The Cineskinny

It's the final episode of The Cineskinny for 2025! And it's the top ten films of the year!  Peter Jamie and Anahit talk through a list with some surprising thematic links, some personal favourites, and a whole bunch of those Good Films we love to talk about. Then, once the dust has settled on the 'proper' part of the podcast, a coda in which we relitigate the whole thing by talking about Some More Good Films. Feliz navidad to all Cineskinny listeners, we will be back in 2026. Part 1: How The Top Ten sausage Gets Made (1:30) Part 2: Films 10-4 (10:20) Part 3: Die My Love redux (24:10) Part 4: Sinners and One Battle After Another (28:55) Part 5: Our personal faves, performances of the year etc (42:05) Epilogue: Anahit chatting about sexy vampires (1:05:00) If you like The Cineskinny, tell your pals! Leave us a five-star review! Share the episode on socials! Anahit’s chat with Jafar Panahi: https://www.anothermag.com/design-living/16828/jafar-panahi-interview-it-was-just-an-accident Follow us on Instagram @thecineskinny, email us at [email protected] Music: Too Cool by Kevin MacLeod  (https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4534-too-cool) License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

On the penultimate CineSkinny episode of the year, we've got three absolute bangers for you. First up, we take a look at Palme d'Or-winner It Was Just an Accident, Jafar Panahi's powerful moral drama that just got him another unjust jail sentence from the Iranian regime.  Another moral crusader who's been a thorn in his corrupt nation's side is journalist Seymour Hersh. His extraordinary career as an investigative reporter is documented by Laura Poitras and Mark Obenhaus in Cover-Up. And finally, we review Sentimental Value, Joachim Trier’s exquisite and expansive drama examining generational trauma and burning resentment within a Norwegian family.  CHAPTERS: What We've Been Watching: The Running Man, Field of Dreams, RoboCop (2:45) It Was Just an Accident review (12:50) Cover-Up review (30:05) Sentimental Value review (47:33) If you like The Cineskinny, tell your pals! Leave us a five-star review! Share the episode on socials! Follow us on Instagram @thecineskinny, email us at [email protected] Music: Too Cool by Kevin MacLeod  (https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4534-too-cool) License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

You’ve had your Jamie and Ellie episode. You’ve had your Peter and Anahit episode. Now it’s a Peter and Jamie combo – possibly sponsored by everyone’s fave streaming service, Tubi. They’ll be discussing the sub-dom-rom-com Pillion, which stars Alexander Skarsgård as a dom biker who takes a shine to Harry Melling’s shy traffic warden. They also dig into the third film in Rian Johnson’s Knives Out series, Wake Up Dead Man, which sees Daniel Craig’s detective investigating some strange goings on at an Upstate New York church.  And in honour of Wake Up Dead Man, we take a look at what’s required to create a good whodunnit.  CHAPTERS: What We've Been Watching: Pennies from Heaven, Speed Racer, Hard Boiled (1:40) Pillion review (12:05) Wake Up Dead Man  review (20:30) The art of the whodunnit (31:05) If you like The Cineskinny, tell your pals! Leave us a five-star review! Share the episode on socials! Follow us on Instagram @thecineskinny, email us at [email protected] Music: Too Cool by Kevin MacLeod  (https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4534-too-cool) License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

It's a fresh new config this week, as Peter and Anahit review a trio of new films – the feral, intense Die My Love; the melancholic, Malick-esque Train Dreams; and Alpha, which is also out soon :| We're a lean, mean reviewin' machine, so strap in for talk about The National, us being infatuated with and scared of Jennifer Lawrence, Peter getting Gene Wilder and Billy Wilder mixed up, and lots of chat about a film we didn't much care for. CHAPTERS: What We've Been Watching (1:30) Train Dreams review (8:25) Alpha review (15:00) Die My Love review (27:55) If you like The Cineskinny, tell your pals! Leave us a five-star review! Share the episode on socials! Follow us on Instagram @thecineskinny, email us at [email protected] Music: Too Cool by Kevin MacLeod  (https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4534-too-cool) License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Guillermo del Toro is back, with his long-gestating Frankenstein! Kelly Reichardt is back, with Josh O'Connor-starring art heist drama The Mastermind! The gang is back, and we're in a new office! What a time to be alive on this, The Cineskinny podcast. Oh, and before we forget, listen to our *other* podcast, Music Now – we spoke to Andrew Wasylyk and Tommy Perman about their new score for the Lon Chaney 1925 Phantom of the Opera (https://open.spotify.com/episode/1JjZNhEPJ5bPezB2MNPTWH?si=1ac9ad32df1a43d8) TIMESTAMPS: What We've Been Watching: London geography and capsule hotel reviews (4:55) Frankenstein review (17:10) The Mastermind review (32:15) Heists on film – Inception, Charley Varrick, The Wrong Trousers and more (49:20) Recorded at The Skinny office at Outerspaces, outerspaces.org Get us on Twitter, Bluesky, Instagram and Letterboxd  @thecineskinny, email us at [email protected] Intro and interstitial music: Too Cool by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4534-too-cool) License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license