The Next Picture Show

Unlike the last unicorn in the eponymous 1982 animated film by Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin Jr., this week’s last-of-her-kind fantasy creature knows what happened to the rest of her kind, setting the new Disney Animation feature RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON off on a quest narrative that takes a much different shape than THE LAST UNICORN. We’re joined once again this week by John Maher to discuss RAYA’s shiny, roller-coaster-like thrills, and then compare the two films’ respective journeys, the mythical beasts at their centers, and the paired dynamic of parent villains and children who switch sides. Plus Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your radar.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE LAST UNICORN, RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Your Next Picture Show:

Genevieve: Moribi Murano’s UNICO IN THE ISLAND OF MAGIC

John: Isao Takahata’s THE TALE OF THE PRINCESS KAGUYA

Tasha: “The unsung genius of Studio Ghibli’s risk-taking realist, Isao Takahata (by John Maher, polygon.com), and Gore Verbinski’s THE RING

Keith: Rob Savage’s HOST

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While the new RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON shares far more with its Disney Animation brethren than anything made by Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass, those filmmakers’ 1982 animated adaptation of Peter S. Beagle’s THE LAST UNICORN shares RAYA’s interest in telling a story about humanity via the plight of a fantasy creature believed to be the last of its kind — it just goes about it in a much more idiosyncratic, often flat-out weird way. To dig into all the ways THE LAST UNICORN defies convention and expectation, we’ve brought in cultural writer and animation expert John Maher to help discuss some of the big literary themes crammed into this small and not very literary movie, the film’s penchants for both poetry and anachronism, and what to make of that Rankin/Bass animation style. Plus, we respond to some feedback about our recent discussion of JEAN DE FLORETTE, and where we personally draw the line between film and television.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE LAST UNICORN, RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

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Yes, Lee Isaac Chung’s new feature MINARI is a story that involves family farming and scarcity of water, but its connections to Claude Berri’s 1986 tragedy JEAN DE FLORETTE go beyond plot similarities and into deeper explorations of community and outsiders. After discussing our initial reactions to MINARI we dig into those connections, as well as how the specifics of each film’s setting — rural Arkansas and Provence, France — shape those communities. Plus Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your radar.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about JEAN DE FLORETTE, MINARI, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Your Next Picture Show:

Scott: Paul Mazursky’s ALEX IN WONDERLAND

Keith: John Farrow’s WHERE DANGER LIVES

Tasha: Philippe Lacôte’s NIGHT OF THE KINGS

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Lee Isaac Chung’s new MINARI centers on a family starting over in the country, a theme that got us thinking about French director Claude Berri’s 1986 film JEAN DE FLORETTE, and how its concerns of agrarian hardship in general and water scarcity in particular echo those in Chung’s film. In this half of the pairing we get into JEAN DE FLORETTE’s unsparing view of an oft-idealized provincial setting, its showy yet subtle performances, and what it reveals about French filmmaking in the 1980s. Plus, we respond to some of our favorite kind of feedback — voicemail feedback!

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about JEAN DE FLORETTE, MINARI, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

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In Chloe Zhao’s new NOMADLAND, Frances McDormand’s Fern “drops out of society” not by choice, unlike the yuppie couple at the center of Albert Brooks’ 1985 comedy LOST IN AMERICA, but she proves much more adept than they at surviving (perhaps even thriving?) outside the mainstream. This week we bring NOMADLAND’s view of life on the road into conversation with LOST IN AMERICA’s satirization of the impulse to pursue that lifestyle, to consider their respective approaches to dropping out of society and living without a safety net. Plus Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your radar.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about LOST IN AMERICA, NOMADLAND, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Your Next Picture Show:

Tasha: David Lynch’s THE STRAIGHT STORY

Keith: Agnès Varda’s DAGUERREOTYPES

Genevieve: The New York Times Presents FRAMING BRITNEY SPEARS

Scott: Sarah Polley’s STORIES WE TELL

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Chloe Zhao’s new feature NOMADLAND presents a “houseless” life on the road as a choice born half out of desperation and half out of curiosity about life outside the American mainstream, which called to mind the yuppie adventurers looking to “drop out of society” in Albert Brooks’ 1985 comedy LOST IN AMERICA. This week, Brooks’ film serves as the catalyst for another Scott-Tasha showdown, as we dig into the nuances of both Brooks’ comedic style and the satirical premise he sets up in LOST IN AMERICA. Plus, we respond to some feedback on our recent episodes on AMERICAN PSYCHO and PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about LOST IN AMERICA, NOMADLAND, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

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Though Emerald Fennell has cited Mary Harron’s AMERICAN PSYCHO as one of the inspiration points for her buzzy debut feature PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN, there’s not a whole lot obviously linking the films in terms of protagonist, narrative, or even their respective satirical targets. But as we discuss in this week’s comparison, both woman-directed films are deeply concerned with ideas of male privilege and toxic masculinity, make ample use of high-pop needledrops, and engage with violence in a heightened and stylized manner that underlines their thematic concerns. We get into all that, plus Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your radar.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about AMERICAN PSYCHO, PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Your Next Picture Show:

Scott: Abel Ferrara’s MS. 45

Keith: Mary Harron/Guinevere Turner’s THE NOTORIOUS BETTIE PAGE and CHARLIE SAYS

Tasha: “Emerald Fennel Explains Herself” by Angelica Jade Bastién (Vulture.com)

Genevieve: Eugene Ashe’s SYLVIE’S LOVE

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PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN writer-director Emerald Fennell has cited AMERICAN PSYCHO as one of her cinematic reference points when creating her first debut feature, which was enough reason for us to revisit Mary Harron’s 2000 cult classic ‘80s satire to see if there’s more to that comparison than the films’ shared taste for dark, dark humor. First up this week, we dig into AMERICAN PSYCHO’s inscrutable protagonist and even more inscrutable ending, its approach to adapting what many considered an unadaptable Bret Easton Ellis novel, and whether the characters in this film who are not named Patrick Batemen have any lasting resonance. Plus, we respond to some feedback regarding our recent episode on Pixar’s SOUL, and another about the pandemic’s effects on our home-viewing habits.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about AMERICAN PSYCHO, PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Works Cited:

• “The Frustrating Tradition Behind Soul’s Great Flaw,” by Robert Daniels (polygon.com)

• “Stop Telling Me To Turn My Brain Off At Movies,” by Matt Singer (screencrush.com)

• “Pixar’s Troubled ‘Soul’” by Namwali Serpell (newyorker.com)

Outro Music: Huey Lewis and the News, “Hip to Be Square”

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With the new ANOTHER ROUND, Thomas Vinterberg saw Alexander Payne’s 2004 middle-aged-men-drink-and-have-feelings comedy SIDEWAYS and said “Hold my Akvavit.” After swooning for a while over Vinterberg’s film — in particular its spectacular closing scene — we bring it into conversation with Payne’s to consider what the two films are each driving at when it comes to their ideas about middle age, lost youth, and drinking culture, and tackle the inevitable (but perhaps uninteresting) question of “is this alcoholism?” Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your radar.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about SIDEWAYS, ANOTHER ROUND, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Your Next Picture Show:

Tasha: Blake Edwards’ DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES

Genevieve: Steven Soderbergh’s LET THEM ALL TALK

Keith: Joko Anwar’s IMPETIGORE

Scott: Sergio Leone’s ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST

Outro Music: Scarlet Pleasure, “What a Life”

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Among other accomplishments, Thomas Vinterberg’s new ANOTHER ROUND has unseated Alexander Payne’s SIDEWAYS as the ne plus ultra of funny films about sad men drinking their way through midlife crises. In celebration of that feat, this week we’re looking back at what made SIDEWAYS so intoxicating back in 2004, discussing the film’s many small moments that carry a wealth of character, what to make of the connection between Miles (Paul Giamatti) and Maya (Virginia Madsen), and whether we feel comfortable characterizing oenophile Miles as a snob. Plus, we respond to some feedback taking us to task for our comparison of MANK and CITIZEN KANE, and inquiring about our favorite examples of a timely movie trope.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about SIDEWAYS, ANOTHER ROUND, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

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Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/join/NextPictureShow

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