Tim & Tay talk needle drops, the New Year, and old friends in this discussion about The Big Chill. Tune in to hear why this script is a great example of graceful exposition without the usual crutches. 

Synopsis
A once-close group of college friends reunites over the course of a weekend to mourn their departed friend, reflecting on how they and the world have changed since they were last together.

The Big Chill, released Sept. 28, 1983, was directed by Lawrence Kasdan, and stars Tom Berenger, Glenn Close, Jeff Goldblum, William Hurt, Kevin Kline, Mary Kay Place, Meg Tilly and JoBeth Williams.

The Big Chill is available to stream on Amazon Prime.

Scene [13:35-19:45]
As the central cast of characters departs from Alex’s funeral, Karen begins playing "You Can't Always Get What You Want" on the organ, transitioning into a needle drop in the film that brings about a series of character interactions during the funeral procession.

Links

• 3:45 - The Big Bounce (Armitage, 2004)
• 4:40 - New Year's Eve (Marshall, 2011)
• 7: 25 - Lawrence Kasdan
• 38:02 - How To Do Visual Comedy (Every Frame a Painting)
•  1:04:30 - GQ on Jeff Goldblum

Recommendations

• Tim: Start your own film club!
  
  
• Tay: Le Déclin de l'empire américain (Arcand, 1986). Stream on Hoopla

All links are verified at the time of publication and based on availability in Canada.

Next episode: The Royal Tenenbaums (Anderson, 2001). Stream on Disney+

Follow:

• SSC on Instagram
• Tim on Letterboxd

In this special episode, Tim and Tay highlight a few notable movies from 2021. Not necessarily the best or our favorites, but certainly worth seeing!

Disclosures

• Licorice Pizza (PTA, 2021)
• Drive My Car (Hamaguchi, 2021)
• The Worst Person in the World (Trier, 2021)
• Red Rocket (Baker, 2021)
• The Tragedy of Macbeth (Coen, 2021)
• Petite Maman (Sciamma, 2021)
• Summer of Soul (Questlove, 2021)

Tim:

• INSIDE (Burnham, 2021)—stream on Netflix
• Pig (Sarnoski, 2021)—stream on Crave
• The Power of the Dog (Campion, 2021)—stream on Netflix

Tay:

• No Time To Die (Fukunaga, 2021)—rent on Google
• Censor (Bailey-Bond, 2021)—rent on Google
• Nightmare Alley (del Toro, 2021)—catch in the theatre, if it's safe to do so!

Links:

• 6:32 — In The Earth (Wheatley, 2021)
• 8:20 — Locked Down (Liman, 2021)

As always, please leave us a review on iTunes and spread the word to your friends!

Next episode: The Big Chill (Kasdan, 1983)—stream on Amazon Prime

Follow:

• SSC on Instagram
• Tim on Letterboxd

Tim & Tay talk family, the American Dental Association, and more on this episode about the Christmas classic Home Alone.

Synopsis
When eight-year-old Kevin McCallister is forgotten at home by his vacationing family, he must defend it against a pair of persistent burglars.

Home Alone stars Macaulay Culkin, Catherine O’Hara, Joe Pesci, and Daniel Stern, was directed by John Hughes, and first hit theatres Nov. 16, 1990.

Home Alone is available to stream on Disney+

Scene [38:46-44:44]
Kevin attempts to buy a toothbrush from a department store, but before he can pay at the counter, Old Man Marley enters. Stricken by fear, Kevin runs out of the store with the toothbrush without paying. He evades a police officer on a public ice rink and then has a run-in with Marv and Harry who almost hit him with their car as they pull out of a driveway. They follow him up the road because Harry doesn't "like the way that kid looked at [him].”

Links

• 11:15 - Jingle All The Way (Levant, 1996)
• 12:00 - Skyfall (Mendes, 2012)
• 13:50 - It's A Wonderful Life (Capra, 1946) & White Christmas (Curtiz, 954)
• 20:30 - SSC 03: Krisha
• 22:09 - SSC 05: Ocean's 12
• 51:25 - John Candy's role

Recommendations

• Tim: After Hours (Scorsese, 1985). Available to stream on Crave
  
  
• Tay: Krampus (Doherty, 2015). Available to rent on Google Play

All links are verified at the time of publication and based on availability in Canada.

Next episode: Our Top 3 Movies of the Year

Follow:

• SSC on Instagram
• Tim on Letterboxd

Tim and Tay talk ambiguous and not-so-pretentious art films in this discussion on David Lowery's The Green Knight.

Synopsis
This adaptation of the epic Arthurian poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight tells the tale of Gawain as he embarks on a quest to make a name for himself in the eyes of King Arthur’s court and all of Britain.

The Green Knight stars Dev Patel, Alicia Vikander, and Ralph Ineson, was written and directed by David Lowery, and first hit theatres July 30, 2021.

The Green Knight is available to rent on Google Play.

Scene [57:18—104:27]
Beaten, battered, and mentally defeated, Gawain enters a small seemingly abandoned cabin to rest. Awoken by a young girl, Gawain initially panics. The girl, Winifred, asks him for his help to find her head. Taken aback, he agrees to enter into a pond to retrieve it.

Links

• 2:30 — Director David Lowery's "Notes on a Scene"
• 14:10 — Annihilation (Garland, 2018) + "Annihilation & Decoding Metaphor"
• 25:30 — "The ending is the conceit" (Film Crit Hulk)
• 57:45 — The Green Knight posters

Recommendations

• Tim: "The Invisible Horror of The Shining" by kaptainkristian on YouTube
  
  
• Tay: The Devil's Backbone (del Toro, 2001) 

All links are verified at the time of publication and based on availability in Canada.

Next episode: Home Alone (Columbus, 1990). Available to stream on Disney+

Follow:

• SSC on Instagram
• Tim on Letterboxd

In our first audience-selected episode, Tim and Tay attempt to seize the meaning of one of the most quoted school-based movies of all time: Dead Poets Society. We explore how Peter Wier's strong direction helps unify great performances and specific camera work to serve the story being told.

Synopsis
An unconventional English teacher urges his students at a stuffy Vermont boarding school to “seize the day”, broadening their horizons to new forms of self-expression, much to their parents’ and other educators’ dismay.

Dead Poets Society, starring Robin Williams, Robert Sean Leonard, and Kurtwood Smith, and directed by Peter Weir, was released on June 2, 1989.

Dead Poets Society is available to stream on Disney+.

Scene [53:42–58:00]
Mr. Keating assigns a poetry assignment to the class and on the day of presentations, Todd is finally pushed to confront his fears of expressing himself. The scene stars Ethan Hawke, Robin Williams, Josh Charles, and Matt Carey.

Links

• 2:45 - Mr. Holland's Opus (Herek, 1995)
• 9:45 - Earlier versions of the script
• 11:00 - Ebert's review
• 12:50 - Community's DPS spoof
• 15:00 - Take The Lead (Friedlander, 2006)
• 36:20 - CODA (Heder, 2021)

Recommendations

• Tim: Election (Payne, 1999). Available to rent on Google Play.
  
  
• Tay: Overlord  (Julius Avery, 2018). Available to rent on Google Play.

All links are verified at the time of publication and based on availability in Canada.

Next episode: The Green Knight (Lowery, 2021). Available to rent on Google Play.

Follow:

• SSC on Instagram
• Tim on Letterboxd

Tim and Tay go back to high school to talk about Mean Girls. This teen movie has palpable star power, solid writing, thoughtful direction, and undeniably meme-able lines, making it an evergreen entry in the overcrowded and easily dated high school movie genre. 

Synopsis
When a naive, homeschooled junior named Cady attends American high school for the first time, she is quickly accepted into the Plastics, a clique of the highest strata. Cady soon falls for the ex-boyfriend of the clique leader, Regina Goerge. After Regina gets back with her ex, Cady and her friends Janice and Damian hatch a plot to take Regina down.

Mean Girls stars Lindsay Lohan and Rachel McAdams, was directed by Mark Waters, and first hit theatres on April 30, 2004.

Mean Girls is available to stream on Netflix.

Scene (55:38–1:03:18)
After securing her position as the new queen bee, Cady plans a small get-together while her parents are out of town in hopes of locking down Regina’s ex, Aaron Samuels. A full-blown party ensues, and lines are crossed as she has her moment with Aaron, is forced to face her excluded friends, and truly sends Regina over the edge by not inviting her, resulting in a high school crisis for the ages.

Links

• 6:00 - Mary Jane Ford on costuming
• 14:55 - Clinton uses Mean Girls gif 
• 20:45 - Aaron Samuels' dumb smile
• 34:30 - ModernGurlz - "Analyzing the Outfits in Mean Girls"
• 41:00 - Rosalind Wiseman on  Mean Girls

Recommendations

• Tim: Everybody Wants Some (Linklater, 2016). Available to stream on Prime.
  
  
• Tay:  Eighth Grade (Burnham, 2018). Available to stream on Crave.

All links are verified at the time of publication and based on availability in Canada.

Next episode: Dead Poets Society (Wier, 1989)—thanks for voting in our Instagram poll! Stay tuned for future votes, we'll be holding one for every other episode going forward. 

Follow:

• SSC on Instagram
• Tim on Letterboxd

Tim and Tay couldn't resist putting together what was intended to be a short episode on the sandy sci-fi epic Dune. Once we got talking about wormsign, ornithopters and "the voice", it was hard to stop. 

Based on Frank Herbert’s seminal novel of the same name, Dune tells the story of Paul Atreides, heir to a dukedom and a potentially even greater destiny as he begins a new life with his parents on the dangerous desert planet Arrakis. As political unrest foments war over the planet and its valuable spice melange, Paul fights to stay alive and find his role in the desert-dwelling Fremen society.
 
Starring Timothee Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, and Oscar Isaac and directed by Denis Villeneuve, Dune was released on October 22, 2021.

Dune is technically available on HBO Max in the US—but you should see it on as large a screen as you can!

SCENE (58:52–108:13)

Paul, Leto, and Guerney accompany Imperial Ecologist Liet Kynes on an ornithopter ride into the desert to the site of a sand crawler; a colossal desert machine used to refine and harvest precious spice. After an equipment malfunction, they must react quickly to save the sand crawler crew from an incoming sandworm.

The scene stars Oscar Isaac as Duke Leto, Timothy Chalamet as Paul, Sharon Duncan-Brewster as Liet Kynes, and Josh Brolin as Gurney.

Links

• 1:10—Dune sequel greenlit
• 22:00—Rebecca Ferguson talks sandworm scale
• 37:00—Hans Zimmers' anti-groove

Recommendations

• Read the book!
• Notes on a Scene—Denis Villeneuve discusses the gom jabbar
• The Director’s Cut podcast w/ Denis Villeneuve and Christopher Nolan

Follow:

• SSC on Instagram
• Tim on Letterboxd

For October's second horror-centric episode, Tim and Tay talk John Carpenter's not-so-immediately appreciated masterpiece The Thing. From evergreen creature effects to unsettling philosophical implications, this movie has it all.

Synopsis
An American research base in Antarctica is infiltrated by an alien that can assume the shape of anything it attacks. The social fabric of the small community quickly erodes as each resident realizes they can no longer trust those around them.

Directed by John Carpenter, The Thing was released June 25, 1982, and stars Kurt Russell, Keith David, and Wilford Brimley.

The Thing is available to stream on Netflix. 

Scene [1:17:41 - 1:26:36]
As the remaining group begins to suspect Macready, he forces everyone into a blood test to determine who, if any are actually The Thing.

Links

• 3:00 - A monster budget
• 4:30 - E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
• 6:50 - An initial critical flop
• 7:20 - Blade Runner (1982)
• 8:25 - Too "strong" for audiences
• 20 - Carpenter on the difficulty of ensemble shoots
• 2230 - The Thing's script
• 26:15 - The Thing (2011) & CGI FX
• 28:20 - The Thing From Another World (1951) / Who Goes There?
• 30:06 - A long pre-production
• 30:40 - Invasion of the Body Snatchers - 1956 and 1978 
• 34:00 - The split diopter shot
• 35:53 - Toy Story 4's split diopter shot
• 56:15 - Stan Winston
• 57:49 - Jed the dog actor
• 59:40 - Ethan Hawke's most impressive costar

Recommendations

Tim: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Kaufman, 1978). Available to stream on Prime.

Tay: Attack The Block (Cornish, 2011). Available to stream on CTV.

All links are verified at the time of publication and based on availability in Canada.

Follow:

• SSC on Instagram
• Tim on Letterboxd

Tim and Tay dig into their first horror movie of October with John Carpenter's In the  Mouth of Madness, discussing what it means to watch horror, the movie's classic literature and real-world psychological inspirations, and more.

In the Mouth of Madness tells the story of John Trent, an insurance investigator tasked with tracking down best-selling horror novelist Sutter Cane. When the investigation leads both Trent and Cane’s editor Linda Styles to a presumed fictional town full of strange phenomena, the two begin to question their grip on reality.

In the Mouth of Madness was directed by John Carpenter, written by Michael de Luca, and stars Sam Neil, Julie Carmen, and Jurgen Prochnow, and was released on Dec. 10, 1994.

In the Mouth of Madness is available as a digital rental.

Scene (31:00 - 35:47)

Styles and Trent drive through the night to find the fabled town of Hobbs End. While Trent sleeps, Styles encounters a young boy riding down the highway on his bike. Moments later she sees another similar figure, although much older, on a bike going the opposite way.

The boy appears for a third time and is struck by the car. Trent and Styles stop to check the body and the boy cries: “I can't get out”. He then mysteriously gets up and rides away. Styles continues driving, experiencing some supernatural phenomena before crossing a covered bridge that leads them right into Hobbs End.

Links

• 10:40 - Black Check episode on Halloween
• 12:50 - John Carpenter's financial approach to remakes
• 22:30 - HP Lovecraft
• 23:20 - The King in Yellow
• 24:00 - Media horror in True Detective
• 26:30 - GDT's At the Mountains of Madness
• 28:30 - Lovecraft's racism
• 30:00 - Filming locations in Canada
• 31:30 - Giger's alien designs
• 34:50 - "groupthink"
• 1:06:20 - Sorcerer essay

Recommendations

Tim: The Empty Man (Prior, 2020). Available to stream on Crave.

Tay: Sorcerer (Friedkin, 1977). Available to rent on iTunes.

All links are verified at the time of publication and based on availability in Canada.

Follow:

• SSC on Instagram
• Tim on Letterboxd

Tim and Tay welcome James Stacey (The Grey NATO) to celebrate episode #10 with a potluck — each host picks a scene from Blade Runner 2049 to discuss.

Set 30 years after the first film, Blade Runner 2049 tells the story of K, a replicant who discovers the remains of one of his kind, who had died giving birth to a child. As a Blade Runner with the LAPD, K is secretly tasked with finding the child and destroying all evidence related to it in order to prevent all-out war between humans and replicants. 

Starring Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford, Blade Runner 2049 was released on Oct. 3, 2017. Blade Runner 2049 is available as a digital rental and to stream on HBO Max.

Tagline — "The key to the future is finally unearthed."

Tim’s Scene (3:23 - 10:12)
K, a Nexus-9 replicant and blade runner for the LAPD, visits the home of suspected replicant and war veteran Sapper Morton. 

James’ Scene (58:51 - 1:05:47)
After pulling the records suggesting the replicant-born offspring had spent time at the Morrillcole Orphanage, Joi and K go for a ride to San Diego. They are attacked by marauders and brought down near the orphanage. Back at Wallace HQ, Luv begins a drone strike while also getting her nails done. Quickly dispatching the marauders, Luv’s involvement allows K to continue on their now overlapping goal of finding the child. 

Tay’s Scene (1:40:50 - 1:50:00)
Officer K  investigates the highly radioactive remains of Las Vegas in order to find the maker or the source of the wooden horse from his implanted memories. He eventually finds the disgruntled Rick Deckard and the two have a violent altercation throughout various sectors of a casino, concluding in a holographic Elvis projection concert room.

Links

• 1:50 - Team Deakins podcast
• 16:00 - Ana de Armas' English prep
• 23:30 - Nine cameras vs. one camera
• 46:00 - Bautista wanted dramatic roles
• 1:12:00 - Blade Runner test inspired by Canadian military tech
• 1:23:00 - Shooting in Hungary

Recommendations

Tim: Brad Allen’s movies (Gorgeous, Kingsmen, Kick-Ass), Edgar Wright’s tribute. 

James: Corridor Crew

Tay: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Wright, 2006). Available to rent on Google.

All links are verified at the time of publication and based on availability in Canada.

Follow:

• SSC on Instagram
• Tim on Letterboxd