Talking Images

Lean back as we take you through each of our personal top 10 lists from 2021, and this time with a rather shocking twist: There are absolutely no overlaps within our top 5s!

Once again we also went way overboard on length just because of how much we love these films (and again, the total lack of overlaps), so stay tuned for part 2.

Why does Sol hate the owners of IMDb? Does it hurt Letterboxd that many of the best features are behind a paywall? Oh, and to get back to the topic at hand: which of these two services is better?

Letterboxd and IMDb are like night and day. One is young, elegant and social, the other probably the most complete database of cinema that exists: so which of them wins? Which could we not live without, and where do they fall short?

And what about the other film websites out there like iCheckMovies, Criticker and Filmchart? Can any of them measure up and do any of them offer up something IMDb and Letterboxd can't provide?

In this episode, we sit down with Stephanie Pham, star, producer and co-owner of Art School Dropouts to talk about their style of low to zero budget filmmaking, as well as their secret upcoming VR feature.

The Straight Story is a film so straightforward that the fact that David Lynch is the man behind it feels almost surreal. In this episode, we dive into how and why the film engages and touches us as much as it does, ponder what made Lynch choose to pick this collaboration with Walt Disney Pictures to begin with, and marvel at just how wonderfully weird it is that this film, based on a real story, exists at all.

Hollywood loves to flex accents, some decent, some terrible. In this episode, we see if we are able to buy the illusion or if film after film has been destroyed by bad accents. 

We will also take a look at the far more extreme examples of films set in "foregnia", but with all the characters speaking in English with a twink of local accent to sell it all home. Does this work ... at all?!

Oh, and Ridley's Scott recent House of Gucci will keep popping out throughout as Matthieu is quite convinced Jared Leto is imitating Super Mario.

Do you agree with Sol that found footage is the worst thing to have ever happened to cinema? Join us to see if we can find hidden ground (did Sol like any found footage film?!) and explore the insane wave of Found Footage films starting with The Blair Witch Project. We'll explore everything from its very inception in the 1960s (yes, that's right!), why it took nearly 40 years to become a force to be reckoned with, and explore the rise, fall, best films and whether its moment is truly done.

How do Chinese blockbusters stand up against Hollywood blockbusters? In this episode, the gang dive into 4 of the biggest recent Chinese mega hits - each in a different instantly recognizable blockbuster genre - and give our verdicts.

So, what films are we looking at? (Timestamps)

The action sci-fi disaster film: The Wandering Earth - 13.03

The franchise starting buddy comedy: Detective Chinatown - 26.24

The "motivational" sports drama: Pegasus - 41.12

The most successful animated film in Chinese history: Ne zha - 54.30

Did we pick the wrong films? Are there better Chinese blockbusters we need to seek out ASAP? Go to ICMForum.com and let us know.

Welcome to the episode where Chris realizes he's the only Leos Carax fan in the podcast and even he found Annette thoroughly middling. Join us as we explore just how it let us down and debate the merits of artificiality, THAT puppet and much, much more.

And remember, if you disagree with us you can go to ICMForum.com and tell us just how wrong we are.

In this episode, we take a close look at the early films of Andrey Tarkovsky, from his early student efforts to his first passion project.

We will briefly touch on The Killers (1956) and There Will Be No Leave Today (1959) before we go into depth on his first three solo efforts, The Steamroller and the Violin (1961), Ivan's Childhood (1962) and Andrey Rublev (1966).

Yes, we will dissect their endings, but don't you worry, if you have not seen one of them there will be a clear spoiler warning allowing you to use the timestamps below to skip to the next film.

Timestamps:

00.00.00 - Intro

00.02.06 - Our views on the progression of Andrey Tarkovsky

00.06.56 - The Killers

00.10.11 - There Will Be No Leave Today

00.12.22 - The Steamroller and the Violin

00.33.29 - Ivan's Childhood

01.03.20 - Andrey Rublev

Are sequels almost exclusively soulless cash-ins we should not be excited about, or do many truly deliver? In this episode, we look at the sequels that, at least according to us, did the unthinkable in becoming even better than the first film! How do you feel about our choices?