The Next Picture Show

We return to the battlefields of WWI to talk over Patty Jenkins’ new WONDER WOMAN, both on its own and as it relates to Stanley Kubrick’s PATHS OF GLORY. After discussing what worked and didn’t work in WONDER WOMAN, we bring in the Kubrick film to discuss how these two stories approach themes of leadership and the military, as well as their views of the Great War specifically and all war in general. 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 PATHS OF GLORY, WONDER WOMAN, or both by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Your Next Picture Show:

• Tasha: Karl Freund's THE MUMMY (1932)

• Keith: Amber Tamblyn's PAINT IT BLACK and Bill Morrison's DAWSON CITY: FROZEN TIME

• Scott: kogonada.com and the work of Kogonada

• Genevieve: The One Perfect Shot video-essay database (video.filmschoolrejects.com)

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Patty Jenkins’ new WONDER WOMAN takes World War I as its setting, opening up a host of comparisons to a much earlier, much different cinematic vision that looks to the Great War to uncover the best and worst of humanity: Stanley Kubrick’s 1957 anti-war drama PATHS OF GLORY. In this half of the discussion, we focus on PATHS OF GLORY, marveling at its efficiency and technical achievement — and at how both contribute to the film’s delicate but scathing unilateral indictment of the military system. And in lieu of feedback this week, we also discuss some other potential pairings we considered for this episode.

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

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We brave the choppy comedic waters of the new BAYWATCH movie to see how it stacks up against the parodic TV-to-film genius of 1995’s THE BRADY BUNCH MOVIE. Spoiler: Not well. But the comparison allows us to unpack the nuances of each film’s comedic approach, and consider how the films’ respective approaches to self-awareness, casting, and sophomoric humor contribute to their overall success. 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 BRADY BUNCH MOVIE, BAYWATCH, or both by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Your Next Picture Show: 

* Genevieve: Howard Zieff’s PRIVATE BENJAMIN

* Tasha: “Logan: Superhero Movies Get Old” by YouTube user Nerdwriter1

* Keith: Goran Olsson’s THE BLACK POWER MIXTAPE 1967-1975

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Inspired by the less-than-inspiring new BAYWATCH movie, we consider the strange alchemy that is the cheesy-TV-show-to-feature-film adaptation, via one of the genre’s standout entries: Betty Thomas’ 1995 spoof THE BRADY BUNCH MOVIE. In this half of the discussion, we debate how essential knowing the source material is to the BRADY BUNCH MOVIE’s comedy, which of the many standout Brady performances reigns supreme, and whether the film’s moments of slapstick add anything to a movie that thrives on a very different strain of humor. Plus, some feedback from recent episodes.

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

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In this half of our appreciation of the late, great director Jonathan Demme, we bring what would be his final film, JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE + THE TENNESSEE KIDS, into the mix, to see what connects it to the director’s first foray into the concert-film genre, STOP MAKING SENSE. The two films focus on very different musical acts, but they’re undeniably connected via “the Demme touch,” and function as appropriate bookends to an impressive filmmaking career (which we can’t help but explore a little more broadly in this discussion as well). 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 STOP MAKING SENSE, JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE + THE TENNESSEE KIDS, or both by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Your Next Picture Show: 

* Scott: Kitty Greene’s CASTING JONBENET

* Genevieve: Paul Thomas Anderson’s music video for Haim’s “Right Now”

* Keith: Ben Young’s HOUNDS OF LOVE

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We’re still mourning the recent death of Jonathan Demme, a director of incredible range capable of working across many different genres — most notably, for our purposes, the concert film. This week, we hold our lighters aloft for Demme by looking at his first and last concert films, 1984’s STOP MAKING SENSE and 2016’s JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE + THE TENNESSEE KIDS. In this half, we consider the first film’s enduring legacy and influence on the concert-film genre, and how the film functions as a symbiosis of the unique talents of both Demme and Talking Heads frontman David Byrne. Plus, some very strange but undeniably well-executed feedback on our recent episodes on BURDEN OF DREAMS and  THE LOST CITY OF Z.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about STOP MAKING SENSE, JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE + THE TENNESSEE KIDS, or both by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

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There’s a lot more connecting Les Blank's BURDEN OF DREAMS with James Gray’s new THE LOST CITY OF Z than the jungle setting, though that of course factors into our discussion of the two films. In this half, we share our reactions to Gray’s stately new film before delving into how the two films engage with obsession and hubris, the clash between European and South American cultures, and the handling of early-19th-century stories. 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 BURDEN OF DREAMS, THE LOST CITY OF Z, or both by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Your Next Picture Show: 

* Genevieve: Paul F. Tompkins’ “The Great Undiscovered Project” and Jonathan Demme’s RICKI AND THE FLASH

* Keith: Les Blank’s GARLIC IS AS GOOD AS TEN MOTHERS

* Scott: Francois Ozon’s FRANTZ

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James Gray’s new jungle adventure THE LOST CITY OF Z inspired us to take another trip to the Amazon via Les Blank’s BURDEN OF DREAMS, the 1982 documentary chronicling the notoriously difficult filming of Werner Herzog’s Amazonian epic FITZCARRALDO. In this half, we talk about Herzog — both the director and the pop-culture character we’ve come to know — and the borderline-mania that seems to drive his unique process. We also wrestle with what BURDEN reveals about how the indigenous people who worked on Herzog’s film were treated. Plus, some feedback from our recent episodes on THE MATRIX and GHOST IN THE SHELL.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about BURDEN OF DREAMS, THE LOST CITY OF Z, or both by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

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In this half of our discussion of the “weird conceptual sandwich” that is THE MATRIX and GHOST IN THE SHELL, we puzzle over why the latter hyper-stylish, cerebral film fails where the former succeeds. The two films ultimately have different aims, but their approaches are surprisingly similar — though it’s how they differ that’s most telling. 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 MATRIX, GHOST IN THE SHELL, or both by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Your Next Picture Show: 

* Keith: Makoto Shinkai’s YOUR NAME and David Cronenberg’s EXISTENZ

* Genevieve: Netflix’s FIVE CAME BACK

* Tasha: Jonathan Glazer’s UNDER THE SKIN

* Scott: Oz Perkins’ I AM THE PRETTY THING THAT LIVES IN THE HOUSE and THE BLACKCOAT'S DAUGHTER

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The poorly received new live-action GHOST IN THE SHELL draws inspiration from a lot of different sources — including one that was itself inspired by the original GHOST IN THE SHELL anime: The Wachowskis’ 1999 future-thriller THE MATRIX, which turns on a similar form of science-fiction dysmorphia. In this half of the discussion, we focus in on tiny miracle that is THE MATRIX, a studio-backed, creator-driven sci-fi film that drew from a deep well of cinematic, literary, and philosophical reference points — and would go on to influence countless other films in turn, including, naturally, the new GHOST IN THE SHELL. Plus, some feedback from our recent episodes on ALIEN and LIFE (2017).

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE MATRIX, GHOST IN THE SHELL, or both 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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