How do Chinese blockbusters stand up against Hollywood blockbusters? In this episode, the gang dive into 4 of the biggest recent Chinese mega hits - each in a different instantly recognizable blockbuster genre - and give our verdicts. So, what films are we looking at? (Timestamps) The action sci-fi disaster film: The Wandering Earth - 13.03 The franchise starting buddy comedy: Detective Chinatown - 26.24 The "motivational" sports drama: Pegasus - 41.12 The most successful animated film in Chines...
Jul 15, 2022•1 hr 13 min
Welcome to the episode where Chris realizes he's the only Leos Carax fan in the podcast and even he found Annette thoroughly middling. Join us as we explore just how it let us down and debate the merits of artificiality, THAT puppet and much, much more. And remember, if you disagree with us you can go to ICMForum.com and tell us just how wrong we are.
Jul 01, 2022•40 min
In this episode, we take a close look at the early films of Andrey Tarkovsky, from his early student efforts to his first passion project. We will briefly touch on The Killers (1956) and There Will Be No Leave Today (1959) before we go into depth on his first three solo efforts, The Steamroller and the Violin (1961), Ivan's Childhood (1962) and Andrey Rublev (1966). Yes, we will dissect their endings, but don't you worry, if you have not seen one of them there will be a clear spoiler warning all...
Jun 15, 2022•1 hr 45 min
Are sequels almost exclusively soulless cash-ins we should not be excited about, or do many truly deliver? In this episode, we look at the sequels that, at least according to us, did the unthinkable in becoming even better than the first film! How do you feel about our choices?
Jun 01, 2022•1 hr 28 min
It has been 10 years since Vertigo unseated Citizen Kane as the Greatest Films of All Time in Sight & Sounds once-in-a-decade poll of filmmakers, critics and academics. With the 2022 edition coming up, and the real possibility that Vertigo could be unseated, we ask the pressing question: Does Vertigo actually deserve to be number 1? Note: Since recording this episode it has been revealed that the Sight & Sound Greatest Films of All-Time list will be revealed in their November issue, so w...
May 15, 2022•1 hr 5 min
In our very first cross-over episode we are joined by (Dr.) David Hartley from the Autism Through Cinema podcast to discuss Hal Ashby's classic "Being There", starring Peter Sellers in a role generally read as being on the autism spectrum. We'll explore why it makes some of us a little uncomfortable, whether the film mocks Peter Sellers' character or the, mostly, wealthy individuals he interacts with, attempt to decipher the message, try our best to unpack that infamous ending - and just explore...
May 01, 2022•1 hr 40 min
Get ready for our possibly most controversial episode to date as we try to answer the hot topic issues of the art vs. artist debate. We will explore just how much we can separate between the art and artist, and how knowledge from their life and possible misdeeds affect how we see their work. You will get exclusive insights into our psyche and hear just who puts us off or make us feel uneasy. You will also discover which film Matthieu snuck into so that he would not give the director a cent of hi...
Apr 15, 2022•52 min
Join in as Clem, Matthieu, Sol and Chris reveal their second and number one favourite films of 2017.
Apr 01, 2022•1 hr 10 min
Are your favourites mentioned? What are the most glaring omissions? Will we convince you to watch some 2017 films you still haven't seen? Join in as Clem, Matthieu, Tom, Sol and Chris break down their favourite films of 2017.
Mar 16, 2022•1 hr 23 min
Get ready to jump more than 8,000 years into the future as Matthieu, Tom and Chris dive into one of 2021s most acclaimed blockbusters: Dune! Join us as we marvel at the set design, cringe at a few of the jokes and discuss what worked, what didn't and why. We will also explore Denis Villeneuve's rise as a sci-fi and blockbuster director, what his cold and meticulous style bring to blockbusters and whether or not Dune: Part II will deliver. Oh, and yeah, as you might expect we can not stop ourselv...
Mar 01, 2022•1 hr 16 min
In our first episode of season 3, Sol sits down with Like Dog director Randy Van Dyke and producer Kelly Faltis to discuss their recent horror movie LIke Dogs (2021) and their experience with making and distributing an indie horror film during the pandemic. Van Dyke and Faltis will take you through everything from how the pandemic, restrictions and lockdowns affected their production, and how a very smart decision gave them more exposure than if they had been a little more trigger happy. They wi...
Feb 01, 2022•42 min
In our Season 2 finale of Talking Images, we look at how after 2 years of the Pandemic something good may be coming out of it after all - extra exposure for the 1963 sci-fi comedy Omicron. This "body-horror" meets satire, explores humanity in all its bodily functions, and offers an eerie and still extremely relevant and sobering assessment of the world we live in.
Dec 29, 2021•38 min
Claire Denis went from being the master of unspoken longing to shooting explicit sex and violence - holding next to nothing back. In this episode, we will take a closer look at her defining works, marvel over the sheer variety, explore her off-beat genre experiments and dissect why so many top actors want to work with her.
Dec 15, 2021•1 hr 20 min
What is the first thing you think about when you hear the word "remake"? Is it an industry entirely out of ideas? Is it desperate or greedy execs trying to make a quick buck? Or is it perhaps just a non-verbal sigh? In this episode, we'll try to get away from all the negativity and look at the remakes that not only delivered but ended up being even better than the original. We may ruffle some feathers here, so do shout out if you disagree with any of our choices. All complaints can be sent via I...
Dec 01, 2021•1 hr 35 min
Every year films go under the radar. Here are 10+ brand new films you may have missed, and why you should consider seeking them out. These 10 films and more will be part of the 5th ICMForum Film Festival, which will be held between the 15th of November and the 13th of December 2021. We also recorded an episode on ICMFFF2020 last year. You can listen here: Sounder: https://talking-images.sounder.fm/episode/icmff2020-festival-heighlights Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/35OyNtbUHadIyH0isE...
Nov 15, 2021•1 hr 19 min
In this episode Matthieu, Sol, Tom and Chris talk about their number 1 favourite film of 2020. Of course, none of them agree.
Nov 01, 2021•44 min
Yes, it's that time! Finally! The Talking Images team is ready to open up and talk through our top 10 favourite films of 2020 - granted, with a cliffhanger.
Oct 16, 2021•1 hr 59 min
Is Psycho's ending actually terrible? Is Whiplash an evil movie made by evil people? Is Taxi Driver's ending even real? Join us as we clash over iconic endings, break down the formulas and share our picks of best movie endings of all time. Timestamps: 00:00: Spoiler-Free Discussion 20.36: The Spoilers Begins - Formulas / What Works & What Doesn't 57.48 - Films Saved by their Endings 1.09.29 - Films That Are All About Their Endings 1.15.29 - Endings That Almost Ruined the Film 1.25.30 - Our F...
Oct 01, 2021•1 hr 41 min
How much can you strip away? How far can you go? Robert Bresson did not just create his own cinematic language. He created his own cinematic ideology - striving to tear film away from the theatre, strip away all artifice and create something you could only experience through cinema. Over his 13 feature films, and one standalone short, his career spanned from 1934 to 1983. In this episode, we will talk you through each and every single one of his films , look at what they minimised, try to unders...
Sep 16, 2021•1 hr 57 min
Get out your spreadsheets fellow film nerds, this episode is dedicated to you! It will for once be decided if the answers are truly written in the stars, or if the good old 10/10 system is more than enough. In our effort to discover the best rating systems and make sense of some of the universe's greatest questions we will also, of course, insult every fan of Rotten Tomatoes and At the Movies. IMDb's 10/10 scale vs. Letterboxd's 5/5 scale will be examined, and hell, even good old Criticker will ...
Sep 01, 2021•1 hr 22 min
In this episode we sit down with independent Japanese cinema producer and distributor Adam Torel, the Head of Third Window Films, to hear about his upcoming films, his work with Shinya Tsukamoto and Sion Sono, and what it takes to get people to watch independent cinema in Japan. The answer to the latter in particular may both shock and entice you.
Aug 16, 2021•2 hr 2 min
It is origin story time, again! In our very first episode, the original hosts detailed exactly how they got into cinema. Now, it is time to hear from those who have joined us since then. Listen in as Matthieu, Adam (from New York), Lauren and Sol tell you exactly how they got into cinema. Be shocked, as Matthieu reveals he's a child of DVDs not VHS. Discover who actually studied film, who edited Forrest Gump and Die Hard together and who went to science camp. And of course, marvel as Sol details...
Aug 01, 2021•1 hr 25 min
Get ready for a flash from the recent past! In this episode Chris, Matthieu, Sol and Tom break down and discuss their 5 favourite films of 2018 + their runner ups. What were yours?
Jun 15, 2021•2 hr 15 min
You have heard the warnings. You have seen the tears. You have felt the terror. A spectre is haunting the halls of cinema, and its name is not Covid-19 but Netflix. In this episode, we will discuss just how damaging Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Mubi and all other streaming services are, and try to get to the bottom of the existential threat they pose. Can anything good come from them at all? Listen in, and find out.
May 31, 2021•1 hr 34 min
The Dollar Trilogy is iconic. It broke the rules, rewrote what we consider a western to be, and is just, well, badass! But why? What is it that make these films stand out the way they do? In this episode we try to find the answer.
May 17, 2021•1 hr 20 min
In this episode, we will look at what happened when the fantastical dream that was space exploration became reality - and the future became the past. Opening with a full-on discussion of what could be called "the first modern space exploration film", Ikarie XB 1 - we will continue to explore how the subgenre developed after Jurij Gagarin became the first human to leave our planet. While it still feels a little odd to say it, space exploration is no longer exclusively science fiction. We will act...
May 08, 2021•1 hr 36 min
Get your battle helmets on - we're doing this. 2001 vs. Solaris. Kubrick vs. Tarkovsky. Oh, and ... all of cinematic history, well ... in space anyways, Yes, that's right - in this glorious two-part episode (did we mention that were will be a follow-up?!) we will look at ALL of space exploration history - going all the way back to A Trip to the Moon. Early films excluded, which, can almost be seen as fantasy as opposed to science fiction - we have a bold proclamation to make - and that is that 2...
Apr 16, 2021•1 hr 34 min
Why would filmmakers go through the excruciating trouble and pain of creating their films without a single cut - any mistake being detrimental - every shoot non-stop? Why put yourself through all that pain? Why put your actors through all that pain? Why put the actual person carrying a camera for 90 minutes through all that pain? Why? Can single-take films do things regular films can't? Our answer is a resounding yes! Listen in as we talk you through the ludicrously small selection of single-tak...
Mar 17, 2021•1 hr 18 min
In this episode we will not just discuss the magical work of Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, or the mediocre work of everyone else - we will look at how their careers developed in contrast to each other from their first double feature, to their last. That is to say, the 1988 double feature that in so many ways showcased what Studio Ghibli could do: My Neighbour Totoro Grave of the Fireflies And the studio's, at the time, proposed swansongs of 2013: The Wind Rises The Tale of the Princess Kaguy...
Feb 08, 2021•1 hr 23 min
Strap yourself in for a Christmas and end-of-the-year episode that will be something out of the ordinary! Yes, we will talk about our favourite Christmas films: including Sol telling us all how Home Alone traumatised him for life ! And yes - we will also be a bunch of non-Americans thoroughly confused about the appeal of a Christmas Story (sorry). But above all we are interested in just how different Christmas traditions are born - and how people around the world celebrate Christmas (Jul) and Ne...
Dec 22, 2020•1 hr 9 min
