CinemAddicts Ep. 96: ‘Yesterday,’ ‘Toy Story 4,’ ‘Leto’ and … ‘Groupers’ Signing!

There’s a ton of topic and movies to cover on episode 96 of CinemAddicts. Anderson Cowan’s film Groupers has found its distributor, I really loved an under the radar film called Leto, and most importantly we review/preview May and June movie releases!

Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!

It’s been amazing to my podcast partner Anderson Cowan go through all the steps of making a film. Crowd funding, production (I even stopped by his set, which was shot in Glendale, California, on a random day), the editing process, and screening his movies all across the United States. In the opening of the program he delivers the great news that Groupers has found its distributor (Terror Films). Groupers will also be playing Saturday, June 8th at 10 pm. For more info, go here.

We also discuss the perks that are available to our Patreon backers. I’ve recently added another perk, as I aim to review at least one film per Patreon member. So for example, if John Doe is part of our Patreon community, he will give me a list of several movies to review and I will pick one of them and do my little mini-podcast rant about the flick. The goal is for me to review each film by our members for as long as CinemAddicts exist, and this way maybe members can join in on the fun as well (and watch that movie suggestion too). Other perks include a Bonus Episode, where Anderson and I each pick a classic or cult film to review, and exclusive access to all my 1:1 interviews with actors and directors. For more info, go to: https://www.patreon.com/cinemaddicts

The meat of our episode deals with us covering films we loved from May (Brightburn, The Biggest Little Farm, and Booksmart) and previewing movies that are coming out this month. Toy Story 4, the Danny Boyle directed Yesterday, and Dark Phoenix.

With all the impending big movies coming out this month, it will be hard for them to top Leto, a visually immersive and rhapsodic look at the bond between experienced Russian rocker Mike Naumenko and talented singer/songwriter Viktor Tsoi (Soul Searching’s Teo Yoo). Irina Starshenbaum is Natasha, Mike’s girlfriend who is instantly enamored with Viktor.

Shot in black and white, director Kirill Serebrennikov brings a confident flair to the proceedings, bodly giving viewers a stunning view of the Leningrad music scene in 1980. The feature, which is based on Natasha’s memoirs, hits New York’s Film Noir Cinema on June 7 and Los Angeles on June 21. Leto, which also has several musical numbers, is also a resonant homage to such iconic acts as T. Rex, The Velvet Underground, David Bowie, and Iggy Pop. I didn’t do this film justice as I tried out a mini-review on the podcast, but if you’re into music from that era and dig music biopics with a bit of verve, then give Leto a shot.

Take a listen below to Episode 96 of CinemAddicts!