The Next Reel Film Podcast
Midnight Run
Pete thinks De Niro is the weak link. Andy disagrees. Either way, George Gallo’s script is smarter than the genre usually allows—”Midnight Run” holds up.
July 12, 2013
For all you proper film enthusiasts who would like to peruse the films of TruStory FM’s entertainment podcasts by release decade. Get ready for a firehose of film history in these here stacks.
Pete thinks De Niro is the weak link. Andy disagrees. Either way, George Gallo’s script is smarter than the genre usually allows—”Midnight Run” holds up.
It’s Valentine’s Day, and what better way to end our current John Huston series than with his 1985 romantic mafia comedy, Prizzi’s Honor? Huston was struggling with his health in the 80s but still a vibrant and essential director when he made this film that garnered 8 Oscar nominations. Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we celebrate love and death in this quirky film.
In 1982, John Carpenter’s “The Thing” was released but had a tough time competing against other big sci-fi films released at the same time—E.T. the Extra Terrestrial and Blade Runner. It also was viewed by critics as being overly gory and wretched. With time, however, the film has gained a big cult following, big enough to warrant a prequel, a comic book series, a video game and a potential sequel. Now, it’s considered by many to be one of the great horror films of all time.
Driving Miss Daisy was a perfect story choice for Richard D. Zanuck to produce. Sure, it was difficult to get made but for a film that only cost $7.5 million dollars to produce, it raked in over $100 million at the domestic box office, putting it in the top 10 of the year with the likes of Batman and Lethal Weapon 2. Topping that off, it led Zanuck, along with his wife, Lili Fini Zanuck, to win the Best Picture award at the Oscars. But this 1989 film, which deals with prejudice and friendship in the relationship between an old Jewish woman in the south and her African American driver, stands out for many people as a perfect example of what’s wrong with the Oscars because it came out the same year as Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing, a film that deals with race relations in a much more intense and direct way, and what many feel should have won the Best Picture award.
James Cameron’s Aliens reinvented the franchise in 1986. Pete and Andy dig into the genre pivot, the practical effects, and the Queen controversy in The Next Reel’s Alien series.
It’s the end of our baseball series, movie fans, and what a better way to end it than by talking about Phil Alden Robinson’s fantastic fantasy film from 1989, “Field of Dreams.”
It’s time for more 80s baseball movies, ladies and gentlemen! This week, we’re talking about Bull Durham, Ron Shelton’s 1988 tribute to the minor leagues. If there ever was a film to compare religion to baseball to sex, this would be that film.
We’re pulling a switcheroo and flipflopping that with 1989’s baseball comedy classic, “Major League.” Sure, it’s a bit dated, but man, it’s still a fun and funny film.
Baseball. Just like apple pie, it’s an intrinsic part of America. Movies about baseball, on the other hand, didn’t really become popular forms of entertainment until 1984’s “The Natural”, which is what we’re talking about this week.
It’s a new year, movie lovers, and in this episode, we take on an incredible film with crisp, spot-on, endlessly quotable dialogue, a cast that is absolutely perfect, and not one but two fantastic New Year’s Eve scenes. That’s right, we’re talking about Rob Reiner’s 1989 romantic comedy classic When Harry Met Sally…