Fifteen Minute Film Fanatics

How does a nebbish become a mensch? Mike and Dan talk about Billy Wilder's 1960 masterpiece The Apartment.  Mike explains why he finds it one of the most charming films ever made, as well as a perfect example of "slickness" in the best screenplays.  Dan talks about the film's suspense as on par with that of Wilder's Double Indemnity and how the film defines easy categorizing. What a movie! So grab that tennis racket, drain the spaghetti, 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.

Since the guys just did an episode on Sorry We Missed You, they thought they'd stay across the pond a bit longer and catch up with the hosts of Strangers in Space to get schooled in the basics of Dr. Who.  So get away from the Daleks, jump in the TARDIS, and join Mike and Dan as they learn about the show from three experts--all in about 15 minutes!

Please follow or subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts and on Twitter @15MinFilm.   You can also contact us at [email protected], and support the show with a buck or two at Venmo @FifteenMinuteFiIm.  

Incredible bumper music by John Deley.

How do you navigate a world in which nothing seems secure? Mike and Dan discuss Ken Loach's Sorry We Missed You (2020), his portrait of a family dealing with the stresses of the gig economy. For a film that seems under-directed, this descent into a middle-class Dante's Inferno works so well because of Loach's skill and the actors' performances. The guys talk about how the film is about fear more than greed, the social reality of bodily functions, and the ways in which the characters try to hold onto their dignity--and each other. So drop those keys 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.

Mike and Dan kick off season 4 with The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957). Mike talks about how we respond to different kinds of characters and how our response to the title character's predicament is dependent on his size; Dan talks about how the film points out how childhood has disappeared from contemporary life. The guys also mention Clash of the Titans, My Left Foot, and what makes what would be a fine Twilight Zone episode a more stirring look at our relationship to the universe. So run from the cat, kill that spider, 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.

Everybody knows some George Bailey, Kevin, and John McClane help to make the season bright--but Mike and Dan urge everyone to take a look at Mitchell Leissen's 1940 comedy Remember the Night, written by Preston Sturges and starring Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck. So watch the film (it's free on Peacock and TCM), pour some eggnog, and listen to this short bonus episode. Merry Christmas!

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.

Not having seen it in decades, Mike and Dan revisit Philip Kaufman's 1978 Invasion of the Body Snatchers, his terrific remake of the 1956 classic. They praise the film's soundscape with many examples, from the famous screech to the sound of Donald Sutherland's scissors. Dan mentions the terrific use of garbage trucks and Mike talk about the uncanny valley as applied to the pod-people. Of course, they talk about the ending--an ending that works so well because "it hurts." They also talk about the strange experience of watching this film in our time of COVID.

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.

Remember the commercials for The Ring where we saw audiences' reactions to the jump scares? Does the film hold up almost 20 years later? Mike and Dan talk about Gore Verbinski’s 2002 hit and discuss improbability in films vs. novels, television as a “vast wasteland,” the Momo Challenge (remember that?) and Ringu, the 1998 film upon which The Ring is based. So adjust that tracking and give us 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.

In a season dedicated to horror movies, William Freidkin's The Exorcist (1973) seems a natural--practically a requirement. So why aren't the guys--who admire this film--doing an episode on it? Check out this bonus 5-minute episode.

"They don't make 'em like this anymore" is Mike's take on Robert Wise's The Haunting (1963). He and Dan talk about whether this is the case and how this terrific film hovers between Poltergeist and The Turn of the Screw. Mike makes a claim to which Dan responds, "One hundred percent! One hundred percent! One hundred percent!" and the two talk about how a modern film would have treated the spiral staircase scene. Of course, The Shining is mentioned--but so is Bringing Up Baby.

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.

What makes a rewatchable thriller? Mike and Dan discuss H. G. Clouzot's Diabolique (1955) as a great example of world-building that makes a fun murder plot even better. Mike talks about how Clouzot's emphasizing "unbearable normalcy" adds to the mystery; Dan compares the film to Rope, Notorious, and the novels of Elmore Leonard. Mike uses his favorite word ("diachronically") and Dan reads a quotation about the film from the Book of Ebert. Remember that Clouzot's film contains a famous spoiler alert at the end--here's ours at the beginning. 

 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.