Hotel Maradona

What's up everyone! Hotel Maradona is back in full force after a year-long hiatus! On this episode, Avery and guests Jack and Merchant discuss the 98th Academy Awards nominations. We'll power rank the Best Picture noms, predict winners, and talk about what movies and performances were snubbed. We'll also discuss the idea of the Oscars Hall of Fame, where we'll revisit movies from a previous Oscars ceremony to see which one stand the test of time. The Oscars are live on March 15, 2026 at 7pm! Hope you tune in to both this episode and the show. #SinnersWave!Intro/Outro: Avery's Alto Sax Cover of "Golden" by Huntrix

On this episode, Avery reviews Ryan Coogler's latest film Sinners with one of Hotel Maradona's favorite and frequents guests, Jack! Sinners stars Michael B. and Michael A. Jordan and is available to stream on HBO Max. Intro/Outro: Sax Cover of Last Time (I Seen the Sun) by Avery. Audio Mixing and Editing by Rodri

Episode number 20! This episode was actually recorded in back in January, but we figured it is a very timely film with the world familiarizes itself with the new Pope Leo XIV. Conclave (2024) stars Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Sergio Castellitto and Isabella Rosselini and is directed by Edward Berger. It was nominated for eight Oscars and took home Best Adapted Screenplay.We are joined by myself, Avery, and Silas for this episode. Episode mixing and editing credits to Rodri.

Hotel Maradona rings in the new year with a fresh film review and another special guest! We welcome Nathanael to the pod to discuss Robert Eggers' Nosferatu (2024). Nathanael is well versed in all things vampires, whether it be Count Orlok or Dracula, and we are so lucky to have him on for this spooky episode.Nosferatu is a reimagined version of the 1922 silent film Nosferatu. It is nominated for 4 Oscars: Makeup and Hairstyling, Cinematography, Production Design, and Costume Design. It is currently available to buy or rent.

What’s up Maradona listeners! In this episode we review the movie Anora(2024 film directed by Sean Baker, and along for the ride is our returning guest, Jack.! Jack was also apart of our Babylon episode and we are thrilled to have him back. We also doing things a little differently this time around, as we have (fake) sponsor breaks, and we are splitting our show into two sections. The first section will be entirely spoiler-free, and then after our first sponsors break it will be spoiler-heavy. Haven’t seen the movie and want a brief synopsis? Listen the first 24 minutes as we break down what you can expect in the film. Love the film and want to hear us talk about all the spoilers and themes of the movie? Stick around for the whole thing! Hope yall enjoy this very special episode.

HM is back with a special episode! On October 2nd, Rodri and I saw the one and only Vampire Weekend in concert as they toured their newest album, Only God Was Among Us (OGWAU). We recorded parts of this episode during the concert and later in the pod we review the OGWAU album and reflect on what it was like to see them live. Hope y’all enjoy our very first music focused episode!

Maximum. Effort. Hotel Maradona is back to wrap up the summer with our review of Deadpool and Wolverine! This 2024 blockbuster needs no introduction, as it is currently the highest grossing R-rated movie ever! In this episode, we discuss our favorite moments from the film and figure out how D&W fits in to the rest of the MCU. We also speculate about Marvel’s future, and Rodrigo… finds out Robert Downey Jr.’s true hidden identity??? Tune in for a good time and, as always, a spoiler-heavy time.We’re so excited to have a guest on this episode as well—the one and only Zafri! Zafri is a great friend/artist/Marvel super-fan who a freelance digital media artist based in the DMV area. And he designed our logo! Follow him on Instagram at zydigitalmedia, subscribe to his YouTube page (same name as his IG handle), and finally, go to his website to see even more of his stuff at zydigitalmedia.wixsite.com/zydigitalmedia!Intro: Like a Prayer by Madonna Outro: Bye Bye Bye by *NSYNC

What’s up everybody! The Maradonians are back with our review of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. This 2024 post-apocalyptic action film stars Anya Taylor Joy as the titular character and Chris Hemsworth and the crazed protagonist they call Dementus. Directed by George Miller, Furiosa is a spin-off prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road, and the 5th movie in the Mad Max franchise. In this episode, Rodri talks about his love of THINGS, and we discuss S and C tier movies that serve as our rating reference points. ALSO-we give you a sneak peak to our upcoming project. Stay tuned….

Welcome back Maradonians! We apologize for the long hiatus, but we are back with two new guests on the pod, Natalie and Nick! We’re so glad to have them on this special episode where we review Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Portrait de la jeune fille en feu). This 2019 French film follows the story of a painter in the 18th century who has been tasked to paint a woman on an isolated island. Portrait is directed by Céline Sciamma, and stars Noémie Merlant and Adèle Haenel. Just a reminder that this episode is spoiler heavy, and if you want to see Portrait, you can stream it on Hulu, or rent/buy it on Prime Video. We hope you enjoy our rambles! Credits: The Intro/Outro was an original composition by Silas titled ‘Lone Wolf Path’. Cover photo was created by Zafri. This episode was edited by Rodrigo and hosted by Avery.

Hotel Maradona starts the year off with a review of the 2023 A24 biographical sports drama, The Iron Claw. Based on true events, Iron Claw follows the Von Erich family’s presence in professional wrestling during the 1980s, and the supposed “curse” they possess. The Von Erich tragic film explores themes of familial dynamics, mental health, masculinity, and the definition of success in a sport like wrestling. Let us know what you think of this gut-wrenching yet powerful film.

HM is back one more time this year and to review Emerald Fennell’s Saltburn. This 2023 black comedy drama, starring Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi and Rosamund Park, follows the protagonist Oliver (Keoghan) as he attends Oxford University in the 2000s. Tides start to sway when Oliver befriends Felix, who invites Oliver to Saltburn to stay with him after their first term. As always, we give away many spoilers, so make sure you give Fennell’s work a watch before you listen. We also have an end of year review this episode where we go over all the movies we talked about on the pod and what some of our favorite films were this year. Lastly, Rodri gives us some long awaited insight on the meaning behind our cryptic and ambiguous podcast name. We hope you’ll tune in and enjoy!

The esteemed Hotel Maradona is back for our first time reviewing a Scorsese film as we embark on his most recent project, Killers of the Flower Moon. Marty's 2023 epic, starring Lily Gladstone, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Robert De Niro, tells the true story of the series of 1920s murders of Osage Nation women done by white men in order to tap in to their wealth from the oil production on Osage Nation land. This movie is based on, and shares the same name with, the 2017 non-fiction book written by David Grann. We would also like to welcome Ruby and Silas as permanent hosts of the pod! They have both been guests on our show and are splendid additions to the team. We hope you enjoy our thoughts and let us know your opinions on the Killers of the Flower Moon.

Hotel Maradona is back with our tenth episode! Shout out to the Maradonians who have been with us since day one. Today, we bring to you the 2023 comedy Bottoms, directed by Emma Seligman, starring Rachel Sennott, Ayo Edebiri, and the one and only Marshawn Lynch. This film follows two high school girls as they start a fight club in an attempt to get with cheerleaders. And for today's episode, give a warm welcome to our newest guest, Ruby! We hope you enjoy our thoughts on Bottoms and let us know what you think of this quirky movie.

Rodri and Ave are back to review the most historic cinema event of the summer, well, aside from the writers/actors strike :(. Join us as we welcome our most esteemed guests yet to Hotel Maradona, Barbie and J. Robert Oppenheimer. We'll discuss both blockbusters separately in this episode and then dive in to the cultural phenomenon that is Barbenheimer. For the mainstream fans that are angry at this pod for reviewing too quirky or indy movies, this is the episode for you. We also have been gifted a new microphone! Get ready for some crisp sound coming your way!

Double episode! We hope you listened the Past Lives episode, but if not, we’re still glad you’re here. Hotel Maradona opens its doors to Wes Anderson for the first time, as we review Asteroid City. This star-studded film tells the story of the making of a play about a slew of characters in the fictitious city where an asteroid once landed in. Hopefully this is not your first Wes movie, and if it is, I hope you like symmetry on screen. And once again, Silas is with us. We are grateful for this human. Hope you enjoy us fanboying over Anderson’s beautiful craft.

What’s up y’all, today we are reviewing Past Lives. This quietly powerful 2023 A24 romantic drama follows two characters that grew up together in South Korea and how their lives intertwine over time. We also like to give a warm welcome to our most recent guest at Hotel Maradona, Silas! He is also the mastermind behind our intro and outro music this episode—the song Zephyr is an original composition and it is fire. Let us know what you think of this heartfelt piece!

In this bonus episode, Rodri and Avery are talking the beautiful game. Here we unpack the UCL final (before, during and after), discuss how both teams got there, and highlight exciting transfers that have happened so far. Also, huge shoutout to all those who contributed to this fun project!

Revenge is best served raw. In this episode, Rodri and Avery review the first TV show of Hotel Maradona, a 2023 comedy drama titled Beef. Created by Lee Sung Jin, Beef follows Danny Cho (Steven Yeun) and Amy Lau (Ali Wong) as they attempt to sabotage each others lives originally stemming from an intense road rage incident. A reminder that this pod is SPOILER HEAVY. You can watch this 10-episode A24 production on Netflix. This episode's music is a very special cover of Drive by Incubus. Guitar Intro: Avery's brother Jordan Sax Outro: Avery

We're back after a short hiatus reviewing the surrealist horror tragicomedy, Beau Is Afraid! This 2023 A24 motion picture is written, produced and directed by the one and only, Ari Aster. Aster's third major film (Hereditary and Midsommar) stars Joaquin Phoenix as the titular character as he embarks in an anxiety-ridden world full of utter chaos. This film can be seen in theaters, but brace yourself, this is a wild one, even based on Hotel Maradona's standards. If you're bold enough to view this spectacle, listen to this episode where we pick apart Aster's most peculiar creation. Or just listen to all the spoilers without viewing, although that is not recommended, especially for a film this absurd. But hey, do what you want. Let us know your thoughts on this one! Enjoy!

Welcome back to Hotel Maradona! On this episode, we review the most awarded film of all time, Everything Everywhere All at Once! This 7-time Academy Award winning movie was directed and written by Daniel Quan and Daniel Scheinert, better known as "The Daniels", and it features an incredible cast, including Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu, Ke Huy Quan, Jamie Lee Curtis, and James Hong. We are so thrilled to review this multiversing family drama that we even brought a guest/host/our best friend Rachelle onto the pod! Hope you enjoy our critiques, tidbits, revelations and epiphanies about the film, and thank you to every human who helped make Everything Everywhere All at Once because..... wow. Disclaimer: This review is, as always, SPOILER HEAVY. You can stream Everything Everywhere All at Once on Showtime.

Welcome back to Hotel Maradona! This week we are reviewing Babylon, a 2022 film directed by Damien Chazelle. This movie is a wild ride with awesome music starring Brad Pritt and Margot Robbie, and was Oscar nominated for Best Score, Best Achievement in Costume Design, and Best Achievement in Production Design. This review is SPOILER HEAVY, so make sure you've seen this film before you tune in. Babylon is currently streaming on Paramount+. Also we have a very special guest this episode! Please welcome our good friend and movie enthusiast Jack! *There are some parts of this episode that were cut out due to poor Zoom connection. We apologize for this inconvenience and hope you still enjoy!

Welcome to the first episode of Hotel Maradona where we review The Whale! This A24 film directed by Darren Aronofsky released in December 2022 is up for 3 Oscar nominations including Best Actor (Brendan Fraser), Best Supporting Actress (Hong Chau), and Best Makeup and Hairstyling. This review is SPOILER HEAVY, so make sure you've watched this movie before diving into our pod. Thanks for listening!