The Actor and The Engineer Podcast

Ah, the French! Wes Anderson shares with us his love of long-form journalism, art critiquing art (and critics) and having Academy Award winners saying two lines in his film. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: Here Check out our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/actorandengineer and follow us on twitter @actorengineer

We talk about what we have been watching recently, including Shang-Chi, Red Notice, King Richard, Last Action Hero, Tick, Tick, Boom and more. Enjoy! Subscribe on Apple Podcasts:  Here  Check out our Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/actorandengineer  and follow us on twitter  @actorengineer

What are Celestials again? This week we see how Marvel turns the corner in Phase 4 with a movie featuring 10 lead characters(!) and some gorgeous magic hour shots courtesy of Chloé Zhao. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts:  Here  Check out our Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/actorandengineer  and follow us on twitter  @actorengineer

In this looser episode we quickly touch on a few new movies (Last Night in Soho, Titane) and what else we have each been watching (The Suicide Squad, Army of Darkness, National Theater at Home). Subscribe on Apple Podcasts:  Here  Check out our Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/actorandengineer  and follow us on twitter  @actorengineer

This week we have special guest, Dune aficionado and Emmy-winning promotions producer Justin Arner to help us explore Denis Villeneuve's vision of Arrakis, 'thopters and sand worms. Grab your spice and enjoy! Subscribe on Apple Podcasts:  Here  Check out our Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/actorandengineer  and follow us on twitter  @actorengineer

This week we see how Daniel Craig brings his James Bond ship into port. Is this a good end to the 5-film arc that started with Casino Royale?  How will the franchise move forward? We get into all of that, plus Paul reacts to the newest Batman trailer. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts:  Here  Check out our Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/actorandengineer  and follow us on twitter  @actorengineer

What is art and how do we interact with it? After seeing The Square (2017's Palme d'Or winner), the only thing we are sure of is that Ruben Östlund has some thoughts about it. We tried to explore as many thought-provoking images and experiences as possible from this film without making this a 4-hour episode, but we probably just scratched the surface. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: Here  Check out o...

In this episode we talk about David Lowery's take on an ancient Arthurian poem starring Dev Patel dealing with a moralistic tree knight, a "headless" saint, a talking fox and and two times the Alicia Vikander. We get into the subtle (and not so subtle) CGI, the lens choices and the try to dissect what we are supposed to come away with after watching. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts:  Here  Check out o...

Janicza Bravo brings the famous twitter thread to life!  We talk about her bold directing choices, the score, twitter as a creative medium and the brilliant dedication and performances of Taylour Paige and Riley Keough! Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: Here  Check out our Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/actorandengineer  and follow us on twitter  @actorengineer

While talking about the classic Jean-Pierre Melville film Le Samourai, we try to figure out which other filmmakers took inspiration from it, why Alain Delon is so cool and why everyone has so many keys... Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: Here  Check out our Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/actorandengineer  and follow us on twitter  @actorengineer

Soderbergh is back with another heist movie with a bunch of characters and an interesting choice in lenses. We talk about what we thought worked, what is and isn't "chewing the scenery" and why Don Cheadle is awesome. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts:  Here  Check out our Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/actorandengineer  and follow us on twitter  @actorengineer

MCU feature films are back! We talk about the Cate Shortland's new film with Scarlett Johansson playing Black Widow one last time. We talk about her chemistry with her on screen sister Florence Pugh, the brutality of some of the action and why this was the right time for a Black Widow film to come out in the MCU. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts:  Here  Check out our Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/ac...

In A Quiet Place Part 2, Writer-Director (and sometimes actor) John Krasinski returns with the second of what is destined to be at least three movies set in this apocalyptic world where Emily Blunt and children are just trying to survive, this time with the help of Cillian Murphy. We talk about the increase in special effects, difference in character arcs between the two movies and the most effect...

In this episode we talk about the film adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda's first big Broadway hit and point out a few great performances (Jimmy Smits!) and some ingenious, character driven special effects. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts:  Here  Check out our Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/actorandengineer  and follow us on twitter  @actorengineer

This week we conclude our 300th episode focusing on Spike Lee by discussing 25th Hour and other films he directed but didn't write, his Four Little Girls documentary and how Bamboozled hit us. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts:  Here  Check out our Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/actorandengineer  and follow us on twitter  @actorengineer

For our milestone 300th episode, we look at one of America's most prolific and important filmmakers, Spike Lee. In this first part of our episode we get into a few of his earlier films including Do The Right Thing, Crooklyn, She's Gotta Have It and Malcolm X with Part 2 coming next week! Subscribe on Apple Podcasts:  Here  Check out our Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/actorandengineer  and follow...

This week we look back at MASH, Robert Altman's first big feature film. Set during the Korean War and released in 1970, we discuss how it uses comedy to comment on war, how particular scenes have aged and the massive impact that Altman's overlapping dialogue, editing choices and shot selections have had on directors like Paul Thomas Anderson and Steven Soderbergh. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: Here...

This week we finish the countdown of our favorite films of 2020.  Enjoy!! Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: Here Check out our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/actorandengineer and follow us on twitter @actorengineer

We look back over a unique Oscars experience and start to dig in to our favorite movies of the extended 2020 film year. We each count down from 10 to 6 this episode, leading up to our favorites of the year next week! Subscribe on Apple Podcasts:  Here  Check out our Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/actorandengineer  and follow us on twitter  @actorengineer

This week we put on our prognosticator's hats to try to sift through the awards season and figure out who will win at the Academy Awards this year. We also talk about who we would love to win. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts:  Here  Check out our Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/actorandengineer  and follow us on twitter  @actorengineer

This week we talk about The Father where playwright Florian Zeller's feature debut drops us into the mental space of a man experiencing dementia. We get into Anthony Hopkins' powerful performance, why Olivia Colman is always great and some bold lighting choices by the new director. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: Here Check out our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/actorandengineer and follow us on twi...

This week we talk about Thomas Vinterberg's Oscar-nominated directing of this Danish film starring Mads Mikkelsen. We get into the Dogme 95 movement and why it's hard to act drunk. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts:  Here  Check out our Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/actorandengineer  and follow us on twitter  @actorengineer

This is the first Tarkovsky film for either of us and we get thrown into the deep end with Stalker. We talk about how the film hit each of us and talk through a few theories about The Zone, Tarkovsky working within the Soviet system and why there is so much water everywhere! Subscribe on Apple Podcasts:  Here  Check out our Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/actorandengineer  and follow us on twitte...

This Lee Isaac Chung film does what it does really well.  It keeps its focus on a family and their journey. This week we talk about the editing, acting and some pretty emotional scenes in this film that is definitely in the Oscar conversation. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: Here  Check out our Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/actorandengineer  and follow us on twitter  @actorengineer

This week we talk about how Chloé Zhao captures the journey of Frances McDormand's Fern as she acclimates to a roving lifestyle brought on by the loss of her job and her partner. We also get into the use of non-professional actors and specifics on how the film was shot. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: Here  Check out our Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/actorandengineer  and follow us on twitter  @ac...