Considering the voice of the writer and cinematographer. A new journey explores the work of David Mamet and Roger Deakins. Learning about screenwriting through brute force, with and without notes. The Untouchables, seen through the writing of Mamet. Poetics and smart, big, bright light cinema. Watching The Ladykillers and listening for the voice of a film after the Coen Brothers. Telling a story exclusively through the visuals. Alice explains dirtying up the frame.
It’s finally happening. Year 12 begins here. The perfect introduction for a new Double Feature listener: Blade Runner and Fargo, the most-requested listener films from a decade ago. Alice tries to embrace the fresh start. Michael embraces the show’s deep cuts. The many versions of Blade Runner and which one best captures Ridley Scott’s vision. Double Feature gets some more Dick. What makes something a Fargo story? The Coen Brothers’ Fargo and recent Fargo television series. Coen characters, relatability, Peter Stormare, and something about wood chippers.
Films about characters driven by the absence of agency. Tokyo Drifter returns as Jee-woon Kim’s A Bittersweet Life. A loyal enforcer who fails to do his job by doing the moral thing. Flexing on ’80s street thugs. Dudes be fighting and toxic masculinity. Having the choice to escape and have a better life. Eastern versus Western mob movies. Passing up the chance for redemption. The Coen Brothers’ noir flick, The Man Who Wasn’t There. You know, for kids. A barber who cuts hair well, but does everything else wrong. Thinly-veiled stories about the film industry. Financing films and Alice’s life as a filmmaker. Grifters as inciting incidents. Good old dark grey-blooded Americans. The masculinity of the ’50s. Fate happens regardless of your actions.
A bunch of sad times on Double Feature. 2014, what people used to think was a dismal time. The Skeleton Twins are Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, and…Luke Wilson? Siblings cheating death. Mending family relationships and digging up the past. When the actor relationships show. Craig Johnson returns! Inside Llewyn Davis as interpreted present day. Art and keeping at it. Speaking of, now would be a good time to check out that Patreon. What’s wrong with the Plan of Llewyn Davis anyways? Twisting the gallows-humor knife. Oscar Isaac is suddenly everywhere and it’s great. Continue reading
The cinematic legitimacy of the romantic comedy. Ivylina Suicide brings an important message from on the ground in Russia. Don’t forget Intolerable Cruelty! Joel and Ethan Coen do a film noir (is what you can tell your friends when you watch their rom-com). What Billy Bob Thornton shares in common with a screaming goat. Was Double Indemnity a date movie? Soft motion chase montage! The psuedo-Cosmo magazine column How to Lost a Guy in 10 Days for Composure magazine. Fashion girls and sports guys. Films representing reality. The nightmarish cover of Carly Simon’s You’re So Vain. Politics and news coverage have basically become reduced to headlines Cosmopolitan would even take a pass on. Continue reading
Physical vs emotional character journeys, as brought to you by gigantic directors. A step outside the expected. Michael’s evolving relationship with Eyes Wide Shut. After Hours as a day in the life of. Everyone’s favorite third host of Double Feature, Franz Kafka. Martin Scorsese makes movies that aren’t After Hours. Citizens of Los Angeles tell each other secrets about Tim Burton. An odd time for the Coen brothers to make A Serious Man. Front-loaded magic and made up stories. A chain of character-driven events. The greatest trailer of all trailers. An introduction to the work of Roger Deakins. Attempting to explain cinematography without visual aids. Continue reading
Popular first films from award-winning directors. Does the signature shine through this early in their careers? Blood simple as part noir, part movie that goes with Red Rock West. The Coen Brothers making a film before audiences knew and trusted them. A treasure trove of character actors in leading parts. The depressing comedy of Danny Boyle’s movie Shallow Grave. Just what is murder, anyways? Friends form units, but only one will win! Familiar questions of morality. Continue reading
Hollywood and the artistic process in an accidental John Goodman double feature. The awards. The wager of holding up silent films. Modern romance. Revisiting silent technique. How silent films are watched differently. Score as an alternative to the highly distracting sounds of your own body. How foley has changed score. Sound induced anxiety. How the transition to talkies is was different than trendy 3D. The role of women in comedy post-silent era. Barton Fink and the continuing understanding. Pulling the lid off s symbolism and significance in Coen Brothers movies. Steve Buscemi and Hotel Coen. From the gut. Hollywood. Barton and Charlie. Barton Fink and the common man. Mad Man Munt. Continue reading
Two noir bent directors get double featured. Who is John Dahl? Red Rock West and Arizona-Noir. Playing with the lie. When to bail. Lara Flynn Boyle’s Suzanne. A cowardly femme fatale. Keeping the mystery magic. Dennis Hopper being a scary motherfucker. Surprises without twists. Weak allegiance. The intensity of Dennis Hopper and Nicholas Cage. Alice’s love of movie one-sheets. Burn After Reading and the influence of Saul Bass. A story of idiots. Hyperrealism. Carter Burwell, Roger Deakins and Emmanuel Lubezki. Tilda Swinton has to model. Has to. Voice work. Cave Johnson. The dangling plot thread of Double Feature. Continue reading
Men in robes and boxers optionally teach you Philosophy and/or English. The epic cult masterpiece that is The Big Lebowski. A true era. Two sober atheists talk white russians. Lebowski lore. Created characters to bounce off each other. Julianne Moore as Maude. Feminism and jokes. Philip Seymour Hoffman breathing life into a non-role. Michael’s reaction to The Big Lebowski. The last man standing. The Coen Brothers and accessibility. Schtick brought to reality. Optional philosophy. Acid trips! An awakening to independent film. Deconstructing the infamous wine tasting scene. Both sides of the debate! Virginia Madsen vs Sandra Oh. Sexual ethics, part 2. Which parts are the funny parts? Goddamn metaphors! Continue reading
Titans of industry! The awards. Skeptical of The Social Network? Having nostalgia for the first time. AwesomeStart.com. Apache, Perl, Livejournal, Firefox! A look into the actual life of a teenage programmer. How do we monetize? How the movie treats Mark Zuckerburg. Thinking out loud and living in a bubble. The relationship between Mark Zuckerberg and Sean Parker. Justin Timberlake. Tilt shift photography. Trent Reznor. Atticus Ross. Rob Sheridan. What the movie doesn’t do! What is a hudsucker proxy? Making a film for laughs. The opposite of The Social Network. Art Deco. Time capsule…of the 90s. The Coen Brothers and Sam Raimi? Dark Humor in The Hudsucker Proxy. Continue reading
Two films that build upon legend. Spoilers, but not really. Gene Wilder is a crazy person. Mel Brooks and Young Frankenstein. Marty Feldman. The signature of Mel Brooks comedy. Post-joke comedic timing. The Roger Corman monster house. The advantages of “a relative to the known hero” over “a retelling of the known hero.” The film itself as the straight man. The Apple Final Cut Studip Color application. Learning about filmmaking for free at the Apple store. How a mall psychic is different than someone with a premonition. Natural explanations, even when you don’t need it. Ulysses Everett, defying expectation. John Goodman is fucking awesome. The infamous soundtrack to O Brother, Where Art Thou? Diving your film into episodes. Continue reading
