Happy New Year folks!! Brimming with optimism for the year ahead, we skip and gambol our way through a chortlesome review of Martin Scorsese's Catholic torture drama Silence, a 2.5 hour meditation on suffering and isolation that left us both with a spring in our steps. Also! One of Sam's old reviews gets a subtle makeover, we ask what the hell is wrong with Ryan Gosling, and Danny grills Sam with an Obama-themed film quiz.

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It's the Film Chat Christmas special!! Third time round and it's already widely considered a seasonal staple, as essential as Ray Winstone’s Televised Eggnog Festival. AND it's an extra special special this year as it coincides with our 100th episode, a major milestone and a testament to our dedication to the sounds of our own voices. Armed with mince pies and cava, we look back over the year, discuss our listeners’ faves and worsties, hear from some legendary directors, and attempt some quickfire reviewing. We also face Katie's most fiendish festive film quiz yet, a gauntlet of Christmassy questions daunting enough to send grown podcasters into a spiral of mild bickering.

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Have you ever asked yourself any of the following questions:1. What are better X-Wings or the wings of an eagle? 2. What is more exciting, watching a 13 year old girl steal a baby eagle from a nest on mountainside or watching a fully grown woman steal the plans to the death star? 3. What is a cooler name, Jyn Erso or Aishol-pan?4. What is a better film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story or The Eagle Huntress ( A documentary about the 1st female eagle hunter)?If the answer to any those was yes, then this is the episode for you!Plus we tell you about the must see faith based film coming to screens in 2017, wonder what is the worse thing a man can do and still sustain a career in hollywood and examine the convoluted naming conventions of The Fast and Furious franchise.

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This week, we review a pair of movies about race, violence and oppression in America — its history in the case of Nate Parker’s rousing historical epic The Birth of a Nation, and its legacy in the case of Spike Lee’s Chi-Raq, equal parts bawdy battle of the sexes and anguished cry for peace. Plus Danny lets us know what he made of Snowden, Oliver Stone’s Hollywoodified recounting of the adventures of swashbuckling dork Edward Snowden.With the help of Film Chat pal Dougal MacQueen, we also discuss whether the name of Bad Santa’s director is an anti-Trump rallying cry, we recoil in horror at the revelations about the making of Last Tango In Paris, and we listen to Richard E Grant tell us all about his perfume.

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It's a a diverse week on film chat as we discuss 3 films of disparate genres, tones, languages and quality. Firstly Danny reviews A United Kingdom a film which indulges David Oyelowo's two favourite pastimes, namely; giving inspiring speeches and crying. Coincidentally watching the film allowed Danny's to indulge in two of his favourite past times, namely; watching films and talking about them at length.Then they both review The Wailing a Korean horror film which generated numerous reactions from them, namely: the laughing, the crying and the being scared shitless.Any finally Danny reviews the new film by the Dardenne Brothers, namely. The Unknown Girl.PLUS a discussion of a upcoming Houdini biopic, we wonder what Borat would do in 2016 and an exclusive interview with two luminaries of the Belgium art house scene.

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Harry Potter is back! At least, in franchise form. JK Rowling and director David Yates have extended the cinematic Potterverse by just a smidge with Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them, a Hogwarts textbook turned glittering 1920s-set romp. Sam's review will help you decide whether its mix of jolly magical critters, delightfully stereotypical culture clashes, and Nazi analogues is for you.Danny also reviews Paterson, in which rising star Adam Driver fully embraces the spirit of nominative determinism by playing a damn driver - a bus driver, to be exact. The unhurried, reflective film has set critics raving, but features no wizards or dragons. If Jim Jarmusch is hoping to launch a 15-film extended universe franchise with this, well, all we can say is good luck mate.Also! We discuss listener suggestions to improve classic films, for example making 12 Angry Men's 12 men angrier and Jaws friendlier to sharks; we look forward to Adam McKay teaching us a thing or two about Dick with his upcoming Cheney biopic; and we get into a long brainy chinwag about the wokeness of Harry Potter and whether you can retcon diversity.

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This week we review two zoological themed films involving death, betrayal and men of varying attractiveness.First of Danny reviews Paul Schrader's Dog Eat Dog, a crime film in which Nicholas Cage and Willem Dafoe compete to see who can look more haggard and wearing. Then Sam reviews Tom Ford's Nocturnal Animals in which sexy people look sexy while dressed sexily. I hear it's pretty sexy.Plus we discuss the comic book reboot we're all champing at the bit to see and have an exclusive interview with French Canadian director Denis Villeneuve.

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This week, we review Denis Villeneuve's sci-fi head-scratcher Arrival, in which humanity is thrown into a tizzy by the sudden appearance of twelve massive, featureless grey shells with aliens inside them. The film acts as a timely plea for global cooperation, although in light of recent events we spent most of it wishing the shells would spray some kind of deadly virus into our atmosphere and put us all out of our misery.Meanwhile, Danny recalls a time of classier would-be tyrants as he reviews Abel Gance's 1927 silent epic Napoleon. It charts the rise of a charismatic man of the people with an unwavering commitment to the revolution, all his own hair, and normal-sized hands over five and a half hours of pure utopian escapism.We also talk about Al Capone's nicknames, Michael Stipe's resemblance to a serial killer, Shia LaBeouf's rapping ability, and one of cinema's greatest elephant sex scenes.

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On this episode Sam reviews Doctor Strange, the latest offering from Marvel in which Benedict Cumberbatch plays a man with a PHD in kicking ass and traversing the astral plane.Meanwhile Danny fills us in on two new release which he originally saw at the London Film Festival. The disarmingly sincere Ethel and Ernest (he went in scornful, he came out tearful) and Werner Herzogs latest doc Lo and Behold, which sees the German Auteur successfully interviewing people weirder than him.Plus they wonder if there has ever been a more creatively daring premise than the one behind the upcoming animation The Boss Baby, lament how Hollywood sexism is preventing us from getting more Hilary Swank films and learn about the role Ice Cube was born to play.

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What would you rather see, Jeremy Corbyn's favourite film or Ian Duncan Smith's least favourite film? Don't worry you don't have to choose you just have to go see I, Daniel Blake - Ken Loach's brilliant, powerful film about the failures of the welfare state. We spent most of the review just crying and applauding, but apparently Katie's edited that out and just kept the bits where we talked.Meanwhile, Danny reviews Queen of Katwe, the Ugandan set drama starring Lupita Nyong'o and David Oyelowo. If you like chess, poverty and inspiration (and why wouldn't you) then this is the movie for you.PLUS we discuss YouTube's plans to muscle in on the TV market, examine the new Star Wars: Rogue One trailer in absurd depths, and wonder whether Danny Elfman is a racist.

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