Your usual host Doug Gobeski welcomes two elusive guests to the show (Charlie Wallace and Jessica Klaers) to watch the critically heralded 2016 classic "Hardcore Henry". They discuss the unique first-person perspective, the intense stunt-work and a tour-de-force performance by Tim Roth. Doug knows this episode is outside his usual release schedule, but it's just so good it just HAD to be released as soon in April as possible!

This episode, we get lost in the steel blue eyes of Alain Delon while watching "Le Samourï" (1967) with executive producer Adam Gobeski. We talk inaccurate movie trailers, tightly directed action sequences, long takes and an alternate ending. Despite the lack of dialogue, Amber shows the appropriate amount of respect for the film. But can we answer the most important question: How many keys is ALL the keys?

Charlie, Adam and Amber welcome guest Jill Dickinson to the podcast to geek out over the 2005 sci-fi film "Serenity"! We're all familiar with the short-lived TV series "Firefly"... but what if you weren't? Would the movie still work? If there aren't any cows, is this really a western? And there's no avoiding those shocking deaths! Also: more "Star Trek" and "Moana" than you'd expect!

Doug Gobeski brings in his friends Ric and Wes after their first viewing of the 1990 Martin Scorsese film "Goodfellas". We talk voiceover, tracking shots and prison attire. The movie was criticized for extreme depictions of violence at the time, but how does it look in 2019? And we discuss how this all ties in to the gangsters that have appeared in pop culture since. Hopefully you’ll find it funny, in an amusing sort of way!

Amber Elby appoints herself Ringmaster in order to compel Charlie, Adam and guest Kelly Fulcher to watch the 2017 film "The Greatest Showman". We discuss the right way to create fantasy/historical fiction, the overt critical meta-commentary, and *swoon* Zac Efron. Will the grouchy first-timers dig in their heels and hate on this popular musical, or will Amber whip them into line like so many CGI lions?

Actor Brianne Gobeski joins us once again to discuss the 1946 French classic La Belle et la Bête (Beauty and the Beast). For those of you who think this is similar to the Disney versions, think again: nary a singing candelabra to be found! No conversation about this movie could be complete without mentioning the unique production design and the creepy beast makeup. And do we really get the happy ending we expect here, or is Belle doomed to a boring, menial existence?

Clarifications:

Brianne Gobeski is starring in Disaster at Desert Stages Theatre in Scottsdale Arizona, go see it if you’re in the area!

Adam found out after the episode that the “drunk driving” section at the beginning of the film was out of necessity: the cobblestones were so uneven that the actors lifting the carriage wobbled as they walked. The drunkenness was added as a way to explain their instability!

Adam makes a quick Simpsons reference (“When are they gonna get to the fireworks factory?”), and here’s the clip that explains it if for some reason you don’t know what he’s talking about.

The BFI list of the 50 films you should see by the age of 14.

Things We Reference:

Labyrinth (1986)

Ever After: A Cinderella Story (1998)

Snowpiercer (2013)

Babes in Toyland (1934)

Beauty and the Beast (1991)

Beauty and the Beast (2017)

The Tale of Zatoichi (1962)

Seven Samurai (1954)

Waterworld (1995)

Metropolis (1927)

Orphée (1950)

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)

City of Angels (1998)

Ghost Rider (2007)

Spider-Man 3 (2007)

Star Trek Beyond (2016)

Into the Woods (2014)

Your Name (2016)

Wings of Desire (1987)

 

Before 24-hour cable news networks and politically polarizing punditry, there was the 1976 film "Network", which we investigate with guests Doug Gobeski and author Amber Elby. How do we see the movie today when so many of its predictions have come true? Is there any way to remake or update this movie? What's the whole point of that love story between Faye Dunaway and William Holden? Doug knows, and he's got evidence!

One year after discussing the original film, Charlie, Adam and Paul Wilcox are back together to discuss "Blade Runner 2049" (2017).  We praise the cinematography, the characterization, and the score. And we revisit those age old questions: “What makes us human?” and “How close is too close to your 4K TV?”

Charlie, Adam and Amber all play the guest AND host role to talk about Akira Kurosawa’s 1950 narrative game-changer “Rashomon”. We discuss the beautiful cinematography, the shifting perspectives of the story, and the creepy-as-hell ghost medium. But is there any one true interpretation of “Rashomon”? Yes, duh! Take a listen if you want to know what REALLY happened...

Seasoned guests Adam and Ally are back in the studio to talk about 1969's Robert Redford/Paul Newman vehicle "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid". As it turns out, we were all a bit perplexed by the film and what, if anything, it was trying to say. Or is it just a fun Western romp that we shouldn't think too hard about? At least we can agree on two things: it was a lot of fun, and it was definitely NOT "Smokey and the Bandit".