This we’re revisiting one of our most popular early episodes, where we did the unthinkable and willingly watched the worst films ever made (allegedly). The hit list includes Howard the Duck, Mommie Dearest and, of course, The Room, along with our own submission, the apex of Roger Moore’s career, North Sea Hijack, in an attempt to figure out what it takes to achieve cult bad status. 

References
Howard the Duck: An Oral History by Caseen Gaines for thedecider.com
How George Lucas’ Howard the Duck movie made The Matrix possible by K. Thor Jensen
Mommie Dearest at 40: the derided camp classic that deserves a closer look by Guy Lodge for The Guardian
The Room: how the worst movie ever became a Hollywood legend as bizarre as its creator by Aja Romano
Tommy Wiseau breaks down a scene from The Disaster Artist
BTS from The Room

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Edited and produced by Lily Austin and James Brailsford
Original music by James Brailsford

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As Michael Mann’s Heat 2 inches closer to becoming a cinematic reality, we’re revisiting one of our earliest conversations about the great Al Pacino-Robert De Niro head-to-head, with special appearances from a young Natalie Portman and a wiggy Val Kilmer.

References
James Clark and Paul Szoldra, ‘That one scene in Heat that gave audiences the most realistic firefight in movie history’
Michael Mann and Meg Gardiner, Heat 2 (2022)
Koralijka Suton, ‘Heat at 25: Michael Mann’s meticulous masterpiece’
‘The Making of Heat (1995)’

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Edited and produced by Lily Austin and James Brailsford
Original music by James Brailsford

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It is all about melodrama this week. First we discuss Lynne Ramsay's spectacular new movie, Die My Love, starring Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson. Then we have a highlight from our guest appearance on The Ministry of Film podcast, where we talk about Brief Encounter, ahead of its re-release as part of the BFI's season "Too Much: Melodrama on Film".

References
Listen to The Ministry of Film
Disney’s CEO Bob Iger on stepping down
Lynne Ramsay on Die My Love
BFI’s Melodrama season
Manchester’s Cultplex cinema

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Edited and produced by Lily Austin and James Brailsford
Original music by James Brailsford

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Kelly Reichardt’s genre-defying heist movie, The Mastermind, is in cinemas, so we’re taking the opportunity to discuss our favourite capers. We also pay tribute to the longest running cinema release of all time  (from 1975 to present day), The Rocky Horror Picture Show, on its 50th anniversary.

References
Dogma: The Resurrection Tour

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Edited and produced by Lily Austin and James Brailsford
Original music by James Brailsford

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Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein hit cinemas this past weekend for a brief stint before moving to Netflix. We discuss his adaptation and why filmmakers keep returning to Mary Shelley’s classic story. We also look at the rumours circulating around a few big screen delays (namely the troubled Michael Jackson biopic) and, the 30 years in the waiting, Heat 2 - is it finally going into production? 

References

World of Reel’s article on The Daniels’ film delay

Guillermo del Toro on fatherhood and Frankenstein

Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein exhibition at The Old Selfridges Hotel

World of Reel’s latest article on Michael Mann’s Heat 2

Warwick Student Cinema

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Edited and produced by Lily Austin and James Brailsford
Original music by James Brailsford

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Following the news of Diane Keaton’s death, we pay tribute to the rarest of things, a true Hollywood original. We also take you through the latest box office flops, Harris Dickinson’s thoughtful directorial debut, Urchin, and discuss the latest James Bond-Amazon controversy. 

References
Then Again, Diane Keaton’s memoir
Harris Dickinson interview for BFI
The Nickel cinema

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Edited and produced by Lily Austin and James Brailsford
Original music by James Brailsford

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From A Clockwork Orange to Cloud Atlas, via the many attempts at Don Quixote, we consider the challenge of adapting books deemed “unfilmable” and why directors can’t resist the challenge.

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Edited and produced by Lily Austin and James Brailsford
Original music by James Brailsford

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The wait is finally over. Our (best attempt at spoiler-free!) thoughts on Paul Thomas Anderson’s play for a blockbuster and an early look at the other films tipped for greatness this awards season.

References
Maggie Gyllenhaal’s The Bride trailer
Token Homo’s queer horror season at Genesis cinema
Horror season at Cultplex
Long-ass movies at Prince Charles Cinema

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Edited and produced by Lily Austin and James Brailsford
Original music by James Brailsford

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We pay tribute to the late, great Robert Redford with some recommendations from his illustrious filmography and discuss the phenomenon of MIA movies - films which completed shooting but never made it to the big screen.

References
World of Reel’s MIA movies article
Science Museum’s IMAX 70mm season

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Edited and produced by Lily Austin and James Brailsford
Original music by James Brailsford

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Disney is struggling to appeal to Gen Z men, according at a Variety article. Is original IP the answer?

This past weekend saw the release of The Golden Spurtle, a documentary about the world porridge-making contest. We discuss this and other delightfully absurd documentaries that have nothing to do with missing girls.

And James delivers a Nolan progress report following the The Odyssey's shoot wrap.

References
Christopher Nolan loves pepperoni pizza
A trojan horse spoiler from The Odyssey
For news on the Laura Mulvey: Thinking Through Film season at the BFI, go to https://www.bfi.org.uk/

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Edited and produced by Lily Austin and James Brailsford
Original music by James Brailsford

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