Plugged!: Scene Unseen Movie Reviews

Before I get into just what "Scene Unseen Movie Reviews" is, let me make a brief introduction to the monthly post "Plugged!". "Plugged!" is a post that features a podcast that you simply must subscribe to through the iTunes (or Zune, if available) podcast directory. These podcasts are free and don't require an iTunes account, so no registration, no country changing.

So yeah, for the maiden flight of this Boeing, I'm picking an iTunes staff favorite: Scene Unseen Movie Reviews.

With a three year run and a massive international fanbase, Scene Unseen's unique take on the movie review certainly has an audience. The format is just right there on the tagline: "One of us sees the film... the other one doesn't". This may turn off some audiences since in order for two people to talk about a specific film at a time, they must both be able to watch the movie so they can actually make accurate, objective, and non-judgmental observations and comments on it, but this podcast still has all of that, but it's much more fun because you'll want to see whether Jimmy is convinced by Chris' love or hate for a certain film.

Aside from that though, most of the podcast's relatively long running time can be attributed more to the fact that they pick DVD's that match a certain topic, as well as read out the picks of the fans. The two also occasionally invite some guests over to review with them, and there are also times when they interview some very interesting people from the 'biz, since they themselves are actually in the movie industry.

But this association with the movie industry is the thing that is making them cut the actual show. Actually, they just released their last review a week ago, and a final episode is on the way. Still, that shouldn't stop you from downloading all the other past episodes in their massive backlog, because they are a doozy. So maybe some of their comments become a bit dated since they also talk about some of the lesser mentioned facts like the effect of a film's marketing on a viewer's willingness to watch it, or Tiger Woods, but the straight-shooting dialogue between the two passionate cinema lovers is worth your time. And really, that's what counts.

If you're turned off by expletives though, I highly recommend that you stay away from the podcast. Now, the two don't really swear liberally, heck, there are even episodes that feature zero swear words, but some of the stuff they talk about can get rather heated, thus necessitating them to blow off some steam.

It's a fine podcast that, while sadly ending, is a trip worth going back in time for. It may just be a conversation between two people- no, great buddies- about a film, but it's a great conversation that you can listen in on, if not participate.