Disgraced pseudo-film critic Daniel Barnes takes a solo excursion to share his picks for the best and worst films of 2024. He also discusses some of the awards contenders that did not make either list, and previews next week’s review of India Song.

Daniel’s 2024 Ranked list on Letterboxd

Daniel’s San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle Awards ballot

India Song (1975; Dir.: Marguerite Duras)

IMDB synopsis: “Anne-Marie Stretter, wife of a French diplomat, lives in 1930s India. She takes many lovers as systems of oppression decay around her.”

Our review of India Song comes out on January 28, 2025!

The post Daniel’s Best & Worst Films of 2024 appeared first on Dare Daniel & Canon Fodder Podcasts.

Film critic Daniel Barnes and comedy legend Corky McDonnell review their favorite films and moments from the first 29 episodes of the Canon Fodder podcast. Your hosts also offer bonus mini-reviews and rulings on disputed films such as Before Night Falls, City Lights, The Rules of the Game and The Wrong Man.

World premiere: Nov. 14,  2023

Episodes released: 29

First film reviewed: Rashomon

Last film reviewed: Sambizanga

Most popular episode: In the Mood for Love

India Song (1975; Dir.: Marguerite Duras)

IMDB synopsis: “Anne-Marie Stretter, wife of a French diplomat, lives in 1930s India. She takes many lovers as systems of oppression decay around her.”

Our review of India Song comes out on January 28, 2025! Tune in on January 14 to hear Daniel talk about his picks for the best and worst films of 2024.

The post Canon Fodder Best of 2024 appeared first on Dare Daniel & Canon Fodder Podcasts.

Daniel and Corky finally bring their cinematic world tour caravan to Africa for this film from pioneering director Sarah Maldoror. Set during the early days of the Angolan War for Independence, Sambizanga is a gripping political statement in the style of The Battle of Algiers. But did your hosts come to fight the battle of all-cheers or the battle of all-jeers?

Sight & Sound  2022 Critics Poll Ranking: #136 (tied)

World premiere: Oct. 19, 1972

IMDB synopsis: “A man is wrongfully arrested and tortured to death after he is suspected of being part of a revolutionary group.”

Trailer for Sambizanga

In the workshop

On the road

India Song (1975; Dir.: Marguerite Duras)

IMDB synopsis: “Anne-Marie Stretter, wife of a French diplomat, lives in 1930s India. She takes many lovers as systems of oppression decay around her.”

Our review of India Song comes out on January 14, 2025! In the meantime, come back in two weeks on December 31 for our Best of Canon Fodder recap!

The post Sambizanga – Canon Fodder Episode 29 appeared first on Dare Daniel & Canon Fodder Podcasts.

Daniel and Corky bring their cinematic world tour to 18th century Armenia for this singular work inspired by the life of poet and troubadour Sayat-Nova. But did your hosts find The Color of Pomegranates to be Pom wonderful or Pom not-so-hot?

Sight & Sound  2022 Critics Poll Ranking: #122 (tied)

Armenian premiere: October 1969

IMDB synopsis: “The life of the Armenian poet Sayat-Nova, from childhood to death: his spiritual journey, artistic endeavors, and inner conflicts within the cultural and historical context of Armenia.”

Trailer for The Color of Pomegranates 

The soggy books boys

The young poet

Sambizanga (1972; Dir.: Sarah Maldoror)

IMDB synopsis: “A man is wrongfully arrested and tortured to death after he is suspected of being part of a revolutionary group.”

Our review of Sambizanga comes out on December 17!

The post The Color of Pomegranates – Canon Fodder Episode 28 appeared first on Dare Daniel & Canon Fodder Podcasts.

Daniel and Corky behold the pale horse by braving Elem Klimov’s emotionally shattering WWII waking nightmare Come and See. But will your hosts come to see Come and See as a revelation, or will the fourth beast say, “What the hell, jerks?”

Sight & Sound  2022 Critics Poll Ranking: #104 (tied)

World premiere: July 9, 1985

IMDB synopsis: “After finding an old rifle, a young boy joins the Soviet resistance movement against ruthless German forces and experiences the horrors of World War II.”

Trailer for Come and See

The photo

Plane scenes compilation

The complete Canon Fodder Canon

The Color of Pomegranates (1969; Dir.: Sergei Parajanov)

IMDB synopsis: “The life of the Armenian poet Sayat-Nova, from childhood to death: his spiritual journey, artistic endeavors, and inner conflicts within the cultural and historical context of Armenia.”

Our review of The Color of Pomegranates comes out on December 3!

The post Come and See – Canon Fodder Episode 27 appeared first on Dare Daniel & Canon Fodder Podcasts.

Although it was booed upon its 1932 premiere and played to hostile crowds during its initial release, time has been kind to Carl Dreyer’s Vampyr. Will Daniel and Corky be just as kind, or do they have a sickle to grind with this pseudo-silent horror classic?

Sight & Sound  2022 Critics Poll Ranking: #146 (tied)

Berlin premiere: May 6, 1932

IMDB synopsis: “A drifter obsessed with the supernatural stumbles upon an inn where a severely ill adolescent girl is slowly becoming a vampire.”

Trailer for Vampyr

The coffin scene

A dangerous meeting

The complete Canon Fodder Canon

Come and See (1985; Dir.: Elem Klimov)

IMDB synopsis: “After finding an old rifle, a young boy joins the Soviet resistance movement against ruthless German forces and experiences the horrors of World War II.”

Our review of Come and See comes out on November 19!

The post Vampyr (1932) – Canon Fodder Episode 26 appeared first on Dare Daniel & Canon Fodder Podcasts.

Film critic Daniel Barnes and comedy legend Corky McDonnell review comedy legend Preston Sturges’ legendary comedy about a comedy legend who just wants to impress film critics. Sullivan’s Travels exists as a meta-resolution of its own central conundrum, a nearly perfect synergy of madcap comedy, non-didactic social commentary and even a little sex in the form of Veronica Lake. But did Daniel and Corky go along for the Travels, or are they tripping?

Sight & Sound  2022 Critics Poll Ranking: #243 (tied)

World premiere: Dec. 29, 1941

IMDB synopsis: “Hollywood director John L. Sullivan sets out to experience life as a homeless person in order to gain relevant life experience for his next movie.”

Trailer for Sullivan’s Travels

“How about a nice musical?”

“Who’s Lubitsch?”

Vampyr (1932; Dir.: Carl Theodor Dreyer)

IMDB synopsis: “A drifter obsessed with the supernatural stumbles upon an inn where a severely ill adolescent girl is slowly becoming a vampire.”

Our review of Vampyr comes out on November 6!

The post Sullivan’s Travels – Canon Fodder Episode 25 appeared first on Dare Daniel & Canon Fodder Podcasts.

Daniel and Corky continue their cinematic world tour with a sojourn to the French countryside, which is apparently not as idyllic as those Expedia ads would have you believe. It’s our third round with French master Robert Bresson, with nonprofessional actor Nadine Nortier giving an unforgettable performance in the title role. But will Mouchette inspire Canon fire, or was it all a touch too Mouch?

Sight & Sound  2022 Critics Poll Ranking: #243 (tied)

Theatrical premiere: Oct. 26, 1967

IMDB synopsis: “A young girl living in the French countryside suffers constant indignities at the hand of alcoholism and her fellow man.”

Trailer for Mouchette

Bumper cars

On-set with Bresson

The final scene

Sullivan’s Travels (1941; Dir.: Preston Sturges)

IMDB synopsis: “Hollywood director John L. Sullivan sets out to experience life as a homeless person in order to gain relevant life experience for his next movie.”

Our review of Sullivan’s Travels comes out on October 22!

The post Mouchette – Canon Fodder Episode 24 appeared first on Dare Daniel & Canon Fodder Podcasts.

Daniel and Corky continue their world tour with a stop in Argentina to sample the Salta-flavored cinema of Lucrecia Martel. But will your hosts lose their heads with praise for The Headless Woman, or are they truly out of their heads?

Sight & Sound  2022 Critics Poll Ranking: #196 (tied)

Cannes Film Festival premiere: May 21, 2008

IMDB synopsis: “After hitting something with her car, a bourgeois Argentine woman’s life slowly descends into paranoia and isolation, as she fears she may have killed someone.”

Theatrical trailer for The Headless Woman

The incident on the road

YouTube video essay on The Headless Woman

Mouchette (1967; Dir.: Robert Bresson)

IMDB synopsis: “A young girl living in the French countryside suffers constant indignities at the hand of alcoholism and her fellow man.”

Our review of Mouchette comes out on October 8!

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This week, Daniel and Corky are In a Lonely Place, a fine enough place to visit but you wouldn’t want to have an existential crisis there. The jaded and cynical flipside to the lovingly ecstatic portrait of Hollywood mythmaking offered by Singin’ in the Rain, Nicholas Ray’s is a bleak yet sensual film noir that refuses to indulge in any cliched genre trappings. But will your hosts join the coalition of the Lonely in Canon-izing the film, or have they got egg on their Place?

Sight & Sound  2022 Critics Poll Ranking: #211 (tied)

U.S. premiere: Aug. 1950

IMDB synopsis: “A potentially violent screenwriter is a murder suspect until his lovely neighbor clears him. However, she soon starts to have her doubts.”

Theatrical trailer for In a Lonely Place

“Squeeze harder.”

Road rage

The Headless Woman (2008; Dir.: Lucrecia Martel)

IMDB synopsis: “After hitting something with her car, a bourgeois Argentine woman’s life slowly descends into paranoia and isolation, as she fears she may have killed someone.”

Our review of The Headless Woman comes out on September 24!

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