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- Episode 1 – Casablanca — 8 comments
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Sep 15 2015
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We are embarking on a three movie exploration of the same story! First up is a return to the great Akira Kurosawa. His film, Yojimbo, borrows heavily from American Westerns and American film noir. But it has a badass samurai twist courtesy of Toshiro Mifune. We enjoy this relatively light offering from the Japanese master filmmaker as a prelude to exploring the work of another, quite different master.
Next up, we’ll be watching A Fistful of Dollars!
Yojimbo (1961) | |
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Rating: 8.2/10 (131,352 votes) Director: Akira Kurosawa Writer: Akira Kurosawa, Ryûzô Kikushima Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Eijirô Tôno, Tatsuya Nakadai Runtime: 110 min Rated: Not Rated Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller Released: 13 Sep 1961 |
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Plot: A crafty ronin comes to a town divided by two criminal gangs and decides to play them against each other to free the town. |
Sep 01 2015
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Since there was only one other Quentin Tarantino film unseen by Jena, we knew we had to get to it as quickly as possible. After showing her Jackie Brown a month ago, we took a look at Django Unchained for this episode. Tarantino does another pastiche of Westerns, Blaxploitation and, because it is Tarantino, a little bit of almost everything else. We hope you enjoy our conversation!
Our next movie will be a return to the world of Akira Kurosawa – Yojimbo!
Django Unchained (2012) | |
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Rating: 8.5/10 (1,693,903 votes) Director: Quentin Tarantino Writer: Quentin Tarantino Stars: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio Runtime: 165 min Rated: R Genre: Drama, Western Released: 25 Dec 2012 |
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Plot: With the help of a German bounty-hunter, a freed slave sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal plantation owner in Mississippi. |
Aug 15 2015
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Having just watched Jackie Brown, we decided it was time to introduce Jena to the Blaxploitation sub-genre with another Pam Greer classic – Foxy Brown! Greer rocks a 70’s wardrobe in this film about revenge, revenge, and more revenge. If anyone can get revenge, it would be Pam Greer. We share some information about Blaxploitation films and spend a lot of time appreciating Pam Greer. Because you really need to appreciate Pam Greer.
Our next movie will be the only other Tarantino film Jena hasn’t seen – Django Unchained!
Foxy Brown (1974) | |
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Rating: 6.5/10 (11,982 votes) Director: Jack Hill Writer: Jack Hill, David Sheldon Stars: Pam Grier, Antonio Fargas, Peter Brown Runtime: 92 min Rated: R Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller Released: 05 Apr 1974 |
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Plot: A voluptuous vigilante takes a job as a high-class prostitute to get revenge on the mobsters who murdered her boyfriend. |
Aug 01 2015
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After much searching, we managed to find a Quentin Tarantino film that Jena hadn’t see yet! That’s a lie. It didn’t take that much searching at all. We sat Jena down in front of Jackie Brown so she could enjoy a film that is not quite as obviously a Tarantino film than all of his other films. Following the film, we had an in-depth discussion about Tarantino through the lens of a rather atypical work. We also talked about some of his favorite actors and some of the actors who have enjoyed career revivals as a result of working with him.
In something of a natural progression, our next podcast will be about Foxy Brown!
Jackie Brown (1997) | |
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Rating: 7.5/10 (374,788 votes) Director: Quentin Tarantino Writer: Quentin Tarantino, Elmore Leonard Stars: Pam Grier, Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Forster Runtime: 154 min Rated: R Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller Released: 25 Dec 1997 |
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Plot: A flight attendant with a criminal past gets nabbed by the ATF for smuggling. Under pressure to become an informant against the illegal arms dealer she works for, she must find a way to secure her future without getting killed. |
Jul 21 2015
Hi there fans of our podcast! You may have noticed that July 15th came and went and we didn’t post a podcast. Yeah. We’re sorry about that.
Things got pretty busy with CONvergence and putting together a fringe show and we just weren’t able to sit down and record.
Here’s the good news, though – we’ll be back on August 1st with a podcast about Jackie Brown!
Jul 01 2015
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Our latest episode is so big, we couldn’t do it with just three hosts! For our viewing of Godzilla, we brought in Matt Kessen, who is an expert on all things Godzilla. We watched a man in a suit rampage through Tokyo and it was awesome! We talk about the cultural impact of the film, the political undertones of the film, and we even fill Jena in about the super dumb shit they did in the American remakes.
Our next episode will be…something. We haven’t figured it out yet. You’ll be surprised!!!!
Godzilla (1954) | |
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Rating: 7.5/10 (39,243 votes) Director: Ishirô Honda Writer: Takeo Murata, Ishirô Honda, Shigeru Kayama Stars: Takashi Shimura, Akihiko Hirata, Akira Takarada Runtime: 96 min Rated: Not Rated Genre: Horror, Sci-Fi Released: 07 May 2004 |
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Plot: American nuclear weapons testing results in the creation of a seemingly unstoppable dinosaur-like beast. |
Jun 15 2015
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This week’s episode is all about an under appreciated gem from 2014 – Edge of Tomorrow. The film is an extremely creative action movie that has the added benefit of being the perfect Tom Cruise movie for people who hate Tom Cruise! Is the film the perfect combination of Groundhog Day and Aliens? In all fairness, it doesn’t have a lot of competition. If you really want to blow your mind, try to figure out all the possible things that could happen after the conclusion of the film!
Next up, we shall tackle the original Godzilla!
Edge of Tomorrow (2014) | |
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Rating: 7.9/10 (736,858 votes) Director: Doug Liman Writer: Christopher McQuarrie, Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth Stars: Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton Runtime: 113 min Rated: PG-13 Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Released: 06 Jun 2014 |
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Plot: A soldier fighting aliens gets to relive the same day over and over again, the day restarting every time he dies. |
Jun 01 2015
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For this episode, we return to the lovely Trylon Microcinema in Minneapolis to enjoy Orson Wells’ curious film noir, The Lady from Shanghai. The film stars Wells and his then wife Rita Hayworth, who makes her first appearance on our podcast. Melissa is the only member of our team who has seen the film before so both Tim and Jena have a chance to react to all sorts of weirdness that arises when an auteur has his vision compromised by studio interference. On the other hand, maybe some of that interference wasn’t such a bad thing…
Our next episode will jump forward a few years as we watch Edge of Tomorrow!
The Lady from Shanghai (1947) | |
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Rating: 7.5/10 (32,954 votes) Director: Orson Welles Writer: Sherwood King, Orson Welles, William Castle Stars: Rita Hayworth, Orson Welles, Everett Sloane Runtime: 87 min Rated: Not Rated Genre: Crime, Drama, Film-Noir Released: 14 Apr 1948 |
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Plot: Fascinated by gorgeous Mrs. Bannister, seaman Michael O'Hara joins a bizarre yachting cruise, and ends up mired in a complex murder plot. |
May 15 2015
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Our exploration of the unreliable narrator brings us to the film that is, quite literally, all about unreliable narration. Rashomon is the film that introduced the world to Akira Kurosawa and is easily one of the most influential films ever made. It is also ever so much shorter than The Seven Samurai. So that’s a bonus. Enjoy the special musical interlude Tim selected because he couldn’t find an mp3 of the music online.
Our next episode will be recorded live at the Trylon theater. We’ll be watching The Lady from Shanghai!
Rashomon (1950) | |
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Rating: 8.2/10 (179,958 votes) Director: Akira Kurosawa Writer: Ryûnosuke Akutagawa, Akira Kurosawa, Shinobu Hashimoto Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Machiko Kyô, Masayuki Mori Runtime: 88 min Rated: Not Rated Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery Released: 26 Dec 1951 |
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Plot: The rape of a bride and the murder of her samurai husband are recalled from the perspectives of a bandit, the bride, the samurai's ghost and a woodcutter. |
May 01 2015
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For today’s episode, we explore the concept of the unreliable narrator as we watch The Usual Suspects. Kevin Spacey won an Oscar for his portrayal of Verbal Kint (or did he???) in this twisty crime drama that managed to keep most audiences guessing even after the credits rolled. We tried to decide how much of the movie actually happened as we saw but can you ever really know?
For our next episode, we will watch the seminal film about unreliable narrators, Rashomon!
The Usual Suspects (1995) | |
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Rating: 8.5/10 (1,141,071 votes) Director: Bryan Singer Writer: Christopher McQuarrie Stars: Kevin Spacey, Gabriel Byrne, Chazz Palminteri Runtime: 106 min Rated: R Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery Released: 16 Aug 1995 |
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Plot: The sole survivor of a pier shoot-out tells the story of how a notorious criminal influenced the events that began with five criminals meeting in a seemingly random police lineup. |
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