Living for the Cinema

An FBI chemical weapons expert (Oscar-winner Nicholas Cage) and a former SAS soldier turned political prisoner (Oscar-winner Sean Connery) must break into Alcatraz prison when a rogue military group, lead by a renegade general (Oscar-nominee Ed Harris), has taken it over and are now threatening a nerve gas attack on San Franscisco.  This high-octane action thriller was a huge smash when released in the Summer of 1996 and helped cement director Michael Bay (Bad Boys, Armageddon, Transformers, Pearl Harbor) as an established brand of filmmaker for decades to come.  The stacked supporting cast also includes John Spencer, David Morse, William Forsythe, Vanessa Marcil, Tony Todd, Bokeem Woodbine, and Michael Biehn among several others.  Get ready to ROCK!

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon 

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

https://livingforthecinema.com/

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Living-for-the-Cinema-Podcast-101167838847578

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/livingforthecinema/

Letterboxd:
https://letterboxd.com/Living4Cinema/ 

Ten years ago, legendary writer/director Shane Black (Lethal Weapon, The Last Boy Scout, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Iron Man 3) put out his latest original vision of yet another buddy cop action comedy, this time taking place in 1970's Los Angeles.  The pairing was inspired: a drunken private detective (Ryan Gosling) teams up with a tough guy enforcer (Russell Crowe) to solve both a missing person mystery and an unsolved murder.  And the plot just gets increasingly convoluted from there involving the auto industry, porn, and organized crime....both violent and funny complications ensue!  The stellar cast of this now beloved cult classic also includes Kim Basinger, Margaret Qualley, Matt Bomer, and Keith David.   

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon 

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

https://livingforthecinema.com/

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Living-for-the-Cinema-Podcast-101167838847578

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/livingforthecinema/

Letterboxd:
https://letterboxd.com/Living4Cinema/ 

“Living for the STREEP” Series: We are here to celebrate the career of Mary Louise Streep….now known to most as Meryl Streep who has become widely known by critics, film-lovers, and audiences as likely our GREATEST LIVING ACTRESS.  Ever since her earlier breakout roles in the late 1970’s in films such as The Deer Hunter, and Kramer Vs. Kramer, she has carved out a filmography filled with brilliant performances in memorable films spanning a variety of genres including biopics, thrillers, family dramas, AND comedies.  During this time, she has also earned a STAGGERING TWENTY-ONE Oscar nominations including THREE wins.  Over the next several months, I will be revisiting one notable Streep film each month – each highlighting a different type of performance – culminating with the May 1 release of the long-awaited sequel featuring one of her more ICONIC roles as Miranda Priestly, The Devil Wears Prada 2.

The Wait is Finally Over.  It has been almost twenty years since the original The Devil Wears Prada hit theaters, featuring one of Streep's most celebrated performances which she also received an Oscar nomination for.  She's back as Miranda Priestly, once again leading the fashion magazine "Runway" though times have changed the magazine (like all print media) is now struggling....making matters worse, a new scandale has erupted online further putting Miranda's future (and the magazine's future) more at risk.  Fortunately whom else should return to the magazine but Andy Sacks (Anne Hathaway) to maybe save the day?  Infact several of the key players from that first film are ALSO back including Emily Blunt, Stanley Tucci, and Tracie Thoms....along with some new additions to the cast including Kenneth Branaugh, Justin Theroux, BJ Novak, and Luciy Liu!  Let's see if this highly anticipated legacy sequel lives up to the hype.....   

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon 

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

https://livingforthecinema.com/

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Living-for-the-Cinema-Podcast-101167838847578

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/livingforthecinema/

Letterboxd:
https://letterboxd.com/Living4Cinema/ 

Acclaimed genre filmmaker Joe Johnston (Honey I Shrunk The Kids, Captain America: The First Avenger) directed this highly anticipated Disney adaptation of the titular graphic novel from the 1980's.  It takes place in the 1940's Los Angeles where aspiring pilot Cliff Secord (Billy Campbell) is trying to make a name for himself on the flying circuit until one day, he suddenly finds a mysterious metal device along with his friend/mechanic Peevy played by Oscar-winner Alan Arkin (Little Miss Sunshine, Catch 22). What they soon realize is that this device is actually a secret prototype jet-pack which the local Mafia, the FBI, AND the Nazis (!) are all on the hunt for. :o So Cliff tries on the jet-pack, is able to fly, and suddenly becomes....The Rocketeer!  And what results is a fun throwback adventure which was initially a flop upon release in the Summer of 1991 but would eventually garner a cult following.  The stellar cast also includes Oscar-winner Jennifer Connelly, Timothy Dalton, and the late, great Paul Sorvino. 

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon 

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

https://livingforthecinema.com/

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Living-for-the-Cinema-Podcast-101167838847578

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/livingforthecinema/

Letterboxd:
https://letterboxd.com/Living4Cinema/ 

In a dystopian 1997, a soldier-turned-bankrobber is taked rescuing the US President after he crashes into Manhattan, which has been turned into a giant maximum security prison. 

That's the official description for this gritty, sci-fi action thriller but a couple of key players involved made it more special than that.  The solider is Snake Plissken played by Kurt Russell (The Thing, Tombstone, The Hateful Eight) in one of his more iconic performances.  The director is genre master John Carpenter (Halloween, The Thing, They Live) who inadverdently created a sub-genre with the success of this film forty-five years ago.  And the rest of this film's stellar supporting cast includes Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Donald Pleasance, Isaac Hayes, Harry Dean Stanton, and Adrienne Barbeau. 

See below for a link featuring a key deleted scene of this film which is highlighted within this review: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riSBMj1oLGc&t=20s

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon 

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

https://livingforthecinema.com/

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Living-for-the-Cinema-Podcast-101167838847578

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/livingforthecinema/

Letterboxd:
https://letterboxd.com/Living4Cinema/ 

Directed by Oscar-winner Ron Howard (Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind, Parenthood), this remains one of the most celebrated big budget Hollywood films about what is likely one of the more cinematic professions.....FIREFIGHTERS.  It tells the seemingly simple story of two firefighting brothers in Chicago played by Billy Baldwin (Sliver, Flatliners) and Kurt Russell (The Thing, Tombstone) and their struggles to work together.  Not only are they struggling with the dangers of their professions but also the women in the lives played by Jennifer Jason Leigh (Single White Female, The Hateful Eight) and Rebecca DeMornay (The Hand That Rocks The Cradle, Risky Business), along with an ongoing series of fatal pre-planned fires killing various real estate developers around town, which have the lead arson investigator (Robert DeNiro) on the case.  This sprawling action adventure which has sometimes been referred to as "Top Gun for Firefighters" also co-stars Scott Glenn, JT Walsh, and Donald Sutherland among several others.    

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon 

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

https://livingforthecinema.com/

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Living-for-the-Cinema-Podcast-101167838847578

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/livingforthecinema/

Letterboxd:
https://letterboxd.com/Living4Cinema/ 

“Living for the STREEP” Series: We are here to celebrate the career of Mary Louise Streep….now known to most as Meryl Streep who has become widely known by critics, film-lovers, and audiences as likely our GREATEST LIVING ACTRESS.  Ever since her earlier breakout roles in the late 1970’s in films such as The Deer Hunter, and Kramer Vs. Kramer, she has carved out a filmography filled with brilliant performances in memorable films spanning a variety of genres including biopics, thrillers, family dramas, AND comedies.  During this time, she has also earned a STAGGERING TWENTY-ONE Oscar nominations including THREE wins.  Over the next several months, I will be revisiting one notable Streep film each month – each highlighting a different type of performance – culminating with the May 1 release of the long-awaited sequel featuring one of her more ICONIC roles as Miranda Priestly, The Devil Wears Prada 2.

The legendary Albert Brooks (Lost In America, The Muse, Modern Romance) wrote, directed, AND starred in this afterlife comedy as Daniel, an advertising executve who just died after colliding head-on with a bus.  Alas, Daniel now finds himself spending a few days in a otherwordly weigh station named, "Judgement City" where will sort go on trial to "defend his life."  What he didn't count on was falling in love....which he does with Julia played by....you guessed it....Meryl Streep.  And what results is a life-affirming romantic comedy also featuring fun performances from Rip Torn (Men In Black) and Lee Grant (Shampoo) as opposing counsel in Daniel's trial. 

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon 

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

https://livingforthecinema.com/

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Living-for-the-Cinema-Podcast-101167838847578

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/livingforthecinema/

Letterboxd:
https://letterboxd.com/Living4Cinema/ 

This remains one of the more infamous examples of a professional athlete attempting to become a movie star as former NFL linebacker Brian Bosworth stars as Joe Huff, a tough Alabama cop who goes undercover with the FBI to infiltrate and take down a militia group of bikers lead by Chains Cooper (Lance Henricksen) who has ambitions much more dangerous than just being a motorcyle club.  Bosworth's pro football career ended prematurely by the time this was released due to injuries and as a result, this film's reputation soured before it even opened in the spring of 1991.  The reviews were bad and it flopped at the box office.  However....what if it actually turned out to be a genuinely GOOD action film? 

As directed by Craig R. Baxley (Action Jackson) who was a former stunt coordinator, this film is jam-packed with impressive action sequences and stunts using various vehicles....and it also features a go-for-broke performance by William Forsythe (Out of Justice, Dick Tracy, American Me, The Rock) as the most menacing member of the motorcycle gang named "Chains."  On the eve of its 35th Anniversary, let's revisit the go-for-broke action film which 2002's XXX only aspired to be!

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon 

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

https://livingforthecinema.com/

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Living-for-the-Cinema-Podcast-101167838847578

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/livingforthecinema/

Letterboxd:
https://letterboxd.com/Living4Cinema/ 

"Crime is the disease. Meet the Cure."

"The strong arm of the law."

Back in the spring and summer of 1986, those were among several snappy taglines for this highly anticipated action thriller starring Oscar-winner Sylvester Stallone as his direct follow-up to TWO smash successes lead by him the previous year: Rambo: First Blood Part II and Rocky IV.  THIS time, he was playing the ultimate cop named Marion Cobretti (nickname: Cobra) who was on the hunt around Los Angeles for a brutal serial killer (or serial killers?) named the Night Slasher played by veteran character Brian Thompson (The Terminator, Miracle Mile, The X-Files).  This film was directed by George P. Cosmatos (Rambo, Tombstone) though apparently it ended up being co-directed by Stallone himself.  There was much hype for this film when it was released in May 1986 though the reviews were pretty poor, mostly related to its very simplistic plot and extreme violence and.....it did ok at the box office.  It wasn't the blockbuster which it was expected to be but the film made solid money at the worldwide box office.  Since then, it has garnered an increasingly rabid cult following and is now looked upon as one of Sly's most quotable films....his answer to Dirty Harry.  Let's see how it holds up forty years later and find out if.....THIS is where the law stops.....and HE starts. ;) 

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon 

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

https://livingforthecinema.com/

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Living-for-the-Cinema-Podcast-101167838847578

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/livingforthecinema/

Letterboxd:
https://letterboxd.com/Living4Cinema/ 

From acclaimed writer/director Kristoffer Borgli (Dream Scenario) comes this dark romantic comedy starring Zendaya (Euphoria, Dune's 1 &2) and Robert Pattinson (The Batman, Good Time) as a happily engaged couple whose relationship is put to the test when an unexpected turn sends their wedding week off the rails.  Also co-starring Alana Haim, Mamoudou Athie, and Hailey Gates, let's find out if this highly buzzed about new film from A24 is worth the buzz. 

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon 

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

https://livingforthecinema.com/

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Living-for-the-Cinema-Podcast-101167838847578

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/livingforthecinema/

Letterboxd:
https://letterboxd.com/Living4Cinema/