Festive Fans Unite! (send us a message) G’day Mate! We’re so stoked. The Festive Fans are firing the barbie today for holiday tucker -- heaps of prawns and snags. We’re putting on some cozies and thongs (well, Mark’s in a budgie smuggler) to enjoy our visit to Straya. Beware the mozzies because it’s a summer celebration. We’ll be going off, skullin…

00:00 Intro 04:54 Starting the topic 06:55 What's the key understanding? 12:10 A role departure for Denzel Washington 15:57 Mark's choice for a unique Washington role 22:20 Another, similar, actor 23:52 It's not necessarily bad... 26:10 Glory 29:02 Comparing to Tom Cruise 31:51 Man on Fire vs The Equalizer 36:02 (It was from Sicario. -Ed.) 36:29 No…

Festive Fans Unite! (send us a message) So it's Season 2. We are older and wiser. Or, with all the traditional food and drink from last season, maybe just older and wider. We have a much broader view now and we are keeping our chins up ... all of them. To kick off the season, we didn't want to rush into it with something simple or easy. No Disney h…

Festive Fans Unite! (send us a message) This episode is our longest and most special. It is Part 2 of our anniversary show. We welcome our first guest, author and podcaster Alonso Duralde; we pick our favorite global holiday songs and movies; and, most importantly, we enjoy and celebrate our podcast, and our listeners, and everything new this first…

Back this episode to talk about Jane Austen adaptations. There are many, but we only have time to watch and discuss a handful. At first Bob and Mark seem to be on the same page, but by the end...well, you'll hear. As ever, SPOILERS, but really, these stories are 200 years old. If you don't know them already, that's on you. 00:00 Introduction 2:28 A…

Festive Fans Unite! (send us a message) One Year! Wow, it seems like just last June we were in the street markets of Ancient Baghdad on a flying carpet with Aladin. Or, trying to escape from the top of a burning tower in South Korea. These films offered us a cinematic glimpse into the diverse traditions, customs, and ways of life for people in diff…

Festive Fans Unite! (send us a message) OK, Festive Fans, pour yourselves a Mai Thai and get ready for the last episode of our first season! We are heading east – Far East – to Thailand, a captivating land of beaches, palaces, ruins, and temples. It’s the perfect ending for a final holiday outing of Season 1 to shake our Christmas booties with the …

Festive Fans Unite! (send us a message) The boys are going Dutch this episode and exploring Christmas in the land of tulips, windmills, and hole-y dykes. Grab your wooden shoes, we are heading to the Netherlands for St. Nicholas Day! We also examine a surprisingly dated film from 2007, Alles is Liefde, and discuss whether the same film could be mad…

This time it's the back half of a pair of episodes on Kurosawa. As ever, we're talking about the films with the assumption that you'll have seen them, so beware the fearsome SPOILER. Mark picked the movies for Part I and Bob has picked the films for Part II. We also talk a little about Shane and A Fistful of Dollars. Enjoy!00:10 Intro to Part 207:3…

Festive Fans Unite! (send us a message) In today’s episode, we enjoy Skenbart or “IIlusive Tracks” a black and white Swedish film set in 1945. It is a comedy, thriller, drama and love story, all wrapped up in one, along with those common elements you expect in a Christmas film – murder, adultery, and violence. Plus, if you can believe it, it’s real…

First of a pair of episodes about the great Japanese director Akira Kurosawa. Mark is dipping into his ouevre for the first time and Bob is revisiting many of his favorite movies. Featuring SPOILERS throughout, but also the return of the clicky pen! Listen at your own risk.00:10 Episode introduction04:08 Seven Samurai19:50 Wrong, Bob; three left20:…

Festive Fans Unite! (send us a message) The boys head north again to another Scandinavian country to fully embrace the land of Vikings, pastries, and Mads Mikkelsen. It’s Denmark! Yes, our own Hannibal Lecter stars in a revenge drama that has all of the elements you didn’t know you wanted for the holidays – anger, grief and lots of violence. And It…

Festive Fans Unite! (send us a message) We are still in our post-St. Patrick’s Day reverie so the Festive Fans decide to head off to enjoy the Emerald Isle. Mark is excited to celebrate the locale of his favorite film The Quiet Man and the home to three of his great-grandparents. He is our resident leprechaun so he gets to present the Irish movie K…

This is as close as we get to jumping on the bandwagon of popular, recent films. We talk most about the Villeneuve Dune movies, but we also touch on the other iterations. No spoiler warnings in the episode, because the whole podcast is composed of SPOILERS!00:10 Intro - What's going to be covered and not04:50 There is no such thing as "spoiling" a …

Bob finally stopped being lazy and got this edited. Wrapping up our discussion of the Coens and their films along with theme Mark thinks he's sussed out of their movies. As ever, SPOILERS!02:00 Why are we doing two episodes on the Coens?04:15 Blood Simple10:15 Spoilers begin in earnest16:49 Subscribers only (unfortunately): https://www.criterioncha…

Festive Fans Unite! (send us a message) Don’t cry for us Argentina, you have delivered on a very meaty holiday. And we are not just talking about the ox tongue and tuna sauce at the Asado. Our first tour stop in South America really delivers its fireworks -- both on and off the screen. La Noche Magica is a film that may seem dark and unsettling, bu…

Festive Fans Unite! (send us a message) This reminds us of when we reviewed a film from Turkey in November, now February is Black History month in the States and we just happen to be covering our first film on the African continent. Today we travel to Lagos, Nigeria for an entertaining Christmas rom com that features all of the classic Hallmark mov…

Festive Fans Unite! (send us a message) We’re gonna show you a movie you can’t refuse. The boys are off to Italia -- Bob’s ancestral homeland – for a magnifica celebration of amore, famiglia, and Natale. And don’t worry, it’s not personal, it’s business. We review the Italian holiday film Una famiglia perfetta from 2012. But first, we listen to Bob…

Another two part episode (at least two; we haven't recorded any more than this so far) this time around, but looking at a selection of Coen Brothers movies chosen by Mark. We discuss four of their films in this episode and plan to discuss four more. SPOILERS THROUGHOUT!Enjoy!00:43 Mark's flu podcast01:46 Introducing the topic04:10 Raising Arizona (…

Festive Fans Unite! (send us a message) Vincent Van Gogh’s classic painting “Starry Night” has, through the years, inspired poets, musicians, and now another gem -- this episode’s holiday film from Taiwan. Mark describes it as the “best film we have reviewed” so far. It is a heartfelt story based on an illustrated novel, and the film shares the art…

First episode of the new year is...finishing the topic we started at the end of last year. We're thinking about maybe tackling some smaller topics this year, but the best laid plans, etc. As ever with our podcast SPOILERS ABOUND! Listen at your own risk.00:10 Intro04:42 The Artist10:18 Would it work as a true silent movie?12:55 Mark doesn't like th…

Festive Fans Unite! (send us a message) It’s a new episode, a new year, and an exciting new country for the Festive Fans! For the start of 2024, we travel to Iceland -- a country with dramatic landscapes full of giant glaciers and fiery volcanos. Such extreme contrasts also underscore the movie Echo. This intimate film is equally humorous and heart…

Festive Fans Unite! (send us a message) Merry Christmas to all of our Festive Fans! The boys celebrate Christmas today by considering the uplifting Ukrainian song and the movie Carol of the Bells or “Schedryk”. The story takes place in the years preceding and during World War II and features three different families who are living as neighbors in a…

Festive Fans Unite! (send us a message) The Festive Fans embark on their plan to spread Peace on Earth and Good Will to Men this episode as they journey to Mother Russia. It’s a sincere effort to try to find some Christmas spirit in the former Soviet nation. We watch a movie filled with class warfare, occultism, and pick pockets. It is set before t…

Festive Fans Unite! (send us a message) In today’s episode we explore how true Americans celebrate Christmas – the Native Americans. Yes, we make a visit to the American Indian nation, as a Thanksgiving Day salute to the indigenous people who saved the Pilgrim butts and got a big thank you dinner and European delicacies like smallpox and kidnapping…

This time around we decided that since the 2012 Best Picture had 9 nominations, we'd split the discussion into two parts so we didn't have to either run very long or skim over films without discussing them. So 4 this episode, 5 next time.00:10 Intro and beard discussion03:47 Podcast topic - 2012 Best Picture06:05 Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close…

Festive Fans Unite! (send us a message) It’s November and we are talking Turkey. No, not those dim-witted, low-flying, tree-roosting birds that many of us plan to eat later this month. We are talking the country of Turkey, which is the ancestral home and inspiration for Santa Claus – St. Nicholas. Although this is a country that lies part in Asia a…

Festive Fans Unite! (send us a message) Happy National Christmas Podcast Day! The theme of today’s special event is for the many different Christmas podcasts to cover a version of Charles Dickens Christmas Carol. Since we are the Festive Foreign Film Fans, we needed a foreign adaptation and we discovered the 1953 Italian film Non è mai troppo tardi…

Festive Fans Unite! (send us a message) Email Address: festivefans@gmail.com Linktree: https://linktr.ee/festivefans?utm_source=linktree_profile_share 4F Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2QIjYWNP1TS0hC2OFeBXqO?si=8791632a966d4f53 Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100092522416848 4F Flair Shop (Festive Fans Merchandis…

Festive Fans Unite! (send us a message) Boo! It’s spooky season for our Christmas podcast. This episode we have Pastorela, and it is devilishly good. It is the appropriate holiday film for October as it features demons, an exorcism, and an epic battle of Good versus Evil. What more could you want from a film that plays like a Halloween-Christmas cr…

Another movie that's (loosely) connected to the story of Jesus. We didn't plan it that way, but there it is. The other four films all have some connection to World War II, which at the time was still fresh in the mind for many people. We do have SPOILERS, but not so many as in other episodes? Listen at your own risk; as always we tend to talk about…

Festive Fans Unite! (send us a message) Today is a "Bada Din" – which means Big Day in Hindi. Mark and Bob explore the movie of the same name, which is the Indian term for Christmas. Bada Din was released in 1998 and is a holiday dance and song spectacle – it features murder, a GQ model-turned-actor, 10-minute chase scenes, and a dreamy music video…

Festive Fans Unite! (send us a message) You need to Czech out our latest episode. It’s heavenly! We review the 2005 Czech film Andĕl Pánĕ and it is a hellish good time. This festive fairy tale features Patronel, a bumbling angel; his boss God; and, a handy squad of versatile Saints, all on call. Also, we meet Patronel’s satanic guide Urias, who obs…

Festive Fans Unite! (send us a message) Bob and Mark ur hoachin as they tromp through the Scottish moors in kilts and tap shoes tae be tellin eh day’s good craic eh a fever dream – the Christmas Zombie Pandemic High School Musical -- “Anna and the Apocalypse”. There’s nothing better than flesh-eating festivities eh go wae ye haggis. It’s pure baggi…

Wrapping up the Indiana Jones trilogy this time around. Hope you enjoy it, SPOILERS, of course! We're not going to talk about the latter two films; at least, not for the foreseeable future. Never say never, though!0:10 Opening salutations1:13 "The jewel of Southeast Asia"4:45 Synopsis8:50 Is Indy actually searching for the Holy Grail?12:51 Comparin…

Festive Fans Unite! (send us a message) You may be dying to know that for this episode, we dig up Mark's past -- and it's of grave interest. Since his dad was the town's undrtaker, he is best suited to lay out our film for public viewing. We explore a dreary holiday in a town entombed by its sole industry -- asbestos mining. And Mark buries it pret…

Installment number two in our evaluation of the Indiana Jones franchise. (Ugh, it feels a little dirty saying "franchise.") We'll at least get the the third, but no promises about anything further. Very, very mild spoilers for The Sixth Sense (trailer level), and of course SPOILERS! for Temple of Doom. Enjoy! 00:10 Episode 50!03:05 Thinking about T…

Festive Fans Unite! (send us a message) What nationality is Santa Claus? North Polish! Ha, we are starting this episode's summary with a (Gran)Dad joke to celebrate the birth of our new podmast-cot (and Mark's granddaughter) Layna "Festivus Fania" Chandler. In fact, mark your chanlenders because his family is all over this show. They are the Pole-y…

Still taking our sweet time in this sleepy summer, we return with a (relatively) in-depth look at a single film. Obviously, spoilers, but c'mon. If you've not seen this, then I don't even feel sorry for you being spoiled. It's your own fault for avoiding such a good movie for this long.00:10 Intro1:27 Recapping the lost first attempt3:07 The delibe…

Festive Fans Unite! (send us a message) Email Address: festivefans@gmail.com Linktree: https://linktr.ee/festivefans?utm_source=linktree_profile_share 4F Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2QIjYWNP1TS0hC2OFeBXqO?si=8791632a966d4f53 Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100092522416848 4F Flair Shop (Festive Fans Merchandis…

Festive Fans Unite! (send us a message) It's a colorful challenge, but Mark and Bob are just the two-dimensional, cartoonish guys to tackle this episode's first animated film Tokyo Godfathers. Mark goes deep, but Bob -- he's here for the anime pillows, electric eels, and Kentucky Fried Chicken. All that's missing is Pokemon and Hello Kitty! Yes, Ma…

It's been a bit slower because...it's summer. Yeah, that's it. Summer, that's the ticket. But we're back again with another episode, this time talking about 1944 and Bing Crosby's big year winning Best Actor in the Best Picture, Going My Way. Talking about it and the other Best Picture nominees we discuss MANY SPOILERS! You have been warned.00:00 I…

Festive Fans Unite! (send us a message) This time the boys are off to the unofficial home of Santa Claus -- Finland -- and boy, what a Santa! He's not exactly your jolly old fat man. Take that Coca-Cola! Bob and Mark venture into that unique festive niche, the holiday horror film, and discuss the film Rare Exports. They also discover one of the hid…

Festive Fans Unite! (send us a message) It's the second episode of Festive Foreign Film Fans. We have shortened the name to “4F” which is an acronym that we only divulge to our closest friends. Shhh! This show we travel to one of the few Asian countries that celebrates Christmas as a national holiday -- South Korea! Bob and Mark first discuss the C…

Slowly getting back into the swing of things; we're back with another timely episode talking about movies from nearly 70 years ago. It's almost silly, but SPOILER WARNING! We're going to spoil them all, insofar as that's possible, since some of them really aren't traditionally spoil...able? Enjoy!00:10 Intro and desultory chit-chat02:45 The nominee…

Festive Fans Unite! (send us a message) This is our first episode of Festive Foreign Film Fans. Just the name is a mouthful -- imagine what the show is like. Bob and Mark travel to France to review the French film Les nouvelles aventures d'Aladin. Neither one speaks the language or has even travelled to the country (first mistake), so they offer gr…

The year is 1997. The category is Best Picture. Who will win? Well, as is unsurprising at this period in history, it's the film pushed by the Weinsteins. But perhaps it ought not to have? We discuss the movies from 1996 that might should have been considered the Best Picture when the awards season rolled around in the first part of 1997. SPOILERS A…

Oh, hey, it's an old episode that Bob forgot to edit and upload. Let's draw a veil on that and we can pretend that it didn't quite happen that way. Spoilers abound for a variety of films old and new in this episode where your two hosts run down lists of movies they dislike, but with which the world seems to be enamored. In addition to the movies on…

Festive Fans Unite! (send us a message) This is the trailer for the podcast. Email Address: festivefans@gmail.com Linktree: https://linktr.ee/festivefans?utm_source=linktree_profile_share 4F Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2QIjYWNP1TS0hC2OFeBXqO?si=8791632a966d4f53 Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100092522416848 4…

It's a bit late (Bob's fault), but we're working to at least stay close to our intended schedule. This episode we talk about The Whale and clearly our conversation predated the Oscar awards (a bit interesting to hear our predictions after the fact). As always SPOILERS ABOUND! (We even spoil The Wrestler.)00:10 Dudes chatting01:45 The Whale02:59 Plo…