Stuff We’ve Seen

It's the snobs vs the slobs as Jimmy and Billy take on all of Meryl Streep's Academy nominated and winning performances. Are they all worthy? Find out what Stuff We've Seen thinks, and then weigh in. Do you agree with Jimmy and Billy? Did the Academy get it right, or should some of Jimmy and Billy's picks get robbed?

This week our guest is Jess Lambert, star of Every Disney Movie Ever on Youtube. Jess tells us how she started her quest to see over 800 Disney movies, and Jim and Jess go in-depth on some 70s Disney movie classics. You don't want to miss this one folks.

And catch up on all of Lambert's Disney reviews on her channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/JessLambert19

This week's episode: A focus on the film's of Mike Leigh, including Meantime which features one of Tim Roth's earliest performances. Also, a tribute to John Saxon, Alan Parker, Ennio Morricone, and Wilford Brimley.

The Year was 1992. The place: The Angelika Film Center on the corner of Houston and Mercer. Jim was a senior at NYU, and is his new roommate, Bill, was a junior. An innocent mid-week trip to the Greenwich Village art-house multiplex to see Peter Greenaway's latest offering, Prospero's Books took our humble narrators into some uncharted territory. Things started off innocently enough, but soon they'd get a bit hairy.

 

One this week's episode of Stuff We've Seen, Bill Muir (aka, Bill from Queens) sits in for Teal once again. The goal of this installment was to discuss the films of Mike Leigh, but things quickly got off track with a request from Bill to hear some Jimmy impersonations. Then the Prospero's Book story kicks in, and well...take a listen and find out.

 

There is so much to savor in this particular episode that Jim decided to split Bill's appearance into two-parts. So this week, the offering is the true movie-going tale of Jim and Bill, and two mystery cinema goers. Next week we'll have part 2 where Jim and Bill discuss Mike Leigh with an extended focus on Another Year and Meantime. So, if you wanted to do some prep work for next week, might we suggest you go to the Criterion Channel, and check out those films before the next show. In the meantime, get ready for another wild tale from the days of Jim's NYU film experiences.

Jason's mom has got it goin' on in this week's episode of Stuff We've Seen. Hear guest co-host, Michael McQuilkin (co-creator of The Hadron Gospel Hour) spin tales of headless camp menaces, night terrors, and ghost girls who live down wells in this trip down Drive-In memory lane.  With a sudden resurgence of going to the Drive-In's due to the pandemic shutting all of the movie theaters down, this episode is the perfect conversation to get you in the mood for those outdoor screenings.

 

And, in the spirit of sub genre completionism, Michael and Jim talk the new Hulu film, Palm Springs, which is the latest time loop comedy offering starring Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti.

This week finds Teal on assignment. Is he working on Kanye West's campaign? If so, he could be gone for the long haul. Or, he could be back next week. So who did Jim find to take Teal's place on the mic? Filling in this week is Bill from Queens. Longtime listener, first time guest host--Bill Muir.

 

Bill and Jim have a long history, and they share some of that on the podcast. Bill also dabbled in filmmaking in the mid 90s, and Jim pokes his nose into that history too.

 

Then its on to movies. Bill and Jim discuss the Tom Hanks WW2 action pic, Greyhound, streaming on Apple +. 

 

So much to discuss in one show Jim knows Bill will need to return to talk about everything he wants to discuss with him.

 

And don't miss Jim's new segment, Did She Deserve it? Where Jim asks the very important question--did Meryl Streep really deserve all of those 21 Oscar nominations?

This week on Stuff We've Seen Jim and Teal discuss three films, starting with Spike Lee's latest, and one of his best, Da 5 Bloods. Now available to stream on Netflix, Spike Lee's gritty buddy, adventure/ Vietnam War reckoning film has laughs, tears, adventure, anger, friendship...you name it, and this film seems to have it. Jim and Teal both give it high marks.

Also this week, Jim and Teal uncover a cult gem from 2019, director Peter Strickland's In Fabric. It is weird, atmospheric, and has loads of dark horror comedy. If you like films a bit on the weird side, this movie may be your new favorite.

And if that wasn't enough to fill your movie lists, Jim also recommends Mike Leigh's 2010 film, Another Year, which is currently streaming on the Criterion Channel.

Enjoy!

Original Cast Album: Company is a 53-minute documentary by the late great legend, D.A. Pennebaker. It documents the original cast recording of the theatrical 1970 musical, Company, by Stephen Sondheim. Jim's obsession with seeing this documentary began last year when he saw the IFC Documentary Now! Spoof on this film, Co-op. Now, thanks to The Criterion Channel, Jim got his wish--and he's obsessed.

On this week's episode of Stuff We've Seen, Jim and Teal discuss Company, the Documentary Now! spoof, and the genius of D.A. Pennebaker's fly-on-the-wall camerawork, and tension-building editing.

Also on the program, Jim takes a dive into some additional Criterion Channel offerings from filmmaker Cheryl Dunye. Dunye's 1992 Watermelon Woman is an interesting, self-reflexive part narrative, part documentary, part mocumentary look at black lesbian issues, and the history of black female representation in film. It serves as a reminder for Jim that not all film offerings need to be feature commercial narratives. 

Also on this week's agenda is Jim re-examining Gus Van Sant's 1991 follow-up to Drugstore Cowboy, My Own Private Idaho. Idaho is currently playing on Criterion Channel as part of Criterion's Queersighted: Turn the Gaze Around series.

And if that is not enough for you, dear listener, Jim watched a truly bizarre 1971 offering, Daughters of Darkness, courtesy of Amazon Prime, and Teal watched Trolls: World Tour. Oh, and we find out that Teal hates Harry Potter. So there is a ton to unpack. Get at it!

George Floyd's Murder, and the subsequent outcry of anger towards the never-ending systemic racism and aggression against people of color at the hands of institutions sworn to protect and serve us weighed heavy on Jim and Teal's minds. Watching the government's response towards peaceful protests were something they could not ignore. So on this week's episode, Jim and Teal veered from their normal format and opened the show with some thoughts about this latest chapter in America's 400-year struggle for equality and justice for people of color.

The second half of the show features a few films Jim's recently seen that detail various injustices by governments and fascist atrocities of WW2. Teal discusses a few new film's he's caught on streaming to end the program.

We promise a return to our normal format for future episodes, but current events were too important to ignore this week.

A lot has happened in the country since we taped this episode on Friday. It's complete and ready so we are posting it. Totally get it if you aren't up to listening right now. Makes sense. But if you are looking for film talk, Carrie Chalmers joins us for the final five years of Best Picture nominees from the first decade of the 2000s. From controversial wins like Crash beating Brokeback Mountain, to 2007, the year that gave us two modern classics, There Will Be Blood and No Country For Old Men, there is something for everyone to gripe or cheer in this five-year stretch.

Carrie, Teal and Jim offer up some of their picks for films that should have been nominated for Best Picture, but were left out of the mix. What are some of your favorite Oscar omissions from the period?