Flixwise Podcast

All October long we at Flixwise have steadfastly refused to indulge in the ritual demonic possession that seems to come upon many of our fellow-movie bloggers around mid-September. We figured the internet would safely reach peak-monster without any help from us. And also, we're giant scaredy-cats, so in lieu of spooks and slashers, we offered up singing, dancing, and merriment in the form of a Musical Marathon. However, now that Halloween is actually upon us, we've decided to relent on the whole no haunting business.

Without further ado we present our audio offering to the Lords of the Underworld (ie. Hades, Mictecacihuatl, Jack Skellington, etc.) It's the Flixwise Halloween Special!

Lady P, is once again, joined by Carrie Specht and Anne Marie Kelly. The three of them each recount their stories the very first time that they were scared by a movie. Listeners best curl up with a hot cider, a roaring fire, last years trick or treat spoils, and a cozy blanket, because trust us, these tales will make your blood run cold. So, so cold!*

It's the last leg of our Musical Marathon!

Here at Flixwise we believe that no foray into the world of song and dance is complete without a stop in Fred and Ginger territory. So before we make our exit, we're bringing you our analysis of George Stevens' 1936 feature, SWING TIME.

The founder and editor of ClassicFilmFan.com, Carrie Specht, is on hand to present the film for the Flixwise Favorites List. Listen up to see if she can convince Anne Marie Kelly, and your host, Lady P, that SWING TIME is indeed the belle of the ball when it comes to the RKO musical comedies.

We hope you enjoyed our October of counter programming. We promise to revisit this topic very soon. If listeners have any suggestions for future Flixwise Favorites episodes. Let us know via Facebook, Twitter, or Email.       

The October of counter-programming continues with our next musical submission to the Flixwise Favorites List. This time The Film Experience's Anne Marie Kelly makes her case for why she thinks WEST SIDE STORY is one of the greatest movies of all time. She's got to convince Lady P and special guest, Carrie Specht, that they should be equally enchanted with Robert Wise's film.  It's charming to be sure, but anything short of alarmingly charming just won't do.

Is the epic battle over which nationality can snap their fingers loudest as gripping as ever? Listen up to find out if our panel is as smitten with WEST SIDE STORY as Tony is with Maria.

In our SINGING IN THE RAIN episode we promised you a musical marathon, and we always make good on our promises. Starting this week, and continuing all through October, will have a series of minisodes in which each week we deliberate on one musical entry to the Flixwise Favorites List.

We are aware that historically October is typically to be devoted to all things horror. However here at Flixwise we're offering a respite from the creatures who go bump in the night.  I believe they refer to this in the biz as counter-programming. We hope you enjoy!

That being said, our first musical entry is many ways an absolutely bone chilling film. Lady P is pitching Bob Fosse's 1972 feature CABARET. She is joined by the author of The Film Experience's "A Year With Kate" series, Anne Marie Kelly, and the editor and founder of Classicfilmfan.com, Carrie Specht. Together they analyze the film and determine whether it is worthy of entry into the Flixwise's stable of Alternate Greatest Films of All Time.  

Get well soon Liza!

California may be suffering one of the most severe droughts in recorded history, but here at Flixwise it is positively storming. On today's podcast Lady P gathers two of her closest friends, Julianne Martin and Kabir Singh, to revel in the Technicolor glory of one the crowning achievements of the Hollywood studio system. It's SINGIN' IN THE RAIN! The Stanley Donen 1952 musical ranks as the 20th Greatest Movie of All Time on the Sight and Sound Critic's Poll. Listen up to find out if our trio are as elated by the film as Gene Kelly is by precipitation.

Then the panel follows up their SINGIN' IN THE RAIN analysis with a little ode to platonic love. They chat about the greatest movie friendships in cinema history! Or at least their personal favorites.

Sentiment abounds on today's show, but in case things weren't touchy-feely enough, they close out the show with their final notes of positivity.

Here's Julianne's

Here's Kabir's

Here's Lady P's

And, as promised, here's a little video of Lady P tap dancing. Look for the teal raincoat. 

On today's episode, Emma Guerard and first-time guest, Jason Perlman, join Lady P for a psychoanalysis of the Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky.  Their primary case study is Tarkovsky's 1975 feature film, MIRROR. MIRROR is the number 19¹ movie on the Sight and Sound Critics Poll. Listen up to find out if the panel was able to make heads or tails of this beguiling puzzle of a movie.

They follow up their MIRROR analysis, with a general discussion of non-narrative cinema. Yes, our panel watches non-narrative cinema. And yes, that does mean they're smarter and better than everyone else!

Finally, they close off the show with a brief chat about Jason's current project, THRESHOLD.

On this episode, Lady P is joined by a couple of her warrior friends, Gabe Haggard and Derek Kessler, to discuss Sight and Sound's 17th Greatest Movie of All Time, Akira Kurosawa's SEVEN SAMURAI. 

Then the trio wages glorious battle over what they consider to be the true purpose of film. Gabe says film should be exclusively a narrative medium, but Lady P disagrees. Sufficed to say, it gets ugly. In the end, scores are settled, blood is shed, honor is lost, but at least they've definitely settled the matter...definitely.

Then they finish off with a few final notes of positivity.

Here's Gabe's

Here's Derek's

Here's Lady P's 

On today's episode our panel attempts to discern the indiscernible. Lady P, Emma Guerard, and Andy Theiss are going to try to make sense of The Sight and Sound Critic's Poll's 17th Greatest Movie of All Time, Ingmar Bergman's PERSONA. Listen up to find out if they enjoyed having their brains disassembled by a grumpy Swedish dude. 

They follow that up with another meeting of the Richard Linklater fanclub. (The group first met up for the Dazed and Confused episode.) This time they're discussing his 2014 feature film BOYHOOD. There are a couple of people on this panel that think themselves contrarians, but will they dare go up against the near universal acclaim that BOYHOOD has received? We shall see...

Then they end the show with a few final notes of positivity: 

Here's Emma's

Here's Andy's

Here's Lady P's

This episode is a bit of a departure for Flixwise. Normally we're all about analyzing the greatest movies of all time, but since we're also in the business of horizon broadening, we thought it might be interesting to take a little detour into the realm of television(or sorta television) to chat about Jenji Kohan's ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK.

Also, the Emmys are coming up, and we just want to make sure that the ORANGE drum continues to sound until the cast and crew (especially Kate Mulgrew) takes home the gold.

In other words, Lady P is obsessed with the show and found a semi-legitamate reason to talk about it in a public forum. In this episode Lady P brought in a couple of her friends, returning guest Julianne Martin and newcomer Melissa Kaplan, to discuss why ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK has become a such cultural phenomenon. They talk about their favorite characters, favorite episodes, predictions for next season, and the hotness of Laura Prepon.      

Enjoy!

On today's show Lady P and Gabe Haggard are joined by filmmaker and transcendental style enthusiast Tad Chamberlain, to chat about the 16th Greatest Movie of All Time, Robert Bresson's AU HASARD BALTHAZAR. Listen up to find out if our panelist were as touched by the suffering of the poor donkey, Balthazar, as the Sight and Sound critics.

They follow up their BALTHAZAR discussion with an analysis of the 2014 blockbuster SNOWPIERCER. While BALTHAZAR and SNOWPIERCER may seem completely unrelated, there is in fact a very, very strong connection between the two films. Take a look! 

Then they wrap everything up with a their final notes of positivity.

Here's Gabe's

Here's Tad's

Here's Lady P's