Reel Review

The film world is a completely different universe than it was when Better off Dead came out in August 1985.

"Savage" Steve Holland's film about a jilted nerd, skiing, and the foreign exchange student who saves him, is perhaps the quintessential cult teen film of the 80s.  “Those video stores just completely saved Better Off Dead,” Holland told Fast Company. “It was always out at any Blockbuster Video I walked into, and then I’d talk to the guys who worked there and they were like, ‘You know, people rent it and they don’t bring it back.’”

Is this a case of hindsight isn't so Pretty in Pink, or does it stand some of the tests of time?

Host Jonathan Schwartz is joined by Alex Ago and Aubrey Hicks.

Twitter: @reelreviewusc, @AubreyHi, @jonHLYP

Email: [email protected]

Depending on who you talk to, The Godfather is either a story of an "aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant son" or, the "greatest gangster film of all time."

We discuss why the film is still watched ... and loved almost 50 years later.

Listen as host Erroll Southers discusses the first of the trilogy, The Godfather, with Carla Della Gatta, Aubrey Hicks, and Jonathan Schwartz. 

Twitter: @reelreviewusc, @esouthersHVE, @CarlaDellaGatta @AubreyHi, @jonHLYP

We've got a special "Warriors" episode of Reel Review for you today!

We got together Lt. Col. Olivia Nelson and two female Air Force ROTC Cadets to discuss the first (!) Marvel movie to center a female superhero: Captain Marvel. 

Warning: Spoilers!

Host Jonathan Schwartz is joined by Lt. Col. Olivia Nelson, Tiana Grow (First year, Health & Human Sciences major), and Natalie Smith (First year, Aerospace Engineering) 

Twitter: @reelreviewusc, @jonHLYP 

This podcast is brought to you by Price Video Services and USC Bedrosian Center, and continues ongoing efforts to bring policy and its impact into the public discourse and is produced by Aubrey Hicks and Jonathan Schwartz.

Sound supervision by the Brothers Hedden.

From the mind the brought us Get Out, is the new film scaring audiences across the states. In Jordan Peele's latest film, Us, doppelgängers menace a family trying to enjoy their summer vacation. But ... as in Get Out, everything isn't quite that simple.

What mirror is Peele holding up for us now?

Warning: Spoilers!

Host Erroll Southers is joined by Alex Ago, Aubrey Hicks, & Keith Nelson.

Twitter: @reelreviewusc, @esouthersHVE, @AubreyHi

This podcast is brought to you by Price Video Services and USC Bedrosian Center, and continues ongoing efforts to bring policy and its impact into the public discourse and is produced by Aubrey Hicks and Jonathan Schwartz.

Sound supervision by the Brothers Hedden.

Based on a true story, Fighting with My Family is a British comedy meets WWE. Paige is born into a wrestling family. When she and her brother get a chance to try out for WWE (and meet Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) they are thrilled. Of course, there is a catch ... only Paige earns a spot.

We're interested in how the story is translated to screen as well as the real complicated women portrayed.

Host Erroll Southers is joined by Prof Ange-Marie Hancock Alfaro and Alex Ago.

Twitter: @reelreviewusc, @esouthersHVE, @AngeMarieH

This podcast is brought to you by Price Video Services and USC Bedrosian Center, and continues ongoing efforts to bring policy and its impact into the public discourse and is produced by Aubrey Hicks and Jonathan Schwartz.

Sound supervision by the Brothers Hedden.

Reel Review, formerly known as the Price Projection Room, invites you to tune in for a third season with a fresh new design and social media presence: Twitter, Facebook, & Instagram, via the handle @reelreviewusc

October 2018 brought us RBG, the documentary about the Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Now we have On the Basis of Sex, a biopic starring Felicity Jones as this iconic leader in the fight for gender equality and justice under the law. The film is directed by Mimi Leder. The film focuses on the period between RBG's first year in law school and the first case she tries in court. 

Does the film work to humanize the subject, or perhaps to dehumanize the men who continuously tried to demean her? Perhaps most striking is how quickly some of us have forgotten what it was like to live through this transitional period, and how long people have been pursuing equal protection and rights under the law. 

Host Jonathan Schwartz is joined by Alex Ago, Carla Della Gatta, and David Warshofsky to discuss the film, opening today. While you might know most of RBG's story, beware of spoilers.

For links and more, check out the showpage.

2016 brought us back to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in the prequel to the beloved books and movies: Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them. 6 fictional months and two real life years later, we return to in Yates' Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. Reviews have been decidedly mixed. What do our geeks think of the new addition to the Potterverse? 

Voldemort-lite or complex look at the "Banality of Evil?"

If you haven’t seen the movie, beware, this conversation has spoilers.

Host Jonathan Schwartz is joined by Alex Ago and Aubrey Hicks.

Find us on Twitter:   @BedrosianCenter, @AubreyHi, @jonHLYP, @USCCinema, @USCSDA, @USCPrice

Showpage: http://bit.ly/pprbeasts

Rhymes for Young Ghouls, written and directed by Jeff Barnaby is set on the Red Crow Mi'g Maq reservation in 1976. It follows 15 year old Aila as she navigates growing up in a country which imposes taxes and violence upon those who wish to preserve heritage, language, and way of living. She must also face the violence & addiction within her family, within her own community. The children of the Crow have a common enemy. The sadistic truancy officer, Popper. Popper torments the children with physical and psychological violence if they remain "truant." 

Rhymes is a heist film, a revenge film, a coming of age film, and possibly one of the most relevant for policy films we've discussed on the podcast. 

If you haven't seen the movie, beware, this conversation has a ton of spoilers.

We highly recommend watching - it's streaming on multiple platforms.

Host Jonathan Schwartz is joined by Chris Finley and Aubrey Hicks.

Find us on Twitter: @BedrosianCenter, @AubreyHi,  @NDNCinema, @jonHLYP, @USCPrice

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This podcast is part of a series on Indigenous films in partnership with the Red Nation Celebration Institute, and the Red Nation Film Festival. It is brought to you by Price Video Services and USC Bedrosian Center, and continues ongoing efforts to bring policy and its impact into the public discourse.

Sound supervision by the Brothers Hedden.

As follow up to our discussion of the film, Wind River, we are joined by partners in the Native Women in Film & Television organization. Native Women in Film & Television is  a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting equal opportunities for American Indian & Indigenous women, encouraging the creative narrative by native women, exploring and empowering portrayals of women in all forms of global media, expanding empowerment initiatives for native women and girls, in the arts, media, social justice, civic engagement, economic empowerment, research, training and international relations.

We discuss why some organizations supporting Native Women find their struggle portrayed in Taylor Sheridan’s film. Why it resonates with many native women and how it might support the #WhyWeWearRed, #TimesUp, and #MeToo online movements to recognize trauma affecting millions of women.

If you haven't seen the movie, beware, this podcast has spoilers.

Host Jonathan Schwartz is joined by Chris Finley, Joanelle Romero, Michelle D. Schenandoah, and Lucy Simpson

Find us on Twitter: @BedrosianCenter,  @NDNCinema,‏ @jonHLYP, @niwrc @MichelleSchena1 @USCDornsife

For links and more, see the showpage. 

The opinions of activists on this podcast are  expressed as those of the speakers individually, and do not necessarily reflect those of USC, the USC Bedrosian Center, or Price Video Services.

This podcast is part of a series on Indigenous films in partnership with the Red Nation Celebration Institute, and the Red Nation Film Festival. It is brought to you by Price Video Services and USC Bedrosian Center, and continues ongoing efforts to bring policy and its impact into the public discourse.

Sound supervision by the Brothers Hedden.