Aussie and the Scotsman - Unfiltered Movie Podcast

This week we discuss 1989 American epic biographical anti-war drama film Born on the Fourth July directed by Oliver Stone, starring Tom Cruise, Willem Dafoe, Kyra Sedgwick, Tom Berenger, John C McGinley, Vivica Fox and many others. The Aussie had not seen this one and wow this really struck a chord with him. Both the boys are passionate and empathic as they discuss the horrors of war and the devas...

This week we are delighted to welcome Ben King to the studio. Ben King is an on-set photographer. We hear about the good experiences and the not so good experiences within the movie industry. We hear about some of the biggest movies and biggest stars Ben has worked on and with. Ben tell us about his experience working on the Robbie Williams bio - Better Man - one of the Scotsman favourites and we...

This week review the 1991 American action film Point Break directed by Kathryn Bigelow. It stars Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves, Lori Petty and Gary Busey. The film's title refers to the surfing term "point break", where a wave breaks as it hits a point of land jutting out from the coastline. The film features Reeves as an undercover FBI agent who is tasked with investigating the identities of a gro...

This week we review the 2011 American biographical sports drama film Moneyball written by Aaron Sorkin. This is an account of the Oakland Athletics baseball team's 2002 season and their general manager Billy Beane's attempts to assemble a competitive team. In the film, Beane (Brad Pitt) and assistant general manager Peter Brand (Jonah Hill), faced with the franchise's limited budget for players, b...

This week we are reviewing the 2024 biographical legal thriller The Correspondent directed by Kriv Stenders. The film stars Richard Roxburgh, Julian Maroun, Rahel Romahn, Yael Stone, and Mojean Aria. The plot focuses on Australian foreign correspondent and journalist Peter Greste, who was arrested in Cairo and held in an Egyptian prison, and is adapted from Greste's 2017 memoir The First Casualty....

This week we review the 2023 epic biographical thriller drama film Oppenheimer written, directed, and produced by Christopher Nolan. It follows the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the American theoretical physicist who helped develop the first nuclear weapons during World War II. The film chronicles Oppenheimer's studies, his direction of the Los Alamos Laboratory and his 1954 security hearing. Cil...

This week we review the 2007 American period drama film There Will Be Blood written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, loosely based on the 1927 novel Oil! by Upton Sinclair. It stars Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano, Kevin J. O'Connor, Ciarán Hinds, and Dillon Freasier. The film was nominated for eight awards at the 80th Academy Awards, winning two (Best Actor for Day-Lewis and Best Cinematography)...

This week we are in esteemed company as we welcome Marty Benson to the show. Marty is currently Director of Content for Melbourne for Endemol Shine Australia. Endemol Shine Australia is a part of Banijay, the world’s largest international TV and media content producer in the Southern Hemisphere. As an individual content producing company - the biggest in the world. For 7 years prior to this role M...

This week we discuss the 2019 biographical musical drama film Rocketman based on the life, music, and career of British musician Elton John. The film focuses on the story of Elton in his early days in England as a prodigy at the Royal Academy of Music through his musical partnership with Bernie Taupin. The story is told through his music and is titled after John's 1972 song "Rocket Man". Directed...

This week we review the 1975 American biographical crime drama film Dog Day Afternoon directed by Sidney Lumet and produced by Martin Bregman and Martin Elfand. The film stars Al Pacino, John Cazale, James Broderick and Charles Durning. The movie chronicles the 1972 robbery and hostage situation led by John Wojtowicz and Salvatore Naturile at a Chase Manhattan branch in Brooklyn. The film was nomi...

This week we review the 1982 American romantic drama film An Officer and a Gentleman directed by Taylor Hackford starring Richard Gere, Debra Winger, and Louis Gossett Jr. It tells the story of Zack Mayo (Gere), a United States Navy Aviation Officer Candidate who is beginning his training at Aviation Officer Candidate School. Unsurprisingly this is right up there for the Aussie. He loves his roman...

This week we review the 2016 American drama film Manchester by the Sea written and directed by Kenneth Lonergan that stars Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, Kyle Chandler, and Lucas Hedges. Revolving around the themes of depression, guilt, grief, responsibility, dysfunctional families, and post-traumatic stress disorder, the plot follows a depressed and grief-stricken man who becomes the legal gua...

This week we discuss the 2010 American biographical drama film The Social Network directed by David Fincher and written by Aaron Sorkin. It portrays the founding of social networking website Facebook. It stars Jesse Eisenberg as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, with Andrew Garfield as Eduardo Saverin, Justin Timberlake as Sean Parker, Armie Hammer as Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. The Scotsman mus...

This week we review - for the 2nd time - the 1990 American biographical gangster film Goodfellas directed by Martin Scorsese. Except this time we review it with Australian TV and movie star Pia Miranda. If you haven't listened check out our interview with Pia here:   https://aussiescot24.podbean.com/e/interview-with-pia-miranda/?token=5f56c4c635af82f0582b218b3012f0c9      where we deep dive into h...

This week we discuss the 2016 American black comedy crime film War Dogs directed by Todd Phillips. The film follows two arms dealers, Efraim Diveroli (Jonah Hill) and David Packouz (Miles Teller), who receive a U.S. Army contract to supply ammunitions for the Afghan National Army worth approximately $300 million. It's not a classic by any means, but it is an entertaining movie with a great cast. G...

This week we review the 2016 epic biographical war film Hacksaw Ridge directed by Mel Gibson based on the 2004 documentary The Conscientious Objector directed by Terry Benedict. The film focuses on the World War II experiences of Desmond Doss, an American pacifist combat medic who, as a Seventh-day Adventist Christian, refused to carry or use a weapon or firearm of any kind. Doss became the first...

This week we review the 2009 biographical sports film Invictus directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon, making it the third collaboration between Eastwood and Freeman after Unforgiven (1992) and Million Dollar Baby (2004). The story is based on the events in South Africa before and during the 1995 Rugby World Cup. The Springboks were not expected to perform well, the...

This week we review  the 2017 American biographical musical drama film The Greatest Showman directed by Michael Gracey. The film stars Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson, and Zendaya. Featuring nine original songs written by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, and an original musical orchestral score the film is a heavily fictionalized depiction of the life of P. T. Barnum, a sho...

This week we discuss the 1995 epic Vegas mobster film Casino directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone, Joe Pesci, Kevin Pollak and James Woods. The Aussie had not seen this one. He prefers this movie to Goodfellas. It is the 11th collaboration between De Niro and Scorcese.  Michael Franzese, an American former mobster, says Pesci's portrayal of a mafia member is the mo...

This week we review the 1988 American crime thriller film Mississippi Burning directed by Alan Parker that is loosely based on the 1964 investigation into the deaths of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner in Mississippi. It stars Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe as two FBI agents investigating the disappearance of three civil rights workers in fictional Jessup County, Mississippi, who are met with hostili...

This week we review the 1986 musical fantasy film Labyrinth directed by Jim Henson with George Lucas as executive producer. The film was written by Terry Jones, and many of its characters are played by puppets produced by Jim Henson's Creature Shop. The film stars Jennifer Connelly as 16-year-old Sarah and David Bowie as Jareth, the Goblin King. In Labyrinth, Sarah embarks on a quest to reach the...

Following the furore and backlash from our recent review of Duel we read out some emails and letters received from listeners.  Who do you agree with? The Aussie who absolutely detests the move - and thinks it is boring, disgraceful and a waste of time or the Scotsman who appreciates this classic for what it is and what it stands for. Let us know in the comments.

This week we review the 1971 American road action-thriller television film Duel directed by Steven Spielberg. It centers on a traveling salesman David Mann (Dennis Weaver) driving his car through rural California to meet a client. However, he finds himself chased and terrorized by the mostly unseen driver of a semi-truck. This is the podcast that could end the partnership of the Aussie and the Sco...

This week we review the 2022 American action drama film Top Gun: Maverick directed by Joseph Kosinski . This is a sequel to the 1986 film Top Gun. Tom Cruise reprises his starring role as the naval aviator Maverick. It also stars Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Glen Powell, Monica Barbaro, Lewis Pullman, Ed Harris and Val Kilmer, who reprises his role as Iceman. The story involves Maver...

This week we review the 1986 American action drama film Top Gun directed by Tony Scott and produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer. It stars Tom Cruise as Lieutenant Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, a young naval aviator aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise. He and his radar intercept officer, Lieutenant (junior grade) Nick "Goose" Bradshaw (Anthony Edwards), are given the chance to train at...