Films(trips)

Having survived Ralph Bakshi's The Lord of the Rings , Andrew and David decided to they needed something even more epic in scale. And what's bigger than the history of the world? Tune in as the podcasting duo reflect on the career of Mel Brooks, debate the value of Brooks' '90s output, once again have to discuss the most infamous event in the life of Richard Pryor, and welcome back the long overdu...

What happens when Ralph Bakshi makes an animated adaptation of one of the most famous fantasy works of all time? Well, two podcast hosts get to discuss it forty-five years later, of course! Tune in as Andrew and Dave discuss the successes and failures of this infamous film while still finding time to talk about Bob Seger and Robocop. Next Episode: Mel Brooks time! All music by Andrew Kannegiesser....

Having survived the apocalypse, Andrew and Dave have decided to pursue a far more meaningful goal: selling coffee in the northern parts of the UK! Okay, maybe they aren't selling coffee in the north, but Mick Travis, the protagonist of director Lindsay Anderson's O Lucky Man! , certainly is. What do the podcasting duo make of Anderson's not-exactly-a-sequel-to- If.... epic comedy? Is this the most...

Andrew and Dave survived Michael Caine's severed hand, but can they survive the Earth catching fire? Probably not, which is why they are thankful they are watching the apocalypse drama The Day the Earth Caught Fire from 1961 instead of dealing with the real thing. Just how great is this award winning sci-fi drama? Why did Richard Burton hit it big and Edward Judd didn't? This film was made because...

Despite there being 8 Million Ways to Die , Andrew and Dave return this episode to look at Oliver Stone's 1981 horror film, The Hand ! Is the film a forgotten gem in Stone's filmography, or a justifiably overlooked work? Would an adventure comic strip make the kind of money suggested in the film, even in 1981? And just how bad does Andrew's Michael Caine impression get? Tune in and find out! Next...

Andrew and Dave return to the 1980s to take a look at a lesser known thriller of the era: Hal Ashby's 8 Million Ways to Die , starring Jeff Bridges! What do the duo make of Ashby's final film? Just how troubled was the production history? And just what's the deal with shaved ice? Tune in and find out! Next Episode: It's me, Michael Caine, comic strip artist. All music by Andrew Kannegiesser. Editi...

Films(trips) kicks off 2023 with episode 223 by looking at a film from 1993! Leaving How Stella Got Her Groove Back behind them, Andrew and Dave turn their attention to the 1993 Oscar nominated film What's Love Got to Do With It? , the adaptation of the Tina Turner autobiography I, Tina. How well does this film, which stars Angela Bassett and Lawrence Fishburne, hold up? Just where do some of the...

James Hrivnak once again joins Andrew and Dave to look back over the Films(trips) year that was! Which decades where most heavily covered in 2022? What films do the hosts barely remember? Who will win James' annual trivia challenge? Tune in and find out! Next Episode: Really? We have to talk about Phil Specter again? I know it is only five minutes of the film, but come on! All music by Andrew Kann...

2022 Ghibli List It’s the holidays! Ross and Dave Babbitt of the Films(trips) podcast spent the year watching every movie from Studio Ghibli! Listen to us talk about all of them, and why directors Miyazaki and Takahata are more problematic than just being the grumpy artists most people view them as. Yes, Ross says “Princess Mononoke” incorrectly several times. Oops. He also says Hayao Miyazaki won...

After a year of looking at a surprisingly grim films in terms of subject matter, Andrew and Dave end the year on a decidedly lighter note by looking at the romantic comedy-drama How Stella Got Her Groove Back , the 1998 film based on the hit novel by Terry McMillian! Just what was the reaction to the film when it was released in theatres originally? What has (and hasn't) aged well with the film? A...

Having enjoyed Widows , Andrew and Dave follow Viola Davis to one of the most notable of Netflix's original films: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom , the 2020 film adaptation of the hit play by August Wilson starring Davis and the late Chadwick Boseman. What do the podcast duo make of the critically acclaimed film? How delighted are they to see Glynn Turnman again? And just what is behind that door? Tune...

Heading to Chicago, Andrew and Dave turn their attention to a film everyone seems to have missed in 2018: Steve McQueen's Widows , starring Viola Davis. What do the duo make of the little seem crime film? Why did audiences not turn up to see it in 2018? How many Doctor Who connections can Dave make? Tune in and find out! Next Episode: Great script + great actors + great direction = great film. All...

While a technical issue destroyed the previous episode, Andrew and Dave boldly return to discuss Hunger , the feature directorial debut of Steve McQueen!  Does one need to have a full understanding of the Troubles and the IRA in order to understand this historical prison drama? Just how stylistically confident is this film from a first time feature filmmaker? How the hell can a single static shot...

In which Dave explains the technical failings that resulted in the loss of a (pretty darn good) discussion of Michael Winterbottom's JUDE (1996). Next Episode: McQueen and Fassbender!  All music by Andrew Kannegiesser. Editing by Dave Babbitt. Sorry, folks!

Leaving a film inspired by a real life legal case behind them, Andrew and Dave instead turn their attention to a film based on a play which was inspired by a real life legal case in the form of M. Butterfly, the drama directed by David Cronenberg and written by David Henry Wang! What do the podcasting duo make of what is perhaps the most overlooked film in Cronenberg's career? Just why has this fi...

Having woken up after the nothing that was Mary Reilly , Andrew and Dave follow Glenn Close to much more interesting waters with Reversal of Fortune , the 1990 drama based on the non-fiction book by the complicated figure of Alan Dershowitz. Just what do the podcasting duo make of the Oscar winning film? Is it possible to untangle the film from the very real figures it is portraying? And just how...

Leaving Italy and Ripley's Game behind them, Andrew and Dave head to the UK and take in Mary Reilly , the infamous 1996 bomb starring Julia Roberts and John Malkovich! What do the duo make of the slightly different (though perhaps not different enough) take on Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde? Can any of the American cast members agree on how they are going to approach accents in their performances? Does t...

With James having ejected to safety before the rocket crashed back to Earth, Andrew and Dave find themselves in Italy and looking at Ripley's Game, Liliana Cavani's 2002 adaptation of the Patricia Highsmith novel of the same name. Will the podcasting duo enjoy the film, or will it be rejected when compared to the prior adaption of the book, The American Friend ? Does it have anything to do with th...

Ditching the Earth and Antitrust , Andrew and Dave pick up James Hrivnak to help them take a look director Brian de Palma's critical and commercial disaster, Mission to Mars , starring Gary Sinise, Don Cheadle, and Connie Neilsen. Have the past twenty-two years been kind to the film? Just what are the hosts' respective opinions on Van Halen? And just what iritates Andrew this week? Tune in and fin...

How does one make a film about antitrust law young, hip, and sexy? According to this week's film, don't talk about actual antitrust laws at all! Having been booted from the TARDIS, Andrew and Dave decide to check out Antitrust , the 2001 thriller starring Ryan Phillippe, Rachael Leigh Cook, Claire Forlani, Yee Jee Tso, and Tim Robbins. Why did this film bomb in 2001? Why does this film waste Richa...

Andrew and Dave travel through time and space (in as much as we all do) to take a look at the 1996 television movie, Doctor Who ! What do Dave, a long time Whovian, and Andrew, a non-fan, make of the film? Why didn't this film result in the hoped for revival of the famed television program? And just how Canadian is this British-American coproduction? Tune in and find out! Next episode: "Hi, Micros...

With their episode looking at the 1996 Doctor Who TV movie coming next week, Dave decides to get Andrew (and unfamiliar listeners) up to speed with just what the long running science fiction television program is all about! What's a Dalek? What does regeneration refer to? Is it as complex as it seems, or far, far simpler than it looks? Tune in and find out! Next Episode: I always dress for the occ...

Having loved pretty much every minute of Hail, Caesar! in the last episode, Andrew and Dave follow Josh Brolin to the far more frustrating Inherent Vice from director Paul Thomas Anderson. Does this adaptation of the 2009 Thomas Pynchon capture the feeling of the famed writer's work? If it does succeed in that regard, does that mean that it even works as a film? And just what is up with Dave's aud...

Leaving yet another Highlander film behind them, Andrew and David return once again to the land of Joel and Ethan Coen with Hail, Caesar!, the 2016 comedy which looks at Hollywood in 1951. Just how well does a more recent Coen brothers film work when compared to their classic work of the 1990s? What scene is works so well that it could be a short film itself? Would that it were so simple? Tune in...

Despite having numerous options after Con Air to watch some good films, Andrew and Dave instead dive for the third time into the ongoing train wreck of a franchise that is Highlander with Highlander: Endgame ! Once again joined by James Hrivnak, the hosts try to make sense of all the ways in which Endgame goes wrong in its effort to transition the films from star Christopher Lambert to Adrian Paul...