The Recommendation Game

"As soon as I saw the penis I was like 'Fight Club!' " We're tackling a giant of cinema this week, with the ineffable Bergman. We have some fun with Jungian theory and pre-new-hollywood visual style. It all feels like a dream, but whose dream? This is The Recommendation Game, a weekly podcast where two film lovers take turns to recommend a film the other has not seen, they watch and then meet to d...

"Half the movie is a Kubrick movie and the other half is a Frank Capra movie" Can you believe it?! We made it to a whole year! In celebration, in a very special episode, we're discussing one of our old favourites from our formative cinephile years, Children of Men. Grab your flip flops, it's going to be a cold and grey one This is The Recommendation Game, a weekly podcast where two film lovers tak...

"Orla needs you to eat babies" Bong Joon-ho's Snowpiercer is anything but conventional. An allegory of class struggle and rebellion, masquerading as an apocalyptic action film. Will it prove too hard a sell for Orla? A film with at least 5 cinema essays on youtube This is The Recommendation Game, a weekly podcast where two film lovers take turns to recommend a film the other has not seen, they wat...

'It reminded me of Ingmar Bergman, which is a huge compliment' We're joined by special guest Ciara Mc Nelis (sister of the pod) for more fun with fascism, with 1976's Cría Cuervos The word allegory, the bane of Ricardo's life This is The Recommendation Game, a weekly podcast where two film lovers take turns to recommend a film the other has not seen, they watch and then meet to discuss it. Spoiler...

"I recommend you to go fuck yourselves" Happy Halloween! In a special spooky episode we're hanging out with some cool(but deadly) vampires. Don't worry, they're aesthetically opposed to killing you. This is The Recommendation Game, a weekly podcast where two film lovers take turns to recommend a film the other has not seen, they watch and then meet to discuss it. Spoilers are a given. We are Ricar...

"Don't shush me!" A film made in response to the incompetent and apathetic reaction to a rapidly growing aids epidemic in the late 80's/early 90's. Based on the book by Randy Shilts, this HBO TV movie has a lot of ground to cover. Runaway Bride tangents and a new theme tune! This is The Recommendation Game, a weekly podcast where two film lovers take turns to recommend a film the other has not see...

"It's very realistic with what is happening but not depicted realistically' Horror is a lot like romantic comedies, very hard to get right. Will Jordan Peele's Get Out grab Ricardo? Tropes and sex puppets galore This is The Recommendation Game, a weekly podcast where two film lovers take turns to recommend a film the other has not seen, they watch and then meet to discuss it. Spoilers are a given....

"He does the seldom seen but world famous double karate chop to the head" Peterson vs Dafoe, sounds like Orla's kryptonite doesn't it? Can the great Friedkin can save this black-hearted examination at 1980's L.A? That Marc Maron interview with Friedkin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUp9Y_YzuBE This is The Recommendation Game, a weekly podcast where two film lovers take turns to recommend a film...

"Sir, I beseech you, brook your ire" Grunting, pigs heads and extravagant language. Mike Leigh delves into the life of the great but gruff J.M.W Turner. Will Ricardo see the warmth? Just waiting on that Leigh/Dickens collaboration. In case you were wondering what 'Il Mondo is' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFyCfFJC0no This is The Recommendation Game, a weekly podcast where two film lovers take t...

"Directed by Kevin Costner???" It's Ricardo's birthday week, which means a special episode and 3 hours of Kevin Costner. We're joined by Eileen to discuss this 90's epic. Can you name a more quintessential 90's movie than The Mighty Ducks? Go watch The Guardian, do it now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNwaeU-i0fA This is The Recommendation Game, a weekly podcast where two film lovers take turns...

"That cicada looks CGI" Another special episode this week, we're joined by James Van De Waal to discuss fascism, golf trousers and France's national identity crisis. We're all Malle-nists now! Ricardo puns galore.... This is The Recommendation Game, a weekly podcast where two film lovers take turns to recommend a film the other has not seen, they watch and then meet to discuss it. Spoilers are a g...

A film with an incredible visual and thematic legacy, visible throughout modern cinema. Both precise and outlandish, it's the ultimate Bertolucci film. Multiple references to the great Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Disclaimer: Ricardo doesn't approve of side chicks This episode is dedicated to the Lost Episode 41 This is The Recommendation Game, a weekly podcast where two film lovers take turns to...

"It felt very true, in a way that's hard to get across in animation" We can't think of a better film for our first Irish pick, than Song of the Sea. It's Miyazaki meets Pixar with an Irish humor. Tom Waits and the Morbegs This is The Recommendation Game, a weekly podcast where two film lovers take turns to recommend a film the other has not seen, they watch and then meet to discuss it. Spoilers ar...

"I think this is better in a way than the Christopher Nolan Batman movies" It's finally happened, we're discussing a superhero movie. Not just any superhero movie though, it's 2017's Logan, the FINAL Wolverine film. It only takes Orla 14 minutes to get to her point. Pay attention to how Ricardo says 'Wolverine' This episode is dedicated to our fantastic lecturer Malachy. This is The Recommendation...

"You could write an entire dissertation on the ethics of this" How do you portray a life spent observing? Kirsten Johnson uses footage from her 20 year career to examine her own role in the collection of those images and our role as an audience watching them Creeky chairs and Coen Brothers references.... Here's that interview with Ezra Edelman, director of OJ Made in America: longform.org/posts/lo...

"You're really not human if this movie doesn't get to you" We finally got there, to the film that's been casting a shadow over Ricardo's choices for the last 9 months; 1985's Come and See. Gut-wrenching, and thoroughly realistic it's not a film that will ever leave your brain. Thanks Ricardo This is The Recommendation Game, a weekly podcast where two film lovers take turns to recommend a film the...

"That kettle of fish has been put to bed" No subtitles for Ric this week! We've finally reached Spain, bathing in the warm glow of Victor's Erice's 1973 post civil war masterpiece. This is The Recommendation Game, a weekly podcast where two film lovers take turns to recommend a film the other has not seen, they watch and then meet to discuss it. Spoilers are a given. We are Ricardo Deakin and Orla...

"The Jackal spent 71 days, 56 minutes thinking a bullet into the brain of de Gaulle" Break out the Campari you jallywags, it's Liberation day! We're off on a jaunt around Europe with suave would - be assassin 'The Jackal'. That video Ric was talking about: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvwHGz0Enhw&t=2s This is The Recommendation Game, a weekly podcast where two film lovers take turns to recommen...

"People were fucked up before the internet" Three nerds waffling for the price of two this week. We're joining by the glorious Claire Gleeson to discuss Chan-wook Park's The Handmaiden, from 2016. Things get steamy! Not just because it's July and Orla's room is tiny This is The Recommendation Game, a weekly podcast where two film lovers take turns to recommend a film the other has not seen, they w...

'I'm not after a man, I'm after a contract' We're deep in the Appalachian mountains this week with Harlan County USA from 1976. Featuring incredible access and footage with renewed relevancy, the film is a heartbreaking look at the bitter strike between the Brookside miners and the Eastover Coal Company. Yes, the Bee Gees do have a track about mining: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S43YhQ_eGTw Th...

"Imagine if this wasn't a musical and how much I would like it" Ricardo refuses to give up on the musical, and this week it's Jacques Demy's turn to convert Orla with The Umbrellas of Cherbourg from 1964. We are on fine hyper form this week! This is The Recommendation Game, a weekly podcast where two film lovers take turns to recommend a film the other has not seen, they watch and then meet to dis...

'It explains why Trump is president' Two murdering drifters collide with the all American family this week, in the 1967 classic In Cold Blood. Ricardo is chipper and out for revenge! Orla is simply exasperated This is The Recommendation Game, a weekly podcast where two film lovers take turns to recommend a film the other has not seen, they watch and then meet to discuss it. Spoilers are a given. W...

"You have not earned team mate status yet" Sensitive jocks and toxic masculinity. We get into the nitty gritty of Linklater's 'spiritual sequel' to Dazed and Confused, with good friend of the pod Eileen. She lets Ricardo away with nothing For some reason we ended up recording this on the hottest day of the year in Orla's tiny room with the window's closed for audio purposes. Things got a little sw...

'It's sad enough to make you laugh, and funny enough to make you cry' Finally an Aki Kaurismaki film! Ric's been storing this up for a while, hopefully Orla doesn't destroy it Ricardo throws some serious shade at DIT Film Soc circa 2009/2010 This is The Recommendation Game, a weekly podcast where two film lovers take turns to recommend a film the other has not seen, they watch and then meet to dis...

Orla gives an uncharacteristically long winded intro, which sets the mood for a tangent filled episode, but that's no insult to our movie this week! It's finally time for a Jarmusch film and Orla's picked Paterson So close to 30, like our fine selves Fishing with John Lurie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTi2xEhyUYc This is The Recommendation Game, a weekly podcast where two film lovers take turn...