Mission 250 Podcast

This week, we watch the classic noir that has a "bad guy" as the protagonist for the first time in Hollywood film history. A man finds himself in the positions of both the investigator and the person being investigated in an insurance fraud scheme. Even though the film tells you who is the murderer is within the first five minutes, it manages to keep you guessing until the end. Double Indemnity (1944), directed by Billy Wilder.

This week, Buzz and Woody are at it again. We watch them try to reunite with Andy for a third time, as Pixar tries to forces those tears out of our heads. Toy Story 3 (2010), directed by Lee Unkrich.

This week, we watch the historical epic that not only paved the way for all blockbuster films to come after it, but also one that stands the test of time while being a work of art that will never see an equal. The list of films influenced by this masterpiece is massive, and includes every single Steven Spielberg movie, as seeing this in the theater as a child was the reason he became a director. Lawrence of Arabia (1962), directed by David Lean.

This week, we watch the sprawling tale of what it was like to be a kid in the rural South in the 30s. This film has some of the best acting in an older film we've seen, and the film remains an amazingly moral tale about what it takes to stand up for a cause and defend all human rights equally. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), directed by Robert Mulligan.

This week, we watch a film that combines romantic drama and science fiction in a very unique way. Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet each give their career best performances, bringing dramatic weight into a story that could be classified as fantasy, and making the relationship between Joel and Clementine relatable and heartbreaking. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), directed by Michel Gondry.

This week, we watch the fictional story about the real musical genius, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. This film is remembered for its performances and its period piece elements, with real locations throughout the majority of the movie, and ridiculous costumes at every turn. If you can get past his laugh, this one is a classic. Amadeus (1984), directed by Milos Forman.

This week, we watch Stanley Kubrick's take on the Vietnam War. Instead of being a rehash of the ideas explored in the many other war films made by the time of its release, Kubrick focuses on the human aspect of turning men violent. The result is an extremely tense and unpleasant viewing experience that many veterans claim is the closest a film has come to realistically portraying what being sent to war is like. Full Metal Jacket (1987), directed by Stanley Kubrick.

This week, we watch the best picture winning film about two Con-Artists going in together to pull off a huge grift. Those two men happen to be Paul Newman and Robert Redford. The Duo's on-screen charisma shines yet again, and while it might not be setting out to do anything but entertain, it does so in spades, and amounts to a ride worth taking. The Sting (1973), directed by George Roy Hill.

We published our first episode of our filmcast on 10/20/2016. From the start, we froze the IMDB list in time so that we wouldn't have to work from a moving target. But what as changed on the list since then? In this special episode, we review what movies have dropped out (there's some shockers!), what movies have jumped in, and what movies have moved about the most in the list since we started.

This week, we continue our discussion of Stanley Kubrick's 2001 and focus on facts and trivia. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), directed by Stanley Kubrick.