This week, we watch the Lock, Stock……and Two Smoking Barrels: Part 2. This time with Brad Pitt. It’s probably a good time to make sure your subtitles button works. Snatch (2000), directed by Guy Richie.
All in Drama
Episode 94 - Inglourious Basterds
This week, Tarantino rewrites history for the first time in his action/fantasy tale about Nazi’s screening a film in a movie theater, and the surrounding plans to kill Hitler and his top advisers. Utilizing his powers of dialogue and quick, brutal violence, Quentin weaves together five chapters of tense and hilarious character interactions. And you know something, Utivich? I think this just might be his masterpiece. Inglourious Basterds (2009), directed by Quentin Tarantino.
Episode 96 - The Kid
This week, we watch the oldest film on the list! Charlie Chaplin’s big screen debut. He writes, directs, acts, and composes music for this timeless comedy, which somehow still made us laugh throughout the short run time, despite being nearly 100 years old. The Kid (1921), directed by Charles Chaplin.
Episode 97 - LA Confidential
This week, we watch Russell Crowe and Guy Pierce in their first Hollywood roles. Both actors drop their Australian accents for this modern take on the Noir genre. Gone are the hard shadows and silly voices of the genre’s classics, but the numerous locations and plot twists remain. LA Confidential (1997), directed by Curtis Hanson.
BONUS EPISODE - The Irishman
This week, we watch the controversial Netflix best picture hopeful that reunites De Niro and Scorsese, De Niro and Pacino, De Niro and Pesci, De Niro and Keitel… you might want to call it a 3.5 hour reunion tour from Scorsese, but the emotional retrospective weight of the characters makes this one of the most impactful of all his films. The Irishman (2019), directed by Martin Scorsese.
Episode 99 - Rashomon
This week, we watch the film that broke Japanese cinema onto the worlds stage. Revolutionary for its time, its non-linear story telling has influenced not only film, but criminal psychology as well, as lawyers and academics alike have referenced the theories presented here for the past 70 years. Rashomon (1950), directed by Akira Kurosawa.
Episode 100 - The Apartment
This week, we watch a pushover accountant let his work superiors use his apartment to sleep with their mistresses. He is also falling for the elevator girl, who is sleeping with his new boss. Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine are fantastic as the leads, and they guide the story from comedy to drama and back again flawlessly. The Apartment (1960), directed by Billy Wilder.
Episode 101 - Scarface
This week, we watch the story of Tony Montana, a cuban refugee who builds an empire from blood and cocaine. Al Pacino’s performance is memorable, lastingly quotable, and somewhat off the rails. He also sacrificed his nostrils health by snorting large amounts of powdered milk. Scarface (1983), directed by Brian De Palma.
Episode 105 - 3 Idiots
This week, we watch the Indian film that broke through to Chinese audiences for the first time, with positive messages on education, pressure, choice, marriage, and suicide. This film successfully tackles very serious topics, while remaining funny for its nearly 3 hour runtime. Aamir Khan steals the show as Rancho. All is well! 3 Idiots (2009), directed by Rajkumar Hirani.
Episode 106 - All About Eve
This week, we watch the wittiest film about the theater ever written, according to many critics . The screenplay was created by the brother of the man who penned Citizen Kane, and this film exists thanks to a little healthy competition between siblings. Lets count how many times the word “Theater” occurs in the 2.5 hour runtime….All About Eve (1950), directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz.
Episode 107 - The Hunt
This week, we watch Mads Mikkelsen earn his Cannes film festival award for his portrayal of a school teacher who has to deal with false accusations made by a young student of his, and the fall out from the towns population who won’t listen to anything they don’t want to hear. Not to be viewed when you want to be in a good mood. The Hunt (2012), directed by Thomas Vinterberg.
BONUS EPISODE - It: Chapter 2
27 years later and Pennywise is back. The second and final act of the It series, this film casts some legitimate movie stars as the older versions of the kids from Chapter 1, and is also tasked with bringing this epic tale to a close - An ending that the readers of the book (as well as characters in this movie) will tell you isn’t very good. The question people will be talking about for years to come is: does this movie close the It saga better than Stephen King’s own words did? It: Chapter 2 (2019), directed by Andy Muschietti.
BONUS EPISODE - It
Fall is here, the season for Halloween and all things horror! We are de-railing from the list once again to prepare for the upcoming It: Chapter 2. We watch the first film this week, which focuses on the younger character story, and brings to screen the same kind of childhood adventure that the film adaptation of Stand By Me captured decades ago, only this time with a murdering clown named Pennywise. It (2017), directed by Andy Muschietti.
Episode 108 - Yojimbo
This week, we watch the film that laid the ground work for the Clint Eastwood spaghetti Westerns, and all the following films that took influence from them. An out-of-work Samurai finds himself in the middle of a violent, two-sided town, where he starts pitting each side against each other for….fun? More of a popcorn film that Kurosawa’s other epic masterpieces, Yojimbo (1961) would be a great starting point for someone looking to get into The Master’s work.
Episode 109 - Batman Beings
This week, Christopher Nolan demonstrates that you can take a comic book character seriously: with some big Hollywood names, a big budget, and an emphasis on visual effects (as opposed to Computer Generated Imagery). Join us as we watch 2005’s Batman Begins: the movie that arguably paved the way for modern super hero movies.
Episode 110 - The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
This week, Humphrey Bogart plays the bad guy in an American classic. This is one of the first Hollywood films to be shot mostly on location, and the beautiful California and Mexican landscapes justify the record breaking budget. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), directed by John Huston.
BONUS EPISODE - Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Quentin Tarantino has a new movie out, so naturally we all ran to the theater to see it opening week. Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio are an on-screen duo for the ages, and are all but guaranteed to receive lots of love come awards season for their portrayals of a stuntman/actor buddy duo in 1969 Los Angeles. Once upon a Time in Hollywood (2019), directed by Quentin Tarantino.
Episode 111 - Good Will Hunting
This week, we watch Matt Damon and Ben Affleck become stars. They act the hell out of the script they co-wrote together, and Mini Driver and Robin Williams each give one of their best performances as well. The Boston movie that put Southie on the map. Good Will Hunting (1997), directed by Gus Van Sant.