Ep. 873 - The Christophers

May 5, 2026

They break down Charlize Theron’s stunt-filled Apex and Apple TV+’s horror-comedy Widow’s Bay. They reflect on Hacks season five and Richard Gadd’s bleak drama Half Man. Anime and reboot takes surface in a chat about Nippon Sangoku and Man on Fire. A deep film review centers on Soderbergh’s The Christophers, McKellen’s transformative turn, art versus AI themes, and debates over the film’s ending.

01:48:04

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INSIGHT

IMAX Versus Infinity Vision Explains Theater Politics

Disney's

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Infinity Vision vs IMAX dispute

01:23 • 2min

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Greta Gerwig's Narnia theatrical window

03:41 • 3min

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Holiday box office clash: Dune v Avengers

What we've been watching: Apex

16:19 • 4min

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Widow's Bay: horror-comedy blend

19:55 • 10min

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Hacks Season 5 reflections

Half Man: Richard Gadd's bleak drama

35:57 • 10min

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Man on Fire reboot impressions

Undertone: podcast horror critique

51:05 • 6min

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Anime highlight: Nippon Sangoku

57:10 • 2min

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Weekly plugs and promos

59:35 • 4min

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Podcasting etiquette and guest quirks

01:03:44 • 5min

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Review: The Christophers overview

01:08:44 • 2min

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Ian McKellen's performance praised

01:10:40 • 6min

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Themes: art, creation and AI tension

01:17:08 • 8min

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Plot mechanics and the film's ending

01:25:30 • 11min

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Final thoughts on impact and vulnerability

David, Devindra, and Jeff scale new heights in Apex, wade into mystery with Widow’s Bay, and work out some new material with season five of Hacks. Then they try to spot a forgery with The Christophers.

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Thanks to our SPONSORS:
BETTERHELP: This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com/filmcast today to get 10% off.
HIMS WEIGHT LOSS: Ready to reach your goals? Visit hims.com/FILMCAST to get a personalized, affordable plan that gets you.
SVS: If you want your next movie night to deliver the full impact, emotion, and artistry you were intended to experience, visit SVSound.com to learn what SVS is all about.

Weekly Plugs
David - Dave Chen Travels: Sintra
Devindra - Engadget Podcast on Valve’s Steam Controller + TWIT 1082
Jeff - DLC 650 with Tim Schafer

Shownotes (All timestamps are approximate only)
What we've been watching (~00:16:22)
David - Apex, Widow’s Bay, Undertone, Half Man
Devindra - Widow’s Bay, Half Man, Man on Fire (2026), NIPPON SANGOKU: The Three Nations of the Crimson Sun
Jeff - Widow’s Bay, Hacks S5

Featured Review (~01:09:32)
The Christophers
SPOILERS (~01:25:28)

Support David's artistic endeavors at his Patreon and subscribe to his free newsletter Decoding Everything. Check out Jeff Cannata’s podcasts DLC and We Have Concerns. Listen to Devindra's podcast with Engadget on all things tech. You can always e-mail us at slashfilmcast(AT)gmail(DOT)com.
Credits:

Our theme song is by Tim McEwan from The Midnight. This episode was edited by Noah Ross who also created our weekly plugs and spoiler bumper music. Our Slashfilmcourt music comes from Simon Harris.
If you’d like to advertise with us or sponsor us, please e-mail slashfilmcast@gmail.com.
You can support the podcast by going to patreon.com/filmpodcast or by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts.

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