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Podcast: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World / Limelight – Episode 391

This week’s episode is brought to you by The King of Staten Island. We are giving out Blu-rays, follow us on social media to get yours!

This week on the InSession Film Podcast, we celebrate Scott Pilgrim vs the World‘s 10th anniversary and we round out our Charlie Chaplin Movie Series by discussing his 1952 film Limelight. Plus, JD gives his thoughts on Summerland and Yes, God, Yes.

This week’s show is a bit of a bittersweet one. For one, JD is back and that may disappoint some listener’s. But mostly, it’s the end of our Chaplin series and what a ride it’s been. As you’ve heard over the last two months, we are massive fans of Chaplin and we’ve had so much fun talking about his greatness. So, we will miss it and our conversation of Limelight was a great capper to everything we’ve discussed to this point.

On that note, check out this week’s show and let us know what you think in the comment section. Thanks for listening and for supporting the InSession Film Podcast!

– Movie Review: Scott Pilgrim vs the World (6:22)
Director: Edgar Wright
Writer: Michael Bacall (screenplay), Edgar Wright (screenplay)
Stars: Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kieran Culkin

– Notes / Summerland / Yes, God, Yes (39:54)
This week for our discussion segment, JD spends a few minutes giving us his thoughts on Jessica Swale’s Summerland and Karen Maine’s Yes, God, Yes.

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RELATED: Listen to Episode 387 of the InSession Film Podcast where we discussed Kelly Reichardt’s First Cow!

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Charlie Chaplin Movie Series: Limelight (1:05:04)
Director: Charles Chaplin
Writer: Charles Chaplin
Stars: Charles Chaplin, Claire Bloom, Nigel Bruce

Show Sponsor: First Time Watchers Podcast

– Music

We Are Sex Bob-Omb – Sex Bob-Omb
I Heard Ramona Sing – Sex Bob-Omb
Limelight Theme – Charles Chaplin
The Return of the Eagle – Atli Örvarsson

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InSession Film Podcast – Episode 391

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Next week on the show:

Main Review: Batman Forever
Top 3: Nostalgic Blinder Movies

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Help Support The InSession Film Podcast

If you want to help support us, there are several ways you can help us and we’d absolutely appreciate it. Every penny goes directly back into supporting the show and we are truly honored and grateful. Thanks for your support and for listening to the InSession Film Podcast!

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Movie Review: ‘Sputnik’ is a probing extraterrestrial chiller


Director: Egor Abramenko
Writer: Oleg Malovichko, Andrei Zolotarev
Stars: Oksana Akinshina, Fyodor Bondarchuk, Pyotr Fyodorov, Anton Vasiliev

Synopsis: The lone survivor of an enigmatic spaceship incident hasn’t returned back home alone-hiding inside his body is a dangerous creature.

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Leave it to the Russians to utilize Cold War-era cosmonauts and a parasitic alien to craft what will perhaps end up as one of the year’s most riveting morality tales about the monstrous side of human nature. Sputnik does not wear its themes on its sleeve, nor does it present its philosophy on a platter; it’s first and foremost an outstanding sci-fi horror flick. This is what excellent genre filmmaking does: it bewitches the audience with a mystery, then tickles them with some thrills, and finally gives them a little gore—then let them unpack any of the veiled notions they identify if they so choose. For many, Sputnik will be a highly entertaining creature feature, and that’s fine. For those who like a movie with layers to peel back, this one’s got a few. It didn’t invent using an otherworldly entity to explore the darker corners of inhumanity, but it’s still a fairly well-engineered film.

Picture it! Soviet Kazakhstan, 1983. The space race is over, and the Cold War is nearing its climax. The Soviet Union is steadily crumbling, though their military bases continue to host highly classified laboratory investigations. The latest and most top-secret case concerns a pair of cosmonauts who crash-landed back on Earth after what was supposed to be a routine space mission. Cosmonauts Konstantin and Kirill went up alone and healthy, but they returned blood-soaked and with a mysterious organism in tow. The lab’s on-site physician is having difficulty treating Konstantin, so a colonel recruits Tatyana Klimova, a psychologist with a dubious background and unorthodox methods, to diagnose the situation. What at first seems to Tatyana like a bad case of PTSD soon proves to be something much more horrifying once she observes what happens to his body as he sleeps.

Oksana Akinshina’s Tatyana has a resolute fortitude about her. Outside of her psycho-pathologist role at this facility, Tatyana is a bit shadowy. We’re told upfront that her controversial tactics almost killed a previous patient—from a screenwriting perspective, that’s a hell of a way to have your main character “pet the dog”—and I admire how Akinshina never uses that to panders for the audience’s sympathy. Tatyana has a no-nonsense demeanor with a convergent mind, two qualities that make for a driven protagonist. But she’s also a person who puts up barriers, making her difficult to read. For some actors, this can result in a flat performance, but Akinshina imbues the character with a simmering ego-less passion for solving issues of the mind and body; therefore, she manages to carry the story.

Pyotr Fyodorov’s Konstantin, too, hooks the audience. You could say he’s the more human of the two leads. We’re told much more about his past and the concern he feels for his solitary mother. We also witness the remorse he feels for deserting his son in favor of becoming a cosmonaut and a national hero. Actually, the fact that he’s a hero is brought up… a lot. It’s almost like it’s… emblematic of something. The symbiotic relationship between a nationalistic population and their national star? The way one cannot exist without the other? The way each feeds off the other? Whatever it is, this actor has more context clues and ideas to play with. And each revelation about Konstantin that Tatyana uncovers reveals nuances to Fyodorov’s performance that may have gone unnoticed before.

Maybe the most intriguing character in the film, though, is the alien. Many monster movies choose to show as little of their creature as possible, whether for budgetary reasons or artistic purposes. Sputnik, however, puts the alien front and center. And gives it a pretty memorable entrance, to boot! The design is marvelous. Frightening yet strangely elegant in its own big-slimy-cobra-with-skinny-appendages-and-too-many-tiny-eyes kind of way. More character development is devoted to the alien than expected, and the film is genuinely better for it.

Sputnik is just shy of two hours, and the first two-thirds are pretty spellbinding. The final act of the film forgoes its sense of intrigue in exchange for balls-to-the-wall, cat-and-mouse action that, while a natural place for the story to go, doesn’t quite land. But maybe the thrills wouldn’t feel quite so lackluster if not for such a poor attempt at having a twist ending for the sake of having one. As a reveal (?), it’s honestly more perplexing than insightful. Furthermore, in addition to being uninspiring, it’s unnecessary. Since it adds virtually nothing of substance to the narrative, I’m puzzled as to why director Egor Abramenko decided to include it. I gather he’s not a script guy. Abramenko’s strengths lie within the visuals. The sets and costumes, fabulous. The moody lighting, striking. The visual effects, stunning. Everything we see on camera comes together seamlessly. So even if Sputnik lags in its last few minutes, it’s still a solid genre picture that will scratch a particular itch for fans of extraterrestrial horror.

Overall Grade: B

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Podcast: Alien³ (Revisited) / She Dies Tomorrow – Extra Film

On this week’s Extra Film, Ryan and Jay begin their David Fincher Movie Series with Alien³, and then they review the thriller, She Dies Tomorrow.

As the Extra Film boys begin their Fincher series, they tackle the most controversial film in the Alien Franchise. Known as the movie that almost broke Fincher as a director, the movie is comprised of two versions that both hosts saw. Given though the films tone matching the first entry in the series, and a great performance from Sigourney Weaver, Alien³ was a pleasant surprise for our hosts. Beyond their thoughts on Alien³, they also talked about the first two entries in the franchise and their connections to Fincher’s body of work.

After that, they transition to the latest film from director Amy Seimetz, She Dies Tomorrow. Financed almost entirely by Seimetz, this horror-thriller effectively examines the idea of death knocking at your doorstep and how we have no control over our own demise. Along with this, it also feels extremely timely given the current state of our world due to COVID-19. Ryan and Jay really like this one, and it led to a wonderful discussion.

Thanks for listening!

– Movie Review: Alien³ (3:35)
Director: David Fincher
Screenplay: David Giler, Walter Hill, Larry Ferguson
Stars: Sigourney Weaver, Charles S. Dutton, Charles Dance, Lance Henriksen

– Movie Review: She Dies Tomorrow (56:02)
Directors: Amy Seimetz
Screenplay: Amy Seimetz
Stars: Kate Lyn Sheil, Jane Adams, Chris Messina, Josh Lucas

– Music

Alien³ – Elliot Goldenthal
Mozart – Lacrimosa
The Return of the Eagle – Atli Örvarsson

We try to make this the best movie podcast we possibly can and we hope you enjoy them. Subscribe today on iTunes, Spotify or Stitcher, and please leave us a review on iTunes. You can also find us on Soundcloud, PlayerFM and TuneIn Radio as well. We really appreciate all your support of the InSession Film Podcast.

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Alien³ / She Dies Tomorrow – Extra Film

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Movie Review: ‘Summerland’ unfortunately sabotages itself in the end


Director: Jessica Swale
Writer: Jessica Swale
Stars: Gemma Arterton, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Penelope Wilton, Lucas Bond

Synopsis: During World War II, an Englishwoman (Gemma Arterton) opens her heart to an evacuee after initially resolving to be rid of him in this moving journey of womanhood, love and friendship.

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Shocking reveals in movies are risky, to say the least. If done well, the audience will not only have that “oh my god” moment, but it will both open up the film to be a larger world and make the movie immediately rewatchable. When it works, a la Planet of the Apes or The Sixth Sense, it can transform a movie from really good to great. But I am sorry to say, this is the exception rather than the rule. Most times, when writers and directors go for that shocking reveal, it either falls flat or is, frankly, laughable. And this brings us to Summerland.

I won’t go into detail regarding the aforementioned third act reveal, as to not “ruin” it for you. In addition, that means we can focus on some of the positives, instead. The writer and director of Summerland, Jessica Swale is more known as a playwright, and the style of the film lends itself to her choices. The decision to begin the film far into the future and layer flashbacks feels very much like a stage play, and in a good way. The lead, Alice Lamb (Gemma Arterton) is a writer who lives on her own, and is seemingly content with this. However, through said flashbacks, we get hints of her past romance with Vera (Gugu Mbatha-Raw). This is paired with a plot wherein Alice must take care of a young evacuee, Frank (Lucas Bond) from London during World War II.

There will be no negative opinions of Arterton here, who has seemed to recently make a living out of British stories of WWII (seriously, watch Their Finest, it’s great). She uplifts some pretty standard material to a performance worth watching. Her romance with Vera is mostly effective, if consistently kept at a distance. Mbatha-Raw is wonderful, as always, but, due to third act necessities, she is barely in the film. Her time on Summerland is relegated to little more than an extended cameo. It is almost as if they don’t know what they have here. Arterton and Mbatha-Raw in a lesbian love story set during a world war? This should be an absolute slam dunk. But because of the split focus of the timelines, we never feel truly drawn into this world.

Honestly, it really is a shame about that third act. Does the first hour of the movie set the world on fire? No, but it is a story, that although we have seen it before, still feels comfortable and warm. Of course we know that Alice will eventually warm to Frank, because the beats of the ornery parental figure are well worn. But you can also tell that Arterton is really enjoying the opportunity to play against type here. And from a script perspective, the transformation of that relationship is understated and realistic.  By the time that change happens, it never feels like a leap and it is easy to root for.

There are also some nice visual touches. During the repeated discussion of the myth of Summerland (which Alice is researching for a thesis), the work from cinematographer Laurie Rose is subtly  beautiful. Watching the clouds slowly transform into a castle and back again feels, well, magical. Additionally, the staging of bombed areas of London is perfectly dour and terrifying from a child’s point of view. The use of shadow and the light from fire does a terrific job of masking the fact that we never truly see the spectacle of these attacks. Instead, Swale allows us to experience this through her actors, especially Arterton.

So, for most of this review, it has been mainly positive. Can the reveal be that bad? Yes, and then some. Again, without giving anything away, It is not only irretrievably stupid, but it also undercuts both of Alice’s relationships built up throughout the movie. So, even though the first hour never approaches great, it was a serviceable, approachable, warm film. After the third act lands with a thud, it poisons that first hour to the point that the whole thing, at best, just feels like a waste.

Overall Grade: C

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Podcast: David Lean Movie Series

With the second Extra Film director Movie Series, the focus shifts to the films of David Lean. Known for big-scale filmmaking, Lean has made some of the greatest films of all time. Starting with smaller projects, Lean built a reputation as a steady, innovative director with excellent quality, leading to his stretch of epic storytelling starting in the 1960s that we don’t see made anymore. Ryan has seen most of Lean’s work, while Jay is less familiar with his films. Join us for this series and see if we think Lean ranks as an all-time great director or not.

Brief Encounter, 1945

Listen to our review below as heard on Extra Film.

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Great Expectations, 1946

Listen to our review below as heard on Extra Film.

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The Bridge on the River Kwai, 1957

Listen to our review below as heard on Extra Film.

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Lawrence of Arabia, 1962

Listen to our review below as heard on Extra Film.

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Doctor Zhivago, 1965

Listen to our review below as heard on Extra Film.

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A Passage to India, 1984

Listen to our review below as heard on Extra Film.

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Be sure to leave any feedback in the comment section below or hit us up on social media!

Poll: What is the best Joseph Gordon-Levitt performance?

Joseph Gordon-Levitt has had a fascinating career that includes a nice variety of roles and performances. No matter what it is he always brings his A-game and is an engaging presence on screen. His latest film on Netflix, Project Power, may or may not be anything memorable, but we at least expect him to continue that trend. So, we thought that would be great inspiration for our poll this week as we talk about his best performances.

With that said, what is the best Joseph Gordon-Levitt performance?


Movie Review: ‘The Beach House’ is an essential chapter in the Eco-Horror canon


Director: Jeffrey A. Brown
Writer: Jeffrey A. Brown
Stars: Liana Liberato, Noah Le Gros, Jake Weber

Synopsis: A romantic getaway for two troubled college sweethearts turns into a struggle for survival when unexpected guests – and the surrounding environment – exhibit signs of a mysterious infection.

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“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.” This line attributed to hyper-problematic horror legend H.P. Lovecraft kept resurfacing in my mind as I watched The Beach House. The evil forces in many of Lovecraft’s stories originate from a place so far beyond humankind’s comprehension of the universe that no mere mortal can fathom them, supposedly. Lovecraft was so committed to this concept that he often refused to describe what his creatures looked like—absconding from his duties as the author of the damn story by convincing his audience that what they’re reading simply defies description, even claiming that just envisioning such monstrosities could literally drive one insane. A cop-out by today’s standards. But the dude got away with it, repeatedly. Over the years, his influence has bled through generations of horror writers, one of the latest being fledgling director Jeffrey A. Brown, who skillfully commandeers Lovecraft’s obsessions with uncanny terrors from unexplored realms and reframes them to form a modern “humans vs. nature” horror show.

Although The Beach House marks Brown’s directorial debut, he’s no stranger to the process of filmmaking. For nearly two decades, he worked as a location manager on several notable titles, and as a production assistant on several more for a few years before that. So, a rock star in two thankless yet absolutely pivotal departments that form the backbone of production, he certainly earned his stripes, as they say, leading up to this first time in the director’s chair. Locations folk (the ones worth their salt) possess a unique type of grit. They are always the first to arrive on set and the last to leave—so on a 12-hour shooting day, you’re looking at 14+ hours for locations. Seasoned locations crewpersons have a fortitude like you wouldn’t believe. And with all that endurance comes an understanding of what makes for a dynamic dramatic space, a place with levels and pockets for isolated action that is also conducive to filming.

The titular beach house and the surrounding areas make for a fantastic setting, as an idyllic backdrop of leisure living on the East Coast that slowly morphs into a place of unearthly, cosmic horror—a familiar set-up for Lovecraft stories. Just up the hill from the water, the views offer glimpses of breathtaking beauty, but there’s something foreboding about it all… With an opening aerial shot that dives beneath the surface of the shimmering ocean to become a Jaws-like underwater “tracking” shot that crescendos into an environmental disturbance of grand magnitude, Brown establishes that something is gravely wrong; something disturbing is lurking down below. To heighten the visuals, Brown and editor Aaron Crozier spliced in footage of real-life aquatic turmoil, courtesy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Kudos to this team for being able to pull that off, because practical imagery is always the best way to go.

In fact, The Beach House utilizes an admirable amount of practical effects as the horror mounts. Production designer Paul Rice has experience as a sculptor and as a puppeteer, so frankly I would have been disappointed if they had CGI’d everything. Rice, who also served as the film’s creature designer, rendered some lovely and ghastly looking beasts. The film wisely avoids going overboard in the creature department, though, by only showing us what we need to see, when we need to see it. (I’m sure that was for frugality reasons, too.) But at least Brown and Rice give us an impression of what these things look like—and clues as to what they do to their human victims. It gets grisly and occasionally grows hard to watch as the film veers into body horror territory. Perhaps the most cringe-inducing scene entails the removal of a parasitic annelid from a character’s foot. The special effects makeup is on point, and actress Liana Liberato sells it.

Liberato is a performer who I can see becoming a perennial casting choice among genre auteurs. Personally, I’d like to see her as a slasher film’s final girl. She is quite good here as Emily, a student studying to be an astrobiologist. Her Emily is a resourceful and knowledgeable protagonist. Thanks to her science-minded background and familiarity with the building blocks of life, the movie is able to give us just enough exposition to grasp what is about to unfold. Just enough. Because Brown withholds the majority of the information in order to keep the audience thinking and guessing. As a writer, you seldom want your audience to get ahead of you, and Brown assures that we won’t by confidently denying us the privilege of explication, almost entirely. So moviegoers expecting an answers-filled resolution will likely end up disappointed. On the other hand, moviegoers who welcome the opportunity to draw their own conclusions will likely enjoy letting the film assault them with its algae bloom from hell, or whatever the heck is going on…

Now is as appropriate a time as ever for ecological horror—because it’s only a matter of time before Mother Nature strikes back against us and saves what’s hers. Climate change is the biggest existential threat facing our planet right now. And we’re doing very little to quell it. The Great Barrier Reef is dying. And we’re doing very little to revive it. Whales and sharks are on the verge of extinction. And we’re doing very little to protect them. All of these issues are a result of man’s arrogance. And these actions will have dire consequences. To stick that point, writer-director Brown tore a page from H.P. Lovecraft’s book and summoned unfathomable forces from the depths of the ocean to wreak havoc upon the land-dwellers who knowingly and uncaringly put their own environment’s existence at risk in favor of their own selfish comfort. Makes you wonder who the real monsters are, huh? The Beach House is a commendable debut with a lot to unpack, and I’m eager to see what Jeffrey A. Brown does next.

Overall Grade: B

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwAEWM9Jzfs

List: Top 3 Fish-Out-Of-Water Movies

This week on Episode 390 of the InSession Film Podcast, inspired by our review of An American Pickle, we discussed our Top 3 fish-out-of-water movies. These stories are a tale as old as time. There are countless movies that fall under this umbrella, and that makes narrowing our lists down a challenge, but given the quality of the category, it’s hard to go wrong no matter the direction you go. It certainly made for a very fun conversation. That said, here are our lists:

(Note: Please keep in mind that we each had different criteria for our selections)

Brendan

1) Pleasantville
2) Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
3) Trading Places

Ryan

1) Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
2) North by Northwest
3) Groundhog Day

Honorable Mentions (Combined)

Back to the Future, Big, Beverly Hills Cop, Coming to America, Crocodile Dundee, Edward Scissorhands, Elf, Enchanted, Encino Man, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, In the Heat of the Night, The Jerk, Legally Blonde, My Cousin Vinny, Private Benjamin, Splash, Thor, Suspiria, Hot Fuzz, Meet the Parents, Army of Darkness, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Rush Hour, School of Rock, Some Like It Hot, Lost in Translation , Captain America: Winter Soldier, Spy, Borat, My Fair Lady, Mad Max Fury Road , The Matrix, Mean Girls, Any Charlie Chaplin film

Hopefully you guys enjoyed our lists and if you agree or disagree with us, let us know in the comment section below. As is the case with a topic like this, depending on your tastes and criteria, your list could end up being very different than what we talked about. That being said, what would be your Top 3? Leave a comment in the comment section or email us at [email protected].

For the entire podcast, click here or listen below.

For more lists done by the InSession Film crew and other guests, be sure see our Top 3 Movie Lists page.

The Films Of A Revolution Underway

In this time of turmoil and unrest, there seems to be a feeling of radical change demanded that could fundamentally alter basic principles on how they act and how they think when they see symbols of racism. Instead of what seems to be decades and a century of ignorance, the younger generation has risen up to establish a new order on how people must treat racism and understand more how the Black community has felt for a very long time. While it’s a social revolution, movies have been filming world revolutions since the 1920s. Communism, workers’ rights, and independence fill the list and represent the main figures, real and fictional, who live through the massive upheaval in the past.

Strike/Battleship Potemkin (1925)

In the same year, Sergei M. Eisenstein gave the world two stories of Russia before 1917, scenes of discontent that laid the foundation for the overthrow of the monarchy and the installation of a communist world. Strike was Eisenstein’s first full-length feature film, set in a factory where, after a worker is accused of theft and commits suicide, the rest of the plant shuts down in anguish because they sympathize with why their fallen comrade struggled. The working hours are long, the pay is low, and children were working in ways very dangerous. And while the people demand change, the wealthy businessmen sit in smoke-filled rooms drinking and cleaning the mess with the list of demands given to them. In the climax, the protest put down violently, intercut with animals, parallel to people being slaughtered under the order of the elite who were always aligned with Czar.

The Battleship Potemkin is more widely known because of the famous staircase sequence between the czar’s loyal military, mutineers, and a baby carriage the rolls down in between them, something reenacted in The Untouchables. Once again. Eisenstein relies on editing to create the action, a theory of montage copied in other films examing the Czar’s Navy in mutiny, the death of their leader, and the surprising end when those hired to take back the Potemkin instead join them in their demands for better treatment instead of being robots for the needs of the bourgeoise.

The Battle of Algiers (1966)

Set during the Algerian War in the 50s and early 60s, Saâdi Yacef, a leader of the National Liberation Front that fought for independence from France, allowed his memoir to be made into a movie with Italian leftist Gillo Pontecorvo directing. Pontecorvo came from the school of Italian neorealism, so he shot the film documentary style and on location with mostly nonprofessional actors in the roles. Ennio Morricone’s opening credits score is widely known, even used briefly in Inglorious Basterds, and it was so real to aspiring revolutionaries in guerilla movements, that law enforcement studied the film and what those potential groups like the Black Panthers and Irish Republican Army could potentially do. France, still reeling from the divisive nature of the war kept it out of theatres until 1971.

Harlan County, USA (1976)

A major film about the labor movement in the coal mining industry, this documentary followed the actions of the Brookside Mine in Kentucky when workers went on strike against owners Duke Energy in 1973-74. Ladies and gentlemen, when Trump said he wanted to bring coal back, he was hoping it would be like the 70s when it was still being dug out a lot. But with more money comes more demands for safer working conditions, fair contracts, and higher wages, especially when longtime workers are affected by black lung disease. Director Barbara Kopple captured the violence that erupted between worker and management, the squalor families were living in at the time, and the tragic shooting that brought both sides to an agreement. The raw emotions on display without any manipulation gave Kopple an Academy Award for Best Documentary.

The Last Emperor (1987)

This film isn’t about a revolution but about a singular figure who lived his life surrounded by it. He was, per the film’s title, the end of a dying dynasty, obsolete and powerless. Puyi is a little boy imprisoned in The Forbidden City then exiled and reimprisoned under the rise of Mao Zedong and the Cultural Revolution. Bernardo Bertolucci was fully backed by the Chinese government and got to shoot in the Forbidden City, allowing his great cinematographer, Vittorio Storraro, to create a beautiful portrait of a young man who is burdened from the beginning from a country he knows nothing of as radical change sweeps up around him.

Carlos (2010)

Oliver Assayas’ three-part miniseries is about a singular man who was a rock star mercenary and a one-man revolution ready to help any nation willing to fight for leftist ideals with guns and bombs. Edgar Ramirez plays Carlos Ther Jackal and was the only one who could do so considering the multilingual skills needed for the role; like Carlos (real name Illich Ramírez Sánchez), Ramirez is from Venezuela and lives his early life in Europe where he learned English, French, and German. And certainly, he looked the part, giving off Carlos’ vibe of confidence and desire to be known and to be loved for who he is – even though his actions by shooting and bombing killed scores of people (he’s serving life sentences for sixteen murders and claimed recently he’s responsible for 80 deaths in total) and established himself as one of the world’s most notorious criminals.

Follow me on Twitter: @brian_cine (Cine-A-Man)

Podcast: An American Pickle / Top 3 Fish-Out-Of-Water Movies – Episode 390

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This week on the InSession Film Podcast, Ryan fills in for JD as we discuss the latest Seth Rogen comedy in An American Pickle and our Top 3 fish-out-of-water movies! Plus, a few thoughts on First Cow and Summerland.

JD was off once again as he celebrated his birthday this week, but a big thanks to Ryan for filling in and doing a great job. An American Pickle may not have been the film we were hoping for, but it certainly provoked some fun conversation. The Top 3 discussion was especially enjoyable.

On that note, check out this week’s show and let us know what you think in the comment section. Thanks for listening and for supporting the InSession Film Podcast!

– Movie Review: An American Pickle (6:05)
Director: Brandon Trost
Writer: Simon Rich (screenplay by), Simon Rich (based on the short story entitled “Sell Out” written by)
Stars: Seth Rogen, Sarah Snook, Molly Evensen

– Notes / First Cow / Summerland (38:12)
This week for our discussion segment, Ryan offers up his thoughts on Kelly Reichardt’s wonderful new film First Cow and Brendan reviews Jessica Swale’s new film Summerland.

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RELATED: Listen to Episode 387 of the InSession Film Podcast where we discussed Kelly Reichardt’s First Cow!

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Top 3 Fish-Out-Of-Water Movies (1:01:44)
Fish-out-of-water stories are a tale as old as time. There are countless movies that fall under this umbrella, and that makes narrowing our lists down a challenge, but given the quality of the category, it’s hard to go wrong no matter the direction you go. It certainly made for a very fun conversation. That said, what would be your Top 3?

Show Sponsor: First Time Watchers Podcast

– Music

Pickle Your Fancy – Michael Giacchino, Nami Melumad
Pleasantville Theme – Randy Newman
Austin Powers – George S. Clinton
The Return of the Eagle – Atli Örvarsson

Subscribe to our Podcasts RSS
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InSession Film Podcast – Episode 390

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Next week on the show:

Main Review: Project Power
Charlie Chaplin Movie Series: Limelight

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Help Support The InSession Film Podcast

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Podcast: A Passage to India / Summerland – Extra Film

On this week’s Extra Film, Ryan and Jay conclude their David Lean Movie Series with A Passage to India, and then they review the drama, Summerland.

We are at the end of the second Extra Film director series, and it ends on another fascinating discussion among the hosts. With A Passage to India, Lean takes a look at Indian/British relations involving a scandal that rips the two communities apart. It’s equal parts epic with a courtroom drama attached to it. As for the reactions of the host, Ryan seemed to be higher on the film than Jay, but they ultimately thought the film’s racial problems got in the way of making it great.

After that, they moved their focus to a recent release with the British drama, Summerland. With good reviews and a nice PG rating, Summerland has been called one of the biggest surprises released on VOD this summer. But as the guys talk about it, the more they did not like a twist that is critical to the ending of the movie. It totally ruins the whole experience for the guys, leaving them completely disappointed.

But before the episode ends, you will want to stay till the end to hear who the guys will be covering in the next Movie Series, starting next week.

Thanks for listening!

– Movie Review: A Passage to India (3:31)
Director: David Lean
Screenplay: David Lean
Stars: Peggy Ashcroft, Judy Davis, James Fox, Alec Guinness, Nigel Havers

– Movie Review: Yes, God Yes (41:43)
Directors: Jessica Swale
Screenplay: Jessica Swale
Stars: Gemma Arterton, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Lucas Bond, Dixie Egerickx, Siân Phillips

– Music

A Passage to India – Maurice Jarre
Summerland (Three Visions) — William Grant Still
The Return of the Eagle – Atli Örvarsson

We try to make this the best movie podcast we possibly can and we hope you enjoy them. Subscribe today on iTunes, Spotify or Stitcher, and please leave us a review on iTunes. You can also find us on Soundcloud, PlayerFM and TuneIn Radio as well. We really appreciate all your support of the InSession Film Podcast.

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A Passage to India / Summerland – Extra Film

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Movie Review: Dave Franco is a competent enough director, but ‘The Rental’ underwhelms


Director: Dave Franco
Writer: Dave Franco (screenplay by), Joe Swanberg (screenplay by)
Stars: Dan Stevens, Alison Brie, Sheila Vand

Synopsis: Two couples rent a vacation home for what should be a celebratory weekend get-away.

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Looking at extravagant houses on Zillow, with zero intention of buying, is a common pastime among a certain subset of millennial’s who will likely never be able to afford a high-class life. Renting the second home of a wealthy stranger for the weekend, through an online marketplace such as Airbnb, is the only way many of us will ever get to experience what residing in a cliffside manor feels like. Plus, if you divvy up the day rate with a group it can be cheaper than booking a hotel. And more enjoyable. So long as the property host isn’t a creepy high-tech voyeur, or a killer. Such is the set-up of The Rental, actor Dave Franco’s directorial debut. As a director, Franco shows us that he has connections and some promise, however he’s got plenty of room for improvement in the auteur department.

Dave Franco and co-screenwriter Joe Swanberg’s film chooses to exist in the gray area between relationship drama and horror, without fully committing to either. And, unfortunately, this muddies the mood and sends the plot adrift. Swanberg’s “scripts” usually have a lively authenticity to them; in many of his films, there’s an organic nature to the dialogue and the way the story unfolds. This tale, on the other hand, feels oddly stilted. The goal is clearly to be a character-centric couples’ story that unhurriedly evolves into a slasher film. Very unhurriedly. I’d imagine the idea was to give the actors ample time to craft their characters before the terror sets in, eventually. But it reads as narratively timid. It’s like Franco wanted critics to call his film a slow burn, but… there has to at least be a simmer going on the back burner for that to be the case.

Thankfully, the cast is solid enough. And that’s a relief, considering how much time we spend with them while the movie gets warmed up. The two standouts among the principle players are Alison Brie and Sheila Vand. Brie is given the least meat to chew on, but the actress manages to lend her unique charm to a character who might otherwise be the most boring, seeing as she’s the most innocent of the bunch. Brie is also low-key the funniest, especially when she’s tripping on molly. Vand, who horror aficionados will recognize from Ana Lily Amirpour’s sublime A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, is a breath of fresh air. Her Mina is equally vociferous and vulnerable. Vand is given several scene-stealing moments, like when she gets to impulsively confront their host about his suspected racism. But she also excels in quieter moments, like in the scene prior, in which she’s forced to listen to two white men discuss what is and is not racism. Her every micro-reaction suggests that she’s overheard this conversation hundreds of times already, and she definitely has.

The almost obscene amount of time Franco devotes to character stuff kinda-sorta pays off later. Because these folks make some dumb decisions in the final twenty-five minutes or so. But given the qualities we know about these four individuals—volatile, resolute, arrogant, complaisant—the decisions they make are somehow movie-logical under the circumstances. It’s too bad the show is practically over by time Franco decides to cue the killings and finally let his horror film be a horror film.

Franco seems to be going for a minimalistic approach, and it’s a drawback throughout—particularly in the final act. The deaths are so underwhelming that it makes you wonder why you invested so much time getting to know these people. A concerted focus on character is an admirable quality in a first-time director, no doubt, but characters that we theoretically give a damn about ought to receive dramatic sendoffs. And since there’s only a handful of them, what we see really needs to count. To save his own film, Franco should’ve leaned in and gone The Full Slasher. I’m sure he was going for understated—and understated is oftentimes very impactful in horror—but in order for it to be effective you’ve gotta actually state something at some point…

Visually speaking, The Rental is fairly well assembled. Franco has an eye, and he certainly has a fondness for fog. Good lord, is the Oregon coast really that foggy? Maybe cut back a bit on the fog next time, Dave… To be honest, though, I don’t think I need another Dave Franco flick. I’m not convinced that he’s a director with something to say, or a director capable of shaking up anything. And let’s be real, he only got this gig because of who he is. And he’ll undoubtedly get more gigs because of who he is. So, since future projects are inevitable, I’m curious what he’ll do in the years to come, how he will progress as a filmmaker. Because if Dave Franco is indeed determined to keep directing—and if each picture manages to be slightly better than the last—then by his fifth or sixth film he’ll surely churn out something noteworthy.

Overall Grade: C-

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Mamma Mia: Let’s NEVER Go Again

Spoilers below for Mamma Mia and Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again!

Before you roll your eyes at this piece, do know that I break down specific details for why I think this movie is one of the laziest films ever made. It’s a complete slap in the face to any lover of the first film. Let’s talk about the train wreck that is Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again!

I saw Mamma Mia in theaters when it came out in 2008 (even on on opening day and over The Dark Knight, which I’ve never regretted), and it became one of my all time favorite musicals in film. It, of course, stars the greatest living actress of all time – our lord and savior Meryl Streep – who was stunning in her performance. Naturally, when the sequel was announced, I was super excited. The teenage boy that was thrilled to see the first one on the big screen was now an overly excited 26-year-old man (at that time). And that excitement carried me a long way…that is until I saw the first trailer which denoted the film as prequel/sequel, which noticeably featured an absent Streep.

As more and more came out about the movie, the trailers, the synopsis, the stills of the cast, etc – it was certain that Donna (Streep) was written off (Exhibit A regarding the script’s indolence). However, I gave it an honest shot and it was unfortunately as bad as expected. Only, it wasn’t just terrible, it was the dictionary definition of lazy filmmaking. It was so frustrating that I came home and re-watched the original to make sure I wasn’t crazy with noticing the issues in the sequel.

To start, let’s focus on Cher’s character of Ruby. Ruby is the grandmother of Amanda Seyfried’s Sophie and mother to Donna, and her presence in the film is quite strange as Donna mentions in Mamma Mia that someone’s got it out for her (while pointing up towards heaven), saying “I bet it’s my mother, wasn’t she a treat when she was alive.”

Umm…hello?! Larry?! Zombie Cher just pops up with no explanation on how she was resurrected. Lazy writing.

Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again! also starts off in prequel mode at Donna’s college graduation in August of 1979. That is noteworthy as the original opens with the “Honey Honey” sequence where Sophie says in Donna’s diary that she met the first of the three possible fathers in July that summer. Whereas the sequel doesn’t have them meet until after graduation and that muddies up the timeline. Also, if Donna gets pregnant at the end of summer in ’79, and therefore has Sophie in 1980, Mamma Mia takes place in 2000 since she’s 20-years-old in the film. The sequel takes place five years after the first and you can clearly see that Sophie have a brand new iPhone X, which did not exist in 2005. So, in addition to the murkiness in the timeline, there’s a lack of awareness to the period in which the film takes place. Lazy writing and production.

In Mamma Mia, Donna recognizes the character of Bill by his Egyptian Eyeball tattoos on his knees. In the sequel they don’t exist. Lazy filmmaking.

In the original, it’s mentioned that Donna took care of a woman on the mainland, who after she died, left her money for the hotel. In the sequel, the hotel is given to her sans any payments by a local island woman who says she can have it if she keeps it up. Lazy writing.

In the original, Donna mentions that when she got pregnant her mother told her to never come back. In the sequel, Donna gets pregnant and has the baby without even telling her mother. Lazy writing.

Now let’s talk location. Mamma Mia was filmed on location in Greece and at Pinewood Studios in London. The sequel was shot in Croatia. Can you at least get a location that looks the same? It’s so blatantly obvious that it’s a different location. The production team didn’t care about continuity at all, except for the staircase. Lazy production.

The plot to Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again! is literally non-existent. The prequel aspect was unnecessary and the sequel component is a jumbled mess of “will anyone show up to my party” and doesn’t involve any type of actual story.

Perhaps the biggest sin of all is that it lacked the spirit and soul of the first film. And you guessed it, it’s the absence of Meryl Streep. Her character died (mysteriously to the audience, as it’s never mentioned how) a year before the sequel takes place and the only time we see her on screen is in the very last scene of the movie where she appears as Donna’s ghost in a chapel. It’s one of the two redeeming qualities of the movie because it actually felt like the first one. The only other time we see Donna is in the end credits concert scene.

It’s disappointing that Streep wasn’t more involved with the sequel. It’s further deflating when you consider Cher, who was given NOTHING to do. If you’ve seen the trailer, you’ve seen her entire part. She shows up, gets out of her helicopter, crashes the party, sings Fernando, that’s it. She’s had three very small scenes. It was a wasted opportunity.

The only other redeeming qualities about Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again! are the characters of Tanya and Rosie in both current and past forms. Why? Because they are funny and it reminds you of the chemistry of the first film with Donna.

Seriously, no one mentioned to Ol Parker, the writer and director Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again!, any of the issues mentioned above? No one? Meryl? Tom Hanks or Rita Wilson as executive producers? Any member of Abba? Any cast member? No one?! I find that hard to believe and it’s frustrating because Parker tried to con the audience who loved the first film. And did so in a negligent way that comes off as arrogant and apathetic. It’s almost like the producers got together and said “once everyone’s schedule clears to do this, just do something, we don’t care what or if it makes sense.”

Not to mention the soundtrack and using the B side songs of Abba. All the songs in the film are one’s everyone forgot except “Waterloo” and “Fernando.” In fact “Waterloo,” “Dancing Queen,” “Super Trooper,” and “Mamma Mia” are all recycled from the first film and only “Fernando” is used originally here.

What a wast of talent, story, music, decade-long anticipation, everything.

As a fan of the stage play and the original movie, Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again! is a big slap in the face. It may not be the worst film ever made, but it is quite bad and it absolutely baffles me that anyone would have a positive thing to say about this heap of junk. But then again, there are people who like the movie CATS so anything is possible. If you haven’t seen Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again!, don’t waste your money on it. Just skip it and see the vastly superior Mamma Mia instead. And please, for the love of all of us, DO NOT MAKE A THIRD MOVIE. The producers clearly aren’t responsible enough to make a good sequel.

Podcast: The Lost Boys – Patreon Bonus Content

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Daniel Brilliant and JD Duran get together to celebrate Joel Schumacher and his 1987 classic The Lost Boys!

If you’re already a Patreon supporter, you can listen to this episode NOW on Patreon by clicking here.

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Poll: What is the best multiple role performance in a film?

This week on the InSession Film Podcast we are going to be talking about Seth Rogen’s latest comedy An American Pickle. If you’ve seen the trailer or looked at the cast list, you’ll first notice that it’s a film that features Rogen in dual roles. We’ve actually talked about this as a Top 3 before, but we thought it would make for a fun poll as well. There are some great options listed here and we are curious to hear what you think.

What is the best multiple role performance in a film? Vote now!


List: Top 3 Movie Adversaries

This week on Episode 389 of the InSession Film Podcast, inspired by our review of Heat, we discussed our Top 3 movie adversaries. The adversarial spirit between Neil and Vincent in Heat is no doubt one of the most gripping we’ve ever seen in film, and it just made sense that this was our topic for the Top 3 this week. There are many, many great rivalries on the big screen, so this was challenging to narrow down, but we had a blast talking about some of our favorite movie adversaries. That said, here are our lists:

(Note: Please keep in mind that we each had different criteria for our selections)

Brendan

1) Baby Jane Hudson / Blanche Hudson – What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
2) Caesar / Koba – Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
3) Batman / Catwoman / The Penguin – Batman Returns

Jay

1) Clarice / Hannibal Lecter – The Silence of the Lambs
2) Dave / Hal 9000 – 2001: A Space Odyssey
3) Rick Deckard / Roy Batty – Blade Runner

Honorable Mentions (Combined)

Zodiac killer / Robert Graysmith – Zodiac
Bill / The Bride – Kill Bill
Hans Gruber / John McClane – Die Hard
Norman Bates / Marion Crane – Psycho
The Joker / Bruce Wayne/Batman – The Dark Knight
Annie Wilkes / Paul Sheldon – Misery
Nurse Ratched / R.P. McMurphy – One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Darth Vader / Luke Skywalker – Star Wars Trilogy
Lord Voldemort / Harry Potter – Harry Potter Franchise
Otto Octavius / Peter Parker – Spider-Man 2
Buddy Pine / Bob Parr – The Incredibles
Kilmonger / T’Challa – Black Panther
Elijah Price / David Dunn – Unbreakable
Barbossa / Jack Sparrow – Pirates of the Caribbean Franchise
John Doe / Detective Mills – Se7en
Simba / Scar – The Lion King
Frollo / Quasimodo – The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Frank Abagnale, Jr. / Carl Hanratty — Catch Me If You Can
Salieri / Mozart — Amadeus
Roxie Hart / Velma Kelly — Chicago
Bodhi / Johnny Utah — Point Break
Sean Archer / Castor Troy — Face/Off
Maximus / Commodus — Gladiator
Richard Kimble / Samuel Gerrard — The Fugitive
Marty McFly / Biff Tannen — Back to the Future Part II
Borden / Angier — The Prestige
Jim McAllister / Tracy Flick — Election
Crash Davis / Duke LaLoosh — Bull Durham
Shosanna / Col. Hans Landa — Inglourious Basterds

Hopefully you guys enjoyed our lists and if you agree or disagree with us, let us know in the comment section below. As is the case with a topic like this, depending on your tastes and criteria, your list could end up being very different than what we talked about. That being said, what would be your Top 3? Leave a comment in the comment section or email us at [email protected].

For the entire podcast, click here or listen below.

For more lists done by the InSession Film crew and other guests, be sure see our Top 3 Movie Lists page.

Real Crime, Fictitious Plot: Movies Influenced By Shocking Events

If you ever saw the subline, “Based On True Events,” it means the movie’s actions and characters may not totally be real, but something of the sort did go down. And sure enough, many movies and even TV shows use a real-life event to build around their story. Some major films you may be surprised were inspired by crime and thus gives the event a ballooned state of reality when it wasn’t exactly how it all went.

M (1931)

One of the most chilling films ever, Frtiz Lang recreated the harsh mob mentality going around in Germany in the 1920s over a string of serial killers, including those involving murdering children. Lang did not base Peter Lorre’s part on anyone specifically, instead of focusing on the killer’s psychology and how the citizens reacted to having a person out there targeting kids. Peter Kürten is a name commonly thrown out there; nicknamed, “The Vampire of Düsseldorf,” Kürten was executed for several murders of women and children which including strangling and cutting the throats of his victims. Fritz Haarmann was executed for the murder of at least 24 boys and young men over a six-year period in Hanover. The detective depicted in the film is based on criminologist Ernst Gennat, who worked on capturing both killers.

Double Indemnity (1944)

Billy Wilder’s sensational noir starring Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, and Edward G. Robinson is based on James Cain’s novel in turn inspired by a shocking murder and conspiracy in 1927. A married woman, Ruth Snyder, began an affair with a married man and convinced him to take part in killing her husband by faking a robbery. Snyder had just convinced her husband to sign an insurance policy where the payment is double if the deceased was the result of an accident or murder. Police quickly uncovered the conspiracy and her story unraveled. In the film, the husband is left dead by the tracks to presume he was hit by a train and it’s the head of the insurance company who suspects something’s not right, leading to a violent confrontation between the lovers. Making the Snyder case infamous was the picture taken the moment she was electrocuted that was published the next day in the New York Daily News. 

A Place In The Sun (1951)

George Stevens’ Oscar-winning drama, winning 6 of its 9 nominations including Best Director, is based on the novel An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser, which was inspired by the murder of a young woman by her boyfriend after revealing to him she was pregnant. Like Montgomery Clift’s character George Eastman, Chester Gillette was hired by his businessman uncle and began a relationship with one of his employees, Grace Brown, which was not permitted, and she became pregnant. Insisting on marriage, Gillette struck her unconscious and dumped her to drown. The movie’s main deviation from the real story is that a second woman is involved, played by Elizabeth Taylor, who Eastman prefers over his original pregnant girlfriend, played by Shelley Winters. It is Winter’s character who meets the same fate as her real-life counterpart.

The Hitch-Hiker (1953)

Ida Lupino, one of the very few female directors of the time, made this stirring film noir influenced by Billy Cook, a drifter who killed six people, including a family, during a three-week period in California and Missouri in the early 50s. Cook was a violent offender since his juvenile days and said prior to his execution that, “I hate everybody’s guts and everybody hates mine.” In the film, two men who pick up a hitchhiker in Mexico are unaware until it’s too late that he is wanted back in the States for multiple killings and the men must find a way to get away from the deranged killer and buy time for the police to get him.

The Night Of The Hunter (1955)

Just like M, the original novel and movie are based on a serial killer, Harry Powers, who used lonely hearts ads to attract and marry widows with money before murdering them. In addition to two separate women, Powers killed three children who were with their mother and had no clue about Powers’ intentions. The new story added Harry Powell, played by Robert Mitchum, as a preacher who believes he is doing God’s work to retrieve the money, but this time, the two children who see through Powell on why he married his widowed mother (also Shelley Winters) don’t fall for his tricks and escape before he can get his hands on them.

The Exorcist (1973)

This isn’t a crime, but it is still an event worth noting. Author and screenwriter William Peter Blatty wrote his legendary horror story based on the exorcism of a 14-year-old boy in 1949. While the boy’s name has been protected, the apparent story is his close relationship to his aunt, a spiritualist who introduced him to an Ouija board, and after her death did the boy’s behavior change drastically. The events were recorded by a Catholic priest, Raymond J. Bishop, who gave extensive details and names of other priests who took part in the exorcism. Here, Blatty noted in his novel and script things such as the boy’s violent repulsions including flying, being tied down to the mattress and speaking in a different voice, and having the word “Hell” marked all over his body. In the end, the boy was cured and went on to have, “a rather ordinary life.”

Follow me on Twitter: @brian_cine (Cine-A-Man)

Podcast: Heat / Top 3 Movie Adversaries – Episode 389

This week’s episode is brought to you by Patreon and our awesome listeners like you. Sign up today and get some fun rewards!

This week on the InSession Film Podcast, Jay fills in for JD as we review Michael Mann’s Heat and discuss our Top 3 movie adversaries! Plus, a few thoughts on the films we’ve been watching recently.

Even though JD couldn’t stay for the whole show, he couldn’t miss out on our very first Mann review on the show. After re-watching Heat, Hurricane Isaias wasn’t going to stop him for jumping on for at least a few minutes. And by that we mean we spend about an hour on the crime classic. We are very proud of the discussion and we hope you enjoy it as much as we did. Our movie adversaries conversation was also a lot of fun.

On that note, check out this week’s show and let us know what you think in the comment section. Thanks for listening and for supporting the InSession Film Podcast!

– Movie Review: Heat (5:08)
Director: Michael Mann
Writer: Michael Mann
Stars: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer

– Notes / Yes, God, Yes (1:05:34)
This week for our discussion segment, Jay gives us a few thoughts on some other Michael Mann films he’s been watching and Brendan gives us his review of Yes, God, Yes.

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RELATED: Listen to Episode 387 of the InSession Film Podcast where we discussed Kelly Reichardt’s First Cow!

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Top 3 Movie Adversaries (1:25:13)
The adversarial spirit between Neil and Vincent in Heat is no doubt one of the most gripping we’ve ever seen in film. We knew that had to be our inspiration for the Top 3 this week. There are many, many great rivalries on the big screen, so this was challenging to narrow down, but we had a blast talking about some of our favorite movie adversaries. That said, what would be your Top 3?

Show Sponsor: First Time Watchers Podcast

– Music

Heat – Elliot Goldenthal
Birth Of A Penguin – Danny Elfman
Movements – Atticus Ross
The Return of the Eagle – Atli Örvarsson

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InSession Film Podcast – Episode 389

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Next week on the show:

Main Review: An American Pickle
Charlie Chaplin Movie Series: Limelight

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Podcast: Doctor Zhivago / Yes, God Yes – Extra Film

On this week’s Extra Film, Ryan and Jay continue their David Lean Movie Series with Doctor Zhivago, and then they review the sex comedy, Yes, God Yes.

After the extraordinary discussion on the classic Lawrence of Arabia the week before, the boys tackle another well-known feature in Lean’s filmography. As one of the best romance stories ever told, Doctor Zhivago wraps up Lean’s three-film run of epic storytelling with the masterful scope that generated the director to one of the best of all time. But while the film is marveled by some as a masterpiece, Ryan and Jay wouldn’t go there. While they both think it is something that should be seen, they both did have problems with it and went into great detail explaining their concerns with the final product.

After that, they transitioned to talking about the acclaimed debut for director Karen Maine. Debuting last year at SXSW (Ryan’s favorite festival), the buzz around this female coming age story about a young girl discovering sex in her religious, small Texas town has been strong. With a good story about how he saw it, Ryan really enjoyed the movie. But did Jay dig it, you will have to listen to find out.

Thanks for listening!

– Movie Review: Doctor Zhivago (3:23)
Director: David Lean
Screenplay: Robert Bolt
Stars: Alec Guinness, Omar Sharif, Julie Christie, Geraldine Chaplin

– Movie Review: Yes, God Yes (39:04)
Directors: Karen Maine
Screenplay: Karen Maine
Stars: Natalia Dyer, Timothy Simons, Wolfgang Novogratz, Francesca Reale

– Music

Doctor Zhivago – Main Title – Maurice Jarre
Christina Aguilera – Genie In A Bottle
The Return of the Eagle – Atli Örvarsson

We try to make this the best movie podcast we possibly can and we hope you enjoy them. Subscribe today on iTunes, Spotify or Stitcher, and please leave us a review on iTunes. You can also find us on Soundcloud, PlayerFM and TuneIn Radio as well. We really appreciate all your support of the InSession Film Podcast.

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Doctor Zhivago / Yes, God Yes – Extra Film

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Movie Review: ‘Yes, God, Yes’ is hilarious and a solid debut from Karen Maine


Director: Karen Maine
Writer: Karen Maine
Stars: Natalia Dyer, Timothy Simons, Francesca Reale

Synopsis: After an innocent AOL chat turns racy, a Catholic teenager in the early 00s discovers masturbating and struggles to suppress her new urges in the face of eternal damnation.

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Certain topics are considered taboo, especially in film and TV, and Yes, God Yes manages to tackle one subject in a spectacularly funny, in-your-face way. The film follows Alice (Natalia Dyer), a high school student who feels the stereotypical catholic guilt as she begins to discover herself and her sexuality. The star of the film is Natalia Dyer, who many will recognize as Nancy Wheeler from Stranger Things. She perfectly portrays the awkward, uninformed teen to which many of us can relate. Her performance is what makes this film special, she is one to watch for in both comedic and dramatic roles.

Yes, God, Yes covers a variety of subjects: religious leanings on sex education, high school bullying and gossip, and feelings and thoughts one experiences as one discovers themselves. The movie is set in the early 2000s, so anyone who was in high school or middle school during that time will find much of this movie relatable or funny. Who else remembers getting those “A/S/L?” messages? Choosing to tackle the battle between religion and teenage curiosity as a comedy was a brilliant choice by writer / director Karen Maine. Subjects like female sexuality should be normalized, not considered shameful or taboo, and addressing them in an easy to watch comedy is a great way to start. Though the film covers racy subjects, like masturbation, googling unfamiliar sex acts, and the infamous car scene in Titanic (1997), Yes, God, Yes never felt inappropriate or uncomfortable to watch.

My only criticism about the film is its run time, which is a brisk 78 minutes, resulting in a lack of character development. The focus of the film is clearly Alice, but nothing is revealed about her life before the film starts or why her classmates are spreading weird rumors about her– other than they are teenagers and they are historically known to do that. We aren’t given much information about Alice outside of her struggles between her hormones and her religion. There is also nothing substantial divulged about any of the supporting characters except for small tidbits here and there. Their only purpose is to fuel the guilty and shame Alive feels throughout the movie.

Yes, God, Yes is the hilariously relatable teen comedy you didn’t know you needed in your life. Don’t let the summary scare you away, give this movie a try if only to experience the awesomeness that is Natalia Dyer. Keep an eye on Dyer and director Karen Maine, I expect they will continue to deliver great things to the world of film.

Overall Grade: B

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