Our fraternity of microphones and movie opinions celebrates its 200th episode this month, so we’re taking the opportunity to review films about brothers and their criminal gambits. From the thousand-car pileups of “The Blues Brothers” (1980) to the street-crime insanity of “Four Brothers” (2005) to the dapper cons of “The Brothers Bloom” (2008), we tip […]
Author Archives: Chance Solem-Pfeifer
Who Can Take An Old Film, Remake It Stiltedly? [The Candyman!]
It’s unfair to call any film a layup. That does a disservice to the boundless craft, grit and good fortune that goes into a fruitful production. But I have to say, when I learned Nia DaCosta (as director) and Jordan Peele (as co-screenwriter/producer) were remaking Candyman, it sounded like found money. Here, you have a […]
‘Night House’: In The Middle Of Our Grief
In this golden age of so-called “elevated horror,” discourse often focuses on two ideas. First, there’s the foregrounding of politics, sometimes even ahead of scares, in a post-Get Out world. (That’s no fault of Get Out in my opinion, just lazy film criticism.) And second, there’s blowback from horror heads who view the Ari Asters, Luca […]
Found You In The Classifieds
Before the DM or chatroom, if you wanted to connect with a stranger pseudo-anonymously, you bought a personal ad. This week, we seek three films with classified ads as inciting incidents: “Desperately Seeking Susan” (1985), “Single White Female” (1992) and the now 20-year-old “Ghost World” (2001). Romance, murder and vicarious living abound, plus the story […]
Hot Enough For You?
It’s not even August, and this summer has already smothered the country in multiple record-breaking heatwaves. As with any crisis, we look to the movies for wisdom, catharsis and lunacy. This week, it’s three heatwave pictures: “The Seven Year Itch” (1957), “Do The Right Thing” (1989) and Weekend at Bernie’s (1989).
Wonka Worlds
In honor of “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” turning 50, we’ve constructed a podcast category about bizarro adults and their puzzling worlds. After unpacking the general discomfort of watching candymen, goblin kings and world-builders covet innocent children for mysterious ends, we plunge into the alternate realities of “Willy Wonka” (1971), “Labyrinth” (1986) and “Tomorrowland” […]
Alcatraz Can’t Hold Us
So says every warden on today’s podcast, Alcatraz was the most secure prison ever constructed. Film directors, of course, took that as a challenge and gave us movies about prisoners with dreams too big for the famous San Francisco jail. These famed inmates will try and escape one way or another. We watched “Birdman of […]
An Ode To Movie Theaters in Movies
With theaters around the U.S. either open or on that path, we’re exploring films that hinge on the theatrical experience, narratively speaking. From “The Last Action Hero” (1993) to “The Majestic” (2001) to “The Blob” (1958), today’s episode pays tribute to how films depict movie houses for magical purposes, nostalgic ambiance and self-aware carnage. See […]
John Woo Revolutionized Action Cinema
John Woo’s unparalleled directing career is best known for blazing barrels, shadow selves and slow-motion “heroic bloodshed.” To celebrate the Hong Kong legend’s 75th birthday, we talk Woo’s full arc with University of Houston film scholar Karen Fang. Then, we focus on a sweet spot in Woo’s oeuvre, when he maxed out his Hong Kong […]
The (Pumpkin) King of Stop Motion Animation
If you don’t know Henry Selick by name, you certainly know his puppets. The Stop Motion guru behind “The Nightmare Before Christmas” (1993), “James and the Giant Peach” (1996) and “Coraline” (2009) has been capturing children’s imaginations—and perhaps lovingly scarring them, too—for 30 years. On today’s show we’re joined by sculptor and regular Selick collaborator […]