Living for the Cinema

Back in December of 1983, this bloody, epic crime saga from director Brian DePalma (Carrie, The Untouchables, Blow Out) opened to middling reviews and box office....after months of hype regarding its extreme violence and how it depicted the Cuban community in Florida.  The controversy never quite died down but its reputation only grew as it went on to become one of the most influential films of the 1980's.  Starring Al Pacino as the infamous Tony Montana and loosely based on the legend of Al Capone, we follow his meteoric rise from destitute refugee to excessively wealthy crime boss....and the subsequent fall as well.  It also stars Steven Bauer, Michelle Pfeiffer, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Robert Loggia, and F. Murry Abraham.  Say HELLO to his little friend!!!

WARNING: GRAPHIC LANGUAGE & GRAPHIC VIOLENCE PORTRAYED THROUGHOUT MOVIE CLIPS

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon 

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Throughout his illustrious career, Oscar winner Martin Scorsese has collaborated with many great actors but two in particular more than any others.....multiple Oscar winning Robert DeNiro and Oscar winner Leonardo DiCaprio.  But now for the first time in his career spanning more than five decades, Mr. Scorsese has finally directed a film starring BOTH of them.  And yet, the main star of this particular story might very well be Lily Gladstone playing Molly, a member of the Osage trip in Oklahoma.  Taking place in Oklahoma roughly about a hundred years ago shortly after the discovery of MASSIVE reserves of oil in lands where one particular First Nation tribe had been sent, Molly's family has been one of several from this tribe to have struck gold.....well black gold to be exact....otherwise known as oil. 

And even as she starts to fall in love with DiCaprio's Ernest, Molly finds herself and the rest of her family on the other end of a murderous conspiracy to take over the oil.....lead by Ernest's uncle, a local sheriff played by DeNiro.  What results is a brutal, unflinching tale of greed, love, and betrayal ALL based on true events - this was adapted from David Grann's highly acclaimed non-fiction novel of the same name. 

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon 

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Twenty years ago in the immediate wake of winning his second Oscar (Best Actor for Training Day), our Greatest Living Actor chose this as a follow-up project....a frothy neo-noir taking place in Florida reuniting with a director (Carl Franklin, also director of previous episode One False Move) behind one of his underrated '90's gems, Devil in a Blue Dress.  We're of course referring to Denzel Washington who plays local Sheriff Matt Whitlock who finds himself embroiled in the investigation of a local murder....of a woman who he has been having a secret affair with played by Sanaa Lathan with the investigation being LEAD by a Miami detective (Eva Mendes) who happens to be his ex-wife.  :o And guess WHO also might be the prime suspect?  Complications ensue, get ready for a sweaty good time!

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon 

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The Halloween holiday is upon so what better time than to kick in CARPENTER WEEK!  Of course this refers to genre master John Carpenter who over the past 45 years has directed several of the most iconic action and/or horror genre films of the modern era including previous episode The Thing, Escape From New York, and of course...Halloween. ;) Many would cite the decade of the '80's as his PEAK era as he helmed a string of popular and/or influential movies loaded with thrills and/or chills....

And this horror thriller certainly qualifies as it's the seemingly simple tale of a teenage boy and his car.  Adapted from the Stephen King novel of the same name released earlier this same year, "Christine" is in fact the NAME of said car which is a '58 Plymouth Fury recently restored by mild-mannered teenager Arnie played by Keith Gordon.  Of course just as the car has undergone a transformation, so does Arnie as he becomes increasingly infatuated with this vintage automobile....an automobile which also starts to rack up an increasing body count as the story progresses.  And the only two people standing in its way end up being Arnie's best friend and girlfriend played respectively by John Stockwell and Alexandra Paul respectively.  Once again directed by Carpenter, it's time to hit the road to revisit this cult classic which is about to turn 40!

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon 

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The Halloween holiday is upon so what better time than to kick in CARPENTER WEEK!  Of course this refers to genre master John Carpenter who over the past 45 years has directed several of the most iconic action and/or horror genre films of the modern era including previous episode The Thing, Escape From New York, and of course...Halloween. ;) Many would cite the decade of the '80's as his PEAK era as he helmed a string of popular and/or influential movies loaded with thrills and/or chills....

Including this low-budget gem from 35 years ago which was met with mild reviews and box office upon initial release but has since garnered quite the cult following....even influencing various areas of pop culture including graffiti and pop songs citing it.  This is the story of Nada, a mysterious drifter just ambling into downtown Los Angeles seeking work in construction - he's played by the late, great Roddy "Rowdy" Piper who was a renowned professional wrestler before taking on this role which would be his feature film debut.  His character is just looking for work but inadvertently uncovers a massive conspiracy mainly revealed through.....sunglasses?  And from that point on, he embarks on a mission to take down said conspiracy, also enlisting the aid of Frank played by Keith David - it's time to chew bubble gum and....kick ass! 

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon 

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Spooky Season has arrived!  And what better way to kick it off than to celebrate what many consider to be "The Scariest Movie Ever!" which would be this supernatural psychological thriller first released fifty years ago this coming December.  It was directed by the legendary, recently passed William Friedkin partnering with celebrated author William Peter Blatty adapting his very own best-selling novel of the same name.  

The story mainly focuses on a mother and a daughter - successful actress Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn) temporarily living in Washington, DC to film a movie and tending to her precocious 12-year old daughter Regan played by Linda Blair.  Sadly and frighteningly, Regan's behavior starts to become more erratic and increasingly violent...she seems dare-I-say POSSESSED. :o Eventually joining the story are two men of the cloth who have been tasked with rescuing Regan from this evil demon - they are Father Karras played by Jason Miller and Father Merrin, the titular exorcist played by Max Von Sydow.  The film would go on to be a instant box office smash along with garnering ten Oscar nominations that year, including for Best Picture and Best Director.  Bust out your holy water and crucifix, it's EXORCISM TIME!

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon 

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Twenty years ago, this Tokyo-based relationship comedy/drama opened to great acclaim and strong word of mouth not only becoming a minor worldwide phenomenon at the box office but also garnering significant Oscar attention.  For Sofia Coppola, it was the second film she directed and she earned a nomination for Best Director making her only the THIRD woman to be nominated for that award in Oscar history.  It was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay (won by Coppola), Best Picture, and Best Actor for star Bill Murray who received universal raves for his performance playing against a significantly younger Scarlett Johannsen who also received raves for her performance.  They play two very different people both holed up in a high-rise hotel in Tokyo who form an unusual friendship....and that's really the whole story.  Let's see how it holds up....

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon 

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From the director of Rogue One and Godzilla (2014) comes yet another EPIC science fiction adventure.....and yet this time around, it's based upon a completely original concept.  Gareth Edwards (who not only directed by co-wrote the screenplay with Chris Weitz) presents us with a future world taking place in 2067 where the two main factions fighting for control of the planet are humans (mainly from the West) and artificial intelligence (AI).  And in the middle of this is a soldier named Joshua (John David Washington) and the young AI child Alphie (Madeleine Yuna Voyles) who he has decided to protect on her mission to find.....The Creator.  Also among the cast are recent Oscar-winner Allison Janney, Ken Wantanabe, and Gemma Chan.

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon 

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Thirty years ago we saw the release of this mystery thriller featuring three promising stars (Alec Baldwin, Nicole Kidman, Bill Pullman), co-written by two promising screenwriters (Aaron Sorkin, Scott Frank), and helmed by one accomplished director (Harold Becker - Sea of Love, Taps).  And THE one scene which most people remember from it happens to feature one of the stars referring to himself/herself as God....guess who that was? :) The plot revolves around a sleepy New England school for young women where students are getting murdered but wait there's more!  Also co-starring Bebe Neuwirth, George C. Scott, Tobin Bell, and Anne Bancroft.....it's time to revisit one of THE nuttier thrillers of the '90's! 

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon 

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NORTON WEEK continues!  This is of course referring to the legendary actor Edward Norton who broke out big-time with his first ever on-screen appearance in the '96 legal thriller Primal Fear which garnered him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.  Two years later in '98, he delivered two VERY memorable performances in two VERY different movies which both left their marks on any one frequenting the cinema for years to come - these two seminal films came out just about a month apart and they would make a truly BIZARRE double feature. :)

Tony Kaye (mostly before Norton took over during post, as has been reported since its release) directed a very searing portrait of two brothers Daniel and Derek Vinyard who have immersed themselves in hate and bigotry.  The older brother Derek is played by Norton in a performance which earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor - he becomes the leader for a Neo-Nazi gang and is eventually sent to prison after committing a brutal murder in front of their home.  His younger brother Daniel is played by Edward Furlong who eventually joins this gang after his brother is incarcerated.  The story follows the struggles of both brothers along with their mother played by Beverly D'angelo.  Other co-stars include Fairuza Balk, Elliott Gould, Stacy Keach, Ethan Suplee, Guy Torry, and Avery Brooks.

WARNING: There are some racial epithets spoken by characters in this movie contained within clips from the movie included in this podcast.

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon 

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