Episode 142. Kiarostami’s Koker

Sit back and enjoy the ride as Alex and Jonathan talk through the road-trip style films of Abbas Kiarostami in Where Is the Friend's House? (1987), And Life Goes On (1992), Through the Olive Trees (1994), and Taste of Cherry (1997). We discuss the way Kiarostami blends truth and fiction, how he uses long takes…

Episode 139. The Dove Says Woo

The epic drama and action of director John Woo carries us away this month as Alex and Jonathan talk about The Killer (1989), Hard Boiled (1992), Face/Off (1997), and Red Cliff (2008). We talk about his pioneering of the "Honorable Bloodshed" genre, his distinct stylistic and thematic trademarks, and his continuing legacy on many modern…

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…

Episode 91. Quintessential Quentin Feat. Hayden Chauffe

Jonathan sits down with Hayden Chauffe today to discuss the career of the modern filmmaker's filmmaker, Quentin Tarantino, in the films Reservoir Dogs (1992), Inglourious Basterds (2009), and The Hateful Eight (2015). We talk about Tarantino's literary story structure, the controversies that tend to follow his films, and the way he breaks various rules of…