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

We cross into Matthew Vaughn’s “Stardust” and discuss: Cinematography, polished camera moves; Story & Writing, fairytale rules, character wants, love; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “My bounty is as boundless as the sea, My love as deep. The more I give to thee, The more I have, for both are infinite.“ – […] The post Ep 322: “Stardust&#8221...

We trek across Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road” and discuss: Cinematography, compositions, first frame last frame; Story & Writing, structure, morality, terse dialog; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.“ – […] The post...

We summon Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” and discuss: Story & Writing, fairytales, flashbacks, and protagonists; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him.“ – John F. Kennedy Notes & References: Eric Roth […] The post Ep 320: “Sinn...

We surveil Rami Malek’s “The Amateur” and discuss: Story & Writing, how world-building impacts the audience experience, setting up your character arcs; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “What idea havers don’t understand is that it’s in the making of all of the microdecisions that the actual work of creation takes place, and […] The post Ep 319: “The Amat...

We devour Eva Green & Ewan McGregor’s “Perfect Sense” and discuss: Cinematography, contrast, camera movement; Story & Writing, scene character, relationship epidemics; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Yes, there is joy, fulfillment, and companionship, but the loneliness of the soul in its appalling self-consciousness is horrible and overpowering.“ –...

We double-cross Tom Cruise’s original “Mission: Impossible” and discuss: Cinematography, split focus diopters; Story & Writing, the opening, big set pieces; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Without promotion, something terrible happens… nothing!“ – P.T. Barnum Notes & References: David Koepp (IMDB) Robert Towne (IMDB) Watch us on YouTube! xx A...

We drift through Sofia Coppola’s “Lost in Translation” and discuss: Cinematography, specificity & purpose with the camera; Story & Writing, Tokyo & language as a metaphor; Performances, Scarlett Johansson doing Marvel movies; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “I try to just make what I want to make or what I would want […] The post Ep 316: “Lost i...

We dig through Steven Soderbergh’s “Black Bag” and discuss: Cinematography, practical lighting; Story & Writing, story engine, subplots; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “A success, to me, is the ability to keep working. That’s success. It has nothing to do with money; it’s the ability to keep getting things made, period.“ – […] The pos...

We dissect Bong Joon Ho’s “Mickey 17” and discuss: Story & Writing, Mickey’s metaphor, creepers; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “We don’t own the planet Earth, we belong to it. And we must share it with our wildlife.“ – Steve Irwin Notes & References: Arcadia (wiki) – refers to a vision of […] The post Ep 314: “Mickey 17&#82...

We bet big on Steven Soderbergh’s “Ocean’s Eleven” and discuss: Cinematography, subtlety, and bounce lighting; Story & Writing, heist rules, problems and solutions, rule of repeats; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Oh, I just wish someone would try to hurt you so I could kill them for you.“ – Frank Sinatra Notes […] The post Ep 313: “O...

We rush towards Céline Sciamma’s “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” and discuss: Cinematography, broad lighting and portraits; Story & Writing, layers, freezing time, power of groups, Celine’s writing process; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Women have served all these centuries as looking glasses possessing the magic and delicious power of reflecting […] Th...

We gather ’round Tarsem Singh’s “The Fall” and discuss: Cinematography, transitions, locations, power of choreography; Story & Writing, layers of stories, stuntmen, how we all tell our own stories; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “When we give someone our time, we actually give a portion of our life that we will never […] The post Ep 311: “The Fal...

We baptize Jennifer Lopez’s “The Cell” and discuss: Cinematography, realizing dream states; Story & Writing, metaphors, redeeming broken people; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “The goal of education is not to increase the amount of knowledge but to create the possibilities for a child to invent and discover.“ – Jean Piaget Notes […] The post Ep 3...

We ingest Neil Burger’s “Limitless” and discuss: Wes discusses the color grading process on his new short film 00:00-29:00; Story & Writing, opening scenes, voiceover, structure, exposition; Cinematography, inserts as storytelling, color for storytelling, how voiceover impacts the coverage; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “What will limit us is not the possible [&#...

We take 30 seconds with Michael Mann’s “Heat” and discuss: Cinematography, dolly moves, unmotivated lighting; Sound, shootout realism, sound design, Moby music; Story & Writing, good guys and bad guys, runtime; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “You must learn to be slow in a hurry.“ – Wyatt Earp Notes & References: Heat […] The post Ep 308: &#8...

We commission Adrien Brody’s “The Brutalist” to discuss: Cinematography, oners, breaking up the frame with style and tone; Story & Writing, immigration, symbolism; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “When you get to know a lot of people, you make a great discovery. You find that no one group has a monopoly on […] The post Ep 307: “The Brutalist” appe...

We bless the “City of God” and discuss: Cinematography, contrast, perspective; Story & Writing, voiceover; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Find the toughest guy in the room. Embrace him like a brother. And then slam his head against the wall.“ – Al Capone Notes & References: Chicken cam was apparently a camera […] The post Ep 306: “City of Go...

We bolt through Ron Howard’s “Rush” and discuss: Cinematography, contrast; Story & Writing, voiceover, setting up stakes, character arcs; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “If everything seems under control, you’re just not going fast enough.“ – Mario Andretti Notes & References: Anthony Dod Mantle (iMDB) – has also shot Slumdog Millionair...

We tap Robert Eggers’ “Nosferatu” and discuss: Cinematography, wide framing; Story & Writing, character development, plague; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “To write something you have to risk making a fool of yourself.“ – Anne Rice Notes & References: Ignaz Semmelweis (PBS.org) – Tried to convince doctors to wash their hands to […] The...

We put Wes Anderson’s “Rushmore” front and center to discuss: Cinematography, center framing; Story & Writing, dry humor, heart; Todd recounts his experience of working as a background extra in Rushmore; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “The more relaxed you are, the better you are at everything“ – Bill Murray Notes & […] The post Ep 303: &#822...

We conjure both seasons of League of Legends’ “Arcane” and discuss: Story & Writing, building character, moments vs montages; Music, animation, favorite moments; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “We are shaped and fashioned by what we love.“ – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Notes & References: Alex Seaver – the name of the […] The post Ep 302...

We creep into Hugh Grant’s “Heretic” and discuss: Cinematography, shooting in small spaces, dramatic reveals; Story & Writing, self-talk as exposition, philosophical stories; Special Guest Hamish Purdy talks about working on Heretic, and set decoration; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “I think that when you consider the beauty of the world and […] The post Ep...

We traverse Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar” and discuss: Story & Writing, comparing the original 2008 Jonathan Nolan draft vs the final co-written draft with Christopher Nolan; Special Guest Raul Vega talks scoring films, creating digital instruments for Hans Zimmer, and working on the music of Interstellar with Hans Zimmer; and other such stuff and things and […] Th...

We combat Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator II” and discuss: Story & Writing, sequels, comparing II to the original; Cinematography, how running multiple cameras and fewer takes can impact the story; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “The technology keeps moving forward, which makes it easier for the artists to tell their stories and paint […] The post Ep 299: “G...

We consume a chill pill to discuss Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey” and discuss: Cinematography; Story & Writing; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “I don’t pretend we have all the answers. But the questions are certainly worth thinking about.“ – Arthur C. Clarke Notes & References: Filming the Leopard scene (2001italia.it) […] Th...