At the Flicks

Welcome to our push-me, pull-you show. The one where we have our final push back at 2020, as it disappears in the rear view mirror, and our pull forward to what is coming in 2021.

We start off with something new and something you, our fantastic listeners can get involved with. A quiz, but no ordinary quiz. Here you pit your wits against the might of the At The Flicks team (my money is on you listeners).

After that we have some sadness and fun with 2020 (yes we know there isn’t much fun to be found there, however thankfully we did manage to uncover some buried near Neil’s almost forgotten sense of humour).

The sadness is 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.

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. By doing this he still hopes to get a part in The Mel’s next movie.

Then we look forward as we talk about the movies we want to watch (hopefully in a cinema) during 2021. Since we recorded the show, there have already been films which have been rescheduled. Life moves pretty fast. So while we are confident some of our choices being released, we wouldn’t bet our GameStop shares on everything opening.

W couldn’t have a month end show without a Dash from Darren. Just a couple this time because of everything else we are fitting in. One of which is so memorable Graham and Neil have sworn never to watch it, despite glowing reviews from Darren and Phil.

Next month we will return to our normal format. We have even found some films to review. Until then, settle down with our latest show, in which both tears and laughs flow freely.

Enjoy and stay safe.

Howdy partners, it’s been a while since we last met up on our Western trail. Why not saddle up again and join Jeff The Kid, Itchy Trigger Finger Graham and Snake Eyes Neil? We are going to ride along and jaw about The Outlaw Josey Wales.

Clint Eastwood has made some great Westerns, with The Outlaw Josey Wales arguably being his greatest (and trust us, Graham does try to argue the case for another Eastwood Western). For those that don’t know it, the film is set mainly in the immediate years after the end of the American Civil War.

It is a story which starts with revenge, however ultimately is about reconciliation and redemption. We look at three aspects of that – within the film itself, the time period the film was made and now. Which is fascinating when you consider the source material came from a member of the Ku Klux Klan!

As well as looking at the themes of the movie, we talk about its production. This includes explaining why the original director was fired and the far reaching implications of that move for the whole American film industry.

As an added bonus, listeners are treated to Graham’s impression of a character from Deliverance! You don’t get that level of entertainment just anywhere – you have to come to At The Flicks for it!

So, stop being a hifer (yes Neil that means you) and ride along for this rip roaring adventure. We enjoyed making it and hope you enjoying listening to it.

Let us know and we may let you ride the trail with us for future episodes of Rustlers’ Roundup.

See you next time amigos, in the meantime, stay safe.

One of the highlights of our 2020 Halloween season was our chat with American contributor Andy about his love of horror films (episode 107).

We are pleased to say Andy now returns to talk another film genre – Westerns. As you know from our series Rustler’s Roundup, the At The Flicks Team love Westerns. Pure American history, yet those tales of heroes and villains set in breathtaking vistas, resonate around the world. Graham and Jeff totally understand this with their Celtic backgrounds, although it was more difficult for our version of English Bob (Neil) to grasp.

Clint Eastwood, John Wayne and Kevin Costner, some of the big names associated with these movies are discussed at length. Classics such as Unforgiven, Shane and The Outlaw Josey Wales (soon to be the subject of the next in our Rustler’s Roundup series), are also put under the microscope.

An interesting aspect we uncover is how flexible the genre is – possibly more than most. It has been successfully cross bred with musicals, horror and science fiction, among many others. The Western also works when using modern day trappings, in such movies as No Country For Old Men and Hell Or High Water.

You may start listening to this podcast thinking “I am not a fan of Westerns”, however I am sure you will come out the other side with the realisation that it does hold something for you.

As always we would love to hear from you and your views on the genre under discussion. As for next time with Andy, we come right up to date for a special one off on the state of the American film industry.

We hope you can ride along with us, until then, where ever you are, take care and stay safe.

Welcome to the world of Christopher Nolan. Or it could be goodbye, depending on how the great man has decided to play with time and space this time.

Yes, to tie in with another great retrospective from Phil The Bear aka Phil Foster, we have brought together the team to discuss The Films Of Christopher Nolan. Joining us for this discussion is our very own Carry On Streaming expert, Declan.

You will not be surprised to hear that we are in full agreement on the greatness of many of his films. Sadly, not everyone had seen Tenet when we recorded this show, so a major disagreement between Jeff (who else?), and the rest of the panel is avoided. We saved you from a rant there listeners – never say we don’t have your best interests at heart. In its place we have a minor disturbance in the space / time continuum when we talk about Interstellar. Jeff, (who else?), disagrees with everyone on this feature as well.

Many of Mr Nolan’s films have enigmatic endings and we will be discussing our interpretations of these at length. So please make sure you have checked out his back catalogue before listening, especially after we blew a few minds with our theory of the meaning of The Prestige back in episode 96.

So, sit back and prepare to enter the dreamscape of Christopher Nolan. Enjoy. If you listen carefully you can hear Phil typing as he prepares another retrospective on a key director.

We will return for that talk in the near future, or, if this was a Christopher Nolan film, you may have already heard it, and if you have please let us know what it was like.

See Graham, I can also set up a paradox!

We return to the Star Trek universe for the second film in the big screen franchise.

What is the future of cinema in the post Covid world?

This is a question the At The Flicks team are going to be asking throughout 2021. In fact we think it is so important a topic we have made it the subject of our first show of the year.

Graham and Jeff from the At The Flicks team bring in two special guests to address this issue. We have Declan (our streaming expert) who talks about the role of the streaming companies during these changing times. Dec also talks about his love of both cinema and theatre and what is needed for their survival.

Our other guest is Paul who has analysed the changes and raises the financial concerns about the survival of the cinema industry – both in terms of production and distribution.

Make no mistake, we are at a pivotal moment. Yet, as you will hear, there is hope for the future. Things may change, however, there will always be a love for films and that unique communal way of watching them.

After listening to the show, do you think the conclusions we come to are fair? Please let us know what you think and there may well be an opportunity for you to join us for one of our other shows on this topic. We would love to hear from you.

While the show looks at the global cinema scene, the people involved in this podcast are all from the UK. Coming soon we have the views of someone from America who has been involved in the distribution and screening of movies. Will their view be radically different? Keep listening to find out.

In the meantime, as always, stay safe.

Postscript: This episode was recorded before Christmas and even in that relatively small period, things changed. As an add on to the episode, Jeff and Graham discuss Warner Bros decision to release all of their 2021 films jointly in cinemas and on streaming.

That’s the end of 2020. Thankfully.

Join the At The Flicks review team as we look back at the wreckage of the year to see if anything movie wise was worth salvaging.

Before we do that, we have the cinematic equivalent of the last of the mince pies as we give Graham a late present. Rather than the excitement we expected, Graham’s reaction to reviewing the latest from The Mel is a tad disappointing for the rest of the team. Baffling even. Until Jeff reveals all and how close Graham got to meeting the great Mel himself, before being badly let down by Mel’s agent.

With that cracker well and truly pulled, we move on to the team’s personal reminiscences of the cinema year that almost wasn’t. Don’t expect any top tens – this is more of a heartfelt journey through troubled times.

For some there were highlights to be found as we bounced between cinema and streaming. For others, the loss of cinema had a profound effect. Given those statements, you will not find it surprising to learn that each of the five reviewers had a very different take on the year – from the very moving to the amusing.

Each take is worthy of your consideration. Do you agree? Please contact us to let us know.

To end the show Darren reveals which of his dash films from 2020 is the one you must see. Is his reveal a surprising choice? Check it out and let us know.

So that’s it. Our take on this most miserable of years. We hope you agree that even in a time best forgotten, there were movies and moments that are worth preserving.

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 2021 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?