The October Marquee: Masaki Kobayashi

Throughout the month of September we'll be looking at the epic films of Japanese director Masaki Kobayashi: The Human Condition I: No Greater Love (1959) The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity (1959) The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer (1961) Kwaidan (1964) (Click on a poster to watch a trailer) And although we won't…

Episode 133. Surreal Spike

From skateboard videos to high-budget science-fiction drama, today Alex and Jonathan track the career of Spike Jonze through his feature films Being John Malkovich (1999), Adaptation. (2002), Where the Wild Things Are (2009), and Her (2013). We talk about the building of themes and structure in meta filmmaking, what makes interesting protagonists, and the variety…

The September Marquee: Spike Jonze

Throughout the month of September we'll be looking at the career of the director known as Spike Jonze: Being John Malkovich (1999) Adaptation. (2002) Where the Wild Things Are (2009) Her (2013) (Click on a poster to watch a trailer) And although we won't be discussing these films in-depth, here is an extended watching list…

Episode 132. Lord & Miller’s Laughs & Mischiefs

The combined creative talents of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller is one of the biggest forces in the animation industry at the moment, so today Alex and Jonathan take a look at four films they have had a hand in bringing to the big screen: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009), 21 Jump Street…

The August Marquee: Lord & Miller

Throughout the month of August we'll be looking at the directing and writing works of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) 21 Jump Street (2012) The Lego Movie (2014) Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) (Click on a poster to watch a trailer) And although we won't be discussing these…

Episode 131. Channeling Jackie Chan

One of the greatest physical performers of recent filmmaking, Jackie Chan is the focus of today's discussion as Alex and Jonathan look at Drunken Master (1978), Police Story (1985), Police Story 3: Supercop (1992), and The Foreigner (2017). We talk about Jackie Chan's journey finding his on-screen persona in the wake of Bruce Lee, the…

The July Marquee: Jackie Chan

Throughout the month of July we'll be looking at the career of action-comedy star Jackie Chan: Drunken Master (1978) Police Story (1985) Supercop (1992) The Foreigner (2017) (Click on a poster to watch a trailer) And although we won't be discussing these films in-depth, here is an extended watching list of films that will relate…

Episode 130. Cousteau Curieux

Alex and Jonathan take to the open seas today and follow the films and life of French explorer and documentarian Jacques Cousteau. We're talking about his documentaries The Silent World (1956), World Without Sun (1964), Voyage to the Edge of the World (1976), and the more recent biopic of his life The Odyssey (2016). We…

The June Marquee: Jacques Cousteau

Throughout the month of May we'll be looking at the feature films produced by the Irish animation studio Cartoon Saloon. The four films we'll be looking at on the podcast are: The Silent World (1956) World Without Sun (1964) Voyage to the Edge of the World (1976) The Odyssey (2016) (Click on a poster to…

Episode 129. Cartoon Saloon’s (mostly) Celtic Saga

Highlighting one of the most innovative animation studios producing content today, Alex and Jonathan look at the four feature films produced by Irish studio Cartoon Saloon: The Secret of Kells (2009), Song of the Sea (2014), The Breadwinner (2017), and Wolfwalkers (2020). We discuss the unique art style, the various cultural influences, and the ongoing…