Uncut Gems Podcast

In this episode of the show we are paying a visit to the misty and gothic haunted house of The Others , written and directed by Alejandro Amenabar. Over the course of the discussion we pinpoint how this film is connected to the wave of supernatural horror that swept through cinemas at the turn of the century, analyze its twists and turns, dig deep to find and interrogate whatever the filmmakers hi...

In this episode of the show we are venturing into the mystical woods of New England and talking about M. Night Shyamalan's The Village . Over the course of this yet another gargantuan conversation we dig into the film's problematic reception upon its release, comment on the differences between what ended up in the film and what leaked out online during production, find multiple meanings and readin...

In this episode of the show we are tying our conversation, albeit loosely, to the previous episode about Duel and discussing two films arguably inspired by Steven Spielberg's breakout hit, Joy Ride and Unhinged . Over the course of our long-winded and multi-faceted conversation you will hear us talk about the dichotomy between what Joy Ride wants to be and what it actually is, the idea of Paul Wal...

In this episode of the show we are taking a close look at Steven Spielberg's auspicious debut Duel , a film that put him on the map and set him on the trajectory to become one of the most successful Hollywood filmmakers. Over the course of the discussion we talk about the film's iconic villain, its multiple connections to Jaws as well as to the works of Alfred Hitchcock and even John Carpenter. We...

In this episode of the show we are discussing Quentin Tarantino's most maligned movie, Death Proof . Over the course of this wildly heated discussion we interrogate Tarantino's style, critique his indulgences, look for social commentary embedded within the character of Stuntman Mike, and naturally tip our hats to the great legacy of stuntmen and stuntwomen of Hollywood. Join for the movie talk, st...

In this episode of the show we are travelling all the way back to the 70s to discuss Richard C. Sarafian's Vanishing Point , a counterculture cult classic about a man barrelling down the road at breakneck speeds in an iconic white Dodge Challenger. Over the course of our conversation we touch on the unique qualities of the film's main character played by Barry Newman, obsess over the film's vibes...

In this episode of the show we get into our fancy sports cars and race across America together with Burt Reynolds and his friends as we are discussing Hal Needham's 1981 romp The Cannonball Run . Over the course of our discussion we try to figure out whether the movie is about a race or not, we interrogate the quality of its comedy and identify its problems, all in addition to hatching a plan to t...

In this episode of the show we are taking the train to Actionville as we are talking about not one but two train-centered action thrillers, Andrey Konchalovsky's Runaway Train and Tony Scott's Unstoppable . Over the course of this conversation we try to identify the layers of social commentary embedded under the edifice of genre schlock in Runaway Train , actively seek out the vestiges of Akira Ku...

In this episode of the show we are looking back at 1941 , Steven Spielberg's WWII spoof that followed off the heels of Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind and became one of the biggest disappointments in the director's filmmaking career. Over the course of the discussion we attempt to interrogate the reasons why this film was so poorly received, figure out if it is a satire, a parody, a sp...

In this episode of the show we continue revisiting Darren Aronofsky's cinema as we dig into his latest opus mother! Supremely controversial upon its release and eventually tragically unsuccessful, this film was powerful enough a catalyst for the gang to argue over its merits for nearly five hours! Over the course of this gargantuan discussion we left no stone unturned as we examined the film's int...

In this episode of the show we discuss The Fountain , Darren Aronofsky's follow-up to his immensely successful breakthrough hit Requiem For a Dream , which for some reason (and we get into the possible reasons why) ended up swept under the rug of history. We dig into the film's rich thematic headspace, appreciate its filmmaking craft, identify potential strands connecting the film to its creator a...

In this episode of the show we venture back to 2006 and re-appraise Michael Mann's Miami Vice . Over the course of this long-winded and nuance-rich discussion we break down Michael Mann's directorial style, opine over his influence on cinema, share our own memories connected to the filmmaker and - most importantly - take a critical look at the film itself. We ponder over its multiple production is...

In this episode of the show we talk about the most maligned and unfortunate entry in the Star Wars franchise, Solo - A Star Wars Story . Over the course of this epic discussion we talk at length about the troubled history of this film and its multiple flaws, though at least some of us try to make a positive case for it anyway. In addition, you will be able to hear us sound off about the trajectory...

In this episode of the show we embark on an epic adventure leading us all the way back to the 1980s when the genre of fantasy was making a rapid resurgence and discuss Krull . We talk about how this film came to be, what possibly inspired it and - most importantly - try to understand why it became a spectacular box office bomb. We obsess over its lush production design, ridicule its ludicrous plot...

In this episode of the show we are (prematurely) celebrating Alien Day by talking about David Fincher’s directorial debut, Alien 3 . We leave no stone unturned as we delve into the intricacies of the film’s production, controversies surrounding the evolution of Ellen Ripley’s character, as well as the way the 2003 Assembly Cut attempted to rectify some of its flaws. As an added bonus, we also talk...

In this episode of the show we are taking a deep dive into the world of swashbuckling adventure, corny romance, ancient curses, revived corpses and sand (lots of sand) as we are discussing The Mummy and The Mummy Returns , with a side order of adding our few cents about The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor and even a few words on The Scorpion King . We marvel over the chemistry Brendan Fraser and...

In this episode of the show we are indulging in a truly deep dive into Bringing Out The Dead , an underseen and underrated effort from Martin Scorsese, written by Paul Schrader and starring Nicolas Cage. Over the course of this rather long and twisty conversation we attempt to unpack the thematic richness hidden within this film which includes (among others) seeing it as a spiritual successor to T...

In this episode of the show we having an absolute ball discussing Frank Marshall's 1995 adventure romp, Congo . Over the course of the discussion, which got heated and eventually went completely off the rails, we tried to get to the bottom of whether this film is great, abysmal or so-bad-it's-awesome. We also pontificated over just how much high calibre talent was found behind the scenes, shared a...

In this episode of the show we are taking a look at Mark Romanek's Never Let Me Go , an adaptation of a Kazuo Ishiguro novel penned by none other than Alex Garland. Over the course of our discussion we ponder how easy it is for this film to hide its science-fiction high concept backbone, ruminate over the film's multitude of interpretations, hail its great performances and even attempt to view it...

In this episode of the show we are discussing a mostly orphaned western from 1962, Lonely Are the Brave directed by David Miller and starring Kirk Douglas, Gena Rowlands, and Walter Matthau. We are trying to figure out if this film can still be classified as a western despite its modern setting, discuss the impact it had on movies that came after it and see if it can be read as an early tell-tale...

In this episode of the show we are taking a close look at the 2005 directorial debut of none other than Tommy Lee Jones, The Three Burials Of Melquiades Estrada , a fragmented neo-Western that harbours much more under its bonnet than meets the eye. We try to unpack its multiple thematic strands embedded in the narrative conjured by Guillermo Arriaga ( Amores Perros , Babel ), wonder if it is a lov...

In this episode of the show we are setting our sights on M. Night Shyamalan's conclusion to 'The Eastrail 177 Trilogy' (aka 'The Unbreakable Trilogy'), Glass . We leave no stones unturned as we grapple with the film's status as a potentially misunderstood masterpiece, get to the nitty-gritty of Shyamalan's filmmaking style, screenwriting quirks, indulgences and inspirations, and try to figure out...

In this episode of the show we are taking a look at the 1988 sci-fi buddy cop movie starring James Caan and Mandy Patinkin, Alien Nation , and pitting it against a film that could be seen as its spiritual descendant, the David Ayer-directed Bright . We are trying our best to understand why one of these films feels organic, lived-in and fun, while the other comes across as offensive to the senses (...

In this episode we stay in the 1970s and take a very close look at John Frankenheimer's forgotten blockbuster, Black Sunday . We dig deep into Frankenheimer's place as an iconic filmmaker of the decade, wax poetic about the film's unique aesthetic, attempt to identify just how much of it has crept into the subconsciousness of popular culture and even try to tease out the connective tissue present...

In this episode of the show, we are travelling back in time to the seventies and talk about Sam Peckinpah's penultimate directorial effort, Convoy . Together with our guests we try to decide if Kris Kristofferson is hot or not, figure out how the film stacks up to Smokey and the Bandit , try to tease out its convoluted legacy as well as its own identity as a post-western, and dive deep into the nu...