This is the second Oscar Primer podcast for Contra Zoom of the year, continuing the series of Oscar Primer’s Dakota does every year, normally just as written articles. Last week he talked about Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri , Darkest Hour and Lady Bird . He is flying solo this episode as he talks about Dunkirk , Get Out , Call Me By Your Name and The Post . For the last written primer check it out HERE . These are the nominations for Dunkirk . Best Picture Best Director- Christopher ...
Mar 28, 2019•34 min•Season 3Ep. 15
This is the first Oscar Primer podcast for Contra Zoom of the year, continuing the series of Oscar Primer’s Dakota does every year, normally just as written articles. He is flying solo this episode as he talks about Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri , Darkest Hour and Lady Bird . These are the nominations for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri Best Picture Best Actress- Frances McDormand Best Supporting Actor- Sam Rockwell Best Supporting Actor- Woody Harrelson Best Original Score...
Mar 28, 2019•27 min•Season 3Ep. 14
Sammy Feilchenfeld joins Dakota to talk about the biggest news stories of 2017. This isn’t the usual top movie of the year podcast, but instead reflecting on the year that was and what to expect for 2018. For an amazing Best Of list check out Rachel Gordon’s Top 25 Films of 2017 , Live in Limbo’s official Best Of list. – Best Picture Winner mixup back in Feb causing LaLaLand to think it won when Moonlight actually did. – Horror movies absolutely raking in the dough with IT, Get Out, Split and An...
Mar 28, 2019•59 min•Season 3Ep. 13
Here is part two of our Best Picture Countdown of movies that won between 1978-1987. On the last episode we ran down the bottom five films, click HERE to see the list and listen to the episode. On this episode Stephanie Prior joins Dakota again and they talk about the best of that decade. Here are the bottom five pictures in our ratings. Dakota’s ratings come first and Stephanie’s second next to each film. 5. The Last Emperor 7.9/10 7.5/10 4. The Deer Hunter 8.4/10 7.7/10 3. Amadeus 7.5/10 8.5/1...
Mar 28, 2019•1 hr 40 min•Season 3Ep. 12
After more than a year off from continuing the Best Picture Ranking series, it is back with a vengeance! Stephanie Prior steps in to join Dakota to review the Best Picture winners from the 1978-1987 Oscars (the 50th-59th winners). The series also got a much overdue name changing dropping the Birdman for the most recent winner Moonlight. If you missed the last time the series was discussed click HERE . Site photographer Cole Leuthel joins us to talk about his three favourite movies. Do The Right ...
Mar 28, 2019•1 hr 35 min•Season 3Ep. 11
For this massive episode Sammy Feilchenfeld joins Dakota Arsenault again to talk about all things concerning the new trend of “Cinematic Universes”, starting with reviews of both Justice League and Thor: Ragnarok the films that helped kick this new style of moving making off. After reviewing the two latest superhero movies, the guys look to see what the future holds for both the MCU and DCEU. – For the MCU about 20 films are already in the pipeline to come out over the next 10 years barring no m...
Mar 28, 2019•1 hr 23 min•Season 3Ep. 10
After being out for over a month, Dakota Arsenault finally gets around to talking about the new Blade Runner 2049 movie. Sammy Feilchenfeld returns to talk about what he calls his favourite movie of the year so far. Since this movie has been out for so long, spoilers are talked about in this episode so listeners be warned! – Sammy and Dakota want to heap all the praise on all the amazing actresses in this movie specifically singling out Robin Wright, Ana De Armas, Sylvia Hoeks, Hiam Abbas, Macke...
Mar 23, 2019•57 min•Season 3Ep. 9
On this very special episode Dakota Arsenault celebrates reaching the milestone of 50 episodes! The very first one was back in April of 2015 discussing the first ten Best Picture Winner’s can be found HERE and marvel at how much better the quality has gotten (and notice the run times are much shorter!) A bit of the podcast’s history is shared including the origin of our name. Special thanks goes out to Sean Chin, Live in Limbo’s Editor in Chief and the creator and host of Capsule who sent in a l...
Mar 22, 2019•1 hr 4 min•Season 3Ep. 8
The Toronto International Film Festival wrapped a few weeks ago and Mehek Seyid makes a return to Contra Zoom where she talks about the 28 (!) films she saw at this year festival. The films that won top honours were Three Billboards Outside Ebbing , which won the People’s Choice award, with I, Tonya and Call Me By Your Name being named as runner ups. The top Canadian film was Les Affamés . We also talk about the ethics of having the audience vote on People’s Choice and why it might be a bit of a...
Mar 22, 2019•49 min•Season 3Ep. 7
On this episode Sammy Feilchenfeld joins Dakota Arsenault as they discuss the end of the summer movie season. This episode includes talk on some summer movie highlights, the media’s decision to cause a panic about low attendance rates for crappy movies, the success of IT and the emergence of the app Movie Pass. – THR talks about what a poor few weeks August was for the box office. – Movie Pass might be the greatest idea ever, except it is only for Americans. – A fancy infographic about the histo...
Mar 22, 2019•46 min•Season 3Ep. 6
With the recent passing of Horror legend George A. Romero , we here at Contra Zoom thought we should honour him by dedicating an episode of Make/Remake to him. In this Make/Remake series we discuss how remade films are both similar and different from each other, without going super in depth into if they are “good” or “bad” movies. Much like the first iteration of this Make/Remake series ( Seven Samurai/The Magnificent Seven ), host Dakota Arsenault is joined once again by Stephanie Prior who als...
Mar 22, 2019•43 min•Season 3Ep. 5
On this special episode, Dakota Arsenault is joined by Sammy Feilchenfeld as they discuss the greatest aspect of Canada- our filmmakers! From talking about their favourite Canadian produced films like Incendies, Men With Brooms, C.R.A.Z.Y. and many more to just plain talking about their favourite Canadian directors like Denis Villeneuve, Jean-Marc Vallée, David Cronenberg and Deepa Mehta. Episode was originally posted on July 15, 2017...
Mar 22, 2019•1 hr 10 min•Season 3Ep. 4
On this week’s episode Sierra Nutkevitch joins Dakota Arsenault and they talk about the latest DC film Wonder Woman directed by Patty Jenkins. In the second part of the episode the two discuss their favourite films directed by women and the importance of female fronted movies. Sierra wrote an excellent review of the Wonder Woman film that is worth reading before listening to the pod. Sierra recommends a few great Wonder Woman stories fans of the movie should check out. Anything by Gail Simone wh...
Mar 22, 2019•1 hr 23 min•Season 3Ep. 3
This is the first episode of a new series called Make/Remake where we look at two films, an original and a remake and compare and contrast the films. It isn’t about anointing, which one is the superior film or deriding remakes as unoriginal. This series is about looking at two films that tell the same story and how the utilize the art of telling a story in both similar and different ways. This week Dakota Arsenault is joined by Stephanie Prior to talk about Seven Samurai and The Magnificent Seve...
Mar 22, 2019•42 min•Season 3Ep. 2
On this week’s episode Dakota Arsenault introduces interviews that Sierra Nutkevitch conducted at the Toronto Screenwriting Conference this year. Christina Jennings – Chairman & CEO of Shaftesbury. Christina talks about what it is like to take the plunge and follow your passions and the greatness Canada has to offer in terms of content creators. Michelle Daly – Senior Director of Comedy at CBC. Michelle talks about what makes Canadian content so great and the abundance of funny women. Courtn...
Mar 22, 2019•1 hr 5 min•Season 3Ep. 1
Rachel Gordon and Dakota Arsenault discuss the top films of 2016, even though it is now 4 months into 2017, as they needed time to digest everything. They were going to just award the top spot to La La Land, but at the last second decided not to. A few guests who also talk about their number one movie of last year join them this week. Gilles Leblanc- Rogue One Sierra Nutkevitch- Moana Sean Chin- Arrival Mehek Seyid- Moonlight Rachel Gordon’s top 10 list: 10. Don’t Think Twice 9. Little Men 8. Si...
Mar 22, 2019•1 hr 19 min•Season 2Ep. 21
After all the craziness of the Oscars Dakota Arsenault and Mehek Seyid needed to talk about what transpired. – La La Land was accidentally named Best Picture because of an envelope mixup – Jimmy Kimmel making fun of non-white names isn’t cool – John Legend performed both La La Land songs – Mahershala Ali was the first Muslim actor to win an Oscar – Damien Chazelle is the youngest Best Director winner ever – Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them won the first Oscar for a Potter-verse film – All...
Mar 21, 2019•1 hr 1 min•Season 2Ep. 20
Just in time for your last minute Oscar pool’s Dakota Arsenault and Rachel Gordon host the second annual Contra Zoom Oscar Extravaganza! Your hosts are joined by film buff and Capsule co-host Mehek Seyid . Here are the final predictions for Part 2 of the two-part special. If you missed Part 1, listen HERE . There will be a recap episode after the Oscars. Best Documentary Dakota- O.J.: Made in America Rachel- O.J.: Made in America Mehek- O.J.: Made in America Best Foreign Language Film Dakota- Th...
Mar 21, 2019•1 hr 11 min•Season 2Ep. 19
Just in time for your last minute Oscar pool’s Dakota Arsenault and Rachel Gordon host the second annual Contra Zoom Oscar Extravaganza! Your hosts are joined by film buff and Capsule co-host Mehek Seyid . Here are the final predictions for Part 1 of the two part special. Best Live Action Short Film Dakota- Enemies Within (not on pod) Best Documentary Short Film Dakota- Joe’s Violin Best Animated Short Film Dakota- Blind Vaysha (not on pod) Rachel- Pearl Best Sound Mixing Dakota-La La Land Rache...
Mar 21, 2019•1 hr 15 min•Season 2Ep. 18
On this last episode of this year’s breakdown of the Best Picture nominated films Dakota Arsenault talks about Manchester By the Sea and Lion . On last week’s episode of Contra Zoom he discussed Hell or High Water, Fences and Moonlight. These are the nominations for Manchester By the Sea Best Picture Best Actor- Casey Affleck Best Supporting Actor- Lucas Hedges Best Supporting Actress- Michelle Williams Best Director- Kenneth Lonergan Best Original Screenplay- Kenneth Lonergan These are the nomi...
Mar 21, 2019•23 min•Season 2Ep. 17
On this second episode of this year’s breakdown of the Best Picture nominated films Dakota Arsenault and Rachel Gordon talks about Moonlight , Fences and Hell or High Water . On last week’s episode of Contra Zoom he discussed Hidden Figures and La La Land . These are the nominations for Moonlight Best Picture Best Supporting Actor- Mahershala Ali Best Supporting Actress- Naomie Harris Best Directing- Barry Jenkins Best Cinematography- James Laxton Best Film Editing- Joi McMillon and Nat Sanders ...
Mar 21, 2019•50 min•Season 2Ep. 16
On this second episode of this year’s breakdown of the Best Picture nominated films Dakota Arsenault talks about Hidden Figures and La La Land . On last week’s episode of Contra Zoom he discussed Hacksaw Ridge and Arrival. These are the nominations for Hidden Figures Best Picture Best Supporting Actress- Octavia Spencer Best Adapted Screenplay- Allison Schroeder and Theodore Melfi These are the nominations for La La Land Best Picture Best Actor- Ryan Gosling Best Actress- Emma Stone Best Directo...
Mar 21, 2019•25 min•Season 2Ep. 15
This is the first Oscar Primer podcast for Contra Zoom, continuing the series of Oscar Primer’s Dakota does every year, normally just as written articles. He is flying solo this episode as he talks about Arrival and Hacksaw Ridge . These are the nominations for Arrival – Best Picture – Best Director Denis Villeneuve – Best Adapted Screenplay Eric Heisserer – Best Cinematography Bradford Young – Best Film Editing Joe Walker – Best Production Design Patrice Vermette Paul Hotte – Best Sound Mixing ...
Mar 21, 2019•23 min•Season 2Ep. 14
Dakota Arsenault is proud to announce that Rachel Gordon will join Contra Zoom as the permanent co-host along with her new role as Associate Film Editor! – You can check out Andreas Babiolakis’ Top 25 Films of 2016 and Top 25 Performances of 2016 . – You can find the top grossing films of 2016 HERE . – Dakota’s thoughts on trends: Great child acting this year (Sing Street, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, etc), DC movies suck but Marvel movies are still great, obsession with Letterboxd ( Dakota’s prof...
Mar 21, 2019•1 hr 3 min•Season 2Ep. 13
On this mini-episode Dakota Arsenault talks to the lovely and talented Divine Brown, who is most well known for her music career but she is about to star in the musical Passing Strange . Passing Strange is having its Toronto premiere later this month and it is a rock and roll epic that features a live band on stage accompanying the actors. It is being produced by Acting Up Stage Productions and Obsidian Theatre Company and it will be performed at The Opera House. The show runs from January 24th-...
Mar 21, 2019•13 min•Season 2Ep. 12
This week Dakota is joined by Rachel Gordon to talk about the passing of TIFF founder Bill Marshall , who sadly passed away at the age of 77 on January 1st, 2017. Dakota and Rachel share some great quotes and stories that emerged in a fantastic obituary from TIFF , which include stories from the people who knew him best. TIFF while a massive film festival also celebrates Canadian film like no other including every ten years naming the best Canadian made films of all time . The People’s Choice Aw...
Mar 21, 2019•26 min•Season 2Ep. 11
On this episode the guys start talk about the forth edition of their Best Picture Winners revisits. The years are 1968-1977 (the 40th-49th Oscar winners). In Part One the guys reveal their bottom five of the decade. 10. Oliver! 9. Rocky 8. Patton 7. The French Connection 6. One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest Here are the top five pictures in our rankings. Dakota’s ratings come first and Andreas’ second next to each film. 5. The Sting 8.2/10 9/10 4. Midnight Cowboy 8.5/10 9/10 3. Annie Hall 8.7/10 10...
Mar 21, 2019•1 hr 23 min•Season 2Ep. 10
This week Dakota Arsenault is joined by special guest Rachel Gordon as they talk about their favourite movies you should watch during the Halloween season! New Horror (1980’s on)- Rachel suggests watching The Blair Witch Project Dakota suggests watching The Thing Classic Horror- Rachel suggests watching anything from Alfred Hitchcock specifically Psycho or The Birds Dakota suggests watching The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari Comedy Horror- Rachel suggests watching The Rocky Horror Picture Show Dakota s...
Mar 21, 2019•55 min•Season 2Ep. 9
Mehek Seyid joins Dakota and Andreas this week as they discuss the Toronto International Film Festival including the big winners and some other must sees. Links: – La La Land was the big winner taking home the People’s Choice award and both Andreas and Mehek are in sync lavishing even more praise on the Oscar front runner. – Jackie was another film both Mehek and Andreas saw with Natalie Portman getting some serious Oscar buzz for a Best Actress win. – Lion was the only film that made Mehek actu...
Mar 21, 2019•35 min•Season 2Ep. 8
On this episode the guys start talk about the forth edition of their Best Picture Winners revisits. The years are 1968-1977 (the 40th-49th Oscar winners). Our photographer Katrina Lat joins us to talk about her favourite movies. – Down With Love – Singin’ In The Rain – Big Fish Here are the bottom five pictures in our rankings. Dakota’s ratings come first and Andreas’ second next to each film. 10. Oliver! 6/10 5/10 9. Rocky 6.5/10 6/10 8. Patton 7.5/10 8/10 7. The French Connection 8/10 9/10 6. ...
Mar 21, 2019•1 hr 29 min•Season 2Ep. 7
