Get your 60th New York Film Festival watchlists ready! Gemma and Mitchell are joined by Film at Lincoln Center’s (and NYFF) assistant director of marketing Jordan Raup, who is also the co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Film Stage. We get you all ready with everything you need to know for this year’s NYFF, but most importantly Jordan takes us on the ride through his four favorite films: Canyon Passage, The Tree of Life, The Heartbreak Kid (the good one) and Blow Out.

Lists and links: The Letterboxd list of films mentioned; Film at Lincoln Center’s Letterboxd HQ page; the full NYFF60 lineup; Gorgeous Technicolor Masterworks That Prominently Feature a Redhead by Alyssa Heflin; The Tree of Life trailer; movies where jessica chastain gets fed up with the useless men around her so she decides to save the world herself by Wes; Jordan’s interview with Gus Lanzetta on his AI-upscale of Heartbreak Kid; Help! I Got Too Horny and Now Everything’s Bad by Tommy; Jordan’s Blow Out essay for The Film Stage; Sub 2K by Jordan Raup

Reviews of Canyon Passage by Ziglet_mir, The Tree of Life by Daniel, Plaid Flannel and Muriel, The Heartbreak Kid by Ella Kemp, Brianna, sydney and Melissa Tamminga, Blow Out by Brian Tallerico, Evan Eaton and comrade_yui, Top Gun: Maverick by Jordan Raup

Credits: This episode was recorded in Los Angeles, Delaware and New York, and edited by Slim. Facts by Jack. Booker: Brian Formo. Transcript by Sophie Shin. Art by Samm. Theme: ‘Vampiros Dancoteque’ by Moniker.

This week Mia and Slim discuss their growing watchlists including Don’t Worry Darling, Avatar and Athena. Mia also angles for a Snapple sponsorship, she’s out of control. After a quick look back at recent releases and community reviews, they shuffle their watchlists and discuss luscious man-hair and obscure watches.

Weekend Watchlist – Updated Weekly list > movies mentioned in this episode.

Letterboxd reviews and links mentioned:

Credits:

By the end of this episode, we promise you’ll be better at cracking those crosswords. Slim and Mitchell are joined by K. Austin Collins, film critic for Rolling Stone (heard of it?) and former writer for hotshot places like Vanity Fair, Slate, The Ringer and Reverse Shot. In his spare time, Kameron also moonlights as a crossword creator for The New Yorker and The New York Times. No big deal. Once we’re finished grilling him for his tips to make us smarter, we discuss Kameron’s four favorite films (for now): John’s Carpenter’s Vampires; Mikey and Nicky; Atlantics and The Naked Kiss.

Plus: the impossibility of picking your favorite film (theme of the show, woops); letting go of crossword anxiety; putting your taste to the test; Kameron (maybe) sells Slim on Vampires; Slim regrets lapsing his Catholicism; women making the best movies about male friendship; these are not Kameron’s legally binding four favorites; not being prepared for The Naked Kiss; men are trash; Samuel Fuller is fucked up; beating your pimp’s ass; being a “Superstation ass kid”; the truth of Power Rangers and we’re starting the Bill Paxton fan club.

Lists and links: The Letterboxd list of films mentioned; Kameron’s crossword puzzles at The New Yorker; Mia Vicino’s Four Faves episode; Mitchell’s Mikey and Nicky essay for Paste Magazine; Wet Streets on Film by John Frankensteiner; movies that are actually gay rom-coms but are advertised as men being Cool by alva; soft horror by Liam; “nothing happens” yeah but the vibes by holli; Samuel Fuller’s Letterboxd page; abusers die, suffer, or rot in prison by Madison; List of Movies From My Childhood by K. Austin Collins; A24’s crossword book

Reviews of Vampires by DallasFrance, Mikey and Nicky by KYK, Atlantics by Sarah and demi adejuyigbe, The Naked Kiss by Cole and Chris, My Brother’s Wedding by K. Austin Collins

Credits: This episode was recorded in Los Angeles, Delaware and New York, and edited by Slim. Facts by Jack. Booker: Brian Formo. Transcript by Sophie Shin. Art by Samm. Theme: ‘Vampiros Dancoteque’ by Moniker.

This week Mia and slim discuss their growing watchlists including Pearl, See How They Run and The Woman King. Is it time to crown our very first “Scream King.” After a quick look back at recent releases and community reviews, they shuffle their watchlists and discuss Kyle MacLachlan’s a-cheeks and working for a newspaper. Also Brian and Flynn call to give us a TIFF wrap-up!

Weekend Watchlist – Updated Weekly list > movies mentioned in this episode.

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A24 presents Pearl, an origin story from Ti West’s world of X, starring Mia Goth and critics are calling it a “blood soaked & unforgettable” technicolor slasher. Add it to your watchlist!

Letterboxd reviews and links mentioned:

Credits:

We’re all Golden Eagles here. Gemma is away on festival assignment, so filling in for her we’ve got Letterboxd senior editor and Weekend Watchlist co-host Mitchell Beaupre! Slim and Mitchell are joined by Julian Higgins, director and co-writer of God’s Country—his neo-Western debut feature which premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and is hitting theaters September 16 from IFC Films. We also dive deep into Julian’s four favorite films: Rashomon; Chimes at Midnight; The Return and Foxcatcher.

Plus: Julian growing up with college professor cinephile parents; why he’s never seen a single Star Wars movie (hint: those two things are related); why is everyone in Rashomon sweating so much?; Toshiro Mifune is the last 30 seconds of a bag of Skittles; Slim (still) isn’t a Shakespeare person; the relentless pursuit of making a juicy period epic; going “full-on Orson Welles”; Thandiwe Newton having bigger balls than Slim; “We all gotta play by the same rules if this is gonna work”; Julian being afraid of reading reviews from writers he loves; Mitchell watching Foxcatcher in the heart of du Pont country; rich people can get away with anything; ornithologist, philatelist, philanthropist; nostalgia for HD DVD and how they made Slim’s dad cry, and Julian’s childhood hero Basil Rathbone.

Credits: This episode was recorded in Los Angeles, Delaware and Pennsylvania, and edited by Slim. Facts by Jack. Booker: Brian Formo. Transcript by Sophie Shin. Art by Samm. Theme: ‘Vampiros Dancoteque’ by Moniker.

Lists and links: The Letterboxd list of films mentioned; The Emperor and the Wolf: The Lives and Films of Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune by Stuart Goldbraith IV; The Criterion Collection’s HQ page; Julian’s Instagram, Winter Light by James Lee Burke; New Novel, New Wave, New Politics: Fiction and the Representation of History in Postwar France by Lynn A. Higgins—Julian’s mother

Reviews of Rashomon by Esther Rosenfield and DallasFrance, Chimes at Midnight by Alyssa Heflin, God’s Country by Brian Tallerico, The Return by Marcissus

This week Mia and slim discuss their growing watchlists including Barbarian, Pinocchio and Speak No Evil. Ever get a tattoo while watching a movie with friends? Mia has a story that may shock you. After a quick look back at recent releases and community reviews, they shuffle their watchlists and discuss Smart Person Movies and Edgar Allen Poe. Also Brian Formo calls in one final time from Venice.

Weekend Watchlist – Updated Weekly list > movies mentioned in this episode.

Letterboxd reviews and links mentioned:

Credits:

Movies are sex! Toronto movie critic and filmmaker Chandler Levack joins hosts Gemma and Slim ahead of the world premiere of I Like Movies—her debut indie dramedy about a narcissistic teenage cinephile that had Slim weeping-laughing and Gemma hoping it’ll win the TIFF People’s Choice Award—to talk about four films she loves: Almost Famous; Fat Girl; The Apartment and Crime Wave.

Plus: Chandler and Slim reminisce about their glittering careers in the video store industry; everything Cameron Crowe means to us; Catherine Breillat and her brutal realism; the joys of making a film about an insufferable cinephile; how to nail an audition (hint: wear a t-shirt for The Lighthouse); we’re all in love with Shirley MacLaine; why Gemma wants to live in old movies; John Paizs’ absurdist brilliance and his lasting legacy—that you can make anything you want!; Funny Pages’ sweaty basement apartment; is this the greatest year for cinema made just for Slim? Possibly yes. Did Steven Spielberg make The Fabelmans in homage to I Like Movies? Maybe. See both films at TIFF (8—18 September) to find out!

Credits: This episode was recorded in Auckland, Toronto and Pennsylvania, and edited by Slim. Facts by Jack. Booker: Brian Formo. Transcript by Sophie Shin. Art by Samm. Theme: ‘Vampiros Dancoteque’ by Moniker.

Lists and links: The Letterboxd list of films mentioned; Fat Girls on Film by Kate Hagen; Conversations with Wilder by Cameron Crowe; Jack Facts’ interview with Owen Kline; ‘Stillwater Runs Deep’—William Miller’s $1000 essay for Rolling Stone; When you’re feeling a little lost by yazz!; Coming-of-age movies by andrea; Films that took an already amazing and well-known song by starboy; Movies that are like I Like Movies by Chandler Levack; Male Protagonists that I Could Easily Beat Up in a Fight by Claira Curtis; Manic Pixie Dream Girl by Melissa; Punk by Sally Jane Black; Weirdo Watchlist by Tyler; Chandler’s Movies I can’t wait to see at TIFF. 

This week Mia and Slim discuss their growing watchlists including Saloum; Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul. and Jaws in IMAX. Does your friend group have a communal Possession Blu-ray? If not, maybe they should. After a quick look back at recent releases and community reviews, they shuffle their watchlists and discuss setting movie-watching records and not liking Cary Grant. Also Tilda Swinton, Idris Elba and Brian Formo call into the show. 👀

Weekend Watchlist – Updated Weekly list > movies mentioned in this episode.

Letterboxd reviews and links mentioned:

Credits:

Get out the knitwear, it’s When Harry Met Sally… season. Movie-poster designer and Londoner Jay Bennett joins hosts Gemma and Slim to discuss his four Letterboxd favorites: Saw; The Lighthouse; Face/Off and Rob Reiner and Nora Ephron’s iconic rom-com.

Plus: Jay’s very specific Letterboxd lists, why he holds right back on five-star ratings, why Danny Glover is a terrible detective in Saw, the power of negative space on a film poster, the scourge of floating heads, getting DMs from A24, was 2019 the greatest year in cinema ever?, The Lighthouse as a lockdown favorite, how bad posters happen, how Jay designed The Cow’s key art, John Woo and his doves, why Joan Allen is the real MVP of Face/Off, the Letterboxd members who defend Billy Crystal as Harry, justice for Hannah Montana: The Musical, and Clippy from Microsoft makes a brief appearance.

Lists and links: The Letterboxd list of films mentioned; Jay’s lists: Tom Hardy invents an accent, Mac and Cheese, Cannes you believe it, Who let Matt Damon into the studio, Saw ranked based on how morally right the jigsaw killer is, My parents reviewing films, Film Posters Don’t Feel So Good; IndieWire’s 25 Best Movie Performances of the ’90s

Reviews of Saw by Amaya, The Lighthouse by Esther Rosenfield, When Harry Met Sally… by Amanda, Sophie and Olivia

Credits: This episode was recorded in Auckland, London and Pennsylvania, and edited by Slim. Facts by Jack. Booker: Brian Formo. Transcript by Sophie Shin. Theme: ‘Vampiros Dancoteque’ by Moniker.

This week Mia and Slim discuss their growing watchlists including Three Thousand Years of Longing, Funny Pages and The Good Boss. Slim accidentally suggests an idea for a list and then quickly regrets it, sry everyone. After a quick look back at recent releases and community reviews, they shuffle their watchlists and discuss watching Chinatown mysteries unfold and also making wine.

Weekend Watchlist – Updated Weekly list > movies mentioned in this episode.

Sponsor:

Letterboxd reviews and links mentioned:

Credits: