Joh. and Josiah travel to the west in this stunning and slow paced film from A24. Beautifully crafted and well acted, First Cow is a wonder of small intimate cinema, but may not be for everyone. There are mysteries a plenty in First Cow, not for the audience but instead for the characters either compassionate or savage in this western entrepreneurial story of the outcasts making goods.... This conversation unearth the richness of the soil this story has been planted in. Connect with us on Letter...
Nov 05, 2020•13 min•Season 2Ep. 18
This week John takes Josiah on a journey into the world of Miranda July as they watch Kajillionaire, her third feature film. The film inspired an hour of conversation abut the stellar acting, purposeful craftsmanship, rich story and heartfelt message. A caper film in the tradition of Mission Impossible and Oceans 11, Kajillionaire used the genre to expose the depth of human trauma, the possibilities of love and simple moments of grace in a hard world. This is the kind of film that deserves conve...
Oct 06, 2020•1 hr 8 min•Season 2Ep. 17
John and Josiah delve into the beautifully human, absurd and well crafted world of Miranda July, author, artist, performer and filmmaker as they watch her third feature, Kajillionaire. In theaters now and soon to be released VOD. Kajillionaire is a movie to talk about, to wallow in and discover its bubbly depths. We need well-crafted independent visions on our screens and this one has so much to admire: brilliant acting, great writing and more. Join Josiah and John for a quick spoiler free analy...
Oct 06, 2020•12 min•Season 2Ep. 17
And we're back at the theater from quite a long hiatus due to the coronavirus. THis week John and Josiah went to see Christopher Nolan's next mindbending, brainhurting, timewarping film, TENET. This is a spoiler filled conversation. Both of our critics felt the film had a lot that could be fixed. Find out what and why in this spoiler filled episode. Connect with us on Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/josiahblizzard/ https://letterboxd.com/johndoyle/ Send in a voice message, question, or reques...
Sep 29, 2020•49 min•Season 2Ep. 16
And we're back at the theater from quite a long hiatus due to the coronavirus. THis week John and Josiah went to see Christopher Nolan's next mindbending, brainhurting, timewarping film, TENET. This is a spoiler free conversation. Both of our critics felt the film had a lot that could be fixed. Find out what and why in this spoiler free episode, but don't forget to check out the longer spoiler filled episode as well! Connect with us on Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/josiahblizzard/ https://l...
Sep 29, 2020•11 min•Season 2Ep. 16
What happens when a thoughtful black actor takes the reigns of an action comedy in a culture awash in Blaxploitation Cinema? John is going to tell you as he discusses, Uptown Saturday Night, the first in a trilogy of films that look regular folks in the world of Black culture through a comedic lens, Sidney Poitier directs this absurd romp featuring an ensemble cast of actors who go for it while poking fun at the stereotypes of the cinema of the 1970s. This Week begins a minisode series to fill t...
Apr 27, 2020•17 min•Season 2Ep. 42
SPOILERS ABOVE and SPOILERS BELOW! This week John and Josiah imprisoned themselves in a chat room and remotely recorded the podcast because of the PA Shelter in Place requirement. Each individually watched THE PLATFORM (El hoyo), an allegorical Spanish language film about a prison where masterful kitchen staff prepares a banquet each day. Unfortunately, the banquet is served on a platform that descends through a prison where each floor eats from what has been left by the floor above. As the tabl...
Mar 26, 2020•1 hr 9 min•Season 2Ep. 15
This week John and Josiah locked themselves into a chat room and remotely recorded the podcast because of the PA Shelter in Place requirement. Feeling a little imprisoned in each of their own homes, they decided to watch THE PLATFORM (El Hoyo), an allegorical Spanish language film which imagines a prison where people all eat from the same table which descends through the prison, each cell eating the remains of what had arrived on the floor above. Both of our critics loved the film and this conve...
Mar 26, 2020•20 min•Season 2Ep. 15
John and Josiah are joined by Josiah's wife and John's daughter, Steph, on a crazy and chaotic and spoiler filled adventure through Shrapnel City, a fictional location where underground fight club Skizm has created a live stream fight to the death battle royale that Miles (Daniel Radcliffe) finds himself in the midst of against his own will. Connect with us on Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/josiahblizzard/ https://letterboxd.com/johndoyle/ Send in a voice message, question, or request here: ...
Mar 17, 2020•1 hr 3 min•Season 2Ep. 14
John and Josiah are joined by Josiah's wife and John's daughter, Steph, on a crazy and chaotic and spoiler free adventure through Shrapnel City, a fictional location where underground fight club Skizm has created a live stream fight to the death battle royale that Miles (Daniel Radcliffe) finds himself in the midst of against his own will. Connect with us on Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/josiahblizzard/ https://letterboxd.com/johndoyle/ Send in a voice message, question, or request here: ht...
Mar 17, 2020•19 min•Season 2Ep. 14
John and Josiah are joined by Josiah's wife and John's daughter, Steph, on a goofy, chaotic discussion of Pixar's new film, Onward, starring Chris Pratt and Tom Holland. Will Onward live up to Pixar's standard or will it fall flat? Find out on this spoiler free episode of the Racking Focus Podcast. Connect with us on Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/josiahblizzard/ https://letterboxd.com/johndoyle/ Send in a voice message, question, or request here: https://anchor.fm/racking-focus-podcast/mess...
Mar 11, 2020•12 min•Season 2Ep. 13
John and Josiah are joined by Josiah's wife and John's daughter, Steph, on a goofy, chaotic discussion of Pixar's new film, Onward, starring Chris Pratt and Tom Holland. Will Onward live up to Pixar's standard or will it fall flat? Find out on this spoiler filled episode of the Racking Focus Podcast. Connect with us on Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/josiahblizzard/ https://letterboxd.com/johndoyle/ Send in a voice message, question, or request here: https://anchor.fm/racking-focus-podcast/me...
Mar 11, 2020•39 min•Season 2Ep. 13
John and Josiah joined a pack theatre on for a Sunday matinee viewing of Universal's reboot of The Invisible Man. To their surprise, it was quite a solid movie. Hear all of their thoughts on the film, Moss' acting, the unique cinematography, and more in this week's episode. Connect with us on Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/josiahblizzard/ https://letterboxd.com/johndoyle/ Send in a voice message, question, or request here: https://anchor.fm/racking-focus-podcast/message Remember to write us ...
Mar 03, 2020•55 min•Season 2Ep. 12
John and Josiah joined a pack theatre on for a Sunday matinee viewing of Universal's reboot of The Invisible Man. To their surprise, it was quite a solid movie. Hear all of their thoughts on the film, Moss' acting, the unique cinematography, and more in this week's episode. Connect with us on Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/josiahblizzard/ https://letterboxd.com/johndoyle/ Send in a voice message, question, or request here: https://anchor.fm/racking-focus-podcast/message Remember to write us ...
Mar 03, 2020•18 min•Season 2Ep. 12
Josiah joins John's wife and daughters, Lisa, Steph and Tina to watch what is potentially the worst film of 2019, Cats, directed by Tom Hooper. This is a nightmare of a film and we engage in a little Q&A about the film after the viewing. Turns out Steph and Tina are huge fans of the broadway musical, so Josiah asks the questions and they answer the questions, like what the hell is a Jellicle Cat? Connect with us on Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/josiahblizzard/ https://letterboxd.com/joh...
Feb 27, 2020•40 min•Season 2Ep. 11
John and Josiah view The Call of the Wild. Join them as they talk all about the CGI, the morality and meaning of this film and why you should actually see it... Connect with us on Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/josiahblizzard/ https://letterboxd.com/johndoyle/ Send in a voice message, question, or request here: https://anchor.fm/racking-focus-podcast/message Remember to write us a review at Apple Podcasts and to email us at [email protected] with comments, suggestions and films you h...
Feb 25, 2020•17 min•Season 2Ep. 10
John and Josiah view The Call of the Wild. Join them as they talk all about the CGI, why Josiah teared up during the film, and why this film might actually be good... Connect with us on Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/josiahblizzard/ https://letterboxd.com/johndoyle/ Send in a voice message, question, or request here: https://anchor.fm/racking-focus-podcast/message Remember to write us a review at Apple Podcasts and to email us at [email protected] with comments, suggestions and films...
Feb 25, 2020•52 min•Season 2Ep. 10
John and Josiah watch Portrait of a Lady on Fire. Come them as they journey back to 1770 in France that follows Marianne, a painter, who is commissioned to do the wedding portrait of Héloïse, a young woman who has just left the convent. Héloïse is a reluctant bride to be and Marianne must paint her without her knowing. She observes her by day, to paint her secretly. John and Josiah discuss the incredible cinematography, production design, acting and all the other incredible things about this won...
Feb 18, 2020•11 min•Season 2Ep. 9
John and Josiah watch Portrait of a Lady on Fire. Come them as they journey back to 1770 in France that follows Marianne, a painter, who is commissioned to do the wedding portrait of Héloïse, a young woman who has just left the convent. Héloïse is a reluctant bride to be and Marianne must paint her without her knowing. She observes her by day, to paint her secretly. John and Josiah discuss the incredible cinematography, production design, acting and all the other incredible things about this won...
Feb 18, 2020•56 min•Season 2Ep. 9
John and Josiah are joined by comic book expert Michael Yates of Atomic City Comics on South Street in Philadelphia have a quick SPOILER FREE talk about the newest movie in the DC Universe. We disagree on this one across the board but Michael brings his A comic game taking us deep into the source material and John And Josiah try to come to some common ground about this chaotic little movie. Connect with us on Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/josiahblizzard/ https://letterboxd.com/johndoyle/ Se...
Feb 11, 2020•27 min•Season 2Ep. 8
SPOILERS!!!John and Josiah are joined by comic book expert Michael Yates of Atomic City Comics on South Street in Philadelphia to delve into the madness that is Harley Quinn and her reluctant band of misfit heroes, the Birds of Prey. There is a lot of disagreement this episode and some deep comic book cuts so tune in and discover whether Harley is victorious or falls flat on her face. TO BE HONEST, this is less of a spoilery episode than usual.... Connect with us on Letterboxd: https://letterbox...
Feb 11, 2020•1 hr 14 min•Season 2Ep. 8
John & Josiah respond to The Academy Awards show, the nominations, the winners and generally talk about nearly every category leading up to the big winner of the night, Parasite and if it is deserving of it's accolades and awards. Warning, there are a few spoilers throughout the conversation. Connect with us on Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/josiahblizzard/ https://letterboxd.com/johndoyle/ Send in a voice message, question, or request here: https://anchor.fm/racking-focus-podcast/messag...
Feb 11, 2020•1 hr 5 min•Season 2Ep. 7
John & Josiah finally found a screening of the absurdly hilarious satirical comedy, JoJo Rabbit. The story is about Jojo, who is a lonely German boy that discovers that his single mother is hiding a Jewish girl in their attic. Aided only by his imaginary friend -Adolf Hitler - Jojo must confront his blind nationalism as World War II continues to rage on. We keep this episode completely spoiler free so you have nothing to worry about. Director Taika Waititi has created yet another wonderful f...
Feb 04, 2020•15 min•Season 2Ep. 6
John & Josiah finally found a screening of the absurdly hilarious satirical comedy, JoJo Rabbit. The story is about Jojo, who is a lonely German boy that discovers that his single mother is hiding a Jewish girl in their attic. Aided only by his imaginary friend -Adolf Hitler - Jojo must confront his blind nationalism as World War II continues to rage on. Spoilers everywhere in this podcast and we highly suggest you see the film first before watching. Director Taika Waititi has created yet an...
Feb 04, 2020•57 min•Season 2Ep. 6
John & Josiah enter the jungle where Mickey Pearson is the lion trying to maintain control of his life and his product. Guy Ritchie brings the same bit of fun you'd expect from prior cockney gangster crime films like Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels; and Snatch. The biggest difference now is that Ritchie has better cameras and lighting creating a much more polished look which suits The Gentlemen nicely. Is Ritchie back? You decide, or you can listen to us decide in this spoiler filled re...
Jan 31, 2020•57 min•Season 2Ep. 5
John & Josiah enter the jungle where Mickey Pearson is the lion trying to maintain control of his life and his product. Guy Ritchie brings the same bit of fun you'd expect from prior cockney gangster crime films like Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels; and Snatch. The biggest difference now is that Ritchie has better cameras and lighting creating a much more polished look which suits The Gentlemen nicely. Is Ritchie back? You decide, or you can listen to us decide in this spoiler free revi...
Jan 31, 2020•17 min•Season 2Ep. 5
Josiah & John join the March family and view Greta Gerwig's masterwork, Little Women. This extraordinarily charming film left a wonderful impression on us both and we can't recommend it enough. Send in a voice message, question, or request here: https://anchor.fm/racking-focus-podcast/message Remember to write us a review at Apple Podcasts and to email us at [email protected] with comments, suggestions and films you have for us to review. Visit our NEW website: http://www.rackingfocu...
Jan 29, 2020•1 hr 4 min•Season 2Ep. 4
Josiah & John join the March family and view Greta Gerwig's masterwork, Little Women. This extraordinarily charming film left a wonderful impression on us both and we can't recommend it enough. Send in a voice message, question, or request here: https://anchor.fm/racking-focus-podcast/message Remember to write us a review at Apple Podcasts and to email us at [email protected] with comments, suggestions and films you have for us to review. Visit our NEW website: http://www.rackingfocu...
Jan 29, 2020•15 min•Season 2Ep. 4
SPOILERS - John, Josiah + Steph take a detour from the movies and conclude their journey through the wilds of season one of The Witcher. This is a culminating discussion where we consider some of the controversial issues skulking around social media and the press, discuss our favorite moments, and get into some of the big ideas behind the stories of The Witcher. Witcher Watch episodes contain a review and recap of two episodes of Netflix's The Witcher in each Racking Focus Podcast Special Episod...
Jan 23, 2020•1 hr 14 min•Season 1Ep. 109
John + Josiah are back with their 2nd take on Sam Mendes' Award Winning film, 1917. We're talking critic and audience reviews, the incredible cinematography by Roger Deakins, John gives context on The Great War through the eyes of poetry, and we even talk about why some people thought this movie stunk. We've also left a few links to behind the scenes of this film below. How 1917 Was Filmed To Look Like One Shot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMBnvz-dEXw 1917 Extended Featurette: https://www.yo...
Jan 21, 2020•37 min•Season 2Ep. 2
