Podcast Episode 56: This Just In! CITIZEN KANE Is Still Amazing

Last week was the 100th birthday of Orson Welles, so it only seemed appropriate that, with a dearth of compelling new releases at the box office, we should take this opportunity to re-evaluate Welles' greatest cinematic work, Citizen Kane.  Spoilers: it still totally holds up.

If you've never seen Citizen Kane, you'd be forgiven for expecting it to be kind of overrated.  It's been at the top of every "Greatest Movie Of All Time" list for decades now.  How can one movie really be THAT good?  But then you watch it and you have to keep reminding yourself that not only was it shot over 70 years ago, but that Orson Welles wrote, directed and starred in the film at the ripe old age of 25.  It's one of those facts that instantly forces you to question all of your life choices.  Kane is astoundingly ahead of its time and it continues to influence countless modern day features, everything from Pulp Fiction to Birdman.  There's one scene in particular that is now impossible to watch without immediately recalling The Wolf Of Wall Street.  Bart and I even found a number of things that reminded us of our own film projects over the years.  Looking back it seems like we're doing direct homages, but we hadn't actually seen Kane at the time.  But Welles' contribution to the visual language of cinema have become so ubiquitous that film fans like us have been internalizing them for years without even knowing it.

I'm rather proud of this episode.  It's relatively short and we spent a lot more time discussing theme and subtext than the actual plotting of the film.  I'd like more of our podcasts to be like this.  We also attempted a new method of podcasting remotely, as Bart could not actually be on the premises at the time.  The audio quality suffers a bit for it, (for some reason I can't explain, Bart actually sounds louder and clearer than Jeff and I do) but we'll perfect the process eventually.  At the end we also get revved up for Mad Max: Fury Road and start to take stock of the string of summer blockbusters peeking out over the horizon.

As always, please subscribe on iTunes or SoundCloud!

Next Week: The whole damn Mad Max franchise!

Podcast Episode 37: BIRDMAN Or The Virtue Of Artistic Douchery

First things first: Birdman is a film whose technical beauty is irrefutable.  The cinematic prowess on display by director Alejandro Inarritu is nothing short of breathtaking and his "all-in-one-shot" aesthetic not only creates a tremendous sense of tension and momentum, but it recreates the breathless frenzy of being backstage at a major theatrical production with deft perfection.  On top of that, you've got some great work from stars the likes of Edward Norton, Zach Galifianakis, Amy Ryan, Naomi Watts and the single greatest performance from Michael Keaton in a decade.  With all those things working in its favor, Birdman is an easy film to praise.

But I don't think it's an easy film to love.  Actors will love it.  Theater people will love it.  And having been both of those things in my life, I'm probably a little more forgiving of the movie than many.  But I suspect most of middle America is going to have more than a bit of trouble identifying with any of these characters.  I'd hardly blame you for walking out of the theater hating all actors, or at the very least feeling like you just spent two hours watching an indulgent circle-jerk about artists doing "important work."  After all, this is a movie in which the protagonist stalks around the theater treating his self-scripted, self-directed attempt to remain socially relevant like it was a matter of actual life or death while completely ignoring pain and injury of a fellow actor who had a stage light fall on his head during rehearsals for seemingly no other reason than "he was a terrible actor."

Then again, it's also a movie in which my favorite Batman screeches like a bird and levitates in his tighty whities.  Suffice it to say, I'm more than a little conflicted.

Bart and I discuss all things Birdman with my wife Jamie and his girlfriend Jenna Gabriel.  We also address Marvel's finalized Phase 3 slate, whether or not Gotham is actually a sneaky comedy, and the disheartening first look at Terminator Genisys.

Next Week: We take to the stars with Chris Nolan's Interstellar.

Podcast Episode 29: Free-Roaming Vaporous Drag Queens! On GHOSTBUSTERS And THE BIRDCAGE

September is an odd time at the box office.  For the most part, studios tend to essentially take the month off from major releases while the American public is largely distracted by the end of summer and the beginning of yet another school year.  October is all about horror and by the time November rolls around we're already talking about Oscar contenders, but there's nary a big budget franchise nor a prestige title to be found in the coming weeks.

That's not to say that there's no reason to go to the theater.  In fact, there is a slew of really fascinating films that will have limited releases in the coming weeks, stuff like The Congress, Wolfcop, The Guest, Wetlands, Zero Theorem, The One I Love and James Gandolfini's final film The Drop from Bullhead director Michael Roskam.  These are movies that will require just a little bit of extra effort to seek out and they might not all be home runs, but I can guarantee you that none of them will be boring.  I for one am pretty damn excited.

But because that stuff isn't going to reach a super wide audience, that makes it less than ideal material for podcasting purposes.  Therefore, while I'm hoping to talk about a lot of these more peculiar films, we'll also be pairing them up with some older, more familiar titles for your listening pleasure.

Episode 29 is actually a double feature of classic titles starting with Ghostbusters, which has been newly restored and back in theaters this week in celebration of the film's 30th anniversary.  (If you missed your chance to see it on the big screen, you can pick up both films on 4K Blu-ray in two weeks.)  Ghostbusters is our favorite movie of all time so we try not to gush over the film too much.  We even swap our own personal ghost stories!  We also talk The Birdcage, a movie I've never been particularly fond of and which I don't think I'd seen since the 90's.  While a lot of my initial problems with the film seem exacerbated by the passage of time (some of this stuff is the gay equivalent of the laughing Sambo) there are enough moments of brutal honesty and sincere emotional connection to even out the proceedings.  I can certainly appreciate why this was the movie a lot of people turned to in the wake of Robin Williams' death.  I wish we had talked about this, but I think it's very telling that most of the political stuff which played as broad parody in 1996 is now simply accepted reality.  The conservative senator and leader of the morality coalition is found dead in the arms of an underage black prostitute?  That's a headline which would barely raise an eyebrow these days.

We also chat about the supposed "No Jokes" edict in place for DC's superhero films, Marvel's continued pursuit of Joaquin Phoenix to play Dr. Strange and some of the festival films that have us most excited, including Birdman and Rosewater.

Next Week: TBD

Three More Minutes Of BIRDMAN! "There You Go, You Motherfucker!"

While everyone else is fawning over 3 seconds of Johnny Depp's wolf-fingers in that new Into The Woods teaser, I'll be watching this new Birdman trailer on a constant loop.

Now if you'll excuse me...

Holy Fuck This BIRDMAN Trailer

YOU GUYS!

Michael Keaton as a burnt out actor famous for playing a superhero who may or may not be as crazy as the soundtrack to this trailer would imply.  All directed with jaw-dropping visual flair by the great Alejandro Inarritu (Babel, 21 Grams).  How is it possible that we're lucky enough to live in a universe where this kind of movie is allowed to exist?  The only thing missing from this trailer is a good shot of the Birdman suit itself.

They should have sent a poet.