Uncut Gems Podcast

In this episode of our ongoing 2024 Spike Lee project, we are diving deep into the 1999 Summer of Sam . Over the course of our conversation you will hear us speculate as to why Spike Lee chose to make this movie in particular, how it relates to his ongoing interests and whether it pauses the filmmaker's streak of activist black cinema, or maybe if it continues it by assuming a different perspe...

In this episode of the show we are adding a notch to our Spike Lee belt by talking about his mostly forgotten 90s piece, Get on the Bus . Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about Spike Lee playing with form, advancing his concepts of cinematic activism and whether a single-location movie like this could ever be conceived as a commercial endeavor. We also talk about Lee's...

In this episode of the show we are closing our Distressed Father's Day month with a conversation about the 1977 revenge opus Rolling Thunder . Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about dangers of pressing down one's emotional state, the power of a monosyllabic hero and how much meaning can possibly fit into a single line of dialogue. We also talk about changes to the...

In this episode of our 2024 Kathryn Bigelow Marathon we are discussing her follow-up to Point Break , an audacious and wildly misunderstood Sci-Fi opus Strange Days . Over the course of our conversation you will hear us wonder why audiences failed to connect with this movie, how its immersive aesthetic works both in favour and against the idea of accessibility and how the movie is a bit like a bur...

In this episode of the show we are discussing the 1972 film Rage directed and starring George C. Scott. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about the many ways in which this film fits in the microtrend of revenge fantasies which sprouted across cinema of the 70s, how it adds to the legacy of anti-establishment paranoid thriller and whether it is a de facto libertarian fantasy...

In this episode of the show we are embarking on a June trip through movies about distressed dads and all the bad decisions they make. And so we begin with the 1970 Joe  and the 1974 Death Wish . Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about Peter Boyle's unique talent to look fifty-five when he was merely thirty-five, Charles Bronson's sleeper physique, and the many messa...

Here's a short teaser of our brand new Patreon-exclusive episode of Uncut Gems Tie-ins, a monthly series where we take a classic movie and connect it to a film discussed on our main show. In this episode of the show we are working our way to Father's Day in connection to the entire month of 70s dads making bad decisions which we will be exploring on the main show, However, in this wholesom...

In this episode of the show we are talking about Spike Lee's 1996 movie Girl 6 . Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about how Spike Lee fits in the grand design of the 90s Indie Revival, what the movie has to say about Hollywood and whether some of the more recent scandals that shook the world are already touched on in detail in here. We also talk about how this movie is...

This month we are discussing Spike Lee's 1998 outing He Got Game starring Denzel Washington and Ray Allen. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about Spike Lee's directorial style meshing with the raw talent of athletes in front of the camera, Denzel Washington's fatherly mission and the importance of basketball as a social mobility vehicle. We also about magical r...

In this episode of the show we are joined by our great friend Sarah Buddery to talk about 2010: The Year We Make Contact , the sequel to Stanley Kubrick's eponymous 2001: A Space Odyssey . Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about the perils and woes of making a sequel to one of the greatest films of all time, adding context to greatness and walking the tightrope between...

Here's a short teaser of our brand new Patreon-exclusive episode of Uncut Gems Tie-ins, a monthly series where we take a classic movie and connect it to a film discussed on our main show. In this podcast we are talking about the Stanley Kubrick-directed magnum opus 2001: A Space Odyssey   in connection to our upcoming show about its 1984 sequel   2010: The Year We Make Contact . Over the cours...

In this episode of the show we are once again joined by our buddy Rich Foster to talk about the third and final collaboration between Jean-Claude Van Damme and Peter Hyams - Enemies Closer . Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about JCVD as an ageing action hero, the obscure universe of direct-to-video filmmaking and the many reasons a seasoned filmmaker could take on a proje...

In this episode of the show we are joined by the great Kevin and Erin from The Podcast That Wouldn't Die to talk about JCVD's second collaboration with Peter Hyams - Sudden Death . Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about how this movie fits into the legacy of Die Hard , how JCVD wants to abandon his martial artist garb in favour of an everyman outfit and how Powers...

Here's a short teaser of our brand new Patreon-exclusive episode of Uncut Gems Tie-ins, a monthly series where we take a classic movie and connect it to a film discussed on our main show. This month we are tying into our main show conversations about Peter Hyams by talking about his arguably first hit, Capricorn One . Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about Hyams' b...

In this episode of the show we are opening our May triptych of JCVD collaborations with Peter Hyams and we begin our deliberations by travelling back in time to 1994 to talk about Timecop . Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about Van Damme's drive to establish himself as an A-list action star, Ron Silver's villainous take owing a lot to Blue Steel  and Peter Hyams l...

In this episode of the show we are again touching base with our hero of the year, Spike Lee, as we talk about his 1995 outing Clockers . Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about Lee taking his cinema close to Martin Scorsese, whether this movie is a continuation of film activism the filmmaker has been advancing his entire career and whether it attempts to have a difficult co...

This month we are devoting our Spike Lee conversation to Crooklyn , a semiautobiographical piece co-authored by Spike and his sisters. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about whether this movie strays from Lee's mission of cinematic activism or if it indeed harbours a message of societal appeal, how much of what we see on screen is filtered through the optics of a young...

In this episode of the show we are joined by our good friend Hillary to talk about Leave No Trace , Debra Granik's drama about a man and his daughter living off the grid. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about Granik's filmmaking being rooted in sociopolitical activism, Ben Foster's performance as a traumatized vet and Thomasin McKenzie's understated brilli...

In the fourth episode of our 2024 Kathryn Bigelow Marathon, we look at her 1991 outing, Point Break . Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about how Bigelow's moody aesthetic translates into the movie and perhaps enriches it, whether Keanu Reeves could have been replaced by Brandon Lee and if Gary Busey eating a meatball sandwich is an iconic image full of meaning. We also...

In this episode of the show, we are continuing our trek off the grid as we talk the 2016 indie darling Captain Fantastic . Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about the quirky recipe for a Sundance drama, what the film is trying to say about parenting and whether it is interested in practicing what it preaches. We also talk about the unsettling quality of witnessing Viggo Mor...

Here's a short teaser of our brand new Patreon-exclusive episode of Uncut Gems Tie-ins, a monthly series where we take a classic movie and connect it to a film discussed on our main show. In this episode of the show tying into this month's theme of April Off The Grid, we are talking about Ted Kotcheff's First Blood . Joined by a special guest and friend of the show Rich Foster we are d...

In this episode of the show we are heading to the forest to begin our April Off The Grid together with William Friedkin's The Hunted . Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about possible reasons why Friedkin decided to direct this movie, what it possibly owes to First Blood and whether it has a metaphorical connotation with the culture at large. We also talk about it being...

In this episode of our 2024 Spike Lee Joint-a-thon, we are gearing up for a serious discussion about Spike Lee's take on a prestige biopic, Malcolm X . Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about how Lee reinvents the biopic formula while adhering to it, how Denzel Washington embodies the titular character and how this movie had to be as long as it was to allow the filmmake...

In this episode of the show, we are talking about Spike Lee's Jungle Fever , a dense societal diorama that begins with a premise of an elevated screwball rom-com and descends into deep and heavy thematic deliberations on race, relationships, drugs and familial sins. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about Spike Lee finding his footing as a cinematic preacher, workplace...

In this episode of the show, we are closing our Spring Clinging series with a homerun as we are talking about Tony Scott's The Fan ! Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about how much Nine Inch Nails music is too much, whether this movie gets baseball right and if there is a point to it in the first place only a few short years after Cape Fear . We also talk about positio...