CineJourneys (master feed)

Description: Ali Khamseh joins Aaron from Tehran, Iran. It was the first time podcasting with someone anywhere close to that region, and it was a delight! Ali talked about his projects, the state of cinema in Iran, many of the Iranian masters like Abbas Kiarostami and Jafar Panahi, and how some filmmakers have become internationally known while pacifying the government. Ali likes a lot more than Iranian cinema and we had a good time looking through the Criterion titles too. Links: Video of this Episode Ali's Links Ali's Letterboxd Follow Us: Cinejourneys - YouTube Channel | Facebook Page | Facebook Group | Instagram | Letterboxd | BlueSky | Threads Jill Blake - BlueSky Aaron West - BlueSky | Letterboxd

Description: David Blakeslee joins Aaron. Jill is absent for the near future, and while she can't be replaced, David is a terrific co-host. We start by talking about Killers of the Flower Moon and some viral news that Criterion had allegedly approached Apple to put out a release, and Apple refused. We dig into the source and have some questions. While we are not expecting an imminent release, we think this is irresponsible reporting, but the sentiments that made it go viral are in the right place. We also talk about yet another rich month of Criterion announcements after they unveiled their June 2025 slate. Links: Video of this Episode eightslicesofpie's post on the Blu-Ray forums. The follow up post after the story went viral 120 Days of Pasolini David Blakeslee's Guide Profile on CineJourneys Follow David on BlueSky Follow Us: Cinejourneys - YouTube Channel | Facebook Page | Facebook Group | Instagram | Letterboxd | BlueSky | Threads Jill Blake - BlueSky Aaron West - BlueSky | Letterboxd

Description: Alex Mell-Taylor from Alex Has Opinions joins to talk about A24 and representation. We talk about some of the recent examples of positive representation and compare it with some not so great examples. We also talk about how someone who is not part of a particular group benefits from seeing what their life is like when representative actually reflects that experience, and how great it feels for people to see characters and stories that they can identify with on screen. Links: Video of this episode Alex Has Opinions - Website Alex's Patreon Follow Us: Cinejourneys - YouTube Channel | Facebook Page | Facebook Group | Instagram | Letterboxd | BlueSky | Threads Jill Blake - BlueSky Aaron West - BlueSky | Letterboxd

Description: Chris Haskell from They Live by Film and Punk Vacation joins to talk about Miramax. Covering a film company is not easy, and it's saying a lot to credit A24 as being solely responsible for a modern new wave movement. There were many independent movements throughout film history, and the independent film was truly embraced in the 1990s. Miramax was a groundbreaking independent film distributor and A24 benefited from their success. We had to preface this episode that Harvey Weinstein is a terrible person and nothing that we say positive about Miramax reflects our feelings about his character. Links: Video of this episode The A24 New Wave Kickstarter Punk Vacation Podcast They Live by Film Podcast Chris' Subreddit Follow Us: Cinejourneys - YouTube Channel | Facebook Page | Facebook Group | Instagram | Letterboxd | BlueSky | Threads Jill Blake - BlueSky Aaron West - BlueSky | Letterboxd

Description: Jill and Aaron talk about Flow, which appears to be the first Janus Contemporary that will get a Criterion spine release. We then talk about the May 2025 Announcements, and the new trend of increasing the number of new titles with upgrades. We speculate whether this has to do with the Steven Rales and Indian Paintbrush acquisition. Links: Video of this Episode ‘Flow’ Will Join the Criterion Collection Later This Year with 4K Special Edition Kickstarter Campaign for The A24 New Wave Follow Us: Cinejourneys - YouTube Channel | Facebook Page | Facebook Group | Instagram | Letterboxd | BlueSky | Threads Jill Blake - BlueSky Aaron West - BlueSky | Letterboxd

Description: Imogen Sara Smith joins to talk about her plans regarding the upcoming Powell & Pressburger Online Class she is teaching. She also touches on some exciting topics she wants to cover later, and what types of film topics she finds interesting. Links: Video of this episode Matters of Life and Death: The Cinema of Powell and Pressburger - Details and Registration Imogen Sara Smith's Guide Page Imogen's Writing at Criterion Follow Us: Cinejourneys - YouTube Channel | Facebook Page | Facebook Group | Instagram | Letterboxd | BlueSky | Threads Jill Blake - BlueSky Aaron West - BlueSky | Letterboxd

Description: Becky D'Anna joins to talk about Alex Garland, and specifically the films that have been released by A24 -- Ex Machina, Men, and Civil War. We talk about the sense of dread that he creates and how he's such an excellent writer. Becky compares his work to Ingmar Bergman. He uses sound and photography to accomplish this, and there are parallels to Hour of the Wolf, Shame, and others. Links: Video of this episode The A24 New Wave Kickstarter Becky's Website Becky's Letterboxd Becky's BlueSky Becky's Twitter/X Follow Us: Cinejourneys - YouTube Channel | Facebook Page | Facebook Group | Instagram | Letterboxd | BlueSky | Threads Jill Blake - BlueSky Aaron West - BlueSky | Letterboxd

Description: Zach Bryant from They Live By Film joins to talk about Osgood Perkins, who has one film with A24 -- The Blackcoat's Daughter. He has since achieved acclaim thanks to Longlegs and has an upcoming film called The Monkey that looks to be yet another breakthrough in his career. We get into his other films, and also Bryan Bertino's The Monster, which Perkins produced. Links: Video of this episode The A24 New Wave Kickstarter They Live By Film Podcast Zach's Letterboxd Follow Us: Cinejourneys - YouTube Channel | Facebook Page | Facebook Group | Instagram | Letterboxd | BlueSky | Threads Jill Blake - BlueSky Aaron West - BlueSky | Letterboxd

Description: Derek Smith talks about his film experience and the Online Classes he plans to teach, beginning with Japanese New Wave and eventually David Lynch. Links: Video of this episode Japanese New Wave 1965 – 1970s – Details and Registration Japanese New Wave 1956 – 1964 – Details and Registration Derek Smith's Guide Page Slant Magazine - Derek Smith Letterboxd - Derek Smith BlueSky - Derek Smith Follow Us: Cinejourneys - YouTube Channel | Facebook Page | Facebook Group | Instagram | Letterboxd | BlueSky | Threads Jill Blake - BlueSky Aaron West - BlueSky | Letterboxd

Description: Jill and Aaron are back after a little bit of an unintentional break. We talk about Aaron's upcoming new book. We pay tribute to the loss of one of our favorite filmmakers, David Lynch. Finally we talk about the April 2025 Announcements, which include seven titles, with two from Sean Baker. We have a brief digression about Gerard Depardieu's airplane behavior. Links: Video of this Episode Criterion Now - Episode 154 Video Criterion Now - Episode 155 Video Kickstarter Campaign for The A24 New Wave Follow Us: Cinejourneys - YouTube Channel | Facebook Page | Facebook Group | Instagram | Letterboxd | BlueSky | Threads Jill Blake - BlueSky Aaron West - BlueSky | Letterboxd

Description: Aaron is writing an A24 book with Jill Blake editing. There is a Kickstarter campaign that is in progress right now, and this is the second episode of the accompanying podcast. Jill and Aaron talk about David Lynch first and foremost, as he is omnipresent with any conversation about modern cinema. We then get into the book and how we are approaching this topic, and where this could lead. Links: Video of this episode The A24 New Wave Kickstarter Follow Us: Cinejourneys - YouTube Channel | Facebook Page | Facebook Group | Instagram | Letterboxd | BlueSky | Threads Jill Blake - BlueSky Aaron West - BlueSky | Letterboxd

Description: Aaron is writing an A24 book. There is a Kickstarter campaign that is in progress right now, and this is the first episode of the accompanying podcast. This episode will appear in all podcast player apps soon, and is always available here on the website and on our YouTube channel. We are very excited about the book and looking forward to your support! Links: Video of this episode The A24 New Wave Kickstarter Follow Us: Cinejourneys - YouTube Channel | Facebook Page | Facebook Group | Instagram | Letterboxd | BlueSky | Threads Jill Blake - BlueSky Aaron West - BlueSky | Letterboxd

Description: We visited with Daniela Taplin Lundberg, the owner of Stay Gold Productions and host of the Hollywood Gold Podcast. She has produced films such as Harriet, Honey Boy, Beasts of No Nation, The Kids Are All Right, Under the Silver Lake, Nanny, and several more. Her podcast is focused on showcasing producers with stories of the blood, sweat and tears that go into making Hollywood Gold. After the discussion with Daniela, Jill Blake discusses her trip to Los Angeles where she caught the Robbie Robertson Tribute show, which could become a Scorsese documentary, and also seeing Joni Mitchell at the Hollywood Bowl. Links: Video of this episode Stay Gold Features Stay Gold Pledge Stay Gold Instagram | Hollywood Gold Instagram Follow Us: Cinejourneys - YouTube Channel | Facebook Page | Facebook Group | Instagram | Letterboxd | BlueSky | Threads Jill Blake - BlueSky Aaron West - BlueSky | Letterboxd

Description: Celeste de la Cabra is a horror expert, at least in Aaron's opinion. They spent some time going through Aaron's Top 100 Horror Films of the 21st century. Celeste had not looked at the list beforehand, and it turned out she had seen 63 of the films. She had some great takes, as expected. Links: Video of this episode Aaron's Top Horror Films of the 21st Century Celeste de la Cabra YouTube | Patreon | Letterboxd | Instagram Follow Us: Cinejourneys - YouTube Channel | Facebook Page | Facebook Group | Instagram | Letterboxd | BlueSky | Threads Jill Blake - BlueSky Aaron West - Letterboxd | BlueSky

Description: Derek Smith joins Aaron to talk about the Slant list for best horror films of the 21st century. Derek writes for Slant and is going to be a guide for CineJourneys, so he had some great insights. Of course we quibbled about some of the results, but that's kind of the point with lists. Links: Video of this Conversation Slant Magazine - The 100 Best Horror Movies of the 21st Century Where to find Derek - Slant Magazine | Letterboxd | Twitter/X Follow Us: Cinejourneys - YouTube Channel | Facebook Page | Facebook Group | Instagram | Letterboxd | BlueSky | Threads Jill Blake - BlueSky Aaron West - Letterboxd