The Spool

The Spool is a lively and insightful platform dedicated to covering film and television. It aims to provide a variety of thoughtful perspectives that help audiences better appreciate the media they enjoy. Originally known as Alcohollywood, a film website started in 2011 by podcast hosts Clint Worthington and Jared Latore, The Spool is based in Chicago. It offers a rich mix of content, including reviews, interviews, and festival reports, covering both new releases and timeless classics.

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An unpleasant but compelling climb to Mountainhead

4 days ago | thespool.net | Tim Stevens |Jesse Armstrong

Imagine being trapped in a geometric monstrosity on a mountain with four of the worst people you have ever known. Now imagine they are richer than anyone you’ve ever met. And yet, they’re just witty enough that their trash talk is a bit more complex than typical. That gets you, broadly, to the experience of the first feature film from writer/director Jesse Armstrong.
The Better Sister could’ve been a better show

1 week ago | thespool.net | Tim Stevens

With turns in TV thriller series like and (and arguably, to a lesser extent, ), Jessica Biel has carved out an impressive career second act playing possibly morally, if not legally, compromised protagonist. is the latest entry in that canon, one that finds her standing shoulders above the end result. It is fitting that came out the same day as as both feature a corps of good performances undone by their respective shows’ insistence on valuing plot mechanics above the characters.
Dept Q leaves you as cold as its case

1 week ago | thespool.net | Tim Stevens

From the moment we meet Matthew Goode as Detective Carl Morck in , it’s clear what we’re in for. Goode, his impossibly handsome self unconvincingly hidden behind a slightly unmanaged salt and pepper beard and loose clothes, is a protagonist in the Dr. House (of fame) model. One might expect House’s inspiration, Sherlock Holmes, would be the better comparison. However, while Morck is a crime solver, his reflexive disdain for others is pure House.
Adults still hasn’t quite arrived

1 week ago | thespool.net | Tim Stevens

Every 10 or so years, it seems as though American television owes the public a show about friends in their 20s hanging out and trying to make that transition from college life to full-out adulthood. For younger people, they’re aspirational. For people in their 20s, they’re relatable if only in the sense of found family and not yet found equilibrium. And for people beyond that age, there’s a sense of nostalgia. Or, perhaps, a bit of “well we did it better” resentment.
Fear Street: Prom Queen doesn’t deserve a crown or scepter

2 weeks ago | thespool.net | Tim Stevens |Matt Palmer

One of the least helpful or pleasant ways to critique film that you’ll see quite a bit online is someone asking, “Who is this for?” The person asking it usually means, “This movie isn’t for me, so how could it be worth making?” I acknowledge this. And yet I ask, “Who is for?”To be clear, it isn’t my intention to be dismissive. I’m just genuinely struggling to figure out its intended audience.
Resist the temptation of Sirens song

2 weeks ago | thespool.net | Tim Stevens

At a certain point, all the tales of rich people misbehaving but showcasing strong actors start to blend together. Are The Perfect Couple, Nine Perfect Strangers, Apples Never Fall, The Undoing, and this latest, the Molly Smith Meltzer-created the same show? Judging by plot, very much not. And yet, you’d be forgiven for confusing any number of them with any number of others. is, broadly, a tale of two sisters.
Welcome to Wrexham Season 4 entertains but can’t manage a clean sheet

2 weeks ago | thespool.net | Tim Stevens

In episode 3 of Season 4, co-owners of Wrexham Holdings LLC, Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds respond to an apparent ongoing taunt. Evidently, people, especially those on the internet, like to refer to the soccer club as Disney FC. So, Reynold and McElhenney discuss the team’s fortunes through the lens of a Disney movie. They include a midpoint hero, an “all is lost” moment, and a joyful closing song.
Poker Face Season 2 dares you not to crack a smile

2 weeks ago | thespool.net | Tim Stevens

is miraculous in its not-miraculousness. At its heart, it is a guest star—increasingly guest starS—of the week procedural. is its most obvious ancestor. Both are “howcatchem” with small episode orders (although with just two seasons, has made around a third as many episodes as did over the course of 10 seasons), centered on a rumpled, unconventional investigator. However, there’s plenty in the series to evoke the likes of celeb-cast-forward offerings like , , or .
Summer of 69 a teen comedy worth assuming the position

3 weeks ago | thespool.net | Tim Stevens |Jillian Bell

69, aka the sex number, aka the nice number, has pulled off quite the PR coup over the past two decades or so. While Millennials hardly discovered the sex position, they’ve done wonders for laundering it. Now it can be the title of a film—and yes, that is what the 69 in refers to—without most blinking an eye, never mind objecting. And people say real change isn’t achievable. The summer in question is the one Abby Flores (Sam Morelos) plans on. Or dreaming about, at least.
Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning can't stick the landing

3 weeks ago | thespool.net | Sarah Gorr |Tim Stevens

is the swan song for Chris McQuarrie and Tom Cruise, the IMF’s match made in heaven. The duo teamed up with the fifth installment, , and have been inseparable ever since. Unfortunately, doesn’t have them racing toward the finish line so much as dragging themselves across it. The film feels like a bedraggled Ethan Hunt, relentless and half dead, the star and director giving it their all, but clearly out of steam.