And the Winner Should Have Been...

Recorded months ago, it was a tough edit (as I say near the end of the episode), but I also got a job in the interim and there's been less time for unpaid frivolity. Tardy or no, we hope you enjoy our ramblings on the topic of SF films and, as always SPOILERS ABOUND! Listen at your own peril for having plots of the movies mentioned told to you in advance. If you want to just listen to the part...

Bob's elder daughter jumped at the chance to rebut what she viewed as the vile slander of a beloved (by her) Christmas film The Holiday . (And talk about Christmas movies in general.) Since she visited Bob for the holidays, they sat down and chewed the fat about Christmas cinema. Enjoy a bonus very specialer episode! Though, to be sure, beware the ever-lurking SPOILERS! 00:10 Intro 02:03 The H...

Back after a longer interlude since the last time we tried to record we had catastrophic technical problems. After Bob's daughter complained to him that she can't listen to most episodes since they spoil movies she hasn't seen. So, this time around, a very special episode that only contains movies which she has already seen. If you're interested in having your tastes pandered to, r...

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 disclaimer 03:57 First soundtrack In the Mood for Love (...

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 Intro 03:45 Le Samourai 07:01 Ghost Dog: Way o...

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...

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 Intro 00:57 A good year? 03:21 The Conversation 12:25 Gene Hackman interlude 13:35 (Yes, yes; we were thinking of A Few Good Men ) 18:14...

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...

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 Intro 04:53 Favorites watched for the podcast 07:27 Movies from 2024 17:53 Bob and Indian...

00:10 Intro 02:04 The White Parade , copyright, and availability 09:02 Which ones did we watch? 10:45 It Happened One Night 11:53 It was the Valentine's Day episode about rom-coms in 2022 15:10 Bob's a little off; Miami was 110,000 in 1930, up from less than 30,000 in 1920 20:05 Bob did! See above. 20:57 The end of the Pre-Code era 23:23 Cleopatra 28:13 Imitation of Life 33:18 Flirtation W...

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...

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 ; cultur...

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) 08:3...

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. Isra...

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 Prej...

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...

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...

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 podcas...

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 Th...

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 apparent...

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 T...

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 P...

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...

Wrapping up the Indiana Jones trilogy this time around. Hope you enjoy it, SPOILERS, of course! We're not going to talk about the latter two films; at least, not for the foreseeable future. Never say never, though!0:10 Opening salutations1:13 "The jewel of Southeast Asia"4:45 Synopsis8:50 Is Indy actually searching for the Holy Grail?12:51 Comparing the three films: villains19:06 Donovan vs Belloq...

Installment number two in our evaluation of the Indiana Jones franchise. (Ugh, it feels a little dirty saying "franchise.") We'll at least get the the third, but no promises about anything further. Very, very mild spoilers for The Sixth Sense (trailer level), and of course SPOILERS! for Temple of Doom. Enjoy! 00:10 Episode 50!03:05 Thinking about Temple of Doom differently after watching it this t...