Fifteen Minute Film Fanatics

What's the last film you watched during which you had a good time feeling bad?  Mike and Dan discuss John Huston's Fat City (1972), a film that feels like a steady drunk and which makes the viewer awaken with a sadness hangover. But they also love the movie and talk about how Huston never allows it to veer into a romantic tale of lost souls but, instead, offers his viewers a portrait of people who are living through the death of promise. "Maybe everybody's happy," one of the characters says. Maybe not. Whatever you think, after you spar at the Y, give this a listen: you can count on us.  

Please subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts and follow us on YouTube, Twitter and Letterboxd. Please rate and review the show on Apple podcasts and contact us at [email protected]. Incredible bumper music by John Deley.

On November 11, the director's cut of Rocky IV will play in theatres for one night.  Dan and Mike talk about Rocky vs. Drago for two minutes before one of them pulls the plug.  This is not their finest hour.

Please follow or subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts and on Twitter @15MinFilm and Facebook at Fifteen Minute Film Fanatics.  You can also contact us at [email protected], and support the show with a buck or two at Venmo @FifteenMinuteFiIm.  All proceeds go right back to the show!

Bumper music by Vince DiCola from the Rocky IV soundtrack.

At a listener's request, Mike and Dan talk about two of our greatest living actors playing the Prince of Darkness: Robert De Niro in Angel Heart (1987) and Al Pacino in The Devil's Advocate (1997). How does this diabolical duo fare in their Satanic portrayals? Not well: as Mike says, "When you have the big guns, I expect a big gun result." But all's not gloom and doom, since both films help us better understand the challenges of screenwriting and the difficulty of sustaining suspense. Rosemary's Baby, The Screwtape Letters, Paradise Lost, and Ferris Bueller's Day Off are mentioned as Mike and Dan talk about entering scenes late, leaving them early, and Pacino's yelling, and Keanu Reeves's terrific haircut. So sell your soul and give it a listen!  

Please subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts and follow us on YouTube, Twitter and Letterboxd. Please rate and review the show on Apple podcasts and contact us at [email protected]. Incredible bumper music by John Deley.

Dan isn't crazy about Frank Herbert's novel, but Mike likes it enough that he's already seen Dune--twice.  In this one shot, Mike offers some ideas about Denis Villeneuve's much-awaited (and hyped) adaptation.  So enjoy some spice while you give it a listen!

Please follow or subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts and on Twitter @15MinFilm and Facebook at Fifteen Minute Film Fanatics.  You can also contact us at [email protected], and support the show with a buck or two at Venmo @FifteenMinuteFiIm.  All proceeds go right back to the show!

Terrific bumper music by Jackson Frederick Smith.

URL: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jackson_F_Smith/Jackson_Frederick_Smith/Cantina_Rag

Dan mentioned to Mike that he could never understand the hype over Jurassic Park because "dinosaurs just aren't scary."  In this mini-episode, Mike talks to Dan about how his lack of interest in dinosaurs--and love of Jaws--reveals something about movie monsters and the effects of their being perfectly rendered on a screen.  The Xenomorph from Alien makes an appearance, too.

Please follow or subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts and on Twitter @15MinFilm and Facebook at Fifteen Minute Film Fanatics.  You can also contact us at [email protected], and support the show with a buck or two at Venmo @FifteenMinuteFiIm.  All proceeds go right back to the show!

Terrific bumper music by Jackson Frederick Smith.

URL: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jackson_F_Smith/Jackson_Frederick_Smith/Cantina_Rag

Just in time for Halloween, Mike and Dan talk about a favorite: James Whale's 1935 sequel, The Bride of Frankenstein. Topics include the sins of Dr. Praetorius, how the film anticipates the sequels to which we've become accustomed, and why (according to Mike), this sequel is better than its predecessor--kind of like how many people feel about The Godfather, Part II.  Other films mentioned include Pinocchio, The Matrix, and Jaws.  So sit down for some bread, some wine, and a smoke before she shrieks at you!  

Please subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts and follow us on YouTube, Twitter and Letterboxd. Please rate and review the show on Apple podcasts and contact us at [email protected]. Incredible bumper music by John Deley.

In preparation for No Time to Die, Mike and Dan do a short episode on Casino Royale, the 2006 film in which Daniel Craig first appeared as 007.  What makes Daniel Craig a terrific Bond and Casino Royale on of the top films in the franchise?  Push in those chips and give us a listen! 

Please follow or subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts and on Twitter @15MinFilm and Facebook at Fifteen Minute Film Fanatics.  You can also contact us at [email protected], and support the show with a buck or two at Venmo @FifteenMinuteFiIm.  All proceeds go right back to the show!

Terrific bumper music by Jackson Frederick Smith.

URL: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jackson_F_Smith/Jackson_Frederick_Smith/Cantina_Rag

In the wake of the excitement over No Time to Die, Mike and Dan take a look at a much different kind of spy thriller, Tomas Alfredson's "infuriatingly brilliant" 2011 adaptation of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.  After acknowledging the film's complexity and the idea that "many first dates must have been ruined by this movie," Mike and Dan explain how the film teaches its viewers to think like a spy, how the film flips the usual motives seen in spy thrillers, and what makes for a perfect adaptation, as they think Alfredson's is. Of course, they compare it to the 1979 miniseries with Alec Guinness, heaping praise upon each. So give Karla your lighter, go for a swim, and join the guys for a conversation about a film they find fascinating and rewatchable.  

Please subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts and follow us on YouTube, Twitter and Letterboxd. Please rate and review the show on Apple podcasts and contact us at [email protected]. Incredible bumper music by John Deley.

In 2016, Jerry Lewis was interviewed for the millionth time--but this one became legendary for the actor's one-word answers, obvious anger, and refusal to entertain the most innocuous questions.  It's fascinating.  Mike and Dan talk about this trainwreck in terms of its high drama.  They compare it to a Beckett play and Hemingway story in their attempts to describe what makes it so compelling. 

You can see the interview here: https://youtu.be/s8SfWiNhTJo

Please follow or subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts and on Twitter @15MinFilm and Facebook at Fifteen Minute Film Fanatics.  You can also contact us at [email protected], and support the show with a buck or two at Venmo @FifteenMinuteFiIm.  All proceeds go right back to the show!

Terrific bumper music by Jackson Frederick Smith.

URL: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jackson_F_Smith/Jackson_Frederick_Smith/Cantina_Rag

In one of his cries to the crowd, Maximus yells, "Are you not entertained? Is that not why you are here?" Mike and Dan talk about how Ridley Scott's Gladiator (2000) asks its viewers the same questions. Mike lovingly calls this the "best worst movie" (as opposed to a different Ridley Scott film that he contends is the "worst best movie"); Dan praises the film's lack of irony, and Mike argues that there is only one possible moment to choose for discussion and that Dan has chosen the wrong one. They end by noting that the writers get to have their hero/martyr cake and eat it, too. So scrape off that tattoo, sharpen that sword, and take a listen to Mike and Dan as they try to win the crowd!  No tigers were harmed during the recording of this episode.  

Please subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts and follow us on YouTube, Twitter and Letterboxd. Please rate and review the show on Apple podcasts and contact us at [email protected]. Incredible bumper music by John Deley.