At the Flicks

It’s a big welcome back for the At The Flicks review show! For the first of our 2022 review shows we discuss films from four masters of the craft, Paul Thomas Anderson, Kenneth Branagh, Guillermo Del Toro and Roland Emmerich. All of them famed in their particular fields.

All back with superior works, which are

Licorice Pizza – At The Flicks are not afraid to tackle the controversial issues surrounding movies head on. We discuss the big talking point of Anderson’s latest – what’s the difference between California Valley Girls and South Wales Valley Girls?

Belfast – One of our reviewers was also growing up in Belfast during the film’s time period. We offer something unique in our discussion – a personal perspective on that time and place.

Nightmare Alley – Why did this film noir flop at the box office? We ask our own Geek if Nightmare Alley has suffered an unkind fate. If only he could remember….

Moonfall – Controversial opinions rule once again. To some it was a typical, overblown Emmerich disaster feature, to other more discerning reviewers it is the spiritual sequel to 2001. Who is right (hint, the clue might be with the word discerning)?

As well as reviews we have the latest alternate film news. So alternate that some of the team suspect one of the items is “fake news” (it’s not). Also, something to keep our Graham happy, yes, there is more news about the Mel including where he likes to eat!

Finally, or first as it leads the show, we talk about another superior local trader. The Stroud Smokehouse and the amazing treats it sells. There is a link about the enterprise below.

It’s good to be back with reviews. We hope you have as much fun listening as we did recording the show. To follow on from this, a Darren’s Dash is coming soon.

Until then, see you At The Flicks.

Welcome to the latest show from the At The Flicks team. In this episode we speak to young filmmaker Archie Shiels.

Archie is an up-and-coming talent who is currently honing his craft. He spent some time recently talking to us about his first documentary short feature The Blue Flash.

The Blue Flash is about an iconic sculpture – Blue Flash Power Box And Meshchips which a few years was threatened with demolition. Happily that situation is now changed and The Blue Flash as it is more locally known, will be preserved for future generations. The sculpture was designed by artist and arts educator John Gingell. Archie’s film is as much about the man as the image.

We talk to Archie about what inspired him to make the feature (the answer may surprise you – it certainly did us!), and what does the preservation mean for John’s family. In fact, the heart of the documentary is about legacy – both external, to the city of Cardiff and internal, to his daughter Zoe. That is a hell of a lot to pack into four minutes, and Archie does it in style.

Thanks to Archie, we have a link at the bottom of the show notes to The Blue Flash. Check it out, it is well worth it.

Archie Shiels, we believe this is a young man with a big future. You heard it from At The Flicks first.

See you At The Flicks.

Yes, we know a couple of months have gone by since the start of 2022 (although given recent world events it seems longer). However, after months of arguing, the At The Flicks team are now ready to unveil their latest creation on the world.

The 2022 year start show.

This is our annual look back at 2021 and a sneak peak of what 2022 has in store film wise (unless Putin presses that big red button on his desk). But before all that, Jeff has a new show section he wants to reveal (maybe Putin’s button isn’t the worst option this year). No, not his be nice to Marvel New Years Resolution (which lasted 10 minutes), it is his latest film news section. Film news off the beaten track. In this section you can learn why residents in Glasgow didn’t get a lot of sleep at the beginning of the year and what is Samuel L Jackson’s favourite food. Oh, and there is some actual film news as well.

Then we come to the sombre part of the show – our obituary section, where each of the five contributors to the show, Darren, Graham, Jeff, Neil and Phil talk about someone whose passing had an effect on them. There is an addition to this section this year, when Niall from Movies In Focus joins us to talk about the late, great Richard Donner, who Niall interviewed a few years ago.

After that we give out our annual movie awards. As with last year, Graham pushes to the head of the class to give out his award for the Best Mel Gibson film of the year. After that you can find out the winners of such awards as The Heaven’s Gate Award for the biggest failure of 2021 and The Boris Johnson family film award.

Finally, we have our shout out for films we want to see this year. Funny how things change, when we had this section last year, we spoke about Covid and the closure of cinemas. Now we have to worry about war. As they say, we live in interesting times. Hopefully these films will be released on one platform or another, and they will take your mind off other events – at least for a couple of hours.

Next month we return to our normal review show, however I can already promise you one argument amongst the team for one of the early releases in 2022. Until then, stay safe and we will see you At The Flicks.

The Stroud Film Festival returns for 2022 with some exciting films and live events. To get the lowdown on what is happening this year, we spoke to Co. Director of the Festival, Andy Freedman.

The festival launch is Friday 4th March at the Stroud Subscription Rooms (check out the link to the programme below). After that, you will find an event on most days up to the closing night of Sunday 27th March.

In this podcast we talk about some of the highlights that make this festival such a unique experience. Amongst the films are a number relating to film music, including Sisters With Transistors (with a Q and A with director Lisa Rovner), The Tape, after which star and director Martha Tilston will perform a set and an event where local young musicians will perform new soundtracks they have written to classic silent films, including A Trip To The Moon. Other events to look out for are special screenings of Napoleon Dynamite and The Greatest Showman and a screening of Chasing Mandela’s Rainbow where your very own At The Flicks will be running a Q & A with director Gary Janks after the film (For more on this special movie, check out our show 98).

If you have an interest in cinema then the Stroud Film Festival, which runs until 27th March is a festival you will not want to miss.

Check out the full festival programme here and get your tickets before they all go.

Up until now, probably the biggest scandal around lost tapes involved the BBC and the Beatles recordings they misplaced. That scandal has now been surpassed as we reveal to you the even more shocking story of the At The Flicks lost tapes.

OK, the reality is not that they were not lost per se, they were just irretrievable for almost two months thanks to one of our own. Like all great calamities it started simply, Neil was intrusted to put the recordings of our November review show in a safe place. These tapes were special – we had just spent a day and a half recording our reviews of some of the most acclaimed movies of the year – Dune, The French Dispatch and the latest from Sir Clint, Cry Macho.

All Neil had to do was place them inside the usual vault. We all trusted him. Unfortunately, that trust was horribly misplaced. Instead of just placing them where they normally go, he managed to time lock them inside the safe, sealing them for six weeks.

This meant two things, you, our listeners have had to wait far too long for this very special show and Neil ended up on the naughty list when the Christmas presents were handed out.

Given the extra time it has taken to get this show to you, a number of controversies have grown up around it. There have been whispers that the reason you haven’t heard it is because of one or maybe all of the following:

• One reviewer resulted in subterfuge to hide his true feelings about one of the big movies

• A reviewer had to admit he liked a film from a director he has been dissing for years

• One reviewer missed out on a review because of a capitalist conspiracy

• Another reviewer has suddenly discovered a strange love of horror movies

- A Marvel film might actually be good and (say it quietly) a number of reviewers confirm that

Could these things be true? There is only one way to find out – you will have to listen to the lost tapes episode and judge for yourself. Remember once you have heard it, you will never be able to forget the shocking details revealed.

So, enter at your own risk.

And whatever happens, we will see you at the flicks.

So that was 2021. A year we are all pleased to wave goodbye to (just like Neil’s relatives after his extended Christmas stay). But what was it like for movies? In part one of our end of the year show, we spoke to some very special people about what films they liked. Now it is the turn of our review panel.

Yes, our normal review panel of Darren, Graham, Jeff, Neil and Phil, have gathered to cast their critical eye over what happened in the film world and give their top five. Then Jeff, through a combination of magic, science and quantum mumbo jumbo collates everyone’s list and comes up with a group top five. As you will hear, at least one member of the team is not happy with that and asked for the Video Assistant Referee to review the decision. As with football, we are still awaiting the result of their deliberation. However, we just couldn’t keep you waiting any longer, so here is the show.

You will find it no surprise to learn that this turned out like one of our standard review show. Neil admits he needs to watch more films, Darren reveals his extensive film list, and as an added bonus, tells us his Dash film of the year. Phil and Jeff finally agree to disagree over their tastes in movies while Graham came very close to following his true nature and picking a Mel Gibson film as one of his top five movies.

You may be pleased to hear that this is a shorter show than is our norm. Jeff cut it short prior to his quick getaway, when he heard that listener Frank (the butt of many of his jokes this year) had flown in from America to have a little “talk” with the presenter. Hopefully Jeff is now well on the road to recovery and will be back in time for the next show – our year start spectacular, where it is not a good look to hand out awards when strapped in bandages and your jaw is wired together.

That’s it – a wrap for 2021.

As we move into 2022, we at At The Flicks would like to say thank you to our listeners for staying with us this year, as we argued and championed various movies. We hope you have enjoyed the shows and we look forward to bringing you more next year in what we believe will be happier movie going times.

For now stay safe. We will be there for you with an incredible schedule of shows in 2022 and beyond.

It’s almost time to say goodbye to 2021. Overall, not the best of years, but what was it like at the movies? With cinema closed for much of the first half of the year, and most watching done online, did that mean a drop in film quality? Or was 2021 a classic film year?

To answer that question we have spoken to three friends of the show. We did cheat and also ask them to give us their top five movies and tried not to outstay our welcome when we asked what they are most looking forward to seeing in 2022.

First up we spoke to Emma (and if you haven’t subscribed to her excellent film newsletter, may I take this opportunity to do so – the link is below). Emma is a serious film watcher (easily rivalling At The Flicks reviewers Darren and Phil with her seen amount for the year), and has wonderfully eclectic tastes. Her top five is original and well worth tracking down. Then there is Elijah, our American reviewer. Again, another first rate selection and one Graham almost completely agrees with. After that we have top BBC reporter Steve Knibbs, with his take on the year. Once again, an excellent selection.

As we move into 2021, we at At The Flicks would like to say thank you to our listeners for staying with us this year, as we argued and championed various movies. We hope you have enjoyed the shows and we look forward to bringing you more next year in what we believe will be happier movie going times.

For now stay safe. We will be there for you with an incredible schedule of shows in 2022 and beyond.

Today’s pick has a very limited human cast. Can you guess what it is?

Today’s pick explains how all the presents are delivered in one night. Can you guess what it is?

Today’s pick could only have come from Emma At The Movies!! Can you guess what it is?