Hardly The Hottest

With THE BLACK MESSIAH and THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES, we dissect the dirty word “biopic” for these two true stories about best friends who become brutal betrayers. Spoiler alert! The titles for these films ARE spoilers! 

00:00 - INTRO - We start the podcast out as friends, but will it end up enemies? 

04:34 - JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH - Great performances, stylish cinematography, and an intense score are all brought together by director Shaka King to make a strong film. This is getting plenty of awards recognition, but Dominique Fishback’s performance is really something special.

19:13 - JESSE PLEMONS - Don’t you DARE! call him “Fat Matt Damon”...

21:36 - THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD - If you are here for hard hitting film criticism, go ride your horse into the night, because this us gushing about our unabashed love for Brad Pitt.

39:27 - OUR TOP FIVE BRAD FILMS (and Laughs) - What's in the BOX? Our love for Brad.

42:11 - QUOTABLE JESSE JAMES - We don’t wanna be like Brad, we wanna BE Brad.

43:16 - PICK YOUR POISON - Robert Ford or Roy Mitchell?

46:22 - WHAT ELSE WE ARE WATCHING - Duncan visits Ireland, Russia, and Australia. Ryan gets mad for Mads Mikkelsen, but not so mad about Miami.

55:02 - SPOILER SECTION - Does Jesse hate his myth or himself? Life after Jesse for Charlie and Robert Ford. Outhouse seductions. What is your gas station in Oklahoma?

Notes

The Train Sequence - https://youtu.be/yBCdekTEvmo?t=90

For more podcasting w/ Jesse Plemons - https://www.hardlythehottest.com/podcast/006-kaufman-director

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All the Films & Filmmakers we mentioned.

Judas And The Black Messiah, The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford

Get Out, The Departed, Hunger, Short Term 12, Blackkklansman, Sorry To Bother You, I’m Thinking Of Ending Things, Taxi Driver, Observe And Report, No Country For Old Men, There Will Be Blood, The Great Train Robbery, Thelma And Louise, Tree Of Life, Interview With A Vampire, Kalifornia, Moneyball, The Proposition, Chopper, True Romance, Snatch, Seven, Fight Club, The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, Young Offenders, The Wind That Shakes The Barley, Solaris, Stalker, The Adventures Of Priscilla Queen Of The Desert, Road Warrior, Beyond Thunderdome, Mad Max, Walkabout, Another Round, One Night In Miami

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Read the Episode Notes - https://bit.ly/33aYRfU

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Created by Ryan and Duncan.

Recorded March 10, 2021

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Writer / Director Chloe Zhao takes us to the Badlands with her good films NOMADLAND, THE RIDER, and SONGS MY BROTHERS TAUGHT ME as she showcases her award winning neorealism approach to the neo-western.

00:00 - INTRO - Chloe is collecting trophies and Duncan’s tears with each new film.

06:29 - SONGS MY BROTHERS TAUGHT ME - Is the reservation a place to escape from the pain of the past, or a home to embrace your heritage?

14:28 - THE RIDER - Who are you when your passion can only bring you pain?

22:20 - OUR FAVORITE BIKE RIDES - Abandoned places and wide open spaces.

26:00 - NOMADLAND - Are you running away from darkness, or searching for a brighter future?

50:35 - FAVORITE FRANCES? - Simple, the famous Mississippi burn after raising three billboards in Arizona.

55:00 - CHLOE’S COMING SOON - Marvel’s The Eternals and a Bass Reeves biopic.

58:32 - BEST OF THE REST - Judas And The Black Messiah, Greener Grass, and PEN15.

1:01:47 - See ya down the road...

Notes

If you enjoy Chloe Zhao’s films, check out our episode on Kelly Reichardt, HTH #2.

Comeback next week for our episode on Judas And The Black Messiah and The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford.

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All the Films & Filmmakers we mentioned.

Songs By Brothers Taught Me, The Rider, 

Pocahontas, The New World, Smoke Signals, Last Of The Mohicans, Heat, Doctor Sleep, Sound Of Metal, The Wrestler, Krisha, Wendy And Lucy, Bicycle Thieves, Into The Wild, Fargo, Almost Famous, Burn After Reading, Three Billboards, Mississippi Burning, Blood Simple, Raising Arizona, Killing Of A Sacred Deer, The Eternals, Cruising, Judas And The Black Messiah, Greener Grass

To join the conversation:

Talk About the Ep on Reddit - https://bit.ly/30CMmse

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Read the Episode Notes - www.hardlythehottest.com/podcast/007-chloe-zhao

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Created by Ryan and Duncan.

Recorded February 24, 2021

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After conquering the keyboard, Charlie Kaufman takes on directorial duties, and we suffer through mortality in SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK, get lost in the sea of faces in ANOMALISA, and watch our identity fracture into infinity with I’M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS. If that sounds depressing, don't worry, your hosts, the Maggot-Infested Pig and The Japanese Sex Doll, will help you find the humor in the cosmic joke of existence!

00:00 INTRO - Duncan sees a film in theaters for the first time since Covid!

03:47 SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK - Time flies past you, when you're focused on the potential of a perfect future that may never come.

21:31 ANOMALISA - Find your soulmate! And then lose them after you watch them eat eggs.

27:42 I’M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS - Has anyone in history ever had an original thought?

39:17 ANT KIND - Charlie writes a book about a failed film critic. This feels personal...

40:44 WRAP UP - Our Top Charlie Films, what else we are watching, and a mental health check in.

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Notes

Listen to our previous episode for more on Charlie’s writing career. Our next episode will be on the films of Chloé Zhao, and the Tilda Swinton episode we referenced will be coming out soon.

All the Films & Filmmakers we mentioned.

Synecdoche New York, Anomalisa, I’m Thinking Of Ending Things

Tenet, Inception, a serious man, 8 ½, Birdman, Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, Anti-Christ, Green Room, The Shining, Beast, Hereditary, Parasite, Oklahoma, A Beautiful Mind, A Woman Under The Influence, Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, The Last Of England, A Field In England, Young Adam, Gandhi, Salaam Bombay, Killer Of Sheep, Ash Is Purest White, Isle Of Dogs, Snowpiercer, We Need To Talk About Kevin,

To join the conversation:

Talk About the Ep on Reddit - https://bit.ly/382SBKm

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Read the Episode Notes - www.hardlythehottest.com/podcast/006-kaufman-director

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Created by Ryan and Duncan

Recorded October, 2020

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Join us on the 7 ½ floor as we take the portal into Charlie Kaufman's mind. Explore the desire to be someone else in BEING JOHN MALKOVICH, hold on as we let go with ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND, and find the truth behind the Kaufman Conspiracies. This is an episode you won’t pay a doctor to help you forget.

00:00 - INTRO - The Kaufman Conspiracy behind Christopher Nolan and the show Friends.

10:21 - BEING JOHN MALKOVICH - The portal in Malkovich’s was a prescient vision of the social media landscape.

27:55 - OUR FAVORITE PUPPETS - They scared as children and we love them for it.

31:00 - HUMAN NATURE / CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND / ADAPTATION

38:57 - ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF A SPOTLESS MIND - Is our former love for this film a fantasy or reality?

01:01:53 - DOOMED ROMANCES - We love watching their on screen heartache.

01:03:36 - OUTRO - Come back next week for unadulterated Charlie as he takes on directorial duties.

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Films Featured

Being John Malkovich, Human Nature, Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind, Adaptation

The Crying Game, Ace Ventura, Burn After Reading, The Dark Crystal, The Muppets Take Manhattan, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Aliens, The NeverEnding Story, Mandy, Garden State, 500 Days Of Summer, The Science Of Sleep, Anomalisa, Synecdoche New York, The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, Blue Valentine, Never Let Me Go, Up In The Air, Nocturnal Animals, Vanilla Sky,  Brokeback Mountain, Babyteeth, The Devil All The Time, Insomnia, Orlando, I’m Thinking Of Ending Things

To be a part of the conversation:

Talk About the Ep on Reddit - https://bit.ly/3qFKeLT

View Our Letterboxd List - https://boxd.it/bh7Ny

Read the Episode Notes - www.hardlythehottest.com/podcoast/005-Kaufman-writer

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Recorded October, 2020

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We explore cinematic San Francisco, Duncan’s home city that Ryan learned to love after a dumpy introduction. Let’s talk about THE LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO, Joe Talbot and Jimmie Fail’s love letter to their hometown, Bay Area native David Fincher’s obsession with ZODIAC, and the Chinese-American generational saga of THE JOY LUCK CLUB. Don’t listen to Dirty Harry, if you keep your eyes and nose above gutter level, it’s a beautiful city.

00:00 - INTRO - The sites and smells of San Francisco.

06:34 - THE LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO - “You don’t get to hate it unless you love it.”

18:22 - ZODIAC - The obsessive nature of serial killers mirrors the obsessive focus of Fincher

27:59 - TOP 5 FINCH - A social Benjamin fights an alien with a dragon tattoo seven times

30:47 - JOY LUCK CLUB - The least “Disney” film by Disney

32:43 - AGAINST THE GRAIN - We critique the favorites of critics

35:34 - MELODRAMA - You better earn my tears

43:30 - BEST OF SF BY THE DECADES - The Voyage Home from Vertigo to Last Blackman

50:55 - HOLLYWOOD HATES THE BAY - LA brutalizes SF on screen

51:52 - WHAT RYAN IS WATCHING

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Films Mentioned

The Last Black Man In San Francisco, Zodiac, The Joy Luck Club

George Washington, Beasts Of The Southern Wild, Medicine For Melancholy, Seven, Mind Hunters, Nightcrawler, Spotlight, Alien 3, Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, Fight Club, the Social Network, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, The Farewell, Crazy Rich Asians, Little Women, Waves, Revolutionary Road, Little Children, Hurt Locker, Slumdog Millionaire, The King’s Speech, The Artist, the truth, Terms Of Endearment, Brave, Vertigo, Bullit, The Conversation, 48 hours, Star Trek IV, Big Trouble In Little China, The Rock, So I Married An Axe Murderer, The Room, The Disaster Artist, The Bridge, Shut Up Little Man, Memento, Rewind

To be a part of the conversation:

Talk About the Ep on Reddit - https://bit.ly/3nuPP5h

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Episode Notes - www.hardlythehottest.com/podcoast/004-San-Francisco

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Recorded August, 2020

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A24 wonder Kid Trey Edward Shults burst onto the scene with the microbudget masterpiece KRISHA, followed that up with the shelter in place thriller IT COMES AT NIGHT, and the brilliant WAVES.

00:00 - INTRO - Trey Edward Shults loves families in peril, imminent dread, and arm wrestling. 

06:28 - KRISHA - A master class in microbudget film making that is so much more than mumblecore.

13:30 - IT COMES AT NIGHT - Joel Edgerton REALLY want you to wear a mask...

22:05 - WAVES - This intense drama is NOT mellow.

35:53 - TOP 10  MICROBUDGETS

39:54 - Wrap Up

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All The Films We Referenced

Krisha, It Comes At Night, Waves, Babadook, The Witch, Hereditary, Midsommar, The Shining, It Follows, Take Shelter, Luce, Spring Breakers, The Place Beyond The Pines, Children Of Men, Tangerine, Primer, El Mariachi, Pi, Clerks, In Search Of A Midnight Kiss, Following, Hump Day, Krisha, George Washington, Honey Boy, Moonrise Kingdom, Searching For Sugarman, Crooklyn, Mo Better Blues, Airplane

To be a part of the conversation:

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Episode Notes - www.hardlythehottest.com/podcoast/003-trey-edward-shults

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Recorded August 6, 2020

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Come along and take a slow ride on a rickety wagon through KELLY REICHARDT’s filmography from Florida to Oregon. From her debut, RIVER OF GRASS, to WENDY AND LUCY, her first of many with MICHELLE WILLIAMS, as well as MEEK’S CUTOFF, and her latest (and greatest?), FIRST COW. Be one of the few, the proud, the I heart Reichardt.

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00:00 - Intro - When the Reichardt bandwagon is rolling that slow, it’s easy to hop on!

05:45 - River of Grass (1994) - Sometimes when you run away from your problems, you just end up running into new ones.

16:21 - Wendy and Lucy (2008) - You don’t watch Kelly’s films, you read them. Strike ONE for Duncan being a pretentious prick.

24:26 - Meek’s Cutoff (2010) - With a little bit of inspiration, and a whole lot of desperation, these characters are stuck in the middle of nowhere.

32:38 - Quick Takes - Night Moves & Certain Women

34:40 - First Cow (2020) - The greatest bakery themed heist thriller I’ve ever seen

46:00 - Our Top 5 Reichardt

48:07 - Our Top 5 Michelle Williams

53:16 What Else Are We Watching

All the Films & Filmmakers we talked about

River of Grass , Wendy And Lucy, Meek’s Cutoff, First Cow

Gummo, Badlands, Breathless, Queen And Slim, Thelma And Louise, Bonnie and Clyde, Hostiles, Slow West, True Grit, Night Moves, If A Tree Falls, Certain Women, 20th Century women, Dawsons Creek, 4 Take This Waltz,  3 Wendy & Lucy , 2 The Baxter, 1 Broke Back Mountain, my week with marilyn, Manchester By The Sea, Failure to Launch, How to lose a guy in ten days, Searching For Sugarman, The Painter And The Theif, Minding the Gap, Leaning Into The Wind, John McEnroe in the Realm of Perfection, Margaret, Big Night

To be a part of the conversation:

Talk About the Ep on Reddit - https://bit.ly/2LKF0yM

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Episode Notes - www.hardlythehottest.com/podcoast/002-kelly-reichardt

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Recorded July 28, 2020

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In the midst of the 2020 pandemic, we bring to you The Podcastination Of Ryan James by The Coward Duncan Ford. A silly take on serious cinema where we chat about prestige pics without being pretentious pricks. Get to know your hosts by learning how their relationship blossomed in a state park bathroom, the movies that traumatized them as children, and the themes of spiritual angst, outsiders, and dark humor that run through their favorite films.

00:00 - Intro - Welcome to your new dysfunctional film family.

02:59 - In The Beginning - How RyGuy and Dunks’ relationship came to fruition in a state park bathroom…

06:56 - Pilgrimages - We wouldn’t be surprised if there are restraining orders against us in Smithville, TX. 

09:34 - Reel Trauma - The cinema that scarred as as kids

17:08 - Our Top Films, 10 to 6 - “Don’t that picture look dusty.” 

23:00 - Our Top Films, 5 to 1 - “You ever been mistaken for a man?”

31:23 - Come on back for future chats about Kelly Reichardt, Trey Edward Shults and more! 

All the Films & Filmmakers we talked about

#terrencemalick #rover #guypearce #guyritchie #theroyaltenenbaums #thetreeoflife #TheAdventuresofBaronMunchausen #GoneWithTheWind #TheLionKing #Aliens #JurassicPark #StarWars #LastOfTheMohicans #TaxiDriver #TheBaxter #BrokeBackMountain #ASeriousMan #ThereWillBeBlood #TheAssassinationOfJesseJamesByTheCowardRobertFord #TheLifeAquaticWithSteveZissou #NoCountryForOldMen #IntoTheWild #UpInTheAir #ASingleMan #WetHotAmericanSummer #InBruges #Cavalry #TheCuriousCaseOfBenjaminButton

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Recorded July 21, 2020

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