Fan Effect

Andy Farnsworth joins KSL-TV to help audiences decipher #WhatToWatch for the weekend of August 8, 2025.  The sequel "Freakier Friday" takes a lot from the 2003 "Freaky Friday" movie, but it's still fun to see Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis trading bodies with a couple of teenagers.  It's also got a good message about seeing things from others' perspectives. Other options include a couple of scary movies... one that could be a good test to see if your kids can *handle* scary movies called "Sketch" from Angel Studios. And NOT for kids, a film called "Weapons"... it's still a freak-you-out and make you nervous and uncomfortable for two hours kind of scary movie.  Finally, on streaming on Amazon Prime Video, you could check out Eddie Murphy, Pete Davidson, Keke Palmer, and Eva Longoria in "The Pickup".  You gotta like Pete Davidson, though, to enjoy this at all...and that may be too much to ask for some.

The brains behind Fan Effect are connoisseurs of categories surpassing nerdy, with a goal to publish a weekly "What to Watch on the Weekend" minisode taken from KSL-TV's Friday segment, and two deep-dives a month on shows, creative works, artists, local events, and other fandom topics. 

Based in the beautiful beehive state, Fan Effect celebrates Utah's unique fan culture as it has been declared The Nerdiest State in America by TIME, and is hosted by KSL Movie Show's Andy Farnsworth and KSL Podcasts' KellieAnn Halvorsen. 

Listen regularly on your favorite platform, at kslnewsradio.com, or on the KSLNewsRadio App. Join the conversation on Facebook @FanEffectShow, or Instagram @FanEffectShow.

Fan Effect is sponsored by Megaplex Theatres, Utah's premier movie entertainment company.

The 2025 "Freakier Friday" sequel to the 2003 "Freaky Friday" is a fun-filled, heartfelt, drama-fueled comedic ride—a practically perfect (for its purpose) Summer movie for women and audiences of all ages.

To prepare for the feature, producer KellieAnn Halvorsen read the original (and very outdated) 1972 book by Mary Rogers, watched the campy 1976 version "Freaky Friday," re-watched her generation's version with the Lindesy Lohan movie (2003), as well as the 2018 musical version. Now she is joined again by her honorary niece Adele Kemp (now 15 years old, featured previously on our deep dive into "Inside Out 2" and as the main child of KSL NewsRadio's Quarters for Chrismas radio drama, "A Pocket Change Christmas") and HallMarkies Podcast host/Rachel's Reviews writer, Rachel Wagner, to explore the movie and it's body-swapping legacy. Our first segment is spoiler-free!

The brains behind Fan Effect are connoisseurs of categories surpassing nerdy, with a goal to publish a weekly "What to Watch on the Weekend" minisode taken from KSL-TV's Friday segment, and two deep-dives a month on shows, creative works, artists, local events, and other fandom topics. 

Based in the beautiful beehive state, Fan Effect celebrates Utah's unique fan culture as it has been declared The Nerdiest State in America by TIME, and is hosted by KSL Movie Show's Andy Farnsworth and KSL Podcasts' KellieAnn Halvorsen. 

Listen regularly on your favorite platform, at kslnewsradio.com, or on the KSLNewsRadio App. Join the conversation on Facebook @FanEffectShow, or Instagram @FanEffectShow.

Fan Effect is sponsored by Megaplex Theatres, Utah's premier movie entertainment company.

Andy Farnsworth joins KSL-TV to help audiences decipher #WhatToWatch for the weekend of August 1, 2025. The big movie this week is a reboot/sequel titled "The Naked Gun," starring Liam Neeson in the slapstick farce about a group of hilarious idiots called Police Squad. Andy hasn’t laughed this hard in a movie for a long time, even if it did get a little vulgar at times. Another funny sequel is "The Bad Guys 2," an animated family movie about a group of anthropomorphic animal former bad guys who are getting framed for crimes they're not committing by a group of bad gals. Andy highly recommends Netflix’s new documentary, "WWE: Unreal," a must-watch for pro-wrestling fans. And after a bit of a delay, Netflix also has a mostly satisfying sequel with “Happy Gilmore 2.” 

The brains behind Fan Effect are connoisseurs of categories surpassing nerdy, with a goal to publish a weekly "What to Watch on the Weekend" minisode taken from KSL-TV's Friday segment, and two deep-dives a month on shows, creative works, artists, local events, and other fandom topics. 

Based in the beautiful beehive state, Fan Effect celebrates Utah's unique fan culture as it has been declared The Nerdiest State in America by TIME, and is hosted by KSL Movie Show's Andy Farnsworth and KSL Podcasts' KellieAnn Halvorsen. 

Listen regularly on your favorite platform, at kslnewsradio.com, or on the KSLNewsRadio App. Join the conversation on Facebook @FanEffectShow, or Instagram @FanEffectShow.

Fan Effect is sponsored by Megaplex Theatres, Utah's premier movie entertainment company.

Andy Farnsworth joins KSL-TV to help audiences decipher #WhatToWatch for the weekend of July 25, 2025.  Andy had high hopes for Marvel's latest superhero movie, "The Fantastic Four: First Steps," and was mostly pleased with the result. Director Matt Shakman got the family dynamic right and didn't over-rely on action, plus had a (dare we say?) fantastic retro-futuristic design. In the second segment of our episode, we even have our good friend Natalie Mollinet of Nat’s Nerd Knowledge giving her quick review, as producer KellieAnn is on vacation. 

Also out this weekend are a couple of indie movies that were very compelling, including "Sorry, Baby," a Sundance 2025 award-winner about a college professor coping and trying to move on after being assaulted by her own professor years before. "Shosana" gives us a look at the conflict between Zionists and the British rulers in the 1930s and 40's in Tel Aviv through the eyes of a Jewish reporter and her fiancé, a British policeman assigned there.

Sadly, not featured on this review rundown, but not available on Netflix, "Happy Gilmore 2" is a sequel that Adam Sandler fans, like Andy, can’t wait to watch. 

The brains behind Fan Effect are connoisseurs of categories surpassing nerdy, with a goal to publish a weekly "What to Watch on the Weekend" minisode taken from KSL-TV's Friday segment, and two deep-dives a month on shows, creative works, artists, local events, and other fandom topics. 

Based in the beautiful beehive state, Fan Effect celebrates Utah's unique fan culture as it has been declared The Nerdiest State in America by TIME, and is hosted by KSL Movie Show's Andy Farnsworth and KSL Podcasts' KellieAnn Halvorsen. 

Listen regularly on your favorite platform, at kslnewsradio.com, or on the KSLNewsRadio App. Join the conversation on Facebook @FanEffectShow, or Instagram @FanEffectShow.

Fan Effect is sponsored by Megaplex Theatres, Utah's premier movie entertainment company.

In this special episode of Fan Effect, ripped from the streams of our friend Rachel Wagner at the Hallmarkies Podcast, producer KellieAnn Halvorsen discusses the latest “Superman” movie, and in particular, the lasting love of Lois Lane and Clark Kent. Darin Lundberg of the NostalgiaCast Podcast joins Rachel and KellieAnn for a masculine perspective on the beloved pair. Not only do they dive into a (spoiler-filled) review of the 2025/James Gunn’s version of the Man of Steel, but they look deeply into the 1978 “Superman: The Movie,” which provides a great foundational gateway for learning about The Man from Krypton. 

The brains behind Fan Effect are connoisseurs of categories surpassing nerdy, with a goal to publish a weekly "What to Watch on the Weekend" minisode taken from KSL-TV's Friday segment, and two deep-dives a month on shows, creative works, artists, local events, and other fandom topics. 

Based in the beautiful beehive state, Fan Effect celebrates Utah's unique fan culture as it has been declared The Nerdiest State in America by TIME, and is hosted by KSL Movie Show's Andy Farnsworth and KSL Podcasts' KellieAnn Halvorsen. 

Listen regularly on your favorite platform, at kslnewsradio.com, or on the KSLNewsRadio App. Join the conversation on Facebook @FanEffectShow, or Instagram @FanEffectShow.

Fan Effect is sponsored by Megaplex Theatres, Utah's premier movie entertainment company.

Andy Farnsworth joins KSL-TV to help audiences decipher #WhatToWatch for the weekend of July 18, 2025. A reboot of a Saturday morning cartoon from the 1980s, "Smurfs," has a handful of funny moments and some decent animation, but otherwise is just for the little ones. “Eddington” might give you PTSD flashbacks to the early days of the COVID pandemic of 2020 as Joaquin Phoenix and Pedro Pascal battle it out for mayor of a fictional New Mexico town.

On streaming, a really solid series called "Untamed" on Netflix has Eric Bana trying to solve a young adult's mysterious death in Yosemite National Park. And for you Trekies out there, a new season of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" on Paramount+ brings back the entertaining adventures of the crew of the USS Enterprise back before the days of Captain Kirk. (According to producer KellieAnn, it’s a “must-watch” for sci-fi fans.)

The brains behind Fan Effect are connoisseurs of categories surpassing nerdy, with a goal to publish a weekly "What to Watch on the Weekend" minisode taken from KSL-TV's Friday segment, and two deep-dives a month on shows, creative works, artists, local events, and other fandom topics. 

Based in the beautiful beehive state, Fan Effect celebrates Utah's unique fan culture as it has been declared The Nerdiest State in America by TIME, and is hosted by KSL Movie Show's Andy Farnsworth and KSL Podcasts' KellieAnn Halvorsen. 

Listen regularly on your favorite platform, at kslnewsradio.com, or on the KSLNewsRadio App. Join the conversation on Facebook @FanEffectShow, or Instagram @FanEffectShow.

Fan Effect is sponsored by Megaplex Theatres, Utah's premier movie entertainment company.

Andy Farnsworth joins KSL-TV to help audiences decipher #WhatToWatch for the weekend of July 11, 2025. The big question of the weekend is whether James Gunn can pull off a film about one of the most famous superheroes of all time. Thankfully, according to both Andy and producer KellieAnn’s opinions, he nailed it! “Superman” is fun, vibrant, and enjoyable! Producer KellieAnn even joined our friends at the Hallmarkies podcast to talk about the film and the iconic romance of Clark Kent and Lois Lane. 

For streaming options, "Brick" on Netflix is an intriguing premise but not a great follow-through. It is hampered by some dubbing issues (it's originally in German), and some over-the-top violent moments mean it is not for all audiences. Andy did like Maggie Q's new streaming series "Ballard" on Prime Video, a spinoff of "Bosch" that is a fairly standard police mystery procedural and is an enjoyable watch. 

The brains behind Fan Effect are connoisseurs of categories surpassing nerdy, with a goal to publish a weekly "What to Watch on the Weekend" minisode taken from KSL-TV's Friday segment, and two deep-dives a month on shows, creative works, artists, local events, and other fandom topics. 

Based in the beautiful beehive state, Fan Effect celebrates Utah's unique fan culture as it has been declared The Nerdiest State in America by TIME, and is hosted by KSL Movie Show's Andy Farnsworth and KSL Podcasts' KellieAnn Halvorsen. 

Listen regularly on your favorite platform, at kslnewsradio.com, or on the KSLNewsRadio App. Join the conversation on Facebook @FanEffectShow, or Instagram @FanEffectShow.

Fan Effect is sponsored by Megaplex Theatres, Utah's premier movie entertainment company.

"Jurassic World: Rebirth" is poised to be one of the biggest blockbusters of the summer, as the seventh in a long legacy of Jurassic Park movies. On this episode of Fan Effect, host and producer KellieAnn Halvorsen is joined by her 13-year-old nephew Cole Halvorsen, who is also a massive dino-fan. The movie, featuring a new cast, including the stunning Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Bailey, is a blend of action, peril, and all your favorite movie tropes. 

The movie somehow balances nostalgia with originality, incorporating elements from previous films and introducing new characters and dinosaurs. While not a perfect movie, it really is a perfect popcorn movie! Our first segment is spoiler-free, then we dive deeply into the Jurassic Park franchise, movie magic, and why we love these ancient creatures so so much! 

The brains behind Fan Effect are connoisseurs of categories surpassing nerdy with a goal to publish a weekly "What to Watch on the Weekend" minisode taken from KSL-TV's Friday segment, and two deep-dives a month on shows, creative works, artists, local events, and other fandom topics. 

Based in the beautiful beehive state, Fan Effect celebrates Utah's unique fan culture as it has been declared The Nerdiest State in America by TIME, and is hosted by KSL Movie Show's Andy Farnsworth and KSL Podcasts' KellieAnn Halvorsen. 

Listen regularly on your favorite platform, at kslnewsradio.com, or on the KSLNewsRadio App. Join the conversation on Facebook @FanEffectShow, or Instagram @FanEffectShow.

Fan Effect is sponsored by Megaplex Theatres, Utah's premier movie entertainment company.

Andy Farnsworth joins KSL-TV to help audiences decipher #WhatToWatch for the long Independence Day weekend. The dinosaurs are back on the big screen with "Jurassic World: Rebirth," which Andy thought was a highly enjoyable entry into the franchise. For weekend streaming: "The Old Guard 2" on Netflix has Charlize Theron back to kick some more butt leading a team of immortal mercenaries in the sequel to the 2020 film that was a surprising success. "Heads of State" on Prime Video could give you whiplash in an action-adventure comedy when the U.K. Prime Minister and U.S. President become the targets of a foreign adversary, starring John Cena & Idris Elba. 

After Andy finished giving his weekend mini-reviews, we include producer KellieAnn Halvorsen and her 13-year-old nephew’s spoiler-free review segment from our Deep Dive episode on “Jurassic World: Rebirth,” which comes out in full next week. 

The brains behind Fan Effect are connoisseurs of categories surpassing nerdy with a goal to publish a weekly "What to Watch on the Weekend" minisode taken from KSL-TV's Friday segment, and two deep-dives a month on shows, creative works, artists, local events, and other fandom topics. 

Based in the beautiful beehive state, Fan Effect celebrates Utah's unique fan culture as it has been declared The Nerdiest State in America by TIME, and is hosted by KSL Movie Show's Andy Farnsworth and KSL Podcasts' KellieAnn Halvorsen. 

Listen regularly on your favorite platform, at kslnewsradio.com, or on the KSLNewsRadio App. Join the conversation on Facebook @FanEffectShow, or Instagram @FanEffectShow.

Fan Effect is sponsored by Megaplex Theatres, Utah's premiere movie entertainment company.

Andy Farnsworth joins KSL-TV to help audiences decipher #WhatToWatch for the weekend of June 27, 2025. Even if you're not necessarily a racing fan, "F1 The Movie" (from the director/producer of Top Gun Maverick) is a spectacle worth checking out on the biggest screen and best sound possible. Also out is  "M3GAN 2.0", which kind of felt like "Terminator 2", but still was different enough to be fun.

And on streaming, it took Andy a couple of episodes to get the hang of "Ironheart" on Disney+ and he is hooked! It is the latest addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe series about a girl who builds her own Iron Man suit. Now, "Countdown" on Prime Video has some good action series moments and a decent cast. Still, it didn’t draw Andy in like the other shows this week. 

The brains behind Fan Effect are connoisseurs of categories surpassing nerdy with a goal to publish a weekly "What to Watch on the Weekend" minisode taken from KSL-TV's Friday segment, and two deep-dives a month on shows, creative works, artists, local events, and other fandom topics. 

Based in the beautiful beehive state, Fan Effect celebrates Utah's unique fan culture as it has been declared The Nerdiest State in America by TIME, and is hosted by KSL Movie Show's Andy Farnsworth and KSL Podcasts' KellieAnn Halvorsen. 

Listen regularly on your favorite platform, at kslnewsradio.com, or on the KSLNewsRadio App. Join the conversation on Facebook @FanEffectShow, or Instagram @FanEffectShow.

Fan Effect is sponsored by Megaplex Theatres, Utah's premier movie entertainment company.

Andy Farnsworth joins KSL-TV to help audiences decipher #WhatToWatch for the weekend of June 2o, 2025. The latest animated movie from Disney/Pixar, called "Elio," is our Big Movie of the Week, and it has some fun, imaginative elements that your kids will likely enjoy a little more than you. Producer KellieAnn Halvorsen even offers her own review of the non-sequel and non-boot film “Elio,” after Andy finishes his “What to watch?” segment.

If you're into the (non) zombies of "28 Days Later," then you'll check out "28 Years Later" and watch Jodie Comer and her son try to avoid infected folks while searching for a supposedly non-infected doctor living on the mainland. On streaming, "Frozen: The Broadway Musical" gets the "Hamilton" treatment on Disney+, with a filmed version of the live show.  And if you read the YA novel "We Were Liars," then you can check out the dramatized series adaptation on Prime Video.  

The brains behind Fan Effect are connoisseurs of categories surpassing nerdy with a goal to publish a weekly "What to Watch on the Weekend" minisode taken from KSL-TV's Friday segment, and two deep-dives a month on shows, creative works, artists, local events, and other fandom topics. 

Based in the beautiful beehive state, Fan Effect celebrates Utah's unique fan culture as it has been declared The Nerdiest State in America by TIME, and is hosted by KSL Movie Show's Andy Farnsworth and KSL Podcasts' KellieAnn Halvorsen. 

Listen regularly on your favorite platform, at kslnewsradio.com, or on the KSLNewsRadio App. Join the conversation on Facebook @FanEffectShow, or Instagram @FanEffectShow.

Fan Effect is sponsored by Megaplex Theatres, Utah's premier movie entertainment company.

Andy Farnsworth joins KSL-TV to help audiences decipher #WhatToWatch for the weekend of June 13, 2025. The excellent live-action remake of "How to Train Your Dragon" benefits from strong casting, the iconic musical score remaining largely unchanged, and the incorporation of additional characters. Fans of the animated movie and subsequent streaming series should be pleased.

Producer KellieAnn Halvorsen even offers her own review for the live-action film on today’s episode, after Andy finishes his “What to watch?” segment. 

Also out is "Materialists;” this one is a thoughtful look at relationships and marriage in the modern age, and poor Dakota Johnson, having to choose between Chris Evans and Pedro Pascal. And a new Western movie offers a change of pace, with Samuel L. Jackson and Pierce Brosnan starring in "The Unholy Trinity." For streaming, there's also a new film on Apple TV+ called "Echo Valley," starring Julianne Moore and Sydney Sweeney, but the characters were too unlikable for Andy. But Andy did enjoy the new movie "Deep Cover" over on Prime Video much more, but he didn't get to watch it in time to include it in this segment. 

The brains behind Fan Effect are connoisseurs of categories surpassing nerdy with a goal to publish a weekly "What to Watch on the Weekend" minisode taken from KSL-TV's Friday segment, and two deep-dives a month on shows, creative works, artists, local events, and other fandom topics. 

Based in the beautiful beehive state, Fan Effect celebrates Utah's unique fan culture as it has been declared The Nerdiest State in America by TIME, and is hosted by KSL Movie Show's Andy Farnsworth and KSL Podcasts' KellieAnn Halvorsen. 

Listen regularly on your favorite platform, at kslnewsradio.com, or on the KSLNewsRadio App. Join the conversation on Facebook @FanEffectShow, or Instagram @FanEffectShow.

Fan Effect is sponsored by Megaplex Theatres, Utah's premiere movie entertainment company.

This Summer, soft-launches a new first-of-its-kind family-friendly festival described by founder Julia Leviton as “Think Sundance meets Coachella” here in Utah. The “Eden Festival” has the lofty goal of uniting film, music, immersive technology, and gaming in a three-day event in 2025, and then a 10-day festival in 2026.  Fan Effect guest host, KSL NewsRadio's Heather Kelly, sat down with Leviton to discuss the ins and outs of birthing such an event and the growth they expect to see in the upcoming years. The festivals will feature concerts, workshops, and immersive experiences with various artists and in various venues.

The three-day festival’s “micro-launch” starts on June 10 at the Tracy Aviary in Liberty Park — and it’s already sold out. The second concert at the aviary will take place on June 12, with a third concert scheduled for later this summer at Thanksgiving Point. Visit EdenArtsFestival.com to learn more about this ongoing festival project. 

The brains behind Fan Effect are connoisseurs of categories surpassing nerdy with a goal to publish a weekly "What to Watch on the Weekend" minisode taken from KSL-TV's Friday segment, and two deep-dives a month on shows, creative works, artists, local events, and other fandom topics. 

Based in the beautiful beehive state, Fan Effect celebrates Utah's unique fan culture as it has been declared The Nerdiest State in America by TIME, and is hosted by KSL Movie Show's Andy Farnsworth and KSL Podcasts' KellieAnn Halvorsen. 

Listen regularly on your favorite platform, at kslnewsradio.com, or on the KSLNewsRadio App. Join the conversation on Facebook @FanEffectShow, or Instagram @FanEffectShow.

Fan Effect is sponsored by Megaplex Theatres, Utah's premier movie entertainment company.

Andy Farnsworth joins KSL-TV to help audiences decipher #WhatToWatch for the weekend of June 6, 2025. Ana de Armas holds her own in an action-packed entry to the John Wick mythos in “From the World of John Wick: Ballerina," and yes, John himself (Keanu Reeves) does make an appearance. The latest Wes Anderson film hits theaters with its appreciative creativity and precision in "The Phoenician Scheme.” Still, despite solid performances (including those from Kate Winslet's daughter, Mia Threapleton), the narrative left Andy with sheer frustration due to its incomprehensibility. And for streaming choices, Andy recommends "Stick" on Apple TV+ starring Owen Wilson as a disgraced former golfer who tries to shepherd/coach a talented teenager onto the pro tour. 

The brains behind Fan Effect are connoisseurs of categories surpassing nerdy with a goal to publish a weekly "What to Watch on the Weekend" minisode taken from KSL-TV's Friday segment, and two deep-dives a month on shows, creative works, artists, local events, and other fandom topics. 

Based in the beautiful beehive state, Fan Effect celebrates Utah's unique fan culture as it has been declared The Nerdiest State in America by TIME, and is hosted by KSL Movie Show's Andy Farnsworth and KSL Podcasts' KellieAnn Halvorsen. 

Listen regularly on your favorite platform, at kslnewsradio.com, or on the KSLNewsRadio App. Join the conversation on Facebook @FanEffectShow, or Instagram @FanEffectShow.

Fan Effect is sponsored by Megaplex Theatres, Utah's premier movie entertainment company.

Andy Farnsworth joins KSL-TV to help audiences decipher #WhatToWatch for the weekend of May 30, 2025. A new chapter in the Karate Kid movie saga is the big movie of the week!  "Karate Kid: Legends" sees Ralph Macchio return to the big screen as Daniel LaRusso, but in more of a sequel to the 2010s’ Jackie Chan "Karate Kid" movie. Still, at only 90 minutes long, it's worth checking out.

Streaming on HBO Max, you can check out the filmed-in-Utah movie "Mountainhead," which offers a VERY dark yet comedic look at a fictional group of uber-wealthy tech bros during worldwide economic turmoil. Then, over on Netflix, the new series set in the U.K. called "Dept Q" is a pretty good murder mystery series that's worth checking out for fans of the genre.

The brains behind Fan Effect are connoisseurs of categories surpassing nerdy with a goal to publish a weekly "What to Watch on the Weekend" minisode taken from KSL-TV's Friday segment, and two deep-dives a month on shows, creative works, artists, local events, and other fandom topics. 

Based in the beautiful beehive state, Fan Effect celebrates Utah's unique fan culture as it has been declared The Nerdiest State in America by TIME, and is hosted by KSL Movie Show's Andy Farnsworth and KSL Podcasts' KellieAnn Halvorsen. 

Listen regularly on your favorite platform, at kslnewsradio.com, or on the KSLNewsRadio App. Join the conversation on Facebook @FanEffectShow, or Instagram @FanEffectShow.

Fan Effect is sponsored by Megaplex Theatres, Utah's premier movie entertainment company.

Andy Farnsworth joins KSL-TV to help audiences decipher #WhatToWatch for Memorial Day Weekend 2025. There are no shortages of choices on what to watch this holiday weekend as summer blockbuster season starts with two beloved characters facing off in a box office battle for first place, “Stitch vs Ehan Hunt.” 

"Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning" features Tom Cruise's final(?) outing as super agent Ethan Hunt, who attempts to save the world alongside Hayley Atwell and other characters from an evil AI entity. The other movie that might win the box office this weekend is the live-action remake of Disney’s 2002 animated movie, "Lilo & Stitch,” which expands on the emotional theme of family, Ohana, from the original. 

Also in theaters, "Friendship" starring Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd will definitely be either the funniest thing you've seen in a theater in a long time (mainly for Gen Z'ers) or you'll be trying to figure out why other people are laughing. On streaming, "Fountain of Youth" sends Natalie Portman and John Krasinski after the fabled Fountain of Youth, as director Guy Ritchie combines parts from almost every other adventure movie of this type that you've ever seen and is actually still mostly fun!

The brains behind Fan Effect are connoisseurs of categories surpassing nerdy with a goal to publish a weekly "What to Watch on the Weekend" minisode taken from KSL-TV's Friday segment, and two deep-dives a month on shows, creative works, artists, local events, and other fandom topics. 

Based in the beautiful beehive state, Fan Effect celebrates Utah's unique fan culture as it has been declared The Nerdiest State in America by TIME, and is hosted by KSL Movie Show's Andy Farnsworth and KSL Podcasts' KellieAnn Halvorsen. 

Listen regularly on your favorite platform, at kslnewsradio.com, or on the KSLNewsRadio App. Join the conversation on Facebook @FanEffectShow, or Instagram @FanEffectShow.

Fan Effect is sponsored by Megaplex Theatres, Utah's premier movie entertainment company.

Andy Farnsworth joins KSL-TV to help audiences decipher #WhatToWatch for the weekend of May 16, 2025. While Andy had never seen any of the previous "Final Destination" movies before watching "Final Destination: Bloodlines," he did think it was clever and laughable, even if the genre wasn't his forte. But documentaries wond the weekend with Netflix's fascinating look at the internet-famous guy who ate liver (and other animal parts) raw to live an "ancestral lifestyle" in "Untold: The Liver King," and an excellent three-part series called "American Manhunt: Osama Bin Laden" that traces the search for the former World's Most Wanted man. Also on streaming, AppleTV+ has a comedic sci-fi series called "Murderbot" that Andy enjoyed watching.

The brains behind Fan Effect are connoisseurs of categories, surpassing nerdy with a goal to publish a weekly "What to Watch on the Weekend" minisode taken from KSL-TV's Friday segment, and two deep-dives a month on shows, creative works, artists, local events, and other fandom topics. 

Based in the beautiful beehive state, Fan Effect celebrates Utah's unique fan culture as it has been declared The Nerdiest State in America by TIME, and is hosted by KSL Movie Show's Andy Farnsworth and KSL Podcasts' KellieAnn Halvorsen. 

Listen regularly on your favorite platform, at kslnewsradio.com, or on the KSLNewsRadio App. Join the conversation on Facebook @FanEffectShow, or Instagram @FanEffectShow.

Fan Effect is sponsored by Megaplex Theatres, Utah's premier movie entertainment company.

Andy Farnsworth joins KSL-TV to help audiences decipher #WhatToWatch for the weekend of May 9, 2025. A colorful palette and an earnest attempt at modernizing the classic Shakespearean tale just weren't enough to make Andy like "Juliet & Romeo.” But he did like watching season 2 of "Poker Face" on Peacock, with Natasha Lyonne returning in the clever murder-of-the-week series with an incredible lineup of guest stars in this new season.

Also likable is "Nonnas", the new Vince Vaughn movie on Netflix. It's based on the true story of a guy on Long Island who opened a restaurant with grandmothers as chefs, cooking their favorite dishes for customers. And likeable for people other than Andy, "Fight or Flight" is an incredibly violent and bloody action comedy starring Josh Hartnett.  

The brains behind Fan Effect are connoisseurs of categories surpassing nerdy with a goal to publish a weekly "What to Watch on the Weekend" minisode taken from KSL-TV's Friday segment, and two deep-dives a month on shows, creative works, artists, local events, and other fandom topics. 

Based in the beautiful beehive state, Fan Effect celebrates Utah's unique fan culture as it has been declared The Nerdiest State in America by TIME, and is hosted by KSL Movie Show's Andy Farnsworth and KSL Podcasts' KellieAnn Halvorsen. 

Listen regularly on your favorite platform, at kslnewsradio.com, or on the KSLNewsRadio App. Join the conversation on Facebook @FanEffectShow, or Instagram @FanEffectShow.

Fan Effect is sponsored by Megaplex Theatres, Utah's premier movie entertainment company.

On this "What's Your Favorite Fandom?" episode of Fan Effect, Chris Graham of "Games & Things" returns to talk all things Tolkien. While J.R.R. Tolkien's works "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" always seemed to be a part of Producer KellieAnn's life (even her childhood dog was named after a character), Chris's introduction was more meandering yet meaningful. Together, they discuss the history, impact, and various versions of the beloved fantasy world of Tolkien, as well as how to enter the expansive fandom. 

With a world-building so vast, Chris has some recommended sources to explore all things Tolkien: the fan-created wiki the Tolkien Gateway, the 12-part book series History of Middle-Earth, "Tree and Leaf" which is Tolkien's more philosophical writing, "J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography" by Humphrey Carpenter, Deseret News' article talking to The Rings of Power' showrunner, and of course The Tolkien Professor, Dr. Corey Olsen. (Oh, and we can't forget to include KellieAnn's favorite Lembas Bread recipe to share with her fellow food-loving hobbits.)

The brains behind Fan Effect are connoisseurs of categories, surpassing nerdy, with a goal to publish a weekly "What to Watch on the Weekend" minisode taken from KSL-TV's Friday segment, and two deep-dives a month on shows, creative works, artists, local events, and other fandom topics. 

Based in the beautiful beehive state, Fan Effect celebrates Utah's unique fan culture as it has been declared The Nerdiest State in America by TIME, and is hosted by KSL Movie Show's Andy Farnsworth and KSL Podcasts' KellieAnn Halvorsen. 

Listen regularly on your favorite platform, at kslnewsradio.com, or on the KSLNewsRadio App. Join the conversation on Facebook @FanEffectShow, or Instagram @FanEffectShow.

Fan Effect is sponsored by Megaplex Theatres, Utah's premier entertainment destination. 

Andy Farnsworth joins KSL-TV to help audiences decipher #WhatToWatch for the weekend of May 2, 2025. Summer movie season unofficially gets underway this week with the release of "Thunderbolts*" from Marvel/Disney.  If you like the characters or you just like Marvel movies, you'll probably enjoy this. Another movie, this time on Amazon Prime Video, is "Another Simple Favor" from Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively, and director Paul Feig.  Hint, this sequel to the crime comedy ‘A Simple Favor' is goofy fun. And on Netflix, there is a comedy series called "The Four Seasons" from Steve Carell, Tina Fey, and Colman Domingo that's a remake of an old Alan Alda movie, but highly enjoyable for the more (ahem) mature viewer.

The brains behind Fan Effect are connoisseurs of categories surpassing nerdy with a goal to publish a weekly "What to Watch on the Weekend" minisode taken from KSL-TV's Friday segment, and two deep-dives a month on shows, creative works, artists, local events, and other fandom topics. 

Based in the beautiful beehive state, Fan Effect celebrates Utah's unique fan culture as it has been declared The Nerdiest State in America by TIME, and is hosted by KSL Movie Show's Andy Farnsworth and KSL Podcasts' KellieAnn Halvorsen. 

Listen regularly on your favorite platform, at kslnewsradio.com, or on the KSLNewsRadio App. Join the conversation on Facebook @FanEffectShow, or Instagram @FanEffectShow.

Fan Effect is sponsored by Megaplex Theatres, Utah's premier movie entertainment company.

May has a lineup of fun fandom holidays, and we are taking advantage of the fun this weekend. Producer KellieAnn is joined again by Jonathan Trujillo King of the Utah Arts Alliance, and new nerdly friend Roger Prows, co-owner of The Nerd Store(s).  Together, they discuss their involvement in the local comic, artistic, and pop culture world. Roger expands on the history of Free Comic Book Day, while Jonathan provides the details of Star Wars Day's impact. 

All three will be seen celebrating both holidays this weekend in downtown Salt Lake City (with the support and displays of our friends at FanX Salt Lake Comic Convention): The Urban Arts Gallery will have their local-artist-contributed Star Wars exhibit, Clark Planetarium will have some galactic photo opportunities with cosplayers, Dr.  Volt’s Comic Connection will have comic giveaways and many local comic creators, our FanX Hall of Fame Cosplayer friends will have a cosplay competition, there will be a Star Wars Dance party by the Utah Arts Alliance and much more more! 

The brains behind Fan Effect are connoisseurs of categories surpassing nerdy with a goal to publish a weekly "What to Watch on the Weekend" minisode taken from KSL-TV's Friday segment, and two deep-dives a month on shows, creative works, artists, local events, and other fandom topics. 

Based in the beautiful beehive state, Fan Effect celebrates Utah's unique fan culture as it has been declared The Nerdiest State in America by TIME, and is hosted by KSL Movie Show's Andy Farnsworth and KSL Podcasts' KellieAnn Halvorsen. 

Listen regularly on your favorite platform, at kslnewsradio.com, or on the KSLNewsRadio App. Join the conversation on Facebook @FanEffectShow, or Instagram @FanEffectShow.

Fan Effect is sponsored by Megaplex Theatres, Utah's premiere movie entertainment company.

Andy Farnsworth joins KSL-TV to help audiences decipher #WhatToWatch for the weekend of April 25, 2025. Ben Affleck returns as the assassin/accountant on the autism spectrum in “The Accountant 2,” and this follow-up features great chemistry with Jon Bernthal as his brother. Also in theaters is a locally made film about Utah's first Olympic gold medalist, titled “Raising the Bar: The Alma Richards Story,” by our Movie Show friend, Writer/Director T.C. Christensen. This is a faith-filled family film with a sprinkling of patriotism for extra measure and an all-over good sports story. 

On streaming, there's a new Tom Hardy movie on Netflix called “Havoc” with lots of bullets and lots of mess. And Star Wars fans are rejoicing as the second and final season of “Andor” hits DisneyPlus. Don't miss out on this tie-in to the 2016 movie “Rogue One,” as the lore of that galaxy far, far away is everything fans like Andy could hope for: nuanced, with plenty of intrigue, visually immersive, and even heartbreaking at times.

The brains behind Fan Effect are connoisseurs of categories surpassing nerdy with a goal to publish a weekly "What to Watch on the Weekend" minisode taken from KSL-TV's Friday segment, and two deep-dives a month on shows, creative works, artists, local events, and other fandom topics. 

Based in the beautiful beehive state, Fan Effect celebrates Utah's unique fan culture as it has been declared The Nerdiest State in America by TIME, and is hosted by KSL Movie Show's Andy Farnsworth and KSL Podcasts' KellieAnn Halvorsen. 

Listen regularly on your favorite platform, at kslnewsradio.com, or on the KSLNewsRadio App. Join the conversation on Facebook @FanEffectShow, or Instagram @FanEffectShow.

Fan Effect is sponsored by Megaplex Theatres, Utah's premier movie entertainment company.

Local filmmaker T.C. Christensen’s latest family-friendly and faith-forward film, "Raising the Bar: The Alma Richards Story," hits theaters April 24, 2025, and we are excited to learn all about the film. Producer KellieAnn Halvorsen crashes Andy Farnsworth’s conversation with T.C. for a KSL Movie Show Digital Extra, dissecting the story, the filming, and the power of storytelling with the film’s director and writer. Alma Richards was the first Utahn to win an Olympic gold medal, and in this spoiler-filled deep dive, T.C. shares his personal connection to the story, as his grandmother was Alma’s sister. 

Learn more about the film and the man at RaisingTheBarMovie.com. 

The brains behind Fan Effect are connoisseurs of categories surpassing nerdy with a goal to publish a weekly "What to Watch on the Weekend" minisode taken from KSL-TV's Friday segment, and two deep-dives a month on shows, creative works, artists, local events, and other fandom topics. 

Based in the beautiful beehive state, Fan Effect celebrates Utah's unique fan culture as it has been declared The Nerdiest State in America by TIME, and is hosted by KSL Movie Show's Andy Farnsworth and KSL Podcasts' KellieAnn Halvorsen. 

Listen regularly on your favorite platform, at kslnewsradio.com, or on the KSLNewsRadio App. Join the conversation on Facebook @FanEffectShow, or Instagram @FanEffectShow.

Fan Effect is sponsored by Megaplex Theatres, Utah's premiere movie entertainment company.

Andy Farnsworth joins KSL-TV to help audiences decipher #WhatToWatch for the weekend of April 18, 2025. While Andy is not a fan of horror movies, if vampire horror is your thing, "Sinners"  might appeal to you. He has to give credit to director Ryan Coogler and star Michael B. Jordan for making the deservingly R-rated movie into something pretty creative. Also in theaters, a so-so animated movie called "Sneaks" takes your *shoes* on a "Toy Story"-type adventure. And on streaming, a compelling documentary on Netflix called "Oklahoma City Bombing: American Terror" made Andy wish it were a miniseries rather than just a 90-minute film.

The brains behind Fan Effect are connoisseurs of categories surpassing nerdy with a goal to publish a weekly "What to Watch on the Weekend" minisode taken from KSL-TV's Friday segment, and two deep-dives a month on shows, creative works, artists, local events, and other fandom topics. 

Based in the beautiful beehive state, Fan Effect celebrates Utah's unique fan culture as it has been declared The Nerdiest State in America by TIME, and is hosted by KSL Movie Show's Andy Farnsworth and KSL Podcasts' KellieAnn Halvorsen. 

Listen regularly on your favorite platform, at kslnewsradio.com, or on the KSLNewsRadio App. Join the conversation on Facebook @FanEffectShow, or Instagram @FanEffectShow.

Fan Effect is sponsored by Megaplex Theatres, Utah's premiere movie entertainment company.

In our first FanX episode of 2025, guest host Heather Kelly from KSL NewsRadio is joined by FanX Salt Lake Comic & Pop Culture Convention founder Dan Farr to preview the September event. Last week, they announced one of the biggest celebrity guests in the universe, with actor David Tennant joining the lineup of out-of-this-world guests, including fellow space traveler William Shatner. #FanX25 is happening on September 25th - 27th, 2025, at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. Various passes and experiences are available to purchase now at FanXSaltLake.com, but prices tend to increase as we get closer to the event. 

Want to know the latest updates for FanX as they come? Make sure to subscribe to the FanX newsletter. Want to meet others who are interested and going to FanX? Join the private Facebook FanX® Salt Lake Comic Convention™ Group to meet and socialize with fellow attendees and cosplayers (like our Fan Effect Producer KellieAnn Halvorsen). 

The brains behind Fan Effect are connoisseurs of categories surpassing nerdy with a goal to publish a weekly "What to Watch on the Weekend" minisode taken from KSL-TV's Friday segment, and two deep-dives a month on shows, creative works, artists, local events, and other fandom topics. 

Based in the beautiful beehive state, Fan Effect celebrates Utah's unique fan culture as it has been declared The Nerdiest State in America by TIME, and is hosted by KSL Movie Show's Andy Farnsworth and KSL Podcasts' KellieAnn Halvorsen. 

Listen regularly on your favorite platform, at kslnewsradio.com, or on the KSLNewsRadio App. Join the conversation on Facebook @FanEffectShow, or Instagram @FanEffectShow.

Fan Effect is sponsored by Megaplex Theatres, Utah's premiere movie entertainment company.