Sibling Cinema

This week, we discuss Billy Wilder’s darkest and most cynical film, Ace in the Hole , a scathing indictment of tabloid journalism and public spectacle. It flopped on its original release but has seen its reputation improve as time catches up to it. SPOILER ALERT We will be talking about this movie in its entirety. If you haven't seen this film, we strongly suggest you watch it before listening...

We are back this week, with the action-adventure classic, Raiders of the Lost Ark , which brought together Steven Spielberg and George Lucas to introduce audiences to iconic hero Indiana Jones. SPOILER ALERT We will be talking about this movie in its entirety, including the iconic opening temple run and the supernatural climax. If you haven't seen this classic, we strongly suggest you watch it...

This week, we discuss the Coen Brothers' stylish satire of the Golden Age of Hollywood, Hail, Caesar! SPOILER ALERT We will be talking about this movie in its entirety, including the mystery of "The Future" and the ultimate resolution of Baird Whitlock's kidnapping. If you haven't seen this film, we strongly suggest you watch it before listening to our takes. A Universal Pict...

This week we talk about Steven Spielberg’s choatic comedy flop 1941 . When I Google "1941 movie" I get Citizen Kane. This movie is not Citizen Kane. SPOILER ALERT We do talk about this movie in its entirety. If you plan on watching it, for God knows what reason, we suggest you do so before listening to our takes. A Universal Pictures and Columbia Pictures production. Released on December...

This week, we discuss the atmospheric, dystopian sci-fi noir, Blade Runner , the film that ranks number 97 on the AFI list. SPOILER ALERT We will be talking about this movie in its entirety. If you haven't seen this classic, we strongly suggest you watch it before listening to our takes. A Warner Bros. and The Ladd Company production. Released on June 25, 1982. Directed by Ridley Scott . Scree...

This week, we discuss Steven Spielberg's follow-up to Jaws, the science fiction classic, Close Encounters of the Third Kind , a film that traded the alien invasion tropes of the 1950s for a sense of spiritual wonder, mystery and awe. And five famous bars of John WIlliams music. SPOILER ALERT We will be talking about this movie in its entirety, including the iconic five-tone sequence and the tr...

This week, we discuss Billy Wilder's other definitive LA-based film noir, the gothic movie-about-movies classic, Sunset Boulevard , famous for its daring narrative and one of the most iconic "mad scenes" in cinema history. SPOILER ALERT We will be talking about this movie in its entirety, including the famous opening image of the floating narrator and the tragic, delusional finale. I...

This week we have for you a hastily thrown-together podcast on the 98th Annual Academy Awards. Our plans to discuss this week's film fell through, so instead we go through every category in an unusually competitive Oscar race? Will it be Sinners or One Battle After Another ? Listen to find out! Well, actually, I just hedge my bets a lot, but it's going to be OBAA. (Unless it's Sinners...

This week, we discuss the primal thriller, Jaws , a masterclass in tension that turned a malfunctioning mechanical shark into cinema's most terrifying unseen predator. SPOILER ALERT We will be talking about this movie in its entirety, including the iconic third act aboard the Orca and the ultimate fate of the shark. If you haven't seen this classic, we strongly suggest you watch it before...

This week we talk about Steven Spielberg’s theatrical feature debut, the crime / road movie, The Sugarland Express , that has more than a little in common with Dog Day Afternoon . SPOILER ALERT We do talk about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we suggest you watch it before listening to our takes. A Universal Picture. Released on April 5, 1974. Directed by Steven Spielber...

This week we talk about Billy Wilder's cynical post-war romantic comedy, A Foreign Affair , filmed amidst the actual ruins of bombed-out Berlin. SPOILER ALERT We do talk about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we suggest you watch it before listening to our takes. A Paramount Picture. Released on June 30, 1948. Produced by Charles Brackett . Directed by Billy Wilder ....

This week we talk about the musical biography of James M. Cohan, Yankee Doodle Dandy, featuring James Cagney's iconic performance. SPOILER ALERT We do talk about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we suggest you watch it before listening to our takes. A Warner Bros. Picture. Released on May 29, 1942. Directed by Michael Curtiz. Written by Robert Buckner and Edmund Josep...

This week, we discuss the intense, ripped-from-the-headlines crime thriller, Dog Day Afternoon , a film that captures the sweltering heat and media circus of a Brooklyn bank robbery gone wrong. SPOILER ALERT We will be talking about this movie in its entirety, including the motives behind the heist and its tragic conclusion. If you plan on watching it, we strongly suggest you do so before listenin...

This week, we discuss Billy Wilder’s 1948 Technicolor musical comedy set in the picturesque mountains of turn of the century Austria, The Emperor Waltz . SPOILER ALERT We will be talking about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we suggest you watch it before listening to our takes. A Paramount Pictures production. Released on June 17, 1948. Directed by Billy Wilder. Written...

This week, we discuss the 2003 animated journey, Brother Bear , a story about first peoples and bears, brotherhood and parenthood, ecology and revenge, with a couple of moose thrown in. SPOILER ALERT We will be talking about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we strongly suggest you do so before listening to our takes. A Walt Disney Feature Animation production. Released on...

This week, we discuss the creme de la creme of film noir, Billy Wilder's Double Indemnity , which perfected the genre's dark style and biting dialogue and put Wilder firmly on the A-list. SPOILER ALERT We will be talking about this movie in its entirety, including the details of the central murder plot and its ultimate resolution. If you plan on watching it, we strongly suggest you do so b...

This week, we discuss the early aughts comedy film, Legally Blonde , proving that being true to yourself is always in style. Or perhaps it doesn't. Who knows? SPOILER ALERT We will be talking about this movie in its entirety, including the major plot developments in the courtroom. If you plan on watching it, we strongly suggest you do so before listening to our takes. A Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MG...

This week, we discuss the intense World War II spy thriller, Five Graves to Cairo , set in the desolate landscape of North Africa during the height of the desert campaign. SPOILER ALERT We will be talking about this movie in its entirety, including the details of the central German operation. If you plan on watching it, we strongly suggest you do so before listening to our takes. A Paramount Pictu...

This week, we discuss the smash hit sequel, Moana 2 , which finds our wayfinding hero embarking on a dangerous new voyage across the far seas of Oceania. SPOILER ALERT We will be talking about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we strongly suggest you do so before listening to our takes. A Walt Disney Animation Studios production. Released on November 27, 2024. Directed by...

This week, we discuss the screwball comedy, The Major and the Minor , the first American film directed by legendary filmmaker Billy Wilder. SPOILER ALERT We will be talking about this movie in its entirety, including the central masquerade and the romantic tension it creates. If you plan on watching it, we strongly suggest you do so before listening to our takes. A Paramount Pictures production. R...

This week, we discuss Disney's ill-conceived animated Western, Home on the Range , which features a trio of dairy cows who turn into bounty hunters. SPOILER ALERT We will be talking about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we strongly suggest you do so before listening to our takes. A Walt Disney Feature Animation production. Released on April 2, 2004. Directed by Will...

This week, we discuss the road rage thriller that launched Steven Spielberg's career, Duel . SPOILER ALERT We will be talking about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we strongly suggest you do so before listening to our takes. An ABC Movie of the Week, produced by Universal Television. Aired on November 13, 1971 (US TV) and later released theatrically internationally....

This week, we discuss the often-overlooked French film, Mauvaise Graine ( Bad Seed ), which marked the start of a legendary directorial career for its co-director, Billy Wilder. SPOILER ALERT We will be talking about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we strongly suggest you do so before listening to our takes. An independent French production. Released on July 5, 1934 (Fra...

This week, we discuss Disney's bizarre update of a classic fable, Chicken Little . SPOILER ALERT We will be talking about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we strongly suggest you do so before listening to our takes. A Walt Disney Pictures release from Walt Disney Feature Animation. Released on November 4, 2005. Directed by Mark Dindal . Screenplay by Steve Bencich, Ro...

This week, we discuss Walt Disney Animation Studios' recent flop, Wish . SPOILER ALERT We will be talking about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we strongly suggest you do so before listening to our takes. A Walt Disney Pictures release from Walt Disney Animation Studios. Released on November 22, 2023. Directed by Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn . Written by Jennife...