Trylove

A kidnapping, a political murder, a prison break – it was supposed to be simple. Prison warden Vito barters with the mob to exchange his stolen wife for Milo, a low-level thug locked up in Vito’s prison.

Vito’s decision to keep Milo until the handoff proves wise: Not only is the mob in no hurry to let loose ends stay loose, but Vito begins to develop a certain consideration for Milo during their time on the lam.

Find Kelly…

- On Twitter at https://twitter.com/kransekage_

- On Letterboxd at https://letterboxd.com/luckyhoss/

- On Trylove episodes about WINGS OF DESIRE (1987), ARREBATO (1979), and PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE (1974)

“Some disorganized thoughts about poliziotteschi films” by John Moret for Perisphere, the Trylon blog: https://www.perisphere.org/2023/02/06/some-disorganized-thoughts-about-poliziotteschi-films-from-the-trylon-programmer/

Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/trylovepodcast and email us at [email protected] to get in touch! Buy tickets and support the Trylon at https://www.trylon.org/.

Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro music: "Un amico (Titoli)" by Ennio Morricone from the REVOLVER soundtrack.

Timestamps

0:00 - Episode 215: REVOLVER (1973) with Kelly Krantz

2:18 - The episode actually starts

6:10 - Kelly’s thoughts

9:00 - The first half and poliziotteschi as pulp for the masses

14:17 - Where REVOLVER falls on the poliziotteschi landscape

18:55 - The movie’s pacing & pieces falling into place

26:18 - Integrity and the push/pull of Vito and Milo

56:21 - Good Grief, Give Me a GIF!

1:04:58 - Cody’s Noteys: Revolv-age Sale

While lacking some of the exploitation panache in which the poliziotteschi revels, CONFESSIONS OF A POLICE CAPTAIN is an appropriately pulpy dive into the seedy, blood-soaked streets of ‘70s Italy amid a rash of violent crime in the years following an economic boom. A storied police captain and his naive district attorney butt heads when the attorney starts to pull the threads connecting the captain to a local crime boss-slash-construction magnate. The truth comes to light faster than you’d think in this plotty tale, leaving a back half dedicated to exploring the depths of corruption, the relative limits of justice, and the line where morals and action meet.

- Get tickets to POLIZIOTTESCHI: ITALIAN CRIME FILMS IN THE YEARS OF LEAD (Feb. 2023 at the Trylon): https://www.trylon.org/films/category/poliziotteschi-italian-crime-films-in-the-years-of-lead/

- “Some disorganized thoughts about poliziotteschi films” by John Moret for Perisphere, the Trylon blog: https://www.perisphere.org/2023/02/06/some-disorganized-thoughts-about-poliziotteschi-films-from-the-trylon-programmer/

- “The Best Cop Movies You’ve Never Heard Of: ‘Poliziotteschi’ Films Get Their Due” at IndieWire: https://www.indiewire.com/2014/06/the-best-cop-movies-youve-never-heard-of-poliziotteschi-films-get-their-due-25140/

Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/trylovepodcast and email us at [email protected] to get in touch! Buy tickets and support the Trylon at https://www.trylon.org/.

Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro music by Rito Ortolani from the CONFESSIONS OF A POLICE CAPTAIN soundtrack.

Timestamps

0:00 - Episode 214: CONFESSIONS OF A POLICE CAPTAIN (1971)

5:27 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary

7:02 - Thoughts on the poliziotteschi form and the place of CONFESSIONS within it

20:13 - The scene where the movie’s primary tension becomes procedural

29:08 - The second act and fleshing out ideologies through Traini and Bonavia

43:54 - The late fridging of Serena

54:06 - The climax

1:06:52 - Good Grief, Give Me a GIF!

1:12:04 - Cody’s Noteys: Martin’s Smartins

Welcome Dan Nagan of Everything We Learned (https://twitter.com/adapperdanman/) back to the program!

Is there virtue in repetition? In EDGE OF TOMORROW, there’s a certain indignity to it – Tom Cruise’s Bill Cage dies repeatedly and violently in an inter-species war in search of a secret that could tip the scales in humanity’s favor. But in reliving a single failed decisive battle every day (thanks to a time-resetting superpower he honestly fell ass-first into), Cage’s challenge is less in losing the war and more in the threat of becoming numb to the horrors of armed combat – including the seemingly unavoidable death of Sergeant Rita Vrataski, whose proficiency and drive inspire Cage’s personal growth through the ‘fiery crucible’ of war.

Find Dan…

- https://twitter.com/adapperdanman/

- https://letterboxd.com/adapperdanman/

- ‘s podcast, Everything We Learned, on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/everything-we-learned/id1184071273

- At “Hulk Smashworth” in Final Fantasy XIV on the Diablo server

- On Trylove episodes about RONIN (1981), FACE/OFF (1997), MANDY (2018)

- On Stoop Kidz! A Hey Arnold! Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/stoop-kidz-a-hey-arnold-podcast/id1553292788

Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/trylovepodcast and email us at [email protected] to get in touch! Buy tickets and support the Trylon at https://www.trylon.org/.

Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters/audio excerpt from EDGE OF TOMORROW. Outro music: "Angel of Verdun" by Christophe Beck from the EDGE OF TOMORROW soundtrack.

Timestamps

0:00 - Episode 213: EDGE OF TOMORROW (2014) with Dan Nagan

3:20 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary

5:56 - Is it dystopian if we’re just watching war in the future?

16:25 - Tom Cruise as a sicko who learns to be human

26:39 - How it uses the time loop concept

35:36 - Rita

38:57 - The comedy

45:19 - How close it is to mediocrity

51:03 - As an antidote to numbing action movie shit

59:19 - Good Grief, Give Me a GIF!

1:07:49 - Cody’s Noteys: Tryloop

1:31:35 - Dan's Detour: Try, Love, Repeat

Dan Halsted is one of the premier film programmers in the United States. In addition to his role as head programmer for the historic Hollywood Theatre in Portland, OR, Dan has amassed a collection of some of the most vital kung fu and exploitation films in existence. He’s salvaged the only known prints of several classics, he holds one of a small handful of many more, and he’s attracted the company of figures like Quentin Tarantino and RZA along the way.

We talked to Dan just before AN EXPLOITATION EXTRAVAGANZA, an exhibition of several such prints in February 2023, including one film (Joseph Kuo’s 1977 kung fu classic 7 GRANDMASTERS) and a bunch of old trailers on film. In this conversation, we chat about the program, how Dan came to know and love the Trylon, the shifting demographics for film screening, and what it’s like to look back on a career of rescuing films firsthand before they’re lost forever.

Get tickets to AN EXPLOITATION EXTRAVAGANZA (Feb 3-5, 2023 at the Trylon): https://www.trylon.org/films/category/an-exploitation-extravaganza/

Get tickets to GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933, presented by film programmer Chantell Halsted (Feb 5 at the Trylon): https://www.trylon.org/film/gold-diggers-of-1933/

Visit the Hollywood Theatre in Portland, OR: https://hollywoodtheatre.org/

Support the Hollywood Theatre’s goal of purchasing two Norelco AAIIs to ensure they can keep showing film well into the future: https://prod3.agileticketing.net/websales/pages/info.aspx?doninfo=742~5f969332-ec94-41af-822d-5c7ec8f2ca2b&epguid=78f97749-fa19-4772-a914-f346d99cc5f3&

Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/trylovepodcast and email us at [email protected] to get in touch! Buy tickets and support the Trylon at https://www.trylon.org/.

Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro music: "Magic Fly" by Space from the SNAKE IN THE EAGLE'S SHADOW (1978) soundtrack.

Timestamps

0:00 - Episode 211: Salvaging Film History with Dan Halsted of the Hollywood Theater [Interview]

1:53 - Bringing one-of-a-kind film prints to the Trylon

6:06 - Why’s 7 GRANDMASTERS (1977) so special?

9:01 - Showing grindhouse trailers at the Trylon

17:20 - Dan’s connection to the Trylon

19:28 - What it’s like to program at the Hollywood Theatre

23:56 - What makes Portland a “movie-watching town”

30:09 - Showing 70mm at the Hollywood

35:16 - Why Gen Z audiences are drawn to film

37:55 - The growth of interest in film during the pandemic

43:06 - Outreach & getting people to come out for film

46:12 - Dan’s film programming white whales

50:17 - How it feels to be one of the most notable film programmers in the US

57:30 - What’s next for Dan

Featuring Natalie Marlin (https://twitter.com/NataliesNotInIt)!

For some, MAD MAX: FURY ROAD was an amusement. For others, it shattered growing cynicism. It’s an epic in the classic sense, thrilling and regaling with focused sights and sounds and craft so impactful it seems like wizardry. At the same time, it’s a bountiful narrative that works with the barest materials – neologisms, post-consumer weaponry, and roving bands of apocalyptic automobiles abound – to tell a rich story of redemption, reclamation, hope, and escape.

“The Art of the Car Crash: Mad Max: Fury Road” by Trylon volunteer and Trylove guest Finn Odum: https://www.perisphere.org/2023/01/13/the-art-of-the-car-crash/

“Ride the Brutal Euphoria Wave with Angel Electronics” by Natalie Marlin for Bandcamp Daily: https://daily.bandcamp.com/features/angel-electronics-ultra-paradise-interview

Moo: https://mmfrconfessions.tumblr.com/post/125295076648/you-know-that-bit-when-rictus-erectus-drinks-some

Find Natalie…

On Twitter at https://twitter.com/NataliesNotInIt

On Letterboxd at https://letterboxd.com/framingthepic/

On Trylove Episode 162: THE THIRD MAN (1949), Episode 182: CHESS OF THE WIND (1979), and Episode 197: RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD (1985)

Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/trylovepodcast and email us at [email protected] to get in touch! Buy tickets and support the Trylon at https://www.trylon.org/.

Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro music: "Chapter Doof" by Tom Holkenborg from the MAD MAX: FURY ROAD soundtrack.

Timestamps

0:00 - Episode 210: MAD MAX: FURY ROAD (2015) with Natalie Marlin

3:43 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary

5:13 - Rewatching this movie for the umpteenth time

22:38 - The little moments & how FURY ROAD is paced

40:27 - The movie's smart storytelling

58:56 - You can't run

1:03:51 - The technical achievements of MAD MAD: FURY ROAD

1:06:06 - Back 2 da politics

1:09:24 - The Junk Drawer

1:13:21 - Good Grief, Give Me a GIF!

1:18:23 - Cody’s Noteys: Mad Maxes

Featuring Abbie Phelps (https://twitter.com/goodhunterabbie)!

Steven Spielberg’s update of H.G. Wells’s genre classic crumbles Tom Cruise, America’s perfect leading man, into a pool of tears and paranoia. It’s a choice consistent with the narrative of the overall movie, a metaphor for the naked, scared soul of imperialism – an unmasking of the patriotism-cum-xenophobia that shepherded thousands of young Americans to die for national wealth in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Find Abbie…

On Twitter at https://twitter.com/goodhunterabbie

On Letterboxd at https://letterboxd.com/goodhunterabbie/

On Trylove Episode 184: DRIVE ANGRY (2011)

Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/trylovepodcast and email us at [email protected] to get in touch! Buy tickets and support the Trylon at https://www.trylon.org/.

Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro music: Main Theme by John Williams from the WAR OF THE WORLDS soundtrack.

Timestamps

0:00 - Episode 209: WAR OF THE WORLDS (2005) with Abbie Phelps

4:45 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary

10:40 - The family stuff and the movie’s subversive politics

22:18 - The loss of innocence narrative

28:42 - Even more love for Spielberg

32:31 - Flow and pacing

35:30 - A bruised Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning

51:08 - The third act

53:16 - The big ol’ setpieces

59:10 - Good Grief, Give Me a GIF!

1:06:17 - Cody’s Noteys: Tom’s Crews

Featuring Blake Hester (https://twitter.com/metallicaisrad)!

PULSE is probably a pretty good movie! The boys think I would’ve given it a single thumbs up and made puns about the title instead of having genuine thoughts and insightful feelings about it. They’re probably right. I’m on vacation.

Find Blake…

At https://www.gameinformer.com/user/blake-hester

At https://twitter.com/metallicaisrad

At https://letterboxd.com/blakedtfp/

On Trylove Episode 153: POSSESSION (1981)

Shout-out to MN’s own Video Universe (1986-2023):

- https://www.videouniversemn.com/

- https://racketmn.com/video-universe-one-of-the-last-rental-stores-in-america-is-closing/

Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/trylovepodcast and email us at [email protected] to get in touch! Buy tickets and support the Trylon at https://www.trylon.org/.

Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro music by Takeshi Haketa from the PULSE soundtrack.

Timestamps

0:00 - Episode 208: PULSE (2001) with Blake Hester

5:17 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary

7:25 - Internet as theme, generational experience, and the CURE comparison

28:00 - How PULSE navigates its genre trappings

37:22 - PULSE’s evocation of “end times” imagery

47:59 - The Kids Are Not All Right

52:04 - Michi's send-off

1:00:45 - The Junk Drawer

1:08:21 - Cody's Noteys - Trylibs: Ghost Story

The philosophical wanderings of GHOST IN THE SHELL are exactly what give its plot – occasionally convoluted and hard to follow – a safe cushion on which to land. The conclusions it draws about the creation and maintenance of identity are mirrored in Motoko, a cybernetic humanoid perfected by the Japanese government, and the Puppet Master, the sentient amalgam of networked information she’s tasked with hunting down.

Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/trylovepodcast and email us at [email protected] to get in touch! Buy tickets and support the Trylon at https://www.trylon.org/.

Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro music: “Chant I - Making of Cyborg” by Kenji Kawai from the GHOST IN THE SHELL soundtrack.

Timestamps

0:00 - Episode 207: GHOST IN THE SHELL (1995)

2:34 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary

5:11 - What the movie chooses to (and not to) focus on

21:47 - The movie as a vessel for ideas

27:43 - Motoko as narrative lens

34:53 - The music & upending your expectations of anime

47:14 - New Port City & Motoko

1:01:00 - The Junk Drawer

1:11:01 - Cody’s Noteys: 2023 Movie Resolutions

The Golden Barrys return and they’re as contentious as ever! And a little freakier. What does that even mean? We’re glad you asked. Kind of!

Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/trylovepodcast and email us at [email protected] to get in touch! Buy tickets and support the Trylon at https://www.trylon.org/.

Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro music: A song I don’t want to name in case some algorithmic corpo-cop somewhere decides to victimize me and my little unpaid podcast.

Timestamps

0:00 - Episode 206: The 2022 𝓖𝓸𝓵𝓭𝓮𝓷 𝓑𝓪𝓻𝓻𝔂 Awards

3:56 - Jason’s picks

7:03 - Cody’s picks

13:03 - Harry’s picks

16:00 - Aaron’s picks

35:17 - The Rashomonies

38:56 - Best Animated Feature

55:54 - Best Film Series

1:14:34 - Wettest Film

1:26:32 - Best One-Off Film

1:36:02 - BEEF

1:36:59 - Best Director

1:44:34 - Best Cody’s Noteys

1:55:08 - Little Freak of the Year

2:11:24 - King of the Trylon

2:16:44 - The Actual King of the Trylon

2:18:31 - Queen of the Trylon

2:27:54 - Best Picture

2:59:14 - Skip to the winners

3:03:47 - Thanking our guests

Dedicated to the “mountebanks” and “clowns” who produced lighthearted escapist fare during World War II, SULLIVAN’S TRAVELS was director Preston Sturges’s attempt to make the fun of that genre the message of his own entry. Elitist film director John Sullivan seeks authenticity in his own high-minded cinema, insisting on ‘earning’ the right to make ‘true’ stories of the downtrodden by living in the gutters, shelters, and train cars of the western United States. Instead, he always finds himself rejected by the world of the impoverished. It’s a bit tourism and a bit colonizing and it all ends with a hopeful smile.

PROTOTYPES FOR THE ROM-COM (Dec 2022 at the Trylon): https://www.trylon.org/films/category/prototypes-for-the-rom-com/

As of this recording, SULLIVAN’S TRAVELS is available to stream on The Criterion Channel. If you don’t have that or don’t want to use it, click here: https://archive.org/details/sullivans-travels

Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/trylovepodcast and email us at [email protected] to get in touch! Buy tickets and support the Trylon at https://www.trylon.org/.

Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro music: Title credits theme by Charles Bradshaw and Leo Shuken from the SULLIVAN’S TRAVELS soundtrack.

Timestamps

0:00 - Episode 205: SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS (1941)

3:27 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary (under exclusive license from AG Enterprises)

5:49 - You can’t make a movie that is about the movie you’re making

17:03 - Leading into the third act

24:23 - Gravity

36:27 - Aggressive awareness & the chain gang scenes

41:59 - The church scenes

48:50 - Poverty’s lack of a voice

57:16 - Veronica Lake is an afterthought

1:00:41 - The Junk Drawer

1:09:44 - Cody’s Noteys: Trylove’s Travels (Ride the Bus but with AFI movies)