Cinebuds
Film, TV & Pop Culture
About
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.
Episodes
- Pride Month movies with Milwaukee Film!
All 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-se…
- 'I Love Boosters'
Fresh 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 Moo…
- 'Blue Heron'
'Blue Heron'
- Celebrate Ani-May with Milwaukee Film (and Chainsaw Man)
Cinebuds clarifies that animated movies and anime are distinct, coinciding with Milwaukee Film's "Ani-May" series. The hosts review "Chainsaw Man: The Movie – Reze Arc," discussing its violent content, mythology, and comparing it to other…
- Cinebuds LIVE: The 40th anniversary of 'Labyrinth'
Cinebuds recorded a live episode at the Oriental Theatre to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Labyrinth. Author Steve Horton joined hosts Dori and Kpolly to share insider stories about the film, including David Bowie's interactions with ba…
- Your guide for week two of the Milwaukee Film Fest!
This episode guides listeners through the second week of the Milwaukee Film Festival, featuring Kerstin Larson from Milwaukee Film. Discussions include a diverse selection of films such as "Hokum," "Maddie’s Secret," and "The Big Cheese."…
- MKE Film Fest Week 1 & 'Now! More! Yes!'
This episode of Cinebuds covers the first week of the MKE Film Fest and discusses the film 'Now! More! Yes!'.
- Sound Vision at the 2026 MKE Film Festival
This Cinebuds episode covers Sound Vision at the 2026 MKE Film Festival.
- Cinema Hooligante!
The 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 Milwauk…
- MKE Film's 414 Day screening of the 'Song Sung Blue' doc
With 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 M…
- Oscar Predictions!
The Oscars are the Super Bowl of movies. We’re not talking about the prestige of winning, although that certainly lines up. We’re talking about how the wider world swoops in once a year to make predictions, rubberneck at the spectacle of i…
- 'Wuthering Heights'
When Emily Brontë shared Wuthering Heights with the world back in 1847, the response to the book was … let’s just say mixed. Critics used words like “sickened” and “unsettling” and “a compound of vulgar depravity and unnatural horrors” to…
- Remembering Catherine O'Hara
When Catherine O’Hara died late last month, it was a sizable blow to the entertainment world. Whether it was on television or in movies, she brought a quality that was very particularly “her.” While that’s a tough thing to wrap up in just…
- Winter-themed movies!
Brrr, it’s cold out there! ❄️ On this episode, Dori and Kpolly lean into the freezing Wisconsin temperatures by discussing their favorite harsh winter movies . Forget the cozy blankets; for the full experience, the hosts suggest cracking a…
- MKE Film presents 'Afrofuturism: Fates Beyond Fiction'
Last February, having just inherited the title of Black Lens programmer at Milwaukee Film, Ty Williams absolutely nailed his selections for a series showing off the range of Black stories that have come to the big screen over the years. No…
- Double Feature: 'Hamnet' & 'No Other Choice'
Grab your tissues and your popcorn (but maybe chew quietly) because the Cinebuds are back to talk about some of the season's biggest buzz films. Dori and Kpolly start with a dive into the beautifully heartbreaking Hamnet from visionary dir…
- Milwaukee Film's 'In Memoriam' Series
The death of a public figure can hit pretty hard because we feel like we know those people. For many of us, the feeling runs deeper with the passing of an artist or creator whose work has embedded itself in our daily lives. Milwaukee Film’…
- Remembering Will Bush of Immortal Girlfriend
In the final days of 2025, the Milwaukee music community --- and the wider world --- lost a truly wonderful human being. Will Bush was half of Immortal Girlfriend, the music project he shared with his brother Kevin. Their collaborations we…
- 'Song Sung Blue' documentary with Jimmy Sammarco
We ended 2025 on a high note (or a Hugh note?) with our review of Song Sung Blue , featuring a cameo from multitalented global superstar/song-and-dance man Hugh Jackman. So what better way to start 2026 than by pulling back the curtain on…
- Our 'Song Sung Blue' review, plus a quick chat with Hugh Jackman!
There are so many “firsts” on this episode, we’re honestly not sure what to do with ourselves. Let’s start by telling you (in case you skipped the headline) that we’re reviewing Song Sung Blue , the based-on-a-true-story of real-life Milwa…
- 'Scrooged!' (Cinebuds Live)
Special episodes happen on the regular around here, but this one is something extra special: our live recording right after a screening of the 1988 holiday classic, Scrooged ! We gathered an amazing audience at the Oriental Theatre to watc…
- 'Frankenstein'
This week, our cinematic buddies tackle Guillermo del Toro's latest masterpiece: the new Frankenstein film currently streaming on Netflix. It's a movie he wanted to make since he was 8 years old, and we explore how this master of dark genr…
- 'Wicked: For Good'
The divide between people who review things for a living and regular folk has existed since before Robert Green called Shakespeare “an upstart crow” back in 1592. The years since have brought us Mozart (“too many notes”), Psycho (“ falls q…
- Holiday films, from 'Scrooged' to ... 'The Godfather'?
Milwaukee Film’s annual “Season’s Screenings” holiday movie series just got underway this week, and if you're listening to this episode on its release date, that means you’ve only missed one of the 22 selections that will run at the Orient…
- Action Wisconsin: Reigniting the state's film industry
It’s always preferable to have our usual dynamic duo piloting the podcast. But when that’s not the case, it usually means we’re making room for some special guests. For this episode, we’ve got two who know their way around movie making and…
- Depeche Mode: M
When is a concert film not a concert film? It's an existential question that's particularly fitting for this episode, as we focus on a movie that is literally about death. And also new-wave-slash-electronic-music legends Depeche Mode. The…
- The Twits
In this episode, we take a very special trip … to the Bizarro World. Imagine a place that is the opposite of the Cinebuds universe. A place where the two main characters are awful to their very core. A pair of people who hate everything, i…
- Spooky Movies!!!
The only thing more plentiful than Halloween candy is Halloween watchlists. Our favorite fall holiday (you heard us, Thanksgiving) was celebrated for the first time more than 2,000 years ago, possibly to recognize the first batch of Circus…
- Tron: Ares
Have you ever played a two-player game where the other person keeps getting in your way, inadvertently knocking you into the nearest lava pit or spiky enemy? Anyone who has ever played any of the Super Mario games knows the phenomenon. Wel…
- Milwaukee Jewish Film Festival
It's another special guest episode! Getting the big welcome this time around is one of our wonderful return vistors: Julie Lookatch from the Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center, who drops by to drop some knowledge about the…
- 'One Battle After Another'
Being the hosts of a big-time podcast like this one gets you access to some pretty cool stuff. It also turns out that being a fan of a big-time podcast like this one can pay off from time to time — like getting the chance to see the most t…
- Jeff Buckley's mom on the new documentary about her son
We've gotten more than a few chances to talk with special guests about a particular film they're involved in, but this episode takes things to a wonderful new level. At the center of our discussion is the beautiful new documentary, It's Ne…
- 'The Roses'
This week, we’re talking all about The Roses , the new film starring the delightful Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch. It's a modern remake of the '80s classic The War of the Roses , telling the story of a lovely couple whose marriage…
- A tribute to Milwaukee filmmaker Michael Schultz
The only way to describe this episode is "super special" considering the person in the spotlight: Milwaukee-born director Michael Schultz! Milwaukee Film introduced a new annual award named in his honor that recognizes luminary Black direc…
- 'The Donn of Tiki'
Dori is flying solo for this episode, but she made sure to keep the pod well-populated by inviting filmmakers Alex Lamb and Max Well to chat about their new documentary, The Donn of Tiki . This is a story that demanded to be told: A man li…
- MKE Film Series: Cinematic Sisterhood
When Milwaukee Film rolls out one of their carefully curated series, it gives Dori and Kpolly a chance to do two things: Highlight a bunch of great movies around a particular theme. Rest their voices by bringing in a guest host. For the or…
- 'Cloud'
This episode sees our cinematic duo turning their attention to Kiyoshi Kurosawa's new Japanese thriller, Cloud . This film, a hit at the spring film festivals and an Academy Award nominee, explores themes of capitalism through a young man…
- Revisiting award-winning documentary 'Cycle'
Earlier this year, we invited the filmmakers behind Cycle to the podcast for a deeper look at their document about police violence in America. In the months since, Cycle won Best Feature Documentary at the Brooklyn Film Festival and is now…
- 'The Phoenician Scheme'
Director Wes Anderson has done something just about every person in his trade dreams to do: establish an instantly recognizable and virtually inimitable visual style. He’s reached a point in his career at which a member of the moviegoing p…
- 'Superman'
With all the enthusiasm and boundless energy of a certain super-canine, we jump all over the new Superman movie that director James Gunn controversially decided to call ... Superman . We try not to give away too much in these descriptions,…
- The 50th anniversary of 'Jaws'
Are you ready for a deep dive into cinema history? That's certainly not the last acquatic pun you'll get from us as we hunt down one of cinema's most impactful movies: Jaws ! The big-mouthed killing machine (literally ... the many breakdow…
- aCinema: The experimental film series at Woodland Pattern
Get ready for a local cinema deep dive as Dori chats with Michael Wendt from Woodland Pattern and Takahiro Suzuki from the aCinema series. Our guests demystify experimental film, explaining why its non-linear, poetic style isn't intimidati…
- Films for the Fourth of July!
Get ready for fireworks and film! On this special Fourth of July episode of Cinebuds , Dori and Kpolly are talking movies that scream independence. From iconic historical musicals like Hamilton and Yankee Doodle Dandy to all-American sport…
- Kenosha director Danny Villanueva Jr. on the state of film in Wisconsin
In the 40+ years of box-office tracking, the numbers for North America are pretty easy to summarize: up. Almost without exception, the total gross and the number of releases that found their way into theaters rose steadily every year, hitt…
- 'Friendship'
For a podcast called Cinebuds , reviewing a film called Friendship sounds like a match made in celluloidic heaven. As you’ll hear, that depends on your vision of the afterlife. Just to get this out of the way, your beloved hosts Dori and K…
- MKE Film presents 'Summer Camp' for Pride Month
Because everyone loves a double meaning, Milwaukee Film took one look at the month of June, contemplated it being the start of summer as well as Pride Month, and came up with a movie series titled “ Summer CAMP! ” that covers the latter wi…
- 'Vanya' and National Theater Live
We’re switching things up for this episode of Cinebuds and talking about … the theater! OK, sure, Dori and Kpolly talk about theaters all the time in the context of movies. For this installment, they’re talking about live theater being bro…
- 'Thunderbolts*'
Reunited, and it feels so good ... After taking a breather during the Milwaukee Film Festival (more on that in a moment), Dori and Kpolly got back behind the microphone to talk about the latest Marvel movie, Thunderbolts* . Due in part to…
- 'Cycle'
On this episode, Dori welcomes some very special guests to talk about a very important film: Cycle . More than five years in the making, Cycle takes an unflinching look at the patterns behind police violence in America through the story of…