Retro Grade Podcast

“IT’S HARD BEING MEXICAN-AMERICAN.“

On this episode of Retro Grade Podcast, we go back to a movie that meant more to each of us than we realized. We take on 1997’s Selena, directed by Gregory Nava, starring Jennifer Lopez and Edward James Olmos. While both being 90’s babies and both having Hispanic heritage, Selena’s music was in our ears and hearts during our formative years. To this day, hearing her music takes us on an emotional journey that is shared by millions of others. We were both huge fans of the movie as children, but after falling in love with film and going to a university to study the craft of filmmaking, we haven’t watched Selena since. So now in making this episode we are tasked to ask…how good is Selena the movie really?

We talk about the objectively amazing performances given by the principal cast. Edward James Olmos as the Quintanilla patriarch does an amazing job playing an over protective father, who despite all his faults always comes from a place of love. John Seda playing Selena’s future husband gives a performance that feels so subtle and authentic, it made both of us think to ourselves “I know this guy!“ And of course, there is no denying the career-launching portrayal of Selena from Jennifer Lopez. She may not have looked like Selena, she may not have had the Texan accent like Selena, she didn’t even sing like Selena (the singing scenes were all dubbed with Selena’s actual voice) but she brought Selena back to life in a way that brought the real Quintanilla’s to tears. Anyone who says J. Lo can’t act has clearly never seen this movie.

There are somethings we get into about how maybe the movie hasn’t aged as well. Some of them not being faults of the movie itself, but perhaps the music biopic genre itself. Some being reminders of how films in the 90’s were made. But one of them being a part of the Selena story itself. How do you tell the story without the abrupt and tragic end, that to this day still breaks our hearts?

We get into some of the history of the real life Selena, and how the film compares. We provide context to show our listeners how much people cared about Selena, and how some people really didn’t care about at all, and that despite all of the barriers in front of her and her untimely death in 1995, she remains as a beacon of hope for so many, immortalized in her music and the film that has just turned 25 years old.

We hope you enjoy this episode as much as we had making it!

Music is from Triune Digital and audio clips pulled from movies we will be reviewing in other episodes.

Artwork by @jannelle_o

“THIS IS NOT ABOUT BLACK AND WHITE. THIS IS ABOUT MONEY. THIS IS ABOUT GREEN. YOU GOT THAT?“

On this episode of Retro Grade Podcast, we go back to the 90’s to cover a different basketball movie: White Men Can’t Jump, directed by Ron Shelton, starring Woody Harrelson, Wesley Snipes, and Rosie Perez. What was it about the 90’s and basketball? Is it just us, or did basketball feel so much bigger back then? Is that just the nostalgia talking, or is there any truth to that admittedly generalized statement?

Although not being sports guys, we talk about how movies will use the sports setting to bring up social issues, like race, gender and social status to provide stakes and conflict to the characters already engaged in a competition that yields winners and losers. Often times these issues may be over simplified to provide an easier viewing experience for the audience, but sometimes the films offer no easy, end-all solution. Such is the case in White Men Can’t Jump.

Comedies, more so than other genres, do not have a great track record on this podcast for aging particularly well. Sometimes jokes that were edgy back then, are either too tame or just grossly inappropriate for a contemporary audience. What is timeless though, is the performances that these jokes are accompanied with. We get into how well the cast of this film delivers the comedy, and how this movie makes us laugh 30 years after it debuted in theatres. We also talk about the absolute gem of a performance Rosie Perez gives us, and talk about what she said the role means to her.

To just call this film a sports comedy would be a disservice. We get into the themes, messages, and dive deep on the fictional characters of the insecure gambling addict Billy Hoyle, the providing hustler in Sydney Deane, and romantic Jeopardy fanatic in Gloria Clemente. Being that 30 years have passed, we get into some fun behind the scenes trivia that is now available due to the cast and crew spilling the proverbial beans.

If that sounds like fun, give this episode a listen! And/or share this episode with someone you know!

See you in two weeks!

Music is from Triune Digital and audio clips pulled from movies we will be reviewing in other episodes.

Artwork by @jannelle_o

On this week’s episode of Retro Grade Podcast, we go back 19 years ago to talk about Sofia Coppola’s Lost In Translation. This will be the first time that either of us have seen the film. Not knowing what to expect, we talk about Coppola’s first feature, The Virgin Suicides,  and try to see what that film did well and whether Coppola can follow it up.

We spend a large amount of time talking about the story, about the themes on loneliness and isolation, and about the unorthodox relationship between Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson. Are they lovers? Friends? Is it sexual or platonic? Is the large age gap and issue that the film addresses, or are we meant to see past it? We go into the Japanese representation in the film, and whether that holds up. Having done a little research before watching the film, there was some controversy about the Japanese characters present in the film and whether they were given the same treatment as the main characters, or if Coppola may have resorted to age old Japanese stereotypes in order to convey the isolation Bill and Scarlett feel.

After the story, we focus on the film’s aesthetics, appreciating the beautiful cinematography that highlights the beauty in the Japanese metropolitan area, as well as the iconic soundtrack that may be some of the best needle drops in cinema history. We talk about how Sofia made us see the world through Scarlett’s point of view, a feminine point of view, and how this may have subverted classic Hollywood conventions when filming female characters. And lastly, we talk about the film subverting genre conventions, how it manages to be something more than most movies, somehow balancing comedic and romantic elements with drama, but never straying too far.

So grab a hot cup of chocolate, get cozy with your favorite blanket, and enjoy this week’s episode of Retro Grade Podcast!

Music is from Triune Digital and audio clips pulled from movies we will be reviewing in other episodes.

Artwork by @jannelle_o

On this episode of Retro Grade Podcast, we find even more to talk about The Godfather. Behind every great movie, is a great story of how it was made, and the impact it had when it was released. Have you ever wondered why The Godfather was such a big deal? Well, on this episode we might have some answers for you!

We talk about where Mario Puzo got the inspiration to tell this story by talking to some mob members while gambling with them. We talk about how Francis Ford Coppola didn’t want to make this movie, how the studio did not want to make the movie Coppola wanted to make, and how the real life Mafia that existed in New York, REALLY did not want the movie to be made period. This movie almost got canned before a single frame was even shot.

We get into the cinematic landscape that this movie came out in. Did you know that 1971 had the lowest ticket sales on record until recent pandemic? With TV taking off and movies getting stale, The Godfather offered something different. Something you could only get from the theatrical experience.

After the huge success that the movie eventually was, the story doesn’t end there. Creating a star out of Al Pacino, an auteur out of Francis Ford Coppola, and a different side to Marlon Brando that no one knew he had. A side that earned him an Oscar, that he famously declined and gave an opportunity to Sacheen Littlefeather to speak about the racist representation of Native Americans in film and TV.

There is so much more to The Godfather story besides the nearly three hour film. We hope you enjoy this one, and stay tuned for next Sunday, because we talk about Sophia Coppola’s breakthrough film, Lost in Translation!

Music is from Triune Digital and audio clips pulled from movies we will be reviewing in other episodes.

Artwork by @jannelle_o

“IT’S NOT PERSONAL. IT’S STRICTLY BUSINESS.“

On this week’s episode of Retro Grade Podcast, we talk about what’s considered to be one of the greatest films of all time: the 1972 classic, The Godfather. Because the film is so massive in runtime and story, we are going to be breaking up the episode into two parts, similar to the original Godfather trilogy, Godfather: Part I and Godfather Part II. Don’t be confused, part 2 will not cover The Godfather Part 2, it will cover the behind the scenes and what made this film different from gangster movies in the past.

In this first part, we will be focusing on the story and the characters. We begin with the very first shot, breaking down the opening monologue where the undertaker Bonasera talks about his daughter being assaulted and asking Vito Corleone to bring him justice. From there we go over how the beginning thirty minutes, Connie’s Wedding, is effective in conveying everything the audiences needs to know going into the movie: the themes, setting, tone, and most importantly, the characters.

We talk about the film’s many positive elements, including the suspense and the acting, but also about any few potential shortcomings it might have. One of them being the runtime, whether the film justifies it’s extended runtime.  And to the depiction of the women in this world, and whether maintaining realism of the film’s patriarchal underworld justifies their limited screen presence and lack of characterization.

So while this episode may not be the complete picture of The Godfather, it is the perfect episode to listen to if you want to delve deep into these characters and themes, and to find out if this film should be the next thing on your watchlist queue. So sit back, relax, and enjoy our episode on Mario Puzo’s The Godfather.

Music is from Triune Digital and audio clips pulled from movies we will be reviewing in other episodes.

Artwork by @jannelle_o

On this episode of Retro Grade Podcast, we talk about a movie over 100 years old. We talk about the oldest surviving film from a Black director. The movie is Oscar Micheaux’s Within Out Gates from 1920. This is the first silent film we’ve done on the podcast, and also a film neither of the hosts had even heard about until visiting the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles. We wanted to really focus on a Black filmmaker for the last episode that will be released during Black history month, and could not have picked a better one than Oscar Micheaux

The film is about a young Black woman named Sylvia who works as a school teacher and must try to raise money to save her school, however events of her past continue to haunt her. When the film was released, it was met with praise, but also contempt, censorship and outright banned by some theaters in fear that it would reignite race riots like the ones in Chicago in 1919, and was thought to be lost to history until accidentally discovered in Spain in the 1970’s. However, just 5 years before, D. W. Griffith’s Birth of a Nation was met with praise, financial success, unsuccessfully banned, endorsed by the President, made its place in history as one of the first feature length films in history.. AND ALSO depicted the Ku Klux Klan as a heroic force that preserved American virtue, was used to recruit new members into the KKK, and ignited riots that left at least one Black teenager dead in Lafayette, Indiana. If Within Our Gates was meant to depict multiple representations of the African-American experience, why was it met with such hostility and neglect? What does it say about us as a Nation

We discuss why the film was so controversial, who Oscar Micheaux was, what the historical context for the film was (including its bizarre final two minutes,) and how despite being over 100 years old, the film’s themes and side stories hold up better than some other ones we have covered.

Hope you enjoy!


Music is from Triune Digital and audio clips pulled from movies we will be reviewing in other episodes.

Artwork by @jannelle_o

FEEL THE RHYTHM! FEEL THE RHYME! GET ON UP, IT’S BOBSLED TIME!

On this week’s episode of Retro Grade Podcast, we wanted to commemorate both the Winter Olympics happening in Beijing, and Black History Month. And there’s only one film that we can think of that fits the bill: Cool Runnings, the 1993 Disney Classic. It’s loosely based on the Jamaican Bobsled team that went on to compete in the 1988 Olympic games,  and their journey from being ridiculed by everyone, to representing their country on the grandest athletic stage.

Being remembered by many as a classic sports film, including our very own Austin, how does the film hold up after being out for almost 30 years? With the little representation that Jamaica receives in the United States, does the film do it justice or does it fall short by leaning into racial stereotypes that America has had about Jamaicans? With none of the lead actors having been born in Jamaica, how do they play their parts, and are they a positive representation of the people of Jamaica, and of the real bobsledders that competed in the 1988 games?

We talk about the story and screenplay, mainly focusing on how strictly the story follows the real-life events that inspired it (hint: not very closely at all). And what creative liberties the filmmakers choose to make to bring the film to life. This aspect of the story was actually the reason many filmmakers passed on the project, with many not knowing how to combine the real events with contemporary Hollywood storytelling techniques. We also focus on the main characters, and how their writing and performances were so great, we can see how their story has stood the test of time and will continue to in the coming years.

So pack up your snow gear and flip flops, because on this week’s episode we’re going to be taking a round trip to both Jamaica and Canada, as we talk about Cool Runnings.

Enjoy!

Music is from Triune Digital and audio clips pulled from movies we will be reviewing in other episodes.

Artwork by @jannelle_o

“PULLING A TRIGGER IS LIKE ORDERING TAKE OUT.“

Hello listeners! We are BACK from our winter recess with an adrenaline pumping action movie in 2011’s, The Raid: Redemption directed by Gareth Evans. We talked a lot about action movies in our last episode, so we figured we’d kick the new year off with a classic. A martial arts action movie so good, Netflix is currently in the process of making a remake… Yeah.. BUT! Before we get hung up on the concept of remakes, how did a 1 million dollar budget movie from Indonesia, directed by Welshman, became a word-of-mouth hit that introduced Iko Uwais, Joe Taslim, Yayan Ruhian, and martial art of penchat silat to the world? We talk about all of that on this weeks episode!

We get into what makes this movie a “good action movie.“ At Retro Grade Podcast, we talk about different genres of movies and how they should all be judged accordingly. An action movie needs to make it’s action scenes distinct, come up with fresh choreography that it visually interesting, and use cinematography to capture the action in a way that lets the audience see and feel the hits. The Raid does ALL of that, with meticulously planned fight choreography from Iko and Yayan and the use of a figrig on a small digital camera to capture martial arts in a way not seen before. Before they ever stepped foot on the set, the fight scenes were rehearsed with the camera movements in the gym through a process called previs, which has since become a standard practice of industry leading stunt team: 87eleven.

Before we inevitably watch the remake, how does the original Raid hold up today? Find out what we think on this episode!

Music is from Triune Digital and audio clips pulled from movies we will be reviewing in other episodes.

Artwork by @jannelle_o

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

We normally like to talk about older movies, but on this episode of Retro Grade Podcast, we look back at movies that came out in 2021, and give our SPOILER FREE thoughts about what we liked and did not like during the past year. We talk about the big blockbusters like Spider-Man: No Way Home, The Suicide Squad, Fast 9, and The Matrix Resurrections.* Some smaller films you might have missed like Penguin Bloom, Last Night in Soho and Pig. We also talk about movies that surprised us, like Titane, Malignant, and The Green Knight. And we talk about movies that we didn’t really agree with each other on, like Jungle Cruise, Space Jam 2, and Mortal Kombat. What were some of your favorites we might have missed? What was your favorite movie of the year? Let us know on Twitter or Discord! DM us on Twitter or Instagram for the discord invite.

Enjoy!

*There is an error on the reporting of some facts during this segment. It is not true that Hugo Weaving missed filming due to COVID, but due to a prior engagement and the inflexibility of the film’s production. However, cinematographer John Toll left the production due to an undisclosed medical situation with his family, giving the chance for Daniele Massaccesi to go from the film’s camera operator to its’ director of photography. Was this situation influenced by COVID? What difference did the three months of suspended filming mean for Matrix 4, or other films shot between February 2020 and now? (Maybe it’s something we can talk about at an other time?)

Music is from Triune Digital and audio clips pulled from movies we will be reviewing in other episodes.

Artwork by @jannelle_o

“DEAR GEORGE, REMEMBER NO MAN IS A FAILURE WHO HAS FRIENDS.“

On this episode, we revisit a Christmas Classic, It’s a Wonderful Life, directed by Frank Capra, and starring James Stewart. Released in the winter of 1946, this holiday classic has been adored by critics and audiences for decades, almost becoming an essential viewing during the holidays. Strangely, however, when the film was released, it was a box office bomb, while also receiving middling reviews from critics. And what was thought to be a film that would disappear to the bottom of the bargain bin would eventually become an American classic that many consider to be one of the greatest films of all time. How does a film that have one of the biggest actors of the time, with a big name director helming the project, be a flop at release, and yet come back adored more than any other film released that same year? That’s what we go into in this week’s episode. We talk about the reception from critics, and why audiences may not have been too keen to see a film about a struggling business owner.

We first dive into the story, the general premise about George Bailey at the brink of suicide, and how an angel in sent to save him and show him just how bad the city of Bedford Falls would be without it. We talk about the overall morals of the film, and how whether laced with good intentions, how some of those ideals don’t hold up in the modern world. Speaking of things that don’t hold up, we cover some of the filmmaking practices from the film that haven’t aged well, including the assault of a child actor causing his ear to bleed, and the only person of color being casted as a maid.

We also go into one of the most despicable characters ever put to film, Mr. Potter, the power-hungry businessman set on controlling Bedford Falls and stripping George Bailey of his business and ensuring the people of the town always stay poor. Despicable to most viewers, but seen as sympathetic through the FBI at the time, so much so that they considered his character wrongly represented in the film, and who were convinced that the film may have had a communist agenda. It is as dumb as it sounds, but we go over this as well as many more things from this American classic, which is celebrating it’s 75th anniversary this year. So sit back, relax, grab your drink of choice, and enjoy this week’s episode into It’s a Wonderful Life.

Music is from Triune Digital and audio clips pulled from movies we will be reviewing in other episodes.

Artwork by @jannelle_o