Friday Nights at Blockbuster

With the season finale of The Rings of Power coming out today, it felt like a perfect time to talk about the legacy of the Lord of the Rings movies, and some initial feelings about the show thus far. There are a few digressions in the conversation here and there, and we probably spend way too much time talking about the Irish accent of the Harfoots. 

Host: Ciaran Vallely

Guests: Stuart Wilson, Chris McKenzie

The movie that changed the face of horror movies for an entire generation. Scream has endured as a classic for so long because it successfully does two things. Firstly, it delivers on the basic level of a teen slasher. The characters are fun to hang out with. The killer is creative and fresh. Secondly, it is a brilliant send up of all the horror movie tropes that had become boring and tired by the time Scream was released. You can go back many times and pick up new references or hints that Craven and Williamson were setting their sights a little higher than normal for these movies. While the franchise as a whole has certainly dipped at points, this is perhaps one of the most consistently strong horror franchise that we have today. With the release of Scream 5 this past year the franchise seems poised to take another new step under two new writers/directors who clearly grew up on these movies, and love them as much as the fans. 

Host: Ciaran Vallely

Guest: Tannaz Keshavarz

Starting the October Horror Miniseries with the movie that redefined horror movies for my generation. The found footage trend was certainly around before The Blair Witch Project, but definitely not in the way it would be afterwards. However, I think that movie often gets lumped in with the cheap imitators who took all the wrong lessons. One movie that did learn the right lessons from The Blair Witch Project though was Neil Marshall's claustrophobic creature feature The Descent.

Host: Ciaran Vallely

Guest: Kunga Sagar

What is the best way to tackle a biopic? Is there an obligation to be factual and true, or should the filmmakers get a little more wiggle room to explore themes and ideas within the framework of telling someone's life story? I've grown extremely tired of movies literally just playing the hits from someone's life (mostly done for musicians or bands). The new Netflix movie based on the fictionalized version of Marilyn Monroe certainly pushes boundaries and asks these questions, but if this is the end result I'm not sure this is what I would want either. 

Perhaps the most talked about movie that no one had seen for many years, Don't Worry Darling opens wide this week, and we were there to see it for ourselves. The best sci-fi movies ask probing questions, and reflect our reality in a way that make us think about issues in a new and fresh way... Don't Worry Darling doesn't really do any of that. We breakdown the many controversies, what we liked and didn't like, the performances, and try to answer some of the questions we were left turning over in our minds when we walked out of the theatre. Suffice to say, Darling should have been worried, very very worried.  

Host: Ciaran Vallely

Guests: Melissa Criminisi, Colleen Colwell, Quinn Gale

If you're gearing up for October and horror movie season, then I've got you covered to get an early start. There have been a lot of really great and fun horror movies so far this year, whether it's the latest Scream sequel, the Gen-Z paranoia of Bodies, Bodies, Bodies, or the horror of politeness that is Speak No Evil. But in this recommendation episode I wanted to look at a couple movies that are using our expectations of the horror genre against us, and delivering something pretty unique.

Another year, another festival. another slightly deranged lineup of pre-movie sponsor advertisements. Welcome to the Toronto International Film Festival! With my ever trusty TIFF partner, we breakdown the movies we wanted to see but couldn't, the movies we want to see now after successful festival runs, and finally our Top 4 movies that we did see. This is our favourite time of the year, and despite the ticket mishaps, the long lines, and I can't understate how bafflling those sponsor ads get, we love TIFF and wouldn't change a thing...ok well maybe a few things. 

Host: Ciaran Vallely

Guest: Melissa Criminisi 

The coming of age movie is something that has been around since Hollywood realized teenagers and young adults have an abundance of disposable income. However, every once and a while a filmmaker wants to do something a little different with the genre, and these two movies are great examples of a filmmaker taking a tried and true formula but giving it a little twist (with a bonus discussion about Greta Gerwig who might be the best filmmaker at doing that currently working).

Host: Ciaran Vallely

Guest: Libby Caldwell

This week is all about the gangster movie, and when talking to my Irish cousin it was probably best to keep things focused on Irish gangsters. One movie is set in Boston, the other set in New York. One gave its filmmaker his greatest ever success, the other has been completely lost to time. However, both are filled with lots of alcohol, cigarettes, and famous actors!

Host: Ciaran Vallely

Guest: Bryan Wilson

I love animated movies, especially animated movies that take full advantage of the medium and shows us things that we wouldn't be able to see otherwise. Both of the movies this week achieve that in their own unique ways despite their very different approaches to style.

Host: Ciaran Vallely

Guest: Clara Wilson