Movies That Matter

Lexy and Nicole discuss Challengers and the dearth of fun sexiness in movies and tv. We disagree on the craft and entertaiment value of the film. We talk about how flirtiness and light-hearted sexy times have gone out of style and why people might want it back.

Lexy recommends Joy Ride. Nicole recommends The Thinking Woman's Guide to Real Magic.

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Justin and Nicole discuss The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare and how we think about the morality of war. We find the movie entertaining but technically not particularly adept. We talk about the morality of war in general and of the world wars tackling what it means to have rules of war.

Justin recommends Shogun and X-Men '97 . Nicole recommends Brooklyn 99 and Who Killed the Video Store.

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Adam and Nicole discuss Civil War and the movie's meditation on war photojournalism. We appreciated all the technical aspects of the movie, editing, cinematography, soundtrack, and sound design. All of the elements worked together to create a nuanced, almost meditative view on the role of photojournalism in war reporting. The movie tackles the inherent contradiction in taking a great photo of something horrific. 

Adam recommends Middlemarch and Orphan. Nicole recommends Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.

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Nicole, Lexy, and Stacy tackle the Oscars covering costume, production design, song and animated films. We share our thoughts on the nominees and the films we saw in 2023. 

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Nicole, Lexy, Justin, and Stacy tackles the Oscars covering the best performances-- supporting actor/actress and leading actor/actress. We share our thoughts on the nominees and the films we saw in 2023. 

Nicole, Lexy, Justin, and Stacy tackles the Oscars covering the best performances-- supporting actor/actress and leading actor/actress. We share our thoughts on the nominees and the films we saw in 2023. 

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Nicole, Lexy, Justin, and Stacy tackles the Oscars covering Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Director and Best Picture. We share our thoughts on the nominees and the films we saw in 2023. 

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Christopher and Nicole with special guest, Dan, discuss The Farewell and the issues that come along with generational conflicts that cross international boundaries as well. We disagree about the actual quality of the filmmaking particularly the bizarre score, Dan discusses the dissonance between what was considered funny by Asian vs non-Asian audiences, and the tension between the families who emigrate and the families who stay. It's worth hearing the real story from This American Life. For more on Lulu Wang, check out this article from The Atlantic.

Nicole recommends early Ang Lee: The Wedding Banquet and Eat Drink Man Woman. Christopher recommends Star Trek: Discovery.

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Nicole and Stacy talk with Sari about Get Out, the fear of being black in white spaces, white fragility, and horror movie tropes. Mentioned in the episode is a an interview with Jordan Peele on the Nerdist podcast.

Recommendations this week: This Is Us and Tucker and Dale vs. Evil.

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Garret and Nicole gush over Wonka and the movie's whimisical and joyful pure imagination. We love the cast, the costumes, the sets, and the world the movie created. We literally tear up talking about getting enveloped by this movie. We talk about the value of having genuine emotional experiences at the movies without having to tackle all the world's ills.

Garret recommends reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory out loud to another person. Nicole recommends While You Were Sleeping.

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