Footcandle Films

With the end of the year approaching, awards and nominations are being announced left and right. Two big recent releases that have critics buzzing are Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar” and Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu’s “Birdman”. The Footcandle fellows are joined in studio by guest Abigail Taylor to discuss these films. With so much to discuss the usual news segment fell by the wayside… but don’t...

Alas the fellows haven’t been able to make it to the theaters to watch any films … but fear not … they look ahead to see what is on the horizon and give their early thoughts on what might be getting Oscar buzz as the year winds down. As an added bonus they have their first in-studio guest – Carrie Guarino, a local actress & film lover. Recommendations: American Psycho, They Came Together, Ligh...

With the release of director David Fincher’s “Gone Girl” starring Ben Affleck the big films of the Fall have officially started rolling out to theaters. It is also the time when smaller independent films like “Life of Crime” starring Tim Robbins and Jennifer Anniston could slip under your radar. We’ve got reviews of both on this episode plus some movie news and film recommendations for movies you...

With the summer blockbusters fading from the multiplex and the Oscar bait fall films not yet on the scene Alan & Chris pick two independent titles to ruminate on in this episode. First up is Richard Linklater’s Boyhood which took 12 years to make and used the same cast. Afterwards they discuss Frank starring Michael Fassbender as the titular enigmatic musician who always wears a gigantic paper...

Subtitled period drama with heavy themes or frivolous comedy from Footcandle Films favorite Steve Coogan - we’ve got both on this episode. Alan also offers a solo review of the indie zombie film “Life After Beth’ while Chris gives his take on the indie vampire film “Only Lovers Left Alive”. Rounding out the episode are tidbits of silver screen news & films you might want to revisit or check ou...

Is the latest Marvel movie a marvel? Is the art house offering “Begin Again” anything but the film “Once” beginning again? Alan & Chris offer up their opinions as well as share some news tidbits and their suggestions for films you might want to check out. Recommendations: “Super” & “The Fisher King” See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://ar...

It’s a sci-fi triple feature on this episode of Footcandle Films. Chris Evans hits the screen sans his Captain America garb as a post-apocalyptic revolutionary aboard a train carrying all that is left of humanity in “Snowpiercer”. “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” also with an apocalyptic vibe examines the confrontation between apes & man after a deadly virus wipes out most of the human race. S...

Writer/Director/Actor Jon Favreau returns to his indie roots with the comedy “Chef” and brings along some of his friends he’s made while babysitting the Iron Man franchise. Alan & Chris discuss this film as well as the documentary covering the life of movie critic Roger Ebert simply called “Life Itself”. Afterwards new movie buzz is discussed and efforts are made to keep it comic book free alo...

Is the summer heat getting to you? Want to retreat into the cool oasis of your local theater and take a laugh break? In the hopes of offering you some guidance on spending your hard earned money at the box-office Chris & Alan review the current comedic offerings of “22 Jump Street” and “A Million Ways to Die in the West”. Chris also fits in a mini review of Angelina Jolie’s revisionist fairy t...

This episode has something for everyone…big budget action and costume drama. Alan & Chris review Tom Cruise’s summer blockbuster “Edge of Tomorrow” and the historical drama “Belle” Rounding out the episode per usual are some news tidbits and recommendations of films you might want to check out. Recommendations: “Contact”, “End of Watch” See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and Calif...

You have to admit – this episode title is only slightly more ridiculous than the title of the latest installment in the X-Men franchise right? After the disappointment of Spiderman 2 do the uncanny X-Men fare any better in their summer blockbuster sequel? Recommendations: “Milius”, “Gone With The Wind”, “The Great Beauty” See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notic...

Having posted three shows in April, Alan & Chris decided to take a Spring Break of sorts from their critic duties. Now they’re back with a super-sized episode featuring reviews of two blockbusters (Spiderman 2, Godzilla) and two independent flicks (The Double, Blue Ruin). Chris tries his hand at anchoring the news segment and of course they close with their recommendations for films you might...

Big budgets, big stars, & special FX galore. It must be Summertime. Well no, it is only mid-April. Just like Christmas items seem to show up before Halloween costumes leave the shelves, summer tentpole films seem to be creeping earlier and earlier into the year. Two such films “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” and “Noah” are discussed in this episode along with the documentary “Tim’s Verme...

After taking in a deluge of films at the 2014 RiverRun International Film Festival in Winston-Salem, NC Alan & Chris sat down and recounted their thoughts on what they saw. Bear with them…it was late at night and films almost started running together. Plus they were a bit giddy because they’d gotten to see director David Gordon Green and actor Tye Sheridan do an unexpected Q&A. See Privacy...

The Muppets are back in the theater with all new songs and celebrity cameos. What did Alan & Chris think of their efforts this time around? Will it likely be one of their favorites of the year like the previous film? Next up Frodo Baggins (aka Elijah Wood) goes art house with a thriller (Grand Piano) where he’s a pianist staging a comeback. Movie news and recommendations round out the episode…...

The 2014 Oscars have come and gone. Among the winners were the Italian film “The Great Beauty” for Best Foreign Language Film. Fresh from a screening of the film, Alan & Chris weigh the film’s merits and consider whether the Academy made a good choice. Time is also spent discussing “Wadjda” which has the distinction of being the first feature length film ever to be shot entirely in Saudi Arabi...

The Academy decided that “Inside Llewyn Davis”, the latest film by the Coen Brothers, was worthy of only two nominations in the less lauded categories of Sound Mixing and Cinematography. Alan & Chris weigh in with their thoughts on whether or not this was one of those infamous academy slights. They also talk about the recent highly successful kids film “The Lego Movie”. With 2014 promising to...

Spike Jonze, whose films include “Being John Malkovich”, “Adaptation” and “Where The Wild Things Are”, has an Oscar contender for Best Picture with his latest work “Her”. Alan & Chris give their thoughts on the film and then spend a few moments mourning the passing of Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Also in this episode both hosts pick their favorites to take home Oscar statues in March. To make thin...

What better way to bring in 2014 than to cram as many reviews into one episode as possible? That's exactly what Alan & Chris try to do…give you the most bang for your podcast listening buck. Oh wait…the show is free right? Well maybe it'll encourage you to pay it forward and give us a kind review on iTunes? Anyways…we do have a great show with reviews of "American Hustle", "The Wolf of Wall St...

Alan & Chris close out 2013 with a review of the holiday classic "It's a Wonderful Life" and their takes on the current multiplex offerings of "Anchorman 2" and "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug".  Also discussed are the smaller art house films of "Philomena" and "Enough Said".  To close out the show the hosts came up with a unique list of categories that they used to sum up their year in c...

Heavy subject matter abounds on this episode of Footcandle Films with reviews of "12 Years A Slave" and the documentary "Blackfish". Afterwards, in an attempt to cheer things up a bit, Alan urges Chris to give brief reviews of "Frozen" and the next installment in the Hunger Games series. Recommendations – "Hot Rod", "Frances Ha" See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privac...

Science fiction. A well beloved film genre of Chris, who also loves to read (when he's not sitting in a darkened theater). How does he feel about the big budget adaptation of the bestseller "Ender's Game"? Alan, who looks at reading books like a plate of steamed broccoli, also gives his thoughts on the film. Shifting gears the gents then discuss another Somali pirate film – no it's not "Captain Ph...

Documentary filmmaker Thomas Morgan stopped by to discuss his film "Waiting for Mamu", give some doc recommendations and tell what projects are next on his horizon. Documentary Recommendations – "A Band Called Death", "The Entrepreneur", "Gideon's Army", "Beware of Mr. Baker" See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-i...

Was Alan held captive by Somali pirates like Captain Phillips? Not exactly - but he didn't get a chance to see the film. For the ransom of a 2014 popcorn bucket Chris agrees to give solo reviews of both "Captain Phillips" and the indie film "Escape from Tomorrow" that was covertly shot in the Disney World Theme Park. After the reviews, the fellows discuss some movie news and finally have their mov...

On this episode hosts Alan & Chris discuss Bullock and Clooney bouncing around in space and Thor driving a formula one race car. In other words they talk about the recent films "Gravity" and "Rush". Next on the agenda they discuss silver screen news items of note and Alan has Chris give quick 1 minute reviews of "Runner, Runner" and "Don Jon". Last but not least they round out the episode with...