2014
Why do these unlikeable characters draw us in so strongly? Why did David Fincher and his editor change their entire post-production strategy? How strongly does Rosamund Pike work as the role of Amy? Tune in to this week’s show to get answers to these questions and more!
Listen NowIn the past, we had opted to keep our series and movies hush-hush until the last minute so as to keep things a surprise. It only took us 2+ years to realize that if we made our list public, people could actually watch the movie before the show and be ready to listen to the show as soon as it…
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JJ and Steve finish the first half of 2020 with a film and its remake. This pairing starts with 2014’s The Kindergarten Teacher from Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid. There is a lot to discuss and analyze in this film. Is it an allegory? Is it a poem? They both agree that this film is a visual treat.
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Time travel stories come in all shapes and sizes. Some are more focused on the fun and entertainment. Others use the conceit to allow for explorations of themes and ideas. Robert A. Heinlein’s short story “—All You Zombies—” is more the latter, and the Spierig brothers – Michael and Peter – do a great job adapting it for the silver screen with their film Predestination. And while it’s easy to get lost in time loops and find fault in rules and story construction, this film is an easy one to enjoy with the paradoxes presented because of the themes and concepts it develops.
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Christopher Nolan certainly is a filmmaker with ambition. People may argue one way or the other about his story construction, or his editing style, or his attachment to film even, but it’s hard to argue that he’s not a filmmaker who is working hard to push big ideas out into the world of film. His 2014 film Interstellar, which he wrote with his brother Jonathan, pushes ideas about interstellar space travel, about space-time, about a dying Earth, about wormholes, about black holes – about leaving our planet – and creates a film that feels as much a scientific thesis as it does a story. Is it perfect? No. But the ambition and passion shine through in every frame. Join us as we continue our time travel series with Nolan’s film Interstellar.
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It’s time to put on your rubber-soled salsa shoes and hit the floor with JJ and Steve. This month they have got fire in their heels as they talk about Cuban Fury. For March they are lightening the mood with this romantic comedy from 2014 starring Nick Frost, Rashida Jones, Chris O’Dowd, and Ian McShane. This was Pete’s trailer pick from April 2014, and he predicted that writer Jon Brown was going to bring some of the same offensive humor that he brought to the tv series ‘Misfits.’ And boy did he ever!
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It’s the last Trailer Rewind of 2017, and this time it’s personal. When they decided to watch Andy’s trailer pick from our Syriana episode on February 20, 2015, Steve and JJ had no idea of the impact it would have on them. Writer/director Riley Stearns has crafted a dark tale exploring loss, free will, and the decisions people make that give others power over them. This film checks all the boxes of a small independent film: character-driven story, few locations, and an important message to share. Faults is one of those rare exceptions that has found the perfect cast.
There are many anthology films out in the universe, some better than others. It’s the better ones that have strong connective tissues tying the various short stories together. Sometimes, those ones are directed by many people, sometimes by the same person. When Damián Szifron realized he’d written a bunch of short stories that were all thematically similar, he thought back to TV anthology shows he loved like “Amazing Stories” or “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” and decided to make an anthology film. Join us as we wrap up our series on Argentinean actor Ricardo Darín with Szifron’s 2014 film Wild Tales.
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It’s back to 2014 again for JJ and Steve as they dig into The Two Faces of January, Andy’s pick from February 2014. Adapted from the novel by Patricia Highsmith, this thriller set in the early 60’s looks and sounds like a classic Hitchcock film.
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Steve and JJ are going to have their pain killer laden cake and spoil it for you too. This was Pete’s trailer pick from January 2, 2015. Pete talked about the cast and said Jennifer Aniston stood a chance for an Oscar for this film. Andy agreed that she looked amazing in this trailer and agreed that this looked like an opportunity for her to show that she is capable of powerful performances.
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