Watch This With Rick Ramos

The Kid Stayed in the Picture: Robert Evans - A Remembrance (06/29/30 - 10/26/19) On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Ibrahim & I sit down to pay tribute to Robert Evans, one-time head of Paramount Pictures (1967-1974) and arguably the most popular producer of the 1970's. Evans would make a name for himself with The Odd Couple and Rosemary's Baby (both 1968), playing an instrumental p...

On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Ibrahim & I sit down to discuss the new film from documentarian Errol Morris, American Dharma . In a career that has spanned nearly forty years, Errol Morris has proven to be one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed documentary filmmakers in cinema history. From his early championing by Roger Ebert for his debut feature Gates...

Pride Goeth Before the Fall: The Life of James Riddle Hoffa in Martin Scorsese's I Heard You Paint Houses and Danny DeVito's Hoffa On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Mr. Chavez & I sit down to discuss one of the most highly anticipated films of the year, Martin Scorsese's I Heard You Paint Houses ( The Irishman ). A major cinematic event that has been inundated with controversy regar...

The Director's Lens: Three Early Noirs by Jules Dassin - Night & the City / The Naked City / Brute Force On this solo episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Ramos continues his look at one of his favorite cinematic genres - Film Noir. Taking advantage of the chance to watch so many great films, this week week Ramos looks at the early career of Jules Dassin, a director who refused to name names during t...

High Art, Low Art, & The Need To Get It On Screen : Dolemite Is My Name & Ed Wood Twenty-Five Years in the making. On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Ibrahim & I sit down to discuss the struggles of High Art, Low Art, and Recognizing the Difference between the Two. Looking at two great film biopics chronicling the lives and work of artists of questionable talent, this week we discuss...

God's Lonely Men: The Collaborations of Martin Scorsese & Paul Schrader ( Taxi Driver & Bringing Out the Dead ) On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Ibrahim & I sit down to discuss the artistic collaborations between Martin Scorsese & Paul Schrader. Over a 23 year span these two filmmakers have created some of the most powerful stories put on film. This week we take a look at their fir...

Screams of a Clown - Todd Phillip's Joker &                         Martin Scorsese's The King of Comedy  On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos we wholeheartedly welcome the return of Mr. Ibrahim Chavez. Back in time to discuss one of the most talked about films of the year, it is a thrill for Chavez & Ramos to sit down and discuss Joaquin Phoenix's remarkable performance as Arthur Fleck...

JOHN J. RAMBO - Looking Back on an American Icon On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos Ramos flies solo with a look at Sylvester Stallone's second most iconic role - John J. Rambo. A staple of the 1980s, Rambo is a problematic example of American Screen Heroism. From David Morrell's source novel First Blood, the Rambo character started as a confused and damaged Vietnam veteran pushed too...

Disappointments and Surprises: Kiss of Death & Where the Sidewalk Ends - A Continuing Journey Into Film Noir On This week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Ramos continues to go it solo looking at two classics of Film Noir - Henry Hathaway's Kiss of Death  (1947) and Otto Preminger's Where the Sidewalk Ends  (1950). Two films heralded as classics of Noir with one of them holding up much better t...

Losers Refusing to Give Up - Robert Wise's The Set-Up On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, I continue my solo microphone runs into the world of Film Noir. I've always loved this genre (is it a genre?) and am thrilled to be making my way through so many films that have been sitting on my shelves. This week the show focuses on Robert Wise's RKO Classic The Set-Up from 1949. This is almos...

Edgar G. Ulmer's Detour - Riding into the Darkness of Noir On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos I fly solo with a look at The Criterion Edition of Edgar G. Ulmer's Detour (1945). With this B-Movie/Poverty Row production, Ulmer secured his place in the annals of film history. One of the earliest Noirs of record, in 1992 Ulmer's film was selected for preservation in the United States Nati...

Peter Fonda: A Rememberance (February 23, 1940 - August 16, 2019) On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Ibrahim & I sit down to look over the career of Peter Fonda, who passed away August 16th at the age of 79. From his early work with Roger Corman's A merican I nternational P ictures thru his phenomenal success co-writing, producing and starring in Dennis Hopper's Easy Rider ( 1969). I...

The Re-Boot Era Continued - The History of the Oscars Part 11: 2015 - 2019  Our long road through The History of The Academy Awards finally comes to an end as Ibrahim & I look at these last five years of The Awards. We remember the winners, the losers, those that were not nominated, and our thoughts on the awards as a whole.  . . . That's All Folks Thanks for the continued Love & Support. Question...

The Reboot Era - History of the Oscars Part 10: 2011 - 2014 On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Ibrahim & I get one episode closer to finishing our series on The History of the Academy Awards. Looking at the years 2011 thru 2014, we examine the Academy's continued desire to maintain the status quo. As we come closer to the end of this exploration, we find ourselves by the careful - an...

Rutger Hauer: Like Tears in Rain (January 23, 1944 - July 19, 2019) On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Ibrahim & I sit down to discuss the career of Rutger Hauer who passed away this past week at the age of 75. Hauer began his professional acting career in 1969 under the guidance of fellow Dutchman, Paul Verhoeven, for a television movie. Hauer would work again with Verhoeven in his...

Tarantino (Re)Writes The Summer of 69: Sharon Tate, Charles Manson, Hollywood & The Changing of History - Once Upon a Time . . . in Hollywood On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Ibrahim & I sit down to discuss one of the most anticipated films of 2019, Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time . . . in Hollywood . Profiling "The End of the 60s" and taking liberal advantage of a history tha...

Kermit, Fozzie, Miss Piggy, & The Brilliance of Jim Henson - WatchThis W/RickRamos  On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Ibrahim & I sit down to discuss the 40th Anniversary of Jim Henson's The Muppet Movie . Widely regarded as a "Children's Classic," The Muppet Movie has proven to be so much more than that. With characters like Kermit the Frog, Rowlf the Dog, Dr. Teeth & The Electric...

A Questionable Renaissance Continued - History of the Oscars Part 9: 2006 - 2010 Closer & Closer we get to making it through the entire History of The Academy Awards. On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Ibrahim & I sit down to reminisce about the Oscar winning films from 2005 thru 2009. Hindsight may be 20/20, however we continue to drive towards the understanding that the awards are...

Yesterday Today: Rock 'N Roll Cinema (Part 1) On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Ibrahim & I take a break from our Oscars breakdown to discuss The Beatles, showcased this month in Danny Boyle's Yesterday . We take a look at this film and the lasting legacy of The Fab Four. We also discuss Julie Taymor's Across the Universe and Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale's I Wanna Hold Your Hand . S...

A Questionable Renaissance - History of the Oscars Part 8: 2001- 2005  On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Ibrahim & I continue on our journey through The History of The Academy Awards. This week we look at the films of 2000 - 2004. There was an idea that things were changing, however the awards will show that the Academy has struggled to maintain the "integrity and stature" of award-...

The New Independents Continued -  History of the Oscars Part 7: '97 - '00   On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Ibrahim & I continue our examination of the Academy Awards, focusing on the years 1997 - 2000. Miramax, the Weinsteins, and surprise after surprise as we remember history differently than history occurred. Take a listen and let us know what you think. Questions, Comments, Co...

Epilogue: Anthony Bourdain On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Ibrahim & I sit down to discuss the One Year Anniversary of the Death of Anthony Bourdain. What was Bourdain's Legacy? The Power and Purpose of the Final Season? And Bourdain's Continuing Importance as a Cultural Ambassador & Explorer of Humanity. It felt great to sit down and talk three episodes of the final season of Par...

Deadwood - David Milch: The Meaning of Endings We've been working quite some time to get to this place. On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Ibrahim & I sit down to continue our discussion of - arguably - the greatest series ever produced for television, David Milch's Deadwood . After a cancelled fourth season, and two two-hour movies that were never made, Milch was finally able to giv...

Lies Agreed Upon - David Milch's DEADWOOD This is an episode that we have talked about and prepped for years. On this episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Ibrahim & I sit down to discuss - arguably - the greatest show ever produced for television, David Milch's Western Masterpiece Deadwood . Portraying the birth of the town of Deadwood, South Dakota from it's creation through it's evolution from lawl...

Game of Thrones: A Song of Ice & Fire All things must come to an end. On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Ibrahim & I sit down to discuss George R.R. Martin's groundbreaking literary series Game of Thrones . For seven years we've followed the lives of the Starks, the Lannisters, and the Targaeryans as they maneuvered through alliances and treachery to gain control of the mythical cont...