Movie Bones

This week, Justin and Ryan dig into 'Under the Yum-Yum Tree' (1963) and talk about... https://tubitv.com/movies/100014481/under-the-yum-yum-tree   - Dean Jones does Jimmy Stewart? - Sexual revolution and 60's cinema - Unusual, plot specific apartment layouts - Was 'not-looking' not an option? - Making your heroine complicit in obvious traps to the point of stupidity - Hogan as...

This week, Justin and Ryan dig into 'The Taming of the Shrew' (1967) and talk about... - Abuse: the Movie - Trying to understand the rationale for Shakespeare writing it this way - Controversial even in Shakespeare's time. - With some small changes, could be a horror story - The horror of psychological manipulation - Connection to "10 Things I Hate About You" - Compared to othe...

This week, Justin and Ryan dig into 'The Brain from Planet Arous' (1957) and talk about... - Can a sci-fi film be less concerned with explaining what the rules are? - "Is he dead?" - Fiction's best detective is not Batman, but random nameless small-town sheriff. - Ridiculously overpowered villain foiled by easily foil-able plot. - Brain dude doesn't need to possess a human...

This week, Justin and Ryan dig into 'The Thin Man' (1934) and talk about... https://tubitv.com/movies/100045809/the-thin-man - a 'light' noir piece - Nick and Nora: a couple for the ages - the smartest guy in the room, sans arrogance - A *relationship* for the ages - the amazing popular streak of "The Thin Man" series - The real-life platonic relationship between the leads...

This week, Justin and Ryan dig into 'Scrooge' (1951) and talk about... https://tubitv.com/movies/100011055/scrooge-black-white-version - Should they have just gone full camp/comedy with this? - What this version *does* have that others could do better with - Dickins' own thoughts on "A Christmas Carol" - We list all the "Christmas Carols" we can think of, and where this...

This week, Justin and Ryan dig into 'Jigsaw' (1962) and talk about... - Our personal histories and/or prejudices around police procedurals - The way the setup teases the audience before the crime happens - Good cop banter - A somewhat 'ordinary' killer (i.e., not just a crazy serial killer) - More interest in the chase than the whodunnit - Making the unglamorous parts of procedure...

This week, Justin and Ryan dig into 'Beyond Christmas' (1940) and talk about... - Can this really classify as a Christmas movie? - The insane pre-existing living arrangement between the characters - Unexpectedly swapping out your main and supporting characters. - Everything is tangential - The litany of bad relationship tropes - The weird daily routines of rich people (in this movie) - Som...

This week, Justin and Ryan dig into 'The Fugitive Kind' (1960) and talk about... - Marlon Brando, the GOAT, except for Chris Reeve - Screenplay that allows itself the room to explore deep relationships - The depth of the female leads, and Val's mysterious nature - The character of Carol, what she represents - Racism and the othering of 'outsiders' in opposition to genuine love...

This week, Justin and Ryan dig into "Jeremiah Johnson" (1972) and talk about... - The uncredited star: The visuals. - Accelerated level-up frontiersman 101 - When the movie won't let a guy have a good thing, 'cuz *vengeance*. - Yeah, but is he 'legendary'? -  - Our Verdict - Next week's film: "The Fugitive Kind" (1960) Did we get the movie wrong? Tell us why! An...

This week, Justin and Ryan dig into "King's Row" (1942) and talk about... - Gee, that theme music sounds familiar. - The 'controversial' book its based on - Getting the film made to fit into conformity with the Hayes code - One of the changes works out better - The kernel of truth in the depiction of "small-towns hiding dark secrets" - Exposing wounds to sunlight - so t...

This week, Justin and Ryan dig into "Dangerous Crossing" (1953) and talk about... - *Wanting* to be noir without understanding it. - (Re)-cycling of plot elements taking priority over character development. - Red-Herrings galore! - Nothing much changes, except the man she's with. - Foghorn accuracy. - Next week's film: "King's Row" (1942) Did we get the movie wrong? Tel...

This week, Justin and Ryan dig into "The Great Dictator" (1940) and talk about... - Revealing the juvenile nature lurking under the violence of fascist authoritarianism - Chaplin's passion project: "Hitler must be laughed at" - Machismo: the ultimate hot air balloon - Comedic value vs. dramatic value - Resisting fascism without incurring hatred - The lesson of false hopes and w...

This week, Justin and Ryan dig into "Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster" (1965) and talk about... - A movie crudely spliced together from spare parts at visible seems? That tracks. - That stubborn habit of mislabeling the character named "Frankenstein" - What exactly was the need for NASA to make android "Frank" look human... - and burying the lede of just *having made a...

This week, Justin and Ryan dig into "The Pink Panther" (1963) and talk about... - Don't make opening credits like they used to, or at all, really... - How it holds up compared to the rest of the franchise - Clouseau as a neat party trick side-character - Justin goes deep on the Stradivarius joke - "Flanderization" of long-running characters - David Niven makes the film work - a...

This week, Justin and Ryan drill into "Cactus Flower" (1969) and talk about... - The magical mink coat that destroys everything good - Exploring inter-generational differences through relationships? Nah. - Screenwriter to women: "See the problem isn't his lying, it's that you have standards..." - Why didn't Toni and Stephanie just team up with each other against Julian?...

This week, Justin and Ryan join the hunt for "Moby Dick" (1956) and talk about... - "Call me Ishmael" ... if you can find me. - Bringing to mind SpongeBob and Muppet Treasure Island - Tackling translation of theme and Shakespearian-like drama from source material - "*From hell's heart...*" Who does it better? - Animating diorama miniatures and other SFX that just *work*...

This week, Justin and Ryan dig into whatever Alec Guinness was on, in "The Ladykillers" (1955) and talk about... https://archive.org/details/the-ladykillers-1955_202310 - Alec Guinness playing Alistair Sim, playing Professor Marcus - The undoing of evil with innocence - Twisting hardened criminals to play music for your old-ladies social club - The humor in old-people perpetrating violence...

This week, Justin and Ryan dig into "Pimpernel Smith" (1941) and talk about... - A few comparisons to two modern iconic fictional characters - The Flat-Arc character done well - Propaganda - not always a bad thing! - How being the victim of war brings clarity - The 'idiot foil' for the hero. - That speech! - Justin implants an idea into Ryan's brain - Our Verdicts - Next week&#...

This week, Justin and Ryan dig up Count Dracula (1970) , and talk about... - When an adaptation betrays its source faithfully. - Zero thematic translation achievement unlocked! - Van Helsing having a random stroke with no connection to plot or character. Wut? - The most life-like portrayal being the one undead guy. - Justin getting educated on the differences between the novel and screen versions...

This week, Justin and Ryan set sail for adventure in the footsteps of "Jason and the Argonauts" (1963) and pass the time talking about.. - The drama of these fickle gods: where is it? - The motives of Greek/Roman gods - Distinguishing between fulfilling the purposes of mythmaking & the purpose of storytelling/filmmaking. - When sticking to the story-as-told hurts more than helps - Why...

This week, Justin and Ryan have a conversation that won't end the way "Strangers on a Train" (1951) does. But they will talk about... - The awkward conversations we've all had - Chance conversations and the origins of Movie Bones - Assessing our experiences with Hitchcock films overall - "We don't talk about Bruno" - Hitchcock's mid-film rug-pulling - Holding the mi...

This week, Justin & Ryan try to keep from losing our teeth playing rugby and watching "This Sporting Life" (1963 ), and afterward, talk about... - "Kitchen Sink" dramas - Playing with perception of time - Male disillusionment. Are we ready for a resurgence of films in this niche? - Self-knowledge as precursor to success or failure in relationships - A film / TV show connection...

This week, Justin & Ryan find out what it takes to climb the ladder to becoming a Duke in "Kind Hearts and Coronets" (1949) as they discuss... - That very British sense of humor - Why doesn't anyone tag this guy as a suspect? - Louis, the force of fate / destiny. - Where there's room for more character growth - Whether or not 8 versions of Alec Guinness is truly enough - Weathe...

 This week, Justin & Ryan discover "The Hidden Fortress" (1958) , and discuss... • The connections to Star Wars... • Toshiro Mifune as Obi Wan - what could have been... • The intensity he brings to all his roles... • The potential polarizing effect of the "bickering observers" framing device... • Something that never happens in these movies that happens this time, and we love i...

 This week, Justin & Ryan try not to get in-between "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" (1966) , and discuss... • The epic... running time... • Justin waxing poetic on 'the spirit of the west' • Just what 'good' means in the context of this film • The visual storytelling • The changing of westerns in the 60's and the continuing influence of spaghetti westerns • The fi...