Our yearly Halloween special is back! Back in 2010 Mark Gatiss coined the term "Unholy Trinity" in his BBC documentary series A History of Horror , in regards to three seminal British folk horror movies, a subgenre that gained popularity in the late 1960's and beyond. The three films were 1968’s Witchfinder General , 1971’s The Blood on Satan’s Claw and 1973’s The Wicker Man . We first heard the term "Unholy Trinity" back when we watched Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched , a documentary about th...
Oct 25, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Season 7Ep. 23
On this episode we wrap up the 2021 edition of the Vancouver International Film Festival . Joining the show to talk about movies watched is Thomas Stoneham-Judge, the Editor-in-Chief of ForReel Movie News and Reviews . Belfast 11:00-19:00 Read Dakota's review . Red Rocket 19:30-30:00 Read Dakota's review . Official Competition 30:00-39:00 Benediction 39:00-47:30 Read Dakota's review . Drive My Car 49:00-52:30 Memoria 52:30-1:04:30 Read Thomas' review . All My Puny Sorrows 1:04:30-1:10:00 Read Da...
Oct 18, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Season 7Ep. 22
We continue our series going through the entire catalog of A24's films. On this episode, 2012's Spring Breakers , directed by Harmony Korine is on the docket. The film had some stunt casting bringing in teen starlets Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens and Ashley Benson putting them in bikinis and watching them act like bad girls opposite James Franco doing a riff on the rapper Riff Raff and the directors wife Rachel Korine who rounds out the quartet of young women. Our double bill pairings include Ta...
Oct 11, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Season 7Ep. 21
After having such a great time covering last year's Cinefest Sudbury , it was a must to return to this Norther Ontario film festival. Last year it was digital only, this year they went to a hybrid model like so many other film festivals. We look at a few films we both saw and some short films seen too. Wildhood 6:30-15:30 Read Dakota's review and Rachel's review . Drunk Bus 15:30-27:30 Read Dakota's review and Rachel's review . Shadowtown 29:00-41:30 Read Dakota's review and Rachel's review . Sh...
Oct 04, 2021•53 min•Season 7Ep. 20
On this show we are previewing the 40th edition of the Vancouver International Film Festival . It is the largest film festival in Western Canada and gets plenty of prestige films from around the world. Joining the show is Matthew Simpson, who is one half of the Awesome Friday Movie Podcast . We each picked five films (and a few honourable mentions) to talk about. Dakota's picks - Red Rocket , Petit Maman , Benediction , Ste. Anne and Wife of a Spy . Matthew's picks - The Power of the Dog , The W...
Sep 27, 2021•45 min•Season 7Ep. 19
The Toronto International Film Festival just concluded, this year the fest did a hybrid model offering both in person and digital screenings. We talk about the biggest news stories, who won the awards and review films we watched. Read Rachel's review of Belfast . Some digital screeners were leaked online , causing the festival scene to reevaluate the hybrid model. No movies were sold during this year's TIFF . Steven Soderbergh re-edited and re-released his 1991 Kafka, now called Mr. Kneff . Alan...
Sep 21, 2021•1 hr 21 min•Season 7Ep. 18
We're back with even more great Fantasia Festival coverage. Both Rachel and Dakota did solo interviews with directors who had their films screened at the best genre film festival in Canada. Dakota talked with Mark O'Brien , the director, writer and star of the Canadian horror film The Righteous. They talked about what horror films influenced Mark, finding the right cast members in two Canadian icons and getting to talk with Justin Chon about being a triple threat while he acted in Blue Bayou. Ra...
Sep 14, 2021•58 min•Season 7Ep. 17
With this year's Toronto International Film Festival just around the corner, we are here to share our most anticipated films that are playing during this year's iteration. We both had five films we've named and included a few honourable mentions. Dakota's Picks - Spencer, All My Puny Sorrows, Official Competition, A Hero and The Middle Man Rachel's Picks - Flee, Night Raiders, Scarborough, Aloners and Belfast Honourable mentions include Memoira, The Forgiven, Encounter, DASHCAM, Snakehead and Ti...
Sep 06, 2021•54 min•Season 7Ep. 16
We review the films that we watched during the 2021 edition of Fantasia, the yearly Montreal film festival that specializes in genre movies (horror, SciFi, thriller, action etc). We talk about movies we both saw, ones we had previously covered, ones only one of us saw and awards that were given out! 9:45-13:30 Glasshouse (Read Dakota's review and Rachel's review ) 13:30-18:50 Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes (Read Rachel's review ) 18:50-25:00 Art Kabuki (Read Dakota's review and Rachel's review ...
Aug 31, 2021•1 hr 8 min•Season 7Ep. 15
Vancouver's second largest film festival and the largest queer arts festival in Western Canada had their 33rd annual Vancouver Queer Film Festival , celebrating the best films from the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. Joining the show is Stephanie Prior as we review three films that were screened during the festival. Raw! Uncut! Video! 02:30-13:00 Workhorse Queen 13:30-27:00 The Fandom 27:30-41:00 Check out our previous episode talking about LGBTQ+ movies, 112: Celebrating Queer Cinema . Listen to Contra Z...
Aug 23, 2021•42 min•Season 7Ep. 14
Montreal's Fantasia Festival is going on until August 25th. We had the chance to talk to the directors of two films being screened. Glasshouse , directed by Kelsey Egan, is a South African film about a family living in a green house during a pandemic that causes people to lose their memories and a mysterious stranger appears that upends the families tight bond. We also chatted with Danielle Kummer and Lucy Harvey, the directors of the documentary Alien on Stage . The doc follows a group of bus d...
Aug 16, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Season 7Ep. 13
We're just past the halfway mark of the year so we decided to name our five favourite and least favourite films of the year, so far. We added a caveat of removing any films that were in awards contention, so you won't hear us talking about Minari, Judas and the Black Messiah, The Father and others that technically came out in 2021. Dakota's Top 5 1. The Green Knight 2. Under The Open Sky 3. Zola 4. Luca 5. The Dig Rachel's Top 5 1. Nine Days 2. Pig 3. Riders of Justice 4. Nobody 5. The Mitchells...
Aug 09, 2021•58 min•Season 7Ep. 12
With the release of one of the most anticipated films from the last two years, we decide to turn our A24 Retrospective forward to review The Green Knight . The film directed by David Lowrey tells the tale of Sir Gawain, who is challenged to a game by the Green Knight and how his loyalty and desire to become a legend is then tested. This episode does include some spoilers, so if you have not watched it yet, be warned. The film stars Dev Patel, Alicia Vikander, Joel Edgerton, Sarita Choudhury, Sea...
Aug 03, 2021•1 hr 15 min•Season 7Ep. 11
In lieu of a full episode this week, we bring you the third in our series of bonus episodes, Better Know a Contributor, where we ask frequent guests of the show 10 Contra Zoom Pod movie questions so you can learn more about your favourite voices. We talk favourite movies ( Speed , Casablanca ), favourite guest appearances ( 155: Toronto Japanese Film Festival ), last movie turned off ( The Matrix Reloaded ) and more! Check out Rachel's website for more great reviews and interviews and follow her...
Jul 26, 2021•46 min•Season 7Ep. 10
We are continuing a new series here at Contra Zoom. A24 is putting out some of our favourite films and we want to revisit them and fill in the gaps for movies we have missed. We plan on going through every A24 episode, in order (except for some select new releases along the way). On this second episode, we look at the 2012 Sally Potter film Ginger & Rosa . The film stars Elle Fanning, Alice Englert, Christina Hendricks, Alessandro Nivola, Oliver Platt, Timothy Spall and Anette Bening. The fi...
Jul 19, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Season 7Ep. 9
Last year for my birthday, I made an episode picking my favourite movie from every year that I have been alive for ( 114: 30 Films in 30 Years ). This year Bil Antoniou joins, host of the podcast Bad Gay Movies , as we pick our favourite movie (and runner up) for every decade from the 1920's through the 2010's. Dakota's picks are first then Bil's. 1920's - The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari , The Passion of Joan of Arc 1930's - M , L'Atalante 1940's - The Great Dictator , Black Narcissus 1950's - Rifif...
Jul 12, 2021•1 hr 37 min•Season 7Ep. 8
We are starting a new series here at Contra Zoom. A24 is putting out some of our favourite films and we want to revisit them and fill in the gaps for movies we have missed. We plan on going through every A24 episode, in order (except for some select new releases along the way). We start with the very first film A24 ever distributed, the Roman Coppola directed A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III starring Charlie Sheen, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Katheryn Winnick, Patricia Arquette ...
Jul 05, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Season 7Ep. 7
On this episode, Dakota and Rachel review the films they saw during the 10th annual Toronto Japanese Film Festival . Joining them is Naomi Wada Platt, a YouTuber who often covers Japanese culture and politics in both English and Japanese language videos. The films talked about include: School Meals Time Final Battle 9:30-26:00 A Family 26:00-39:30 Hope 39:30-50:30 Under The Open Sky 50:30-1:00:00 The Cornered Mouse Dreams of Cheese 1:00:00- Read Rachel's reviews for Hope , A Family and School Me...
Jun 28, 2021•1 hr 15 min•Season 7Ep. 6
It's been over a year since the world was ravaged by Covid-19, almost everything was shut down including film sets. Slowly productions started to be granted approval to restart, with the condition that they follow strict medical protocols. It was only time before movies used the pandemic as a plot device or narrative structure. Rachel and Dakota look at five films in particular that are set against our current Covid times. They are Host , In the Earth , Borat Subsequent Moviefilm , Songbird and ...
Jun 14, 2021•1 hr 19 min•Season 7Ep. 5
Normally Make/Remake examines how two films that share the same story. Not to say what film was better or worse, but how they are similar and different while following the same arcs. This time we are looking at the 1961 Akira Kurosawa film Yojimbo and the 1964 Sergio Leone remake A Fistful of Dollars. Stay tuned for more great Japanese cinema coverage, as we will be doing a show on the Toronto Japanese Film Festival later this month. Check out our two part series celebrating Japanese cinema, Liv...
May 31, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Season 7Ep. 4
Who doesn't love a good cultural exchange program? On this episode we share sports films from different cultures. Me being a good Canadian hockey fan, brought the movie Goon to the table. It is about a dim witted bouncer who gets brought in to be a fighter for his local hockey team and ends up becoming a sensation. Joining the show is Hugh Dempsey and Sam Blakeley, hosts of Please Watch This , who are two football loving Brits as they share the movie The Damned United . The film is about the ten...
May 24, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Season 7Ep. 3
In lieu of a full episode this week, we bring you the second in our series of bonus episodes, Better Know a Contributor, where we ask frequent guests of the show 10 Contra Zoom Pod movie questions so you can learn more about your favourite voices. We talk favourite movies (Arrival, both Blade Runners), favourite guest appearances ( 81: Video Game Films - Past, Present and Future ), last movie turned off (Wonder Woman 1984) and more! For all for CZP needs visit us at contrazoompod.com . Listen to...
May 17, 2021•29 min•Season 7Ep. 2
On this show we talk about all the films we watched during the 2021 iteration of Hot Docs, the worlds premiere documentary film festival. Joining the show is Rachel Ho. In exciting news Rachel now joins the show as a regular contributor. She won't be on every episode, but she will be on very frequently and will help shape the show going forward. Movies we both saw discussed: Set! - reviews by Dakota and Rachel Rockfield: The Studio on the Farm - reviews by Dakota and Rachel Come Back Anytime - r...
May 10, 2021•1 hr 25 min•Season 7Ep. 1
Just like last year, film critic Thom Ernst joined the show to recap the Oscars. Thom is the host of the Rewind Fast Forward Podcast , a film podcast where he interviews Canadian directors, it was made in participation with the Kingston Canadian Film Festival. Thom previously hosted TVO's Saturday Night at the Movies and the podcast This Movies About You and you can find his written reviews at Original Cin . We talked about the nights big winners and losers, our thoughts on the new format of the...
Apr 26, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Season 6Ep. 44
After spending the last three weeks breaking down the odds that each of the Best Picture nominees and their odds to win each of their awards ( Sound of Minari Nomadland , Judas and the Mank , The Trial of the Promising Young Father ). Stephanie Prior joins the show as we list off who we think will win, who we want to win and who was snubbed at this year's Oscars. How will they fare? Below are their predictions and check back next week when critic Thom Ernst joins the show and the results are rev...
Apr 19, 2021•1 hr 39 min•Season 6Ep. 43
Every year we break down all the Best Picture nominees at the Oscars and go over their chances to win each of their nominations. We rank them as Front Runners, Dark Horses, Long Shots and Just Happy to Be There. Joining the show is Joe Aragon host of House of Cinema , who previously was heard on episode 134: David Fincher Ranked . On today's show we are discussing Promising Young Woman , The Father and The Trial of the Chicago 7 . Tune in next week for our annual Oscar predictions episode. Times...
Apr 12, 2021•1 hr 8 min•Season 6Ep. 42
Every year we break down all the Best Picture nominees at the Oscars and go over their chances to win each of their nominations. We rank them as Front Runners, Dark Horses, Long Shots and Just Happy to Be There. Joining the show is Jeff and Pierre, hosts of Classic Movies Live who are appearing for their first time. On today's show we are discussing Mank and Judas and the Black Messiah . This series will continue the next week as we finish covering the other three BP nominees. Timestamps Mank 7:...
Apr 05, 2021•1 hr 30 min•Season 6Ep. 41
Every year we break down all the Best Picture nominees at the Oscars and go over their chances to win each of their nominations. We rank them as Front Runners, Dark Horses, Long Shots and Just Happy to Be There. Joining the show is Paulo Bautista the host of the Oscars Death Race Podcast , who was heard on episode 142: Most Anticipated Films of 2021 . On today's show we are discussing Sound of Metal, Minari and Nomadland. This series will continue the next two weeks as we finish covering the oth...
Mar 29, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Season 6Ep. 40
On this episode we review movies watching during the 2021 edition of the film festival portion of South by South West (SXSW). Rachel Ho returns to the show, previously heard on episode 139: Celebrating Asian American Cinema . We discuss the pros and cons of the digital festival, six different films and some of the awards that were handed out. Timestamps: Intro 0:00-11:30 Islands 11:30-20:00 Alien on Stage 20:00-33:45 Our Father 33:45-42:00 Disintegration Loops 42:00-52:30 Woodlands Dark and Days...
Mar 22, 2021•1 hr 20 min•Season 6Ep. 39
The 93rd Academy Awards just announced the nominees for the biggest awards in film. Mank leads the pack with 10, but other big players include Minari, Nomadland, Sound of Metal, The Trail and the Chicago 7 and more! Sammy Feilchenfeld joins the show to discuss what the early nominations mean and some of our surprises and snubs amongst the pack. Stay tuned for plenty of Oscar coverage leading up to the ceremony on April 25th. I was recently on the Oscars Death Race podcast to predict who would be...
Mar 16, 2021•55 min•Season 6Ep. 38
