The Next Picture Show

It’s perhaps unfair to compare the uninspiring new LIFE with the genre-defining ALIEN, but we do it anyway in this half of our discussion of how the Ridley Scott classic (and GRAVITY) informed Daniel Espinosa’s halfhearted homage. After wrestling with our apathy toward the newer movie, we compare the two films’ extraterrestrial baddies, their effects, and their use of space, both outer and inner. 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 ALIEN, LIFE, or both by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Your Next Picture Show: 

* Tasha: “Junkyard” by Clifford D. Simak (via Tangentonline.com); “No Offense, But What Is Donnie Darko?” by Rachel Handler (MTV.com); “Beauty and the Beast’s Lumiere and Cogsworth Have a Fascinating Real-Life Backstory,” and “Game Over, Uwe Boll,” by Darryn King (VanityFair.com)

* Keith: John Waters’ MULTIPLE MANIACS and SERIAL MOM

* Scott: Julia Ducournau’s RAW

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The new LIFE has come in for some pointed comparisons to Ridley Scott’s ALIEN, which seems like as good an excuse as any to revisit the unimpeachable 1979 space thriller. In this half of the conversation, we marvel at how a film so narratively economical can be so deliberately paced, and still manage to induce scares after multiple viewings. Plus, some feedback from our recent episodes on KONG: SKULL ISLAND and GET OUT.

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

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We return to Skull Island to puzzle over the stylish curiosity that is Jordan Vogt-Roberts’s new take on the classic film monster, KONG: SKULL ISLAND. Why is this movie aping APOCALYPSE NOW? Have we reached our limit of giant CGI creatures pummeling each other? And, most pertinent of all, how does this bigger, bolder vision of Kong reflect and react to the legacy of its legendary cinematic ancestor, 1933's KING KONG? 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 KING KONG, KONG: SKULL ISLAND, or both by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Your Next Picture Show: 

* Genevieve: Macon Blair’s I DON’T FEEL AT HOME IN THIS WORLD ANYMORE

* Keith: Robert Zemeckis’ ALLIED

* Tasha: Danny Boyle’s T2: TRAINSPOTTING 

* Scott: Theo Anthony’s RAT FILM and the True/False film festival

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Does every generation get the Kong it deserves? That’s the question on our minds with the release of Jordan Vogt-Roberts’ new take on the great ape, KONG: SKULL ISLAND, which inspired us to go all the way back to the source: 1933’s medium-defining KING KONG. In this half of the discussion, we attempt to separate the movie from the cinema myth, grapple with some less savory aspects of the film’s legacy, and give Keith a few more opportunities to rail against the term “dated.” Plus, a few of the many, many great comments we received in response to our last discussion on GET OUT.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about KING KONG, KONG: SKULL ISLAND, or any other Kongs present and future, by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

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Jordan Peele’s writing-directing debut GET OUT translates the satirical horror of Wes Craven’s THE PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS from the Reagan era to the Obama era, to very different — and highly entertaining — effect. In this half of our discussion of the two films, we rave for a bit about GET OUT’s willingness to make us uncomfortable, then discuss the two films’ respective horror-to-satire ratios, as well as their approach to comedy. 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 PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS, GET OUT, or both by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Your Next Picture Show: 

* Keith: Gore Verbinski’s A CURE FOR WELLNESS

* Tasha: Colm McCarthy’s THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS

* Scott: Anthony Mann/John Alton collaborations T-MEN, RAW DEAL, and HE WALKED BY NIGHT

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Inspired by Jordan Peele’s excellent new writing-directing debut GET OUT, we’re looking at another horror film that openly addresses race, inequality, and its era: the 1991 Wes Craven oddity THE PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS. In this half, we debate how the earlier film’s central metaphor holds up divorced from the Reagan era that inspired it, how it reflects and fits into Craven’s directorial viewpoint, and to what extent it's actually scary and/or funny. Plus, excerpts from some of the most detailed feedback we’ve ever received, on our previous BATMAN discussion.

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

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Tim Burton’s BATMAN kick-started the cinematic and pop-culture proliferation of the now-ubiquitous Batman, who today can not only sustain multiple movies at once, but also provides ample fodder for the reference-happy new THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE. In this half of our discussion of all things Batmen, we talk about all the ways LEGO BATMAN draws on — and benefits from — the character’s long history, and consider how the larger Bat Universe has evolved on film since Burton’s day. 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 BATMAN, LEGO BATMAN, or both by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Your Next Picture Show: 

* Tasha: ’66 BATMAN, BATMAN: RETURN OF THE CAPED CRUSADERS, and BOY WONDER: MY LIFE IN TIGHTS

* Keith: Kirsten Johnson’s CAMERAPERSON

* Genevieve: Stephen Frears’ FLORENCE FOSTER JENKINS

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This week’s show tells a tale of two Batmen — plus a whole bunch of other Batmen in between. The success of the new family-friendly LEGO BATMAN MOVIE inspired us to go back to a very different earlier iteration of The Caped Crusader: Tim Burton’s 1989 series-starter BATMAN, which took the comic-book hero into darker realms than he’d previously occupied onscreen. In this half, we talk about how Burton and Michael Keaton’s vision for the character functions in the larger context of Batman adaptations over the years, as well as Burton’s subsequent career. Plus, some feedback from our last episodes.

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

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We turn our attention now to Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg's cringe-inducing 2016 behind-the-scenes campaign documentary WEINER, which plays in many ways like a natural extension of 1993’s THE WAR ROOM. After discussing how WEINER plays today — after its star, disgraced Congressman and mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner, arguably had a hand in sinking Hillary Clinton’s presidential hopes — we talk about how the newer film’s versions of scandal, politics, and media compares to those of THE WAR ROOM. 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 WAR ROOM, WEINER, or both by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Your Next Picture Show: 

* Genevieve: Michael Dowse’s WHAT IF

* Keith: Michael Dudok du Wit’s THE RED TURTLE

* Scott: Clay Tweel’s GLEASON

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This week’s pairing tracks the rise and fall of Clintonism in America via two behind-the-scenes documentaries following dramatic Democratic campaigns: 1993’s THE WAR ROOM and 2016’s WEINER. In this deep-dive discussion of the earlier film, we talk over the advantages and limitations of Chris Hegedus and D.A. Pennebaker's fly-on-the-wall documentary style, compare the yin-yang personalities of stars James Carville and George Stephanopoulos, and, inevitably, wonder about the lasting effects of Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign on the 2016 election. Plus, some feedback from our last few episodes.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE WAR ROOM, WEINER, 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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