Film School

What do you want to eat when you're feeling blue? Or anxious? Or even feeling like you're on top of the world? Our collective relationship with food is complicated, certainly, but sometimes there are foods that put us exactly where we need to be. Josh and Ira discuss what those are for them.

Also, Josh recommends Justice League: The Animated Series which is currently on Netflix, and Ira recommends The Banshees of Inisherin which is currently on Max.

Shoot! There's nothing left to kill.

We're tackling divorce this time on the Hitchcock show. The young director takes on a play by Noel Coward with mixed results. A woman tries to leave her past behind, and we all know how that goes. There's love, secrets and high drama. Even some glimpses of great performances playing real characters. We discuss!

How do you write something deeply personal without coming off like an asshole? How do you share your fears, insecurities, anger, and desperation without taking a shit on your life and everyone else in it? It happens a lot. When it's not done well, a personal story can be really self-serving, icky and frustrating to watch/read/listen to/etc. So...how do you avoid that? How do you, instead, make something that feels profound, revealing, and intimate? We discuss!

Also, Josh recommends James Cameron's classic Aliens, and Ira recommends Richard Linklater's artsy Waking Life.

They say that the next best thing to no wife be a good one.

Hitchcock the comedian! It's a pastoral romp this time, as the local farmer is in search of a new wife...but when he pops the question, nobody wants to say yes. Meanwhile, his true love might already be under his own roof. It's definitely a different speed from the Hitch we know and love. CAN Alfred do "funny?" We watch and discuss.

How do you break a bad habit? When you find yourself in a cycle of repeating behavior that doesn't help you, how do you bust out and turn that around? We discuss what's worked for us.

Also, Josh recommends Terminator 2, and Ira recommends The Book of Boba Fett on Disney+

Roddy...can you ever forgive me?

Alfred takes on adapting a play for his fourth film release (fifth if you count the silent film we've since lost to the vagaries of time...but who's counting?). Ivor Norvello plays Roddy, the young man who covers for his friend, and then spends a lifetime paying for it. Sounds like a great premise! Let's see how this one plays out...

When you don't know enough about a topic, how do you find out more about it? And we mean really dive DEEP into something? What are the tools that you use? How do you organize your questions? And how do you keep it from feeling like

Also, Josh recommends Learn to Swim on Netflix, and Ira recommends Strange New Worlds on Paramount+

I'm with you...in your corner...

One Round Jack faces off against Australian Heavyweight Champ Bob Corby...for the love of a woman. Alfred Hitchcock's third film--at least in terms of the order they were released to the public--finds its drama in the boxing ring, a place he went to frequently in real life. And clearly, we've been making boxing movies since the beginning of film. So, how does this one stack up?

When has something you're working on turned out much better than you expected? The opposite, too: when have things turned out short of your expectations? Why? Is there a common thread in either case? We discuss our own answers to that question this week.

Also, Josh recommends Gordon Ramsey's classic Kitchen Nightmares on Hulu, and Ira recommends the Bond films The Spy Who Loved Me and Casino Royale.

The Avenger strikes again!

Alfred considers this film to be his TRUE first film. The first film, at least, where he really felt like he got to be himself, stretch his wings, and have an artistic point of view. Unsurprisingly, he's mixing sex and violence, at least in concept. There's a serial killer out there. A mysterious lodger comes to call. Is HE the notorious 'Avenger?' Or . . . is he someone worthy of falling for? We watch and find out!