Tim Wick

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Episode 15 – Modern Times

, with special guest:

Modern TimesThis week’s episode dives headfirst into the world of Charles Chaplin as we enjoy one of his most iconic works – Modern Times.  We talk about making a “silent” film in sound era, Chaplin’s apparent death wish on roller skates and a great deal more!  Listen as we educate Jena on one of the three greatest comics of the silent film era!

Our next episode will be Double Indemnity, recorded live at Pepito’s Parkway Theatre on January 18th featuring Alex Wick as our stunt Jena!

Modern Times (1936)
Modern Times poster Rating: 8.5/10 (257,290 votes)
Director: Charles Chaplin
Writer: Charles Chaplin
Stars: Charles Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Henry Bergman
Runtime: 87 min
Rated: G
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Released: 25 Feb 1936
Plot: The Tramp struggles to live in modern industrial society with the help of a young homeless woman.

Episode 14 – Vertigo

, with special guest:

VertigoFor our first episode of 2014, we watched the greatest movie ever made!  At least that is what the Sight & Sound 2012 poll says.  Hitchcock’s Vertigo was projected onto the big screen at the Parkway theatre and we enjoyed Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak in all their 35MM glory!  What did Jena think of Hitchcock’s most psychologically messed up masterpiece?  Listen to find out!

Vertigo (1958)
Vertigo poster Rating: 8.3/10 (424,475 votes)
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Writer: Alec Coppel, Samuel A. Taylor, Pierre Boileau
Stars: James Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara Bel Geddes
Runtime: 128 min
Rated: PG
Genre: Mystery, Romance, Thriller
Released: 09 May 1963
Plot: A former San Francisco police detective juggles wrestling with his personal demons and becoming obsessed with the hauntingly beautiful woman he has been hired to trail, who may be deeply disturbed.

Join us on the 15th when we’ll be watching Charles Chaplin’s Modern Times!

Episode 13 – Trading Places

, with special guest:

Trading PlacesIt being December and all, we decided to watch a holiday movie.  The only problem is the one type of movie Jena has watched is Christmas movies. That meant we had to go for a movie that had a rather loose relationship to the holiday.  We returned to the heady days of Eddie Murphy’s youth when his career still seemed to be going places to watch a movie about classism, racism and gorilla sex.  That’s right, we watched Trading Places!  And yes, we said gorilla sex.

Join us for our next episode on January 1st.  We’ll be watching and discussing Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo!

Trading Places (1983)
Trading Places poster Rating: 7.5/10 (164,980 votes)
Director: John Landis
Writer: Timothy Harris, Herschel Weingrod
Stars: Eddie Murphy, Dan Aykroyd, Ralph Bellamy
Runtime: 116 min
Rated: R
Genre: Comedy
Released: 08 Jun 1983
Plot: A snobbish investor and a wily street con artist find their positions reversed as part of a bet by two callous millionaires.

Episode 12 – John Carpenter’s The Thing

, with special guest: ,

The ThingOnce again, we recorded live at Pepito’s Parkway Theatre in Minneapolis.  This time, we were joined by Matt Allex from the Horror Show Hot Dog.  We returned to the magical year of 1982 with Matt’s favorit movie: John Carpenter’s The Thing.  The print was absolutely phenomenal and the movie is one of the great horror films of all time.  We were joined by an enthusiastic audience for an ejoyable afternoon of death and nihilism.

Note: We had a few issues with the microphones when we were recording this episode so there are some lengthy silences.  Sorry about that!

Our next episode will be a very special Christmas episode where we watch just about the only Christmas movie Jena has never seen – Trading Places.

The Thing (1982)
The Thing poster Rating: 8.2/10 (464,155 votes)
Director: John Carpenter
Writer: Bill Lancaster, John W. Campbell Jr.
Stars: Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley, Keith David
Runtime: 109 min
Rated: R
Genre: Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Released: 25 Jun 1982
Plot: A research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims.

Episode 11 – Playtime

, with special guest:

PlaytimeThis week, we tackle Jaques Tati’s comedy Playtime.  In a unique twist, neither Tim nor Jena had seen the film.  It is also our first “foreign language” film although the fact the movie is French is hardly relevant as the dialogue is almost completely unnecessary. If you’ve never seen the movie and you have Hulu Plus, that would be a great way to check it out.  Even if you haven’t seen the film, you should totally listen to the episode as Playtime may be the most spoiler proof movie ever created.

Our next episode will be recorded live at the Parkway Theatre on Sunday, November 17th.  We’ll be watching John Carpenter’s The Thing with special guest host Matt Allex from Horror Show Hotdog!

Playtime (1967)
Playtime poster Rating: 7.8/10 (25,641 votes)
Director: Jacques Tati
Writer: Jacques Tati, Jacques Lagrange, Art Buchwald
Stars: Jacques Tati, Barbara Dennek, Rita Maiden
Runtime: 155 min
Rated: Not Rated
Genre: Comedy
Released: 27 Jun 1973
Plot: Monsieur Hulot curiously wanders around a high-tech Paris, paralleling a trip with a group of American tourists. Meanwhile, a nightclub/restaurant prepares its opening night, but it's still under construction.

Episode 10 – The Abominable Dr. Phibes

, with special guest:

The Abominable Dr. PhibesThis episode will air on the day after Halloween so we decided that it was time to show Jena a bizarre horror film starring Vicent Price.  Much like The Matrix, nobody can tell you what The Abominable Dr. Phibes is – you have to see it for yourself.  Jena was clearly still unsure what she’d seen when the movie was over and that reaction was just about perfect.  If you haven’t seen the movie yet – go ahead and listen to the episode.  We promised that there is no way to spoil the cinematic experience that is The Abominable Dr. Phibes!

Our next episode airs on the 15th of November and it will be about Jaques Tati’s Playtime!

The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971)
The Abominable Dr. Phibes poster Rating: 7.1/10 (16,527 votes)
Director: Robert Fuest
Writer: James Whiton, William Goldstein
Stars: Vincent Price, Joseph Cotten, Virginia North
Runtime: 94 min
Rated: PG-13
Genre: Comedy, Horror
Released: 18 May 1971
Plot: Doctor, scientist, organist, and biblical scholar Anton Phibes seeks revenge on the nine doctors he considers responsible for the death of his wife.

Episode 9 – Rear Window

, with special guest:

Rear WindowOnce again, we were able to record an episode live at Pepito’s Parkway Theatre in Minneapolis.  This time, we watched the Alfred Hitchcock classic “Rear Window.”  Not only had Jena never seen this film before, it was her first Hitchcock film ever.  And she got to see it on the big screen!  The print was amazing and you should all feel really bad that you missed it.  However, you can console yourself by listening to this episode where we dump love all over the master and one of this best films.

Our next episode will air on November 1st and we’ll talk about “The Abominable Dr. Phibes.”

Our next live recording at Pepito’s will be on Sunday, November 17th.  We’ll be watching John Carpenter’s “The Thing!”

Rear Window (1954)
Rear Window poster Rating: 8.5/10 (520,286 votes)
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Writer: John Michael Hayes, Cornell Woolrich
Stars: James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey
Runtime: 112 min
Rated: PG
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Released: 01 Sep 1954
Plot: A photographer in a wheelchair spies on his neighbors from his Greenwich Village courtyard apartment window, and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder, despite the skepticism of his fashion-model girlfriend.

 

Episode 8 – The Thin Man

, with special guest:

The Thin ManFor our newest episode, we enjoy the glorious duo of William Powell and Myrna Loy in The Thin Man. If you have never watched this booze soaked noir/comedy, you should definitely check it out and then listen to our podcast.  It is hard to deny this is one of the great treats of classic cinema.  And William Powell is an actor who definitely needs to be enjoyed as often as humanly possible.

And hey – on the podcast, Tim says that we’ll be doing our next recording live at the Parkway theatre on the 7th of October.  Then later, he says the 10th!  Which is it?????

It’s the 10th.  Thursday the 10th.  Mark your calendars!  We’ll be watching Rear Window!

The Thin Man (1934)
The Thin Man poster Rating: 7.9/10 (32,296 votes)
Director: W.S. Van Dyke
Writer: Albert Hackett, Frances Goodrich, Dashiell Hammett
Stars: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Maureen O'Sullivan
Runtime: 91 min
Rated: TV-PG
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Mystery
Released: 25 May 1934
Plot: Former detective Nick Charles and his wealthy wife Nora investigate a murder case, mostly for the fun of it.

Episode 7 – Breakfast at Tiffany’s

, with special guest:

Breakfast at Tiffany'sWe actually got to watch this week’s movie in a movie theatre!  Pepitos Parkway Theatre was kind enough to host a live recording of our podcast on Monday, September 9th.  A small but vocal group joined us to enjoy Audrey Hepburn, George Peppard and Cat in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s!”  We also had to ask the logical question: what the heck is with Mickey Rooney in this movie? And by that we mean: seriously – what the heck is with Mickey Rooney in this movie????

Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)
Breakfast at Tiffany's poster Rating: 7.6/10 (191,240 votes)
Director: Blake Edwards
Writer: Truman Capote, George Axelrod
Stars: Audrey Hepburn, George Peppard, Patricia Neal
Runtime: 115 min
Rated: Approved
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Released: 06 Oct 1961
Plot: A young New York socialite becomes interested in a young man who has moved into her apartment building, but her past threatens to get in the way.

Episode 6 – The 7th Voyage of Sinbad

, with special guest:

The 7th Voyage of SinbadYes, we know that we really should have waited for The 7th Voyage of Sinbad until episode 7 but it didn’t happen that way.  Get over it.  We recorded this episode approximately one week after special effects Genius Ray Harryhausen passed away.  Jena, as usual, had absolutely no knowledge of the film or of Harryhausen.  This was a problem Tim and Melissa gleefully solved.  As a bonus, both Tim and Melissa have stories about actually meeting Ray Harryhausen!  Envy us!

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958)
The 7th Voyage of Sinbad poster Rating: 7.0/10 (14,659 votes)
Director: Nathan Juran
Writer: Ken Kolb, Ray Harryhausen
Stars: Kerwin Mathews, Kathryn Grant, Richard Eyer
Runtime: 88 min
Rated: G
Genre: Action, Adventure, Family
Released: 23 Dec 1958
Plot: When a princess is shrunken by an evil wizard, Sinbad must undertake a quest to an island of monsters to cure her and prevent a war.