Molly Movie Club

Today’s movie is Lightyear directed by Angus MacLane. We decided to watch Lightyear for the podcast after seeing this recent quote from Pete Docter on why the movie failed to win over audiences: “ We’ve done a lot of soul-searching about that because we all love the movie. We love the characters and the premise. I think probably what we’ve ended on in terms of what went wrong is that we asked too...

Today’s movie is The Philadelphia Story directed by George Cukor. Despite featuring three of the most famous actors of classic Hollywood, we really didn’t care for this film. It sets up some promising scenarios for comedy, and then immediately shuts them down. There also seems to be a disconnect between the performances and the way characters are described in the story (Tracy is berated continuous...

Today’s movie is The Lobster directed by Yorgos Lanthimos. In what has become a Movie Club tradition, Anna likes this movie and Casey doesn’t. We both enjoy this movie conceptually - it’s filled with good ideas. Lanthimos is clearly a director with a strong creative vision, and that gives The Lobster a truly unique feeling. But for Casey, the screenplay just doesn’t quite work. We’ll see you next...

Today’s movie is S cott Pilgrim vs. The World directed by Edgar Wright. This movie is probably one of the most polished turds we’ve ever seen. Edgar Wright’s creative visual style and clever editing can’t save this mess of a screenplay. The result is a movie that is so hollow that it feels like a chore to watch. Our movie next week is The Lobster . We’ll see you then! This is a public episode. If...

Today’s episode is When Harry Met Sally directed by Rob Reiner. Undoubtedly Nora Ephron’s best work, When Harry Met Sally is a fantastic movie. The script is genuinely hilarious, and it also manages to capture the messiness of human relationships in such an authentic way. Thanks for joining us for the first episode of Romantic Comedies month! If you enjoyed this free episode, please consider subsc...

Today’s movie is Tampopo directed by Itami Jūzō. We both love Tampopo ! The movie is overflowing with creativity and inventive ideas, and its playful, optimistic tone is so appealing. It also remarkable in the way it manages to explore so many different ways that people relate to food. Let us know what you think of Tampopo ! We’ll see you next week for the start of a new month! We’ll post our offi...

Today’s movie is The Thin Red Line directed by Terrance Malick. It should be unsurprising to longtime listeners of Molly Movie Club that Anna likes this movie and Casey doesn’t. For Anna, the filmmaking was immersive and the contrast between natural beauty and the horrors of war was very effective. Casey hated the philosophical voiceovers and thought the story didn’t make much of an effort to supp...

Today’s movie is In the Mood For Love directed by Wong Kar-wai. We both agree on the visuals of this movie - it’s stunning. It’s certainly one of the best looking movies ever made. Where we disagree is on the rest of the film - Anna’s first instinct was to interpret it more loosely, while Casey insists that the movie is too literal to be interpreted in any other way. Both of us could probably use...

Today’s film is Blue Velvet directed by David Lynch. It's a little hard to watch Blue Velvet right after Mulholland Drive , because in Blue Velvet it feels like David Lynch is holding himself back. The movie feels uncommitted to its darker aspects, and falls a bit flat despite some great scenes. As always, let us know what you think! If you enjoyed this free episode, consider subscribing for acces...

Today’s episode is Home Alone directed by Chris Columbus. Casey always uses Home Alone as his example when talking about how even mediocre movies in the 70s, 80s, and early 90s often had a pretty solid script. John Hughes’ script for Home Alone is surprisingly good. That’s not to say we think Home Alone is a great film, but there’s so much creativity in the movie that it’s no surprise it’s remaine...

Today’s movie is Klaus directed by Sergio Pablos (in his directorial debut). We love Klaus ! This film combines a unique visual style with an emotionally affecting story. We can’t even get through the recording without our eyes tearing up! The only criticism we have is the same one we had of Fight Club , which is that the ending doesn’t quite live up to the rest of the movie. Let us know what you...

Today’s episode is Tim Burton’s Batman Returns . While the script for Batman Returns is pretty bad, there’s still a lot of fun to be had in this movie. Catwoman and The Penguin are two of the most memorable villains in the superhero film genre, thanks to the perfect combination of performance and costume/makeup design. In fact, this movie is probably one of the best examples of Tim Burton at his c...

Today’s movie is Die Hard directed by John McTiernan. We’re excited to kick off our month of Christmas movies with one of our favorites. Die Hard is undoubtedly one of the best action movies ever made. It has everything: an excellent script, creative action set-pieces, thrilling practical effects, and memorable performances. As always, let us know what you think! If you enjoyed this free episode,...

Today’s movie is American Psycho directed by Mary Harron. This was the first time either of us had seen American Psycho , and our initial impressions were pretty similar. The movie is made up of great moments, but the pieces never manage to come together in a satisfying way. As always, let us know what you think! Our movie schedule for December will be: December 2nd (free episode) - Die Hard Decem...

Today’s episode is David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive . We both really like this movie. Lynch plays with the audience’s perception so skillfully we almost don’t realize we’re being played - even when the film explicitly tells us we are. It’s pretty brilliant. In fact, neither of us can think of anything negative to say about the film. Let us know what you think about Mulholland Drive ! We’ll see you b...

Today’s episode is Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo . To be honest, we are both a bit baffled as to why this film is so highly regarded. In fact, we feel like it’s a muddled mess that continuously misses the mark. Hitchcock also seems determined to make sure there is no ambiguity, which makes it hard to interpret the film in a way that might save it. We obviously really want to hear what you think about...

This week’s episode is Fight Club directed by David Fincher. Fight Club is an extremely clever, intelligent film. Usually we’re pretty critical of the use of voice over narration in film, but Fight Club is proof that it can be done well. The movie also tackles some of humanity’s darker instincts with remarkable insight. The main disappointment for us was the ending, which we feel lets the movie do...

The final movie in Spooky Month is John Carpenter’s Halloween . It was the first viewing of this movie for both of us, and we really enjoyed it! John Carpenter is a skilled filmmaker, and he thrives within the constraints of a low budget. There’s such an ambitious creativity behind Halloween , it’s easy to see why it’s considered a classic. We’ll see you back here next week for the first week of o...

Today’s movie is The Witch , a 2015 folk-horror film directed by Robert Eggers. For both of us, this movie was… meh. There were some things we liked - it’s well shot and acted. But otherwise, The Witch is a bit of a letdown. There’s very little mystery in the story, which undercuts the film’s ability to be frightening and leaves it feeling bland. As always, we’re curious to hear what you think! We...

Todays’s movie is an Alfred Hitchcock classic: Psycho . At this point, it seems like we’re settling into a fairly routine dynamic: Anna likes a movie, and Casey doesn’t. The lack of subtlety in Psycho rubbed Casey the wrong way. But we both agree on a few highlights - the iconic Bates house, and a fantastically creepy performance by Anthony Perkins. Our movie next week will be The Witch . We hope...

Welcome to a new month, and a new movie theme! We’re starting our Spooky Movie Month with Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. We both think this movie is amazing. Kubrick brings together brilliantly shot scenes, disturbing music and sound design, and a great story. There’s a reason this movie is a classic. We spend most of the podcast gushing over how good this movie is, but we also discovered that we...

Today’s movie is Gallipoli directed by Peter Weir. In classic Movie Club fashion, Anna liked this movie and Casey didn’t. Even though Gallipoli does manage to capture the mundane everyday experience of soldiers and the brutality of war, it often undercuts its own emotional impact with odd music choices and direction that sometimes misses the mark. Next week we will be hosting a Movie Club LIVESTRE...

This week is Stanley Kubrick’s 1957 film Paths of Glory . We both enjoyed Paths of Glory , but neither of us had a really strong reaction to it - positive or negative. In this episode we discuss we discuss the things we felt worked, and Casey dives into some things that confused him. We’re curious to hear what you thought of Paths of Glory ! We look forward to reading your comments. Next week’s fi...

Today’s movie is 1917 directed by Sam Mendes. We were split on this movie - Anna liked it, and Casey didn’t. To regular Movie Club listeners, this is probably completely unsurprising. 1917 is an immersive visual experience, without much character development or plot. It also has a singing scene, and we all know how Casey feels about that. Let us know what you think! We’ll see you next week for Sta...

This week’s episode is Lawrence of Arabia directed by David Lean. Lawrence of Arabia is a masterpiece. It’s also Anna’s favorite movie. Not only is it one of the most gorgeous films ever shot, it also happens to feature one of the most interesting characters in cinema. It’s this combination that makes the movie truly remarkable. Although, it wouldn’t be an episode of Molly Movie Club without Casey...