March 14, 2024 on Planet 93.9 with Dave and Darren — “Imaginary,” “Cabrini,” “Kung Fu Panda 4,” and “20 Days in Mariupol”



Mike Schulz, Dave Levora, and Darren Pitra sound alarmed about the possibility of another mic having fritzed out, leaving Pitra to shout out his contributions from the bleachers. Not this time, baby! Schulz was happy with the Oscar production and the films that won (mostly). Ryan Gosling’s “Ken” song? Who could resist that? And he was happy with his rate of Oscar predictions, having missed only five of them, having tied for last year.

Here, now, the movies:

Continue reading March 14, 2024 on Planet 93.9 with Dave and Darren — “Imaginary,” “Cabrini,” “Kung Fu Panda 4,” and “20 Days in Mariupol”


More Citizen Intelligence, Less Artificial Intelligence Needed: Todd McGreevy & AD in the Morning on WQUD Discuss the March Edition of River Cities’ Reader



River Cities’ Reader publisher Todd McGreevy talks with WQUD GM Aaron Dail and Pat Jones, Sancho Panza to Dail’s Don Quixote, re recent highlights, both online and within Issue N° 1019. Joining the two for half of the discussion is Li Arellano, the former mayor of Dixon, Illinois, and one of three Republicans vying for the open 37th District state Senate seat at present. (The other candidates are Chris Bishop, former Dixon teacher and a member of the Dixon City Council, and Tim Yager, a member of both the Henry County Board and the Henry County Farm Bureau.) McGreevy solicits Arellano’s opinion re the recent state efforts to push Donald Trump off their ballots — since decided by the Supreme Court to be the provenance of Congress, not the states — and both question the legality of such efforts, given that (to date) Trump hasn’t been convicted of any federal offense that would mandate such pre-emptive actions.

Continue reading More Citizen Intelligence, Less Artificial Intelligence Needed: Todd McGreevy & AD in the Morning on WQUD Discuss the March Edition of River Cities’ Reader


March 7, 2024 on Planet 93.9 with Dave and Darren — “Dune: Part Two” and “Spaceman”



Mike Schulz, Dave Levora, and Darren Pitra discuss Schulz’s recent reviews as well as the Oscars, airing this Sunday — and breathe out. Owing to technical issues, however, what should be an audio three-way sounds like one of the participants — in this case, Darren — has been mixed waaaay down in the feed. Technical issues in the studio left the three with only two working mics, so Levorac, mensch that he is, elected to give Schulz his mic. Bear that in mind as the discussion proceeds, ‘kay?

On to the movies, then! Wagons ho!

Continue reading March 7, 2024 on Planet 93.9 with Dave and Darren — “Dune: Part Two” and “Spaceman”


February 29, 2024 on Planet 93.9 with Dave and Darren — “Drive-Away Dolls” and “Ordinary Angels”



Mike Schulz, Dave Levora, and Darren Pitra have a comparatively brisk tête-à-tête. Next week, they’ll be on about the Oscars. And Dune: Part Two.

Continue reading February 29, 2024 on Planet 93.9 with Dave and Darren — “Drive-Away Dolls” and “Ordinary Angels”


February 22, 2024 on Planet 93.9 with Dave and Darren — “Bob Marley: One Love,” “Madame Web,” and the 2024 Oscar-Nominated Short Films: Animated and Live Action



Dave Levora told Mike Schulz how he regrets not being present when MS saw Madame Webb: “I love it when you just tee off on a film,” he said. Levora’s not the only one — Darren Pitra presumably shares it. And good kids who eat their cereal get a healthy dose of irony with each spoonful!

The films in questions:

Continue reading February 22, 2024 on Planet 93.9 with Dave and Darren — “Bob Marley: One Love,” “Madame Web,” and the 2024 Oscar-Nominated Short Films: Animated and Live Action


Todd McGreevy & AD in the Morning on WQUD Discuss the February Edition of River Cities’ Reader



River Cities’ Reader publisher Todd McGreevy talks with WQUD GM Aaron Dail re recent highlights, both online and within Issue N° 1018. The first one-and-a-half minutes that you don’t get to hear concerns Dail’s admiration of Bruce Walters’s Buried Stories profile on Helen Van Dale for the latest issue:

Continue reading Todd McGreevy & AD in the Morning on WQUD Discuss the February Edition of River Cities’ Reader


February 15, 2024 on Planet 93.9 with Dave and Darren — “Lisa Frankenstein,” “Out of Darkness,” and “The Teachers’ Lounge”



Mike Schulz, Dave Levora, and Darren Pitra can’t get enough other, and their time away was pure agony. For the next fifteen minutes and change, that pain is forestalled. Incidentally, The Last Picture House is showing Oscar-nominated short films, both live-action and animated. Ohhhhhhh, boy.

Concerning the films:

Continue reading February 15, 2024 on Planet 93.9 with Dave and Darren — “Lisa Frankenstein,” “Out of Darkness,” and “The Teachers’ Lounge”


February 8, 2024, on Planet 93.9 with Dave and Darren — “The Zone of Interest,” “Argylle,” “Scrambled,” and “The Greatest Night in Pop”



Mike Schulz, Dave Levora, and Darren Pitra get into the documentary The Greatest Night in Pop, streaming on Netflix, which looks back forty years to the recording of “We are the World” and everything behind the scenes to which Eighties audiences were not privy — such as Paul Simon scoping the room full of stars and dead-panning a line to the camera that one will not repeat, as it’s so murderously funny. Yes, Dave, it was a mistake to get rid of your Netflix account.

On to other matters:

Continue reading February 8, 2024, on Planet 93.9 with Dave and Darren — “The Zone of Interest,” “Argylle,” “Scrambled,” and “The Greatest Night in Pop”


February 1, 2024, on Planet 93.9 with Dave and Darren — “Origin,” “Nimona,” “American Symphony,” and “Flamin’ Hot”



Mike Schulz, Dave Levora, and Darren Pitra celebrate Schulz getting his car back, which cramped his style for at least a week in the preceding month. Schulz said he had been wondering why there weren’t too many movies for him to review in January, and then it hit him: The writer’s strike is still being felt by us all.

Anyway, to the movies! Continue reading February 1, 2024, on Planet 93.9 with Dave and Darren — “Origin,” “Nimona,” “American Symphony,” and “Flamin’ Hot”


January 25, 2024, on Planet 93.9 with Dave and Darren — “ISS” and “All of Us Strangers”



Mike Schulz, Dave Levora, and Darren Pitra yearn for the return of the sun before Levora commends Schulz on the number of Oscar picks he got right. Schulz demurs, saying he beat last year’s record by one, and that averages out to about an eighty-percentile grade. They then discuss the particulars of the Oscar nominations, which you can hear at the following podcast.

Concerning the films that he managed to see this past week:

Continue reading January 25, 2024, on Planet 93.9 with Dave and Darren — “ISS” and “All of Us Strangers”