The Next Picture Show

The evolution of a divisive auteur.

We return once more to the Shyamalaniverse to dig into the culmination of the so-called Eastrail 177 trilogy, the new GLASS, which purports to be the thrilling conclusion of a story that began with 2000’s UNBREAKABLE. Has divisive auteur M. Night Shyamalan discovered a new trick up his sleeve, or is GLASS and its climactic parking lot fight yet another example of the diminishing returns that have plagued his filmography? After breaking down our reactions to GLASS, we bring in UNBREAKABLE to talk over what the films reveal about Shyamalan’s evolution, or lack thereof, what they have to say about the idea of determination vs. free will, and whether Shyamalan’s female characters will ever catch a break. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about UNBREAKABLE, GLASS, or any other corner of the Shyamalaniverse by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Your Next Picture Show: 

• Genevieve: Barry Jenkins’ IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK

• Scott: Chris Smith’s COLLAPSE

• Tasha: The Odd Splice podcast and Karyn Kusama’s DESTROYER and THE INVITATION

Outro Music: Annie Lennox, “Walking on Broken Glass”

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With M. Night Shyamalan’s new GLASS purporting to be the culmination of his so-called Eastrail 177 trilogy, we’re returning to the film that set it in motion, and that many rank among the divisive writer-director’s best: UNBREAKABLE. How does this brooding, stylistically bold superhero origin story look today, in a culture where both comics and their movie adaptations play a much more central role than they did in 2000? How do Shyamalan’s various auteur signatures, good and bad alike, play out in  this film and his filmography more generally? We get into all that and more, with some bonus disagreement on Shyamalan’s breakthrough, THE SIXTH SENSE, and some feedback on our recent episodes on THE FAVOURITE and INTO THE SPIDERVERSE.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about UNBREAKABLE, GLASS, or any other corner of the Shyamalaniverse by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.  

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The remarkable new animated film SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDERVERSE has us thwipping through the beloved web-slinger’s cinematic history to see how it culminated in a Miles Morales origin story that doubles as a giddy trip through Spidey-lore. After some collective swooning over SPIDERVERSE’s unique and eye-popping style and clever conceit, we put the new film in conversation with another top-tier Spider-man film, Sam Raimi’s 2004 sequel SPIDER-MAN 2, to see what the films share, and how they differ, in their respective handling of their various Spider-entities, their villains, and their setting. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about SPIDER-MAN 2, INTO THE SPIDERVERSE, or both by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

*Show Notes*

Works Cited

• “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse directors on the film’s gorgeous style,” by Devon Maloney (TheVerge.com)

Your Next Picture Show:

• Genevieve: Phil Johnson and Rich Moore’s RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET and Jacques Audiard’s THE SISTERS BROTHERS

• Keith: Jon S. Baird’s STAN & OLLIE

• Tasha: Hirokazu Koreeda’s SHOPLIFTERS

• Scott: Travis Knight’s BUMBLEBEE, George Tillman Jr.’s THE HATE U GIVE, patreon.com/gemko

Outro Music: Chris Pine, “Spidey-Bells”

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Spider-Man, the web-slinging comics creation of Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, has made the leap to movie screens many times, but arguably never as successfully as in Sam Raimi’s 2004 sequel SPIDER-MAN 2 — or, perhaps, in the new animated entry INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE. This week we’re putting two of Spidey’s cinematic high-water marks in conversation, beginning with a deep dive into why SPIDER-MAN 2 holds up so well, how its performances and action work together to honor its comic-book roots, and whether we prefer our web-shooters organic or engineered. Plus, some feedback on recent episodes and a reader question about whether different generations regard the film canon differently.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about any and all Spider-men (or Spider-women, or Spider-pigs) by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.  

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Our trip through Girl World makes its second stop with Yorgos Lanthimos’ new period piece THE FAVOURITE, to see how its portrayal of women battling for social advantage in Queen Anne’s court looks next to the more contemporary high-school machinations of 2004’s MEAN GIRLS. After sharing our reactions to THE FAVOURITE and pinpointing its most “Lanthimosian” characteristics, we pit these two films against each other to see which portrayal of the cruelty and backbiting of Girl World—and Guy World!—is ultimately more fetch. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about MEAN GIRLS, THE FAVOURITE, or both by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Your Next Picture Show:

• Keith: Roy Del Ruth’s IT HAPPENED ON FIFTH AVENUE

• Tasha: John McPhail’s ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE 

• Scott: Michael Dweck’s THE LAST RACE

• Genevieve: Wash Westmoreland’s COLETTE

Outro Music: New Kids on the Block, “Favorite Girl”

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Yorgos Lanthimos’ THE FAVOURITE is, in the words of star Rachel Weisz, a bit like a “high-stakes MEAN GIRLS”: It’s the story of a woman in power challenged by a fresh young outsider, only it plays out in the halls of court rather than the halls of a suburban high school. In this half of our pairing examining the power plays and back-biting of “Girl World,” we look back first at Mark Waters’s MEAN GIRLS to ask whether the much-quoted Tina Fey-penned comedy is still totally fetch, and which of its insights about teen girl-dom circa 2004 still resonate today. Plus, some feedback on recent episodes and a discussion of other pairings we considered for THE FAVOURITE.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about MEAN GIRLS, THE FAVOURITE, or both by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Outro Music: Boomkat, “Rip Her to Shreds”

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We return to the City of Big Shoulders circa the present day for a discussion of Steve McQueen's thrilling new WIDOWS, a Chicago-set heist movie that builds on a foundation of urban corruption in a manner reminiscent of Michael Mann's 1981 debut THIEF. After sharing our reactions to WIDOWS, we look at the two films in tandem to see how they portray their respective criminal leaders, how they incorporate the city's deeply entrenched corruption and cynicism, and how they each handle Scott's Beloved Violence (TM). Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THIEF, WIDOWS, or both by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Your Next Picture Show: 

• Genevieve: Sara Colengelo's THE KINDERGARTEN TEACHER

• Scott: Lazarus Lake's THE BARKLEY MARATHONS: THE RACE THAT EATS ITS YOUNG

• Tasha: The Coen Bros.' THE BALLAD OF BUSTER SCRUGGS

Outro Music: Sade, "The Big Unknown"

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Director Steve McQueen’s new thriller WIDOWS is a Chicago-set heist film that puts to good use the city’s notorious corruption, which puts it in the company of Michael Mann’s stylish 1981 feature debut THIEF. In this half of our Windy City-centric pairing, we dig into THIEF and its strangely compelling criminal protagonist Frank, played by James Caan, to see what the film says about the kind of city Chicago was (and is), and the kind of filmmaker Mann would become. Plus, still more feedback on Bradley Cooper's version of A STAR IS BORN.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THIEF, WIDOWS, or both by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Outro Music: Tangerine Dream, “Final Confrontation”

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A landmark first feature shot in the 90s but never seen until now.

Where Orson Welles' THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND is the story of a movie finished years after its director let it go, Sandi Tan’s new SHIRKERS is the story of a film its director could never really let go. In this half of our discussion on lost films found, we share our reactions to Tan’s unusual film, before bringing in Welles' WIND to see what the two films share in their portraits of auteurism, their difficult production histories, and their respective movies-within-the-movie. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND, SHIRKERS, or both by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730..

Your Next Picture Show: 

• Scott: Frederick Wiseman’s MONROVIA, INDIANA

• Keith: Luca Guadagnino’s SUSPIRIA

• Tasha: Christopher Caldwell and Zeek Earl’s PROSPECT

Outro Music: Weish’s “Tick Tick”

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Orson Welles' final film is finally finished.

We’re switching things up this week to look at a pair of new films that are also old films — sort of — which together show that while making movies is always hard, some are harder than others. Orson Welles shot THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND decades ago, but the previously unfinished film is only seeing the light of day now, alongside a documentary about another kind of lost film, Sandi Tan’s SHIRKERS. In this first half, we dig in to why WIND is the loudest of the many ghosts haunting Welles’ filmography, debating whether it feels like a finished film, or even a good film, and to what degree it needs to be either. Plus, some feedback on would-be pairings past and our recent query on what a ‘90s STAR IS BORN would look like.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND, SHIRKERS, or both by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Outro Music: Queen, “Ride The Wild Wind”

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