An American Werewolf in London

John Landis made a big shift in his filmmaking when we went from comedies like The Kentucky Fried Movie and Animal House to An American Werewolf in London. At the time, people weren’t used to horror films that blended with comedy and it took him over a decade to actually get it made. The film was, however, a success when it was released and still has a big fan base. Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we continue our 1981 series with Landis’ horror/comedy film.

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Thief

Michael Mann has spent most of his film career exploring the world of crime and the criminals that inhabit it. Not to mention neon lighting. His feature film debut, Thief, certainly started him on the right track. Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we continue our 1981 series with Mann’s Thief.

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Blow Out

Anyone who listens to the show knows that we have a love/hate relationship with Brian De Palma. With his 1981 film Blow Out, he makes one of his strongest films and lands squarely on the side of ‘love’ for us (thank the heavens since neither of us had seen it recently and we couldn’t remember it well enough). Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we continue our 1981 series with De Palma’s Blow Out.

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My Dinner with André

My Dinner With André is certainly not an easy film to classify. It certainly is a film that could be considered divisive, but that’s really between people who get into it and people who just don’t click with it. It is a film of two people having a conversation over dinner, after all. But to many, it is one of Louis Malle’s classics, a film that makes many lists of great films, and a film that inspires conversation. Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we have our own conversation about this film that fits in our 1981 film series.

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Escape from New York

Many films in the early 80s continued the cynicism of the 70s, and that certainly holds true for a number of John Carpenter’s films, who has used several of his films and characters in them to take a pointed look at the hypocrisy of the government and society’s ills as he saw them. His 1981 film ‘Escape From New York’ falls into that mold, while also feeling like nothing more than an early 80s action thriller set in a dystopian future. Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we continue our 1981 series with Carpenter’s ‘Escape From New York.’

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Das Boot

Wolfgang Petersen’s epic WWII submarine film came out in Germany in 1981 and changed the way many filmmakers constructed tension in war and action films. It changed the way people viewed Germans during the war because it portrayed the submariners as simply human. And it became the most popular foreign language film in the US for a very long time. Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we begin our series on 1981 with Petersen’s “Das Boot.”

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The Matrix

People often talk about the great movie year of 1999, and one of the great films that came out that year is ‘The Matrix,’ the film that made bullet-time a filmmaking standard and stunt wire work almost an expectation in action films. But it’s a great film because of its script, written by Lana née Larry and Lilly née Andy Wachowski, who went on to co-direct it as well. Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we delve into our next Listener’s Choice movie selection with ‘The Matrix.’

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Trollhunter

The Next Reel • Season 3 • Series: Found Footage • Troll Hunter

One of the interesting things to explore in the usage of found footage style films is how it can be applied to different genres. Okay, so it works better in some genres than others, but it’s not a genre in and of itself, nor is it restricted to horror movies. But one thing that is consistent is the fact that we’re watching real people in a real situation they likely didn’t survive. There is an inherent connection to reality that isn’t present in other styles of films because of this, and in a film like Norway’s ‘Trollhunter,’ it ups the stakes because everything feels that much more real. Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we wrap up our found footage series with André Øvredal’s 2010 fantasy thriller ‘Trollhunter.’

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Chronicle

The Next Reel • Season 3 • Series: Found Footage • Chronicle

When making found footage style films, it’s important to stick with the conceit — someone is holding the camera and filming events as they happen, then we someone later stumble upon the footage and watch it to understand what happened. What’s great about Josh Trank’s 2012 debut film ‘Chronicle’ is that he takes that conceit and finds ways to use it to his advantage while also exploring ways to break out of the conceit with multiple cameras and camera movement. Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we continue our found footage series with this great superhero film.

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Cloverfield

The Next Reel • Season 3 • Series: Found Footage • Cloverfield

The J.J. Abrams team jumped into the found footage realm with a fun Godzilla-style monster movie that was kept under strict wraps while filming, to the point where excited audience members actually believed that it might have possibly been a live-action version of Voltron. “Cloverfield,” which, in the film, is the name the government gives to this top secret creature after-the-fact, is a unique creature feature that at once allowed for an intimate story set in a massive location. Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we discuss Matt Reeves’ 2008 film “Cloverfield.”

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