Watch This With Rick Ramos

Knight, Priest, King: Remembering the Many Faces of Max Von Sydow (4/10/29 - 03/08/20) On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Ibrahim & I sit down to remember the great Swedish actor, Max Von Sydow. A brilliant actor who starred in some of the most iconic films of our time, Von Sydow passed away last March a few short weeks away from his 91st birthday. This week we discuss the great acto...

"Two Together, Are Always Going Somewhere." Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo (1958) On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Ibrahim & I sit down to talk Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece, Vertigo , a film that has only grown in power and importance since first playing in theaters in 1958. Hitchcock's examination of obsession, fear, and uncertainty continues to be cited on Lists of the Greatest Fil...

It's All in the Title - Sydney Pollack's adaptation of Horace McCoy's They Shoot Horses, Don't They? A solo episode to close out March. Take a listen as I sit down to give my feelings on director Sydney Pollack's exceptional interpretation of Horace McCoy's They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969). Featuring Jane Fonda, Michael Sarazin, Bonnie Bedelia, Bruce Dern, Susannah York, Gig Young, and Red Bu...

Hannibal Lecter: The Devouring Oracle In 1981 Thomas Harris published Red Dragon and introduced the world to one of the most iconic figures in all of literature, and soon after, cinema - Dr. Hannibal Lecter. In 1986 Director Michael Mann would bring Lecter to the screen through the person of the great Scottish actor, Brian Cox. Cox would deliver a stunning performance as the cannibal doctor in Man...

One Question Answered, Five Questions Raised - David Fincher's Zodiac (2007) On this week's WatchThis W/RickRamos, Ibrahim & I sit down to look at a David Fincher Masterpiece - 2007's Zodiac , profiling the decades long search for The Zodiac Killer. This is an incredible film with award-caliber performances from Jake Gylenhaal as cartoonist Robert Graysmith (on whom this narrative is based and cen...

Spike Lee Returns to a Sweltering New York Summer - Summer of Sam ( 1999) On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Ibrahim & I continue looking at the paranoia of the summer of '77. In that year, David Berkowitz would spread fear and terror throughout the boroughs of New York City. Murdering random couples and women, The Son of Sam (as he was known), would create an environment of paranoia...

You Got To Know When To Hold 'Em, Know When To Fold 'Em - Goodbye Los Angeles (2000 - 2020) This week I take a special trip down memory lane saying goodbye to the city I've called home for over 20 years. I talk about moving to Los Angeles in 2000 and the struggles to survive as a substitute teacher, valet, taxman, insurance salesman, private tutor, actor, Comedy Store doorman, and comedian. It's b...

Night Stalker: An Unexplored "Evil" On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Ibrahim & I begin a study of serial killers, both non-fiction and fictional. This week we look at the Netflix 4-Episode Limited Series Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer , profiling the home invasions, rapes, murders and fear that captivated Los Angeles during a 14-month terror spree. Featuring interviews...

Love in the Hopelessness of Noir Nicholas Ray's They Live by Night (1947) & On Dangerous Ground (1952) A solo episode focusing on the brilliance and beauty of Director Nicholas Ray. This week I go back to Noir, looking at Ray's They Live by Night & On Dangerous Ground . Great films coupled with thoughtful commentary. Take a listen.  Questions, Comments, Complaints, & Suggestions can be directed to...

"Everybody She Plays With Dies." The Femmes Fatales of Billy Wilder's Double Indemnity and Paul Verhoeven's Basic Instinct Femme Fatales on this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos. This week Ibrahim & I sit down to look at the femme fatale in cinema focusing on the very first - Barbara Stanwyck in Billy Wilder's Double Indemnity (1944) & Sharon Stone in Paul Verhoeven's Basic Instinct (1992)....

Watching & Thinking: James Spader & The Dark Roads On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Mr. Chavez & I take a look at two exceptional films starring James Spader - 1989's sex, lies, & videotape and 2002's Secretary . Two fascinating films that examine the difficult subject of voyeurism, BDSM, and sexual exploration. There's a great deal to say, so take a listen to this enlightening and...

The Violence of Love: Psychological & Physical Abuse in Adrian Lyne's  9 1/2 Weeks and Sam Taylor-Johnson's Fifty Shades of Grey On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Ibrahim & I continue our look at sex, love, relationships, and emotional struggle. This week's episode focuses on Adrian Lyne's 1986 9 1/2 Weeks as well as Sam Taylor-Johnson's Fifty Shades of Grey from 2015. Two films tha...

Portraits of Passion & Pain - Bernardo Bertolucci's Last Tango in Paris & Nagisa Oshima's In the Realm of the Senses On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Ibrahim & I continue to discuss Romance, Passion, Infatuation, and Sex with a look at two of the most controversial films ever made, Bernardo Bertolucci's 1972 Marlon Brando & Maria Schneider exploration of sex, yearning, desire, and...

In the Kingdom of Kitsch - Milan Kundera's The Unbearable Lightness of Being On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Ibrahim & I begin the month of February with our first in a series of Romance movies. We start with Philip Kaufman's adaptation of author Milan Kundera's classic novel of romance and political upheaval in 1960's Prague, The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988). This is my f...

All Out of Bubblegum - John Carpenter Rings The Alarm - 1988's They Live  On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos Mr. Chavez & I sit down to talk one of the great B-Movie, Sci-Fi Classics, John Carpenter's They Live (1988). Science Fiction has traditionally been a genre that comments on the current state of society and culture. Carpenter's depiction of an alien invasion and the subsequent...

The Many Children of Akira Kurosawa: Sturges & Fuqua's The Magnificent Seven & Pixar's A Bug's Life On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Ibrahim & I continue discussing Akira Kurosawa's 1954 masterpiece Shichinin no samurai (Seven Samurai) with a look at the numerous films this film has directly and indirectly influenced. From Marvel's The Avengers (from 2008 on) thru John Landis' Thre...

"Once More, We Survive." - Akira Kurosawa's Shichinin no samurai - Seven Samurai  On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Ibrahim & I sit down to discuss what is arguably the greatest film in the history of cinema - Akira Kurosawa's 1954 jidaigeki (Japanese period drama) masterpiece, Seven Samurai . Featuring star-making performances by frequent Kurosawa collaborators, Takashi Shimura (as...

"I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that." Stanley Kubrick's - 2001 A Space Odyssey On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Mr. Chavez & I sit down to discuss a Sci-Fi Masterpiece, Stanley Kubrick's 2001 A Space Odyssey . A classic doesn't need a whole lot of explaining. Some may argue that everything that can be said about this film has already been said . . . well, the two of us dis...

"I don't know who to trust."  Trust as a Hard Thing to Come By: Christian Nyby and Howard Hawks' The Thing from Another World ( 1951) and John Carpenter's The Thin g (1982) On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Ibrahim & I close out 2020 with a look at the apocalypse . . . The Howard Hawks' Classic The Thing from Another World (1951) & The John Carpenter masterpiece The Thing. You're pr...

One of God's Fools - The Zone in Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker On this week's episode of WatchThis W//RickRamos, Ibrahim & I sit down to discuss one of the great achievements of Cinema, Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker . This late-70's era Russian existential masterpiece has rightfully been recognized as one of the most important films of Russian Cinema and an amazing examination of philosophical and psych...

Madman With a Typewriter - The World of Sam Fuller: Shock Corridor ( 1963) & The Naked Kiss (1964) On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, I introduce Mr. Chavez to one of the great "B-Movie" directors in all of cinema . . . Sam Fuller. From humble beginnings through his years as a copy-boy, newspaper reporter, screenwriter, novelist, infantryman, and - finally - director, Fuller is one o...

"I am America. I'm a winner who lost every battle, up to and including the war. I am not the American nightmare. I am the American Dream. Period. That's why the system works. Because I am the system. Period." The Life, Times, & Cinema of Richard Milhous Nixon - 37th President of the United States On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Mr. Chavez & I finish out our examination of Presiden...

Blue-Collar Immigrant, Breaking All of the Rules - Belushi (2020) On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, I find myself flying solo because of audio problems. My good friend and podcast partner, Mr. Ibrahim Chavez, is unable to join me this week, so I find myself forced to go it alone. This week the podcast is dedicated to the memory of SNL Legend, John Belushi. From the First Class of "N...

" A Patriot Must Always Be Ready To Defend His Country Against His Government " - Jim Garrison Oliver Stone's JFK (1991) On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Mr. Chavez & I sit down to discuss a masterpiece of cinema, and Oliver Stone's greatest achievement, JFK (1991). Fifty-Seven years later, the controversy surrounding that fateful day in November continues to haunt our country. Oli...

The Fat Man Won't Sing: Showtime's The Comey Rule  On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Mr. Chavez & I sit down to discuss the Showtime original film, The Comey Rule . This is a hit-and-miss film that falls short of doing it's subject matter justice. Featuring Jeff Daniels as former F.B.I. Chief James Comey and Brendan Gleeson as President Donald J. Trump, as well as a host of characte...