And the Winner Should Have Been...

Bob and Mark

Discussing what movies *should* have won and film generally.

read less
TV & FilmTV & Film

Episodes

Akira Kurosawa Part II
May 4 2024
Akira Kurosawa Part II
This time it's the back half of a pair of episodes on Kurosawa. As ever, we're talking about the films with the assumption that you'll have seen them, so beware the fearsome SPOILER. Mark picked the movies for Part I and Bob has picked the films for Part II. We also talk a little about Shane and A Fistful of Dollars. Enjoy!00:10 Intro to Part 207:37 Yojimbo10:36 A Fistful of Dollars11:12 Accounts vary about exactly how much Kurosawa received, but he did win his lawsuit14:41 "Gamblers" as code for "criminal"16:14 Toshiro Mifune18:05 Social commentary?21:01 Spoilers for Shane22:11 Seven Samurai vs Yojimbo25:35 The shameless cribbing of Sergio Leone27:10 Not knowing the history28:12 High and Low32:07 The second half is a second movie33:55 Mifune and Nakadai36:01 The villain43:14 Takashi Shimura43:46 Kagemusha46:34 Solid casting/makeup47:41 The accuracy/truthfulness of the story49:57 Surrealism; possession?55:21 Similar endings for Ran and Kagemusha55:52 Mark argues that Ran surpasses Kagemusha as the sun outshines the moon57:30 The Coppola (and Lucas) interview 59:13 The moment it all goes wrong1:02:30 Cavalry vs firearms true to the real battle1:03:40 Picking a favorite from across both episodes1:05:42 High and Low remake?1:08:20 The next episode topicNote: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.Music:Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
All the Dunes
Mar 21 2024
All the Dunes
This is as close as we get to jumping on the bandwagon of popular, recent films. We talk most about the Villeneuve Dune movies, but we also touch on the other iterations. No spoiler warnings in the episode, because the whole podcast is composed of SPOILERS!00:10 Intro - What's going to be covered and not04:50 There is no such thing as "spoiling" a 70 year old story; no spoiler warnings this podcast06:05 Dune, the novel13:35 The story from the novel changes in the transition to film15:55 Jodorowsky's attempted adaptation22:44 Dune (1984) (which we praise with faint damns)32:55 Television vs. Movies for adapting books to screen33:56 Dune miniseries (2000 and 2003)36:30 Dune Parts I and II37:42 Bob's rant38:00 Mark thinks II is significantly better than I39:35 Bob doesn't think II is better than I45:00 The secret goals of the Bene Gesserit46:32 Zendaya/Chalamet and Chani/Paul52:10 Chalamet too young? Too small?55:28 We agree Bardem was excellent; Mark is wrong about Walken not being great58:52 Zimmer and the music01:03:46 Sandwalking and the Rohirrim01:04:37 Mark wants the final battle to be longer; Bob disagrees (and gets in a gratuitous swipe at John Wick 4)01:07:05 (The Death Star battle lasts just under 11:30)01:08:13 Why do the Fremen jaunt off into space?01:12:10 Third film coming?01:12:53 Dune II is overratedNote: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.Music:Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Aug 12 2023
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Installment number two in our evaluation of the Indiana Jones franchise. (Ugh, it feels a little dirty saying "franchise.") We'll at least get the the third, but no promises about anything further. Very, very mild spoilers for The Sixth Sense (trailer level), and of course SPOILERS! for Temple of Doom. Enjoy! 00:10 Episode 50!03:05 Thinking about Temple of Doom differently after watching it this time05:00 The Sixth Sense (very mild) spoilers05:35 End of The Sixth Sense spoilers09:11 Deliberately low continuity between Raiders and Temple09:42 The time gap between the films within the stories (which Bob gets wrong; it's Temple-1936, Raiders-1937, Last Crusade-1938)11:48 Plot summary14:23 Should Indy have been trading the emperor for the diamond?17:29 Temple of Doom more action than adventure18:46 The absence of Kasdan21:20 What were the big differences between the first two films?27:05 The difference between the objects sought30:47 Rushed production?32:37 Do sequels usually surpass or fall short of the original?36:10 The "banquet"? First the raft!43:06 The bugs!44:01 Amrish Puri and other positives46:33 Ke Huy Quan as Short Round52:31 Child slavery as a plot element53:45 Deus ex machina ending?55:17 Who's that big guard?57:26 Dan Akroyd and... Casablanca... and James Bond?58:39 Wrapping upNote: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.Music:Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
The Whale
Mar 11 2023
The Whale
It's a bit late (Bob's fault), but we're working to at least stay close to our intended schedule. This episode we talk about The Whale and clearly our conversation predated the Oscar awards (a bit interesting to hear our predictions after the fact). As always SPOILERS ABOUND! (We even spoil The Wrestler.)00:10 Dudes chatting01:45 The Whale02:59 Plot synopsis06:00 Aronofsky's interest in individuals in forms of isolation08:43 The movie is not about justifying characters or them overcoming problems10:22 Honesty and/or authenticity12:33 Spoilers begin in earnest!14:48 I Told Me So - Gregg Ten Elshof18:22 Liz as enabler/codependent20:32 Other characters - daughter Ellie25:50 Charlie chose this life28:27 Sometimes authenticity is bad, actually32:44 The missionary37:00 Brief spoilers of The Wrestler - skip to 37:31 to avoid39:39 What's the deal with the title?44:09 What do we think in sum about this film?48:53 Oscar noms and chances50:52 Authenticity in acting?57:13 Actually, Letterboxd doesn't do this, at least not free accountsNote: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.Music:Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Tár
Feb 27 2023
Tár
Keeping it rolling with a single Oscar nominated film. This week is Tár, a film about an orchestra conductor that changes jobs. It's worth seeing, though it's definitely a movie for people who really get into movies. Next episode The Whale! We're sorry we missed an episode, but this is how it goes at this price point.00:10 Intro and idle chatter02:34 Chinese food in Vancouver03:37 No one sees the teapot04:23 Tár plot summary and what is the movie about? 11:01 SPOILERS BEGIN!12:35 Is the movie arguing against "cancel culture"?17:45 At what point do we begin to witness Tár's downfall?22:10 How long has Tár acted in this way before it falls apart?25:01 Has Tár lost interest in the music for the music's sake?28:20 Tár's relationships30:51 Bob theorizes about symbolic meaning off the cuff (and is less pleased with the idea listening to it while editing)32:58 The importance of time; manifestations of madness37:37 Exile39:50 Bob meant to say "South Africa" when talking about Justine Sacco42:49 Apocalypse Now reference and consequences43:55 Profumo Affair45:13 Mark thinks the child is... weird? And could the downfall have been avoided?46:29 Ranking/evaluating the movieNote: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.Music:Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Top Ten All-Time
Nov 6 2022
Top Ten All-Time
Because there's about to be a new edition of the Sight & Sound poll for the Greatest Films of All-Time, we decided to tell you what our top ten lists are. Probably not a lot of surprises. But there could be spoilers! (Also, Bob's uncertain if he numbered Mark's movies correctly since he did go out of order and didn't mention the rank consistently each time.)00:10 We've got jokes in the intro02:04 How Bob ranks movies (spoiler: he's a big dork)03:59 Baseball-Reference.com!04:53 How Mark ranks movies (spoiler: it's quite different because Mark has a social life)07:33 How events in our lives affect how we rank movies at different points in time08:45 A note on the BFI Sight & Sound polls and how we'll approach the topic11:27 Bob #10 spot - The Hidden Blade15:05 How are things ranked when they're still new and fresh in your mind?15:56 Mark #10 - Prisoners18:44 How many of Mark's choices will star Jake Gyllenhaal19:16 Is the suspense as done by Hitchcock?20:45 Bob #9 - In the Mood for Love23:53 Mark #9 - Princess Mononoke26:21 Bob didn't like it, but hasn't seen it in a long time27:33 Miyazaki's environmental themes29:14 Bob's wrong about the timeline29:31 Bob #8 - Das leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others)34:00 Mark #7 - The Pursuit of Happyness36:39 Bob is a Grinch37:35 Will Smith playing Will Smith?38:47 Is Bob crazy?39:32 Bob's #7 - The Apostle40:39 Mark #6 - The Empire Strikes Back43:00 Star Wars :: The Matrix45:04 Bob's #6 - A Night at the Opera47:29 The Stateroom scene49:04 Mark #5 - There Will Be Blood51:28 Bob's #5 - Singin' in the Rain53:41 Mark's #1 - 2001: A Space Odyssey55:42 Sight & Sound polls58:21 Did the poll change with the changing demographics of the critics polled?1:00:48 Mark's observations on the list1:02:05 Older movies benefit by lack contemporary mediocrity1:04:28 How objective can one be when rating movies?1:08:07 Does it matter if the movie is in color or black-and-white?1:11:55 What's next for the poll(s)?1:14:49 Bob's #4 - Seven Samurai1:16:10 Mark #4 - The Prestige1:17:13 Bob's #3 - Casablanca1:18:24 Mark's #3 - Blade Runner1:19:15 Bob's #2 - Hamlet (1996)1:21:01 Mark's #2 - Nightcrawler1:22:19 Bob's #1 - Tokyo Story1:23:13 Mark's #8 - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King1:25:08 Wrapping up1:25:45 Tom Hanks? No, we're done.Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.Music:Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode