249: AFI #78 - MODERN TIMES (1936)
A story of industry, of individual enterprise - humanity crusading in the pursuit of happiness.
A story of industry, of individual enterprise - humanity crusading in the pursuit of happiness.
The Mission: Impossible film series is without peer or equal in its unprecedented ability to improve with each subsequent installment since J.J. Abrams’ soft reboot three films ago. As such, it should come as no surprise that MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FALLOUT, the 6th entry in this 22 year old franchise is not only quite possibly the creative peak of the series but also one of the greatest action films in recent memory.
Join us as we work our way through all 5 previous installments before leaping headfirst into a gushfest about Christopher McQuarrie’s summertime gift to cineplexes, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FALLOUT. We talk about it ALL and spoil pretty much everything so be forewarned!
This installment is affectionately titled "The Birth of Dreamworks" and spans 1997-2001:
-THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK
-AMISTAD
-SAVING PRIVATE RYAN
-A.I. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
This installment is affectionately titled "Peter Pan Grows Up" and spans 1989-1993:
-INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE
-ALWAYS
-HOOK
-JURASSIC PARK
-SCHINDLER'S LIST
On the occasion of Marvel Studios' 20th (twentieth!) release in the official MCU, we get together for a conversation that includes an unexpectedly glowing review of said release, ANT-MAN AND THE WASP, a loving retrospective on the career of Michael Douglas, aggressive overuse of the term "mumbo-jumbo", and a brisk run-through of our respective Marvel movie top 10 rankings.
Be advised that if you're one of the half dozen people on the planet who still haven't seen INFINITY WAR you may wanna sit this episode out until you do...
"If they move, kill 'em."
"I said I had no family I never said I had an empty apartment."
Recommended additional viewing: ADVENTURELAND (Greg Mottola, 2009)
We love Wes Anderson here on the We Like Movies Podcast. We've never made a secret about that. So it comes as no surprise that we were quite taken with his most recent stop-motion endeavor. That being said there is dissent in both artistic and sociopolitical arenas to consider when it comes to ISLE OF DOGS. We do our best to address those concerns in this week's episode while also positioning the film in the annuls of our individual Anderson rankings. Join us, won't you? (Karina Longworth-style)
"Do you consider the eating of oysters to be moral and the eating of snails to be immoral?"
After 9 months dormant, the AFI Top 100 Challenge podcast series comes roaring back with a deep-cut discussion of a bona fide masterpiece: F.W. Murnau's seminal, silent showpiece SUNRISE. Support silent cinema, peoples! It's coming back in a big way!
No, but, in all seriousness... it's a really important film and a really great episode. Give it a listen and we'll love you for it. <3
So for the 3rd year in a row I actually managed to squeeze in a viewing of every single film nominated for an Oscar (yes, Mom, even THE BOSS BABY). That would be 59 films in total and if you average that out over the 12 months since the earliest Oscar nominee hit theaters (Happy Birthday, GET OUT, you just turned 1 this weekend!) it's only about 5 movies a month. Of course, a year ago I didn't know to make sure that I caught FERDINAND, WONDER, and ROMAN J. ISRAEL, ESQ. in theaters. So I've been doing my usual cram-session and managed to hit my 59th movie with only hours to spare.
Read MoreOur conversation is lengthy this week as we have a great many thoughts about Alex Garland's sophomore feature ANNIHILATION.
But the real meat of the episode is an overthink-a-thon about all 24 Oscar categories culminating with us putting our predictions on the record!
Oh, and just for fun, in honor of the controversial "preferential" ballot that determines the best picture winner, we each organized our own this week to get a sense of how we'd rank the 9 nominees if we were voting members of the Academy. It's a strictly academic exercise but here's what we came up with:
Matt
9. DARKEST HOUR
8. THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI
7. THE POST
6. GET OUT
5. THE SHAPE OF WATER
4. CALL ME BY YOUR NAME
3. PHANTOM THREAD
2. LADY BIRD
1. DUNKIRK
Oscar
9. DARKEST HOUR
8. THE POST
7. THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI
6. GET OUT
5. THE SHAPE OF WATER
4. LADY BIRD
3. DUNKIRK
2. PHANTOM THREAD
1. CALL ME BY YOUR NAME
It took us until practically the end of January but we made it just under the wire in time to get our Top 10 of 2017 lists on the record before the Oscar nominations were announced (barely). Join us for a lively discussion with less overlap that usual as we count down the 2017 movies that reminded us why we bother making lists like these in the first place. Then stay tuned as we quickly log our official Oscar predictions in advance of tomorrow's nomination ceremony.
Remember 2017? We'll never let it die!
For Matt's long-winded blurbs on his picks click here!
I’ve gotta be completely honest. I take this list very seriously. I obsess over it for months- curating, second-guessing, shuffling, re-shuffling, and shuffling again like an insecure blackjack dealer. And when I finally am satisfied enough to walk away from it and make it public I am immediately filled with that looming dread of the inevitable dissent coming my way for not including a film someone was passionate about (I’d hate to tell you how much flack I got last year when MOONLIGHT only ended up on my honorable mentions). But you know what? That’s okay. Lists representing individual opinions are merely a caveat for inciting discussion and a helpful tool for organizing one’s thoughts. I use my top 10 list as a way of taking my own temperature as a critic and examining patterns for the ways in which the industry winds are blowing in any given year. I saw 290 films in 2017 and 110 of those were in a movie theater. These were the ones that really rattled my molars. I hope you find it to be an interesting read as opposed to a reason to start a fight. There were plenty of things to get angry about in 2017 but, trust, me, movies weren’t one of them. Movies are the antidote… in my humble opinion…
Read MoreMy recent ritual of charting my viewing techniques (inspired by Steven Soderbergh's yearly listicle) has developed into something of professional obsession that I pore over and update with the satisfaction of someone admiring their Hummel figurines. And while I've recently begun keeping track of my "extra-cinematic" viewing habits as well (episodic or mini-series endeavors, Netflix-only documentaries, etc.), I feel that particular expansion is a project for 2018. For the purposes of my 2017 list I've decided to keep it to only to viewings that took place in a movie theater or screening room. And this distinction seems only appropriate as 2017 is the first year that I managed to break triple digits! Let's hear it for film festivals and masters degree programs- the guilt-free justification for watching 5 movies in a day!
Read MoreThis installment is affectionately titled "The Rise to the Throne" and spans 1981-1987:
-RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK
-E.T. THE EXTRA TERRESTRIAL
-INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM
-THE COLOR PURPLE
-EMPIRE OF THE SUN
Happy Holidays, WLM family!
20 years ago today a little movie about a big boat premiered in theaters around the world. Said theaters have been in pain ever since due to the insane foot and rear-end traffic that persisted for next 5 months as the film went on to gross over 2 billion dollars worldwide and basically bow-checked the modern blockbuster paradigm into the the 21st century. James Cameron's TITANIC was the recipient of 11 Oscars including best picture and currently holds the #83 position on the AFI's top 100 American films of all time list.
6 Months ago we invited TITANIC superfan Laura Crow to join us for our AFI / TITANIC dis-cush and the conversation went so well that we decided to post an encore presentation of that podcast today in honor of Kate, Leo, and James's 20th anniversary celebration.
Here's hoping you're just as "Unable to Stay, Unwilling to Leave" as we are. <---That's a deep cut for the hardcore JacknRosers.
Our long-promised, much-delayed "Oeuvre Series" finally bows in earnest with the the first of [at least] 6 episodes chronicling the 40+ years and 30+ films of an artist named Steven Spielberg. Perhaps you've heard of him.
This installment is affectionately titled "The 70s Wunderkind" and spans 1971-1979:
-DUEL
-THE SUGARLAND EXPRESS
-JAWS
-CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND
-1941
It's time for a new journey and we're so flattered to have you with us.
"Music to drown by. Now I know I'm in first class."
Note: We experienced a little sound glitch that starts up around the 55 minute mark and continues until the end of the podcast (hazard of a 3-way skype call across as many states). But don't be deterred! It's a minor annoyance. This is a great episode worth toughing it out 'till the end!
"They're gonna talk to you, and talk to you, and talk to you about individual freedom. But they see a free individual, it's gonna scare 'em."