Film Chat

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This week, we shake up the format by discussing three animated films about insects of different kinds: Antz, A Bug's Life, and Bee Movie. For too long, people have been uncritically absorbing these cute movies about little critters and their adventures without asking, "am I indoctrinating my kids with the good propaganda or the bad propaganda here?"

With the unshakeable confidence of guys who haven't read Hobbes, Rousseau or Marx, but have read at least 100,000 posts about the Labour Party over the past four years, Film Chat peels back all the harmless gags about having 1 million siblings and being a bee and whatnot to find some sort of implicit social commentary beneath. Listen in for the definitive take on whether Antz depicts a worker's revolution, whether A Bug's Life is a fable of class struggle, and whether it's possible to discern any sense at all in the Seinfeldian fever dream that is Bee Movie.

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On this episode, Danny and Sam catch up with the BAFTAs and look forward to the Oscars, which have now happened (but never mind), and we put Oliva Colman where she belongs: on blast!

Plus, we talk about three films! Danny gives his take on the Oscar-nominated Can You Ever Forgive Me?, which is also the question the Academy should be posing to the world after failing to reward this good film and bungling most categories in general. Sam meanwhile, in the grip of the flu at the time of the recording, feverishly mumbles his way through reviews of a pair of Netflix originals: Steven Soderbergh's High Flying Birds, a drama about some aspects of professional basketball Sam absolutely does not understand, and Velvet Buzzsaw, a horror-comedy which fearlessly and scathingly calls out the art world as pretentious. Sam will never buy art again.

We also discuss Richard Curtis's Beatles film, which looks like a sort of glorious daydream for People's Vote campaigners, and of course we do a deep dive into THE TRENCH.

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On this belated edition of Film Chat we review what we are positive will be the most talked about film of the year. I am of course referring to the groundbreaking Alita: Battle Angel.

Danny also found time to review Green Book which he found to be an overly simplistic, somewhat offensive look at racism in the '60s and also didn't feature any cyborgs or characters with massive eyes.

We also reviewed Barry Jenkins follow up to Moonlight, If Beale Street Could Talk which they basically thought was a stone-cold masterpiece...but would it have killed Jenkins to have CGi-ed everyone's eyes so they were distractingly big. I'm not saying it was a mistake but the eyes are categorically not big.

PLUS we balk at a proposed David Bowie film starring professional Zac Goldsmith lookalike Johnny Flynn, look forward to a new rom-com from Billy Eichner and try and get our heads around Liam Neeson's recent troubling confession.

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This week we chat about the Oscar-nominated Vice, which features some of the most Dick-Cheney-like rubber ever glued to a human face. It's angry, it's polemical, it breaks the fourth wall constantly, and the fake liver spots are second to none. But is it good? That's the question we would have addressed in our review had we not spent so much time speculating about how hot it gets under a kilo of uncannily flesh-like silicone.

Plus, we talk about the casting of Denis Villeneuve's megabudget, megasexy Dune adaptation; we salivate at the prospect of a non-comedy version of Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa about James O'Brien and Brexit; and we go through some listener tagline suggestions for Vice (the prosthetic Dick skin movie).

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On this bumper packed edition of Film Chat we were delighted to be joined by the world's best scientist Georgia Mills for an episode which is packed full of so much science that it makes....err....Brian Cox's podcast sound even worse than it already is.....i assume...i don't listen to it...why would I?

First up we review the acclaimed Korean drama Burning which is full of actors so hot right now that they could take a crap, wrap it in tinfoil, put a couple fish hooks on it and sell it to Queen Elizabeth as earrings. The movie is very good.

THEN Georgia uses her exceptionally large brain to answer our questions about the veracity of science based movie scenes.

AND THEN it's a Netflix release review double bill with Sam and Georgia giving their takes on the Fyre Festival documentary and the high concept horror film Bird Box respectively.

PLUS we take a look the recently announced Oscar nominations #OscarsSoMale #OscarsSoShit and wonder whether portraying Ted Bundy's killing spree as a glamorous, fun, edgy romp is.....bad?

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Film Chat is back for 2019, gearing up for another year of doing what we do best - or at least doing what we do persistently - chatting about films.

Hey you know what's bad? Brexit. It's an absurdity that should never have been allowed; a massive crime perpetrated by an unaccountable elite, sold with a pack of lies and probably funded by the Russians; a catastrophic charade and an insult to every right-thinking person in this great country. Plus, Benedict Cumberbatch's accent is a bit wonky! I am of course referring to Channel 4's film Brexit: The Uncivil War, and not the seismic political event itself, which is, we can all agree, great. For a longer epic rant on what a pointless self-inflicted wound and calamitous act of sheer stupidity James Graham's drama is, listen to this episode's review!

We also tackle the drug addiction drama Beautiful Boy, whose schmaltzy title gives only the mildest hint of the dangerous levels of schmaltz the film contains, and the Palme d'Or winning Korean drama Shoplifters, a much better movie that will make you laugh, cry, and hungry. Plus! We check in on Disney scraping their big animation barrel to get some live-action, possibly CGI-enhanced massive wads of cash, and we take a look at efforts to defibrillate a flatlining Ghostbusters franchise by giving it a big nostalgic reboot jolt. Also Danny talks about the movie 13 Going on 30.

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As 2018 comes to a close we bring you two takes that are hotter than the sun.

We review the latest Ben Wheatley movie Happy New Year Colin Bustead. Having made a film set in a house, a film set in a field, a film set in a high-rise building and a film set in a warehouse, can Ben Wheatley make a film set in a really big house? The answer is a resounding yes.

Sam also reviews The Favourite, the latest film from Yorgos Lanthimos where the script mainly consisted of the phrase "awkward pause". 

PLUS we find time to discuss Kevin Spacey's bizarre mea culpa/kickstarter video and give a run down of the films we are most excited for in 2019.

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Our long-lost producer Katie returns from the faraway land of Sweden to join us for a festive special, which I don't think it's an exaggeration to claim is by far the most Christmassy 55 minutes it's possible to spend this holiday season. Featuring:

• Our listeners' best and worst films of the year! (incorrect)
• Our own best and worst films of the year! (correct)
• A Sweden-themed film quiz courtesy of Katie, who is Swedish now!
• A review of the extremely hairy and wet adventure that is Aquaman!
• A review of the psychedelic, endlessly inventive visual headache that is Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse!
• The sound of corks popping and us getting eventually a bit tipsy!
• More stuff no doubt!

In the spirit of seasonal overindulgence, watch this space for a follow-up bonus episode coming before the new year, with a couple more reviews and potentially additional chatting!!

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On this episode Danny tackles the most controversial film of the year Lars Von Trier's The House That Jack Built. The only thing more controversial will be his Danny's review which is eye wateringly explicit in every sense of the word.

We then review Sorry To Bother You a hilarious and scabrous dissection of the ills of capitalism....but we still had to pay to see it, EXPLAIN THAT "Boots Riley"

PLUS we examine the deeply underwhelming golden globe nomination and conclusively decide whether Love Actually is shit or whether it's the shit.

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