Motion Picture Pals

We review and discuss Céline Sciamma's gripping "ode to the female [gays]," Portrait of a Lady on Fire because Rebekah saw it three times in theaters in under a week.

In our first foray into new releases, we cover portrayals of abortion, woman-to-woman attraction, and what it means for a film to be apatriarchal. Sound design, (lack of a) soundtrack, furtive glances, and the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice also color the discussion. Come for the film analysis, stay for Joel's completely unbelievable stories about his Gender Studies curriculum (and also why science makes you gay).

Follow us on Twitter: @MotionPicPals

Motion Picture Pals is co-hosted by Cam Call, Rebekah Markillie, Joel Aleman, and producer Travis Lien.

Join the podcast Discord to get in on the discussions.

Motion Picture Pals is part of the @HitpointPals network.

You probably didn't see Missing Link. We know this because it was a box office bomb, despite critical acclaim and several big name actors, including the biggest of all, Huge Jackman.

We found plenty to enjoy in the wonder of Missing Link's hand crafted miniature sets and detailed props, plus an action scene with more shots than any previous stop motion film. We share our different interpretations of queerness in the characters, cast a critical eye on the way East Asian people are depicted, and celebrate the virtue of physical comedy with funny sound effects. Also worth mentioning: tiny jackets.

Follow us on Twitter: @MotionPicPals

Motion Picture Pals is co-hosted by Cam Call, Rebekah Markillie, Joel Aleman, and producer Travis Lien.

Join the podcast Discord to get in on the discussions.

Motion Picture Pals is part of the @HitpointPals network.

That one movie that showed up as album art in iTunes that time you pirated a bunch of Sufjan Stevens songs.

Content Warning: this film deals with self-harm and suicide. We discuss both topics throughout the episode, especially after the 1h 5m mark. Please do what you need to take care of yourself.

The Motion Picture Pals discuss the 2006 ensemble comedy Little Miss Sunshine, personal growth, the objectification of young girls vis a vis child beauty pageants, and why Travis thinks corpse-based physical comedy is just plain lazy.

Follow us on Twitter: @MotionPicPals

Motion Picture Pals is co-hosted by Cam Call, Rebekah Markillie, Joel Aleman, and producer Travis Lien.

Join the podcast Discord to get in on the discussions.

Motion Picture Pals is part of the @HitpointPals network.

We give this Spaghetti Western 5 out of 5 spicy meat-a-balls.

Join us for the inaugural episode of Motion Picture Pals, our new movie podcast. Cam, Rebekah, Travis, and Joel discuss Sergio Leone’s epic 1968 western full of beautiful landscapes, fun characters, and fascinating interpretations of violence in the American West.

Also, Joel forgets the word “harmonica” despite holding one in his hand.

Follow us on Twitter: @MotionPicPals

Motion Picture Pals is co-hosted by Cam Call, Rebekah Markillie, Joel Aleman, and producer Travis Lien.

Join the podcast Discord to get in on the discussions.

Motion Picture Pals is part of the @HitpointPals network.

Look, we said a lot of things about this movie. Just so we're upfront. We talked about child soldiers. We talked about arms dealing. At one point a Maz Kanata sex scene was suggested.  It's a long podcast episode about a long film. The short version is that we all agreed this was a far better adaptation of Star Wars than The Force Awakens was, just that the movie goes on a bit too long. Ironically we talked for about the length of the film, so if you like that sort of thing you're in luck. At the end of the episode we took some time to do new power rankings, and you should stick around to listen to that because some of them are really strange and will either make you mad or vindicate you. Anyway, thanks for following along with us as we journeyed towards The Rise of Skywalker, we've had a doozy of a time and we're bracing for an even doozier of a time a few weeks from now.

Star Wars Rewatch is co-hosted by William Suitt, Rebekah Markillie, Cam Call, and Travis Lien, who also produces and mixes the show.

Follow us on Twitter: @MotionPicPals

Join the podcast Discord to get in on the discussions.

Motion Picture Pals is part of the @HitpointPals network.

We're in unanimous agreement: The Force Awakens was a great event film. We all have fond memories of going to see the first Star Wars film in a decade, and having a blast. Upon revisiting the film at home in our living rooms, something was different though. Without the presence of an engaged audience to watch with us, the emphasis on nostalgia-driven "please clap" moments fell flat. Other big story questions prevented us from feeling immersed in Star Wars. Why don't people remember the jedi? Why do people think Han Solo and Luke Skywalker are myths? And what's the balance of power in the universe? As Rebekah puts it, sometimes it just doesn't feel like a Star Wars film. That's where we begin our discussion on the first Star Wars film under Disney ownership, and examine how corporate interests shape a film that had unlimited potential, but ends up feeling constrained to pretty generic boxes.

Star Wars Rewatch is co-hosted by William Suitt, Rebekah Markillie, Cam Call, and Travis Lien, who also produces and mixes the show.

Follow us on Twitter: @MotionPicPals

Join the podcast Discord to get in on the discussions.

Motion Picture Pals is part of the @HitpointPals network.

As we come to the conclusion of the original trilogy, our conversation turns to the force and the evolution of its mythos. With the prequels behind us, we remember the unfortunate way Episodes I - III dig into the mechanics of the force, and discuss what it means to turn to the dark side or remain true to the light. We also look at the way Star Wars plays it safe in terms of story, as well as depictions of violence. How badly did George's desire to sell toys compromise his original vision? Or was selling merchandise his original vision all along? And on the forest moon of Endor, strong colonialism vibes as the violent invaders recruit a native population into fighting their war for them. And did the Rebel Alliance have sexy Bothan pin up girls on their spacecraft? Into the sarlacc pit we go!

Discussed: Jabba is the 1%, Bothan pin-up Girls, gaming chairs, hijinks, bad boys, and merchandise.

Harmy's Despecialized Introductory Guide

Star Wars Rewatch is co-hosted by William Suitt, Rebekah Markillie, Cam Call, and Travis Lien, who also produces and mixes the show.

Follow us on Twitter: @MotionPicPals

Join the podcast Discord to get in on the discussions.

Motion Picture Pals is part of the @HitpointPals network.

Darth Vader is considerably less horny and angry than his teenage self by the time we get to The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and that's probably because his dick and balls were burnt off on Mustafar. Episode V continues to expand the world of Star Wars by giving us a peek under Vader's helmet at his scarred, pale flesh. Empire feels like the most outright fantastical of the films, with journeys to different forgotten realms, a wise instructor attuned with the universe, and a mystical cave with a dark secret. We discuss the effectiveness of Luke's many failures in this middle act, and the great cliffhanger the film ends on. Has there ever been a plot twist that rivals the Vader identity reveal? And what are those goblins doing on Cloud City? Did the Millennium Falcon fly up a space worm's anus, as Cam suggests?

Harmy's Despecialized Introductory Guide

Star Wars Rewatch is co-hosted by William Suitt, Rebekah Markillie, Cam Call, and Travis Lien, who also produces and mixes the show.

Follow us on Twitter: @MotionPicPals

Join the podcast Discord to get in on the discussions.

Motion Picture Pals is part of the @HitpointPals network.

There was a particular magic to 1977's Star Wars that propelled it to legendary pop culture status. It introduced a rustic spacefaring galaxy of heroes and villains, handcrafted through the innovation of visual effects artists, sound designers, and costume designers, all with limited resources. The craftsmanship that went into creating this fantastical world was so universally beloved that Star Wars won technical awards across the board, and the Library of Congress selected the film in its first year of establishing the National Film Registry, a limited archive of films deemed culturally and historically significant. But the National Film Registry has never received Star Wars. George Lucas refused to submit the original film, instead offering his "Special Edition," an altered version of the film with new edits, visual effects, coloring, sound design, sound mixing - in other words, a completely different film. Enter a dedicated group of fans, centered around a man known as Harmy. Together they use a combination of original theatrical prints, the special edition Blu Rays, and modern visual effects technology to restore and "despecialize" the films back to their original form.

This is the version of A New Hope we watched for Episode 4 of Star Wars Rewatch, where our conversation on the cultural significance of Harmy's Despecialized runs from the beginning of the podcast to 36:50. From there we return to form and discuss the plot, character archetypes, politics, droid rights, and weird Lucasisms you've come to expect from this podcast.

Star Wars Rewatch is co-hosted by William Suitt, Rebekah Markillie, Cam Call, and Travis Lien, who also produces and mixes the show.

Follow us on Twitter: @MotionPicPals

Join the podcast Discord to get in on the discussions.

Motion Picture Pals is part of the @HitpointPals network.