27 Mar
In this episode, Tyler and Josh discuss Bennett Miller’s Moneyball and Steven Spielberg’s Jaws.
EPISODE BREAKDOWN
00:00:50- Intro, New Zealand
00:02:10- The Unemployed Mind
00:08:00- Moneyball
01:13:25- Jaws
01:30:30- Episode wrap-up
4 Mar
THE KING’S SPEECH (2010)
Directed by: Tom Hooper
Written by: David Seidler
Starring: Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, Guy Pearce, Michael Gambon, Timothy Spall
In 2010, the Oscars were coming off a year with some big changes – the bump up to ten Best Picture nominations, inclusion of some big-budget crowd pleasers in addition to artsy “prestige” films, and a different kind of Best Picture; a small scale summer release about soldiers in Iraq. It seemed like maybe Oscar was moving in a new direction, the beginning of a new era. But old habits die hard, and whether it was for good or not, the Academy Awards went back to business as usual with The King’s Speech.
28 Feb
BRAVEHEART (1995)
Directed by: Mel Gibson
Written by: Randall Wallace
Starring: Mel Gibson, Sophie Marceau, Patrick McGoohan, Brendan Gleeson, Angus MacFadyen
Like or hate Mel Gibson, he has undoubtedly created some of the most striking and memorable images in modern American film. He was already a Hollywood icon when he began the transition into directing. Some of his beliefs have gotten him into trouble especially in recent years, but he also clearly has ideas with which the American psyche identifies. In Braveheart he presented those ideas to us as director and producer – and won Oscar gold for both 1.
3 Feb
Over the Christmas season, the primary gift I received was a nice collection of blu rays. One of them happened to be Matthew Vaughn’s X-Men: First Class. Upon this most recent viewing of it, it reminded me of how much I love the X-Men franchise and how compelling the character of Magneto/Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender) is.
2 Feb
Hey Wood-chuck Chuckers, its Groundhog Day! (it is as I write this at least)
This morning in Punxsutawney, ole’ Phil the groundhog saw his shadow. Such a revelation was met with an anemic reaction since this winter has been quite mild. So, why do we watch, why does this town put on this yearly pageant? Perhaps even more puzzling- why has a comedy centered around this holiday only grown in acclaim and even reverence since it premiered back in 1993? American literary theorist and legal scholar Stanley Fish named the film as one of the 10 best American films ever made. What about it led the United States National Film Registry to deem it “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” back in 2006 when it added the film to its ranks? Now I love Bill Murray and Harold Ramis, but those guys don’t seem the type to hobnob with (what I’m assuming) must be a slightly snobby crowd in their new registry abode. Roger Ebert is an avowed fan. You get the picture.
22 Aug
I realized halfway through watching Inside Job, Charles Ferguson’s Oscar-winning documentary that I didn’t understand half of what I was hearing. Despite the concise writing and editing of Chad Beck and Adam Bolt, the explanatory voiceover of Matt Damon and the supplemental motion graphics from Bigstar, I still don’t understand what CDOs are nor how they can be bought and sold, I still have no idea what makes subprime mortgages so destructive and overall, I largely still have an unclear picture on the multitude of factors that led to the $20 trillion global financial crisis of 2008. Despite my unwilling ignorance, I understood enough of the horrific portrait Ferguson was painting to feel something I’ve rarely experienced while watching movies: rage.
15 Jun
From the giddy anticipation that J.J. Abrams’ Super 8 created in me to the emotions that it evoked while watching it, I knew that it was something special and worth talking about. The problem was that the actual story didn’t really speak to me in a way that made me want to explore it. If the story isn’t all that original or inspiring, then why does the film resonate with me the way it does? I suppose the real reason that Super 8 succeeds on a personal level with me has less to do with what it’s about and more to do with Abrams’ approach in enticing the audience.
11 Jun
One of the things that make art so vital to society is its potential to penetrate and explore the mystery of the human experience. Man has always been puzzled by his own existence, and art can elevate us by sharing and expressing that bewilderment. Terrence Malick’s Tree of Life is a work of art that unabashedly grapples with the enormity of life’s questions while managing to stay defined and intimate. In this way, the film reflects a God who can create titanic waterfalls and volcanoes, but can also find joy in children playing hide-and-seek.
31 May
“Verily I say unto you, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.” -Mark 10:15
Last week, I splurged on buying a few Blu-Rays from Amazon.com. One of these was Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind. I had been postponing buying this particular Blu-Ray for a while, but, in anticipation of J.J. Abrams’ Super 8 being released in a few weeks, I thought this would be a perfect time to revisit the film and add it to my collection.
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