Things aren’t quite what they seem in the old childhood home of recently married ace reporter Mortimer Brewster’s (Cary Grant) old house over in Brooklyn.  It turns out that his sweet spinster aunts have been poisoning lonely old men and burying them in the basement.  Frank Capra’s cherished adaptation of the hit stage comedy set the tenor for the ghoulish/cute aesthetic that rings so true with secret goths, like our birthday boy Mike.  Happy birthday Mike!  And enjoy this piece of cake that I made especially for you…

If you’d like to watch ahead for next week’s film, we will be discussing and reviewing Wes Anderson’s The Royal Tenenbaums (2001).

A Marlon Brando western?  Directed by… [checks notes]… Marlon Brando?!!  Get ready for a wild ride of betrayal, passion, quick-draw dive-jumps, a fair amount of mumbling dialogue, and a whole lot of handsome.  But enough about us, let’s talk about the movie…

If you’d like to watch ahead for next week’s film, we will be discussing and reviewing Frank Capra’s Arsenic and Old Lace (1944).

How many times do you think that Mike will bring up Serge Gainsbourg in an episode about a movie that has nothing to do with him?  The answer is one more than the amount of times that Charlie all-too-casually mentions second-wave feminism.  This must mean that we are watching Brigitte Bardot's breakthrough starring vehicle about love, lust, freedom, and the sandy beaches of St. Tropez.

If you'd like to watch ahead for next week's film, we will be discussing and reviewing Marlon Brando's One-Eyed Jacks (1961).

Dudley Murphy’s adaptation of this Eugene O’Neill picaresque play follows the tumultuous rise of Pullman porter Brutus Jones, played by the peerless Paul Robeson. We are taken through musically-punctuated examples of the early twentieth-century African American experience until Jones’ ambition and hubris drive him to become the despot of a Caribbean island.   If you’d like to watch ahead for next week’s film, we will be discussing and reviewing Roger Vadim’s And God Created Woman (1956).

On this week's episode, [needle drop: classic Motown song about hanging out with friends] your hosts settle in with couple of old college friends (Shelley and Max of The Spirit Guides Podcast) in a big house for a couple of days to [needle drop: classic light acid rock song about recording a podcast] watch Lawrence Kasdan's star-studded film and [needle drop: classic pop song about times going by] ruminate about times gone by .  Is this movie about cool adults...or insufferable sell-outs?  And if its about both: is that cool or insufferable? [needle drop: classic punk song about kids tearing down the icons of their parents.]

If you'd like to watch ahead for next week's film, we will be discussing and reviewing Dudley Murphy's The Emperor Jones (1933) and the supplementary Tribute to an Artist (1979).

Imagine a time in history where a film about a man losing his job - a job that defines him, giving him pride and respect in his community - explores the desperation and humiliation of demotion but it doesn’t end in a bloodbath. Different times. Not that F.W. Murnau’s proto-Brazil silent film pulls any punches.

If you’d like to watch ahead for next week’s film, we will be discussing and reviewing Lawrence Kasdan’s The Big Chill (1983).

The Hawk is on the loose!  Michael Lehmann’s heist-oriented comic action movie is a widely panned example of true 1990s Hollywood excess.  But, what if the hosts of a podcast based on the sophisticated films of the Criterion Collection actually…love the movie?  Look, while this episode begins on the premise of an Aprils Fool’s joke, the tone immediately settles on genuine admiration.

Also, we recorded this several week’s before this film’s lead, Bruce Willis, announced his retirement.  As a couple of lifelong fans, we offer this episode as our own - entirely unintended - celebration of a often maligned film that deserves another looks, thanks in large part to Bruce.

If you’d like to watch ahead for next week’s film, we will be discussing and reviewing F.W. Murnau’s The Last Laugh (1924).

We hope that you’re hungry for this week’s episode because we’re watching Juzo Itami’s great cinematic love letter to ramen.  Even more than that, this fantastical narrative jumps between a dizzying array of comic vignettes exploring all things food.  It’s a feast of good food, bad food, good manners, bad manners, high cuisine, and road side grub.  

If you’d like to watch ahead for next week’s film, we will be discussing and reviewing F.W. Murnau’s The Last Laugh (1924).

It goes without saying that this is a big one for us.  Akira Kurosawa’s classic tale of peasants-seek-samurai/samurai-get-crew-together/samurai-kill-bandits is both a highly influential titan in 20th-century cinema and perhaps one of the most defining films of the Criterion Collection.  But will our episode attain similar lofty heights among movie podcasts?  Well, Takashi Shimura is standing over there with the barest hint of a smile in his eyes giving us a single nod of approval.  So, yeah.  I think we did it.

If you’d like to watch ahead for next week’s film, we will be discussing and reviewing Juzo Itami’s Tampopo (1985).

This year, Mike has selected Lawerence Kasdan’s star-studded, rollicking western update as his “gift” for the birthday boy Charlie.  Why?  That’s still a little unclear, but your hosts are still delighted by this crowd-pleasing action/western.  So gear up with your pearl-handled colt, fancy 2-gun rig, derringer, boot knife, or a Henry rifle for each hand and ride out with us to save Linda Hunt at all costs.

If you’d like to watch ahead for next week’s film, we will be discussing and reviewing Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai (1954).