205: Our Unsolicited Oscar Predictions

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Happy Oscar Weekend, WLM faithfuls!
Seems like just yesterday we were patting ourselves on the back and handing out golden statues. But somehow it's the glorious time of year again when the world turns its attention toward the magical world of movies. This Sunday, those of us belonging to the 30% of the population who actually watch best picture nominees will tune in right alongside the 70% who can't even name a nominee to collectively pick apart the "Super Bowl of show business".
Join Oscar and I as we psych ourselves up for the 89th Academy Awards and go on record with our predictions in each category.
If you're like us and you love this weekend- we're just under 72 hours away from the big ceremony!
If you absolutely hate this self-congratulatory season- the nightmare is just over 72 hours from being over!

204: AFI #87 - 12 ANGRY MEN

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The first AFI challenge pod of 2017 arrives, bringing with it a polite genuflection before the alter of one of the greatest (nay, the greatest?) single room dramas ever committed to film.

The oft-referenced, oft-remade, oft-revered chatfest known as 12 ANGRY MEN gets the WLM treatment this week, just in time for Valentine's Day! Sit down next to someone you love to argue with, revisit this bonafide classic, then catch up on our knee-jerk reactions to the film.

"I don't believe I have to be loyal to one side or the other. I'm simply asking questions."

203: Oscar Nom Hot Pod

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We got up at 5am this morning, sat through the awkward, self-congratulatory, pre-taped nomination presentation, then immediately went on the record with our thoughts.
Our spirits were high, our opinions were fresh, our commentary was cutting and insightful! (At least that’s how it felt at 6am)
Listen in for a nice, tight, 45 minute breakdown of all things Oscar[s]!

Grain of Salt: Matt’s Top 10 Films of 2016

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2016 in cinema was 75% whimper and 25% bang.
But what a bang! And luckily said bang came late, all but erasing the bad taste that the first 8 months left lingering in our collective mouths.
If only the cinema of 2016 could also erase the bad taste left over from what was happening outside of the movie theater...
Que sera. Movies are magic but they can't solve ALL of our problems.

Let's leave our cares and worries about the state of the world behind for the moment and take a brief little hopscotch down the memory lane of the last 12 months, shall we? If nothing else, the films of 2016 proved that "television" may have the more attractive business models and profit margins, but movies have Herzog, Chazelle, Lanthimos, Verhoeven, and Villeneuve. So... for now at least... movies still win.

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202: The Top 10 of 2016 Lists (plus hot Globes talk)

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Our beloved Top 10 of the year podcast is here again and this time around we someone managed to bring it in for a landing shy of 90 minutes.
Maybe we're gettin' better at this, nearly 200 episodes in...
We start off with a brief Golden Globes breakdown before diggin' in for the good stuff: Our favorite films of 2016. Thanks for being with us. 

199: AFI #88 - BRINGING UP BABY

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It's screwball time y'all.
One of the most inimitable couples ever to grace the silver screen achieve bicker-banter critical mass in the Howard Hawks classic BRINGING UP BABY. And if rat-a-tat chatter isn't your thing there's an extraordinarily well-trained leopard (the title character, natch) who's sure to hold your interest for 100 minutes.
We take only minor issue with this slightly-dated farce but our conversation actually blossoms into a more in-depth discussion on the nature and fundamentals of cinematic comedy. So there's that!

197: AFI #89 - THE SIXTH SENSE

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The first legitimate turkey on AFI's revised top 100 list materializes in the form of M. Night Shyamalan's "game-changer" psychological thriller THE SIXTH SENSE. The film that changed the way popular culture handles spoilers, foisted a catchphrase-whispering Haley Joel Osment upon the masses, and tried to sell us on one of Bruce Willis's least convincing hairpieces, gets the WLM treatment this week. We're tough... but fair!
Listen in. We're more critical this time around but it makes for some incisive pod. Truly!

194: AFI #90 - SWING TIME

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SWING TIME is a film of modest narrative ambitions but vast musical and choreographic pleasures. On this week's episode we take the sour with the sweet as we break down the film's charm, substance, and shortcomings. This is a nice, tight convo with very little filibustering. We're proud of this one. Thanks for listening. 

187: AFI #93 - THE FRENCH CONNECTION

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The second best picture winner of the AFI Top 100 Countdown comes to the WLM Podcast this week and it brings with it a whole lot of early 1970s, "New Hollywood" pedigree. We're talkin' drugs, sex, needles, junkies, R&B, garbage fires, porkpie hats, racial epithets, cars chasing subways, Americans chasing Frenchman, and a whole lot of scenes of people sitting in cars, waiting for someone to come out of a nightclub or hotel. It's time for THE FRENCH CONNECTION, dear listeners. And what a glorious time that is.

184: The CLIFF MARTINEZ Countdown

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Oscar's been out of town but Matt was itching to create some content so he rolled up his sleeves and got busy with a mellow and self-indulgent stroll through the career and creative resume of the master of cinematic ambience- Mr. Cliff Martinez.
In honor of his newest masterpiece, the soundtrack for THE NEON DEMON, Matt has cobbled together a countdown of Martinez's finest film forays. It's gonna get synthey up in here. And how.

180: AFI #95 - THE LAST PICTURE SHOW

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It’s AFI time again and this week we’re chattin’ about Peter Bogdanovich’s beloved coming-of-age downer THE LAST PICTURE SHOW. It took us 5 films to get to a place of quasi-disagreement but there is more sparring than usual in this episode. Things get a little heated? Guess you’ll have to listen in to find out.

178: AFI #96 - DO THE RIGHT THING

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Next up on our AFI countdown is Spike Lee's seminal work, DO THE RIGHT THING. It's no secret that Oscar and I are big fans of this universally acclaimed film. But we do our best during the conversation to put the film into a historical context as opposed to a social one. It has always been a film to inspire controversy and conversation and we touch on both while also giving due credit to the exceptional ensemble cast, many of whom are doing career-best work here.

"I got it. I'm gone."

176: AFI #97 - BLADE RUNNER

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We're back to our old AFI Top 100 Challenge tricks with a lengthy discussion about a science fiction masterpiece as misunderstood as it is influential.
There will be:
-Navel gazing
-Robot alcoholism
-Cyberpunk signifiers
-Industrial fans (not to be confused with fans of industry)
-Frank Lloyd Wright fetishism
It's too bad this podcast won't last. But then again, what does?

171: AFI #99 - TOY STORY

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WLM's newest feature, The AFI Top 100 Challenge presses on and this week we discuss the 20 year old animated classic, buddy comedy TOY STORY which takes the number 99 spot on the countdown.
There will be:
-Insult comics
-FULL METAL JACKET references
-Randy Newman singing about stuff he sees
-Tom Hanks throat-acting
-Jim Varney
To infinity and beyond, am I right?
I'll see myself out...