Director's Club

Hard to know how to review QUEEN OF EARTH myself without rambling on and on (what a shock) but at least I got to spend 15 minutes with the filmmaker to get a better sense of what he was going for.  Suffice to say, I am fairly certain I loved the movie despite wrestling with it overall.  Director Alex Ross Perry, whom we just did an entire episode on not too long ago, was kind enough to spend 15 mi...

The great Kurt Halfyard and Andrew James of the RowThree Cinecast return for another wonderful and lengthy sequel episode on one of our favorite filmmakers / Renaissance man Steven Soderbergh .  This time we try to focus on the latter part of his career starting with THE LIMEY and going forwards from there.  There were some technical difficulties on my end due to some nasty weather and I had a bad...

One of my all-time favorite bands is Low.  They've been around for over 20 years, and I first heard them back in 2001 for the record Things We Lost In The Fire .  Now they are about to release their 11th full-length record next month entitled Ones & Sixes , and I couldn't be more excited to hear it based on the first two singles.  I play a sample of the first single, and end the show with the seco...

Patrick fulfills yet another promise to a Kickstarter contributor, and a familar one at that. Mr. Bill Ackerman asked Patrick to reconsider some movies from past episodes that he claims to have disliked in the past. Will a rewatch help in any way?  Patrick embarks on a very long conversation about such films as CRASH, PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK, HENRY FOOL, TWIN PEAKS: FIREWALK WITH ME, and more!  It'...

It wasn't easy filling an entire episode with a filmmaker whom we've only gotten to see two movies from thus far.  But that didn't stop my enthusiasm to talk about Alex Ross Perry with someone that is light years smarter than I was at his age.  18-year-old filmmaker Ben Medina joins me to talk Perry. We also delve into the many films and directors that have inspired Ben, what movies mean to him, a...

1985 celebrates my 30th anniversary as a movie freak.  BACK TO THE FUTURE was the movie I saw when I was seven years old that pretty much changed my life forever.  It got me hooked on going to the movies and seeing as many movies as I could. In honor of its release in July of 1985, I enlisted the help of two Chicago critics and friends Erik Childress and Collin Souter to not only talk about their...

I've had some wonderful guests in the past, but this one is particularly near and dear to me for reasons which I cover in this episode. Power pop legend  Matthew Sweet talks with me about a number of things including what it's like to hang out with Brian Wilson, the early days of MTV and record labels, what's in store for the future, and more!  There's certainly a lot of talk about in regards to h...

Me and Patrick tackle the big questions regarding why we bother to talk about movies at all and slip into a little processing of our own about the nature of movie-viewing and the importance of the "rewatch."  But for the majority of the episode, we parse the idea of movies that can potentially grow on you over time.  My choices for discussion were THE MASTER and JOE VS. THE VOLCANO , two oddities...

Director's Club as you know it is back, kind of.  As indicated in the recently posted Pop Culture Club debut, I mentioned that every now and again, directors will still be focused on from time to time.  I decided to put a couple of sequel episodes on the schedule for the summer to make it easier on myself, and to follow through on a couple of promises I made. Friend to the show Bill Ackerman and I...

I'm sure you are very confused right about now, but don't fret.  Director's Club isn't going away, just becoming sporadic.  Patrick will be back with another bonus episode soon enough too.  As for me, I'm occassionally going to put out shorter episodes akin to the one you're about to hear, that will go under the moniker "Pop Culture Club."  This is a trial run (or episode 1 if you prefer) in which...

The first of a few bonus episodes from Patrick (before his departure) as promised!  This one comes courtesy of a listener request from Sean.  This discussion also features previous guest Regina talking with Patrick about two Scorsese horror films: CAPE FEAR & SHUTTER ISLAND.  More episodes to come in the next couple of months! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subs...

Hello friends, Jim here.  Welcome to Clip Show Redux.  Well yes, this was technically supposed to be a part of episode 100 -- much like the last episode we did on favorite movies -- but that's okay since numbers don't really matter, right?  Besides we've surpassed episode 100 if we counted the bonus episodes, remember?  Basically, a couple of emailers suggested another crack at this, and I was up...

Is this it?  Is this the end of Director’s Club?  That’s the question on everybody’s mind, and we sorta answer it right at the top.  The show could be going away for awhile, but maybe not.  Or maybe it’ll change into something else.  Maybe Jim invented a time machine and is going back to 1985 to go see Back To The Future with him and his dad again!  Regardless, Patrick is taking a well-deserved br...

Is this it?  Is this the end of Director's Club?  That's the question on everybody's mind, and we sorta answer it right at the top.  The show could be going away for awhile, but maybe not.  Or maybe it'll change into something else.  Maybe Jim invented a time machine and is going back to 1985 to go see Back To The Future with him and his dad again!  Regardless, Patrick is taking a well-deserved br...

The great Nat Almirall joins us to talk about a true legend, director of such classics as THE MALTESE FALCON and THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE.  The one and only John Huston is discussed at length touching upon many films throughout his lengthy career. Other titles that come up include FAT CITY, LET THERE BE LIGHT, THE MISFITS, and more!  In addition, Jim and Patrick gush over two new indie fil...

Our first edition of Actor's Club!  For this bonus episode, I enlisted the help of returning guest and friend to the show, Bill Ackerman.  Together we focus on our favorite actresses for the first half, then for the second half, we examine the versatile career of Laura Dern.  Movies mentioned include SMOOTH TALK, RAMBLING ROSE, CITIZEN RUTH, INLAND EMPIRE, and a whole lot more!  We also touch upon...

We couldn't be more excited to talk to Joel Potrykus ( BUZZARD ) and Riley Stearns ( FAULTS ) both of whom were kind enough to talk to us about their latest films, their eariler work, influences, and a whole lot more.  Two really fascinating independent features recently released by two directors we both feel are worth learning more about.  We proudly present a special bonus episode where each of...

The Stuff!  It's Alive!  Yes, we're back with returning guest Mike Flynn.  This time we're covering B-movie genre-master Larry Cohen.  Of course we talk about a couple of his more popular films but other titles include GOD TOLD ME TO, Q: THE WINGED SERPENT, BLACK CAESAR, and more!  We also discuss revenge movies, KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE, and present a new segment that features the hardest we...

By popular demand, Jim and Patrick are back with a bonus episode full of music talk. Jim just released a new album, Patrick's working on one, and they both relate their stories of growing as songwriters, learning to sing, the recording process, their taste in music, and much much more.  In this case, much much more mostly just means "they talk about a shitload of music from the 90's". But if you w...

Achtung! We're back with returning guest Sean Pierce who joined us for a different German director once before. This time we attempt to comprehend the enigmatic and extremely prolific Rainer Werner Fassbinder.  We cover a few titles mainly focusing on ALI: FEAR EATS THE SOUL, VERONIKA VOSS, BEWARE OF A HOLY W***E and THE MARRIAGE OF MARIA BRAUN.  We also review THE HOMESMAN, BLACK SEA, FLIRTING WI...

Though not in the same room, the show must go on!  Returning guest and WHPK DJ Sergio Mims to talk about the extraordinary Stanley Donen, one of Hollywood's living (!) legends.  The conversation dances around some classics such as SINGIN IN THE RAIN, CHARADE, TWO FOR THE ROAD, FUNNY FACE and a whole lot more!   Earlier in the show, Jim talks about WAKE IN FRIGHT, Sergio reviews BLACKHAT, and Patri...

The episode you have all been waiting for is now here! Our three and a half hour epic covering the year in review and much much more. Patrick deconstructing NIGHTCRAWLER and WHIPLASH in a way that left Jim’s head spinning! Jim annoying Patrick with weird sounds and movie title puns! Resolutions for 2015 and lots of laughter over beer and jelly beans! We talk about our favorite movies of 2014 of co...

Hello folks!  Jim here, with a special episode for the new year.  I called several previous guests and friends of the show with one simple question: "What is the song that changed your life?"  Inspired by the film that changed your life book as well as my own love of all-things music, I decided to talk with several folks about what music means to them and which specific songs have a story behind t...

Well I'm back everyone and I couldn't be more ecstatic about this episode, in which we discuss Patrick's favorite filmmaker, the great Robert Altman!  In addition, I (kind of) review my favorite director's latest film entitled INHERENT VICE.  Maybe you've heard of it?  We also talk a couple of other recent releases such as WILLOW CREEK and I proclaim my love for NBC's gorgeous and disturbing show...

Did you know that in Iceland it's a Christmas tradition for people to exchange books on Christmas Eve? Then you take your book to bed that night, along with some chocolates. You will have to supply your own chocolates, but consider this our Christmas Eve book to you. Patrick talked with his friend Sarah Argodale about book adaptations, asking hard hitting questions like What Do The Harry Potter Ad...