Rules of the Frame

Connor & Jon break down Christopher Nolan's first feature film: Following. Nolan begins his career with a no-budget, skeleton crew, weekend shot neo-noir that delivers with twists and thrills. It's great to see the genesis of one of the greatest modern directors and where his love of shooting on film comes from.

WARNING: Major spoilers for Following, Inception, & The Dark Knight Rises, Minor spoilers for Interstellar

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Films mentioned in this episode:

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• Following (1998) | Dir. Christopher Nolan
• Memento (2000) | Dir. Christopher Nolan
• Clerks (1994) | Dir. Kevin Smith
• El Mariachi (1992) | Dir. Robert Rodriguez
• 1917 (2019) | Dir. Sam Mendes
• Dunkirk (2017) | Dir. Christopher Nolan
• Doodlebug (1997) | Dir. Christopher Nolan
• Insomnia (2002) | Dir. Christopher Nolan
• Fant4stic (2015) | Dir. Josh Trank, Stephen E. Rivkin
• Chronicle (2012) | Dir. Josh Trank
• Inception (2010) | Dir. Christopher Nolan
• The Dark Knight Trilogy (2005-2012) | Dir. Christopher Nolan
• Batman Forever (1995) | Dir. Joel Schumacher
• Batman & Robin (1997) | Dir. Joel Schumacher
• Iron Man (2008) | Dir. Jon Favreau
• Heat (1995) | Dir. Michael Mann
• Interstellar (2014) | Dir. Christopher Nolan
• Man of Steel (2013) | Dir. Zack Snyder
• The Importance of Being Earnest (2002) | Dir. Oliver Parker
• The Prestige (2006) | Dir. Christopher Nolan
• Bottle Rocket (1996) | Dir. Wes Anderson
• My Dinner with Andre (1981) | Dir. Louis Malle
• The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003) | Dir. Peter Jackson
• Whiplash (2014) | Dir. Damien Chazelle
• Lady Bird (2017) | Dir. Greta Gerwig
• Little Women (2019) | Dir. Greta Gerwig
• Guy and Madeleine on a Park Bench (2009) | Dir. Damien Chazelle
• First Man (2018) | Dir. Damien Chazelle

Connor & Riley are joined by Rod Reed to observe one of the sweatiest movies of all time: 12 Angry Men. They discuss how it brilliantly deconstructs the prejudices inherent in the judicial system, how the film doesn't work as a play, and how different genres shine a light on the human condition.

WARNING: Major spoilers for 12 Angry Men

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Films mentioned in this episode:

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• 12 Angry Men (1957) | Dir. Sidney Lumet
• Tokyo Story (1953) | Dir. Yasujiro Ozu
• A Serious Man (2009) | Dir. Joel & Ethan Coen
• The Princess Diaries (2001) | Dir. Garry Marshall
• The Emperor's New Groove (2000) | Dir. Mark Dindal
• Wonder Wheel (2017) | Dir. Woody Allen
• The Trouble with Harry (1955) | Dir. Alfred Hitchcock
• Rope (1948) | Dir. Alfred Hitchcock
• Blade Runner (1982) | Dir. Ridley Scott
• WALL-E (2008) | Dir. Andrew Stanton
• Lawrence of Arabia (1962) | Dir. David Lean
• The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003) | Dir. Peter Jackson
• To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) | Dir. Robert Mulligan
• Network (1976) | Dir. Sidney Lumet
• Serpico (1973) | Dir. Sidney Lumet
• Dog Day Afternoon  (1975) | Dir. Sidney Lumet
• Just Mercy (2019) | Dir. Destin Daniel Cretton
• Into the Abyss (2011) | Dir. Werner Herzog
• On the Waterfront (1954) | Dir. Elia Kazan
• Saboteur (1942) | Dir. Alfred Hitchcock
• Best in Show (2000) | Dir. Christopher Guest
• Man With a Movie Camera (1929) | Dir. Dziga Vertov
• The Grapes of Wrath (1940) | Dir. John Ford
• Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) | Dir. Sergio Leone
• On Golden Pond (1981) | Dir. Mark Rydell
• Throne of Blood (1957) | Dir. Akira Kurosawa
• Nights of Cabiria (1957) | Dir. Federico Fellini
• Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) | Dir. David Lean
• Ordinary People (1980) | Dir. Robert Redford
• Raging Bull (1980)| Dir. Martin Scorsese
• Some Like it Hot (1959) | Dir. Billy Wilder
• The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005) | Dir. Scott Derrickson

It's time for a new series and Connor & Jon start off with some bittersweet news: Riley Hardy is no longer a host. So we wish him well and continue onward with our new series about how limitations in the filmmaking process escalates the creative nature of it.

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Connor & Riley cozy up to their pillow shots as they examine Yasujiro Ozu's masterwork: Tokyo Story. They discuss the complexity of the characters, and how the family dynamic makes the film universal even though producers said it was "too Japanese." They also ponder the question: does Ozu have the most consistent cinematic language?

WARNING: Major spoilers for Tokyo Story, minor spoilers for Ordinary People

Link to Yasujiro Ozu: The Syntax of His Films: https://online.ucpress.edu/fq/article/17/2/11/38013/Yasujiro-Ozu-The-Syntax-of-His-Films

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Films mentioned in this episode:

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• Tokyo Story (1953) | Dir. Yasujiro Ozu
• The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice (1952) | Dir. Yasujiro Ozu
• Floating Weeds (1959) | Dir. Yasujiro Ozu
• A Story of Floating Weeds (1934) | Dir. Yasujiro Ozu
• Citizen Kane (1941) | Dir. Orson Welles
• Jaws (1975) | Dir. Steven Spielberg
• Only Yesterday (1991) | Dir. Isao Takahata
• The Wind Rises (2013) | Dir. Hayao Miyazaki
• Finding Neverland (2004) | Dir. Marc Forster
• Saving Mr. Banks (2013) | Dir. John Lee Hancock
• The Farewell (2019) | Dir. Lulu Wang
• Ordinary People (1980) | Dir. Robert Redford
• Apocalypse Now (1979) | Dir. Francis Ford Coppola
• Barry Lyndon (1975) | Dir. Stanley Kubrick
• The Shining (1980) | Dir. Stanley Kubrick
• Toy Story 2 (1999) | Dir. John Lasseter
• The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) | Dir. Carl Th. Dreyer
• Red Desert (1964) | Dir. Michelangelo Antonioni
• Pom Poko (1994) | Dir. Isao Takahata

Connor & Jon quote through Noah Baumbach's first film Kicking and Screaming(not the Will Ferrell one). They make the strange discovery of how relatable it is to their own lives and who is which character. This episode might also hold the record of most Mike Ditka mentions in a podcast.

WARNING: Major spoilers for Kicking and Screaming

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Films mentioned in this episode:

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• Kicking and Screaming (1995) | Dir. Noah Baumbach
• Mr. Jealousy (1997) | Dir. Noah Baumbach
• (500) Days of Summer (2009) | Dir. Marc Webb
• When Harry Met Sally... (1989) | Dir. Rob Reiner
• Kicking & Screaming (2005) | Dir. Jesse Dylan
• Frozen (2013) | Dir. Chris Buck & Jennifer Lee
• Frozen (2010) | Dir. Adam Green
• Lee Daniels' The Butler (2013) | Dir. Lee Daniels
• Django Unchained (2012) | Dir. Quentin Tarantino
• Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006) | Dir. Adam McKay
• Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) | Dir. Adam McKay
• Bad News Bears (2005) | Dir. Richard Linklater
• Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo (1984) | Dir. Sam Firstenberg
• Clerks (1994) | Dir. Kevin Smith
• Metropolitan (1990) | Dir. Whit Stillman
• Barcelona (1994) | Dir. Whit Stillman
• Old School (2003) | Dir. Todd Phillips
• National Lampoon's Animal House (1978) | Dir. John Landis
• La Jetee (1962) | Dir. Chris Marker
• Napoleon Dynamite (2004) | Dir.Jared Hess
• A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004) | Dir. Brad Silberling
• Dead Poets Society (1989) | Dir. Peter Weir
• Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) | Dir. John Hughes
• Apocalypse Now (1979) | Dir. Francis Ford Coppola
• Days of Thunder (1990) | Dir. Tony Scott

It's our 50th episode so we decided to do our first audience pick! Connor & Riley discuss Lulu Wang's 2019 film: The Farewell. They discuss what is really the most ethical thing to do, when it's okay to lie, and what makes a film American or Chinese?

WARNING: Major spoilers for The Farewell, minor spoilers for The Royal Tenenbaums

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Films mentioned in this episode:

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• The Farewell (2019) | Dir. Lulu Wang
• Posthumous (2014) | Dir. Lulu Wang
• The Matrix Trilogy (1999-2003) | Dir. Lilly & Lana Wachowski
• The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967) | Dir. Jacques Demy
• Crazy Rich Asians (2018) | Dir. Jon M. Chu
• Oceans Eight (2018) | Dir. Gary Ross
• The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) | Dir. Wes Anderson
• Secrets & Lies (1996) | Dir. Mike Leigh
• The Big Lebowski (1998) | Dir. Joel & Ethan Coen
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017) | Dir. Joachim Ronning, Espen Sandberg
• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001) | Dir.  Chris Columbus
• To Sleep with Anger (1990) | Dir. Charles Burnett
• Praying with Anger (1992) | Dir. M. Night Shyamalan
• Little Women (2019) | Dir. Greta Gerwig
• Million Dollar Arm (2014) | Dir. Craig Gillespie
• Lagaan: or Once Upon a Time in India (2001) | Dir. Ashutosh Gowariker

Connor & Riley are taken way back to their awkward years when they analyze Richard Linklater's passion project: Boyhood. The guys discuss the advantages and disadvantages to not having a script, and how mixing non-actors and actors has an interesting effect. They also take a retrospect to Linklater's career and his seeming obsession with conspiracy theories and rebellion towards authority.

WARNING: Major spoilers for Boyhood

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Films mentioned in this episode:

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• Boyhood (2014) | Dir. Richard Linklater
• The Sixth Sense (1999) | Dir. M. Night Shyamalan
• To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) | Dir. Robert Mulligan
• The Before Trilogy (1995-2013) | Dir. Richard Linklater
• Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015) | Dir. J.J. Abrams
• Slacker (1990) | Dir. Richard Linklater
• School of Rock (2003) | Dir. Richard Linklater
• Dazed and Confused (1993) | Dir. Richard Linklatler
• A Scanner Darkly (2006) | Dir. Richard Linklater
• An Extremely Goof Movie  (2000) | Dir. Douglas McCarthy
• Wonder Park (2019) | Dir. Dylan Brown
• Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (2003) | Dir. Robert Rodriguez
• Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams (2002) | Dir. Robert Rodriguez
• Spy Kids (2001) | Dir. Robert Rodriguez
• The  Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl (2005) | Dir. Robert Rodriguez
• Zombieland (2009) | Dir. Ruben Fleischer
• Good Time(2017) | Dir. Josh & Benny Safdie
• Dead Poets Society (1989) | Dir. Peter Weir
• Explorers (1985) | Dir. Joe Dante
• Tape (2001) | Dir. Richard Linklater
• Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014) | Dir. Alejandro G. Inarritu
• Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) | Dir. James Gunn
• Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) | Dir. Anthony & Joe Russo
• X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) | Dir. Bryan Singer
• The Dark Knight Trilogy (2005-2012) | Dir. Christopher Nolan
• Spider-Man Trilogy (2002-2007) | Dir. Sam Raimi
• The Evil Dead (1981) | Dir. Sam Raimi

Connor & Jon are joined by the first critic of the show, Caleb Maine, to discuss the Coen's depressing masterpiece: A Serious Man. Jon gets distracted by the fact that there were earbuds in the '60's. Caleb hates Sy more than any other film character. And Connor obsesses over the use over repeating dialogue.

WARNING: Major spoilers for A Serious Man

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Films mentioned in this episode:

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• A Serious Man (2009) | Dir. Joel & Ethan Coen
• Metropolis (1927) | Dir. Fritz Lang
• The Big Lebowski (1998) | Dir. Joel & Ethan Coen
• No Country for Old Men (2007) | Dir. Joel & Ethan Coen
• Calvary (2014) | John Michael McDonagh
• The Hurt Locker (2008) | Dir. Kathryn Bigelow
• Joker (2019) | Dir. Todd Phillips
• Crazy Heart (2009) | Dir. Scott Cooper
• Calvary (2014) | Dir. John Michael McDonagh
• The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) | Dir. Andrew Dominik
• Fargo (1996) | Dir. Joel & Ethan Coen
• The Hudsucker Proxy (1994) | Dir. Joel & Ethan Coen
• Miller's Crossing (1990) | Dir. Joel & Ethan Coen
• Raising Arizona (1987) | Dir. Joel & Ethan Coen
• Vampire's Kiss (1988) | Dir. Robert Bierman
• Snake Eyes (1998) | Dir. Brian De Palma
• Wild at Heart (1990) | Dir. David Lynch
• The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018) | Dir. Joel & Ethan Coen
• Intolerable Cruelty (2003) | Dir. Joel & Ethan Coen
• The Ladykillers (2004) | Dir. Joel & Ethan Coen

Connor & Riley take it all the way back to 1948 to discuss the Italian Neo-Realist classic: Bicycle Thieves. They admire how the film breaks all of the Hollywood conventions of the time and how more realistic films can touch us on such a personal and emotional basis.

WARNING: Major spoilers for Bicycle Thieves, minor spoilers for Shoeshine

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Films mentioned in this episode:

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• Bicycle Thieves (1948) | Dir. Vittorio De Sica
• A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004) | Dir. Brad Silberling
• Shoeshine (1946) | Dir. Vittorio De Sica
• Star Wars (1977) | Dir. George Lucas
• Joe (2013) | Dir. David Gordon Green
• The 15:17 to Paris (2018) | Dir. Clint Eastwood
• Dunkirk (2017) | Dir. Christopher Nolan
• Treasure Planet (2002) | Dir. Ron Clements, John Musker
• Tron (1982) | Dir. Steven Lisberger
• Tron: Legacy (2010) | Dir. Joseph Kosinski
• The Prince of Egypt (1998) | Dir. Brenda Chapman, Steve Hickner, Simon Wells
• Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) | Dir. Blake Edwards
• The Holiday (2006) | Dir. Nancy Meyers
• Red River (1948) | Dir. Howard Hawks, Arthur Rosson
• The Red Shoes (1948) | Dir. Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
• The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) | Dir. John Huston
• Princess Mononoke (1997) | Dir. Hayao Miyazaki

Connor & Riley just couldn't resist talking about another animated film for this miniseries. They talk how everyday life can look extraordinary in animation when it's in the hands of Isao Takahata. So much beauty and simplicity is portrayed in Only Yesterday, that it's a real shame that Disney didn't release it to the U.S. until 2016.

WARNING: Major spoilers for Only Yesterday

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Films mentioned in this episode: 

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• Only Yesterday (1991) | Dir. Isao Takahata
• Napoleon Dynamite (2004) | Dir. Jared Hess
• Grave of the Fireflies (1988) | Dir. Isao Takahata
• My Neighbor Totoro (1988) | Dir. Hayao Miyazaki
• Boyhood (2014) | Dir. Richard Linklater
• Tree of Life (2011) | Dir. Terrence Malick
• Finding Nemo (2003) | Dir. Andrew Stanton
• Toy Story (1995) | Dir. John Lasseter
• Marriage Story (2019)| Dir. Noah Baumbach
• Lion (2016) | Dir. Garth Davis
• The Secret of N.I.M.H. (1982) | Dir. Don Bluth
• Pom Poko (1994) | Dir. Hayao Miyazaki
• Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984) | Dir. Hayao Miyazaki
• The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013) | Dir. Isao Takahata
• Princess Mononoke (1997) | Dir. Hayao Miyazaki
• The Cat Returns  (2002) | Dir. Hiroyuki Morita
• The Red Turtle (2016) | Dir. Michael Dudok de Wit
• Whisper of the Heart (1995) | Dir. Yoshifumi Kondo
• Tales From Earthsea (2006) | Dir. Goro Miyazaki
• From Up on Poppy Hill (2011) | Dir. Goro Miyazaki
• When Marnie Was There (2014) | Dir. James Simone, Hiromasa Yonebayashi
• Mary and the Witches Flower (2017) | Dir. Hiromasa Yonebayashi, Giles New
• The Secret World of Arriety (2010) | Dir. Hiromasa Yonebayashi
• Spirited Away (2001) | Dir. Hayao Miyazaki
• Castle in the Sky (1986) | Dir. Hayao Miyazaki
• The Wind Rises (2013) | Dir. Hayao Miyazaki
• My Neighbors the Yamadas (1999) | Dir. Isao Takahata
• The Little Mermaid (1989) | Dir. Ron Clements, John Musker
• Beauty and the Beast (1991) | Dir. Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise
• The Rescuers Down Under (1990) | Dir. Hendel Butoy, Mike Gabriel
• Pom Poko (1994) | Dir. Isao Takahata