Cinemakers

What's more impressive: that Christopher Nolan made the masterpiece that is The Prestige, or that he did it between Batman movies? Sandwiched between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, The Prestige has Batman and Wolverine square off in a head-to-head magic showdown that will ruin both characters' lives forever... and make us all watch in awe and wonder. It's yet another movie in which Nolan uses time and non-linear storytelling to amplify the narrative, and though it's not baked into the story (as it is in Memento), it's core to the narrative structure of the film. Alternating between the present and various pasts, The Prestige shows us it has nothing up its sleeves, nothing in its hands, yet executes its story with such a masterstroke that you'll be convinced magic exists. The only question: Are you paying attention?

It's time for BATMAN! While we've covered Batman-related films on this podcast network before (and again, and again), this is the first time that we've gotten a Batman film proper, and it delivers. Batman Begins is an absolute masterpiece of a film (Sound familiar? This Christopher Nolan guy seems pretty good at making movies) and marks one of the best superhero origin stories of all-time. It's also fun as heck. As we discuss in the episode, this movie feels like the perfect alchemy of a bunch of separate visions all coalescing in a beautiful way (as they all rebel against where Batman Forever and Batman & Robin left us).

Combining Robin Williams (in the "serious" era of his career) with, perhaps, the last great performance (so far, anyway) given by Al Pacino, Insomnia is a well-made version of a movie you feel like you've seen before. Add in some references that make you feel like you're watching Twin Peaks (or a David Fincher movie) and there isn't much to not like. Considering the next movie we're getting in this journey is Batman Begins, this is (far and away) the "smallest" Nolan will get for a long, long time.

Just two short years after the promising (but somewhat underwhelming) Following, Christopher Nolan released Memento, a masterpiece of a film and possibly the best movie he's ever made. Toying with narrative structure in the way he did in Following -- but with far more panache -- Memento is a wild ride through the mind of a man with no short-term memory who constantly finds himself unsure who he can trust.

Welcome to a new season of Cinemakers! We've caught up on Steven Soderbergh, so now is the time to begin our journey through Christopher Nolan's filmography. First on the docket is following, the black-and-white feature that Nolan made for a mere $6,000. While Following is a far cry from the movies Nolan will soon make, there are more than a few glimpses of the techniques, themes, and styles he'll use throughout his career.

In this episode, we dive into the world of horror to go deep inside the mind of Claire Foy in Unsane! Shot entirely on an iPhone 7 Plus with an app that cost $14.99, Soderbergh and Unsane prove anyone can make a movie that makes you feel icky all over. Is Claire Foy's character unsane, or is she really being pursued? Does the ambiguity work or could it be improved upon? And why do people keep letting Matt Damon show up and crash movie sets? (Just kidding; we love Matt Damon!)

When we first envisioned Cinemakers, we saw it as a combination of two types of episodes: ongoing series about prolific directors and one-off episodes about directors who only have a few feature films under their belt. With the Reel Bad podcast taking on The Evil Dead and Evil Dead II, we were inspired to bring in Reel Bad's Nick Jenkins to talk about the Evil Dead remake, as well as the other major film of Fede Alvarez: Don't Breathe. Please note: Both of these films (and our discussion) feature depictions of sexual assault and violence against women, and both are far darker than the normal movies we cover. Viewer and listener discretion advised.

Mosaic marks yet another innovation from the mind of Steven Soderbergh: a whodunnit mystery that you can experience through an interactive app or through a traditional TV season. Which way is better? How should you watch? Should you even bother? The short answers: yes, watch it, but do it through the app. All caught up? Good!

Whether you call it "Ocean's 7-11" or "The Hillbilly Heist," the central robbery of Logan Lucky is Soderbergh's best since Ocean's Twelve. This guy just can't stay retired, which is good news for all of us who love movies about the American Dream, or movies starring Channing Tatum and Riley Keough. (Yes, this pretty much sums Joey up to a tee.) This movie effectively marks the beginning of the second phase... of the first phase... of Cinemakers, as it's the first Soderbergh work released since we began. What a time to be alive!

The Knick ended after two seasons and 20 episodes, but it was always the plan for Soderbergh (and Clive Owen) to leave at that point. The Knick's second season expands the world of the show a bit, bringing more characters into a deeper focus and straying a bit from the central fixation on Thackery. Does it work, or is it too sprawling? Are the new stories a welcome addition, or do they stray too far from the world of The Knickerbocker? Can Soderbergh continue his streak and pull off his signature magic again? With his self-imposed retirement looming following this season's conclusion (though we know he'll be back in two years for Logan Lucky, Mosaic, Unsane, and more), where does The Knick leave things for Soderbergh? All we know: "This is it. This is all we are."