Single Serving Cinema

Another season done! We wrap up in our usual fashion by comparing our rankings of the taglines from this year's movies.  Follow: SSC on Instagram Tim on Letterboxd Tay on Letterboxd

Tim and Tay are back to wrap up the season with one of their favourite movies in recent years, The Nice Guys . Tune in for a chat about "Big Russ" and the comedic stylings of Ryan Gosling.      Synopsis An alcoholic detective and a purposeless tough guy become embroiled in a missing persons case that takes them on a journey through the many corrupt echelons of 1970s LA. Starring Ryan Gos...

In this special annual episode, Tim and Tay highlight a few notable movies from 2023. Not necessarily the best or our favourites, but certainly worth seeing! Tim The Killer (Fincher) The Taste of Things (Anh Hung) The Creator (Edwards) Tay Poor Things (Lanthimos) How To Blow Up A Pipeline (Goldhaber) The Holdovers (Payne) Links: Filming  The Holdovers As always, please leave us a review on iTunes...

Tim and Tay leave pretentious and inconvenient movies behind and switch to the principal media of the modern age: streaming TV. In the first episode of Solo TV Dinner we explore Andor and how it finds impressive depth working within the Star Wars IP machine. Synopsis Andor tells the story of the titular hero’s journey from apathetic rogue to dyed-in-the-wool rebel, acting as a prequel to Rogue One...

Tim and Tay discuss what is likely the most beloved Star Wars anthology film, Rogue One . A compelling but compromised film, Rogue One introduced new visuals, themes, and characters to the cinematic Star Wars canon. Tune in for a discussion of Gareth Edwards' knack for imparting scale on the big screen and a lot more.  Synopsis Rogue One details the rebel effort to steal the Death Star plans...

Tim and Tay try to look at Star Wars with fresh eyes in this episode on the genesis of one of  film culture's most valuable, gargantuan, and mixed franchises. Synopsis Star Wars (renamed " Episode IV: A New Hope" in ‘81) tells the story of Luke Skywalker, a farm boy that gets caught up in the rebel alliance’s desperate efforts to destroy the galactic empire’s weapon of mass destruct...

Did you have a dream that we did an episode on Dune: Part 2? Well, it's happening, just as you dreamed it.  Notes: Stellan Skarsgård on his career Follow: SSC on Instagram Tim on Letterboxd Tay on Letterboxd

Tim and Tay celebrate their national heritage with this discussion of BlackBerry . Tune in to hear about Canada's inferiority complex, tangents about long lenses, and more. Synopsis BlackBerry charts the major chapters in the life of the once-iconic smartphone and the people who created and sold it. Starring Jay Baruchel and Glenn Howerton, and directed and written by Matt Johnson, BlackBerry...

Tim and Tay are joined by Kyle Snarr to talk about one of the most critical movies of the century: The Social Network . We discuss its legacy as part of Fincher's oeuvre, its effect on the cinematic landscape, and just how damn good it is.  Synopsis The Social Network portrays (with great artistic license) the creation and tumultuous growth of Facebook, centering on Mark Zuckerberg's jou...

Tim and Tay head to the depths with what is undoubtedly James Cameron's most personal film, The Abyss . Tune in for a discussion of this year's Oscar noms, the foundation of CGI in film, and Cameron's undeniable skill for communicating need-to-know info to the audience.        Synopsis Titanic is a sweeping romantic epic, set against the backdrop of the ill-fated maiden voyage of th...

Tim & Tay kick off the new year with a discussion of James Cameron's 1997 box office behemoth Titanic and its ingenious, audience-first design. Tune in to hear about the detailed production, the less-than-detailed characters, and more.  Synopsis Titanic is a sweeping romantic epic, set against the backdrop of the ill-fated maiden voyage of the RMS Titanic. The film follows the doomed love...

Tim & Tay head into the holiday season with a hit musical that marks an early technological predecessor to IMAX: White Christmas. Tune in for a chat about blockbusters (old and new), Vista Vision, and Danny Kaye. Synopsis White Christmas tells the story of two World War II veterans and entertainers who team up to save their former commanding officer's struggling inn, finding love along th...

Tim & Tay attempt to get in the holiday spirit with this discussion of Richard Donner's somewhat uneven Dickensian adaptation, Scrooged . Synopsis This modern-day, quasi-meta adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic "A Christmas Carol," tells the story of a cynical TV executive who undergoes a transformative journey of self-discovery during the holiday season. Starring Bill M...

Tim & Tay are joined by Erica Sherwood to talk about an undeniable classic: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial . We discuss world-class child actors, Spielberg's insane lighting choices, and E.T.'s penchant for day beers. Synopsis Stranded on earth, a kind alien befriends a young boy in California and attempts to stay one step ahead of the authorities while finding his way home. Starring Hen...

Tim & Tay dig into the surprisingly odd yet undeniably heartfelt children's cult classic, The Iron Giant. Tune in for a chat about the loss of innocence, seamless melding of traditional and computer animation, and Christopher MacDonald. Synopsis A young boy in Cold War-era Maine befriends a giant robot from outer space, and must protect it from both paranoid government agents and its own...

Tim & Tay honour the late, great William Friedkin by talking about one of the most successful films of all time: The Exorcist . Synopsis After exhausting all conventional forms of medicine and care, a distraught mother asks the catholic church to perform an exorcism for her suffering, manic daughter. Starring Ellen Burstyn, Linda Blair and Jason Miller, and directed by William Friedkin, The Ex...

Tim & Tay get dig into one of the most accessible horror movies of the modern era, and one that maybe doesn't hold up under close scrutiny. Tune in for a discussion of world-building, high concept strategy, and more. Synopsis A family lives their lives in silence, trying to survive in the presence of alien creatures that hunt by sound. Starring John Krasinski and Emily Blunt, and directed...

Tim & Tay get to talk horror once again in this discussion of Neil Marshall's The Descent. We explore this movie's legacy in a genre that has somewhat forgot it, wise filmmaking on a lower budget, and much more.   Synopsis A day of spelunking turns into a nightmare after a group of friends gets trapped underground and pursued by terrifying predators. Starring Shauna Macdonald and Nat...

Tim and Tay are joined by Bunny Stephenson ( Instagram / Letterboxd ) to talk about our second David Fincher pick for our potlucks: Fight Club . We discuss the movie's exquisite portrayal of brutal violence, its not-so-subtle homoeroticism, and the reception of this satirical take on '90s  men's existential crisis. Synopsis A depressed man’s life is changed after he meets a charming...

Tim & Tay take on capitalism in this episode on Nightcrawler. This slick and unsettling film stars Jake Gyllenhaal in his best performance, and explores ambition, tenacity, and the other characteristics most valued by the modern western world. Synopsis Lou Bloom, an ambitious and resourceful Los Angeles resident, methodically tests the moral and economic limits of sensational local news produc...

Tim & Tay talk both of Tarantino's revenge epics, Kill Bill Vols 1 &2. Tune in for a discussion of how these films have aged, how they deny audience expectations, and more. Synopsis Kill Bill Vols 1 & 2 tell the story of an assassin’s quest for revenge against her spurned master and ex, Bill. Starring Uma Thurman and directed by Quentin Tarantino, Kill Bill Vols 1 & 2 were rel...

Tim & Tay explore the movie that launched Christopher Nolan's career in proper: Memento . We talk about its innovative story structure, the way it plays with the nature of film, and how Carrie-Anne Moss can be pretty mean sometimes.  Synopsis A man with short-term memory loss tracks his wife’s killer, employing a series of habitual techniques to find his target and, eventually, take his r...

You know we couldn't go from our bomb theme in July to our revenge theme in August without talking about one of the summer's two biggest films: Oppenheimer . Follow: SSC on Instagram Tim on Letterboxd Tay on Letterboxd

Tim & Tay dig into John Woo's maximalist style with the ridiculous, fun, and arguarbly flawed Face/Off . Synopsis FBI agent Sean Archer undergoes radical surgery to trade faces with his nemesis, the terrorist Castor Troy, in order to discover the location of a bomb that threatens Los Angeles. Starring Nicholas Cage and John Travolta, and directed by John Woo, Face/Off was released June 27...

Tim & Tay get to talk about one of their all time favourite films: William Friedkin's Sorcerer. In this first installment for our bomb month (in honour of the forthcoming Oppenheimer ), we talk explosions, existential dread, and much more. Synopsis Four desperate men, on the run from their past lives and stuck in a quagmire of Colombian poverty, agree to drive unstable nitroglycerin acros...