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Informed film discussion for the unrefined connoisseur.
Episodes
Sunday Mar 26, 2017
Sunday Mar 26, 2017
The Criterion Collection, the last vestige of truly collectible DVD and Blu-Ray movies in existence. These are well produced, fancy pants editions of important and interesting films for the discerning film lover.
We continue our journey through Jim's collection of movies with...
Love Streams
Spine Number: 721
Director: John Cassavetes
Genre: Drama
During our time looking at The Criterion Collection there has only been one thing stranger than seeing "A Michael Bay Film" at the beginning of two of our movies. That is seeing the logo for Cannon films come up. That in and of itself is strange, but that it is at the beginning of a John Cassavetes movie... we are entering a new arena of surreal here.
For those unfamiliar with Cannon, back in the 80's, 2 Israeli businessmen, Menahem Golan and Yoran Globus, made a bunch of really low budget action and exploitation movies. There were cheap, dirty, and decidedly low brow. So, how the hell did John Cassavetes, the father of independent movies, end up working with them?
We have no idea, but the results are... interesting.
The story follows Robert Harmon, played by Cassavetes, a writer trying to find something like love, mostly by paying for it, and his sister Sarah Lawson, played by Gina Rowlands (hands down the most bad ass lady on the planet), who is having a bit of a crisis after her marriage falls apart.
The narrative is loose, and is more of a character study than anything else. It's a fascinating look at broken people who have no idea how to fix themsleves, much less help each other.
This is classic Cassavetes. Lots of smoking, drinking with the kids, and brutal emotional exposure. Not for the faint of heart.
Next time...
Spine number 753: The Thin Blue Line
Also, check this out.
The Life Masters is now it's own show with its own site and own dedicated feed. That's right, we have two completely different shows!
Right now check it out at www.thelifemasters.podbean.com.
You can also drink in our brilliance on Youtube for both The Film Thugs and The Life Masters.
http://fantasymovieleague.com/
Looks like Summer Movie League has officially become Fantasy Movie League.
It looks quite fun. Here's how it works.
You have an 8 screen theater.
Every week you pick movies and have a budget/salary cap you have to stay under.
Then you compete against other theaters in your league.
It's fantasy football for movie people.
Our league is Film Thugs 2015 and the password is Porterhouse.
And remember, you can be a part of the show any time you wild like. How's that? All you have to do is call or e-mail us. If you live in the US, or any place that makes calling the US easy, just dial 512-666-RANT and leave us a voicemail. We will read the Google Voice transcript and play your message. It's both funny AND informative.
If you live outside the US you can call us on Skype at The_Film_Thugs. You can leave a message, or someone might actually answer.
E-mail us at thefilmthugs@gmail.com and we will read/play whatever you send us, or you can e-mail thugquestions@gmail.com to be part of an upcoming "Ask the Film Thugs" show, where we answer questions on any subject without having heard them first.
Also, we are on twitter @thefilmthugs and on Facebook and Vine.
Also, be sure to check back often for our new endeavor The Life Masters, where we answer questions to other advice columnists.
Thanks for listening, and until next week...
Sunday Feb 19, 2017
Sunday Feb 19, 2017
The Criterion Collection, the last vestige of truly collectible DVD and Blu-Ray movies in existence. These are well produced, fancy pants editions of important and interesting films for the discerning film lover.
We continue our journey through Jim's collection of movies with...
A Brief History of Time
Spine Number: 699
Director: Errol Morris
Genre: Documentary
Stephen Hawking is an intersting guy. First off he is crazy smart. Like... damn. Ridiculously smart about stuff that, on a fundamental level, most people will never understand. He is also a real human being who is intersting and has done interesting stuff.
Errol Morris is one of the best documentarians ever.
Combine them, and you have "A Brief History of Time."
This is a great documentary about stuff that we don't understand at all. So... we spend a lot of time talking about what it would be like to take Hawking to a stip club. The end result is one of our funniest shows ever. If you haven't seen the movie, that's OK, we don't talk about it much. But this is one of the most accurate representations of what its like to hang out with us.
So, have some beers and hang out with us.
Next week,
Spine number 703: The Freshman
Also, check this out.
The Life Masters is now it's own show with its own site and own dedicated feed. That's right, we have two completely different shows!
Right now check it out at www.thelifemasters.podbean.com.
You can also drink in our brilliance on Youtube for both The Film Thugs and The Life Masters.
http://fantasymovieleague.com/
Looks like Summer Movie League has officially become Fantasy Movie League.
It looks quite fun. Here's how it works.
You have an 8 screen theater.
Every week you pick movies and have a budget/salary cap you have to stay under.
Then you compete against other theaters in your league.
It's fantasy football for movie people.
Our league is Film Thugs 2015 and the password is Porterhouse.
And remember, you can be a part of the show any time you wild like. How's that? All you have to do is call or e-mail us. If you live in the US, or any place that makes calling the US easy, just dial 512-666-RANT and leave us a voicemail. We will read the Google Voice transcript and play your message. It's both funny AND informative.
If you live outside the US you can call us on Skype at The_Film_Thugs. You can leave a message, or someone might actually answer.
E-mail us at thefilmthugs@gmail.com and we will read/play whatever you send us, or you can e-mail thugquestions@gmail.com to be part of an upcoming "Ask the Film Thugs" show, where we answer questions on any subject without having heard them first.
Also, we are on twitter @thefilmthugs and on Facebook and Vine.
Also, be sure to check back often for our new endeavor The Life Masters, where we answer questions to other advice columnists.
Thanks for listening, and until next week...
Sunday Feb 05, 2017
Sunday Feb 05, 2017
The Criterion Collection, the last vestige of truly collectible DVD and Blu-Ray movies in existence. These are well produced, fancy pants editions of important and interesting films for the discerning film lover.
We continue our journey through Jim's collection of movies with...
Foreign Correspondent
Spine Number: 696
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Genre: Suspense
I have said, for years, that if you give a great script to a bad director that you will get an OK movie, and if you gave a bad script to a brilliant director, you will also get an OK movie. Essentially, if the basic story is solid enough it will shine through, no matter how bad the director. Conversely, if the basic story isn't solid no director, regardless of skill, can turn it into something great.
This is the case with Hitchcock's "Foreign Correspondent."
This is the issue with Foreign Correspondent. It has all the elements of a classic Hitchcock movie, but the story is just missing too many little parts to make it really good. It's not bad, but it is just a few shuffled elements away from being really good.
But that's ok. Even a lower tier Hitchcock is better than what most people can do, so in that regard it's pretty good.
We also go off quite a bit about soda, for some reason. Which is always nice.
So, check it out.
Next week,
Spine number 699:A Brief History of Time
Also, check this out.
The Life Masters is now it's own show with its own site and own dedicated feed. That's right, we have two completely different shows!
Right now check it out at www.thelifemasters.podbean.com.
You can also drink in our brilliance on Youtube for both The Film Thugs and The Life Masters.
http://fantasymovieleague.com/
Looks like Summer Movie League has officially become Fantasy Movie League.
It looks quite fun. Here's how it works.
You have an 8 screen theater.
Every week you pick movies and have a budget/salary cap you have to stay under.
Then you compete against other theaters in your league.
It's fantasy football for movie people.
Our league is Film Thugs 2015 and the password is Porterhouse.
And remember, you can be a part of the show any time you wild like. How's that? All you have to do is call or e-mail us. If you live in the US, or any place that makes calling the US easy, just dial 512-666-RANT and leave us a voicemail. We will read the Google Voice transcript and play your message. It's both funny AND informative.
If you live outside the US you can call us on Skype at The_Film_Thugs. You can leave a message, or someone might actually answer.
E-mail us at thefilmthugs@gmail.com and we will read/play whatever you send us, or you can e-mail thugquestions@gmail.com to be part of an upcoming "Ask the Film Thugs" show, where we answer questions on any subject without having heard them first.
Also, we are on twitter @thefilmthugs and on Facebook and Vine.
Also, be sure to check back often for our new endeavor The Life Masters, where we answer questions to other advice columnists.
Thanks for listening, and until next week...
Sunday Jan 29, 2017
Sunday Jan 29, 2017
The Criterion Collection, the last vestige of truly collectible DVD and Blu-Ray movies in existence. These are well produced, fancy pants editions of important and interesting films for the discerning film lover.
We continue our journey through Jim's collection of movies with...
It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
Spine Number: 692
Director: Stanley Kramer
Genre: Comedy
The thing about the movie business is that it's a business. As much as we love the artistry and the beauty of what they produce, at the end of the day, movies are a business. And as much as we may want to make that business about art, it is, was, and every will be about money. That's not a bad thing, but it does explain some things.
Throughout the history of the industry there has been a figt for an audience. Be it against TV, streamig, video games, whatever, the industry has always been fighting to stay relevant. This has given us amazing things like super wide screen formats, and foolish wastes of time, like 3D (over and over again).
One of these attempts was the string of EPIC films back in the day. Normally, they were big on spectacle and budget. The idea was to create an experience that could no tbe replicated at home.
This weeks movie, Stanley Kramer's, "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World," took the idea of EPIC and applied it to comedy and decided to spend it's sizeable budget on EVERY SINGLE COMEDIAN ALIVE AT THE TIME, or so it seemed. Sid Ceasar, Milton Berle, Buddy Hackett, Jonathan Winters, Carl Riener, Phil Silvers, Buster Keaton, The Three Stooges, and many, many more all appear in this... I guess "romp," is the only appropriate term.
However, this movie completely belongs to Dick Shawn.
It's a good time. There is no denying that. This is a fun movie, and as long as you don't take any time to stop and realize that there are no sympathetic characters, and that pretty much everyone is either dead or badly maimed by the end... it's still a very good time.
So, enjot an old school, mad cap adventure, won't you?
Next week,
Spine number 696:Foreign Correspondent
Also, check this out.
The Life Masters is now it's own show with its own site and own dedicated feed. That's right, we have two completely different shows!
Right now check it out at www.thelifemasters.podbean.com.
You can also drink in our brilliance on Youtube for both The Film Thugs and The Life Masters.
http://fantasymovieleague.com/
Looks like Summer Movie League has officially become Fantasy Movie League.
It looks quite fun. Here's how it works.
You have an 8 screen theater.
Every week you pick movies and have a budget/salary cap you have to stay under.
Then you compete against other theaters in your league.
It's fantasy football for movie people.
Our league is Film Thugs 2015 and the password is Porterhouse.
And remember, you can be a part of the show any time you wild like. How's that? All you have to do is call or e-mail us. If you live in the US, or any place that makes calling the US easy, just dial 512-666-RANT and leave us a voicemail. We will read the Google Voice transcript and play your message. It's both funny AND informative.
If you live outside the US you can call us on Skype at The_Film_Thugs. You can leave a message, or someone might actually answer.
E-mail us at thefilmthugs@gmail.com and we will read/play whatever you send us, or you can e-mail thugquestions@gmail.com to be part of an upcoming "Ask the Film Thugs" show, where we answer questions on any subject without having heard them first.
Also, we are on twitter @thefilmthugs and on Facebook and Vine.
Also, be sure to check back often for our new endeavor The Life Masters, where we answer questions to other advice columnists.
Thanks for listening, and until next week...
Sunday Jan 22, 2017
Sunday Jan 22, 2017
The Criterion Collection, the last vestige of truly collectible DVD and Blu-Ray movies in existence. These are well produced, fancy pants editions of important and interesting films for the discerning film lover.
We continue our journey through Jim's collection of movies with...
Thief
Spine Number: 691
Director: Michael Mann
Genre: Heist
Michael Mann is in that rare club of directors with a first film that is not only far better than any first feature has the right to be, but also whose first film shows their style fully formed. Few people have figured out how to shoot at night as well as Mann (hint, wet streets), or make shadows against deep blue look as striking, or to present focused anti-hero protagonists with an uncompromising moral code as deftly.
In short, Michael Mann is a bad ass, and his first film "Thief," shows it.
James Caan stars as Frank, an ex con who pulls carefully planned heists while maintaining the facade of a local business owner. In his quest to have a normal life, the normal life he has no real life guide to, he decides to pull a job for a syndicate and get the big payday he needs to walk away.
But things never go that easily, do they?
Everything about this movie is bad ass. The music by Tangeriene Dream, the use of Chicago at night, the cast (including Tuesday Weld, Jim Belushi, and Willie Nelson himself) are all pitch perfect.
Hell, even the original poster is so incredible that it makes Criterion's decision to change it all the more baffling,
I mean... my DAMN!
So, if you haven't checked out this masterpiece yet, do yourself a favor and get on it. If you have, then enjoy it with us again.
Also, the soundtrack to this episode is provided by Zombi, so check them out as well.
Next week,
Spine number 692: It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
Also, check this out.
The Life Masters is now it's own show with its own site and own dedicated feed. That's right, we have two completely different shows!
Right now check it out at www.thelifemasters.podbean.com.
You can also drink in our brilliance on Youtube for both The Film Thugs and The Life Masters.
http://fantasymovieleague.com/
Looks like Summer Movie League has officially become Fantasy Movie League.
It looks quite fun. Here's how it works.
You have an 8 screen theater.
Every week you pick movies and have a budget/salary cap you have to stay under.
Then you compete against other theaters in your league.
It's fantasy football for movie people.
Our league is Film Thugs 2015 and the password is Porterhouse.
And remember, you can be a part of the show any time you wild like. How's that? All you have to do is call or e-mail us. If you live in the US, or any place that makes calling the US easy, just dial 512-666-RANT and leave us a voicemail. We will read the Google Voice transcript and play your message. It's both funny AND informative.
If you live outside the US you can call us on Skype at The_Film_Thugs. You can leave a message, or someone might actually answer.
E-mail us at thefilmthugs@gmail.com and we will read/play whatever you send us, or you can e-mail thugquestions@gmail.com to be part of an upcoming "Ask the Film Thugs" show, where we answer questions on any subject without having heard them first.
Also, we are on twitter @thefilmthugs and on Facebook and Vine.
Also, be sure to check back often for our new endeavor The Life Masters, where we answer questions to other advice columnists.
Thanks for listening, and until next week...