The Twin Geeks

Off the heels of the mega-success of his comedy classic Some Like It Hot (1959), writer/directer Billy Wilder followed with yet another definitive masterpiece that would not only net him three major Oscars (including Best Picture), but also would remain a defining film of the early 1960s. The Apartment is romantic comedy/drama work of genius, the likes of which could only be supplied by the inimit...

David Lynch's psycho-sexual thriller masterwork not only paved the way for much of his defining work to come but remains as frightening and potent as it was when it initially premiered.  Blue Velvet is a beautiful and tragic story about so many things: corruption of youth, the decline of 1950s idealism, sexual discovery, the face of true evil, and The American Dream. Between all the nightmaris...

Celebrated as the best British film ever made, and one of the greatest films of all time, Carol Reed's The Third Man is the perfect embodiment of post-war cynicism which gave birth to the eclectic style of Film Noir. The ravaged setting of quadrated Vienna reflects the fusion of influence in Carol Reed's production. The sensibilities of the British director, the American producer, and the...

The opening to Delmer Daves' melancholic Western masterpiece begins with the haunting vocals of Frankie Laine's iconic theme to the film. There is indeed a legend and a rumor about  3:10 to Yuma , criminally under-seen and overlooked when tallying the genre's greatest entry's. The visual splendor of the film's black and white cinematography evokes its revisionist roots and cyni...

Film Noir is that wonderful style of film that fuses cynicism and morbid desolation with pulpy crime stories in an adventurous and artistic manner. The period may have only existed up until the late 50s, but we've been able to continually revive it in modern forms, and Curtis Hanson's 1997 homage to the style may be the best we've seen yet. L.A. Confidential wears its influences on its...

A special treat this week sees the uniting of David and Calvin together for our first in-person podcast. Together, they watched Alfred Hitchcock's first masterpiece, Notorious, a film which featured atop writer Graham Austin's Top Ten Suspense Scenes list. Notorious sees the triple threat of a devilish Cary Grant, the incomparable beauty of Ingrid Bergman, and Hollywood's best supporti...

This week we not only come together to celebrate one of the greatest war films ever made on its 40th Anniversary but also see the release of a brand new cut of Apocalypse Now from director Francis Ford Coppola which first premiered at Beacon Theater back in May. Joining us this week is fellow The Twin Geeks Editor Graham Austin, who penned a piece to compliment the podcast this week on the legenda...

Sidney Lumet, our most popular director on the podcast to date, is one of the great underrated directors of the 70s. Though his films lack a distinctive authorial voice like Martin Scorsese or Brian De Palma, he nonetheless endures as one of the decade's most prolific directors. Previously, we've discussed both 12 Angry Men (1957) and Network (1976), and today we look again to his brillian...

With the highly anticipated release of Quentin Tarantino's ninth film,  Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood , we've assembled a crack team of experts after marathoning all of this celebrated indie director's films to discuss our collective findings on the varying quality of his entire oeuvre. From the humble beginnings of  Reservoir Dogs  (1992), to the award-winning and cultural success...

Sergio Leone's ultimate send-off for the Western genre is not only one of the most epic and sprawling films ever made for the screen, but it is the ultimate culmination of everything the genre had built up to be over the near 70 years of its existence at the time. This masterpiece of scale and ambition is more than just the final word on the Western genre, it  is the Western genre, all rolled...

We set aside films this week to discuss the latest streaming sensation in the release of the third season of Netlfix's uber-popular series Stranger Things. Twin Geeks writer Brogan has already covered the season in his recent review, but this cultural wave has grasped us all here enough to want to talk about it even more. We've grown to love this perilous cast of young up-and-comers as muc...

During our 4th of July hiatus, we gathered together to watch the ultimate summer film, Steven Spielberg's blockbuster-birthing masterpiece, Jaws. This film is a beloved favorite from all our staff here, and so we look forward to celebrating its legacy on this most appropriate of holidays. The auteur-driven spirit of 1970s New Hollywood gave way for the kind of creative filmmaking that made a d...

This cult horror film from 1973 has become one of the most influential and unique of all time, famously being dubbed "The Citizen Kane of horror films" upon its re-release in 1976. The Wicker Man is well-regarded for its staunch focus on the battle between the old practices of the Pagan religion and the oppressive and consuming force of Christianity. The powers of these two forces are flip...

Ridley Scott’s Alien turns 40 years old. While David’s out of town, Editors Bro & Calvin convene to discuss an absolute masterclass in horror filmmaking. The year was 1979 and there was a crowded field of top tier cinema rounding out a decade of reinvigorated auteur filmmaking, with Alien at the top of the heap, representing the pinnacle of a decade finely calibrated for horror and sci-fi. The...

One of the most important and influential films to ever come out of Hollywood, The Wild Bunch celebrates its 50th anniversary this month. Sam Peckinpah's legendary Western masterwork came at a time of pivotal change in American filmmaking. The much-maligned Haye's Code of the last 30 years had finally come to an end the year prior, and no one was better suited to display what filmmakers co...

A biopic musical as flamboyant and extravagant as its subject matter, Rocketman is the explosive life story of legendary British rock artist Sir Elton John and the many ups and downs of his skyrocket to international fame. The film makes the inspired choice of incorporating an incredible amount of the artist's songs into the film by way of abstract musical numbers, with full-on Hollywood-style...

Our buddy podcast turns to the ultimate buddy comedy this week for some much needed reflection on an underrated classic. The Road to El Dorado was a major flop for Dreamworks upon initial release, but has found much deserved love in the cults of the internet. It happens to be one of our absolute favorites here, bountiful in its beauty and its laughs. Basically, the things it was lambasted for on r...

This week sees the 50th Anniversary of the release of John Schlesinger's daring and tragically beautiful New Wave drama that remains one of the most culturally important film in and about New York ever made. Midnight Cowboy is an intimate story of friendship that manages to be so much more than a basic plot detail would define it as. A flagship film of 60's counterculture, a quintessential...

Last week we talked about the latest "most ambitious crossover event in history" with Avengers: Endgame, but this week we want to discuss the real most ambitious crossover event in history, and it ain't no Marvel film. Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a special, one-of-a-kind film we will probably never see again. The licensing problems alone are enough to make it completely unfeasible. Here...

After more than a decade, and a score of star-studded films, the long awaited conclusion of the "Infinity Saga" has come. Little did we expect when settling in to watch the first Iron Man (2008) eleven years ago that we would be anticipating a spectacle event like this. Disney and the team at Marvel have done the impossible in delivering a satisfying conclusion to this epic series. We'...

As far back as we can remember we've always wanted to talk about this ultimate gangster flick.  Goodfellas is the culmination of all great gangster films in a compelling and captivating biopic that has been a monumental influence for almost 30 years now. It's the standout film of director Martin Scorsese's career, and makes for a good argument for being his greatest film. Carefully, Sc...

David Mamet's masterful stage play of four salesman fighting for their jobs in the desperate world of real estate is a compelling film that is not glorified nearly as much as it deserves to be. The slick, clean writing is filled with double speak and business jargon which oftentimes repels viewers from engaging, but should be respected for its unwillingness to talk down to its audience. These...

This week we return to the impressive filmography of Akira Kurosawa, discussing what is one of his more underrated classics in The Hidden Fortress. We previously discussed what is thought to be one of the more natural entry points in his oeuvre with our Yojimbo Podcast, but here we think it's safe to say that The Hidden Fortress is probably an even better starting place than that. Easily the m...

Instead of a third entry from in this much beloved franchise from creature-master Guillermo del Toro, this weekend sees the release of a new interpretation of Mike Mignola's famous Dark Horse Comics character. We're inspired to look back at these previous two films, brought to us by the unbearable combination of del Toro and Ron Perlman, who so perfectly embodies the physicality and charac...

A great Western classic that proves Wayne a better actor than most would claim, Red River is a defining film for the genre. The epic tale of a tyrannical cattle baron determined to drive his entire herd one-thousand miles, from Texas to Missouri, is an adventure of gargantuan size. Howard Hawk's precise direction grounds this epic tale in an intimate conflict between Wayne's patriarchal Du...