This week we discuss two classic Australian films.

The first is The Year My Voice Broke (1987), a coming-of-age tale written and directed by John Duigan. The film features early performances from Noah Taylor and Ben Mendelsohn and was followed by a sequel, Flirting (1991).

The second is Wake in Fright (1971), starring Gary Bond and Donald Pleasence. This film tells the story of a young teacher trapped in an outback town who succumbs to a spiral of drink, gambling and general debauchery.

Timestamps

What We’ve Been Watching (00:01:17)

Donnchadh – Save Me / Save Me Too, Banshee Season 2, The West Wing

The Year My Voice Broke (00:06:07)

Wake in Fright (00:32:30)

 Links

Instagram -

@callitfriendopodcast

@munnywales

@andyjayritchie

Justwatch.com – streaming and rental links

https://www.justwatch.com

The Year My Voice Broke 20th anniversary retrospective interviews

https://youtu.be/Sw3RgJZqDI8

This week we discuss two films which feature male actors dressing as women.

The first is Juwanna Mann (2002), a romantic comedy starring Miguel A. Núñez Jr and Vivica A. Fox. The film tells the story of Jamal Jeffries, a basketball player who, upon getting banned from the league, chooses to disguise himself as a woman, Juwanna Mann, to play on a fictional WNBA team.

The second is Dressed to Kill (1980), starring Angie Dickinson, Michael Caine and Nancy Allen. The film, written and directed by Brian De Palma, acts as an inversion of the tropes of Psycho (1960) and has come under fire in recent times for its portrayal of a central trans character.

Timestamps

What We’ve Been Watching (00:04:55)

Andy – Wandavision

Donnchadh – Wandavision, Ted Lasso, There’s Something About Mary, Blade, The Godfather

Juwanna Mann (00:14:30)

Dressed to Kill (00:37:30)

 Links

Instagram -

@callitfriendopodcast

@munnywales

@andyjayritchie

Justwatch.com – streaming and rental links

https://www.justwatch.com

Dave Chappelle on Oprah

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lbFRYF-bbM

De Palma interview

https://the-talks.com/interview/brian-de-palma/

This week we discuss two films which feature explorers on journeys on the Amazon.

The first is Embrace of the Serpent (2015), a story from the perspective of Karamakate, a native who interacts with two white explorers on their respective treks to find the elusive yakruna plant 30 years apart. The film was Colombia’s first ever Oscar nominee.

The second is The Lost City of Z (2016), starring Charlie Hunnam and Robert Pattinson. The film, directed by James Gray, tells the story of Percy Fawcett, a British soldier who travelled to South America in search of a lost civilisation.

Timestamps

Embrace of the Serpent (00:01:05)

The Lost City of Z (00:29:15)

 Links

Instagram -

@callitfriendopodcast

@munnywales

@andyjayritchie

Justwatch.com – streaming and rental links

https://www.justwatch.com

This week we discuss two films from acclaimed French filmmaker Claire Denis.

The first is Beau Travail (1999), a loose adaptation of Herman Melville’s 1891 novella Billy Budd. The film centres on a group of French legionnaires serving in Djibouti.

The second is High Life (2018), starring Robert Pattinson and Juliette Binoche. The film tells the story of a group of convicted death row inmates sent into space for the purposes of black hole experimentation.

Timestamps

What We’ve Been Watching (00:01:08)

Andy – Host, Patrice O’Neal: Killing is Easy, The Uncredited Extras Podcast

Donnchadh – Yesterday, Banshee Season 2, Titanic, Me Myself & Irene

Beau Travail (00:12:30)

High Life (00:37:10)

 Links

Instagram -

@callitfriendopodcast

@munnywales

@andyjayritchie

Justwatch.com – streaming and rental links

https://www.justwatch.com

This week we discuss two Historical epics written by legendary English screenwriter Robert Bolt.

The first is The Bounty (1984), the 5th retelling of the famous mutiny on The Bounty committed to film. However, this version, starring Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins, purports to be the most faithful to real-life events.

The second is The Mission (1986), starring Jeremy Irons and Robert De Niro. The film tells the story of Jesuit missionaries in South America who clash with Spanish and Portuguese colonial forces while trying to protect the native inhabitants. The film also features what is perhaps Ennio Morricone’s most celebrated score.

Timestamps

The Bounty (00:13:40)

The Mission (00:44:40)

 Links

Instagram -

@callitfriendopodcast

@munnywales

@andyjayritchie

Justwatch.com – streaming and rental links

https://www.justwatch.com

This week we discuss two Neo-Westerns directed by Chinese American filmmaker Chloé Zhao.

The first is The Rider (2017), a semi-fictionalised account of former bronc rider Brady Jandreau. With a cast of real people playing themselves, Zhao captures an honest depiction of life in rural South Dakota, and of a man dealing with the effects of a life-altering accident.

The second is Nomadland (2020), starring Frances McDormand as Fern, a widow who chooses to take up a life on the road living out of a van. The film has received much critical acclaim, garnering 4 Golden Globe nominations, and is a clear Oscar contender.

Timestamps

The Rider (00:07:10)

Nomadland (00:33:30)

John Spillane’s review of Birth (01:12:55)

 Links

Instagram -

@callitfriendopodcast

@munnywales

@andyjayritchie

@thejohnspillane

Lane Scott video –

 https://youtu.be/Ab_CnUA9aIM

Rolling Stone article –

https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-features/wild-horses-how-the-rider-became-the-breakout-movie-of-2018-629297

Trey Parker & Matt Stone on Sean Penn –

https://youtu.be/sCq3K2O8htw

Justwatch.com – streaming and rental links

https://www.justwatch.com

This week we discuss two films released on VOD in 2021.

The first is Locked Down (2021), a film written, filmed and released during the COVID-19 pandemic. It stars Chiwetel Ejiofor and Anne Hathaway as a couple who plan a heist at Harrods during lockdown.

The second is Synchronic (2019), Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson’s low budget time travel film about one man’s quest to find and rescue his friend’s daughter. The film stars Anthony Mackie and Jamie Dornan.

Timestamps

Locked Down (00:04:30)

Synchronic (00:33:50)

Links

Justwatch.com – streaming and rental links

https://www.justwatch.com

Instagram -

@callitfriendopodcast

@munnywales

@andyjayritchie

This week we discuss two films starring Nicole Kidman in two extremely different roles.

The first is Birth (2004), Jonathan Glazer’s second feature and follow-up to Sexy Beast. In the film, a widow meets a ten-year-old boy who claims to be the reincarnation of her dead husband, leading to more than a few uncomfortable moments.

The second is Destroyer (2018), directed by Karyn Kusama and starring Nicole Kidman as you’ve never seen her before. Kidman earned a Golden Globe nomination for her performance as Detective Erin Bell.

Timestamps

Birth (00:09:30)

Destroyer (00:43:10)

Links

Justwatch.com – streaming and rental links

https://www.justwatch.com

Safdie Brothers / Paul Thomas Anderson A24 Podcast

https://a24films.com/notes/2019/12/seduce-and-destroy-with-josh-safdie-benny-safdie-and-paul-thomas-anderson

Vickers Tactical YouTube – Larry at the movies

https://www.youtube.com/c/VickersTacticalLAV

This week we discuss two films, both excellent character studies, from award-winning French director Jacques Audiard.

The first is Dheepan (2015), the story of a makeshift family of 3 Tamil refugees relocated to a tough housing estate in France. The film, inspired by Sam Peckinpah’s Straw Dogs, won the Palme d’Or at Cannes.

The second is Rust and Bone (2012), based on the short story collection of the same name by Canadian Author Craig Davidson. The film meshes 2 of the short stories together, with a down on his luck boxer befriending an Orca trainer who experiences a life-changing injury.

Timestamps

Dheepan (00:09:35)

Rust and Bone (00:57:00)

Links

Justwatch.com – streaming and rental links

https://www.justwatch.com

Marion Cotillard and Matthias Schoenaerts interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWmJEqKvkts

Trentemoller – State Trooper Remix

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vz1wN5tFfu4

This week we discuss two films from acclaimed Australian director Peter Weir released in the 1980s.

The first is The Year of Living Dangerously (1982), which gives a semi-fictionalised insight into some of the events leading up to the attempted communist coup in Indonesia in 1965.

The second is The Mosquito Coast (1986), based on the novel by travel writer Paul Theroux, which follows Harrison Ford as a troubled genius inventor who leads his family into peril in the jungles of Central America.

Timestamps

The Year of Living Dangerously (00:11:20)

The Mosquito Coast (00:50:45)

Links 

Justwatch.com – streaming and rental links

https://www.justwatch.com

Whores of Leith

https://youtu.be/l3hE0FASvEc