Trilogy in Theory

We go on a writers' retreat with two older films and two sets of dueling writers, Michael Caine and Christopher Reeve in the comedic thriller DEATHTRAP going up against the sexy cat fighting led by Charlotte Rampling in SWIMMING POOL. This duel where the weapons of choice are typewriters and word processors has been inspired by a film new to DVD, Blu-Ray, and various VOD services in LISTEN UP PHILIP.

On this episode we join strangers who arrive in small but equally strange communities and how they shape or are shaped by them. Unfortunately we are not talking ROAD HOUSE, but we do have a 1938 French film in PORT OF SHADOWS going up against Lars Von Trier's DOGVILLE. So... basically the same thing as ROAD HOUSE. This pairing has been inspired by the new release OCTOBER GALE from writer/director Ruba Nadda, who joins us to talk about her work.

On this episode we are inspired by THE TROUBLE WITH THE TRUTH, which recently hit Amazon streaming, to have a long talk about romance in films where couples have long talks. The two older films that we picked are Richard Linklater’s BEFORE SUNRISE and BEFORE MIDNIGHT, the first and third in a trilogy which perfectly fits our format as we debate how time has changed our perceptions of the two films and the characters as they have progressed. To do so we bring in the wife of one of our hosts to get a female point of view and to have our own version of a married couple having a long conversation in podcast form. But before all of that, we got to speak with the writer and director of THE TROUBLE WITH THE TRUTH, Jim Hemphill, about the inspiration for the project and his creative influences.

In this episode we are directed by Nicolas Winding Refn to have a theme inspired by MY LIFE DIRECTED BY NICOLAS WINDING REFN. That direction leads us to the films HEARTS OF DARKNESS: A FILMMAKER'S APOCALYPSE and AMERICAN MOVIE, as we see that both someone at the top and bottom of their field can be driven mad by the passion and pitfalls of seeing their dream film through to completion.

On this episode we are haunted by Hollywood, much like the characters in David Cronenberg's new film MAPS TO THE STARS. The only way we can see to exorcise these demons is by tackling two of the classics on this subject with Billy Wilder's SUNSET BOULEVARD taking on Robert Altman's THE PLAYER. Wilder. Altman. Cronenberg. The only clear winner in this episode is us.

On this episode we attempt to con you into listening to our triple feature of con man movies, inspired by the new release FOCUS. Based on the premise of that film we look at how love blinds con men, like it blinded Will Smith by backing his son's acting career in AFTER EARTH, in Ridley Scott's MATCHSTICK MEN and Rian Johnson’s THE BROTHERS BLOOM.

GUEST: Peter from Hydrate Level Four joins us to work on a horror screenplay starring Bruce McGill.

On this episode we look at two 2001 movies trapped behind enemy lines with BLACK HAWK DOWN vs. the Academy Award Winner for Best Foreign Language Film in NO MAN’S LAND. This particular double feature was inspired by a film just now getting released here in the U.S. and starring Jack O’Connell in ’71. And we were privileged to have the director of photography for that film, Tat Radcliffe, join us to talk about this film and the great year he had professionally in 2014.

On this episode we look at a comic book writer’s universe of creator-owned material making its way to the silver screen with varying degrees of success. We are not of course talking about Alan Moore, because I mentioned the word successful film adaptations, and instead will move down a few tiers to Mark Millar with the adaptations of WANTED and KICK-ASS battling it out like a good comic book crossover. This is inspired by the new release KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE, and Bubbawheat from the sites Flights, Tights, and Movie Nights and Channel: Superhero will teams up with us to choose a winner.

On this episode we attempt to break out of the podcast rut we find and rekindle the flame by taking the advice of new release FIFTY SHADES OF GREY, and talking about two older films about a submissive and dominate relationship between a man in woman with 1986’s NINE 1/2 WEEKS and 2002’s SECRETARY. But the only real dominance to be seen is Mickey Rourke owning the screen with his magnificent 80s hair.

GUEST: Megan from the Screams and Moans podcast attempts to school not only us, but actor Jeremy Davies.

Last episode you may remember (and if you don’t go download Episode 111 right now) we talked Studio Ghibli films with a princess theme. This episode we look at Studio Ghibli at War, with the documentary THE KINGDOM OF DREAMS AND MADNESS inspiring a look at how this studio handles war in its films GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES vs. THE WIND RISES.