about movies for way too long. Sometimes it's a deep dive into a genre. Sometimes it's a year-end list that causes more conflict than it should. Sometimes we're not totally sure what it is, but we had a good time making it and hopefully you'll have a good time listening to it.Instagram: thefanandthecritic
HOSTED BY
Carson Choi
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The Fan & The Critic have?
The Fan & The Critic currently has 89 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The Fan & The Critic about?
Carson and Paolo love movies. They don't always love the same movies — and that's the whole show.Two suburban dads who probably spend more time thinking about film than is healthy — get together every month or so, bring in some friends, and talk about movies for way too long. Sometimes it's a deep...
How often does The Fan & The Critic release new episodes?
The Fan & The Critic has 89 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to The Fan & The Critic?
You can listen to The Fan & The Critic on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts The Fan & The Critic?
The Fan & The Critic is created and hosted by Carson Choi.
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