The Movies

As an addendum to last episode, I interviewed Andy Brown and Brian Lindstrom, the directors of LOST ANGEL: THE GENIUS OF JUDEE SILL, about the decade-long process of bringing their music documentary to life. They chat about the x-factor moment that brought the movie's structure to light, the responsibilities felt from telling the underrated & undervalued Judee's story and what it's like to make a movie about a musician with a less-than-musical background. I'm grateful to Andy and Brian for a wonderful conversation, one which I hope you'll learn from and enjoy! --- Follow The Movies on Twitter: @TheMovies_Pod Follow the podcast on Goodpods: https://goodpods.com/profile/themovies-31104 --- Intro Music: "Cold Open" - Marlowe Outro Music: "The Lamb Ran Away With the Crown" - Judee Sill --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/themoviespodcast/message

LOST ANGEL: THE GENIUS OF JUDEE SILL is a documentary detailing the life and music of '70s singer-songwriter Judee Sill using as much of her own voice as possible. This could devolve into another talking-heads affair but having Judee's voice narrate and her art take animated flight on screen gives the movie an authenticity and more intimate connection to its subject. Judee was never the type of person to cruise behind her producers, anyway. She always had to have a hand in every affair. Makes sense she'd end up doing so almost 50 years after her death. --- Follow The Movies on Twitter: @TheMovies_Pod Follow The Movies on Goodpods! --- Intro Music: "Cold Open" - Marlowe Outro Music: "Jesus Was a Crossmaker" - Judee Sill --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/themoviespodcast/message

MONKEY MAN is the directorial debut of Dev Patel. My best friend asked 'Wasn't that the guy who played Zuko in that bad Avatar movie?" Yes. Yes, he was. He's also built a strong genre-spanning body of work since then, starring in THE GREEN KNIGHT, HOTEL MUMBAI, THE MAN WHO KNEW INFINITY, THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD and LION, for which he earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in 2017.And yet, I find myself completely willing to throw all that away for MONKEY MAN. This is the kind of debut that lasts: a kinetic, achingly sincere action epic that genuinely feels like the effort posed by someone who knows they'll never get the chance to direct again.I know Patel's supported by producer Jordan Peele (director of GET OUT, US & NOPE) but $10 million isn't supposed to look THIS good. Seductive neon-splashed hotel rooms, martial arts photographed by camera operators with the stamina of Navy Seals, surreal deep dives into Hindu mythologies: it's a wholly original, excellent time at the movies. --- Follow The Movies on Twitter: @TheMovies_Pod --- Intro Music: "Cold Open" - Marlowe Outro Music "M.A.A.D. City" - Kendrick Lamar --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/themoviespodcast/message

IMMACULATE was rescued by producer and star Sydney Sweeney from development hell, 10 years after she originally auditioned for the project. A horror movie about a nun who immaculately conceives a child the rest of the church believes to be the second coming of Christ? I can say why Sweeney would wanna hang onto that idea. However, as cool as that idea is and as much as I admire Sweeney's producing prowess, I still left this movie underwhelmed. Maybe what hit hard in 2014 just doesn't in a post-Eggers, Aster and Peele world...? Maybe the Catholic critique is undercooked (more like raw). Maybe the jump scares just don't carry enough weight. Maybe it's all of the above. --- Follow The Movies on Twitter: @TheMovies_Pod Let me know there what you think of IMMACULATE! --- Intro Music: "Cold Open" - Marlowe Outro Music: "Saint Cecilia" - Foo Fighters --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/themoviespodcast/message

Rose Glass' romantic body-horror noir LOVE LIES BLEEDING smacked me in the mouth and I'm all the better for it. What a taut, lean story about the way the beliefs about ourselves & our capabilities can fundamentally inform the directions our lives will take, for better and worse. Sometimes, all you need to change your life is someone to stroll into town and flex their beautiful bulging muscles at you. And when those muscles belong to Katy O'Brien? Sheesh, game fucking over. I'm in love. --- Follow The Movies on Twitter: @TheMovies_Pod --- Intro Music: "Cold Open" - Marlowe Outro Music: "Oblivion" - Mastodon --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/themoviespodcast/message

The Internet lit ablaze, yet again, today when the directors of the new horror movie LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL confirmed Letterboxd users' suspicions that the movie used AI to help craft some still images featured in the final cut. The blaze was fueled by debates over AI's involvement in art and the implications such technologies could have on an increasingly undervalued job market of artists, production designers, costumers, you fuckin' name it. When studios can have ChatGPT spit out a completed script in a matter of minutes, what writer stands a chance? Does AI's popularity precede a hostile machine-led cinematic takeover? Should films like LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL be boycotted as an act of righteous protest? Do we even know what we're actually talking about? This is where I come in. I wrote some questions down, waxed poetic and then decided to ask ChatGPT the same list to get another perspective. I hope this'll open up a broader speculative discussion about AI's role in cinema. --- THE QUESTIONS - 1. How has AI already been used in movies?2. If an artist uses AI in their work, do they cease to be an artist?3. How do we critique works of art created by AI? How will these metrics be redefined based on the source of the art?4. To what extent does an original work need to be altered in order to avoid copyright infringement?5. Can AI be judged in the same light as one judges computer-generated effects against practical effects?6. What's the worst-case scenario regarding AI's involvement in the movies? --- Follow me on Twitter: @TheMovies_Pod --- Intro Music: "Cold Open" - Marlowe Outro Music: "Kid A" - Radiohead --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/themoviespodcast/message

The Rachel McAdams Picture Show keeps on truckin' with Kelly Fremon Craig's ARE YOU THERE, GOD? IT'S ME, MARGARET. Following MEAN GIRLS up with this is my way of showing you the range of one Rachel McAdams: cutting someone down to size with a glance in one movie, masking insecurity as perfectionism for the benefit of her family in another. McAdams has such a power of restraint with her body language that she can tell you everything she's feeling without it feeling performative, like she's trying to bait a reaction out of her costars, but rather that she's absolutely living in the moment. Playing someone whose personality is one geared for support at the detriment of her own fulfillment, this skill is best utilized in the role of Margaret's mom, Barbara. McAdams got so much critical love and dark horse Supporting Actress attention for this role and honestly? Should've gotten the nomination. Follow Daniel on Twitter: @TheMovies_Pod --- Intro Music: "Mr. McAdams" - Lil' Dicky Outro Music: "Evelyn" - Gregory Alan Isakov --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/themoviespodcast/message

Break out the synths, hairspray & Fangorias - IN FOUR FILMS is going '80s horror, baby! To celebrate the release of "In Search of Darkness," a companion book to David Weiner's popular documentary of the same name, which tells the history of '80s horror movies, I invited the book's co-authors, Heather Wixson & Patrick Bromley to each describe their nerdy, terror-loving selves in four horror movies from, arguably, the genre's greatest decade. 4 x 2 is 8, so I've got a supersized episode in store; strap in with a cold brew and enjoy! --- Follow Heather on Twitter: @thehorrorchick Follow Patrick on Twitter: @patrickbromley Follow Derek Anderson (real ones know) on Twitter: @Derek_TMM Follow F This Movie! on Twitter: @fthismovie Pre-order "In Search of Darkness": https://aminkpublishing.com/store/ols/products/in-search-of-darkness-book-pre-order-package - If the link doesn't work, go to "aminkpublishing.com" and click on the "Dark Ink" tab; you'll quickly find it. Live in Los Angeles? Attend the "In Search of Darkness" book release at Dark Delicacies on April 27th! Not only are Heather & Patrick gonna be there signing books, but also in attendance will be Joe Dante, Tom Holland (not Spidey, not Hollander) and more! --- Intro music: "Cold Open" - Marlowe Outro music: "Everlong" - Foo Fighters --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/themoviespodcast/message

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced they're adding the Best Casting category to the Academy Awards in 2026 (awarding movies made in 2025). If you're scratching your head as to why casting should get its own award, you're not alone. I thought this award would just comprise of the movie with the most A-listers, "might equals right" scenario. Enter Kate Geller, a New York-based casting director with nearly 100 projects under her belt, from assisting on the first two JOHN WICK movies and THE MAZE RUNNER to working as casting director for MOLLI AND MAX IN THE FUTURE (covered on this podcast!) SHIVA BABY and MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON. She actually won ARTIOS awards for the latter two movies, so who better to weigh in on the topic, along with teaching me perspective on how much work goes into casting - and ultimately, kick-starting - a movie? --- Follow Kate on Instagram: @kategellercasting Follow The Movies on Twitter: @themovies_pod --- Music: Marlowe - "Cold Open" Jeff Rosenstock - "Rainbow" --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/themoviespodcast/message

Like I did last month, here's a list of the movies I watched in February that I haven't yet talked about on the podcast (I might've cheated on one of 'em, but fuck it, I'm gonna consider it a new perspective for a new version of life.) From least to greatest: THE STUFF (1985) dir. Larry Cohen BARBIE (2023) dir. Greta Gerwig DUNE (2021) dir. Denis Villeneuve LISA FRANKENSTEIN (2024) dir. Zelda Williams POOR THINGS (2023) dir. Yorgos Lanthimos --- Follow Daniel on Twitter: @themovies_pod Music: "Seven" - Taylor Swift "Who's Got a Match?" - Biffy Clyro --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/themoviespodcast/message

In DUNE: PART 2, Paul (Timothee Chalamet) is advised to climb the tallest dune before every hunt to obtain the best possible vantage point. It reflects director Denis Villenueve's approach to the sequel: Expand the story's gaze; Throw Greig Fraser (director of photography) at some BREATHTAKING vistas; Fill said massive frame with an army-sized cast of Hollywood's best perfomers; Print money.Villeneuve, like Babe Ruth, called his shot (high fastball over the plate, meet the rafters behind left-center field) against whichever studio executive(s) have yet to greenlight DUNE: MESSIAH. Normally, I'm not so quick to demand sequels before their first parts have premiered, but...have you SEEN this thing? What, are you people allergic to success?DUNE: PART 2 has received comparisons to the like of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK and THE TWO TOWERS, the latter being my push. At 10 years old, that film sucked me into the intricacies of a world with such enticement, such detail that I almost couldn't handle it. DUNE: PART 2 pushes beyond its prequel's "hero's journey" to deliver a thrilling parable on the dangers of fanaticism and the evils permitted through the seduction of different forms of power, including hopeful, inspirational narratives themselves.I joke to never underestimate the rizz of a fluffy-haired white boy, but given how my thoughts have progressed after the screening, I can't help but think Villeneuve's casting of Chalamet as Paul Atreides is eerily prescient. He'll charm the hell out of one's daughters and leaders, but to what end? At that end, will those daughters and leaders be better for following?Warner Bros., quit fucking around and greenlight this trilogy already. --- Follow Daniel on Twitter: @TheMovies_Pod Music: "Living Is a Problem Because Everything Dies" - Biffy Clyro --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/themoviespodcast/message

Welcome back to "In Four Films," the segment where I bring on film lovers to talk the four films that make them who they are! Today, critic, instructor and podcaster (And A Rewatch, CinemaGals) Chelsea Eichholz joins me to talk queer love, long-term relationship drama, paternity messes and female entrepreneurship! Plus cute dogs, body aches, fucked-up sinuses: it's a revelatory hour and 45 minutes! MILDRED PIERCE (1945) dir. Michael Curtiz TWO FOR THE ROAD (1967) dir. Stanley Donen SAVING FACE (2004) dir. Alice Wu STORIES WE TELL (2012) dir. Sarah Polley --------- Follow Daniel on: Twitter - TheMovies_Pod Instagram & Threads - themoviespod Letterboxd - The Movies Music: "She Used to Be Mine" - Sara Bareilles --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/themoviespodcast/message

No, not Taylor Swift's boyfriend. Taylor Swift's boyfriend's brother. Ha, it sounds like I'm explaining a soap opera. Don Argott's football documentary about veteran Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce dropped last September on Amazon Prime. The movie recounts Kelce's whirlwind 2022-23 season, in which his team won 14 of 17 games, landing them a spot in the Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs...where Taylor Swift's boyfriend (then-admirer) Travis plays. It was the first time two brothers went head-to-head in football's championship game. "Daniel, who fucking cares about football?" I do. But more than that, I care about what isn't on the field. I'm here to see Jason Kelce sing on the Eagles' Christmas album. I'm here for the eerieness that is to see the New Heights podcast (Jason and Travis shooting the shit while occasionally discussing the NFL season) from Jason's point of view - staring at a computer while sitting in his house. [Sounds dumb, but can you imagine how weird/cool it'd be to see something like the Jurassic Park chase scene from the T-Rex's POV? Idk, some images just feel charmingly cursed seen in any other fashion.] But more than anything, I'm here for Jason himself. Here's a guy at the top of his game (hehe) for more than a decade, contemplating retirement as his family looks to expand with the addition of a third daughter. He's 35, popping Toradol (mega-Aspirin) like Tic Tacs and worried about what the repeated acts of slamming his body into 300 lb motherfuckers will do to his body and brain over the next 35+ years of life. Every logical assessment says "Stop." And yet... --------- Follow Daniel on: Twitter - TheMovies_Pod Instagram & Threads - themoviespod Letterboxd - The Movies Music: "The Cape" - Guy Clark --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/themoviespodcast/message

I'm currently bearing a stupid fucking grin as I type. Alex Winkler's soundtrack for MOLLI AND MAX IN THE FUTURE, a bouncy, jazzy number, kicks about, a woman singing about how she may not love you in the present, but maybe in the future, y'all can be more than friends.Michael Lukk Litwak's sci-fi rom-com, following the titular couple Molli (Zosia Mamet) and Max (Aristotle Athari) through 12 years of friendship, romantic tension, uncomfortable conversations about one's insecurities, and tennis (wearing Tron-style suits). Oh, did I mention the MODOK/Krang-looking magical demigod leading his own superpowered cult against a horde of evil actors?Huh, must've slipped my mind.The quickest way to describe this movie is WHEN HARRY MET SALLY in space. A better way, sourced from my press notes, would be an amalgam of '70s-'80s sci-fi and romance movies & the anxieties emerging from a Trump-led COVID pandemic, set in the service of finding the simple joy in connecting, intimately, with another person. Because you might not be able to get over your shit on your own, but with an honest, loving friend to care for you, call you out when necessary? Shit, you both might stand a chance.--------- Follow Daniel on: Twitter - TheMovies_Pod Instagram & Threads - themoviespod Letterboxd - The Movies Music: "The Molli and Max in the Future Song" - Alex Winkler --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/themoviespodcast/message

These are the movies I watched in January 2024 I haven't yet discussed on the podcast, RANKED (cause fuck it, why not?). 5) THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD (1951) dir. Christian Nyby - Tubi 4) NEKROTRONIC (2018) dir. Kiah Roache-Turner - YouTube 3) THE THIRD MAN (1949) dir. Carol Reed - Tubi 2) THE LAST REPAIR SHOP (2023) dir. Ben Proudfoot & Kris Bowers - YouTube, Disney Plus 1) INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1978) dir. Philip Kaufman - Tubi ---------------------------------------- Follow Daniel on: Twitter - TheMovies_Pod Instagram & Threads - themoviespod Letterboxd - The Movies Music: "Figure 8" - Paramore --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/themoviespodcast/message

Welcome to The Rachel McAdams Picture Show! This segment starts a celebration of my favorite actress by looking back at every one of her movies, and specifically, the choices she makes to better them. So with the MEAN GIRLS remake in theaters, what better way to kick this off than by covering Rachel McAdams' tour-de-force performance as the ICONIC Regina George? MEAN GIRLS (2004) is available to watch on pluto.tv (for fuckin' FREE), Paramount Plus, your local library (either on disc or maybe on Hoopla), or a video store for rental. Hell, if you love this movie like I do, go out and buy a copy. Physical media forever, motherfuckers. MEAN GIRLS screenplay: https://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/mean_girls.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjZ-PKWjYyEAxWflGoFHR5bCccQFnoECB0QAQ&usg=AOvVaw1SSesnX2YduFDQWlA7gP9U ---------- Follow Daniel on - Twitter: TheMovies_Pod Instagram & Threads: themoviespod Music: "Mr. McAdams" - Lil Dicky --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/themoviespodcast/message

Welcome to the first installment of "In Four Films" in 2024! Today, Josie Melendez (creator of the Film Posers podcast, author, poet, screenwriter, film critic) jumps on to talk about the four films that made her the movie lover she is today! I've been itching to have her on the show since I started this segment, so typing these show notes today feels like a bit of a full-circle moment. Josie's Four Films: BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (1991) dir. Gary Trousdale & Kirk Wise TITANIC (1997) dir. James Cameron SUPER 8 (2011) dir. J.J. Abrams PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE (2019) dir. Celine Sciamma ----------------------------------------------------------------- Follow Josie on: Twitter & Instagram - @thejosiemarie Buy Josie's book "Gotas De Amor": https://www.puntapluma.com/ Follow Film Posers on: Twitter & Instagram - @FilmPosers Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts & wherever you listen to podcasts! --------------------------------------------------------------- Follow Daniel on - Twitter: TheMovies_Pod Bluesky: ⁠⁠themovies.bsky.social⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram & Threads: themoviespod --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/themoviespodcast/message

Looking towards the future, we were begging for the past, but not today! 2024 boasts a wealth of exciting cinema yet to be watched, from horror remakes to nuns, Xenomorphs and lesbians on the run. This is a selection of films that get me the most hyped to drive to theaters and will hopefully give you a few more additions to your personal theatrical calendar as the year flies by (Faster and faster we spin round the sun each time, am I right?). Alien: Romulus dir. Fede Alvarez (August 16)The Fall Guy dir. David Leitch (May 3)Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga dir. George Miller (May 24)Gladiator 2 dir. Ridley Scott (November 22)Immaculate dir. Michael Mohan (March 22)Lisa Frankenstein dir. Zelda Williams (February 9)Love Lies Bleeding dir. Rose Glass (March 8)Nosferatu dir. Robert Eggers (Dec 25)The Watchers dir. Ishana Shyamalan (June 7)Wolf Man dir. Leigh Whanell (October 25) ----------------------------------------------------- Follow Daniel on - Twitter: TheMovies_Pod Bluesky: ⁠⁠themovies.bsky.social⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram: themoviespod Threads: themoviespod ----------------------------------------------------- Music: "We Ain't Goin" - John Wells --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/themoviespodcast/message

It's the most! wonderful tiiime of the yeeaarrr! The nominations for the 96th Academy Awards dropped earlier this morning and while I didn't plan to wake up this early to react to them live, my 4-month-old daughter had other plans. Life, lemons, lemonade: you know the drill. ----------------------------------------------------- Follow Daniel on - Twitter: TheMovies_Pod Bluesky: ⁠⁠themovies.bsky.social⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram: themoviespod Threads: themoviespod ----------------------------------------------------- --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/themoviespodcast/message

Sean Durkin's THE IRON CLAW got me to a place I've never been. Afterwards, I found myself crying in the movie theater bathroom. Of course, I'd already cried a handful of times in the theater, but this affected me on multiple layers, the ones I find myself hurting over in private.I'm the oldest of three brothers, growing further apart with time and responsibility. I'm a father building his creative dream into reality while raising a family. I feel hindered by emotional, mental, spiritual? weights that lead me to believe I'll never break free of the behaviors that make me my worst self. Oh, and like the Von Erich wrestling family, I call Denton, Texas home. Sure, I've moved to Corpus Christi, but Denton is still home and I miss it dearly.So, when you plop me in front of these elements, acted gloriously by a stellar ensemble (Zac Efron, Harris Dickinson, Jeremy Allen White, Stanley Simons, Holt McCallany, Maura Tierney, Lily James), and shot with beautiful glory and pain on full display? It's gonna wreck me and it does.I haven't stopped thinking about this movie and it's my hope to get y'all to the same place.------------------------------------------------------------------Follow Daniel on -Twitter: TheMovies_PodBluesky: ⁠⁠themovies.bsky.social⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram: themoviespod ------------------------------------------------------------------Music:"Tom Sawyer" - Rush"Live That Way Forever" - Richard Reed Parry --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/themoviespodcast/message