.This week on Far From Ideal, we delve into Jean-Claude Van Damme’s mind boggling 1996 directorial debut The Quest. This film has it all: pirates, Muay Thai training, Roger Moore selling Van Damme into slavery, and kicking people in the face as a legitimate means of conflict resolution.

We also explore Van Damme’s career alongside action legends like Schwarzenegger and Dolph Lundgren, his multiple twin roles, and why Timecop is the best starting point for his oeuvre. And of course we make time to discuss: Twins, Last Action Hero, The Mask, and Mariah Carey’s take on electricity.

This week we’re asking big questions about the world of documentaries: what is the relationship between observer and subject? what is truth? What’s up with Love is Blind? Yes our in depth conversation about documentaries and the streaming era gets sidetracked extensively into talking about reality TV.

In a wide ranging conversation we go from Making a Murderer to Symbiopsychotaxiplasm, Love is Blind to Marina Abramović and The Traitors to The Jinx.

Is Making a Murderer the blueprint for everything in the streaming era? What happens when a documentary becomes just recycled news in HD? And why do we all keep watching these toxic dating shows?

#loveisblind #marriedatfirstsight #neflixdocumentaries #thetraitors #makingamurderer

Music by https://www.bensound.com

License code: FETENTCZJKOUUJFN

Artist: : Marcus P.

Heretic is a film with a deep basement that you’d rather not go into, so join us as we root around down there. Filled with psychological tension, half baked symbolism and Hugh Grant as an actually pretty spellbinding villain, we explore why Heretic’s promising first half collapses under its own ambition. Expect spoilers, discussion of horror versus thriller and tangents that include 1985’s Clue and the Dungeons and Dragons franchise.

We also manage to mention: The Exorcist, Seven, Silence of the Lambs, and A24-style horror.

#HereticMovie #FilmPodcast #HorrorReview #FarFromIdealPodcast #MovieCritique #HughGrant #PsychologicalThriller #FilmAnalysis #A24Horror #ScreenwritingFails

This week, we dive headfirst into the world of film and TV openings - not just the flashy first scenes, but the often-skipped opening titles that set the tone, build the world, and occasionally warn you that things are about to get weird. From the full credit crawls of 1940s Hollywood to the sleek, skippable sequences of prestige TV, we break down how intros have evolved, what makes a great one unforgettable, and why fonts can make or break a first impression.

We talk Dexter, Succession, Napoleon Dynamite, The Sopranos, Westworld, Moon, BoJack Horseman, True Blood, The Simpsons, and more - plus our favourite films ever: Barbie and The Meg 2.

Whether you’re the type to always hit “skip intro” or someone who rewatches the Futurama title card for the hundredth time, this one’s for you.

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In this week’s report from the frontlines of cinema, we recap Hannah’s trip to this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Glitz, glamour, Cuba Gooding Jr and surprisingly few opportunities to watch films, Cannes has it all. And if you’re thinking “there’s no way in such a jam packed episode that Max can take a long detour to outline the plot of the new season of The Rehearsal” then think again. This being our first full video episode, enjoy seeing our faces alongside the sounds that come out of them.

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Equal parts Brideshead Revisited, The Talented Mr Ripley and Kind Hearts and Coronets - a dash of 2000s public school aesthetic - two oversaturated white boys - the joy of Rosamund Pike and Richard E Grant - 1 cup filthy bathwater. This week’s episode features a deconstructed Saltburn served on a bed of disappointment and with a sharp finish of new Harry Potter casting news.

#saltburn #barrykeoghan #jacobelordi

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This week we’re joined by musician and producer James Berkeley to dive deep into the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Not the James Cameron blue people Avatar, though we do immediately get into a heated discussion of whether that was any good.

From the original series to the ill-fated M. Night Shyamalan bomb to the recent Netflix series, there’s a lot of ground to cover. You might think there’s no way to link the cult classic Nickelodeon animation to National Treasure and Aliens, but you would be wrong.

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Making a film entirely in one shot is surely one of the most masochistic exercises a filmmaker can undertake. And yet they persist!

We cover everything from Hitchock’s classic Rope that mimics a single shot, the experimental and painfully boring foray into digital of Russian Arc, all the way through to the mainstream blockbusters of Birdman and 1917.

Eventually we get to the work of Philip Barantini, the current master of the form with his film Boiling Point and recent Netflix limited series Adolescence dominating headlines.

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With Kirstie Alley, John Travolta and Bruce Willis as the voice of a baby, Look Who’s Talking was the surprise smash hit of 1989. But does it hold up as a masterpiece of cinema, or is its legacy tarnished by a series of increasingly bizarre and poorly thought-through sequels? To potentially find out some of the answers, listen to this week’s episode, safe in the knowledge that we also spend a good amount of time talking about Con Air.

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Damien Chazelle makes films about three things: music, filmmaking and toxic people single mindedly achieving their dreams while the rest of their lives crumble around them. Whether it’s an abusive jazz mentorship, a quest for a spot on the walk of fame or whatever the hell was going on in Babylon, there’s more than enough here to fulfill the Far From Ideal quota.

Featuring a special guest appearance by Caroline Ullman.

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