The Pestle: In-depth Movie Talk, No Fluff | Film Review | Spoilers

We invade Edgar Wright’s “Shaun of the Dead” and discuss: cinematography, revealing a punchline; comedic editing; humor, apocalypse humor; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “If I fail, the film industry writes me off as another statistic. If I succeed, they pay me a million bucks to fly out to Hollywood and fart.“ […] The post Ep 122: “Shaun of the Dead...

We take a stab at “Tucker and Dale vs Evil” and discuss: story & writing, Final Girls, dramatic irony, violent humor, hiding exposition through humor; cinematography, supporting story perspective; practical effects; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “The most difficult character in comedy is that of the fool, and he must be no […] The post Ep 121: “Tucker and D...

We pedal through Rick Famuyiwa’s “Dope” and peddle: story & writing, coming of age stories, writing humor, upping the stakes, kick the dog storytelling; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “There are so many people that don’t come in contact with black men. Whether they live in a homogeneous area that’s mostly white […] The post Ep 120: “Dope&#8...

We survive Will Smith’s “I Am Legend” and discuss: cinematography: using light for dramatic effect & storytelling; writing & storytelling: what makes this fun to watch, and what is this movie about; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Every man gotta right to decide his own destiny.“ – Bob Marley Notes & References: […] The post Ep 119: &#822...

We invert storytelling convention with Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet” and discuss: cinematography, was an actor underexposed?; writing and storytelling, loading the gun film theory, creating a solvable puzzle; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Always make the audience suffer as much as possible.“ – Alfred Hitchcock Notes & References: What is a Shirley Card...

We re-mem-buh Michael Mann’s “Miami Vice” and discuss: cinematography, shooting multiple formats, emulating a style; story & writing, starting deep into the story, grounding the world; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Leading medical researchers are coming to the conclusion that marijuana, pot, grass, whatever you want to call it, is probably the […] The post...

We get together, fall apart, and start all over again with Theodore Witcher’s “Love Jones” and discuss: acting, adding subtext through performances; Story & writing, how a romance creates tension, and why sex scenes are great storytelling tools; And other such stuff and things and stuff. “There are two tragedies in life. One is to […] The post Ep 116: “Love Jones&...

We go all-in on Daniel Craig’s “Casino Royale” and discuss: cinematography, camerawork; Storytelling, rebooting a character, 7 ingredients to a Bond film, and the ending; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Do not let circumstances control you. You change your circumstances.“ – Jackie Chan Notes & References: Sinking a building in “Venice” Vide...

We compute Danny Boyle’s “Steve Jobs” and discuss: cinematography, camerawork; music; Story & writing, dramatic conflict; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “I define nothing. Not beauty, not patriotism. I take each thing as it is, without prior rules about what it should be.“ – Bob Dylan Notes & References: CinemAtlas.com! – cool […] The p...

We quietly watch Barry Jenkins’ “Moonlight” and discuss: cinematography, camerawork, and lighting; Directing, visual storytelling; Makeup, how it can affect the schedule; Story & writing; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Behind every exquisite thing that existed, there was something tragic.” – Oscar Wilde from “The Picture of Dorian Gray&#82...

We invade Christopher Nolan’s “Inception” and interpret: directing: riding the line between dramatic and hokey; writing: creating a new universe, the meaning in a name; the ending: what is the answer to this mind-spinning ending; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “We are what we think. All that we are arises with our […] The post Ep 112: “Inception” app...

We salute Aaron Sorkin’s “A Few Good Men” and discuss: cinematography: background and blocking; writing: strong characters, subtext, character descriptions in a screenplay; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “They’re entitled to full respect for their opinions… but before I can live with other folks I’ve got to live with myself. The one […] The pos...

We look at Ava DuVernay’s “13th” and discuss: cinematography, inserting metaphor into the frame; editing; stories of casual encounters with police; protests in Austin; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Be peaceful, be courteous, obey the law, respect everyone; but if someone puts his hand on you, send him to the cemetery.“ – […] The post Ep 110: &#8220...

We dig our way through Frank Darabont’s “The Shawshank Redemption” and discuss: cinematography, color, camerawork, and lighting; editing, the use of dissolves; story & writing; why Shawshank is so rewatchable; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a […] The post Ep 109: “The Shawshan...

We latch onto Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite” and dissect: cinematography; writing & story, setups, payoffs, simple exposition; contextualizing art; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “What makes international cinema so interesting is that each territory has its own sensibility. When you look at an Indian or French film, there’s a certain flavor. And […] The pos...

We find serenity in Jerry Seinfeld’s “Seinfeld” and discuss: story & writing; cinematography; and other such stuff and things and stuff. Calvin & Hobbes – “Calvin: Isn’t it strange that evolution would give us a sense of humour? When you think about it, it’s weird that we have a physiological response to absurdity. We laugh […] The post Ep 107: “Seinfeld...

We gather our rosebuds to watch the pilot of “How I Met Your Mother” and discuss: writing & story, how HIMYM is different from Friends; cinematography; casting a project; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of […] The post Ep 106: “How I Met Your Mothe...

We grab a spoon and dig into the pilot episode of “Friends” and discuss: cinematography; editing a laugh track and establishing shots; writing, how Friends shifts over its entire series run; and other such stuff and things and stuff. A.A. Milne, from Winnie the Pooh – “Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. “Pooh!” he […] The post Ep 105: “Friends” (P...

We drop in for a quick brew at Ted Danson’s “Cheers” and discuss: cinematography; TV comedy writing; theme song; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “And I will make it felony to drink small beer.“ – Shakespeare’s Henry VI (year 1592) Notes & References: James Burrows iMDB Watch us on YouTube! This Week’s […] The post Ep 104: “Cheers...

We gaze into Alex Garland’s “Devs” and discuss: cinematography, deterministic camera movement; music; story & writing; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “History is a race between education and catastrophe.“ – HG Wells Notes & References: The Double Slit Experiment explained (PBS on YouTube) Watch us on YouTube! This Week’s Recommendations: The...

We weep through Greta Gerwig’s “Little Women” and discuss: cinematography, distinguishing past from present; editing, using pace to set expectations; story & writing; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “To free us from the expectations of others, to give us back to ourselves – there lies the great, singular power of self-respect.“ – […] The pos...

We march through Sam Mendes’ “1917” and discuss: cinematography, first and last frame, creating coverage in a long take; story & writing, setups and payoffs; editing, tips & tricks of hiding a cut; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “The enemy? His sense of duty was no less than yours, I deem. You […] The post Ep 101: “1917” appeared first on The...

We travel through Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar” and discuss: cinematography, resetting the frame; audio + music; writing & storytelling, immersive storytelling; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Breaking rules isn’t interesting. It’s making up new ones that keeps things exciting.“ – Christopher Nolan   Short Spotlight: “A Palawan Preweddi...

We profile David Fincher’s “Mindhunter” and discuss: cinematography, and use of color and camera movement; editing; writing & storytelling, some of the subtle psychological inserts; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of […] The post Ep 99: &#8...

So many people exhaust themselves trying to lose weight in the most inefficient way. Don’t put 95% of your effort where only 5% of the results come from. The 3 Rules of Fat Loss are where 95% of the results come from, the gurus & magazine editors can keep the other 5%. 40+ Recipe Cards […] The post Ep 98: 3 Rules of Fat Loss (Special Edition) appeared first on The Pestle .