Episode 22: Mission Accomplished

We talk Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation, action movies, the incredible stunts, James Bond vs. Jason Bourne vs. Ethan Hunt, and the trend towards the grim in today's film world.

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation - Review

[We also recorded a podcast review of this film.]

In 1927, silent film star Harold Lloyd clambered up the side of a 12-story building, every move documented by a camera crew. Obstacles abounded: falling objects, slippery edges, a clock face which slowly, agonizingly, pulled away from the wall. The climb formed the climactic stunt in Lloyd's comedy film, Safety Last and was a Hollywood mystery for years—did Lloyd really do it? Was he really that high? (He did, and it was...sort of.)

I couldn’t help but think of Harold Lloyd during the opening sequence of Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, which finds Tom Cruise clinging to the outside of a massive plane (for real) as it blasts into the air. Like Lloyd’s climb, Cruise’s plane stunt provokes a sense of awe: he really did it! That's really Tom Cruise on a plane! Both Safety Last and Rogue Nation showcase a particular brand of daredevil showmanship that’s rare in this age of green screens and computer trickery. An added parallel: as Safety Last’s comedy has remained fresh nearly a hundred years later, so the lighthearted but intense Rogue Nation manages to be far, far more fun than its gritty competition: Daniel Craig’s Bond.

Episode 21: Delete the Adjectives and You'll Have the Facts

“Atticus told me to delete the adjectives and I'd have the facts.”
~To Kill a Mockingbird

We talk about stereotypes, Civil Rights movies, the White Savior trope, the importance of the rule of law, problems with the American justice system, and Go Set a Watchman.

Episode 20: Life Finds a Way

We're back! Nosotros somos aquí! And we've finally seen Jurassic World, which means we'll be talking dinosaurs, genetic engineering, Bryce Dallas Howards' high heels, Guatemala, Trump, Chris Pratt, and more! Additionally, C.S. Lewis's thoughts on Donald Trump. This week we're joined by the Matriarch and - briefly - the Photographer.

Best of May/June 2015

Movies:

It Happened One Night was a totally unexpected delight. It's one of the finest road trip romances, and the template for many a romcom thereafter. It starred Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert as a pair of reluctant fellow travelers, on their way to the Big Apple. He's a failing journalist; she's an heiress on the run. When he discovers her secret, they strike a deal: he'll ensure she gets to New York if she'll let him have the story. Inevitably, once the two begin to overcome their prejudices, love finds a way. Made in 1934, the film has held up incredibly well - notably, it won five Oscars (Best...Picture, Actor, Actress, Director, Writing), and even now has a 98% positive rating at Rotten Tomatoes.

Inside Out (2015) - Review

If there's anything that can be said about this film, it's that it's by far Pixar's most emotional movie to date. Hehehehe...sorry, couldn't resist. But really, whenever I could manage to get around the sinking feeling that I was the only nineteen-year-old in a theater full of Kindergartners (and parents who brought their Kindergartners and therefore had an excuse to be there), I spent an alarming amount of time with a lump in my throat. However, while Pixar's latest film is a fascinating thought experiment, it definitely has its flaws.

A Tale of Two Cities (1958)

As film popularity goes, A Tale of Two Cities is a mid-level Dickens novel. Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, and A Christmas Carol have been filmed so many times that it just isn't Christmas without one of them coming out.

Bulkier novels like Bleak House, Our Mutual Friend, and Little Dorrit have been relegated to the small screen. But while A Tale of Two Cities is easily Dickens's best-selling novel (according to Wikipedia, the second best-selling novel of all-time), its cinematic footprint is fairly meager. The last Hollywood version was this one, in 1958, and it was an uneven remake of the 1935 version.

As plots go, it's far easier to summarize than the average Dickens, and with its romance, action, and melodrama, it's prime stuff for an epic film. (In fact, there is a new version in the works.)

Hey! Young Christopher Lee!

The story opens with a carriage struggling up a muddy hillside in the night. A rider approaches through the mist, crying out for one of the passengers, a Mr Jarvis Lorry. The coachmen check with their clients - it's not the handsome, sardonic lawyer, Sydney Carton (Dirk Bogarde), but a fussy banker (Cecil Parker).

After receiving the odd message ("Recalled to life?"), Mr. Lorry continues to Dover, where he informs young Lucie Manette (Dorothy Tutin) that her long-lost father, Dr. Manette (Stephen Murray) has been found alive. After eighteen years in the Bastille, he has been released to some kindly friends: the Defarges.