Contra Zoom Pod

Normally Make/Remake examines how two films that share the same story. Not to say what film was better or worse, but how they are similar and different while following the same arcs. This time we are looking at the 1984 David Lynch version of Dune and the 2021 Dune directed by Denis Villeneuve. Check out our past Make/Remake 's for more great comparison episodes. Sammy Feilchenfeld, last heard on...

In lieu of a full episode this week, we bring you the fourth in our series of bonus episodes, Better Know a Contributor , where we ask frequent guests of the show 10 Contra Zoom Pod movie questions so you can learn more about your favourite voices. On this show is Calum Macnab, one half of the Scaretroducing Podcast . We talk favourite movies ( The Shining and Mulholland Drive ), favourite guest a...

Now that Spooktober is over, it's time to get dark and gritty with Noir-vember! Starting back in 2010 and coined by critic Myra E. Gates , every November movie lovers delve into the crime subgenre Film Noir. We make a top five list of our favourite noir films, but do so based on certain criteria.  Classic Era Noir - The Maltese Falcon (Dakota's pick), Night and the City (Rachel's pick) New Ho...

We continue our series going through the entire catalog of A24's films. On this episode we are looking at 2013's The Bling Ring , directed by Sofia Coppola. The movie is a rich kids gone bad, as bored Hollywood teens decide to start robbing celebrities they see on TV all the time. We talk about whether the film is style over substance and how well Emma Watson plays bad. Joining Dakota and Rachel i...

Our yearly Halloween special is back! Back in 2010 Mark Gatiss coined the term "Unholy Trinity" in his BBC documentary series A History of Horror , in regards to three seminal British folk horror movies, a subgenre that gained popularity in the late 1960's and beyond. The three films were 1968’s Witchfinder General , 1971’s The Blood on Satan’s Claw and 1973’s The Wicker Man . We first heard the t...

On this episode we wrap up the 2021 edition of the Vancouver International Film Festival . Joining the show to talk about movies watched is Thomas Stoneham-Judge, the Editor-in-Chief of ForReel Movie News and Reviews .  Belfast 11:00-19:00 Read Dakota's review . Red Rocket 19:30-30:00 Read Dakota's review . Official Competition 30:00-39:00 Benediction 39:00-47:30 Read Dakota's review . Drive...

We continue our series going through the entire catalog of A24's films. On this episode, 2012's Spring Breakers , directed by Harmony Korine is on the docket. The film had some stunt casting bringing in teen starlets Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens and Ashley Benson putting them in bikinis and watching them act like bad girls opposite James Franco doing a riff on the rapper Riff Raff and the directo...

After having such a great time covering last year's Cinefest Sudbury , it was a must to return to this Norther Ontario film festival. Last year it was digital only, this year they went to a hybrid model like so many other film festivals. We look at a few films we both saw and some short films seen too.  Wildhood 6:30-15:30 Read Dakota's review and Rachel's review . Drunk Bus  15:30-27:30...

On this show we are previewing the 40th edition of the Vancouver International Film Festival . It is the largest film festival in Western Canada and gets plenty of prestige films from around the world. Joining the show is Matthew Simpson, who is one half of the Awesome Friday Movie Podcast . We each picked five films (and a few honourable mentions) to talk about.  Dakota's picks - Red Rocket...

The Toronto International Film Festival just concluded, this year the fest did a hybrid model offering both in person and digital screenings. We talk about the biggest news stories, who won the awards and review films we watched. Read Rachel's review of Belfast . Some digital screeners were leaked online , causing the festival scene to reevaluate the hybrid model. No movies were sold during this y...

We're back with even more great Fantasia Festival coverage. Both Rachel and Dakota did solo interviews with directors who had their films screened at the best genre film festival in Canada. Dakota talked with Mark O'Brien , the director, writer and star of the Canadian horror film The Righteous. They talked about what horror films influenced Mark, finding the right cast members in two Canadian ico...

With this year's Toronto International Film Festival just around the corner, we are here to share our most anticipated films that are playing during this year's iteration. We both had five films we've named and included a few honourable mentions. Dakota's Picks - Spencer, All My Puny Sorrows, Official Competition, A Hero and The Middle Man Rachel's Picks - Flee, Night Raiders, Scarborough, Aloners...

We review the films that we watched during the 2021 edition of Fantasia, the yearly Montreal film festival that specializes in genre movies (horror, SciFi, thriller, action etc). We talk about movies we both saw, ones we had previously covered, ones only one of us saw and awards that were given out! 9:45-13:30 Glasshouse (Read Dakota's review and Rachel's review ) 13:30-18:50 Beyond the Infinite T...

Vancouver's second largest film festival and the largest queer arts festival in Western Canada had their 33rd annual Vancouver Queer Film Festival , celebrating the best films from the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. Joining the show is Stephanie Prior as we review three films that were screened during the festival.  Raw! Uncut! Video! 02:30-13:00 Workhorse Queen 13:30-27:00 The Fandom 27:30-41:00 Chec...

Montreal's Fantasia Festival is going on until August 25th. We had the chance to talk to the directors of two films being screened. Glasshouse , directed by Kelsey Egan, is a South African film about a family living in a green house during a pandemic that causes people to lose their memories and a mysterious stranger appears that upends the families tight bond.  We also chatted with Danielle...

We're just past the halfway mark of the year so we decided to name our five favourite and least favourite films of the year, so far. We added a caveat of removing any films that were in awards contention, so you won't hear us talking about Minari, Judas and the Black Messiah, The Father and others that technically came out in 2021.  Dakota's Top 5 1. The Green Knight 2. Under The Open Sky 3....

With the release of one of the most anticipated films from the last two years, we decide to turn our A24 Retrospective forward to review The Green Knight . The film directed by David Lowrey tells the tale of Sir Gawain, who is challenged to a game by the Green Knight and how his loyalty and desire to become a legend is then tested. This episode does include some spoilers, so if you have not watche...

In lieu of a full episode this week, we bring you the third in our series of bonus episodes, Better Know a Contributor, where we ask frequent guests of the show 10 Contra Zoom Pod movie questions so you can learn more about your favourite voices. We talk favourite movies ( Speed , Casablanca ), favourite guest appearances ( 155: Toronto Japanese Film Festival ), last movie turned off ( The Matrix...

We are continuing a new series here at Contra Zoom. A24 is putting out some of our favourite films and we want to revisit them and fill in the gaps for movies we have missed. We plan on going through every A24 episode, in order (except for some select new releases along the way). On this second episode, we look at the 2012 Sally Potter film Ginger & Rosa . The film stars Elle Fanning, Alice En...

Last year for my birthday, I made an episode picking my favourite movie from every year that I have been alive for ( 114: 30 Films in 30 Years ). This year Bil Antoniou joins, host of the podcast Bad Gay Movies , as we pick our favourite movie (and runner up) for every decade from the 1920's through the 2010's.  Dakota's picks are first then Bil's. 1920's - The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari , The P...

We are starting a new series here at Contra Zoom. A24 is putting out some of our favourite films and we want to revisit them and fill in the gaps for movies we have missed. We plan on going through every A24 episode, in order (except for some select new releases along the way). We start with the very first film A24 ever distributed, the Roman Coppola directed A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles S...

On this episode, Dakota and Rachel review the films they saw during the 10th annual Toronto Japanese Film Festival . Joining them is Naomi Wada Platt, a YouTuber who often covers Japanese culture and politics in both English and Japanese language videos.  The films talked about include: School Meals Time Final Battle 9:30-26:00 A Family 26:00-39:30 Hope 39:30-50:30 Under The Open Sky 50:30-1:...

It's been over a year since the world was ravaged by Covid-19, almost everything was shut down including film sets. Slowly productions started to be granted approval to restart, with the condition that they follow strict medical protocols. It was only time before movies used the pandemic as a plot device or narrative structure.  Rachel and Dakota look at five films in particular that are set...

Normally Make/Remake examines how two films that share the same story. Not to say what film was better or worse, but how they are similar and different while following the same arcs. This time we are looking at the 1961 Akira Kurosawa film Yojimbo and the 1964 Sergio Leone remake A Fistful of Dollars. Stay tuned for more great Japanese cinema coverage, as we will be doing a show on the Toronto Jap...

Who doesn't love a good cultural exchange program? On this episode we share sports films from different cultures. Me being a good Canadian hockey fan, brought the movie Goon to the table. It is about a dim witted bouncer who gets brought in to be a fighter for his local hockey team and ends up becoming a sensation. Joining the show is Hugh Dempsey and Sam Blakeley, hosts of Please Watch This , who...