Shot/Reverse Shot

To mark the release of The Good Dinosaur, as well as the 20th anniversary of the release of Toy Story, Matt and Ed talk about the work and legacy of Pixar. In addition to discussing the merits and oddness of The Good Dinosaur (which involves some mild spoilers), why exactly Cars 2 is awful, and what makes the culture of Pixar unique in big-budget studio filmmaking, they plug Ed's line of sneakers, pitch a show based on the career of Lance Reddick, and wonder if Pixar helped fake the moon landing.

00:00:00 - 00:15:52 - Matt & Ed discuss the week's news.00:15:53 - 00:25:55 - Discussion of The Good Dinosaur, with some spoilers00:25:56 - 00:49:22 - Discussion of Pixar in general00:49:23 - 00:54:34 - SRS Recommends & Outro

- Here is Ian Edwards' Shark Attack routine, which is referenced towards the end of the episode.

It's Matt's Birthday! In keeping with a recently established tradition, that means that this episode is a grab bag of topics decided by the birthday boy, including what films Matt and Ed loved as kids which they are wary of now, the odd experience of watching a film for the first time that has been referenced so much in pop culture that you know every detail about it, and whether or not Star Wars: The Force Awakens has any chance of being good.

In between all of that, they look forward to the return of Mystery Science Theatre 3000, Matt discovers the joy that is Friday Night Lights, Ed does an impression of latter-day David Bowie, and they uncover the secret behind Bob Odenkirk and David Cross' creative partnership.

00:00:00 - 00:23:02 - Intro & Discussion of the week's news.00:23:03 - 00:54:20 - Matt's Special Birthday Discussion.00:54:21 - 01:02:34 - SRS Recommends & Outro

It's Matt's Birthday! In keeping with a recently established tradition, that means that this episode is a grab bag of topics decided by the birthday boy, including what films Matt and Ed loved as kids which they are wary of now, the odd experience of watching a film for the first time that has been referenced so much in pop culture that you know every detail about it, and whether or not Star Wars: The Force Awakens has any chance of being good.
In between all of that, they look forward to the return of Mystery Science Theatre 3000, Matt discovers the joy that is Friday Night Lights, Ed does an impression of latter-day David Bowie, and they uncover the secret behind Bob Odenkirk and David Cross' creative partnership.

00:00:00 - 00:23:02 - Intro & Discussion of the week's news.00:23:03 - 00:54:20 - Matt's Special Birthday Discussion.00:54:21 - 01:02:34 - SRS Recommends & Outro

It's artist profile time again, and this week Matt and Ed discuss the cinematic work of Madonna. In addition to getting to grips with the (few) highs and (plentiful) lows of her work in cinema, they also try to contextualise her acting and directing in terms of her broader work as a musician and a performer, imagine a version of Swept Away starring Jason Statham, and accidentally create Middle Earth's greatest rapper.

There's a new Bond film out and, despite planning to, neither Matt or Ed were actually able to see it in time for this episode on Spies and espionage in cinema. Regardless of a lack of Spectre discussion, they still have plenty to talk about since 2015 has seen the release of a surprisingly large number of spy movies, ranging from the moodiness of Bond to the goofiness of Spy. They delve into the sociological and psychological underpinnings of spy movies, wonder why there are so few examples of realistic spy movies in a contemporary setting, and talk about Archer a lot.

They also find time to discuss the forthcoming returns of Star Trek and Jon Stewart to television (or a streaming service and HBO, at any rate), voice concern about the trailer for Warcraft, and talk about a monster movie that isn't Tremors, for once.

00:00:00 - 00:19:35 - Intro & discussion of this week's news.00:19:36 - 00:52:21 - Matt and Ed talk about Spy movies.00:52:22 - 00:57:19 - SRS Recommends & Outro

It's a veritable Werewolf Bar Mitzvah this week as Matt and Ed tackle things both spooky and scary. After discussing some not especially frightening news (unless you find the prospect of an all-female Ocean's Eleven unduly threatening, in which case get over it), they talk about Charlie Lyne's new documentary Fear Itself (which is available exclusively on the BBC iPlayer), before engaging in a more general natter about terrifying moments in otherwise benign movies, their favourite horror films, and why foreign language horror films are sometimes more evocatively scary than English language ones. There's also some nonsense in there about Komodo dragons.

The Deadspin article Ed mentions in the SRS Recommends segment can be found here.

00:00:00 - 00:16:42 - Intro & Discussion of the week's news00:16:43 - 00:24:45 - Matt and Ed talk about Fear Itself00:24:46 - 00:48:52 - Discussion of scary moments in non-horror movies, favourite horror movies, and foreign language horror00:48:53 - 00:55:02 - SRS Recommends, Outro, and a spooky musical treat

In what can only be described as a jam-packed episode, Matt & Ed, inspired by an interview with UCL professor Melvyn Stokes, who is conducting a study of British cinemagoing habits in the 1960s, talk about their own cinemagoing experiences. This very quickly shifts to them wondering whether or not cinema as a mass medium is doomed, and whether George Lucas is a Cassandra-like prophet of things to come. Scary stuff. 

Before that, though, they tackle the week's news (which is dominated by Back to the Future and Star Wars, unsurprisingly), respond to some listener mail, and pay tribute to Sheffield cinema legend Dr. Clifford Shaw, who passed away this week at the age of 96.

As mentioned in the episode, you can find details of Melvyn Stokes' study at www.ucl.ac.uk/cinemamemories. You'll also find the questionnaire, which can be completed online, or sent via post.

Thanks again to Professor Stokes for agreeing to the interview, as well as to Dr. Patrick Glen for setting up and conducting it.

00:00:00 - 00:12:31 - Intro & News00:12:32 - 00:19:36 - Listener Mail00:19:37 - 00:23:19 - Tribute to Dr. Clifford Shaw00:23:20 - 00:32:35 - Interview with Professor Melvyn Stokes00:32:36 - 01:02:02 - Discussion of Cinemagoing01:02:03 - 01:06:55 - SRS Recommends & Outro

Matt and Ed are obsessed with the idea of Obsession this week, an interest which takes the form of a discussion of films about obsession, how directors' obsessions can manifest in their work, and the ways in which cinema is uniquely suited to exploring the topic. They also talk about the failure of Pan, unnerving audience responses to films, and pitch a Hans Gruber-centric prequel to Die Hard.

00:00:00 - 00:18:50 - Intro & News00:18:51 - 00:52:35 - Discussion of Obsession in cinema00:52:36 - 00:56:19 - SRS Recommends & Outro

This week's episode is a sort of double A-side in which the first half is largely given over to a discussion of Paul Thomas Anderson's new documentary Junun, and what its release via the streaming service MUBI could mean for future idiosyncratic releases from major filmmakers (or major works from idiosyncratic filmmakers). The second half concerns the idea of High Concept filmmaking, and the many permutations of that term, from '80s blockbusters to indie films with interesting, easily sellable back stories.

Matt and Ed also find time to express cautious optimism (Ed is cautious, Matt is optimistic) about the trailer for the Coen Brothers' Hail Caesar!, explain why Rope is one of their least favourite Hitchcock films, and pay brief tribute to Chantal Akerman, who passed away this week.

00:00:00 - 00:11:04 - Intro & discussion of the week's news.00:11:05 - 00:18:52 - Discussion of Paul Thomas Anderson's Junun.00:18:53 - 00:54:36 - Discussion of High Concept filmmaking.00:54:37 - 00:59:58 - SRS Recommends & Outro

In their latest Artist Profile, Matt and Ed take a look at the life and career of Bette Davis, one of the most indomitable women ever to grace the silver screen. In addition to discussing her work in films both good and bad, they talk about her status as a camp and feminist icon, her legendary feud with Joan Crawford, and the many milestones she established during a truly spectacular career.

Show Notes

00:00:00 - 00:02:24 - Intro00:02:25 - 00:40:13 - Matt and Ed discuss the life and career of Bette Davis.00:40:14 - 00:41:13 - Outro

- Here is a link to our episode of War Machine vs. War Horse, in which we try to find new ways to praise Traffic and any way to understand The Counselor. Thanks once again to Michael Denniston for having us!- Here is the complete interview that Bette Davis gave to Entertainment Tonight in which she discusses her problems making Wicked Stepmother.- Correction: Ed incorrectly says that Larry Cohen directed Maniac Cop. While Mr. Cohen wrote and produced that film, it was William Lustig who directed it.