And the Winner Should Have Been...

Trying something new again this episode; Bob and Mark discuss some soundtracks. What kind of musical expertise and knowledge do they bring to the topic? Almost nothing. Is it a list of their favorites? Not necessarily. You might like it anyway. Fewer spoilers than usual, though we disdain caution around such things as always.00:00 Intro and disclaimer03:57 First soundtrackIn the Mood for Love (soundtrack)11:25 Source for themeYumeji16:39 Second soundtrackPerfect Days (soundtrack)21:34 The word Bob is failing to remember is "komorebi"24:51 Third soundtrackA Clockwork Orange (soundtrack)25:11 It's been a couple years since we talked about this filmKubrick/Hitchcock episode31:50 The greatest piece of music ever written (in Bob's opinion)Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, 4th Movement (This is not the best rendition of it, but it's okay. ~ Bob)33:26 Music that didn't make the soundtrackWendy Carlos additional music (It was at this point in the edit that Bob discovered that Wendy Carlos was born Walter Carlos. Thus the original album title in the link.)37:20 Fourth soundtrackSparrow (soundtrack)41:00 Clip from the filmStairs42:11 Region B discAussie Blu-Ray44:18 Winding down and wrapping up44:58 Film scoresEvery Frame a Painting

This episode we catch up to 1985 and evaluate the 5 films from 1984 nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars. It's been a while since the last episode, but to make up for it, it's a bit longer than usual? Anyway, this will be the last decade in series that we look at for now since we've already done an episode on the Best Picture nominees from 1995, 2005, and 2015. As always, beware of the fearsome spoiler that lurks throughout, and enjoy!00:00 Introduction04:27 A Soldier's Story18:25 Places in the Heart27:40 A Passage to India45:39 The Killing Fields54:26 Interlude about ranking nominees by vote totals (Bob was right in his gut reaction: voting results are not made publicly available)55:51 Amadeus01:09:45 Films from this year featured in other episodes of our podcast: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Star Trek III, The Terminator, Dune, Blood Simple01:14:40 Random odds and ends to concludeIntro 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

So...there were some challenges with this one. We do apologize for the slow release pace, but in this case the audio required a lot of work to tune up. We're talking Best Picture for the 47th Academy Awards (films from 1974). SPOILERS abound, as always.00:00 Intro00:57 A good year?03:21 The Conversation12:25 Gene Hackman interlude13:35 (Yes, yes; we were thinking of A Few Good Men)18:14 The Godfather Part II34:53 Chinatown48:53 Lenny55:07 The Towering Inferno1:02:34 Digression about film rights and availability of old films1:08:00 Quick review of other notable films from 19741:12:40 Our picks for Best Picture1:14:13 (We are moving ahead a decade)

It's been a little while, but we've jumped another 10 years closer to the present with an episode on the best films of 1964. Unfortunately for filmgoers it was a bit of a fallow year, but it does make for some good conversation. We mostly talk about the 5 Best Picture nominees, but a few more films come in for a mention in passing.As ever, we SPOIL the endings, middles...everything really about these movies without regard for what you might not have seen, so be warned. Watch the films first if you don't want to know how they end.00:10 Intro to the podcast/topic00:56 (Absolutely we did not get caught up to the current year)03:34 Mary Poppins18:03 Becket29:55 My Fair Lady31:12 Bob remembers correctly about Shaw and the Greek origin!38:15 The superior original ending43:53 Dr. Strangelove45:51 The prior episode where we talked about Dr. Strangelove46:25 Bob might be misremembering Hayden's late-life problems52:00 Zorba the Greek57:21 Bob gets on his high horse a bit01:01:57 Picking our winner01:05:18 Next episode plans and conclusionIntro 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

Bob finally gets busy and edits this episode wrapping up the past calendar year. It's a bit out of date, but then most of the episodes are too since we're almost always looking at films from years earlier. Not too many spoilers this time round, but be wary; one never knows when they may strike!00:10 Intro04:53 Favorites watched for the podcast07:27 Movies from 202417:53 Bob and Indian cinema20:25 Rowdy. Rowdy Rathore. (trailer) 21:57 How Bob sees films; film volume25:09 First time watches not from 202434:48 Bob and Mark argue a bit about Free Solo39:58 It's over!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

00:10 Intro02:04 The White Parade, copyright, and availability09:02 Which ones did we watch?10:45 It Happened One Night11:53 It was the Valentine's Day episode about rom-coms in 202215:10 Bob's a little off; Miami was 110,000 in 1930, up from less than 30,000 in 192020:05 Bob did! See above.20:57 The end of the Pre-Code era23:23 Cleopatra28:13 Imitation of Life33:18 Flirtation Walk38:05 The Gay Divorcee45:06 The Thin Man49:25 Drunks on film53:37 Of Human Bondage59:06 And the Winner Should Have Been...01:03:45 Upcoming episodesIntro 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

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

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

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

This time around Bob and Mark lean right into the pretentiousness and discuss the French cinema they enjoy. (For the title we decided to go for the middle choice of "films;" seems midway between "cinema" and "movies.") We do less spoiling than usual, but you should still beware. The dreaded SPOILER may rear its head at any moment in our podcast.00:00 Intro03:45 Le Samourai07:01 Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai11:26 Disorder (Maryland)18:39 Au Revoir, Les Enfants24:28 My Dinner With Andre26:59 Three Colors: White33:41 L'Argent39:04 Wasabi43:15 Le Cercle Rouge46:50 Army of Shadows51:43 Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot55:21 Odds and EndsThe Count of Monte Cristo (2002), The Count of Monte Cristo (2024), Gankutsuou, The Count of Monte Cristo (Depardieu), Amélie, The Red Turtle, A Prophet1:02:12 Wrapping up

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

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

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...

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...

This is as close as we get to jumping on the bandwagon of popular, recent films. We talk most about the Villeneuve Dune movies, but we also touch on the other iterations. No spoiler warnings in the episode, because the whole podcast is composed of SPOILERS!00:10 Intro - What's going to be covered and not04:50 There is no such thing as "spoiling" a 70 year old story; no spoiler warnings this podcast06:05 Dune, the novel13:35 The story from the novel changes in the transition to film15:55 ...

Bob finally stopped being lazy and got this edited. Wrapping up our discussion of the Coens and their films along with theme Mark thinks he's sussed out of their movies. As ever, SPOILERS!02:00 Why are we doing two episodes on the Coens?04:15 Blood Simple10:15 Spoilers begin in earnest16:49 Subscribers only (unfortunately): https://www.criterionchannel.com/videos/bill-hader-on-blood-simple21:17 The Big Lebowski23:59 Raymond Chandler33:50 Mark's thesis35:02 Inside Llewyn Davis42:24 Comparing O...

Another two part episode (at least two; we haven't recorded any more than this so far) this time around, but looking at a selection of Coen Brothers movies chosen by Mark. We discuss four of their films in this episode and plan to discuss four more. SPOILERS THROUGHOUT!Enjoy!00:43 Mark's flu podcast01:46 Introducing the topic04:10 Raising Arizona (SPOILERS BEGIN)20:55 M. Emmett WALSH (Bob apparently has football on the brain, he'll make the mistake again later too)24:26 Miller's Crossing42:48...

First episode of the new year is...finishing the topic we started at the end of last year. We're thinking about maybe tackling some smaller topics this year, but the best laid plans, etc. As ever with our podcast SPOILERS ABOUND! Listen at your own risk.00:10 Intro04:42 The Artist10:18 Would it work as a true silent movie?12:55 Mark doesn't like the title character16:32 Bob loves this movie27:24 The Descendants29:15 Connection to Sideways30:57 George Clooney32:29 The Artist vs The Descendants...

This time around we decided that since the 2012 Best Picture had 9 nominations, we'd split the discussion into two parts so we didn't have to either run very long or skim over films without discussing them. So 4 this episode, 5 next time.00:10 Intro and beard discussion03:47 Podcast topic - 2012 Best Picture06:05 Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close08:25 SPOILERS BEGIN!18:58 Hugo31:10 Midnight in Paris39:26 "Bougie" interlude40:39 Back to the film42:10 Owen Wilson, wow!42:47 Moneyball45:16 The...

Another movie that's (loosely) connected to the story of Jesus. We didn't plan it that way, but there it is. The other four films all have some connection to World War II, which at the time was still fresh in the mind for many people. We do have SPOILERS, but not so many as in other episodes? Listen at your own risk; as always we tend to talk about the films with the assumption that our listeners have seen them.00:10 Intro1:24 Monty Python boys3:31 Old films, color vs black and white fil...