
Fighting In The War Room
Katey, Matt, Da7e and David·Hosted by Katey Rich, Matt Patches, Da7e Gonzales and David Ehrlich·150 episodes
Prolific film and culture critics Katey Rich, Matt Patches, Da7e Gonzales and David Ehrlich take on pop culture topics, film and TV reviews and interview very special guests in bi-weekly installments.
Why listen
Fighting In The War Room feels like sitting in on a fast, funny critics' group chat where movies, TV, awards chatter, industry news, and personal tangents all collide. Katey Rich, Matt Patches, Da7e Gonzales, and David Ehrlich bring real film-critic chops without sanding off the banter, so listeners get informed takes that still feel loose and human. It is especially good for people who follow new releases, festival buzz, Oscar season, and the strange business decisions behind modern pop culture.
Episodes
This week, Patches was felled by solo-parenting, so Katey, David, and Da7e make it to the war room. Katey found a puzzling post on threads and Da7e and David try to speculate about just what a 90s Summer would have actually been. Then, David has since seen Backrooms as have (checks box office numbers) a LOT of you, so Ehrlich gets to throw his thoughts into the endless hallways. Then, in Segment Three, Katey wants to talk about Pressure (which is NOT the one about aliens, Da7e learns) and Da7e wants to talk about I Love Boosters, so they slam them into one segment without pausing for a music break. Take a listen, embed and/or download below; for more from all of us, follow on BlueSky! Follow the show (@fitwr.bsky.social), Katey (@kateyrich.bsky.social), Da7e (@da7e.bsky.social), Patches (@misterpatches.bsky.social), and David (@davidehrlich.bsky.social). One of TIME Magazine s Top 100 Podcasts of All Time Please subscribe on iTunes and KICK US A REVIEW if you like what you hear! FORMAT 00:00 Lightning Round: 1987 Remake 02:05 Intro Welcome to Episode 545! Review! E-mail! 08:18 Tidbit What s a 90 s Summer? 21:23 Mini-Segment Backrooms Revisited 38:16 Segment Three Pressure and I Love Boosters 01:01:32 Outro
This week, everyone is back in the war room and the numbered episodes resume! David, Patches, and Katey took the families to Star Wars: Mandalorian and Grogu, so the show must finally give it a full review. We swear we’re done talking about this movie, David’s son didn’t even want to stay to the end of the movie. Then, Da7e reports from having seen Backrooms and doesn’t spoil anything, if the movie explains anything, and if you know what Backrooms is at all. Finally, Patches has a big overarching question I have decided to summarize as “What’s Wrong with American Dramas?” because that’s a provocative part of it. Take a listen, embed and/or download below; for more from all of us, follow on BlueSky! Follow the show (@fitwr.bsky.social), Katey (@kateyrich.bsky.social), Da7e (@da7e.bsky.social), Patches (@misterpatches.bsky.social), and David (@davidehrlich.bsky.social). One of TIME Magazine’s Top 100 Podcasts of All Time Please subscribe on iTunes and KICK US A REVIEW if you like what you hear! FORMAT 00:00 – Lightning Round: movie WITH Found Footage<
This week, Patches and Da7e convene in the War Room because Patches has A.I. concerns now that Google is giving into the bubble. Da7e saw Mandalorian and Grogu, and they talk about how little cultural impact it seems to be having. Da7e does not spoil any plot points or twists, so don’t worry! Then, David and Katey check in from Cannes at 10:30PM last Monday. Seems like a light year, but Katey saw Club Kid, which A24 picked up! David liked Paper Tiger and Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma. Katey also talks about her takeaways from her first Cannes Film Festival and her screening of Hope, a movie she thinks will work for a lot of people. Finally, the President of Global Cinema of Neon makes the mistake of walking past our hosts late at night on a street in France and mistakenly appears on the podcast. If you want to skip directly to the Cannes dispatch, jump to 50:43 Take a listen, embed and/or download below; for more from all of us, follow on BlueSky! Follow the show (@fitwr.bsky.social), Katey (@kateyrich.bsky.social), Da7e (@da7e.bsky.social), Patches (@misterpatches.bsky.social), and David (@davidehrlich.bsky.social). One of TIME Magazine’s Top 100 Podcasts of All Time Please s<a href="http://fightinginthewarroo
This week, David and Katey have gone to Cannes, leaving Da7e and Patches in the War Room. The two manage not to cancel the show, but bookend it with the sad news that Clarence Carter, artist who recorded the song “Patches” has passed away at age 90. The two also talk about how the Tales from the Crypt TV series is on Shudder, the 3D concert movie Da7e saw, followed by a real concert. Patches thought Da7e watched Punisher: One Last Kill so he did and the two talk about it. Then, in wondering what a new Westworld movie could be about, they become two old men yelling about A.I. It’s fun! They don’t cancel the podcast. Take a listen, embed and/or download below; for more from all of us, follow on BlueSky! Follow the show (@fitwr.bsky.social), Katey (@kateyrich.bsky.social), Da7e (@da7e.bsky.social), Patches (@misterpatches.bsky.social), and David (@davidehrlich.bsky.social). One of TIME Magazine’s Top 100 Podcasts of All Time Please subscribe on iTunes and KICK US A REVIEW if you like what you hear!
This week, David is enjoying the new Kacey Musgraves album (Star-Crossed), which leads them into Jeff Bezos and the Met Gala. That is the push they need to get into talking about The Devil Wears Prada 2. David fills you in on the plot and they discuss why the movie looks different from its 2006 counterpart. This prompts the three Millennials to discuss what Millennial Nostalgia projects are in the works to capitalize on the movies of our past. Katey pitches The Audacity to the boys. That brings Patches, somehow, to a dentist story, which in turn brings David to Silent Friend, directed by Ildikó Enyedi that is in very limited release on the coasts. The boys in the hosts’ lives have been turning objects into blasters and violence, and Patches is wondering if it relates to media and Star Wars Day in public schools. Take a listen, embed and/or download below; for more from all of us, follow on BlueSky! Follow the show (@fitwr.bsky.social), Katey (@kateyrich.bsky.social), Da7e (@da7e.bsky.social), Patches (@misterpatches.bsky.social), and David (@davidehrlich.bsky.social). One of TIME Magazine’s Top 100 Podcasts of All Time Please subscribe on iTunes and KICK US A REVIEW if
This week, David is mysteriously absent, and somehow we’ve entered a difficult scheduling season. Katey is fresh off a flight from Los Angeles, and graciously joins Da7e and Patches to talk about the television they’ve been watching. Katey has been watching a lot of Shrinking for her job, can finally admit she’ll be on Pop Culture Jeopardy in May, and has been enjoying The Testaments and Wonder Man. Patches got sucked into Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, and Da7e is still trapped in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Season 2 for a little while. None of them really endorse watching TV on planes, but Katey watched One of Them Days and liked it. Take a listen, embed and/or download below; for more from all of us, follow on BlueSky! Follow the show (@fitwr.bsky.social), Katey (@kateyrich.bsky.social), Da7e (@da7e.bsky.social), Patches (@misterpatches.bsky.social), and David (@davidehrlich.bsky.social). One of TIME Magazine’s Top 100 Podcasts of All Time Please subscribe on iTunes and KICK US A REVIEW if you like what you hear!
This week, David, Katey, and Da7e unite in the War Room to talk about the two movies about art, sorta, that Michaela Coel is currently starring in. First, David and Da7e try to explain director David Lowery’s Mother Mary, where Coel’s fashion designer faces off with Anne Hathaway’s pop star. Then, all three jump in on Steven Soderbergh’s The Christophers with Coel’s art forger facing off with Ian McKellen’s washed up and cancelled genius painter. Good news – we like both! Take a listen, embed and/or download below; for more from all of us, follow on BlueSky! Follow the show (@fitwr.bsky.social), Katey (@kateyrich.bsky.social), Da7e (@da7e.bsky.social), Patches (@misterpatches.bsky.social), and David (@davidehrlich.bsky.social). One of TIME Magazine’s Top 100 Podcasts of All Time Please subscribe on iTunes and KICK US A REVIEW if you like what you hear! FORMAT 00:00 – Lightning Round: Best Real or Fictional Pop Star 01:30 – Intro – Welcome to Episode 543! Review! E-Mail! <p id
This week, we had to wait for the embargo to be lifted on Lee Cronin’s The Mummy, and once everyone knows the podcast is actually going up on Thursday, we can’t stop referencing it. First, David tells you about Lee Cronin’s The Mummy – out this weekend if you need some goop. Then, Patches talks up a new game called Pragmata which is out (checks watch) – tomorrow! For Segment Three, all the hosts talk about watching Season 2 of The Pitt, which ends (checks watch) – tonight! on HBO Max. Take a listen, embed and/or download below; for more from all of us, follow on BlueSky! Follow the show (@fitwr.bsky.social), Katey (@kateyrich.bsky.social), Da7e (@da7e.bsky.social), Patches (@misterpatches.bsky.social), and David (@davidehrlich.bsky.social). One of TIME Magazine’s Top 100 Podcasts of All Time Please subscribe on iTunes and KICK US A REVIEW if you like what you hear! FORMAT 00:00 – Lightning Round: Mummy Movie 01:37 – Intro – Welcome to Episod
This week, David got suddenly ill, so Da7e has to explain The Drama (actually a comedy) to Katey and Patches which necessitates SAYING THE THING THE TRAILER IMPLIES IS A MYSTERY. If you want to go in completely fresh, skip the segment, if you’re one of the many who have already seen The Drama, hopefully Da7e’s thoughts align with yours. Then, a Colorado Alamo Drafthouse goes on strike spotlighting the labor impacts of the QR code ordering system, and the group talks about the decline of the Drafthouse model. Finally, Matt Patches is back from Disneyland and Katey and Da7e genuinely want to hear how it went. Sometimes the podcast is just what we want it to be…most times…all the time. Take a listen, embed and/or download below; for more from all of us, follow on BlueSky! Follow the show (@fitwr.bsky.social), Katey (@kateyrich.bsky.social), Da7e (@da7e.bsky.social), Patches (@misterpatches.bsky.social), and David (@davidehrlich.bsky.social). One of TIME Magazine’s Top 100 Podcasts of All Time Please subscribe on iTunes and KICK US A REVIEW if you like what you hear! FORMAT <p id="block-520adf82-5e25-4b7b-90d1-e3fb6
This week, the hosts have to deal with Spring Break and the various trips for people not named David. Patches is absent entirely on the West Coast attending Disneyland and visiting family. Katey is also visiting family, but finds some time to call in to hear Da7e talk about Super Mario Galaxy while her kids watch Wreck It Ralph in another room. Before that, David calls from his laptop near his kids to talk about how book writing is going and the new trailer for A24’s The Backrooms. Da7e’s just around, seeing some movies, watching some trailers. Take a listen, embed and/or download below; for more from all of us, follow on BlueSky! Follow the show (@fitwr.bsky.social), Katey (@kateyrich.bsky.social), Da7e (@da7e.bsky.social), Patches (@misterpatches.bsky.social), and David (@davidehrlich.bsky.social). One of TIME Magazine’s Top 100 Podcasts of All Time Please subscribe on iTunes and KICK US A REVIEW if you like what you hear!
This week, OpenAI killed Sora 2 while Da7e wasn’t paying attention, so Katey, Patches, and David fill him in on the death of the copyright-violation machine. Then, Patches has been saving Big Questions for this exact podcast moment: what toothpastes do the hosts use? Finally, after a month of promising, we all review Project Hail Mary, which most of us seemed to enjoy (some of us despite ourselves). Take a listen, embed and/or download below; for more from all of us, follow on BlueSky! Follow the show (@fitwr.bsky.social), Katey (@kateyrich.bsky.social), Da7e (@da7e.bsky.social), Patches (@misterpatches.bsky.social), and David (@davidehrlich.bsky.social). One of TIME Magazine’s Top 100 Podcasts of All Time Please subscribe on iTunes and KICK US A REVIEW if you like what you hear! FORMAT 00:00 – Lightning Round: Rideable Dinosaur 02:45 – Intro – Welcome to Episode 540! E-Mail 09:25 – Tidbit – Sora is Dead 23:00 – Mini-Seg
This week, Da7e tells the other hosts about The AI Doc or How I Became an Apocaloptimist, a movie that is mostly vibes. Which is good because the other hosts are here for a vibe-heavy episode talking about last Sunday’s 98th Annual Academy Awards! What were the thoughts outside of the Sinners vs One Battle […]
This week, Da7e saw some movies, I guess. First, Da7e tries to sell David, Patches, and Katey on The Bride! which is the kind of big swings that should be happening in early March, says he. Then, Da7e saw undertone an A24 horror movie about a podcast gone wrong and thinks people might like it […]
This week, everyone manages to make it back into the War Room, but also manage to not mention the very real war that started since last episode. Don’t worry, though, a Canadian listener writes in prompting David to give hockey opinions and all of us to give dour patriotism opinions. Then, into the show, as […]
This week, a huge snow storm on the east coast shut down David’s access to the internet, breaking his Fighting In The War Room streak. Your other three hosts – Patches, Katey, and Da7e – all assemble in the war room and forsake both David’s streak and the format of the podcast. This not-an-episode chat […]
CEASE AND DECEASE! This week, David continues his streak on what he insists is his fourth of seven consecutive weeks on the podcast, but Patches felt ill, so Katey and Da7e get the pleasure of pre-colonoscopy David. First, Da7e and David discuss Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie, a very-Canadian movie in theaters now […]
This week, David continues his streak on what he insists is his third of seven consecutive weeks on the podcast, but Katey Rich had to be in Los Angeles for awards stuff. David and Patches listen to Da7e talk about Emerald Fennell’s very goopy “Wuthering Heights,” then Patches and David talk about the zen of […]
This week, David continues what he insists is his second of seven consecutive weeks on the podcast, and it turns out it’s because he’s on book leave. After talking about Heater Rivalry again because you wrote in about it, three of the hosts discuss Disneyland Handcrafted a new collection of documentary footage available on Disney […]
This week, David begins what he claimed was seven consecutive weeks on the podcast by giving an overview of what he saw at the final Park City Sundance. He mentions Closure, I Want Your Sex, The Invite, The Shitheads, Rachel Lambert’s Carousel, Zi, Josephine and The History of Concrete (and didn’t seem to like too […]
This week, Katey and Da7e were the only hosts who could make it to the war room, so instead of doing a traditional episode, the two talk about how there’s some good television out there! Da7e finally started Heated Rivalry (Katey has seen it all), and Katey tries to explain why this gay hockey show […]
“Did that come out yet?” We’re back at it again, ranking our favorite movies of last year in one long podcast! This year, we even beat David’s video countdown by about a week, so we’re historically ahead of schedule. Below you will find this year’s format with timestamps for when we discuss a particular entry […]
This week, David is doing a Q&A about something, so Katey, Patches, and Da7e gather in the war room to review TRAIN DREAMS (on Netflix! It’s good!) and MARTY SUPREME (in theaters! It’s also good!) and talk about Katey’s family time at Disney World and why her children will be amongst the first to stream […]
This week, everyone is back in the War Room one more time in 2025 to talk about the third Avatar film from James Cameron – Avatar: Fire and Ash. We all recommend you see this movie if you are worried about spoilers, because we freely talk about everything, including the end of the film. The […]
This week, David is… somewhere. Katey, Patches, and Da7e get together in the War Room to talk about the 2025 Box Office pre-Avatar, Zootopia 2 going down easy like hot chocolate, then they talk about Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery which is in some theaters and definitely on Netflix. There is a […]
This week, we have a bifurcated episode between pairs of hosts. Katey and David take main hosting duties with an intro and a listener e-mail, then they hand to Patches and Da7e to talk about how the sale of Warner Bros is going to change Hollywood. Then, Katey and David Heroically return to talk about […]
This week, we have replaced a still-absent David with Ben Hosley from the Blank Check podcast and producer/creator of the Slow Xmas music project or “bit” that we also discuss on this episode. If you want to buy a vinyl copy of SLOW XMAS 5 head to madebymutant.com You can also buy it digitally at […]
This week, David is out but Katey is back in, even after spending a stressful week reorganizing her community to respond to the governments immigration enforcement thugs. For a mini-segment, Patches is anticipating another AVATAR movie this year and is wondering if that kind of blockbuster motion-capture movie can be replicated after James Cameron is […]
This week, Katey had to be out to see movies, but the boys return to the virtual war room to talk about Predator: Badlands (in theaters now!) and Frankenstein (on Netflix now!). David also asks why we only seem to remake movies that were okay to begin with. Slight spoilers for Badlands and Frankenstein sprinkled […]
This week, Patches and Katey flew out to Denver to join Da7e, Denver Film Festival Artistic Director Matthew Campbell, and Denver Film Festival CEO Kevin Smith to have a conversation about fighting about movies in front of a live audience. We haven’t done that in over a decade! This week’s episode was recorded live, but […]
We didn’t say they were good movies. It’s another Fighting in The War Room Quarter Quell! But the FIRST one since being named one of TIME Magazine’s Top 100 Podcasts of All Time… For this edition of a FITWR Quarter Quell, each host brought a movie about a subject that actually scares them. Katey confronts her fear […]
This week, Patches was tired and David hadn’t seen the movies, so Katey and Da7e DARE TO GO OFF FORMAT for this really-really-really last episode before next week’s Quarter Quell. For the first half of the show, David, Katey and Da7e announce FITWR’s next two weeks (Quarter Quell! Live Show in Denver!), read your reviews […]
This week, Da7e was off seeing Black Phone 2 where Ethan Hawke stalks the snowbound dreams of Colorado teens, and the other co-hosts make fun of him for it. First, Katey wants to talk about one of her favorite TV shows of the year, the five-part series Mr. Scorsese on Apple TV Plus. Then, Patches has […]
This week, Patches and Da7e have been watching the old Nightmare on Elm Street sequels on HBO Max and Patches wonders if we’re missing something in modern horror. Then, Patches and David got to meet the stars of K-Pop Demon Hunters in New York, did they earn more cred with their kids? Finally, Katey, David, […]
This week, everyone is back in the war room! The guys talk about Season 1 of Alien: Earth which has recently concluded on Hulu and it seems like they’re mostly positive on it. Then, we get a dispatch from Patches’ father who has seen The Wizard of Oz at the Sphere in Las Vegas. Finally, […]
This week, David’s solo-parenting attempt left him unable to podcast, so we decided to save our discussion of Alien: Earth and One Battle After Another until next week. Katey, Patches, and Da7e get together this week to discuss seemingly nonsense that quickly boils over. First, we attempt to talk about one studio’s panic in the […]
This week, David’s coming in hot and is mad that Da7e saw HIM over doing this podcast. Katey listens as Patches and David inform her about the Hollow Knight sequel Silksong before talking about Megadoc, the Megalopolis documentary with David. Then, Everyone talks about the VULTURE MOVIE LEAGUE and what they’re picking this year. Sign […]
This week, Katey is still in Toronto, but the boys get together to talk about The Long Walk, this year’s third Stephen King movie, and discuss the breaking news that Paramount/Skydance is considering putting in a bid on Warner Bros. While the boys worry, Katey calls in with (her new fancy Tik Tok microphone that […]
This week, Da7e has to go see a dumb demon movie to round out the summer, so Katey and David of FITWR’s Prestige coverage meet Matt Patches, he of random prompts. First, David reports from this year’s Telluride Film Festival. Then, Patches has some general questions for his co-podcasters before all three move into a […]
This week, David has begun his festival run for the season so it’s up to Katey, Patches, and Da7e to hold down the podcast. First, the boys talk the future of Star Trek, a major priority for the new Paramount. Then, Da7e tells Katey and Patches how much he would have liked The Roses if […]
This week, David is so busy he only wanted to be on the Spike Lee/Denzel segment, but before David joins us for a review of Highest 2 Lowest, it’s an animation-palooza! First, Da7e and Katey both took in the highest grossing movie of the year Ne Zha II and we’re cooked! Then, Patches took his […]
This week, we’re having a great time laughing at movies, some of them comedies! First, Da7e inspired Patches to watch Universal’s DISASTROUS War of the Worlds (on Prime Video) that might be one of the worst movies ever. Then, Da7e downloads about enjoying Freakier Friday 22 years after the original. Finally, everyone saw The Naked […]
This week, we’re having a great time laughing at movies, some of them comedies! First, Da7e inspired Patches to watch Universal’s DISASTROUS War of the Worlds (on Prime Video) that might be one of the worst movies ever. Then, Da7e downloads about enjoying Freakier Friday 22 years after the original. Finally, everyone saw The Naked […]
This week, being named one of TIME MAGAZINE’S BEST 100 PODCASTS OF ALL TIME has driven everyone into the War Room, from parent’s houses to Canadian hotel rooms. This week, Katey got some of us to watch Happy Gilmore 2 on Netflix. Then, Da7e tries to explain how the TV show he most consistently watched […]
This week, Katey Rich has gone to the beach (hopefully not the Old beach), leaving the three guys in the War Room where they try to figure out if budget or politics rules at CBS/Paramount, Patches is having a lot of fun breaking everything in Donkey Kong Bonanza on his Switch 2, and Da7e can […]
This week, David “suddenly” was on vacation (?), so Da7e, Patches, and Katey head into the War Room. Patches tries to sell the group on the very popular (and Patches says better-than-Superman) K-Pop Demon Hunters on Netflix. Katey tries to sell Da7e who has no kids on Phineas and Ferb, then all three of them […]
This week, everyone is back in the War Room and Katey’s seen all the things. First, everyone finally takes on Sorry, Baby an indie debut that is rolling out across the nation this week. Then, Katey and Da7e were the only two who didn’t give up on Hulu’s The Bear (Season 4). Finally, everyone tries […]
This week, Katey and Patches are off on vacation as Da7e and David Ehrlich convene on a Wednesday evening to talk about last weekend’s big box office win: F1 ® The Movie. Then they talk about this weekend’s upcoming box office win (if you believe the tracking): Jurassic World Rebirth. Finally, Da7e and David fix […]
This week, Katey and Patches both had children who had seen Pixar’s Elio in theaters but were home sick, so as responsible parents, they were used for content – this week’s mini segment! Also, David Ehrlich has played more Death Stranding 2: On the Beach than most people on Earth at this point, and he […]
This week, Da7e is out seeing movies, so Katey, Patches, and David slam together to talk about Tom Cruise getting an Honorary Academy Award this year, Katey’s kids kinda MEH’d the new How To Train Your Dragon, then Katey and David go at Materialists, Celine Song’s follow-up to Past Lives. There’s a SPOILER GONG in […]
This week, Da7e and David get to weigh in on Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme (and are pretty nice to it, maybe?), then a very tired Patches reports back from this year’s Summer Game Fest in Los Angeles (the only thing happening in that city is Summer Game Fest, right?), then Katey and Da7e talk […]
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