It’s not easy building a musical narrative from the pieces of one artist’s catalogue. That’s one thing Chance and Noah learned this week when they reviewed three jukebox musical movies: “Mamma Mia,” “Rock of Ages,” and “Across The Universe.” In experiencing cinematic delivery systems for ABBA, The Beatles, and the worst of ’80s rock, your […]
Author Archives: Chance Solem-Pfeifer
Take Me To The River, Drop Me In The Water
If you’re looking for a late-summer/early-fall adventure, might we suggest NOT taking a rafting trip? Ample evidence of why rafting is a terrible idea is provided by classic river pictures “Deliverance” (1972), “The River Wild” (1994) and “Without a Paddle” (2004). Even if you have enough river savvy to navigate the white water of the […]
Bigger, Not Better: A Predator’s Tale
I remember a time, not so long ago, when we were all united. The inferno-orange poster for The Predator was revealed. No one yet knew that Shane Black had hired a sex offender for a brief role in his new film. The world simply saw a film starring Sterling K. Brown, Trevante Rhodes, and Keegan […]
“Crazy Rich Asians”
In this pseudo-mini pod (oops, it’s long!) Chance and Noah watch and discuss the end of summer’s biggest hit, “Crazy Rich Asians.” It’s the first major Hollywood movie to feature an all-Asian cast in 25 years, and your hosts are on hand to unpack its romantic comedy tropes, its visions of excess and cultural specificity, and […]
Sharks That Still Aren’t Jaws
Ba da. Ba da. Bum bum bum bum bum. Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the movies, Hollywood (and China) releases a new shark picture — and it commands the summer box office! Chance and Noah use this as an opportunity (as if they needed a better reason) to talk […]
“BlacKkKlansman”: Man vs. Meaning
Gone With The Wind. D.W. Griffith. A cop thriller mixed with a cop brutality drama. The Holocaust. The political institutionalization of rightwing reactionaries. Charlottesville. Donald J. Trump. Split consciousness. Passing in America. “He’s trying to do too much,” many-a reasonable viewer could say of Spike Lee and his new film BlacKkKlansman. But Spike Lee doesn’t […]
Mission ImPODible
What’s more impressive: that Tom Cruise is still making Mission: Impossible movies into his 50s or that Chance and Noah recorded 100 episodes of Be Reel? Feels like a toss-up, and reviewing all six MIs is our chosen victory lap. Inspired by the current box office hit, “Fallout”, Chance and Noah look to the Brian […]
I’m Just Drawn That Way
Do you ever stop and look at a New Yorker cartoon or a sardonic comic book and wonder, “Huh! I wonder what sort of deviant mind would create this”? Lucky for you, dear listener, there are at least three movies about such people–one fiction, two biopics. This week, with the release of Gus Van Sant’s […]
Where the Wild Dads Are
Oh, dads! They love things like the great outdoors and mansplaining political movements. But where does one draw the line between normal dad and egomaniac, survivalist dad? Does your father rant about consumerism or the coming nuclear holocaust? Does he ship your family off to the jungle to act out a colonialist fantasy? On this […]
“Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom”
Friends of the podcast and dear listeners, welcome to the Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom mini pod! The park is gone and the characters’ basic desires have been totally rewritten, but that won’t stop Universal from releasing another unholy beast of a movie for our viewing pleasure. Come along as Chance and Noah dissect how this […]