1998

Cinematographer Ross Riege joins us to talk about one of his favorite movies, Terrence Malick’s 1998 film ‘The Thin Red Line.’ We also talk about his career, his journey from ‘The Kings of Summer’ to ‘Weird: The Al Yankovic Story’, and his influences. Tune in for a great conversation!

Our Coming of Age Debuts series is over. We’ve covered Salaam Bombay!, Slums of Beverly Hills, Ratcatcher, The Virgin Suicides, Thirteen, The Diary of a Teenage Girl, and Booksmart. So what did we think of these films and what they brought to the table?

We continue our Coming of Age Debuts series with Tamara Jenkins’ first film, 1998’s ‘Slums of Beverly Hills.’ This film feels like a solid representation of what ‘coming of age’ means. How does the film work for us? Does the comedy hold up? And Jenkins’ direction? Tune in to find out!

Francis Veber had written plays, TV shows, and films. He had also directed plenty of well by the time he decided to adapt his hit play “Le Dîner de Cons” for the big screen. Luckily, his brand of farcical humor worked brilliantly with the film version, and it became a huge hit in his home country of France. Join us as we continue our Francis Veber & His Remakes series with his 1998 film “Le Dîner de Cons.”

Join us – Pete Wright and Andy Nelson – as we continue our Star Trek series with Jonathan Frakes’ 1998 film Star Trek: Insurrection. 

This month we get to meet Truman, Teddy, and Rhoda, three people who, to put it simply, have issues they need to deal with. You may think you know yourself and what you are or aren’t capable of, but you’re probably wrong.

It seems appropriate to the character of the Dude that “The Big Lebowski” took its time finding its audience. Coming fresh on the heels of their first Oscar-winning hit, “Fargo,” the Coen Brothers’ 7th film had a strange sense of humor, felt disjointed, was full of swearing, and didn’t connect with audiences or critics, who were all largely left scratching their heads. But time was on the side of the movie as people continued to discover it, turning it into a much-loved cult classic — with its own annual festival even. Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we continue our Coen Comedy series with 1998’s “The Big Lebowski.”

Bryan Singer’s film “Apt Pupil” was actually the second time the film was under production; the first attempt had several casting issues and when it finally started shooting, ended up running out of funds, killing the project. Perhaps that was a sign that Stephen King’s novella was a bit too tricky to make correctly. It’s a very dark story that doesn’t really have any likable characters in it. Singer’s 1998 adaptation toned much of the violence from the book down, but also took a different angle with the ending that many people, including us, felt didn’t work. Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we finish our epic Stephen King adaptation series with Singer’s “Apt Pupil.”

“Run Lola Run” came out during a period when lots of unique and truly fantastic films were opening up in theaters. Luckily for Lola, it was equally unique and fantastic, ensuring that it didn’t get buried. Tom Tykwer’s wild film, so thoroughly infused with energy and style, took a simple tale of a woman trying to (quickly) raise money for her boyfriend to ensure he doesn’t get killed by the gangsters for which he works, and gave it a philosophical bent when he decided to write it in almost a video game style where we see the same situation play out three times. It’s an absolutely fascinating film to watch and a very easy film to enjoy. Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we continue our Foreign Language Film series with this thrill of a film.