<![CDATA[Pile of Mates]]>Three Aussie mates rewatch a movie every week, rate it out of five and rarely agree.

It's a book club for movies, with worse manners. One of us picks the film, we all watch it (our partners don't always make it to the end), then we sit down and argue about it. Old favourites, new releases, and things that probably should have stayed in the early 2000s. Everyone logs a score on Letterboxd, half stars included, and the gap between the highest and lowest is usually the best part of the episode.

Sam spent 12 years in the cinema industry and was never allowed a public opinion on a movie. Corey shoots weddings for a living, so he'll notice the lighting before the plot. Pacco came here, in his words, "to talk shit and talk movies."

Every episode stands on its own, so start with a film you've seen. New episodes every week.

]]>https://riverside.comRiverside.fm (https://riverside.com)Mon, 19 Oct 2026 17:58:03 GMTFri, 25 Sep 2026 06:47:26 GMT60Samuel De Lorenzo<p>Three Aussie mates rewatch a movie every week, rate it out of five and rarely agree.</p><p>It's a book club for movies, with worse manners. One of us picks the film, we all watch it (our partners don't always make it to the end), then we sit down and argue about it. Old favourites, new releases, and things that probably should have stayed in the early 2000s. Everyone logs a score on Letterboxd, half stars included, and the gap between the highest and lowest is usually the best part of the episode.</p><p>Sam spent 12 years in the cinema industry and was never allowed a public opinion on a movie. Corey shoots weddings for a living, so he'll notice the lighting before the plot. Pacco came here, in his words, "to talk shit and talk movies."</p><p>Every episode stands on its own, so start with a film you've seen. New episodes every week.</p>episodicSamuel De Lorenzosamdelorenzo6@gmail.comyes<![CDATA[The Wild Robot — You Dead Fucking Robot]]>One of us cried watching The Wild Robot on a plane. Another didn’t cry at all, and got a text from the next room calling him a dead fucking robot.

Pacco picked this one. It’s Chris Sanders’ 2024 DreamWorks adaptation of Peter Brown’s book: a service robot called Roz washes up on an island full of animals, accidentally orphans a gosling, and has to work out how to raise him. Lupita Nyong’o voices Roz, and Pedro Pascal is the fox, which some of us only clocked when the credits rolled.

Along the way there’s a possum mum who loses track of her own kids, the Australian animal that throws its young at predators to get away, Roz ticking “feed” off her list once and apparently never again, the Golden Gate Bridge sitting underwater, and a robot who decides she doesn’t need a vital part because she has love. Plug in the goose. We also get into what the film says about parenting when nobody knows what they’re doing, why it plays like chapters of a book, and how Chris Sanders still voices Stitch.

Nobody hated it, but one of us never wants to watch it again.

Next week: Snow Dogs, Corey’s pick. Cuba Gooding Jr, 2002, huskies. Get ready for mush hour.

Chapters:

00:00 You dead fucking robot
00:55 Why Pacco picked it
02:49 First impressions and that art style
06:20 Pretty dark for a kids’ film
07:05 Which Aussie animal throws its kids?
08:31 A blended family and a big warm hug
10:11 Nobody knows what they’re doing as a parent
13:07 Fink, and guessing the voice
16:38 The feeding plot hole
18:16 Learning to fly
21:18 Pacco’s wife fell asleep
22:34 The Golden Gate Bridge is underwater
24:02 Winter on the island
26:55 The final battle
30:18 The ending
34:39 Can a robot have a soul?
35:48 Who cried and who didn’t
39:39 Chris Sanders, Stitch and How to Train Your Dragon
44:34 What didn’t work
46:53 Ratings
48:26 Sequels and trilogies
50:45 Next week’s pick

Follow us on Letterboxd to see what else we’re watching
Sam: https://letterboxd.com/Delorenzo6/
Corey: https://letterboxd.com/coreymid/
Pacco: https://letterboxd.com/paccothegoose/

]]>da32c9af-de49-46c9-b078-03ac3f1fcf52Wed, 14 Oct 2026 18:30:00 GMT<p>One of us cried watching The Wild Robot on a plane. Another didn’t cry at all, and got a text from the next room calling him a dead fucking robot.</p><p>Pacco picked this one. It’s Chris Sanders’ 2024 DreamWorks adaptation of Peter Brown’s book: a service robot called Roz washes up on an island full of animals, accidentally orphans a gosling, and has to work out how to raise him. Lupita Nyong’o voices Roz, and Pedro Pascal is the fox, which some of us only clocked when the credits rolled.</p><p>Along the way there’s a possum mum who loses track of her own kids, the Australian animal that throws its young at predators to get away, Roz ticking “feed” off her list once and apparently never again, the Golden Gate Bridge sitting underwater, and a robot who decides she doesn’t need a vital part because she has love. Plug in the goose. We also get into what the film says about parenting when nobody knows what they’re doing, why it plays like chapters of a book, and how Chris Sanders still voices Stitch.</p><p>Nobody hated it, but one of us never wants to watch it again.</p><p>Next week: Snow Dogs, Corey’s pick. Cuba Gooding Jr, 2002, huskies. Get ready for mush hour.</p><p>Chapters:</p><p>00:00 You dead fucking robot<br />00:55 Why Pacco picked it<br />02:49 First impressions and that art style<br />06:20 Pretty dark for a kids’ film<br />07:05 Which Aussie animal throws its kids?<br />08:31 A blended family and a big warm hug<br />10:11 Nobody knows what they’re doing as a parent<br />13:07 Fink, and guessing the voice<br />16:38 The feeding plot hole<br />18:16 Learning to fly<br />21:18 Pacco’s wife fell asleep<br />22:34 The Golden Gate Bridge is underwater<br />24:02 Winter on the island<br />26:55 The final battle<br />30:18 The ending<br />34:39 Can a robot have a soul?<br />35:48 Who cried and who didn’t<br />39:39 Chris Sanders, Stitch and How to Train Your Dragon<br />44:34 What didn’t work<br />46:53 Ratings<br />48:26 Sequels and trilogies<br />50:45 Next week’s pick</p><p>Follow us on Letterboxd to see what else we’re watching<br />Sam: <a href="https://letterboxd.com/Delorenzo6/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">https://letterboxd.com/Delorenzo6/</a><br />Corey: <a href="https://letterboxd.com/coreymid/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">https://letterboxd.com/coreymid/</a><br />Pacco: <a href="https://letterboxd.com/paccothegoose/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">https://letterboxd.com/paccothegoose/</a></p>yes00:52:3815The Wild Robot — You Dead Fucking Robotfull<![CDATA[Rat Race — More Nazis Than Expected]]>One of us has rewatched Rat Race every year for three years. Another reckons he got oversold.

Sam picked this one, a film his fiancée loved as a kid and he only discovered three years ago. Jerry Zucker's 2001 ensemble comedy is basically The Amazing Race with no rules: John Cleese plants six tokens in his Vegas slot machines, and whoever reaches a locker in Silver City, New Mexico first keeps $2 million.

Along the way Rowan Atkinson falls asleep in the hotel lobby, Jon Lovitz drives Hitler's car through a WWII veterans' parade, a human heart ends up inside a dog, a cow ends up tied to a hot air balloon, Cuba Gooding Jr hijacks a bus full of I Love Lucy impersonators, and Smash Mouth play All Star with a little help from Hitler's harmonica. We also get into what you'd actually do if you lost a human heart, and how the airport scenes play now that you know the film came out a month before 9/11.

The ratings aren't even close, and somehow Avengers: Endgame gets dragged into the argument.

Next week: The Wild Robot, Pacco's pick. Bring tissues. It has ducks in it.

Chapters:

00:00 Warm cola and a pyramid scheme
00:14 Rat Race, the annual rewatch
02:07 Who'd you bet on?
06:19 Those animated opening credits
10:53 Free buffet, no rules
12:58 Would you go to Darwin for $2 million?
15:42 Released one month before 9/11
19:43 Randy's family and the Nazi museum
23:13 Mr. Bean, a human heart and a dog
25:00 A drifter, let's kill him
28:40 The cow and the hot air balloon
31:15 The I Love Lucy bus
34:59 The billionaires' bets
37:59 Smash Mouth and Hitler's harmonica
40:06 What worked, what didn't
44:29 Ratings
47:04 Five stars, half stars and The Emoji Movie
51:50 Next week's pick, and bring tissues

Follow us on Letterboxd to see what else we're watching
Sam: https://letterboxd.com/Delorenzo6/
Corey: https://letterboxd.com/coreymid/
Pacco: https://letterboxd.com/paccothegoose/

]]>b979e30e-be3b-4a6b-9185-a8388dd2027cWed, 07 Oct 2026 19:00:00 GMT<p>One of us has rewatched Rat Race every year for three years. Another reckons he got oversold.</p><p>Sam picked this one, a film his fiancée loved as a kid and he only discovered three years ago. Jerry Zucker's 2001 ensemble comedy is basically The Amazing Race with no rules: John Cleese plants six tokens in his Vegas slot machines, and whoever reaches a locker in Silver City, New Mexico first keeps $2 million.</p><p>Along the way Rowan Atkinson falls asleep in the hotel lobby, Jon Lovitz drives Hitler's car through a WWII veterans' parade, a human heart ends up inside a dog, a cow ends up tied to a hot air balloon, Cuba Gooding Jr hijacks a bus full of I Love Lucy impersonators, and Smash Mouth play All Star with a little help from Hitler's harmonica. We also get into what you'd actually do if you lost a human heart, and how the airport scenes play now that you know the film came out a month before 9/11.</p><p>The ratings aren't even close, and somehow Avengers: Endgame gets dragged into the argument.</p><p>Next week: The Wild Robot, Pacco's pick. Bring tissues. It has ducks in it.</p><p>Chapters:</p><p>00:00 Warm cola and a pyramid scheme<br />00:14 Rat Race, the annual rewatch<br />02:07 Who'd you bet on?<br />06:19 Those animated opening credits<br />10:53 Free buffet, no rules<br />12:58 Would you go to Darwin for $2 million?<br />15:42 Released one month before 9/11<br />19:43 Randy's family and the Nazi museum<br />23:13 Mr. Bean, a human heart and a dog<br />25:00 A drifter, let's kill him<br />28:40 The cow and the hot air balloon<br />31:15 The I Love Lucy bus<br />34:59 The billionaires' bets<br />37:59 Smash Mouth and Hitler's harmonica<br />40:06 What worked, what didn't<br />44:29 Ratings<br />47:04 Five stars, half stars and The Emoji Movie<br />51:50 Next week's pick, and bring tissues</p><p>Follow us on Letterboxd to see what else we're watching<br />Sam: <a href="https://letterboxd.com/Delorenzo6/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">https://letterboxd.com/Delorenzo6/</a><br />Corey: <a href="https://letterboxd.com/coreymid/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">https://letterboxd.com/coreymid/</a><br />Pacco: <a href="https://letterboxd.com/paccothegoose/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">https://letterboxd.com/paccothegoose/</a></p>yes00:56:1114Rat Race — More Nazis Than Expectedfull<![CDATA[The Onion Movie — Aged Like Milk]]>One of us still thinks The Onion Movie is gold. Another needed three sittings to get through it.

Corey picked this one, a high-school favourite he wanted to put to the test. Shot in 2003 and not released until 2008, The Onion Movie is a pile of fake news stories wrapped around Norm Archer, an anchor trying to keep his integrity while the network sells ads into the bulletin.

Along the way there are neck belts, a woman who calls the news before she calls 911, a Steven Seagal film called Cock Puncher with its own PlayStation 2 game, country star Melissa Cherry's very wholesome love songs, a bloke with his penis stuck in a mailbox, and an armed gunman who negotiates his way into a full-time job with benefits. We also get into how much of it has aged like milk, and why the post-9/11 terrorism jokes land even worse now.

The ratings end up further apart than they've ever been, and someone's wife has already recommended it to a work colleague.

Next week: Rat Race, Sam's pick. Sam would also like you to watch Community. One episode. It's twenty minutes.

Chapters:

00:00 Caught watching The Onion Movie
02:24 Pacco's been dreading this since high school
04:13 Shot in 2003, released in 2008
07:44 Melissa Cherry and a Britney Spears connection
09:02 Neck belts and bad CGI
09:55 Cock Puncher
11:45 We interrupt this program
14:20 What is this film even rated?
17:20 The socks
19:29 The ending
23:23 The armed gunman
25:42 What worked, what didn't
29:38 Ratings
32:07 Would it survive today?
35:11 Next week's pick, and please watch Community

Follow us on Letterboxd to see what else we're watching
Sam: https://letterboxd.com/Delorenzo6/
Corey: https://letterboxd.com/coreymid/
Pacco: https://letterboxd.com/paccothegoose/

]]>2bd817af-84a3-45be-9d82-6d57ec468ee2Sat, 03 Oct 2026 09:51:38 GMT<p>One of us still thinks The Onion Movie is gold. Another needed three sittings to get through it.</p><p>Corey picked this one, a high-school favourite he wanted to put to the test. Shot in 2003 and not released until 2008, The Onion Movie is a pile of fake news stories wrapped around Norm Archer, an anchor trying to keep his integrity while the network sells ads into the bulletin.</p><p>Along the way there are neck belts, a woman who calls the news before she calls 911, a Steven Seagal film called Cock Puncher with its own PlayStation 2 game, country star Melissa Cherry's very wholesome love songs, a bloke with his penis stuck in a mailbox, and an armed gunman who negotiates his way into a full-time job with benefits. We also get into how much of it has aged like milk, and why the post-9/11 terrorism jokes land even worse now.</p><p>The ratings end up further apart than they've ever been, and someone's wife has already recommended it to a work colleague.</p><p>Next week: Rat Race, Sam's pick. Sam would also like you to watch Community. One episode. It's twenty minutes.<br /><br /><b><strong>Chapters:</strong></b><br /><br />00:00 Caught watching The Onion Movie<br />02:24 Pacco's been dreading this since high school<br />04:13 Shot in 2003, released in 2008<br />07:44 Melissa Cherry and a Britney Spears connection<br />09:02 Neck belts and bad CGI<br />09:55 Cock Puncher<br />11:45 We interrupt this program<br />14:20 What is this film even rated?<br />17:20 The socks<br />19:29 The ending<br />23:23 The armed gunman<br />25:42 What worked, what didn't<br />29:38 Ratings<br />32:07 Would it survive today?<br />35:11 Next week's pick, and please watch Community<br /><br /><b><strong>Follow us on Letterboxd to see what else we're watching</strong></b><br />Sam: <a href="https://letterboxd.com/Delorenzo6/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">https://letterboxd.com/Delorenzo6/</a><br />Corey: <a href="https://letterboxd.com/coreymid/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">https://letterboxd.com/coreymid/</a><br />Pacco: <a href="https://letterboxd.com/paccothegoose/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">https://letterboxd.com/paccothegoose/</a></p>yes00:39:5513The Onion Movie — Aged Like Milkfull<![CDATA[Ready or Not — Nowhere on the Card Does It Say Murder]]>One of us has seen Ready or Not four times. Another got genuinely angry about it.

It's Pacco's pick this week, and the second Samara Weaving film in a row, which is starting to look like a pattern. In Ready or Not (2019) she marries into a rich board-game dynasty, then finds out on her wedding night that the family game is hide and seek, and they've brought crossbows.

We get into the roadside assistance bloke who remotely shuts off her getaway car mid-escape, Sam's public safety advice for anyone caught in an active murder zone (keep running), the kid who shoots his new auntie before anyone's told him why, and the fact that nowhere on the card does it actually say murder. Also, one of us has seen it four times and still didn't clock who the auntie was.

One of us enjoys it more than last week's film and still rates it lower. Another saw the poster and expected a different movie. A fiancée who doesn't do horror ends up liking it anyway.

Next week: The Onion Movie. It's Corey's pick, and at least one of us already hates it.

Follow us on Letterboxd to see what else we're watching
Sam: https://letterboxd.com/Delorenzo6/
Corey: https://letterboxd.com/coreymid/
Pacco: https://letterboxd.com/paccothegoose/

]]>2d44c0db-7381-4e5a-8a33-1afe01926e18Sat, 03 Oct 2026 06:26:20 GMT<p>One of us has seen Ready or Not four times. Another got genuinely angry about it.</p><p>It's Pacco's pick this week, and the second Samara Weaving film in a row, which is starting to look like a pattern. In Ready or Not (2019) she marries into a rich board-game dynasty, then finds out on her wedding night that the family game is hide and seek, and they've brought crossbows.</p><p>We get into the roadside assistance bloke who remotely shuts off her getaway car mid-escape, Sam's public safety advice for anyone caught in an active murder zone (keep running), the kid who shoots his new auntie before anyone's told him why, and the fact that nowhere on the card does it actually say murder. Also, one of us has seen it four times and still didn't clock who the auntie was.</p><p>One of us enjoys it more than last week's film and still rates it lower. Another saw the poster and expected a different movie. A fiancée who doesn't do horror ends up liking it anyway.</p><p>Next week: The Onion Movie. It's Corey's pick, and at least one of us already hates it.</p><p>Follow us on Letterboxd to see what else we're watching<br />Sam: <a href="https://letterboxd.com/Delorenzo6/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">https://letterboxd.com/Delorenzo6/</a><br />Corey: <a href="https://letterboxd.com/coreymid/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">https://letterboxd.com/coreymid/</a><br />Pacco: <a href="https://letterboxd.com/paccothegoose/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">https://letterboxd.com/paccothegoose/</a></p>yes00:43:1012Ready or Not — Nowhere on the Card Does It Say Murderfull<![CDATA[Over Your Dead Body — Pacco Called It Torture]]>One of us had a great time. Another called it torture.

Episode one, and it's Sam's pick. He found it scrolling Amazon, liked that Jason Segel was tied to a chair in the thumbnail, and decided that was enough research. Over Your Dead Body (2026) stars Segel and Aussie treasure Samara Weaving as a miserable married couple who head to a remote cabin, each secretly planning to kill the other. Then escaped convicts come through the roof, Timothy Olyphant turns up, and the romantic weekend goes downhill from there.

We get into Samara Weaving's accent (somewhere between American, Australian and, as the film puts it, the devil), a bloke who walks off a back full of stab wounds, Segel losing fingers and barely mentioning it, and the poor accomplice who just wanted to take everyone out on his boat.

The ratings split three ways on our first go. One of us spends half the episode insisting Samara Weaving did this better in another film. One wife walks out, and another bails half an hour in and comes round two days later.

Next week: Ready or Not, settled by a coin toss.

Follow us on Letterboxd to see what else we're watching
Sam: https://letterboxd.com/Delorenzo6/
Corey: https://letterboxd.com/coreymid/
Pacco: https://letterboxd.com/paccothegoose/

]]>bf07b03b-6cff-4bf1-b351-19a7bc7584c8Sat, 03 Oct 2026 06:06:18 GMT<p>One of us had a great time. Another called it torture.</p><p>Episode one, and it's Sam's pick. He found it scrolling Amazon, liked that Jason Segel was tied to a chair in the thumbnail, and decided that was enough research. Over Your Dead Body (2026) stars Segel and Aussie treasure Samara Weaving as a miserable married couple who head to a remote cabin, each secretly planning to kill the other. Then escaped convicts come through the roof, Timothy Olyphant turns up, and the romantic weekend goes downhill from there.</p><p>We get into Samara Weaving's accent (somewhere between American, Australian and, as the film puts it, the devil), a bloke who walks off a back full of stab wounds, Segel losing fingers and barely mentioning it, and the poor accomplice who just wanted to take everyone out on his boat.</p><p>The ratings split three ways on our first go. One of us spends half the episode insisting Samara Weaving did this better in another film. One wife walks out, and another bails half an hour in and comes round two days later.</p><p>Next week: Ready or Not, settled by a coin toss.</p><p>Follow us on Letterboxd to see what else we're watching<br />Sam: <a href="https://letterboxd.com/Delorenzo6/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">https://letterboxd.com/Delorenzo6/</a><br />Corey: <a href="https://letterboxd.com/coreymid/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">https://letterboxd.com/coreymid/</a><br />Pacco: <a href="https://letterboxd.com/paccothegoose/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">https://letterboxd.com/paccothegoose/</a></p>yes00:25:5011Over Your Dead Body — Pacco Called It Torturefull