A new film from Martin Scorsese is always an event, but THE IRISHMAN is one that, for many, won’t happen at a movie theatre. After a short theatrical run in select cities, Scorsese's latest - which reunites the director with Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci, and adds Al Pacino to the mix - will show up on Netflix. Adam and Josh, fresh from their own theatrical screening, consider the film in the context of Scorsese's work, specifically his career-spanning gangster movies. Plus, a review of Jia Zhangke's ASH IS PUREST WHITE (2019), the fourth and final film in the Contemporary Chinese Cinema Marathon.

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1:09 - Review: "The Irishman"

Steve Earle, "The Last Gunfighter Ballad"

32:52 - Donations

35:36 - Next Week / Notes

41:27 - Polls [Scorsese / Hanks]

53:48 - Chinese Cinema #4: "Ash Is Purest White"

1:15:15 - Outro

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In 2014, director Robert Eggers brought 17th century Puritan New England to frighteningly vivid life in THE WITCH. For his follow-up - THE LIGHTHOUSE - Eggers skips ahead to the late 19th century and the results are no less unnerving. Adam and Josh debate the effectiveness of Eggers' formal gambits - black and white photography, immersive sound design, boxy aspect ratio - and the all-in performances from stars Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson. Plus, the Contemporary Chinese Cinema Marathon continues with 2017's OUR TIME WILL COME, a historical drama set in WWII-era Hong Kong. 

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1:19 - Review: "The Lighthouse"

30:45 - “Lighthouse” Spoilers

Jamie Drake, "When The Tide Comes In"

37:41 - Next Week/Notes

44:02 - Massacre Theatre

50:40 - Chinese Cinema #3: "Our Time Will Come"

1:12:27 - Outro / Outtake

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Steering clear of plot details for one of the most praised films of the year is no easy task, but Adam and Josh managed to pull it off ahead of their screening of Bong Joon-ho's PARASITE. The subject of rave reviews since its Palme d'Or-winning debut at the Cannes Film Festival back in May, Bong's film tackles class warfare as only Bong can – with social commentary mixing freely with black comedy and even a little horror.

That review and the second film in the Contemporary Chinese Cinema Marathon, 2014's THE MIDNIGHT AFTER from Hong Kong's Fruit Chan.

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1:42 - Review: "Parasite"King Grizzard and the Lizard Wizard, "Mars for the Rich"

31:35 - Josh recs: "Pain and Glory"

35:20 - Next week / Notes

39:28 - Polls [Movie Mentors / Favorite Scorsese]

49:52 - Chinese Marathon #2: "The Midnight After"

1:15:22 - Outro / Credits

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Back in '99, the trailers and movie posters for AMERICAN BEAUTY implored us to "look closer." For their 9 From '99 review, Adam and Josh give the divisive Best Picture winner the closer look it asked for, but they don't always like what they see. Is the movie hypocritical and mean-spirited? Is it merely an overwrought sitcom? Or is it redeemed by its sincerity and the strength of its supporting cast?

Also on the show, Adam's conversation with Godfrey Cheshire, author of the new book "Conversations with Kiarostami." Cheshire's book is a companion to a 25-film Abbas Kiarostami retrospective currently touring the U.S.

And the first film in the Contemporary Chinese Cinema Marathon, 2010's LET THE BULLETS FLY, a furiously paced action comedy directed by Jiang Wen.

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Between its late-August premiere at the Venice Film Festival (where it won the festival's top prize) and its release in theaters here in the States, Todd Phillips' JOKER has provoked every possible response, with some calling it among the best films of the year and others calling it the absolute worst – not to mention the much-discussed fears that the movie was "dangerous." No surprise then that when Adam and Josh finally got around to seeing it, they split – not just on the film itself, but on everything from the film's score to star Joaquin Phoenix's take on the iconic villain.

That review, plus listeners weigh in on their favorite Phoenix performances and a preview of the upcoming Chicago International Film Festival.

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1:00 - Review: "Joker"

Dehd, "Pushing the Crowd"

36:13 - Next week / Notes

42:00 - Polls (J. Phoenix Performances / 2010s Movie Mentors)

50:43 - Preview: Chicago International Film Festival

1:03:07 - Close

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It's always good news when an acclaimed director announces a new project, but it's somehow especially thrilling when that project is set in space. We started 2019 with two highly anticipated space missions: Claire Denis' HIGH LIFE with Robert Pattison (reviewed back on ep. 724) and James Gray's AD ASTRA, which has Brad Pitt traveling across the solar system to locate his missing father - and save the planet. In their review, Adam calls it the best film of the year, while Josh calls it "the most visually arresting session of talk therapy you can imagine." That's good... right?

Also on the show, a celebration of Chicago theater with the Top 5 Steppenwolf Member Movie Performances. 2019 marks the 45th anniversary of the founding of the venerable Chicago company, whose ensemble boasts the likes of John Malkovich, Laurie Metcalf, Gary Sinise and Joan Allen, among many others. Also inspiring the Top 5 is a newly published oral history of Chicago theater - Ensemble - by Chicago writer Mark Larson.

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1:17 - Review: "Ad Astra"

Greg Felden, "Take You Back Home"

27:20 - Next week / Notes

36:11 - Massacre Theatre

41:26 - Donations

42:45 - Top 5: Steppenwolf Member Performances

1:27:35 - Close

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50 years after Judy Garland's death at the tragically young age of 47, the movie musical legend is largely remembered for one iconic film role - Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz. But Garland appeared in - and often starred in - nearly 40 films in her 30-year career; a career Adam and Josh attempt to come to terms with - along with the Chicago Tribune's Michael Phillips - for their Top 5 Judy Garland Moments.

Plus, Adam and Michael spend a few minutes on HUSTLERS starring Jennifer Lopez and Constance Wu. And listeners weigh in with their picks for the directors who need to follow in the footsteps of High Life's Claire Denis and Ad Astra's James Gray and make their own space movie.

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1:18 - Top 5: Judy Garland Moments

Judy Garland, "Americana"

35:21 - Review: "Hustlers"

43:34 - Next Week / Notes

55:52 - Polls [Space Movies / Joaquin Phoenix]

1:06:39 - Top 5 Judy Garland Moments, cont.

1:46:29 - Close

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Back in 1999, it was hard to watch EYES WIDE SHUT without thinking about Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman as a real-life married couple participating in some sadistic form of therapy. Twenty years later, it's maybe still a little distracting, but it's easier to see the pair's performances in the greater contexts of their respective careers – and, in particular, how effective the casting of the cocky, entitled Cruise is as Dr. Bill Harford, a man who sees his confidence reduced to rubble by the end of the film. For their 9 From '99 review of Kubrick's final, controversial masterpiece, Adam and Josh talk about the brilliance of Kidman's few, powerful scenes, and the film's subtle formal brilliance. And how about that orgy scene, huh?

Plus, Adam finally gets to share his Top 5 Kubrick Scenes six years after a late-breaking case of dysphonia kept him from joining Josh and Michael Phillips for their Kubrick picks (back on episode #459).

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1:17 - 9 From '99: "Eyes Wide Shut"

Chris Isaak, "Baby Did a Bad, Bad Thing"

54:36 - Next Week / Notes

1:05:30 - Massacre Theatre

1:12:11 - Donations

1:13:56 - Top 5 Kubrick Scenes

1:33:42 - Close  

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Adam and Josh left 2017's blockbuster IT at least mildly curious for more, but is the sequel film's almost three-hour running time and the addition of A-listers like Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy and Bill Hader enough to satisfy that curiosity? This week, Filmspotting returns to Derry and to director Andy Muschietti's epic - or at least epic in length - IT CHAPTER TWO. Plus, the Fall Movie Preview in the form of Adam and Josh's Top 5 Questions About the Fall Movie Season.   

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1:21 - Review: "It: Chapter 2"

Bleached, "Hard to Kill"

22:38 - Next Week / Notes

30:02 - Polls [TIFF / Unlikely Space Movies]

40:06 - Fall Movie Preview

1:21:09 - Close / Outtake

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In 1999, BEING JOHN MALKOVICH marked the auspicious debut of two geniuses: screenwriter Charlie Kaufman ("Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," "Synecdoche, NY") and director Spike Jonze ("Where the Wild Things Are," "Her"). 20 years later, the movie remains surprising and innovative, and its concerns - artistic fulfillment and artistic exploitation - feel as current as ever. Adam and Josh revisit MALKOVICH as part of their 9 From '99 series, and wrap up their Marlene Dietrich-Josef von Sternberg Marathon with 1934's (preposterous? preposterous on purpose?) THE SCARLET EMPRESS and the marathon awards, "The Boas."

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1:26 - 9 From '99: "Being John Malkovich"

Jay Som, "Nighttime Drive"

35:16 - Next Week / Notes

38:45 - Josh on "Honeyland" / Adam on "American Factory"

47:19 - Massacre Theatre

54:31 - Donations

57:05 - Dietrich-Von Sternberg #4: "The Scarlet Empress"

1:20:41 - Dietrich-Von Sternberg Awards

1:44:09 - Close

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