Joey and Clarence dip into terrifying Stephen King territory in their review of HBO MAX’s IT: Welcome To Derry. While Megan’s away, the boys will play. Or cower in terror at the new HBO MAX series It: Welcome To Derry. A prequel to the recent IT films, Derry revisits an early era in the life of Bill Skarsgård’s […]

The post I Don’t Think You’re Ready For This ‘Derry’ [VIDEO] appeared first on The Contending.

Mark Johnson joins the Water Cooler as he and Joey reveal everything that went down at the 2025 Middleburg Film Festival. Joey returned from his third year covering the Middleburg Film Festival for The Contending. This week, he and podcast special guest Mark Johnson dish on the details of the festival. Hosted at the luxurious […]

The post Middleburg Film Festival: Recapping This Year’s Fest [VIDEO] appeared first on The Contending.

In a very special podcast, Megan McLachlan is joined by Grits & Gab’s Tarcia Bush and Animation World Network’s Victoria Davis to preview the 2025 SCAD Savannah Film Festival. The 2025 SCAD Savannah Film Festival runs from Saturday, October 25, through Saturday, November 1, and this year the Savannah College of Art and Design is […]

The post Podcast: 2025 SCAD Savannah Film Festival Preview with Grits & Gab’s Tarcia Bush, Animation World Network’s Victoria Davis appeared first on The Contending.

On this week’s podcast, we’re remembering the great Diane Keaton, lamenting the Spider Woman roll-out, and much more! It’s a bit of a potpourri this week as we have much to cover. First up, the legendary Oscar-winning actress Diane Keaton suddenly passed away this weekend. Megan leads a reminiscence about her career, our favorite films […]

The post Diane Keaton Remembered, ‘Spider Woman,’ and More! [VIDEO] appeared first on The Contending.

This week, the two dog owners of Contending at the Water Cooler talk about what they love about Ben Leonberg’s supernatural pup flick, Good Boy. As the cats across the country advance their plot for world domination… There are so many horror films that include dogs, but there aren’t any that give us a canine’s […]

The post Does ‘Good Boy’ Fetch Good Reactions? [VIDEO] appeared first on The Contending.

‘One Battle After Another’ and ‘A House of Dynamite’ currently both have great-to-good reviews. But which is the real Oscar contender? We’ve all finally caught up to Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another. Coming into its debut weekend, the film boasted a reputation as The 2026 Best Picture Winner. After seeing the film with […]

The post ‘One Battle,’ ‘Dynamite’ Enter the Oscar Race [PODCAST] appeared first on The Contending.

This week, we look at the new Hulu documentary ‘Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery’ which details the creation and legacy of the first female-driven music concert. In the late 1990s, Sarah McLachlan and other major female artists banded together to kick off Lilith Fair. Against all odds, the concert series flew in the face of […]

The post Lilith Fair: Exploring the ‘Mystery’ Of a Female-Driven Sensation [VIDEO] appeared first on The Contending.

Team Contending gathers around the Water Cooler to recap the 77th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards. Plus, we create the 2026 Emmy Time Capsule. In our annual tradition, Team Contending gathers around the Water Cooler to share their thoughts on the 77th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards. We chat about the ceremony and how the host, Nate […]

The post Goodbye Emmys 2025! Hello Emmys 2026, Emmy Time Capsule! appeared first on The Contending.