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James and Sam have been friends and collaborators for over 20 years. They’ve worked on films and TV shows and commercials together and have written numerous scripts that lie unproduced in their shared Dropbox folder. But James has a secret: he hasn’t actually seen that many movies. And Sam, who’s a bit of a film snob, has been giving him a hard time about it for years. As James enters undeniable middle age, he has finally promised to catch up on some of the films he’s missed. Every week or s ...
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It’s a special holiday episode! We’re deviating from our usual chronology to talk about Jon Favreau’s 2003 Christmas classic, Elf, starring Will Ferrell, Zooey Deschanel, and James Caan. And it turns out that neither of us had ever seen this movie before this week. Plus: Ferris Bueller, overripe fruit, and “cross-hatched” dreams. LINKS: Trailer for…
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This week we close out Season One of the podcast with a conversation about Ingmar Bergman’s family epic Fanny and Alexander, starring Bertil Guve, Ewa Fröling, and Jan Malmsjö. Plus: wind chimes, bookstore etiquette, and Gloomhaven. LINKS: Trailer for Fanny and Alexander Art Garfunkel in the studio Chevy Chase can't get left, from European Vacation…
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This week we discuss Michael Mann’s gritty debut feature, Thief, starring James Caan and Tuesday Weld. Plus: spa treatments, house cats, and Pink Floyd knockoffs. LINKS: Trailer for Thief The VEMI treatment Steve Martin makes coffee in Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid The end of Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb” (starting at 4:20) “Confrontation”, the final…
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This week we explore David Lynch’s black-and-white period drama The Elephant Man, starring Anthony Hopkins, John Hurt, and Anne Bancroft. Plus: Just how bad was James’s first screenplay? LINKS: Trailer for The Elephant Man Michael Jackson bids for Merrick's bones Three pages from The Mourning Cloak (1999)…
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This week we tackle two movies. Hal Ashby’s American satire Being There, starring Peter Sellers; and Terry Jones’s biblical spoof Monty Python’s Life of Brian, starring the Pythons. Plus: blooper reels, the death of Black Panther, and the apparently ambiguous ending of Planet of the Apes. LINKS: Trailer for Being There Trailer for Monty Python's Li…
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This week we discuss Terence Malick’s luminous period drama Days of Heaven, starring Richard Gere, Brooke Adams, and Sam Shepard. Plus: Virgil’s Eclogues, group dynamics, and the Identified Patient. LINKS: Trailer for Days of Heaven Steve Coogan's impression of Richard Gere (from The Trip) The "identified patient"…
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This week we discuss Werner Herzog’s black comedy Stroszek, starring Bruno S, Eva Mattes, and Clemens Scheitz. Plus: Sam has a martini with Dianne Wiest. LINKS: Trailer for Stroszek Thieves stealing the "cat" Afternoon tea at Fortnum & Mason The afternoon tea menu
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This week we discuss John Avildsen’s rousing and immortal Rocky, starring Sylvester Stallone and Talia Shire. Plus: Real tennis, a dead car battery, and the time Sam’s parents met Mike Tyson. LINKS: Trailer for Rocky The LOKITHOR car charger Charlie Chaplin boxing in City Lights Real tennis
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This week we talk about Michelangelo Antonioni's existentialist thriller The Passenger, starring Jack Nicholson and Maria Schneider. Plus: What George Plimpton found at the top of the Brooklyn Bridge. LINKS: Trailer for The Passenger The Weather Channel explains "wintry mix" Trailer for Flesh Gordon (1974; NSFW)…
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This week we talk about Hal Ashby's road movie The Last Detail, starring Jack Nicholson, Otis Young, and Randy Quaid. Plus: James shares a bedroom with Sam's parents. LINKS: Trailer for The Last Detail "The Man Who Never Heard of Frank Sinatra" Trailer for Flash Gordon (1980)By James Lavino & Sam Neave
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At Sam's suggestion, James starts his journey with Nicolas Roeg's 1973 horror-thriller Don't Look Now, starring Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie. Plus, penalty kicks, second sight, and why not to keep loaded guns in the house. LINKS: Trailer for Don't Look Now Harry Kane misses World-Cup penalty Marquinhos's reaction after he misses his penalty…
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James accepts that it's time to overcome his fears and watch some movies, but he'll need some guidance. Sam, stuck in his car thanks to New York's alternate-side-parking regulations, is only too happy to oblige. LINKS: NYC alternate side parking rules Martin Scorsese’s thoughts on TárBy James Lavino & Sam Neave
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