The Next Picture Show

James Gunn’s new SUPERMAN begins from the assumption that audiences already have a working knowledge of the Man of Steel’s origin story, his super-skill set, and his romance with Lois Lane. Gunn’s film benefits greatly from being able to skip past the basics, but it wouldn’t have been possible without Richard Donner’s franchise-launching blockbuster SUPERMAN, which codified those basics for the big screen. So this week we’re spinning the planet backwards to 1978 and revisiting filmgoers’ first introduction to The Last Son Of Krypton — who we don’t properly meet until nearly an hour in because, as it turns out, there are about four different movies tucked inside SUPERMAN. We’re joined by writer, podcaster, and Supes superfan Chris Klimek to discuss how it all holds together from a modern perspective, and whether Christopher Reeve’s definitive performance is enough to overcome all the film’s flaws, or just most of them. Then in Feedback, the SINNERS conversation lives on, with a listener detailing its many connections to another film that we considered for that pairing. 

Please share your thoughts about either and all versions of SUPERMAN, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

00:00:00 Intro

00:11:41 Superman Keynote

00:18:48 Superman Discussion

01:04:47 Feedback/outro

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On the one hand, the IMAX-driven spectacle of F1 is undeniably satisfying to watch on the big screen; on the other hand, we all walked out of Joseph Kosinski’s second teamup with producer Jerry Bruckheimer unsure whether it qualifies as a movie and not just a sophisticated simulation thereof. Despite the star power of Brad Pitt and a plethora of familiar sports-movie tropes, there’s a human element missing from F1 that left us all slightly perplexed, and which is thrown into even sharper relief when placed against the character-driven comedy of the other film in this pairing, TALLADEGA NIGHTS. But despite their drastically different points of view, the two share some uncanny similarities that we get into during Connections, from their shared narrative tension between team loyalty and individual glory, to a crash-and-burn approach to trauma, to a wallpaper-like view of corporate sponsorship. Then we take an extra lap on this racing pairing with a Your Next Picture show recommendation for the long-running Netflix docuseries F1: DRIVE TO SURVIVE.

Please share your thoughts about TALLADEGA NIGHTS, F1, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Next Pairing: James Gunn’s SUPERMAN and Richard Donner’s SUPERMAN

Intro: 00:00:00-00:02:11

F1 discussion: 00:02:12-00:29:30

F1/Talladega Nights Connections: 00:29:31-00:50:44

Your Next Picture Show: 00:50:45-00:54:14

Next episode preview and goodbyes: 00:54:15-end

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The new F1 brings even more attention to a sport/brand that’s becoming as popular in the U.S. as it is internationally, but its application of sports-movie tropes to the world of racing, in particular its focus on an intersquad rivalry, has big, booming echoes in the defiantly American world of NASCAR as depicted in TALLADEGA NIGHTS: THE BALLAD OF RICKY BOBBY. The 2006 Adam McKay/Will Ferrell comedy isn’t even two decades old, but as discussed in this week’s revisitation, its loose, improv-driven approach already feels like a relic of the past, and to what degree it all holds up today is a matter of some debate — though we can at least all agree that Baby Jesus is the best Jesus. After that, we dip into some listener Feedback inspired by a couple of new releases recently covered on the podcast, MATERIALISTS and PAVEMENTS. 

Please share your thoughts about TALLADEGA NIGHTS, F1, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Intro: 00:00:00-00:08:55

Talladega Nights Keynote: 00:08:55-00:15:19

Talladega Nights Discussion: 00:15:19-00:51:14

Feedback/outro: 00:51:14-end

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Celine Song’s new MATERIALISTS feints at being a romcom, but it’s far too interested in the economic realities and calculated compromise of modern dating for the label to be a comfortable fit; its romantic leanings are more in line with the works of Jane Austen and several cinematic adaptations thereof, as laid out in the “movie syllabus” Song made for her film and which inspired this pairing. But MATERIALISTS is more of a riff on Austen than a flat-out homage, and Song’s spin on the material worked better for some than others on this panel. We get into that before bringing Austen back into the picture via Joe Wright’s PRIDE & PREJUDICE to see how past speaks to present when it comes to the intersection of wealth and marriage, the art of matchmaking, nature as the realm of romance vs. the cold scrutiny of society, and the centuries-spanning fear of being “left on the shelf” as a single woman. Then in Your Next Picture Show we touch on some of the other films on Song’s list and how they might have fit into this pairing as a triple feature. 

Please share your thoughts about PRIDE & PREJUDICE, MATERIALISTS, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Next Pairing: Joseph Kosinski’s F1 THE MOVIE and Adam McKay’s TALLADEGA NIGHTS: THE BALLAD OF RICKY BOBBY

Intro: 00:00:00-00:02:43

Materialists discussion: 00:02:43-26:43

Materialists/Pride & Prejudice Connections: 00:26:43-52:41

Your Next Picture Show: 00:52:41-00:57:11

Next episode preview and goodbyes: 00:57:11-end

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Celine Song’s new not-quite-a-rom-com MATERIALISTS openly evokes Jane Austen in its focus on the rituals and codes of courtship, as well as its frankness about how one’s net worth can shape their romantic prospects. That could have led us to any number of Austen adaptations, but few as instantly beguiling as Joe Wright’s 2005 feature debut, PRIDE & PREJUDICE. So this week we’re discussing what makes Wright’s “muddy hem” take on the material stand out in a crowded field of Austen adaptations, whether the film’s lush style complements or drowns out its substance, and why that hand flex made such a meme-able impression. And in Feedback,  a listener schools us on poetry and philosophy as it relates to the most opaque segment of I’M NOT THERE.

Please share your thoughts about PRIDE & PREJUDICE, MATERIALISTS, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Intro: 00:00:00-00:03:41

Pride & Prejudice Keynote: 00:03:41-00:28:59

Pride & Prejudice Discussion: 00:28:59-48:23

Feedback/outro: 00:48:23-end

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Like I’M NOT THERE, Alex Ross Perry’s new docu-like feature PAVEMENTS takes a “print the legend” approach to its subject, blurring reality and fiction to convey the significance of defining ‘90s indie rock group Pavement from a few different semi-fabricated angles. Is that approach better suited to established fans, including our returning guest and longtime friend Noel Murray, than it is to newcomers less equipped to parse how the film skews the band’s history and creative output? Perhaps, and we get into that this week before placing PAVEMENTS’ slanted snapshot next to I’M NOT THERE’s fractured Bob Dylan portrait to see how each attempts to portray an artist’s essence, if not their biography, and explores how fame can turn a person into a persona. And in Your Next Picture Show we recommend another one of Perry’s experiments in using music-biopic conventions to tell a different kind of rock-n-roll story, 2018’s HER SMELL. 

Please share your thoughts about I’M NOT THERE, PAVEMENTS, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Next Pairing: Celine Song’s MATERIALISTS and Joe Wright’s PRIDE & PREJUDICE

Intro: 00:00:00-00:02:34

Friendship discussion: 00:02:34-00:31:28

Friendship/The Master Connections: 00:31:28-00:53:11

Your Next Picture Show: 00:53:11-00:57:40

Next episode preview and goodbyes: 00:57:40-end

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Alex Ross Perry’s new hybrid documentary PAVEMENTS rejects convention in a way that’s both in keeping with the spirit of the ’90s indie-rock band at its center, and reminiscent of Todd Haynes’ deconstructed Bob Dylan biopic I’M NOT THERE. And while you arguably don’t need to be well-versed in either act to appreciate the films about them, it certainly doesn’t hurt, which is why we’ve brought in our old friend Noel Murray to help us parse two films that are more concerned with conveying an artist’s essence than their biography, beginning this week with I’M NOT THERE’s freewheelin’ approach to Bob Dylan. Then, in place of Feedback, our resident Dylan scholars provide several recommendations that offer some other, more straightforward angles from which to approach the man and his music. 

Please share your thoughts about I’M NOT THERE, PAVEMENTS, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Intro: 00:00:00-00:04:09

I’m Not There Keynote: 00:04:09-0010:12

I’m Not There Discussion: 00:10:12-00:43:23

Feedback/outro: 00:43:23-end

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We were admittedly a bit dubious going into this pairing, which was spoken into existence by writer-director Andrew DeYoung invoking THE MASTER when describing his new Tim Robinson/Paul Rudd comedy FRIENDSHIP, but it’s not the stretch we thought it would be. In fact, Paul Thomas Anderson’s discomfiting psychological drama proves such an interesting lens through which to view FRIENDSHIP’s discomfiting absurdist comedy that we move into Connections early, to discuss how each of these two films about lonely men at odds with their own reality bucks convention, not only in terms of narrative and character, but in style and structure as well. Then in Your Next Picture Show we give a glimpse of the episode that could have been if we had chosen the PTA film we went into FRIENDSHIP expecting to be reminded of (and still kind of were): PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE.

Please share your thoughts about THE MASTER, FRIENDSHIP, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Next Pairing: Alex Ross Perry’s PAVEMENTS and Todd Haynes’ I’M NOT THERE

Intro: 00:00:00-00:01:57

Friendship discussion: 00:01:57-00:16:17

Friendship/The Master Connections: 00:16:17-00:48:01

Your Next Picture Show: 00:48:01-00:51:22

Next episode preview and goodbyes: 00:51:22-end

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We can’t say that it would have occurred to us to pair the new Tim Robinson/Paul Rudd comedy FRIENDSHIP with THE MASTER if writer-director Andrew DeYoung hadn’t specifically invoked Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2012 psychological drama, but the two films do wind up being unexpectedly complementary portraits of relationships between emotionally unstable men. Plus, we’re happy to have an excuse to revisit THE MASTER, a slippery film wherein nearly every scene has a claim to being the most important one. So this week we’re taking a closer look at a few of those scenes and the multiple interpretations they invite. And in Feedback we’re still fielding listener interpretations of SINNERS, this time one that addresses one of Tasha’s only complaints about the film. 

Please share your thoughts about THE MASTER, FRIENDSHIP, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Intro: 00:00:00-00:06:04

"The Master" Keynote: 00:06:04-00:12:17

"The Master" Discussion:00:12:17-00:57:26

Feedback/outro: 00:57:26-end

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The new THUNDERBOLTS* assembles a group of leftovers from various MCU stories to face off against their personal failings in a way that’s broadly reminiscent of, yet tonally distinct from, the wannabe superheroes of 1999’s MYSTERY MEN. It’s also tonally distinct from most recent Marvel projects in a way that we all responded to, even if we differ on whether THUNDERBOLTS* is punching above its power class in the metaphor department. We debate that before bringing MYSTERY MEN back in to explore the various power differentials both between and within these two groups of superheroes with self-esteem issues. And in Your Next Picture Show we entertain another hypothetical “misfit superheroes” pairing that Scott argues has a better claim to the “classic” designation than MYSTERY MEN. 

Please share your thoughts about MYSTERY MEN, THUNDERBOLTS*, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Next Pairing: Andrew DeYoung’s FRIENDSHIP and Paul Thomas Anderson’s THE MASTER

Intro: 00:00:00-00:01:39

Thunderbolts discussion: 00:01:39-00:34:23

Thunderbolts/Mystery Men Connections: 00:34:23-01:03:20

Your Next Picture Show: 01:03:20-01:06:51

Next episode preview and goodbyes: 01:06:51-end

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