Peak Viewing

We were shocked to find that a slow cinema icon like Kelly Reichardt had made a thriller movie, and yet that’s exactly what we get this week with 2013’s Night Moves. This tense and taut thriller is jam-packed with great performances, meditations on isolation, and amazing moody vibes. Topics discussed include improperly ending phone calls, how to clean saunas, and Samuel’s truly unhinged tire changing story.

Meek’s Cutoff is an “inspired by true events” western that tells the story of a group of settlers who get lost in 1845. It’s one of the most surprising and subversive westerns you’ll come across, presenting a female perspective that is missing from like 95% of stories in this genre. We get into all the things that impressed us about this movie, including the gorgeous cinematography, the interesting parallels to the real-world story, the allusions to the Bush administration, and what the Academy aspect ratio has to do with, of all things, bonnets.

Wendy and Lucy is one of the saddest films we’ve covered. It’s a story of a person that society usually chooses to ignore, and forces viewers to confront the grave realities of homelessness. Also, there’s an entitled teenage grocer that Henry may or may not want to punch in the face. Safe to say, we’re feeling our feelings this week! We also discuss the mutt-ness of dogs, the ethic and morals of grocery stealing, and what we will put on our gravestones.

This week we’re trekking to the hot springs and getting EXISTENTIAL! Reichardt’s sophomore film, Old Joy, is a fascinating meditation on friendship, generational splintering, and Bush era stagnation, all set in the Pacific Northwest that will eventually become a staple of her films. Topics discussed include going to record stores, staying mindful, facial hair growth conspiracies, camping mattress preferences, and some serious questioning of which one of us is Mark and which one of us is Kurt.

New miniseries time! We’re kicking off our series on Kelly Reichardt with her directorial debut, the festival darling River of Grass. We’ve got sleepy characters, American malaise, and Reichardt’s honest filmmaking style that is devoid of judgment or audience manipulation. And it’s only 76 minutes! We get into all the thematic stuff we found here, along with our thoughts on color theory, pictures of our faces, and how early we got addicted to soda. 

(CW: Discussion of sexual assault throughout the episode.)

We’re ending our miniseries on Sergio Leone with a truly epic film, Once Upon a Time in America. This film, which took the better part of a decade to fully make, is four hours long, rife with symbolism, and spans something like sixty years. It’s a monumental work of art that is also incredibly difficult to watch in numerous ways that have nothing to do with the runtime. We get into all of that, along with our thoughts on longer movies, our Leone rankings, and the announcement of our next miniseries!

(CW: Mild discussion of sexual assault throughout the episode.)

Leone’s penultimate film requires some compartmentalization from its viewers. On the one hand, Duck, You Sucker (which is sometimes called A Fistful of Dynamite) features a protagonist who is one of the most racist and vile stereotypes we’ve ever seen, and you’re supposed to like him! On the other hand, Leone’s filmmaking continues to be masterful, packing this movie full of spectacle, tension, and beautiful flashback storylines. Like we said, compartmentalization necessary.

(CW: Brief discussion of the sexual assault scene from 1:20:00 to 1:25:00.)

The whole Dollars thing is so last week. Now it’s all about the Once Upon a Time stuff with Once Upon a Time in the West! This cinematic epic feels in many ways like the pinnacle of Leone’s “adult fairytale” storytelling, mixed expertly with slow pacing that’s punctuated by brutal violence. We discuss the undeniable technical prowess on display here, the confusing gaps in the back half of the story, and our misgivings about the characterization of Jill McBain.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is arguably one of the most iconic films of all time. A true landmark piece of filmmaking that went on to redefine the western genre, the Italian film scene, and morally ambiguous protagonists in film forever. Today on the podcast we both watched it for the first time and had some very surface-level questions. Where have we heard this film’s motif before? Is “the Good” really that good? What’s the best version of this movie to watch? What happens if you drink foot water in 1862? And where is the Oxford comma?

(CW: Mild discussion of the sexual assault scene throughout the episode.)

For a Few Dollars More is the name of Leone’s second western, and it can also describe a couple parts of the movie: it was made for a few dollars more, and at the box office it made a few dollars more. In our opinion, it’s a great step up: the bigger budget is a noticeable improvement, the trio of characters have some fun dynamics, and the Ennio Morricone score is still incredible. In addition to breaking down this iconic western, we also get into disturbing Botox trends, the tallest statue in Eastern Europe, and the truly insane amount of aura farming on display in this movie.