Sundays With Cate

Cate Blanchett and Julianne Moore, two actresses linked in our minds as the muses of Todd Haynes, have only shared scenes on screen in 1999’s An Ideal Husband. For this episode Murtada welcomes back Chris Feil, host of This Had Oscar Buzz podcast, to discuss the film, whether it retains the wit of its author Oscar Wilde and the performances of Cate, Julianne, Minnie Driver, Rupert Everett and Jeremy Northam.

Hosted, Produced and Edited by Murtada Elfadl.

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We go way back for this episode, to Cate Blanchett’s early screen performance in the Australian film Thank God He Met Lizzie. We discuss the film, the perfomance and its link to Katharine Hepburn’s screen persona as well as Blanchett’s long professional partnership with the film’s other star, Richard Roxburgh.

Produced, Hosted and Edited by Murtada Elfadl.

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This week a double Cate Balnchett. In one of eleven vignettes included in Jim Jarmusch's anthology film Coffee and Cigarettes (2003), Blanchett plays a version of herself as well as her ne'er do well "cousin," Shelly. We discuss the film and performance and why it stands out in her filmography. For this conversation podcast host Murtada Elfadl welcomes writer and critic Ela Bittencourt of the film site Lyssaria.

Produced and Edited by Murtada Elfadl.

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To celebrate this year's Oscar nominations which were announced this week we have a special episode about one of the nominees for best actress; Carey Mulligan. We discuss her filmography, her screen persona and dig deeper into three films; Shame (2011), Wildlife (2018) and her latest Promising Young Woman for which she recieved her second Oscar nomination. For this conversation podcast host Murtada Elfadl welcomes producer and writer, Jordan Crucchiola host of Disaster Girls and Aughtsterio‪n podcasts.


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A retread of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid? A homage to the pop music of 1980s Welsh singing sensation Bonnie Tyler? The rare American studio film that celebrates polyamory? It's all of these things; Barry Levinson's Bandits (2001). It also has Cate Blanchett lip-synching, dancing and kissing both Bruce Willis and Billy Bob Thornton. We also discuss our favorites in this year's Oscar race for best actress as the nominations are announced. For this conversation Murtada Elfadl welcomes back Kevin Jacobsen host of And The Runner-Up Is podcast, who previously guested on our episode about Truth.

Produced and Edited by Murtada Elfadl.

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We have a special episode this week, a companion to our discussion last week of Notes on a Scandal. We visit with the Dame, Judi Dench.  We discuss her film career, with deep dives into an early entry A Room With a View (1986) and the film that launched her film stardom Mrs. Brown (1997). Returning for this conversation with our host Murtada Elfadl is writer and critic Teo Bugbee.

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A scandalous affair with an underage boy is the entry into this melodrama about the friendship between two teachers in North London. Murtada Elfadl welcomes back Teo Bugbee to discuss the juicy and delicious Notes on a Scandal, its lineage to hagsploitation flicks like Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?, the trope of the predatory lesbian, and why this film remains highly rewatchable.

Produced and Edited by Murtada Elfadl.

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In lieu of a regular episode, this week we are discussing the many films we screened at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. Murtada Elfadl welcomes back writer and critic Valerie Complex to discuss a few films including Rebecca Hall's Passing, Shaka King's Judas and the Black Messiah and Jonas Poher Rasmussen's Flee, among many others. We also give out our awards for best perfromances and choose the one film you can't miss at the festival.

Produced and Edited by Murtada Elfadl.

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Cate Blanchett: Medicine Woman. She's a healer in 1880s New Mexico in Ron Howard's Western The Missing (2003). We discuss the film, the performances of Blanchett, Tommy Lee Jones and Evan Rachel Wood. Plus we look into Howard's filmography including his latest Hillbilly Elegy (2020), while admitting that we can't find clues there to what he's obsessed with as a filmmaker. For this conversation Murtada Elfadl welcomes back writer and critic Andrew Kendall, some of Andrew’s film writing can be found here.

Produced and Edited by Murtada Elfadl.

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AUDIO HAS BEEN FIXED. REFRESH. APOLOGIES.

Well the time has come. This week we have a hurricane in us and we are going to command the wind. It's Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007), the movie that contains that most famous monologue in Cate Blanchett's filmography. We discuss the film, that iconic scene and delve into that year's best actress Oscar competition. Plus we nominate younger actors whose screen work remind us of Blanchett. For this conversation, Murtada Elfadl welcomes back Izzy from Be Kind Rewind.

Produced and Edited by Murtada Elfadl.

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