Author Archives: Chance Solem-Pfeifer

The statue of Rocky Balboa looms over most people’s visions of boxing and boxing films alike, but that hasn’t stopped contemporary filmmakers from mining the gritty world of professional pugilism for its comeback stories and unlikely heroes. On this week’s show, we watched three such films, starting with “Chuck,” the new biographical film about Chuck […]

In the wake of 4/20, Chance and Noah try to fan away the smoke around the genre of stoner movies. They start with Half Baked (1998), which is to say, they start out frustrated. Then, Chance’s city doesn’t need a special day to celebrate marijuana, but it has been 20 years since Portland produced the forgotten […]

On this week’s show, fateful duffle bags turn desperate people into unstable people. It’s all based on the release of Netflix’s new film Win It All, which stars Jake Johnson as a gambling addict with one job to do — don’t open that bag an old acquaintance left at his apartment. After reviewing Joe Swanberg’s Win […]

Disney’s recent streak of reimagining its animated classics has been stylish, sometimes transformative, and a bit uncanny. But the films also look a bit like a sign that reads “Just leave your $400 million here, America.” This week, we’re discussing the remakes that Disney is reanimating in the style of live action, even though CGI is […]

Spike Lee turning 60 this week gives us ample reason to reflect on the pioneering American filmmaker. With the help of two guest scholars, Chance and Noah revisit three of the writer-director’s collaborations with Denzel Washington. 5:00 – Chance interviews veteran critic and author David Sterritt to set the table for discussing Spike Lee’s legacy […]

Where in the present day can you find the stakes of high society match-making or puritanical persecution? Try high school. This week, we’re discussing high school comedies that find their roots in canonical English literature. Chance starts the show in conversation with novelist JoAnna Novak, whose forthcoming book I Must Have You briefly riffs on Clueless and […]

On today’s mini-episode, Noah and Chance discuss the new horror film GET OUT. It’s the directorial debut from Jordan Peele (of Key & Peele), in which a young black man visits his white girlfriend’s well-to-do parents for the first time. Creeps of a racial nature ensue. In addition to the impeccable script and scenic creativity, […]

With Michael Douglas’ sexy trilogy of FATAL ATTRACTION (1987), BASIC INSTINCT(1992) and DISCLOSURE (1994), American pop noir hit a real hot streak about 25 years back. This week, we discuss the genre hybrid that introduces a flawed Douglas protagonist to his match/demise in the femme fatale’s of Glenn Close, Sharon Stone and Demi Moore. On […]

Happy Super Bowl Week to you. And yet, do you find the corporate carnival distracts from you from the fundamentals of football? Erodes the glory from what’s really just young people beating the living daylights out of each other? Maybe high school football films are more in your playbook. We kick off this week’s episode […]

Even if you don’t know the Kasdan family, you undoubtedly know their work. New Hollywood titan Lawrence Kasdan wrote the screenplays for EMPIRE STRIKES BACK and RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. In the last 15 years, his sons Jake and Jon have taken up the family trade. This week, we watch their first major films […]