The Nextlander Watchcast

On this week's Watchcast we dive into the wild and wonderful musical world of Frank, a movie about a peculiar band and the even more peculiar man at the center of it.

CHAPTERS:

(00:00:00) - The Nextlander Watchcast Episode 136: Frank (2014)
(00:00:36) - Intro.
(00:03:01) - Our first impressions of this week's movie, Frank!
(00:08:07) - The Frank Sidebottom connection.
(00:15:20) - What this movie gets right about band dynamics and chemistry.
(00:25:30) - Some cast chat, and our introduction to Jon.
(00:38:09) - Break!
(00:38:31) - We're back, and it's time to hook up with the Soronprfbs.
(00:43:01) - The other band members (and a brief Ednaswap diversion).
(00:46:28) - John absconds to Ireland with the band.
(01:01:13) - They finish the record, but not everyone makes it out alive.
(01:09:04) - Jon's secret agenda.
(01:15:33) - To America!
(01:22:37) - Clara's under arrest, Baraque and Nana leave, everything falls to pieces.
(01:29:43) - To Kansas.
(01:35:50) - The terrific final scene.
(01:42:30) - Final thoughts.
(01:45:37) - Housekeeping for next week's episode: That Thing You Do!
(01:48:54) - Outro.

CHAPTERS:

(00:00:00) - The Nextlander Watchcast Episode 135: Metallica: Some Kind of Monster (2004)
(00:00:13) - Intro.
(00:08:35) - Our histories with Metallica.
(00:19:18) - Is Lars Ulrich a good drummer? The answer may surprise you! But probably not.
(00:21:09) - Where is Metallica at before this whole thing kicks off? (Also, an aside about Guitar Hero stems.)
(00:30:48) - For Whom the Phil Towles.
(00:34:19) - How did the idea of this documentary first bubble up?
(00:44:20) - Break!
(00:44:59) - We're back, and it's time to learn more about Bob Rock.
(00:49:31) - Why move forward without a permanent bass player? (And more on Lars and his art collection.)
(00:58:08) - The first recording sessions do not go well.
(01:05:47) - The Mustaine factor.
(01:16:27) - Echobrain's grand debut.
(01:23:17) - Lars' dad rules.
(01:27:59) - James goes through rehab, and then it's back to work.
(01:30:38) - The whole Napster thing.
(01:34:50) - James goes through rehab, and the whole Napster thing.
(01:44:26) - The record is getting done, but there are still fights to be had.
(01:51:16) - A bass player emerges.
(01:55:59) - Where do things land with Phil?
(02:00:14) - St. Anger is here, and it's a hit!
(02:05:45) - Final thoughts.
(02:15:54) - Our movie next week is Frank (and Vinny's ranking for this one.)

It's a new month for the Watchcast, and with that comes a new theme of music movies! And kicking things off is the 2021 ?uestlove film Summer of Soul, a doc that unearths a treasure trove of musical performances from the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival.

CHAPTERS:

(00:00:00) - The Nextlander Watchcast Episode 134: Summer of Soul (...or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (2021)
(00:00:38) - Intro.
(00:02:32) - The times in which this festival takes place.
(00:07:05) - We love a documentary that unearths footage people haven't ever seen before.
(00:12:26) - What an insane lineup of great music.
(00:16:45) - How did this festival happen, and why did this footage disappear for so long?
(00:30:13) - Break!
(00:30:58) - We're back, and it's time to get into the festival itself.
(00:34:48) - The marvel that is Stevie Wonder.
(00:39:12) - The Chambers Brothers.
(00:40:48) - The youngest any of us have ever seen BB King look."
(00:42:46) - On jazz flute and The 5th Dimension.
(00:45:48) - A whole lot of gospel.
(00:53:15) - David Ruffin sans Temptations.
(00:55:56) - Shout out to Gladys Knight (and The Pips!)
(00:58:15) - Here comes Sly.
(01:03:37) - The broader cultural shifts.
(01:08:03) - Max Roach and Abbey Lincoln.
(01:10:06) - The power of Nina Simone.
(01:17:27) - How good this movie is at weaving its history with the performances.
(01:22:43) - Final thoughts.
(01:28:34) - Housekeeping for Alex's upcoming list, and next week's movie: Metallica: Some Kind of Monster!
(01:34:41) - Outro.

We close out April on the Watchcast with the weirdest documentary of the slate, notorious street artist Banksy's examination of himself, the scene he stood at the vanguard of, and his (perhaps) unwitting hand in the commercialization of the movement, Exit Through the Gift Shop.

CHAPTERS:

(00:00:00) - The Nextlander Watchcast Episode 133: Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010)
(00:00:17) - Intro.
(00:00:53) - Alright, let's just get into it. Is any of this shit real?
(00:14:32) - It's time to uncover Banksy (not really).
(00:23:34) - The Space Invader connection, and the arc of Thierry's career through the movie.
(00:29:04) - Thierry films EVERYTHING.
(00:35:02) - Break!
(00:35:26) - We're back, and Thierry breaks in.
(00:47:10) - Banksy and Thierry become fast friends, and the street art scene becomes mainstream.
(00:56:52) - Life Remote Control.
(01:02:14) - Banksy becomes a filmmaker, and Thierry becomes an artist.
(01:13:05) - Life Is Beautiful (is a nightmare).
(01:21:01) - A rousing and tragic success.
(01:28:59) - What, if anything, did we learn?
(01:32:35) - Final thoughts.
(01:46:08) - Housekeeping for next month's theme: Music Movies!
(01:54:49) - Outro.

On this week's Watchcast Brad's documentary pick is up to bat, and he's selected Jurassic Punk, a movie that both chronicles the early days of computer generated special effects at ILM, and serves as a character study of the embittered genius that is Steve 'Spaz' Williams.

CHAPTERS:

(00:00:00) - The Nextlander Watchcast Episode 132: Jurassic Punk (2022)
(00:00:30) - Intro.
(00:15:55) - The central figure of this week's doc: Steve 'Spaz' Williams.
(00:22:44) - Diving headlong into The Abyss.
(00:27:11) - The Terminator 2 flex.
(00:36:39) - Break!
(00:37:05) - We're back, and let's talk about the team around Steve.
(00:44:58) - A movie about some dinosaurs.
(00:51:35) - On hierarchies and Oscar speeches.
(01:00:24) - Running afoul of George Lucas.
(01:04:00) - Steve's first special lady.
(01:06:20) - Steve's post-Jurassic Park career.
(01:20:09) - Maybe the least memorable computer animated film of all-time.
(01:22:11) - Things take a dark turn.
(01:26:57) - Things do manage to improve.
(01:32:16) - A little bit of Where Are They Now?
(01:37:09) - Final thoughts.
(01:47:53) - Notes on our final film for April: Exit Through the Gift Shop!
(01:50:30) - Outro.

It's time to kick off our month of documentaries, and leading us off is one of Alex's favorite slice of life stories in cinema, American Movie! Join us as we talk through Mark and his motley film crew's attempt at making the next great American horror short film, and then review the aforementioned short film as well. That's right, a double feature (technically)!

CHAPTERS:

(00:00:00) - The Nextlander Watchcast Episode 131: American Movie (1999) and Coven (1997)
(00:00:27) - Intro.
(00:01:12) - Our first documentary for this month of April: American Movie!
(00:07:50) - The set-up, and who is behind this movie.
(00:13:15) - Mark's frustrations and failures (and other people's perceptions of him). 
(00:18:29) - Is this a depressing movie? Also, how viable is Mark's market strategy here?
(00:27:52) - The level of access the filmmakers had to these folks.
(00:32:18) - Break!
(00:32:46) - We're back, and let's talk about the people Mark is able to bring into his orbit.
(00:39:03) - The beautiful soul that is Mike Schank.
(00:46:35) - Uncle Bill.
(00:50:38) - The various other players.
(00:56:59) - The long winter of pick-up shots and ADR, and Mark's new love.
(01:02:26) - Mark hates having a real job, and all the delightful behind-the-scenes filming footage.
(01:07:54) - Getting ready for the premiere.
(01:15:17) - We have seen Coven. It is a film that was completed, and we watched it.
(01:25:41) - Mark made a movie, but at what cost?
(01:29:35) - Where did they all go after this?
(01:35:59) - Final thoughts.
(01:42:12) - Some quick notes on next week's movie, and outro.

We round out our month of weird dystopian cities with the darkest dystopian city of them all: the one literally called Dark City. Join us as we try to find the way to Shell Beach, and along the way finally answer the question of what makes a man: his memory, or his power level.

CHAPTERS:

(00:00:00) - The Nextlander Watchcast Episode 130: Dark City (1998)
(00:00:25) - Intro.
(00:01:10) - Getting into our histories (or non-histories) with our movie this week: Dark City!
(00:07:54) - What is a man? What is real? Is this The Matrix?
(00:11:52) - Talking about the city design and its mishmash of eras and architectures.
(00:15:00) - How this movie got made, and how it differs structurally between the theatrical and director's cuts.
(00:27:30) - Kicking off the movie with Kiefer's Capital A Acting.
(00:33:34) - John Murdoch has no idea what's going on.
(00:40:40) - The Strangers.
(00:48:30) - Emma, you may not have a future in lounge singing.
(00:54:15) - Break!
(00:55:02) - We're back, and we're taking a trip to the Automat.
(00:59:39) - Meeting Inspector Bumstead.
(01:04:26) - The Strangers first make contact with Murdoch.
(01:12:58) - A brief divergence into Star Trek lore.
(01:15:04) - John and Emma meet (for the first time?)
(01:18:30) - Mr. Hand reveals his, er, hand.
(01:23:23) - Spiral man's crazy apartment, and The Tuning begins.
(01:35:22) - Mr. Hand takes the mind juice, and John (briefly) meets a kindred spirit.
(01:40:07) - Mr. Hand accosts Emma.
(01:44:20) - Visiting Uncle Karl.
(01:48:09) - Bumstead's accordian.
(01:53:23) - A building sandwich, and John is...under arrest?
(02:00:09) - Schreber's big dumps, and what's on the other side of that wall.
(02:10:36) - John is dragged to the subsurface city, and Dragon Ball Z happens.
(02:18:53) - A terrific epilogue.
(02:25:54) - Final thoughts.
(02:32:55) - Some foward looking talk for the Watchcast. 

Ahhh, the French cinema! It's known for its excellence, and on this week's Watchcast that proves undeniably true as we check out Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro's science fantasy classic, The City of Lost Children.

CHAPTERS:

(00:00:00) - The Nextlander Watchcast Episode 129: The City of Lost Children (1995)
(00:00:39) - Intro.
(00:02:44) - We head to France for our film this week, The City of Lost Children!
(00:06:35) - Alex shouts out the person who first showed him this movie, and some scattered production notes.
(00:15:33) - A brief note on the Psygnosis adventure game.
(00:16:32) - Onto the film, and its many crying children.
(00:21:48) - They're putting brains in fishtanks. They're taking the dreams of your children.
(00:24:31) - A strongman named One, and a cyborg cult.
(00:33:09) - Miette's gang of orphan thieves.
(00:35:30) - Happy birthday brain guy.
(00:40:48) - Break!
(00:41:09) - We're back, and it's time to meet The Octopus.
(00:48:42) - One and Miette bond.
(00:51:08) - Day to day life on the oil rig of evil science.
(00:57:43) - The cathedral of the Cyclopes.
(01:04:22) - Christmas for the Kranks, and a snack for the fishes.
(01:13:09) - The Diver arrives, and One gets wasted.
(01:21:04) - A nightmare infects the city, and Krank dines with Denree.
(01:24:59) - The Octopus orders Marcello's death, and One and Miette find a tattoo.
(01:27:48) - One gets the bug juice, and the demise of The Octopus.
(01:34:04) - To the oil rig!
(01:38:37) - The final dream, and the escape.
(01:45:29) - Final thoughts, and some additional Ron Perlman musings.
(01:55:10) - Our movie for next week: Dark City!
(01:57:41) - Outro.

It's time to take a trip back in time to the crime-scorched hellscape of NYC circa 1979 in Walter Hill's The Warriors! Join us as we bop from the Bronx to Coney Island, taking on the many gangs of clowns and theater kids that run these New York City streets.

CHAPTERS:

(00:00:00) - The Nextlander Watchcast Episode 128: The Warriors (1979)
(00:00:55) - Intro.
(00:04:08) - Trying to dial into the tone of this movie, and how it compares to the source material.
(00:09:39) - Digging into the nature of the various gangs.
(00:13:28) - Talking production history.
(00:21:39) - On the subject of Fox.
(00:26:30) - The troubles of the theatrical run, and the movie's long cultural shadow.
(00:31:45) - Our cast of Warriors, and the killer opening credits intro.
(00:41:22) - The Bronx conclave.
(00:52:15) - Break!
(00:52:43) - We're back, and the chase is on.
(01:01:14) - The first test.
(01:04:52) - The Orphans.
(01:14:29) - These actors look like real-ass people, and how average people respond to these characters.
(01:17:34) - Fox gets got, and the gang splits.
(01:22:08) - Goodbye Ajax.
(01:24:48) - The Lizzies, and Swan and Mercy have it out.
(01:31:28) - Onto Union Square, the Punks, and a gnarly bathroom fight.
(01:35:51) - Making a less than triumphant return to Coney.
(01:41:39) - Luther and the Rogues come clankin'.
(01:49:50) - Final thoughts.
(01:56:24) - On next week's movie (and Vinny's Warriors ranking).
(02:00:57) - Outro. 

We're kicking off our month of Weird-Ass Dystopian Cities with Terry Gilliam's classic satirical nightmare, Brazil! Join us as we pick apart this strange world of failing systems and bureaucratic ass-covering that holds absolutely no similarity to the real world in which we live. Heh. Heh.

CHAPTERS:

(00:00:00) - The Nextlander Watchcast Episode 127: Brazil (1985)
(00:00:11) - Intro.
(00:01:47) - Our movie this week: Terry Gilliam's Brazil! But which version?!?
(00:06:11) - A cinematic Rosetta Stone.
(00:17:26) - Our respective attachments to various Gilliam and Monty Python things.
(00:21:35) - Was this movie successful? Also, digging into the production.
(00:28:04) - Our star-studded cast.
(00:37:40) - An intro of exploding televisions and ruinous clerical errors.
(00:43:40) - The dreams of Sam Lowry.
(00:47:31) - Untangling the web of responsibility for the Buttle/Tuttle affair.
(00:52:01) - Break!
(00:52:28) - We're back, and it's time to stretch some flesh.
(00:58:24) - HVAC anarchy.
(01:03:46) - Sam decides to make a house call.
(01:10:14) - Central Services gets revenge.
(01:16:17) - A Christmas party full of demons.
(01:19:26) - Welcome to Information Retrieval.
(01:22:49) - The Lint reveal.
(01:27:07) - Sam can't stop running into his dream woman.
(01:35:06) - Sam has had enough.
(01:41:50) - A post-coital SWAT raid.
(01:50:05) - A jailbreak in the cooling tower, and things go off the rails.
(01:55:27) - The funeral of the seeping woman, and all is not as it seems.
(01:59:59) - Final thoughts.
(02:06:26) - Our film for next week: Walter Hill's The Warriors!
(02:09:48) - Outro.