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

We loop through Jake Gyllenhaal’s “Source Code” and discuss: Cinematography, contrast, breaking the 180º rule; Story & Writing, details, theme, stakes; Todd’s new single from Mad Valley “Ready to Fall” (links below!!); and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Don’t gain the world and lose your soul, wisdom is better than silver or gold.“ […] T...

We fly over Craig Mazin’s “Chernobyl” and discuss: Cinematography, lens flares, stabilizing a handheld shot; Story & Writing, horror, tragedy, tension, threats; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “I am one of those who think like Nobel, that humanity will draw more good than evil from new discoveries.“ – Marie Curie Notes & […] The post Ep 246: &...

We float into Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” and discuss: Cinematography, wides, closeups; Story & Writing, pop culture references, Ken, Ruth, Gloria & Sasha; Performances, Set Design; Special guest Hannah Hartman joins us; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “I must quit marrying men who feel inferior to me. Somewhere there must be a man […] The post Ep 245: &#8220...

We sail through Russell Crowe’s “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World” and discuss: Cinematography, night scenes, camerawork; Story & Writing, friendship vs duty, weight of command; Directing & Editing, reaction shots, dynamic audio; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Success is the most convincing talker in the world.“ – Napoleon […]...

We wreck Tom Cruise’s “Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning part 1” and discuss: Story & Writing, motivated storytelling, exposition; Action, consequential chases; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Sequels are generally done in a rush. They’re done with a sense of urgency. The first time, you spend a long time developing to get it […] The post Ep 243: &#82...

We react to Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” and discuss: Cinematography, color, black & white, fission vs fusion, IMAX considerations; Story & Writing, fast starts, Trinity buildup, final scene; Music, and Casting supporting roles; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “The opposite of a correct statement is a false statement. But the opposite of a […] The po...

We stir the tanks on Ron Howard’s “Apollo 13” and discuss: Cinematography, vertigo shot, selling space-gravity; Story & Writing, exposition, building stakes & tension; Acting & Directing, building emotional weight, stoicism; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.“ – Henry Ford Notes [&#8230...

We do our own thing in “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” and discuss: Story & Writing, leaning into exposition, moral dilemmas and the trolley problem; using Music to tell an efficient story; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Act that your principle of action might safely be made a law for the whole world.“ […] The post Ep 240: “Spider-Man: Across th...

We dash through “Run Lola Run” and discuss: Visual signature; Story & Writing, Chaos Theory, time, soccer, runtime; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “It is a test (a positive test, I do not assert that it is always valid negatively), that genuine poetry can communicate before it is understood.“ – T.S. Eliot […] The post Ep 239: “Run Lola Run”...

We articulate “The King’s Speech” and discuss: Cinematography & Directing, framing Bertie; Story & Writing, British dry humor, Bertie’s struggles; Performance, vocal exercises,  and other such stuff and things and stuff. “I wish nothing but good; therefore, everyone who does not agree with me is a traitor and a scoundrel.“ – King George III Notes [&#8230...

We devour Miyazaki’s “Spirited Away” and discuss: Cinematography, editing; Story & Writing, Chihiro’s journey from weak to strong, complex emotions; What’s it all about, what does No Face represent; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “The challenge of the unknown future is so much more exciting than the stories of the accomplished past.“ […] Th...

We discover “The Secret of Kells” and discuss: Wes shooting a music video (0:00-18:00); Story & Writing, dialog, Aisling, Pangur Ban; Music, art style, hand-drawn animation; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “May you live every day of your life.“ – Jonathan Swift Notes & References: Music video James Hough “I don’t know […] The post Ep 236...

We roar at Tollywood’s breakout sensation “RRR” and discuss: Cinematography, frame rate; Story & Writing, musical storytelling, heightened tone; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “There are very few people who are going to look into the mirror and say, ‘That person I see is a savage monster;’ instead, they make up some […] The post Ep 235: “RR...

We interrogate Danny Boyle’s “Slumdog Millionaire” and discuss: Cinematography, Directing; Story & Writing, exposition, the Dickensian aspect; Gift and curse of winning an Oscar; Special guest Chandrashish weighs in from India; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Suffering has been stronger than all other teaching, and has taught me to understand what your […] T...

We feel our way through The Hughes Brothers’ “The Book of Eli” and discuss: Visual style; Story & Writing, theme, outline; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “There is no saint without a past, no sinner without a future.“ – Saint Augustine Notes & References: CNN clip Reza Aslan discussing religion (YouTube) other films […] The post Ep 233: &#822...

We drive by The Hughes Brothers’ “Menace II Society” and discuss: Story & Writing, opening scene, morality tales; Hollywood gangster films; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “I respect the audience’s intelligence a lot, and that’s why I don’t try to go for the lowest common denominator.“ – Spike Lee Watch us on […] The post Ep 232:...

We swear to Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” and discuss: Cinematography and Directing, cheating for speed; Story & Writing, Batman vs Joker, philosophical stakes, Joker’s tests; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “When law and morality contradict each other, the citizen has the cruel alternative of either losing his moral sense or losing […] The post...

We crash into Charlie Chaplin’s “The Great Dictator” and discuss: Cinematography, old aspect ratios, classic glow-up; Story & Writing, destroy something beautiful, how machine men act; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “The deeper the truth in a creative work, the longer it will live.“ – Charlie Chaplin Notes & References: Charlie Chaplin […] Th...

We trap Denis Villeneuve’s “Prisoners” and discuss: Cinematography, camera movement; Story & Writing, good detective/bad detective, testing faith; Wes unintentionally overstates his thoughts on the impact of the movie; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact.” – Arthur Conan Doyle Notes & Reference...

We double-check Denis Villeneuve’s “Enemy” and discuss: Story & Writing, what’s it all about? What’s up with the spider?; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Truth in philosophy means that concept and external reality correspond.“ – Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel Notes & References: Note: There are a LOT of variations on what constitutes [&#...

We journey through Darren Aronofsky’s “The Fountain” and discuss: Cinematography and editing; VFX, and setbacks; every film is its own universe; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us.“ – Joseph Campbell […] The post Ep 227: “The Fountain” appeared...

We yearn for Peter Dinklage’s “Cyrano” and discuss: Todd’s path to being a full-time producer, building a creative career (0-23 min); Cinematography & Directing, creating a moment of love; Story & Writing, inevitable death on stage, pacing and structure; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no […] The post Ep 2...

We check into Zach Cregger’s “Barbarian” and discuss: Cinematography, camerawork; Story & Writing, playing with the audience; Directing, ambience & tone; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Before my teacher came to me, I did not know that I am. I lived in a world that was a no-world. I cannot hope to […] The post Ep 225: “Barbarian” appeared fir...

We obsess over Darren Aronofsky’s “The Whale” and discuss: Cinematography, aspect ratio; Directing, acting and performances; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “I’d like to do a lot of different stuff. I think it’s important as a creative person to keep challenging yourself and keep doing new stuff. If you end up trying […] The post Ep 224: “The Wh...

We complete Cameron Crowe’s “Jerry Maguire” and discuss: Story & Writing, using audience expectations against them; Cinematography, traditional lighting; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “The cowards never started and the weak died along the way. That leaves us, ladies and gentlemen. Us.“ – Phil Knight Notes & References: Blue October (Spotify) Matt...