Someone Else's Movie

Actor and improviser Becky Johnson, currently onstage in Toronto’s Second City revue Come What Mayhem, celebrates the seductive pull of Terrence Malick’s Badlands in an episode that winds through philosophy, grace and the human fascination of violence. Your genial host Norm Wilner couldn’t be happier with that.

What’s this? A special Friday bonus episode? And it features living legend Douglas Trumbull on how the experience of seeing How the West Was Won in glorious Cinerama led him to dedicate his life to expanding our conception of cinema? Your genial host Norm Wilner hopes you don’t mind.

She stars in CBC’s family drama  This Life  and can be seen this Friday in the theatrical release  The History of Love , but right now actor Torri Higginson wants to share her love for Wim Wenders’ compassionate masterwork Wings of Desire. And you should listen to her, because your genial host Norm Wilner is feeling like love and compassion are in pretty short supply these days.

You saw him under several pounds of makeup in Star Trek Beyond as Enterprise security guard Wadjet, but this week actor Dan Payne is just his ordinary, enthusiastic self as he discusses Martin McDonagh’s 2012 caper comedy Seven Psychopaths. Your genial host Norm Wilner really hopes there’s an America left to enjoy this episode.

The U.S. election is just a week away, so it’s the ideal time for actor Lucas Neff ( Fear, Inc. ,  I Love You Both , ABC’s upcoming Downward Dog ) to discuss the still sadly relevant All the President’s Men. And if you’re in Toronto on Thursday November 3rd, come see your genial host Norm Wilner introduce a screening of Alan J. Pakula’s perfect political procedural at the Revue Cinema with Brendan...

Recorded live in New York City, actor Mark Gagliardi — whom you may know as Croach the Tracker on The Thrilling Adventure Hour, or as himself on Drunk History and We Got This With Mark and Hal — shares his entirely genuine love for Nicholas Hytner’s 2000 theater-kid melodrama Center Stage. Your genial host Norm Wilner can see the appeal.

In the first of two episodes recorded earlier this month in New York City, Jean Grae drops by the show to discuss Fight Club, and how she finds inspiration from David Fincher’s rebellious counterculture comedy, which really puts the “cult” in “cult cinema”. Your genial host Norm Wilner is Jack’s intense curiosity.

Somebody finally picked Jaws! And it’s actor Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, who stars in the new CBC comedy  Kim’s Convenience ! The result is a journey through Steven Spielberg’s 1975 blockbuster — you know, the one with the shark — with a full appreciation for its thrilling energy, thoughtful character work and timeless power. This is the episode your genial host Norm Wilner has been waiting for.

His excellent new documentary The Stairs opens this Friday at the TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto, and Hugh Gibson marks the occasion by talking about Nicholas Meyer’s Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, the last big-screen adventure of the original series cast. No, Generations doesn’t count. Your genial host Norm Wilner will explain why.

At TIFF for the North American premiere of his new film BrOTHERHOOD , actor, screenwriter and director Noel Clarke goes deep on Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 indie blockbuster Pulp Fiction – the film that changed the face of American cinema, made Samuel L. Jackson a movie star and made John Travolta great again. Your genial host Norm Wilner has no complaints about this.

Actor-writer-producer Kristin Wallace — whose new film Moments of Clarity opens theatrically in Toronto this Friday — takes advantage of the post-TIFF lull to revisit Ridley Scott’s 1991 buddy movie Thelma & Louise. Your genial host Norm Wilner is riding shotgun.

She’s bringing her directorial debut Prevenge from Venice to TIFF, but Alice Lowe will always have a special place in her heart for Jim Henson’s Labyrinth — and for David Bowie’s weirdly sexy Goblin King. In an episode recorded earlier this year in London, she discusses all of that and more as your genial host Norm Wilner tries to distract a cranky baby.

As he prepares for the world premiere of his new movie  Weirdos at TIFF this Friday, screenwriter (and actor, and director, and playwright, and living legend) Daniel MacIvor stops in to talk about Sunday Bloody Sunday, John Schlesinger’s quietly searing 1971 drama starring Peter Finch, Glenda Jackson and Murray Head as a man, a woman and the lover they share. Your genial host Norm Wilner actually ...

Fan Expo is coming to Toronto, so author Sam Maggs — who’ll be there Friday through Sunday, signing copies of The Fangirl’s Guide to the Galaxy and promoting her new book Wonder Women: 25 Innovators, Inventors and Trailblazers Who Changed History  — brings some true Browncoat love for Serenity, Joss Whedon’s 2005 big-screen sequel to his beloved space western  Firefly . Your genial host Norm Wilne...

Writer-director John Magary, whose film The Mend was one of the best pictures you didn’t see last year, celebrates the curious hybrid of horror and social satire that is Mike Nichols’ 1994 Wolf — you know, the one where Jack Nicholson and James Spader have a literal pissing contest over Michelle Pfeiffer. Your genial host Norm Wilner cannot help but encourage him.

As his new film Edge of Winter makes its way into North American theatres, director Rob Connolly takes the podcast to Toontown for a conversation about Robert Zemeckis’ delightful 1988 blockbuster Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Your genial host Norm Wilner doesn’t see a single weasel in the room, no sir.

With his new feature How Heavy This Hammer opening in Toronto and Vancouver this week, filmmaker Kazik Radwanski drops by the studio to talk about Stroszek, Werner Herzog’s singular 1977 tale of alienation, despair and dancing chickens. Your genial host Norm Wilner keeps the impression to a respectful minimum.

New York chef Andrew Carmellini — who designed the dishes in Simply Irresistible before setting off on the path that led to Locanda Verde, The Dutch, Lafayette, Bar Primi, Little Park and the soon-to-be-opening Leuca — celebrates The Blues Brothers the only way he can: Through the music, man. Your genial host Norm Wilner regrets not wearing sunglasses.

Beloved actor Enrico Colantoni — of Galaxy Quest, Veronica Mars, Flashpoint, Remedy and the new psychological thriller The Dark Stranger, available today on DVD and on demand — brings the love for Martin Brest’s 1988 action comedy Midnight Run and the perfection of a still-youthful Robert De Niro. Your genial host Norm Wilner wants to know where he gets his sunglasses.

With his wilderness thriller The Interior newly available on demand and on disc, filmmaker Trevor Juras sits down to discuss another study of creeping dread in the great outdoors: Werner Herzog’s 2005 documentary Grizzly Man. Honestly, your genial host Norm Wilner would have just stayed home.

Actor-filmmaker Connor Jessup, who stars in Blackbird, American Crime and the upcoming Closet Monster, stands up for Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Still Walking, a 2008 drama about a very specific day in the lives of a Japanese family. Your genial host Norm Wilner is really happy about this, because more people should know about this movie.

Writer and comedian Ian MacIntyre (Degrassi: Next Class, Inspector Gadget, George of the Jungle) has been a fan of Ghostbusters almost all of his life, so what better time to bring him into the basement for an appreciation of Ivan Reitman’s 1984 comedy? Incidentally, you’ll be happy to hear your genial host Norm Wilner has mostly recovered from his cold.

With her awesome space adventure series Killjoys kicking off its second season on Syfy and Space this Friday, writer-producer Michelle Lovretta pulls herself away from the edit bay to talk about another space adventure: James Cameron’s Aliens, the 1986 sequel that rewrote the rules for an entire franchise. Your genial host Norm Wilner apologizes for his terrible cold.

This episode is a goodie for a couple of reasons: First, the guest is comedian and writer Dana Gould, who’s worked on two of the greatest sitcoms ever produced, The Simpsons  and  Parks and Recreation . Second, the movie is Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, which remains as vital a cinematic satire now as it was five decades ago. Your genial ho...

His retro action thriller  Gridlocked arrives on Blu-ray, DVD and VOD today, but director Allan Ungar is taking a moment to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Michael Bay’s The Rock — the movie where Nicolas Cage yells at Sean Connery and lives to tell the tale. Your genial host Norm Wilner was surprised to realize there’s a Michael Bay movie he can discuss non-sarcastically.