Curtis Hanson is finally back in the director’s chair, from start to finish, and it is for the now quite obscure kids movie The Little Dragons, AKA Karate Kids USA (1979) Unsurprisingly, this is not a movie that comes up in interviews with Hanson so we had a hard time digging up any background or behind the scenes information. Bryan and A.J. try to make sense of this movie about a pair of young brothers who use their karate skills to foil a kidnapping that is trying to be a mix of The Bad News Bears, The Hardy Boys, and Deliverance. We speculate on how and why this movie changed titles, marvel at the long life and career of character actor Charles Lane, and share the moments that broke our brains. This episode’s themed drink was: cans of beer. 

It’s time for another great debate about…Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis thanks to Mike Figgis’s documentary Megadoc (2025) which recently debuted on The Criterion Channel. Both Bryan and A.J. loved Megalopolis so we’re predisposed to like a documentary about its making-of, but Mike Figgis crafted an interesting and non-glamourous movie about making a movie. We talk about Figgis’s career and how his respect for actors figured into his approach to the doc; also discussed are Coppola’s frustration with his department heads and Marvel, the increasing tension between Shia LaBeouf and Coppola, and other documentaries about troubled film productions. This episode’s themed drink was: Francis Coppola Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon 2023.

It’s our 2nd annual Christmas Episode! Our journey through the work of Curtis Hanson brings us to the Christmas crime thriller The Silent Partner. Hanson wrote the screenplay, based on a Danish novel, with the hope that he would direct. Things didn’t work out that way but he did have a hand in completing the film. We talk about Christopher Plummer’s incredible and frightening performance as a psychopathic bank robber; it might be his most intense performance as a villain. We also talk about Elliott Gould’s great performance as a mild mannered bank teller who only seems average and unassuming. There’s a lot to discuss from how the film balances sometimes wildly different tones, to the Canadian tax shelter film era, an appearance of a young John Candy, and how, despite very positive reviews, The Silent Partner went mostly unseen in America. Tangents include: First Blood and the Rambo movies and declaring that Showgirls is forever. This episode’s themed drink was: Glühwein

It’s a drive-in double feature of movies directed by Curtis Hanson, sort of. Before he completely parted ways with Roger Corman, Hanson directed a prologue for Fly Me (1973), Corman’s entry in the sexy stewardess genre. Later that same year Hanson directed a horror film called And God Bless Grandma and Grandpa, but was fired after the producer decided he wanted a movie with a totally different plot that would eventually be titled Evil Town when it finally saw the light of day in 1987. We review the rest of Fly Me, but spend most of our time trying to make sense of Evil Town, a would-be slasher whose incomprehensible plot is the result of production history so troubled it includes multiple reshoots and title changes, a fraud scheme, the SEC, and more reshoots. Bryan and A.J. try to pick out what remains of Hanson’s original movie, complain about the rarity of the Evil Town blu-ray, and also talk about the remake, Evils of Night (1985), which was released before the original movie. On the bright side, Hanson’s segment of Fly Me featured character actor Dick Miller.  This episode’s themed drink was: Kagatan cocktails. 

Curtis Hanson began his directorial career by working for none other than the legendary Roger Corman with the Psycho knock off Sweet Kill (1972). Even though the final version of this movie was not what either Hanson or Corman wanted, it is still an interesting first film and gives us plenty to talk about. We go into how the movie came together, was reshot and retitled, and how the same thing happened to Martin Scorsese with his first film for Corman.  We discuss Tab Hunter and his lowkey performance of a psycho killer. This episode’s (somewhat themed) drink was: All Kings Brut Classic Sparkling White Wine.

Season 4 is here and we begin our journey through the career of of Curtis Hanson with his first credited work as a co-screenwriter for The Dunwich Horror (1970). A.J. explains why he chose Curtis Hanson and Bryan provides some background on Hanson’s early life and career beginnings. We discuss how The Dunwich Horror fits into the post-Rosemary’s Baby horror landscape and how it helped Sandra Dee shed her child-star persona. We also talk about the influence of American International Pictures (AIP), Roger Corman, and H.P. Lovecraft. This episode’s themed drink was: spiked tea.

For our Season 3 finale we’re joined by special guest Jenny McKeown to talk about Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla (2023)! We discuss how Sofia handles her first biopic in which the subject, Priscilla Presley is still alive, how her style is a perfect fit for portraying life at Graceland with Elvis without glamourizing it, and how, much as Priscilla lived under Elvis’s shadow, this movie was released under the shadow of big glitzy Elvis movie. We also cover an assortment of recent Sofia shorts including: Chanel Iconic and Suntory Roku gin commercials, a short film for the NYC Ballet reopening, and her cameo in an episode of What We Do In the Shadows. We also briefly talk about the AFI tribute to Francis Ford Coppola and announce our Season 4 director! This episode’s themed foods were fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches and deviled eggs  and the drink was Sofia Brut Rosé 

Join Jenny McKeown for a screening of Priscilla, part of the A Woman of Taste series, at the Hyperreal Film Club on Wednesday, August 6th. Doors open at 7PM. Film starts at 7:30PM. Tickets are on sale now.

https://hyperrealfilm.club/events/2025/8-6/priscilla-movie-screening

This episode we review the feature length reunion of Sofia Coppola and Bill Murray: On the Rocks. Filmed in 2019 but released during the 2020 COVID pandemic, Sofia’s marital comedy and detective story of sorts played only briefly in theaters before ending up on AppleTV+ (though it is thankfully available on DVD & Blu-ray). We discuss the performances and chemistry of Bill Murray and Rashida Jones, how this differs stylistically from Sofia’s previous films, and how Life Without Zoe, Lost in Translation, and On the Rocks make an unofficial trilogy. Also, Bryan points out references to Lost in Translation and A.J. rants against AppleTV+. This episode’s themed drink was: Cutty (Sark) on the rocks. 

We’re back from an unexpected break, but before we can return to the movies we must first go to the opera for the Sofia Coppola directed production of La Traviata (or more accurately, we watched the Blu-ray). In 2016 Sofia Coppola was hired by the legendary fashion designer Valentino to direct a new production of Verdi’s La Traviata for Teatro Dell’Opera Di Roma and we discuss whether she or Valentino is the main creative force behind the opera. We also talk about the sets by Nathan Crowley (famous for his work for the films of Christopher Nolan), the costumes by Valentino himself, what stylistic touches Sofia brings with her and how her directorial style translates to the stage. We also mispronounce many names and titles horribly and A.J. ponders what really makes an opera an opera? This episode’s themed drink was Blanc de France Bonnete wine.

Sofia Coppola trades modern cityscapes for the Civil War era for her darkest film, visually and thematically: The Beguiled (2017). Based on a novel which was previously made into a movie in 1971 directed by Don Siegal and starring Clint Eastwood, this is (so far) Sofia's only remake. We talk about how Sofia came to make her own version of The Beguiled, the controversy and accusations of whitewashing, and what makes this movie so different from her previous work. We also talk about the differences between the novel and the Don Siegel version and Sofia’s version, get our fairy tale wolves confused, and talk about Sofia’s major achievement at that year’s Cannes Film Festival. We also briefly discuss her Panthère de Cartier watch commercial. This episode’s themed drink was: Laird’s Applejack (brandy). 

Exit theme: Lie Down in Darkness (Michael Mayer Remix) by Moby courtesy of mobygratis.com