We close out season three with Steven Spielberg’s dystopian thriller Minority Report, starring Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell, Samantha Morton and Max von Sydow. Plus: the seeming immortality of Tom Cruise, Sam’s first feature, and yet another award nomination – but this time, it’s not for Sam. LINKS: Trailer for Minority Report Will Ferrell takes one in the jugular in OId School Tom Cruise as Les Grossman in Tropic Thunder "Fly Like an Eagle," by Steve Miller Band Support the show
This week we take a slow, spiraling ride down Mulholland Dr, David Lynch’s puzzle-box fever dream starring Naomi Watts, Laura Harring, and Justin Theroux. Plus: Transcendental Meditation, Adolescence, and the time James was up against Angelo Badalamenti for a film-scoring job. LINKS: Trailer for Mulhallond Dr Bob climbs over the sofa in Twin Peaks Jeff Goldblum forgot his mantra Support the show
This week we slash our way through Mary Harron’s satirical horror-thriller American Psycho, starring Christian Bale, Chloe Sevigny, and Willem Dafoe. Plus: The Picard Maneuver! And Sam gets stalked by his auto mechanic. LINKS: Trailer for American Psycho The Picard Manoeuver Tom Cruise as inspiration for Patrick Bateman Support the show
This week we explore Abbas Kiarostami’s meditative drama The Wind Will Carry Us, starring Behzad Dorani. Plus: Iranian hospitality, Marjie’s Broadway debut, and the movie that led to Sam and James meeting each other. LINKS: Trailer for The Wind Will Carry Us Trailer for Joe Gould's Secret Nick Cave on cold-water swimming Support the show
A double-bill! Vincent Gallo’s Buffalo ‘66, starring Gallo and Christina Ricci; and Thomas Vinterberg’s Festen, or The Celebration, starring Ulrich Thomsen, Paprika Steen and Thomas Bo Larsen. One of them became an instant classic for James. Plus: Dogme 95 and the “vow of chastity.” LINKS: Trailer for Buffalo '66 Trailer (a terrible and misleading one) for The Celebration The Dogme 95 movement’s “Vow of Chastity” Support the show
This week we get into Paul Thomas Anderson’s 1997 kaleidoscopic end-of-an-era drama Boogie Nights, starring Mark Wahlberg, Julianne Moore, and Burt Reynolds. Plus: James’s psilocybin adventure! LINKS: Trailer for Boogie Nights Ben Affleck on teaching miners to be astronauts The final scene of Big Night Support the show
This week we explore John Sayles’s 1996 bordertown drama Lone Star, starring Chris Cooper, Matthew McConaughey, and Kris Kristofferson. Plus: Sam goes to the Emmys! LINKS: Trailer for Lone Star A Scene from Taste of Cherry Doogh Support the show
This week we explore Todd Haynes’s prescient 1995 environmental-illness drama Safe, starring Julianne Moore. Plus: Emmy nominations, James’s upcoming psilocybin journey, and how bad Sam is at running. LINKS: Trailer for Safe Kripalu Sam's Emmy nominations Support the show
This week we dig up Danny Boyle’s suitcase-full-of-cash thriller Shallow Grave, starring Ewan McGregor, Kerry Fox, and Christopher Eccleston. Plus: Ripley, the frustrations of tourism, and the European Cup. LINKS: Trailer for Shallow Grave Trailer for Ripley Trailer for Cry Funny Happy Deadline.com announcement of Sam’s football project Support the show
We kick off Season Three of the podcast with Brian De Palma’s crime drama Carlito’s Way, starring Al Pacino, Penelope Ann Miller, and Sean Penn. Plus: offensive accents, an update on Sam’s car, and the time we almost paid someone $10,000 to read a script. LINKS: Trailer for Carlito's Way The Globe and Shakespeare’s “anti-literalism” Trailer for Bonnie, a documentary about casting director Bonnie Timmermann Support the show
We close out Season Two of the podcast with Martin Brest’s drama Scent of a Woman, starring Al Pacino and Chris O’Donnell. Plus: Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers, and an encounter with a rude traffic warden. LINKS: Trailer for Scent of a Woman Trailer for The Holdovers Trailer for People I Know Support the show
This week week we’re taking a bite out of Jonathan Demme’s classic serial-killer thriller The Silence of the Lambs, starring Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins. Plus: James comes out of film-scoring retirement. LINKS: Trailer for The Silence of the Lambs "Lotion" by Greenskeepers Austin Pendleton as a lawyer in My Cousin Vinny Support the show
This week we discuss the journey of author Janet Frame in Jane Campion’s biographical drama An Angel at My Table, starring Alexia Keogh, Karen Fergusson, and Kerry Fox. Plus: Season Two of The Jinx, and the time Stanley Tucci took James to a Yankees game. LINKS: Trailer for An Angel at My Table Trailer for season two of The Jinx Dr McCoy treats a patient in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home Support the show
This week we explore Spike Lee’s comedy-drama Do the Right Thing, starring Spike Lee, Danny Aiello, John Turturro and Rosie Perez. Plus: James eats a $35 salad, Don Mischer’s “Go balloons”, and 1990 as the year of sequels. LINKS: Trailer for Do the Right Thing Trailer for Thea Sharrock's Wicked Little Letters Don Mischer at the 2004 Democratic National Convention An incredible use of film score in In the Mood for Love Support the show
This week we discuss Stephen Frears’s film-adapted-from-a-play-adapted-from-a-novel Dangerous Liaisons, starring Glenn Close, John Malkovich, and Michelle Pfeiffer. Plus: James finally visits the Vanguard! LINKS: Trailer for Dangerous Liaisons Malkovich and Sinise in True West John Candy in Uncle Buck: "unbreakable" Support the show
This week we take a stab at Adrian Lyne’s classic romantic thriller Fatal Attraction, starring Glenn Close and Michael Douglas. Plus: the two faces of Harrison Ford, and James’s habit of talking to the television. LINKS: Trailer for Fatal Attraction The original ending of Fatal Attraction Trailer for Running on Empty Support the show
It’s a double-feature this week as we riff on two movies about musicians: Bertrand Tavernier’s Round Midnight and Alex Cox’s Sid and Nancy. Plus: burned-out cars, slow television, and the unhelpful advice Robert Redford used to get. LINKS: Trailer for Sid & Nancy Trailer for Round Midnight Siskel & Ebert on Round Midnight "Slow Television": the train in Norway Support the show
This week we survey the expanses of Ran, Akira Kurosawa’s epic adaptation of Shakespeare’s King Lear. Plus: beds in cinemas, Werner Herzog on psychotherapy, and Sam’s aversion to movies set on ships. LINKS: Trailer for Ran "VIP Beds" in UK cinemas How an 18th-Century Sailing Warship Works Werner Herzog on psychology as a “catastrophe” Support the show
This week we tackle the Coen Brothers’ gritty debut feature, Blood Simple, starring Frances McDormand, John Getz, and M. Emmet Walsh. Plus: Wayne Shorter, rock climbing, and our experiences with first-time directors. LINKS: Trailer for Blood Simple Trailer for Wayne Shorter: Zero Gravity Let's go to court: a scene from The Insider Support the show
This week we discuss Nicolas Roeg’s period drama Eureka, starring Gene Hackman, Theresa Russell, and Rutger Hauer. Plus: Wynton Marsalis, washroom attendants, and James's recent trip to London. LINKS: Trailer for Eureka Wynton Marsalis does Louis Armstrong The Wolseley Climax of The Natural (Randy Newman) Support the show