• It Happened One Night
    Dec 15 2024

    00:10 Intro

    02:04 The White Parade, copyright, and availability

    09:02 Which ones did we watch?

    10:45 It Happened One Night

    11:53 It was the Valentine's Day episode about rom-coms in 2022

    15:10 Bob's a little off; Miami was 110,000 in 1930, up from less than 30,000 in 1920

    20:05 Bob did! See above.

    20:57 The end of the Pre-Code era

    23:23 Cleopatra

    28:13 Imitation of Life

    33:18 Flirtation Walk

    38:05 The Gay Divorcee

    45:06 The Thin Man

    49:25 Drunks on film

    53:37 Of Human Bondage

    59:06 And the Winner Should Have Been...

    01:03:45 Upcoming episodes

    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 7 mins
  • Ralph Fiennes
    Sep 28 2024

    This week we talk about the films of Ralph Fiennes. We haven't seen all his movies, but we have seen a goodly number. If you're afraid of the sneaky and nefarious SPOILER, you probably ought to be cautious since we fear it not.


    00:10 Intro and the topic

    02:40 Fiennes and the theater (theatre?)

    06:11 Bob attempts to categorize Fiennes' films

    07:05 Bob's very wrong about Macbeth being on streaming

    08:00 The bulk of Fiennes' movies

    13:37 Fiennes as villain

    16:03 The Avengers (1998) Bob will be wrong a few seconds later about Fiennes being the villain (it's Sean Connery); not only that, Fiennes plays the hero, which would have been a good thing to have looked up before having the rest of this conversation. Do your homework, kids!

    16:51 Our discussion of The English Patient

    19:18 "Never" the hero? Didn't you guys just say he was the hero of The King's Man? Tells you how forgettable that film was.

    20:13 Fiennes is an actor not a star?

    26:31 Work in children's films

    31:46 Odds and ends

    37:19 Getting off topic and talking about physical media

    43:27 Favorite Ralph Fiennes film

    47:25 Digression about commentaries, food, other nonsense

    51:24 Least favorite Ralph Fiennes film

    54:51 Winding down; upcoming episode

    56:45 Quick mention of two upcoming films


    Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode

    Show More Show Less
    58 mins
  • Terminators 1-3
    Sep 7 2024

    Bob jumps straight into the topic this episode with SPOILERS from the very start. This episode we assume that you have at least a familiarity with the basic plot of the Terminator films even if, like Mark, you've never seen them. We discuss the first three films and ignore the latter three (which neither Bob nor Mark has seen). Enjoy!


    00:10 Intro

    00:45 Mark had not seen The Terminator; cultural significance and Schwarzenegger

    05:37 Evolution from conclusive to open-ended

    08:42 The Terminator

    12:30 Does James Cameron care more about technical filmmaking than the story elements?

    20:04 Masking the antagonist in Terminator 2

    23:10 Linda Hamilton/Sarah Connor

    25:41 Which is best and supporting cast

    27:43 Terminator 3 is a real step down

    31:12 Schwarzenegger is inextricably linked with the Terminator

    34:05 Rough story moments in the second filmmaking

    35:21 Edward Furlong - American History X

    36:25 Robert Patrick

    37:10 Kristanna Loken

    40:25 Time travel and its problems

    44:07 Special effects

    48:35 Mild spoilers(?) for Reacher season 2

    49:27 Prosthetic effects in The Terminator

    52:08 Actor miscellany

    56:35 Winding down


    Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode

    Show More Show Less
    59 mins
  • 2024 Midpoint
    Aug 19 2024

    We return triumphantly with...a filler episode! Okay, they can't all be about timeless classics. This episode we look back at what we've seen so far and what is on the horizon. Mostly it's not great, but there were a few gems and several films which augur well. Minimal spoilers too! Enjoy!


    00:17 Intro (and the brief return of the clicky pen!)

    04:32 Bob's Top 5 of 2024 (so far)

    08:32 Mark's movie-going (or lack thereof)

    11:34 Bob raves about Perfect Days

    13:58 What *should* movies be about? Are we jaded?

    19:40 So many sequels/remakes on the horizon

    23:57 The War of the Rohirrim

    24:58 Writers strike and streaming

    28:23 Movies we're looking forward to

    31:38 Movies we *aren't* looking forward to

    32:58 Back to The War of the Rohirrim

    35:35 Upcoming release dates

    42:14 Ralph Fiennes

    44:00 Terminator(s)

    45:49 Wrapping up


    Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode

    Show More Show Less
    49 mins
  • Denzel Washington
    Jul 10 2024

    00:00 Intro

    04:54 Starting the topic

    06:55 What's the key understanding?

    12:10 A role departure for Denzel Washington

    15:57 Mark's choice for a unique Washington role

    22:20 Another, similar, actor

    23:52 It's not necessarily bad...

    26:10 Glory

    29:02 Comparing to Tom Cruise

    31:51 Man on Fire vs The Equalizer

    36:02 (It was from Sicario. -Ed.)

    36:29 Noble self-sacrifice

    39:42 Roman J. Israel, Esq.

    41:40 Inside Man

    43:00 Training Day

    43:22 Mojo Jojo?

    45:45 Wrapping up? No, of course not quite yet.

    47:39 Much Ado About Nothing

    50:05 Unstoppable

    51:27 Two Guns

    53:44 Manchurian Candidate(s)

    55:40 Wrapping up for reals this time

    Show More Show Less
    57 mins
  • Jane Austen Adaptations
    Jun 6 2024

    Back this episode to talk about Jane Austen adaptations. There are many, but we only have time to watch and discuss a handful. At first Bob and Mark seem to be on the same page, but by the end...well, you'll hear. As ever, SPOILERS, but really, these stories are 200 years old. If you don't know them already, that's on you.


    00:00 Introduction

    2:28 Austen adaptations

    7:25 Pride and Prejudice (1995 and 2005)

    14:30 Bob compares it to Ozu, because of course he does, and we discuss the stories as a group

    20:58 Persuasion (1995)

    25:11 Social conventions

    33:31 Emma (1996 and 2020)

    40:29 Sense and Sensibility (1995)

    47:30 Bob and Mark disagree vehemently on the relative quality of the films, then Sense and Sensibility specifically

    51:47 Mark finds watching a group of similar movies back to back diminishes his enjoyment

    52:36 The perils of watching a lot of movies

    56:30 Wrapping up

    58:31 Baseball!

    Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
    Music:
    Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode

    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 1 min
  • Akira Kurosawa Part II
    May 4 2024
    This time it's the back half of a pair of episodes on Kurosawa. As ever, we're talking about the films with the assumption that you'll have seen them, so beware the fearsome SPOILER. Mark picked the movies for Part I and Bob has picked the films for Part II. We also talk a little about Shane and A Fistful of Dollars. Enjoy!00:10 Intro to Part 207:37 Yojimbo10:36 A Fistful of Dollars11:12 Accounts vary about exactly how much Kurosawa received, but he did win his lawsuit14:41 "Gamblers" as...
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 12 mins
  • Akira Kurosawa Part I
    Apr 16 2024
    First of a pair of episodes about the great Japanese director Akira Kurosawa. Mark is dipping into his ouevre for the first time and Bob is revisiting many of his favorite movies. Featuring SPOILERS throughout, but also the return of the clicky pen! Listen at your own risk.00:10 Episode introduction04:08 Seven Samurai19:50 Wrong, Bob; three left20:10 Wrong again; 4 of 720:34 (Seems to be an audio error in the original recording dropping a fraction of a second...)25:14 The ending of Seven Samu...
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 4 mins