HUGE PATREON UPDATE!!!

We're combining our podcasts under one Patreon banner! Head on over to Patreon.com/CriticAcclaim for an updated list of bonus features we offer exclusively to our subscribers, including ALL OUR YESTERDAYS (the podcast where we review every single episode of every single Star Trek series, in production order), ONLY THE BEST (the podcast where we review every single nominee for Best Picture, in chronological order), COMMENTARY TRACKS and more!

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Only The Best: The Best Picture Nominees of 1934 (Part 1)!

ONLY THE BEST is back with a deep dive into the Best Picture nominees of 1934! There were twelve nominees at the 7th Academy Awards, and film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold take you back in time to review the first six: "The Barretts of Wimpole Street," "Cleopatra," "Flirtation Walk," "The Gay Divorcee," "Here Comes the Navy" and "The House of Rothschild!"

It's a cavalcade of iconic Golden Age Hollywood stars, including Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Norma Shearer, Charles Laughton, Claudette Colbert, Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler, George Arless, Loretta Young, James Cagney and Gloria Stuart!

Only The Best is a Patreon-exclusive podcast, and you can listen right now for a $10 monthly pledge! You'll also get more bonus podcasts, the chance to vote for future episodes and the power to assign articles to Witney Seibold and William Bibbiani!

Head on over to sign up, and to give Only The Best a listen!

Photo: RKO

Critically Acclaimed #77: 'Avengers: Endgame' and What ARE Spoilers, Anyway?

Nobody wants you to spoiler "Avengers: Endgame," but what ARE spoilers, and why do critics define them differently than many audience members? The concept has evolved and a lot of us are still playing catch up, and this week on CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED, film critics have a long, serious discussion about why they're important, how they hold us back, and why we're probably all thinking about them in completely the wrong way!

Also this week, Bibbs and Witney review the new horror comedy "Body at Brighton Rock," the biopic "JT LeRoy" and the blockbuster "Avengers: Endgame!" (And yes, we WILL talk about "Avengers" spoilers, but don't worry, we WILL warn you!)

Give it a listen!

Canceled Too Soon #146: 'Madballs' (1985 and 1986)

The Madballs were some of the coolest, creepiest toys on the market in the 1980s. And yet, somehow, they never had their own cartoon series!

It wasn't for lack of trying. This week on CANCELED TOO SOON, William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold dig up not one but two failed TV pilots for "Madballs," including a weird rock 'n' roll anti-fascism parable and an even weirder, MADBALLS-centric riff on "Monty Python!"

Were either of these shows Canceled Too Soon? There's only one way to find out, and that's by listening to this epic new episode!

Give it a listen!

William Bibbiani Reviews 'Avengers: Endgame' and 'Body at Brighton Rock' on KCRW Press Play!

In his latest radio appearance, William Bibbiani went on KCRW Press Play with esteemed critic Christy Lemire, to review the new releases "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Body at Brighton Rock!"

Give it a listen!

William Bibbiani Picks the Best Horror Films on the Criterion Channel!

The Criterion Channel is now live, and it's an absolute must for film lovers of any kind. In his latest article at Bloody Disgusting, William Bibbiani highlights the best and scariest horror movies currently available on the new streaming service, with frights of every classy, crazy, creepy kind!

Read: William Bibbiani Picks the Best Horror Movies on the Criterion Channel!

Top Photo: Criterion

Canceled Too Soon #145: Bionic Woman (2007)

Michelle Ryan is the "Bionic Woman" in this short-lived reboot of the hit 1970s series. Katee Sackhoff, Lucy Hale and Miguel Ferrer co-star in a sci-fi action thriller, from the producer of the rebooted "Battlestar Galactica" and the co-writer of "Alita: Battle Angel," about a normal woman given powerful cybernetic limbs that allow her to fight crime.

It was ambitious, it was grim 'n' gritty, and it didn't last a full season. But was "Bionic Woman" really... CANCELED TOO SOON? 

William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold explore what we got and what could have been in the latest episode of the podcast!

Give it a listen!

William Bibbiani Picks The Avengers' Greatest Horror Hits!

We get so wrapped up in franchises like the Marvel Cinematic Universe that sometimes we forget to let these blockbusters introduce us to worlds outside themselves. For example, if you wanted to see some amazing horror movies, all you have to do is check the filmographies of the cast and crew of "Avengers: Endgame!"

In his first article for Bloody Disgusting, William Bibbiani guides you through the best horror movies starring the cast of "Avengers: Endgame," including terrifying ghost stories, badass monster flicks and modern camp classics.

Read: William Bibbiani Picks The Avengers' Greatest Horror Hits at Bloody Disgusting

Top Photos: MGM / Warner Bros.

Critically Acclaimed #76: 'The Curse of La Llorona,' and What Happens After Superhero Movies Die Out?

Superhero movies are the most powerful force in the entertainment industry, and they have been for decades. But nothing lasts forever! This week on CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED, film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold explore how superhero movies got so big, what it would take to dethrone them, and the next logical step for popular culture. Or at least, the next logical step for superhero movie fans who start searching for more!

Also this week, Bibbs and Witney review the new releases "The Curse of La Llorona," "Fast Color," "Red Joan," "Disney's Penguins" and "Hagazussa!"

Give it a listen!

The Two-Shot: The Apartment and Joe's Apartment!

Billy Wilder’s "The Apartment" is often called one of the best motion pictures ever produced, and with good cause! It’s a brilliantly funny and emotional motion picture, with important things to say about living with moral compromise in a complex modern world. 

So why, oh why is it the perfect double feature with the legendarily gross and awful singing cockroach MTV comedy "Joe's Apartment?" You'll find out in this week's episode of THE TWO-SHOT!

Give it a listen!

Critically Acclaimed #75: Hellboy, Missing Link and 10 Films That Deserve Their Own Cult!

Film critics talk a lot about "cult movies," but what the heck is a cult movie? How do obscure and unpopular films find an audience, what are the classics of the genre (if you can call it that) and where can you find them, anyway? 

William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold explain the phenomenon and recommend ten films that don't have a cult following, but might finally have by the time we're done with this week's CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED! 

And hey, we've also got reviews of the new releases "Hellboy," "Missing Link," "Master Z: The Ip Man Legacy" and "Mary Magdalene!"

Give it a listen!

William Bibbiani Reviews 'Devon's Ghost: Legend of the Bloody Boy'

[The following article was sponsored and assigned by our Patreon subscriber Kevin Klawitter. To learn how to sponsor and assign articles to William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold for publication at Critically Acclaimed, visit our Patreon page.] 

You know that feeling when you’re watching a pretty bad slasher movie and halfway through it turns into a pretty good “Power Rangers” episode?

Of course you don’t… because you’ve never seen “Devon’s Ghost.”

The Randomizer: 'The Vampire Diaries: Episode 4.18 - American Gothic'

Nobody has time to watch everything, but what if you only had time to watch ONE episode of a popular, long-running series? And what if that episode was chosen completely at random?

THE RANDOMIZER is a very special bonus podcast, exclusively for Canceled Too Soon patrons, in which William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold review just one random episode of show they've never seen, guided by a super fan of the series!

In the latest random episode of The Randomizer, Bibbs and Witney are joined by their Patreon subscriber Topher White to discuss "The Vampire Diaries," episode 4.18, "American Gothic." It's a series that William Bibbiani thought was literally about a woman finding a vampire's diary. Let's find out how wrong he was!

THE RANDOMIZER is now available on the Canceled Too Soon Patreon. So head on over and subscribe!

Give it a listen!

Photo: The CW

William Bibbiani Reviews 'Master Z: The Ip Man Legacy'

The 'Ip Man' franchise carries on without its hero in 'Master Z: The Ip Man Legacy," a spin-off which follows the real-life martial arts master's antagonist from 'Ip Man 3,' instead of the title character. Cheung Tin Chi (Zhang Jin, "Pacific Rim: Uprising") has given up fighting but gets dragged into a complex crime story involving opium dealing, corrupt policemen and Hong Kong nightclubs in a kung fu action thriller co-starring Michelle Yeah, Dave Bautista and Tony Jaa.

In his review of "Master Z: The Ip Man Legacy" at The Wrap, William Bibbiani praises the film's production design and choreography but calls the film a "step down" for the series, arguing that "following the three 'Ip Man' movies with 'Master Z' is a bit like following the first three 'Rocky' movies with 'The Fast and the Furious.'"

Read: William Bibbiani Reviews 'Master Z: The Ip Man Legacy' at The Wrap

Photo: Well Go USA

Witney Seibold Reviews 'Hellboy' and 'Missing Link' on KCRW

Witney Seibold guest stars on "Press Play With Madeleine Brand" with fellow critic Katie Walsh, where they review the new releases "Hellboy," "Missing Link," "Teen Spirit" and "Little."

Give it a listen!

Photos: Lionsgate / LAIKA

Canceled Too Soon #144: Probe (1988)

Isaac Asimov co-created a television series about solving sci-fi murders?! Why the heck hasn't everyone heard of PROBE?!

Parker Stevenson from "Baywatch" stars as super-scientist Austin James, who along with his secretary Mickey (Ashley Crow) gets invited to all kinds of strange crime scenes, with killer A.I. elevators, sci-fi writers who get all their best ideas from alien balls of lightning, and hyper-intelligent apes!

How the heck did PROBE get canceled, and was it really too soon? William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold explore this forgotten cult series in the latest episode of... CANCELED TOO SOON!

Give it a listen!

Movie Trivia Schmoedown: William Bibbiani vs. John Rocha vs. Ethan Erwin

William Bibbiani follows up his epic Free For All performance with a Triple Threat match in the Movie Trivia Schmoedown! 

It's William "The Beast" Bibbiani facing his old rival John "The Outlaw" Rocha and the 2018 Rookie of the Year Ethan "Big Time" Erwin! Three former champions with a title shot on the line! 

Who will emerge victorious? You'll have to watch the latest Movie Trivia Schmoedown to find out!

Watch the match after the jump!

William Bibbiani Reviews 'Hellboy'

David Harbour ("Stranger Things") stars as "Hellboy," a demonic superhero who fights demonic supervillains, in the latest comic book reboot! Guillermo Del Toro's series has come to an end, and now Neil Marshall ("Doomsday") has taken over, with a story about Hellboy fighting a Blood Queen (Milla Jovovich) to stop her from taking over the world.

In his review of the new "Hellboy" at The Wrap, William Bibbiani critiques the film's shoddy visual effects but praises the hard-R horror creativity, describing the film as "like an issue of 'Fangoria' exploded, and all the movies in it got splattered onto the storyboard of a superhero flick."

Read: William Bibbiani Reviews 'Hellboy' at The Wrap

Photo: Lionsgate

William Bibbiani Ranks All The Theatrically-Released Stephen King Movies!

Stephen King isn't just a prolific horror author, he's a cultural force, defining the nightmares and nostalgia for his readers all over the world. 

His work has been adapted to film and television for decades, and with remakes of King's classic film adaptations now dominating the box office, William Bibbiani is looking back at his many great theatrical releases... and also his many awful ones. He's ranking all 41 of the official Stephen King movies (barring TV adaptations, serialized adaptations, and the many sequels which had nothing to do with his original work), up to and including the latest version of "Pet Sematary!"

Read: William Bibbiani Ranks All the Stephen King Movies at The Wrap!

Top Photos: Paramount / Warner Bros.

William Bibbiani Reviews 'The Haunting of Sharon Tate'

"The Haunting of Sharon Tate" is the latest motion picture to attempt to dramatize the shocking story of Sharon Tate, Jay Sebring, Wojciech Frykowski, Abigail Folger and Steven Parent, the victims of The Manson Family. Hilary Duff headlines a film that dramatizes the last few days of Tate's life as a series of foreboding scares and disturbing dream sequences.

In his review of "The Haunting of Sharon Tate" at The Wrap, William Bibbiani calls the film "astoundingly tasteless," arguing that whatever intentions the filmmakers had, the writing, performances and filmmaking winds up "exploiting five tragic deaths for cheap matinee scares."

Read: William Bibbiani Reviews "The Haunting of Sharon Tate" at The Wrap!

Photo: Saban Films

William Bibbiani Reviews 'Shazam' and 'Pet Sematary' on KCRW

Witney Seibold guest stars on "Press Play With Madeleine Brand" with fellow critic Roth Cornet, where they review the new releases "Shazam," "Pet Sematary" and "The Haunting of Sharon Tate!"

Give it a listen!

Photos: Warner Bros. / Paramount

Canceled Too Soon #143: Mrs. Sundance (1974)

When she wasn't bewitching sitcom audiences as the star of the classic TV series "Bewitched," Elizabeth Montgomery took over the "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" franchise! In the failed pilot for "Mrs. Sundance," Montgomery plays wild west outlaw Etta Place (previously played by Katharine Ross) in her very own adventure!

It's a great idea and it's got a great star, but was "Mrs. Sundance" really CANCELED TOO SOON? Film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold unearth this forgotten foray into spin-off territory in the latest episode of the podcast!

Give it a listen!

Critically Acclaimed #73: Dumbo, The Beach Bum and How to Watch Classic Movies!

One of the questions film critics get all the time is where young film fans, who have over a century of catching up to do, should start their journey into classic cinema! How can they acclimate to older storytelling styles, and contextualize decades-old movies with the films they like today? And how can you even find these old films, when most audiences watch movies on streaming services and most streaming services don't offer much older content? 

In this week's episode of CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED, William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold try to give you the tools you'll need to explore and appreciate classic cinema! They also review the brand new releases "Dumbo" and "The Beach Bum," and talk about their latest appearances on "The Movie Trivia Schmeodown!

Give it a listen!

William Bibbiani Reviews 'Mercy Black'

A young woman with a violent past leaves a mental institution, only to find the ghosts of her past coming back to haunt her. But are there literal specters, or is the legend of "Mercy Black" all in her head? Daniella Pineda, Elle LaMont and Miles Emmons star in a brand new horror film from Blumhouse, which premiered exclusively on Netflix!

In his review of "Mercy Black" at IGN, William Bibbiani describes the film as "a disturbing premise, some decent performances and a few good shocks, trapped inside a generic presentation and an unremarkable plot."

Read: William Bibbiani Reviews "Mercy Black" at IGN

Photo: Netflix

Canceled Too Soon #142: 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kids' (1973)

The blockbuster western "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" did NOT become an animated series by Hanna-Barbera, but those real-life outlaws' names are in the public domain, so the studio released a show called "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kids" anyway!

It's the umpteenth in a seemingly infinite number of kids shows about teen rock bands with wacky comic sidekicks traveling the world solving mysteries, but "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kids" is probably the only team that works for a supercomputer suffering from dog allergies.

The real question is... was it CANCELED TOO SOON? Film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold delve into this forgotten animated series in the latest episode!

Give it a listen!