Contra Zoom Pod

Make/Remake examines how two films that share the same story. It isn't about what film was better or worse, but how they are similar and different while following the same arcs. In this episode we look at James Whale's 1933 film The Invisible Man and Leigh Whannell's 2020 remake The Invisible Man . Both films tell the story of a man who discovers how to make himself invisible through science and t...

On the last episode we covered the most anticipated films of 2020, not even two weeks later but everything scheduled before the summer either has been pushed back or announced it will be released directly to own or stream, bypassing cinemas entirely. COVID-19 has wrecked havoc on the world, and unfortunately the movie industry is no different. Sammy Feilchenfeld joins as talk about movies that hav...

We finally close the chapter on season 5 and of 2019, as we movie on to talk about the most anticipated films coming out this year. Due to the coronavirus, some film releases have already been pushed back, while others are very likely to be moved as well. So please understand that this episode might eventually become just a films I'm looking forward too, but might not be out anytime soon.  Li...

We are finally ready to close the book on 2019 with out best films of the year. Stephanie joins me this week to count down our ten best. Dakota's list: 10. Corpus Christi 9. Little Women 8. Pain & Glory 7. Uncut Gems 6. Jojo Rabbit 5. Knives Out 4. The Two Popes 3. 1917 2. One Upon a Time in... Hollywood 1. The Last Black Man in San Fransisco Special thanks to Curtis Sindrey from Aesthetic Magazin...

Contra Zoom Pod is celebrating it's 100th episode! To help wrap up Oscar season, Dakota interviews the Oscars Death Race Podcast host Paulo Bautista. They chat about watching all 53 nominated films, their most and least favourite flicks and what it is like being a part of a community that punishes themselves every year to complete the race. What is the Oscars Death Race? Dakota also thanks people...

On this episode Dakota is joined by film critic Thom Ernst, who you will likely know him from TVO’s Saturday Night at the Movies, the podcast This Movies About You and his written work from Original Cin. The two recap the 92nd Academy Awards including their thoughts on the winners, the loser, the musical numbers and the speeches. Make sure you follow Thom on Twitter and look for his reviews on Ori...

The 92nd Academy Awards air on Sunday February 9th and Dakota and Stephanie go over every category of who they think will win, and who they want to win. Make sure you listen to the episode where we broke down the Best Picture nominees in Part 1 and Part 2 . If you haven't already checked out the Oscar Nominations Reactions episode, do so too! Make sure you stay subscribed to the show because there...

There are nine Best Picture nominees and over the last two episodes we broke down each film's nominations and the odds they have on winning them to help you with your Oscar Pools or just to be better informed. On this episode we cover 1917, Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood, Marriage Story, Parasite and Ford v Ferrari. This episode does not contain spoilers. Make sure you listen to the episode...

There are nine Best Picture nominees and over the next two episodes we will break down each film's nominations and the odds they have on winning them to help you with your Oscar Pools or just to be better informed. On this episode we cover Joker , The Irishman , Jojo Rabbit and Little Women . This episode does not contain spoilers. Stay tuned for next week where we break down 1917, Once Upon...

The 2020 Oscar nominations are now out! Every year Contra Zoom Pod dedicates the lead up and subsequent aftermath of the show to discuss and dissect everything related to the awards ceremony. On this episode Dakota is joined by Sammy Feilchenfeld and Stephanie Prior to talk about the nominations. They go over each category and talk about any surprises, snubs and what they think about the group.&nb...

This episode of Contra Zoom is ten years in the making! Join us as we count down the 50 best films of the 2010's. On part two we go through films 25 through 1. To make things more fun there are a ton of special guests (too many to name) to give their takes on why these films are important. If you haven't listened to part 1 yet , please do so first! Listen to Contra Zoom on Anchor , Apple Podcasts...

This episode of Contra Zoom is ten years in the making! Join us as we count down the 50 best films of the 2010's. On part one we go through the bottom half of the list. To make things more fun there are a ton of special guests (too many to name) to give their takes on why these films are important. Stay tuned as the top 25 will be revealed on December 31st! Listen to Contra Zoom on Anchor , Apple...

On this episode Dakota Arsenault and Stephanie Prior talk about the movies that are the early frontrunners to be nominated and potentially win big at this year's Oscar's. First they run through films they have seen like Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, My Name is Dolemite and Parasite, then later they talk about movies either not out yet or just ones they haven't seen like Marriage Story, The Irishm...

Make/Remake examines how two films that share the same story. It isn't about what film was better or worse, but how they are similar and different while following the same arcs. In this episode we look at Gilles Mimouni's 1996 film L'Appartement and Paul McGuigan's 2004 remake Wicker Park . Both films tell the story of a young man who thinks he see's his ex-girlfriend and starts to follow her to f...

The new streaming service Disney+ launches in Canada, the United States and the Netherlands on November 12th. With the release just days away Sammy Feilchenfeld comes on the show to talk about how the platform will work, which titles are available, pricing and more. They then discuss some anticipated shows and movies on the platform including The Mandalorian, The World According to Jeff Goldblum a...

On this episode Dakota Arsenault is joined by Stephanie Prior to talk about some classic horror movies that you can check out this Halloween season. All the picks can be found on The Criterion Channel for ease of viewing. Also as an added bonus friend of the show Calum McNab who hosts SCARETRODUCING, a horror themed podcast leaves his top 5 picks for under rated scary films you should check out. ...

Wrapping up our Toronto International Film Festival 2019 coverage, I got a chance to speak with film composers David Wingo (The Report), Joel P West (Just Mercy) and Trevor Gureckis (The Goldfinch). All three conversations involve where they get inspiration from, how they collaborate with their directors and what their creative process is like.  The Report , directed by Scott Z Burns, comes o...

We here at Contra Zoom Pod got a chance to check out some films that played at the Toronto International Film Festival this year. Listen to us talk about Jojo Rabbit, The Laundromat, Harriet, There's Something in the Water and No Crying at the Dinner Table. We also talk about Digital releases not receiving press screenings, Oscar hopefuls and the People's Choice winning films.  If you haven't...

On this special episode of Contra Zoom, we have two interviews in this packed episode. First off I speak with Carol Nguyen, a Toronto filmmaker who is having her latest short film No Crying at the Dinner Table premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. We talk about dealing with family trauma, representation in cinema and getting to screen her film in front of family and friends. The sec...

In this episode, Dakota is joined by Sammy Feilchenfeld to discuss everything Marvel. Starting with the announced MCU films and going into the Disney/Sony Spider-Man standoff, the new Disney+ streaming site and finally the Marvel TV shows that will air on D+. Films discussed include Black Widow, The Eternals, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness an...

Continuing the long running (and long dormant) series chronicling every Best Picture winner and ranking them decade by decade, Dakota is joined by Stephanie Prior to break down the winners from 1988-1997. At the end of the top ten, the duo reveals their Best Actor’s, Best Supporting Actors and Best Picture’s from the crop. Here is how it turned out: 10. Driving Miss Daisy 9. Forrest Gump 8. Rain M...

Make/Remake examines how two films that share the same story. It isn't about what film was better or worse, but how they are similar and different while following the same arcs. In this episode we look at Park Chan-wook's 2003 movie Oldboy and Spike Lee's 2013 version with the same name. Joining Dakota on this episode is Gemma Mastroianni and the two try to avoid spoilers, so if you haven't seen t...

On this episode, Dakota is joined by Sammy Feilchenfeld to discuss the 50th anniversary of the moon landing! They talk about the the monumental event, along with their favourite space travel related films including A Trip to The Moon, The Right Stuff, Hidden Figures, Apollo 11 and Apollo 13. Listen to Contra Zoom on Anchor , Apple Podcasts , Spotify , RadioPublic , Podcast Addict and more on the w...

On this episode, Dakota is joined by Sammy Feilchenfeld to discuss video game movies! They talk about the rocky history of adaptations, do a throwback review of the very first video game movie Super Mario Brothers and then talk about the future of genre.  Listen to Contra Zoom on Anchor , Apple Podcasts , Spotify , RadioPublic , Podcast Addict and more on the way! Thank you Eric and Kevin Sma...

On this episode I chat with Martha Kehoe and Joan Tosoni, directors of the new documentary Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind. The conversation goes in depth talking about getting to spend time with Gordon Lightfoot, fitting in thirty minutes with Alec Baldwin and getting access to a treasure trove of historical footage of the Canadian music scene. Gordon Lightfoot: If You Can Read Mind i...