Single Serving Cinema

Tim & Tay talk about the new era of animation in this discussion of Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse. Tune in for a comparison of Peter Parker and Miles Morales, a celebration of innovative animation, and more.

Synopsis
Unsure of who or what he wants to be, Brooklyn teenager Miles Morales is bitten by a radioactive spider and develops special powers. When he meets the current Spider-Man, and then many other Spider-people from alternate dimensions, Miles must learn to use his powers and become a hero. 

Starring Shameik Moore and Jake Johnson, and directed by Peter Ramsey, Bob Persichetti, Rodney Rothman, Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse hit theatres on December 14, 2018.

Where to watch Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse.

Scene: 8:46 - 13:58
When given a personal assignment to write about the kind of person he wants to be, Miles decides to instead sneak out to visit his uncle Aaron. Sensing his struggles, Aaron takes him to an abandoned subway tunnel to express himself creatively, through graffiti. Miles completes his piece and is subsequently bitten by an interdimensional, radioactive spider.

Links

• Profit sharing with Air
• Vox: How "Spider-Verse" forced animation to evolve
• Animating on "ones/twos"
• Designing the Prowler sound
• SSC's previous Miyazaki episode

Recommendations

• Tim: The Spine of Night (Galen King, Gelatt, 2021)—where to watch
• Tay:  9 (Acker, 2009)—where to watch

Next episode: Spirited Away (Miyazaki, 2001)—where to watch

Follow:

• SSC on Instagram
• Tim on Letterboxd
• Tay on Letterboxd

Tim & Tay talk about the cinephile's classic Cinema Paradiso, as selected by our Instagram contest winner.

Synopsis
A celebrated Sicilian director returns home for the funeral of an old friend, recounting his coming-of-age through flashbacks centered around the village’s cinema.

Starring Phiippe Noiret and Jaques Perrin, and directed by Guisepe Tornatore, Cinema Paradiso was released on November 17, 1988, in Italy (and May 2002 in Canada).

Where to watch Cinema Paradiso.

Scene: 49:52 - 57:52

Links

• The Big Picture Podcast on Keanu
• The Holy Mountain (Jodorowsky, 1975)

Recommendations

• Tim: The Majestic (Darabont, 2002)—where to watch
• Tay:  Il Camorrista (Tornatore, 1986)

Next episode: Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse (Ramsay, Rothman, Persichetti, 2018)

Follow:

• SSC on Instagram
• Tim on Letterboxd
• Tay on Letterboxd

Tim & Tay talk about the Oscars, rom-coms, and a lot more in this discussion of When Harry Met Sally.

Synopsis
Maybe more-than-friends Harry and Sally navigate the dating world through their thirties, learning whether there really are any true rules defining the relationships between men and women. 

Starring Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal, written by Norah Ephron, and directed by Rob Reiner, When Harry Met Sally hit theatres July 21, 1989.

Where to watch When Harry Met Sally.

Scene: 59:55-1:04:06
After running into his ex-wife Helen, Harry and Sally visit Marie and Jess who ask them to settle a domestic debate regarding a living room table. Boiling over, Harry snaps, and selfishly chastises them by relating the issue to his past issues with Helen. Cooling down outside, Sally confronts him on his rudeness.

Links

• Chest Fever

Recommendations

• Tim: In The Cut (Campion, 2003)—where to watch
• Tay:  A Lot Like Love (Cole, 2005)—where to watch

Next episode: Stay tuned!

Follow:

• SSC on Instagram
• Tim on Letterboxd
• Tay on Letterboxd

Tim & Tay talk Spider-Man and the beginning of a new cinematic era. This episode covers the idea of post-9/11 New York as a character, Willem Dafoe's arch take on the comic book villain, and much more.

Synopsis
When unpopular and unassuming high schooler Peter Parker is bitten by a radioactive spider, he gains miraculous powers that soon throw his life into disarray.

Starring Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst and directed by Sam Raimi, Spider-Man hit theatres May 3, 2002.

Where to watch Spider-Man.

Scene  [1:25:02 - 1:29:50]
MJ, Aunt May, and Norman join Peter and Harry for Thanksgiving in the city. Peter narrowly avoids revealing to the group that he is Spider-Man, but during the dinner, Norman notices a conspicuous cut on his arm, giving away his secret. Norman rudely excuses himself, insulting MJ as he leaves. 

Links

• Spider-Man Twin Towers Teaser
• Fincher's preference for CGI blood

Recommendations

• Tim: A Simple Plan (Raimi, 1999)—where to watch
• Tay:  Super  (Gunn, 2011)—where to watch

Next episode: When Harry Met Sally (Reiner, 1989)

Follow:

• SSC on Instagram
• Tim on Letterboxd
• Tay on Letterboxd

Tim & Tay discuss Signs, the changing trajectory of Shyamalan's career over the past two decades, and what we talk about when we talk about "coverage". 

Synopsis
A former priest comes to terms with his loss of faith as strange phenomena on his farm and around the world suggest the arrival of an invading alien species on earth.

Starring Mel Gibson and written, directed, and edited by M. Night Shyamalan, Signs was released August 2, 2002.

Where to watch Signs 

Scene  [1:09:30 - 1:18:42 ]
Graham, Merril, Morgan, and Bo settle in for an extravagant last supper on the eve of the alien invasion.

Links

• The Fear (via @kurtyboyy)
• The Big Picture ft. M. Night Shyamalan
• Knock at the Cabin's two cinematographers

Recommendations

• Tim: Altered (Sanchez, 2006)—where to watch
• Tay:  The Fourth Kind  (Osunsanmi, 2009)—where to watch

Next episode: New York movies!

Follow:

• SSC on Instagram
• Tim on Letterboxd
• Tay on Letterboxd

Tim & Tay dive into the often unfairly-maligned filmography of M. Night Shyamalan. We talk about iconic twists, patient child acting, and much more in this episode on The Sixth Sense (1999). 

Synopsis
Bruce Willis plays Malcolm Crowe, a child psychiatrist struggling to connect with his wife in the fallout of a traumatic home invasion. Colm attempts to help Cole Sear, a young boy haunted by visions of dead people.

Released August 6th, 1999, The Sixth Sense was written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, and stars Hayley Joel Osment, Bruce Willis, and Toni Collette.

Where to watch The Sixth Sense. 

Scene  [1:31:06 - 1:36:15]
Cole and his mother Lynn are halted in traffic due to a road accident. 
Cole uses this time to tell his mother his secrets.

Recommendations

• Tim: Doctor Sleep (Flanagan, 2019)—where to watch
• Tay:  Devil In A Blue Dress (Franklin, 1995)—where to watch

Next episode: Signs (Shyamalan, 2002)

Follow:

• SSC on Instagram
• Tim on Letterboxd
• Tay on Letterboxd

In this special episode, Tim and Tay highlight a few notable movies from 2022. Not necessarily the best or our favourites, but certainly worth seeing!

Disclosures

• Aftersun (Wells, 2022)
• All Quiet On The Western Front (Berger, 2022)

Tim

• The Fablemans (Spielberg, 2022)
• Speak No Evil (Tafdrup, 2022)
• Tar (Field, 2022)

Tay

• Crimes of the Future (Cronenberg, 2022)
• Triangle of Sadness (Östlund, 2022)
• Everything Everywhere All At Once (DANIELS, 2022)

Links:

• Fat Elvis by The Ferns
• Cinemascope aspect ratio
• Notes on a Scene by DANIELS & Michelle Yeoh
• Writers' Roundtable

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

Next month: The films of M. Night Shyamalan! Keep an eye on Instagram for our selection and the Listeners' Poll.

Follow:

• SSC on Instagram
• Tim on Letterboxd
• Tay on Letterboxd

Tim and Tay kick off the New Year by reflecting on movie trends from 2022. The two hosts share concepts from the previous cinematic year that they hope will continue in 2023 and beyond. 

Tune in for our Pick 3 episode in 2 weeks!

Follow:

• SSC on Instagram
• Tim on Letterboxd
• Tay on Letterboxd

Tim and Tay are once again joined by James Stacey (The Grey Nato) to talk about our final Denis Villeneuve pick for our potlucks: Prisoners. We discuss to what degree this movie has aged well, Jake Gyllenhaal, Hugh Jackman, and the consistent cinematographic mastery that Roger Deakins brings to the movies he shoots. 

Synopsis
When two young girls are kidnapped in the Pennsylvania suburbs over Thanksgiving, their parents and a local police Detective are pushed beyond their limits to find them.

Starring Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhall, Prisoners was directed by Denis Villeneuve and released Sept. 20, 2013.

Where to watch Prisoners.

Tim's Scene [28:10 - 32:50]
During a routine follow-up with known sex offenders in the region, Dt. Loki discovers a hidden basement in an ex-preist’s house containing a dead body.

James' Scene [33:49 - 36:31]
When Alex Jones is released from police custody, Keller Dover takes matters into his own hands.

Tay's Scene  [2:14:15- 2:19:48]
Detective Loki visits Holly Jones’ property and discovers that she is the child abductor he has been pursuing. After injecting Anna with a fatal concoction, Holly is shot dead by Loki, wounding him in the process. Loki then rushes Anna to the emergency room before the poison takes effect. 

Links

• Expedition 16610
• Bad Education (Finley, 2019)

Recommendations

• Tim—Memories Of Murder (Bong, 2003) [where to watch]
• Tay—The Clovehitch Killer (Skiles, 2019) [where to watch]
• James—The Rescue (Chin, 2021)[where to watch]

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

Follow:

• SSC on Instagram
• Tim on Letterboxd
• Tay on Letterboxd

Tim & Tay attempt to talk meaningfully about one of the most iconic war movies of all time. Dig in for a discussion of J-cuts, audience surrogacy, and Tom Hanks' onscreen presence. 

Synopsis
After surviving D-Day, an army rangers squad is tasked with finding a paratrooper in wartorn France in order to escort him safely home.

Starring Tom Hanks and directed by Stephen Spielberg, Saving Private Ryan was released July 24, 1998.

Where to watch Saving Private Ryan.

Scene  [1:24:00- 1:43:05]
En route to Private Ryan, the company decides to assault a nearby German watch post.  Medic Wade dies in combat and the group faces a difficult set of circumstances with the surviving German POW.

Links

• LA Times' Oral History

Recommendations

• Tim: Munich (Spielberg, 2006)—where to watch
• Tay:  Hearts and Minds (Davis, 1975)—where to watch

Next episode: Prisoners (Villeneuve, 2013); Potluck with The Grey Nato's James Stacey.

Follow:

• SSC on Instagram
• Tim on Letterboxd
• Tay on Letterboxd