Today we discuss Zemeckis’ “A Christmas Carol”, a motion capture style take on the classic story. The narrative is timeless and always works, and we especially appreciate Jim Carrey in the main role.
Join us as we discuss Greta Gerwig’s lovely take on “Little Women”. We discuss the film’s emotionality and brilliant structure, but we are a little divided on the ending. Nonetheless, 2”we think this is one to be watched and rewatched every Christmas.
Neste episódio damos um salto à Roménia com um dos filmes mais tensos a ter saído do país. Juntamente com Henrique Fialho, o nosso convidado, refletimos sobre o contexto histórico por detrás do aborto ilegal procurado pelas personagens principais, a incrível crueza formal do filme e a cena-chave que nos marcou como espectadores.
Today we talk about “The Iron Giant”, Brad Bird’s beautiful 90s animation film. We discuss Bird’s attention to the time period and his use of “camera” movement, all in the service of delivering a cute and heart-wrenching story. We also discuss if it’s easier to connect to The Iron Giant or to E.T..
00:00 Intro
01:17 First Impressions
04:10 E.T. vs Iron Giant
05:45 Can you connect to the Iron Giant?
09:40 The deer's death
10:40 Superman, ET and Iron Giant
11:55 Brad Bird
16:25 The robot's personality
17:15 The animation
20:16 Vintage aesthetic
22:02 The Beatnik and Father Figures
27:05 Hooked from the start
28:02 Setup and Payoff
Join us as we discuss Matt Farley’s underground classic “Local Legends”, a very fascinating film. It’s unconventional and rough around the edges, but with a unique perspective and captivating sense of humor. If you get on its wavelength, you’ll have a great time with this film.
00:00 Intro
01:07 A strange film
01:57 Getting on its wavelength
04:11 Artful amateurishness
06:02 Very thematically focused
07:41 The Comedy show at the beginning
10:05 Laughter?
11:42 Nathan Fielder
12:25 What is comedy? (see our review of Hal Hartley's "Trust")
16:56 We spent 10 minutes discussing the pre credits scene
19:40 The Romance subplot
22:38 Great Moments of Self-Awareness
24:15 The businessman character
28:35 The final show
31:22 What is a "loser"? What is "success"?
33:58 Resentment and Snobbery
34:52 Too much praise for the character??
38:19 We make peace
38:37 Why the acting works
41:41 How did you find Matt Farley?
Hoje falamos de “Floating Weeds” de Yasujiro Ozu. É um excelente filme deste realizador incrível, cujo estilo visual cria uma serenidade no espectador ao mesmo tempo que o filme evolui para algo mais emocionalmente explosivo do que seria de esperar.
Juntem-se à nossa discussão de “Seven Beauties”, o filme polémico e controverso de Lina Wertmüller. É um filme desafiante mas cheio de ideias, que utiliza a sua personagem principal charmoso e horrível para comunicar como o fascismo não aparece de um dia para o outro.
For Halloween we discuss the beloved “Train to Busan”. It’s a well built thrill machine, with great action and fun zombies, but we are a little disappointed by parts of the narrative and by the fact that it is a bit bland visually.
00:00 Intro
01:35 Fast vs Slow Zombies
05:10 Good and Bad things
06:10 Predictable Narrative?
07:00 Men and Women
08:50 Who created the virus?
10:33 Corny moment
11:50 Dialogue
13:00 It works emotionally
14:25 Slow transformation
15:46 World War Z
16:45 The Evil Businessman
18:02 Comparison to "The Descent"
23:50 Very Well Structured
It’s spooky season and we’re discussing “The Descent”, a cautionary tale on why you shouldn’t go caving. Despite starting out a little generic, the film develops into an fantastic horror exploration of all that could go wrong if you go into a cave with your friends.
00:00 Intro
01:00 First Impressions
02:11 The Setup
03:50 Too many blondes
04:37 Caving is strange
06:45 The Narrative Development
08:15 Familiar images
10:45 First time watching the film
14:00 Emotional stakes
15:09 The Music
16:00 Very Good Horror
20:30 Neil Marshall
21:30 Sarah's transformation
25:40 Sarah's Questionable Actions
28:40 Is she justified in killing Juno?
30:19 The Ending
Discutimos um dos filmes menos conhecidos de Peter Jackson, “Heavenly Creatures”. Apesar de ter as suas virtudes, especialmente pelo quão imaginativo o realizador consegue ser, tivemos algumas dúvidas (e discórdias entre nós) no que diz respeito à exploração da psicologia das personagens principais.
Hoje falamos de “Twentieth Century”, uma comédia incrível de Howard Hawks em que ele aponta a câmara para a loucura do mundo da arte. Com duas performances perfeitas de John Barrymore e Carole Lombard, achámos o filme hilariante e cheio de detalhes cómicos que se vão revelando.
Today we have the pleasure to interview filmmaker Duwayne Dunham to discuss his latest film “The Legend of the Happy Worker” as well as his past work with David Lynch, having worked as the editor for “Blue Velvet” and “Wild at Heart”.
00:00 Intro
01:15 Adapting "Legend of the Happy Worker"
07:08 Visual Style
11:12 Relationship with Lynch
18:00 Watching Eraserhead with Kubrick and George Lucas
20:25 Blue Velvet, Cutting it down to 2h
23:32 Creative Discussions with Lynch
26:24 How "Wild at Heart" came together
32:33 Lynch and Searching for Meaning
36:55 Watching your movie with an Audience
Today we are joined by filmmaker Hanna Gray Organschi to discuss “The Graduate”, a film close to Hanna’s heart. Hanna reflects about the memories of watching this film for the first time, and we talk about the complexity of the characters and provide our interpretations regarding the ambiguity of the ending.
Join our discussion of the Haneke's "The White Ribbon", an expectably bleak but thought-provoking film. We talk about how we all were (predictably) emotionally invested in the romantic sub-plot, and also discuss what Haneke's ultimate point might be through his depiction of this German village in the early 20th century.
Today we discuss Justin Kerrigan's "Human Traffic", a delightful 90s gem. The film is full of charm and great comedy, even if sometimes it can be a little excessive with its MTV aesthetic; and we appreciate how despite its freewheeling party-focused nature, the film is very well structured and committed to the character development.
Hoje discutimos "Radio Days", um filme de Woody Allen. Apesar de não ser dos mais populares do realizador, é um filme interessante e com um mood nostálgico muito forte, e gostámos da sua narrativa mais solta e episódica.
Hoje discutimos "La Grande Illusion", um filme anti-guerra de Jean Renoir. Achámos o filme único pela forma leve como retrata o campo de prisioneiros e como reflete sobre a diferença de classes entre os soldados e generais.
It’s time to discuss Cronenberg’s Dead Ringers, one of his best films. It’s characteristically bleak, although in this one the director takes a more psychological approach with less presence of body horror we usually associate with Cronenberg. It also features Jeremy Irons in one do his greatest performances.
Today we discuss “The Time That Remains”, a film by Palestinian director Elia Suleiman. It’s a comedic and melancholic look at the the creation of the state of Israel and a reflection of what’s it’s like for Palestinians to live under occupation. Suleiman’s sense of humor and his mix of the personal with the historical are part of what makes the film so beautiful.
Juntem-se à nossa discussão menos positiva de "The Reflecting Skin", um filme que nos disse muito pouco. Achámos o filme sem grande ideia do que quer ser, as performances bastante fracas (excepto o Viggo) e que toma decisões narrativas pouco interessantes.