The end of the year and the end of the Alternate 100 are almost in sight, but there's still 20 more films to talk about before the boys can relax (or until they come up with another incredibly time-consuming project). In the penultimate installment, they talk about directors whose careers have gone in strange and interesting directions, compare a 1960s horror movie to the work of cult folk singer Daniel Johnston, and discus the angriest footsteps in cinema history.
Dec 08, 2014•1 hr 22 min
Probably the most talked about and divisive film of the last few weeks, if not the whole year, has been Christopher Nolan's Interstellar . For its fans, it's a bold and ambitious attempt to use blockbuster filmmaking to tell a story of space exploration, love and quantum physics. For its detractors, it's an overblown mess that awkwardly blends mawkish sentimentality with pretensions of intellectualism. Joe and Ed were similarly divided on the film, so they decided to spend a whole episode talkin...
Nov 24, 2014•48 min
In honour of the brilliantly named Days of Fear and Wonder season currently being run by the BFI, Joe and Ed spend the latest episode talking about science fiction. They discuss their favourite sci-fi films, how some great ones manage to use big ideas to make up for low budgets, the reasons why the genre as a whole seems to be held in higher esteem by critics than horror, and the role that it can play in representing contemporary fears in fantastical settings. It all ends with a lovely little so...
Nov 16, 2014•43 min
After a bit of a break from the Alternate 100, Joe and Ed return to their pet project with renewed zeal for an episode that is heavy on V subjects. They talk about voyeurism, vampires and Vietnam, but also maintain a light touch by trying to make "fetch" happen, and debate the proper way to pronounce "coven".
Nov 09, 2014•1 hr 22 min
This week, the boys are - much like Rodney Dangerfield - going back to school, with an episode that explores the teen experience and the perils of secondary education. This whole thing was inspired by Beyond Clueless , Charlie Lyne's most excellent essay film about teen movies, which was a Shot/Reverse Shot highlight of this year's Sheffield DocFest. Mr. Lyne foolishly agreed to be interviewed at the festival and can be (just about) heard talking through his experiences making the film. The outr...
Nov 06, 2014•40 min
Ever since this show started almost three years ago, the boys have tried to put out a special Halloween episode in which they talk about scary movies. It's their little mid-autumn tradition. Unfortunately, these episodes have traditionally been plagued by technical problems which meant that they could not be released. This year, in a shocking break from tradition, they actually have an episode to show for it! In this special creepy and/or kooky edition of Shot/Reverse Shot, Joe and Ed talk about...
Oct 25, 2014•54 min
The news that True Detective season two has seemingly lined up its cast has got the boys thinking about the first season and how it marked the culmination of Matthew McConaughey's return to critical favour. They then use that to consider whether the second season might have rehabilitate the faltering careers of Vince Vaughn and Colin Farrell, then discuss some of the great comebacks in film history, including ones which fizzled out almost as soon as they happened and ones that lead to long, sust...
Oct 12, 2014•45 min
Inspired by this great article about prequels by Noel Murray for The Dissolve, Joe and Ed use this week's episode as an opportunity to talk about the weaknesses of the prequel model of storytelling. It's not entirely about laying into the Star Wars prequels (though that is somewhat unavoidable where this topic is concerned) since it also encompasses a discussion of the differences between gap-filling, mythology-based prequels and standalone adventures, which prequels they perceive as being espec...
Oct 05, 2014•37 min
It's time for Part 7 of the Alternate 100 and in the tradition of other illustrious part 7s, Joe and Ed are on a mission to Moscow! That's not even remotely true, but what is true is that they've got another ten films that they think are cool and that you should all check out. This week's selection includes a documentary that redefines what a documentary is meant to be, a film from the '50s that feels like it was made 20 or 30 years later than it was, and a couple of films from directors who hav...
Sep 28, 2014•1 hr 16 min
This week, Joe and Ed begin the second half of the Alternate 100 in fine style, talking about 10 films that cover topics as diverse as body horror, J-horror and '50s nuclear paranoia (which is its own kind of horror). Along the way, they manage to compare an acclaimed Canadian filmmaker to a couple of less acclaimed murderers, talk about that magic time when you could set your watch by the release of installments of the Saw franchise, and accidentally stumble upon something that might arouse Fra...
Sep 21, 2014•1 hr 25 min
The boys hit the halfway mark of the Alternate 100 as they talk about films 41 to 50 on their list of great, under-appreciated films. In this episode they talk about an archetypal film noir , some great '70s horror films, films by directors whose other work tends to get talked about more, and round out the episode with something that is guaranteed* to leave you an emotional wreck. *Not a guarantee.
Sep 14, 2014•1 hr 19 min
Continuing their dogged attempt to make up for lost time and finish the project before the year is out, Joe and Ed sit down to discuss the fourth installment in the Alternate 100. This selection is unusually bleak, since it manages to encompass the death of dreams, people destroying themselves mentally and physically, and a discussion of some of the most utterly hopeless endings in cinema history. Wary not to end on a downer, they go out swinging and talk about one of the funniest comedies ever ...
Sep 07, 2014•1 hr 20 min
Now that the summer is over, it's time to look ahead and consider what the last few months of 2014 have to offer. Joe and Ed continue their annual tradition of looking at the Autumn/Winter schedule - with its weird mix of awards contenders, would-be blockbusters and unwanted films left to wither and die - and cherry pick the best and most interesting films that the seasons have to offer. Despite this clear, easy to follow structure, they still manage to get distracted by talk of Irish kickboxing...
Aug 31, 2014•56 min
This week, inspired by the ongoing devolution of mainstream film criticism into a swampy morass of multi-page lists, news stories that don't contain any news and are barely stories, and the general sense that engaging film discourse is being pushed further and further away from the centre of the discussion, Joe and Ed rail against everything they think is wrong with film criticism as it exists in the digital age. It's not all negativity - they point out some sites and writers that are doing grea...
Aug 25, 2014•32 min
We at Shot/Reverse Shot were deeply saddened to hear of the death of Robin Williams last week at the age of 63. We offer this episode, in which we discuss what he meant to us and what made him such a special performer, as a tribute to a comedian who made us laugh, an actor who made us cry, and a thoroughly decent and wonderful human being. Rest in Peace.
Aug 18, 2014•25 min
Inspired by Escape From Tomorrow , a deeply flawed film with a production history that's more interesting than the film itself, Joe and Ed discuss the problems that arise when you know too much about how a movie was made. Does knowing that a film was difficult to make or had a compelling back story prejudice a viewer's opinion of the work itself? Can a gimmick like Escape From Tomorrow 's hurt a film by making people overly aware of its mechanics while they watch it, or is it justified by the fa...
Aug 11, 2014•34 min
To mark the release of Guardians of the Galaxy , the final film in Phase Two of Marvel's Cinematic Universe and their first attempt at making films that aren't strictly speaking about superheroes, Joe and Ed decided to see the film and then have a nice old chinwag about it, as well as a more general conversation about Marvel's almost unprecedented success over the last six years. Along the way they talk about what the film's success means for future Marvel movies, why the studio has had such con...
Aug 04, 2014•38 min
In the third installment of the Shot/Reverse Shot Alternate 100, Joe and Ed shower another ten under-appreciated movies with love and affection. Along the way, they discuss Hollywood's historical and contemporary squeamishness when it comes to depicting inter-racial relationships, the ephemeral and symbiotic relationship between a director and a composer, and take time to share their weird, disparate memories of the year 1997. If you're new to the show and the Alternate 100 project, you can list...
Jul 28, 2014•1 hr 16 min
Continuing their quest to celebrate 100 films that aren't being talked about enough, or at the very least aren't being included on other silly lists, Joe and Ed offer up the next ten films deemed great yet unappreciated enough to be included in the Shot/Reverse Shot Alternate 100. As with the first installment , there's a nice mix of unheralded works by rightly heralded directors, cult oddities and an all-round appreciation for these Rodney Dangerfields of cinema. (Because they get no regard, no...
Jul 21, 2014•1 hr 16 min
Inspired by the controversy surrounding Gary Oldman's recent interview with Playboy , as well as long-standing debates over the merits of artists like John Wayne and H.P. Lovecraft, who held views that many people disagreed with for political or moral reasons, and Woody Allen, whose work has long been talked about in relation to the allegations of child molestation against him, Joe and Ed decided to tackle the question of whether it is valid to dismiss an artist's work because you object to thei...
Jul 14, 2014•36 min
Dan Harmon's Community has been cancelled. No it hasn't. Yes it has. No it hasn't. Yes it has. No. It hasn't. Such is the hokey cokey nature of the much loved show's future that even Joe and Ed can't keep up with it. This episode was recorded after the show's latest demise, only for it to be revived before the episode made it to air. Joe and Ed have recorded a special amendment to bookend the episode and take great care to not speculate any further for fear of having to record this all over agai...
Jul 11, 2014•34 min
During its fourth season, HBO's Game of Thrones reached new heights of popularity, thanks to its introduction (and disposal) of several new characters, a greater focus on delivering moments that can be boiled down to YouTube clips, and a bigger sense of spectacle. It also became the most controversial season to date, in large part due to a sex scene that looked like sexual assault to everyone who watched it, but may not have been intended as such. The boys delve into these issues, as well as dis...
Jun 23, 2014•56 min
And so begins The Alternate 100. If you need to familiarise yourself with the rules, listen to the last episode, but if you're ready then dive right in with the first 10 films picked by Joe and Ed. This episode features a discussion about Kafka, the boys giving Zach Braff an unnecessary kicking and a weird diversion about monkey butlers. The list can also be followed episode by episode on Letterboxd . Enjoy!...
May 01, 2014•1 hr 15 min
It's been a while, but the boys return to whet your appetites for their forthcoming (and slightly delayed) year-long project, The Alternate 100 , in which Joe and Ed attempt to list 100 great films but with some strict selection criteria. This episode lays out the rules they've set themselves, explains why the first draft of the list was 5% Walter Hill films and features a play-along-at-home drinking game. Despite this episode being less than 12 minutes long, they still find a way to wander off ...
Apr 09, 2014•12 min
This week, Joe and Ed pause to reflect on the first season of HBO's shiniest new show True Detective . The boys are generally enamoured with it, but delve into some of the deeper issues such as wondering what former Manchester United striker Dion Dublin was doing in the cast and also why the show seemed to have a somewhat unhealthy ass fetish. Enjoy!
Mar 12, 2014•34 min
The boys are back with an episode running down 10 great musical moments in films that aren't musicals or concert films. It's a pretty decent list, with both high and low brow choices and distractions aplenty along the way, including the discovery that both Joe and Ed hate Almost Famous and the fact that Joe was into the Beatles way before they were cool. Enjoy!
Feb 25, 2014•44 min
This week, the boys stop to ponder Cult Films, spending a good deal of this episode wrestling with the parameters of what constitutes a cult film and whether or not it's definition has changed over time. Along the way, Joe pauses to relate how his hatred of Kevin Smith almost landed him in a drunken fist fight and Ed floats the terrifying prospect of a Shot/Reverse Shot Grindr profile. Special guest on this week's episode is Ryan Finnigan of [SIC]Blog, who drops in to chat with Joe about the Fiv...
Feb 12, 2014•46 min
In an unexpected and frankly unwelcome episode, Joe and Ed got together this week to record a short tribute to one of their favourite actors, Philip Seymour Hoffman, who sadly passed away aged 46.
Feb 03, 2014•20 min
In the first episode of 2014, Joe and Ed pause to mark the fact that they've made it to 50 episodes, an achievement of sorts, that neither seem able to comprehend. Giddy with a sudden sense of invincibility, they announce a multi-part podcast for 2014, a mysterious series of episodes that will make up something called The Shot/Reverse Shot Alternate 100 . After the excitement of that announcement, the boys settle down to preview the year ahead, including sexy operating systems, six armed warrior...
Jan 13, 2014•1 hr 19 min
Well, another year has passed, and like everyone else on the Internet, Shot/Reverse Shot has decided to sit down and ask ourselves the question, "2013, what was all that about, then?" In pursuit of an answer, Joe and Ed talk about the big news stories of the year, such as the proliferation of non-stories about imaginary Star Wars casting, the "Marvelisation" of cinema, changing modes of distribution, and why everyone hated Zach Braff's Kickstarter. They then get into specifics and talk about the...
Dec 24, 2013•1 hr 48 min
