Podcast
Cinebuds
Hosted by Radio Milwaukee · EN
Every week, Radio Milwaukee's Dori Zori and Milwaukee Film’s Kristopher Pollard talk about movies in theaters, streaming at home or wherever they might be, as well as Milwaukee's film scene.
30episodes
Episodes
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Pride Month movies with Milwaukee Film!
3d ago00:27:30Tap to summarizeAll throughout June, Milwaukee Film is serving up three separate helpings of hand-picked movies for the organization’s Pride Month program. There’s the “Queerious” mini-series devoted to queer-coded selections, the “Summer Camp 2” mini-series featuring queer classics that lean into the outrageous, and a trio of bonus picks to round out the month.To help us navigate the four weekends of movies, we brought back the perfect guest: Milwaukee Film GenreQueer and Shorts programmer Jack Feria!Jack is a Cinebuds frequent flyer, having stepped into the studio with us several times to share all the cool stuff he does with Milwaukee Film. For this particular episode, he joins Dori and Kpolly to chat about the incredible range of LGBTQ+ fare coming to the Oriental and Downer Theatres — from Alfred Hitchcock’s subtext-laden Rope to gender-bending musical masterpiece Victor/Victoria.#####Cinebuds is sponsored by Joe Wilde Garage Doors.
Transcribe →'I Love Boosters'
1w ago00:25:22Tap to summarizeFresh from the theater, we dive headfirst into Boots Riley’s latest, I Love Boosters.This colorful, high-fashion heist film follows a crew of shoplifters who resell designer gear, as they target a cutthroat fashion icon played by Demi Moore. We break down the incredible cast, from the great Kiki Palmer leading the charge to a nearly unrecognizable Don Cheadle.The film is a total feast for the senses, featuring a janky stop-motion aesthetic, a 17-degree tilted apartment set and a pulsing soundtrack by Tune-Yards. Beyond the fun, we discuss how Riley uses his signature stylized satire to take aim at the fashion industry and advocate for workers' rights.Then we wrap things up by teasing tease Riley’s next project, an adaptation of Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play, and share our latest obsessions, including the eerie comedy-drama Widow's Bay and the physical comedy of Chris Fleming.#####Cinebuds is sponsored by Joe Wilde Garage Door Company.
Transcribe →'Blue Heron'
2w ago00:26:17Tap to summarize'Blue Heron'
Transcribe →Celebrate Ani-May with Milwaukee Film (and Chainsaw Man)
May 600:28:41Tap to summarizeA public service announcement from your friends at Cinebuds: “Animated movies” and “Anime” are NOT the same thing. It’s a good time to point this out because throughout this month, Milwaukee Film will turn its lens on the magic of both categories as part of its “Ani-May” movie series.Yes, the more general moviegoing public will notice familiar titles like The Iron Giant, Ferngully and Smashmouth-adjacent delight-turned-sequel-factory Shrek (and Shrek 2). That does NOT mean families with young children should descend on the Oriental Theatre willy-nilly for any selection in the series.A prime case in point is the film that earns our focus in this episode, the punctuation-laden Chainsaw Man: The Movie – Reze Arc. Leave the kiddies at home for this high-octane, high-violence tale that might just lure you in via a slow-burn 40 minutes that seem to be more about teenage dating than the title would suggest.Then … it earns that title.But while Dori and Kpolly spend time exploring the mythology of devils and hunters, compare Chainsaw Man to Blade and wonder whether they’re getting too old for this s***, there’s more than chainsaws in this episode! Our duo also touch on the full lineup for “Ani-May” — from Shrek’s swampy nostalgia to the Fantasia-indebted Allegro Non Troppo.#####Cinebuds is sponsored by Joe Wilde Garage Doors.
Transcribe →Cinebuds LIVE: The 40th anniversary of 'Labyrinth'
Apr 2900:26:56Tap to summarizeStep inside the Goblin King's maze with this special live episode of Cinebuds! Recorded at the historic Oriental Theatre during the 2026 Milwaukee Film Festival, this episode celebrates the 40th anniversary (and 4K restoration) of the fantasy classic, Labyrinth. For this very special occasion, Dori and Kpolly enlisted some help from Steve Horton, Eisner-winning author of the graphic novel Bowie: Stardust, Ray Guns, and Moonage Daydreams. He shares a few fascinating insider stories about Labyrinth from his research, including how Bowie would use a puppet off-camera to charm baby Toby into staying calm during filming. The trio also dive into: Why Bowie was the perfect Jareth (and which other '80s icons almost got the part). A tribute to Jim Henson’s timeless practical effects and the lovable "gentle giant," Ludo. Hilarious behind-the-scenes secrets, from the infamous "codpiece" to Jennifer Connelly’s real reaction to the Bog of Eternal Stench. And it wouldn't be a live event without getting the audience involved, including a few brave souls who offer their questions and "hot takes."#####Cinebuds is sponsored by Joe Wilde Garage Door Company.
Transcribe →Your guide for week two of the Milwaukee Film Fest!
Apr 2200:36:10Tap to summarizeThe Milwaukee Film Festival goes to a lot of trouble filling two whole weeks with tons of movies for us to see. So the least we can do is dedicate two podcast episodes to the big event before it wraps up April 30.Just like we did in part one, we invited Milwaukee Film programming director Kerstin Larson to join the podcast and provide her wonderful perspective to the final seven days of the 2026 festival. With her help, Dori and Kpolly plucked another diverse selection of films from the schedule so you can find something spooky (Hokum), something kooky (Maddie’s Secret) or something dairy (The Big Cheese).
Transcribe →MKE Film Fest Week 1 & 'Now! More! Yes!'
Apr 1500:33:17Tap to summarizeMKE Film Fest Week 1 & 'Now! More! Yes!'
Transcribe →Sound Vision at the 2026 MKE Film Festival
Apr 800:32:51Tap to summarizeSound Vision at the 2026 MKE Film Festival
Transcribe →Cinema Hooligante!
Apr 100:30:36Tap to summarizeThe 2026 Milwaukee Film Festival is coming up in just over two weeks and if you’ve never been, it’s kinda incredible! From April 16 - 30 hundreds of films will be shown across five screens at The Oriental and The Downer theaters on Milwaukee’s very fashionable East Side. So, with 250 short and feature-length documentary and fiction films from near and far to choose from, where does one even start making that schedule? Anything co-signed by Milwaukee Record, America’s #1 source of news and entertainment (#facts) will always make the top of my list. It’s great to see them back again for the 12th year as the sole sponsor for the Cinema Hooligante program. Think “Midnite Movies” and off beat films. This year’s lineup includes stories about misfit youths, a possessed vacuum cleaner and an entire story that takes place in a toilet. Check out this week’s episode as we welcome Milwaukee Record’s Matt Wild to the pod as our very special guest. Make sure you listen all the way through if you wanna find out what movie makes Matt Wild cry the most and then come hang out with the best people at a Cinema Hooligante film.
Transcribe →MKE Film's 414 Day screening of the 'Song Sung Blue' doc
Mar 2500:31:19Tap to summarizeWith Milwaukee Film getting ready to celebrate 414 Day by screening the Song Sung Blue documentary at the Oriental Theatre, we're taking a timely jump back to our conversation with a key player in the 2008 film about local musical couple Mike and Claire Sardina. Enjoy.#####After coming down from our Hugh Jackman interaction at the Song Sung Blue premiere at the close of 2025, we pulled back the curtain on the Milwaukee connections that inspired the recently released biopic.For that, we called in local filmmaker Jimmy Sammarco, who was instrumental (pun very intended) in the original Song Sung Blue documentary that brought the story of musical couple Mike and Claire Sardina — aka Lightning & Thunder — into the spotlight back in 2008. In his role as director of photography, he saw the ins and outs of the whole production, including a bombshell cease-and-desist order from Sony Music and an unlikely savior from one of the godfathers of grunge.
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