Tag: 1990’s

Jul 15 2019

Episode 134 – Gods and Monsters

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Gods and MonstersAlison Anderson, our resident Frankenstein guest, joins us for Gods and Monsters, a film about James Whale, director of Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein. The movie features an early star making turn by Brandan Fraser as well as a great pre-Lord of the Rings performance by Sir Ian McKellon. It serves as a fine finish to our trip through the Frankenstein catalog that began way back with Young Frankenstein.

Up next, we will follow director Bill Condon as he provides the screenplay to Chicago!

Gods and Monsters (1998)
Gods and Monsters poster Rating: 7.3/10 (33,632 votes)
Director: Bill Condon
Writer: Christopher Bram, Bill Condon
Stars: Ian McKellen, Brendan Fraser, Lynn Redgrave
Runtime: 105 min
Rated: R
Genre: Biography, Drama
Released: 04 Nov 1998
Plot: The last days of Frankenstein (1931) director James Whale are explored.

 

Aug 15 2018

Episode 118 – Schindler’s List

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Schindler's ListFor a podcast that tries to blend movie education with comedy – this episode creates a bit of a puzzler. We are watching Schindler’s List. Steven Spielberg’s undisputed masterpiece about the holocaust as seen through the eyes of a man who tried to prevent a tiny part of it is a sobering cinematic work. And yet it is certainly one of the best films made by him or any other director. Kelvin Hatle joins us to see the film for the first time and we spend quite a bit of time discussing the impact afterward.

Next up, we are going to see how another famous director takes a look at Nazis when we watch Mel Brooks’ The Producers!

Schindler's List (1993)
Schindler's List poster Rating: 9.0/10 (1,548,974 votes)
Director: Steven Spielberg
Writer: Thomas Keneally, Steven Zaillian
Stars: Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley
Runtime: 195 min
Rated: R
Genre: Biography, Drama, History
Released: 04 Feb 1994
Plot: In German-occupied Poland during World War II, industrialist Oskar Schindler gradually becomes concerned for his Jewish workforce after witnessing their persecution by the Nazis.

Aug 01 2018

Episode 117 – Jurassic Park

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Jurassic ParkThis week’s theme is DINOSAURS! We bring new viewer Stephan Zvan to watch Jurassic Park with our friend and Dinosaur Expert, Matt Kessen. Spielberg’s most successful movie gets the Reel Education treatment as we consider the parts that have aged extremely well (the special effects) and the parts that haven’t (creeper Jeff Goldblum). All in all, this is a really great suspense film that features goddamn dinosaurs! We hope you enjoy watching the movie and our conversation that centers around the dinosaurs. Because we spend much time discussing dinosaurs.

Next up, we are going to watch the other film Steven Spielberg released in 1993 – Schindler’s List!

Jurassic Park (1993)
Jurassic Park poster Rating: 8.2/10 (1,148,871 votes)
Director: Steven Spielberg
Writer: Michael Crichton, David Koepp
Stars: Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum
Runtime: 127 min
Rated: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Released: 11 Jun 1993
Plot: An industrialist invites some experts to visit his theme park of cloned dinosaurs. After a power failure, the creatures run loose, putting everyone's lives, including his grandchildren's, in danger.

Jun 15 2018

Episode 114 – The Big Lebowski

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The Big LebowskiWe’ve been promising this movie for a while and finally it is time for us to watch The Big Lebowski! Breanna Cecile joins us to watch this film she compares to John Steinbeck’s ‘The Pearl,” which may be about the most intelligent observation made by any guest on our podcast ever. Certainly more intelligent than any observation made by our hosts. While this is not likely the best Coen Brothers film, it is probably their most popular. We take a deep dive into world of The Dude. Abide with us.

Next up is…we haven’t decided yet! Which may be for the best given our recent history.

The Big Lebowski (1998)
The Big Lebowski poster Rating: 8.1/10 (901,606 votes)
Director: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Writer: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Stars: Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore
Runtime: 117 min
Rated: R
Genre: Comedy, Crime
Released: 06 Mar 1998
Plot: Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski, mistaken for a millionaire of the same name, seeks restitution for his ruined rug and enlists his bowling buddies to help get it.

Jan 01 2018

Episode 106 – Pulp Fiction

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Pulp FictionWe continue our crime spree (or crime wave depending on what Tim decided to call it this episode) with the groundbreaking Quentin Tarantino film Pulp Fiction! This movie was so important that we had to get two guests to watch it with us!  The first is newcomer Patrick Fisher and the second is Tim’s now eighteen-year-old son Alex Wick! We watch the film and then talk about how it transformed filmmaking and production in the two decades that have followed.

Next up, we are going to continue with crime films and also watch some more Bruce Willis as we watch Die Hard!

Pulp Fiction (1994)
Pulp Fiction poster Rating: 8.8/10 (2,371,438 votes)
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Writer: Quentin Tarantino, Roger Avary
Stars: John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson
Runtime: 154 min
Rated: R
Genre: Crime, Drama
Released: 14 Oct 1994
Plot: The lives of two mob hitmen, a boxer, a gangster and his wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.

Aug 15 2017

Episode 99 – Goldeneye

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GoldeneyeWe are back on the James Bond train as we introduce our guest Chrys VanDerKamp to the Pierce Brosnan film, Goldeneye!  This was Brosnan’s first outing as Bond and may be one of the most enjoyable Bond films of the storied franchise.  There are better Bond films but this one is an awful lot of fun.  It is also the first Bond film to be set after the collapse of the Soviet Union so there are some interesting shifts in tone when it comes to the relationship with Russia.  Bresnan would go on to make three more films as Bond, two of which were not very good.  He always made a great Bond, though, as this film shows.

Up next, we are recording our 100th episode and we’ll be taking a break from our Bond series to show Star Wars to someone who has never seen the film!

GoldenEye (1995)
GoldenEye poster Rating: 7.2/10 (279,746 votes)
Director: Martin Campbell
Writer: Ian Fleming, Michael France, Jeffrey Caine
Stars: Pierce Brosnan, Sean Bean, Izabella Scorupco
Runtime: 130 min
Rated: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure, Thriller
Released: 17 Nov 1995
Plot: When a powerful secret defense system is stolen, James Bond is assigned to stop a Russian crime syndicate from using it.

Sep 01 2016

Episode 77 – The Shawshank Redemption

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The Shawshank RedemptionThis episode focuses on one of the best films of the 1990’s (or any decade): The Shawshank Redemption!  Alee Ellingsburg returns to watch this prison drama that is structured about as well as a movie can be structured.  Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman star in this movie that was one of the first true home video phenomenons.  Tim pretty much takes over this episode because he really loves the film.  You’ll have to forgive him for that.

Our next film will be Bringing Up Baby.

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
The Shawshank Redemption poster Rating: 9.3/10 (3,104,274 votes)
Director: Frank Darabont
Writer: Stephen King, Frank Darabont
Stars: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton
Runtime: 142 min
Rated: R
Genre: Drama
Released: 14 Oct 1994
Plot: A banker convicted of uxoricide forms a friendship over a quarter century with a hardened convict, while maintaining his innocence and trying to remain hopeful through simple compassion.

Aug 01 2016

Episode 75 – The Silence of the Lambs

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The Silence of the LambsThis week’s episode explores the only horror film to win an Oscar for best picture, The Silence of the Lambs!  It took some work to find someone who hadn’t seen the film but Chelsea Okey was good enough to join us even though she really doesn’t like horror.  We spend a lot of time talking about the acting work of Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins, which is superb.  But we also look at how well constructed this film is as a thriller and we observe that perhaps we should not have recorded the podcast in a basement for this particular episode.

For our next podcast, we’ll follow Jodie Foster to Taxi Driver!

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
The Silence of the Lambs poster Rating: 8.6/10 (1,667,162 votes)
Director: Jonathan Demme
Writer: Thomas Harris, Ted Tally
Stars: Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn
Runtime: 118 min
Rated: R
Genre: Crime, Drama, Horror
Released: 14 Feb 1991
Plot: A young F.B.I. cadet must receive the help of an incarcerated and manipulative cannibal killer to help catch another serial killer, a madman who skins his victims.

Nov 16 2015

Episode 58 – Bull Durham

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Bull DurhamIn part two of our exploration of movies about Baseball, we watched Bull Durham.  Pat Wick acts as our stunt Jena but it is Melissa who has never seen the film.  The film is one of the more quotable ones we’ve watched and is actually about baseball.  At least it is a little bit like baseball.  Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, and Kevin Costner star in this film that is as good as people have told you.

Our next movie will be Safety Last!

Bull Durham (1988)
Bull Durham poster Rating: 7.0/10 (62,612 votes)
Director: Ron Shelton
Writer: Ron Shelton
Stars: Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins
Runtime: 108 min
Rated: R
Genre: Comedy, Romance, Sport
Released: 15 Jun 1988
Plot: A fan who has an affair with one minor-league baseball player each season meets an up-and-coming pitcher and the experienced catcher assigned to him.

Aug 01 2015

Episode 51 – Jackie Brown

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Jackie BrownAfter 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)
Jackie Brown poster Rating: 7.5/10 (394,343 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
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.