In this week's Movie Date podcast, Rafer and Kristen talk crime and fast cars. They also speak with Martha Shane and Lana Wilson, the filmmakers behind a documentary about the last four late-term abortion clinics in the country. Start your engines! It's time to review "Prisoners," "Rush," and "After Tiller."
In this week's Movie Date podcast, Rafer and Kristen look at strange array of movies, including an indie documentary ("Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction"), a horror flick ("Insidious: Chapter 2"), and an aging mobster comedy ("The Family"). They also look at "Austenland" with the help of Meg Levin, one of the New York City coordinators of the Jane Austen Society of North America.
In the newest Movie Date podcast, Rafer and Kristen explore the theme of seclusion in this week's big releases: from the self-imposed recluse life of J.D. Salinger (in the new documentary "Salinger") to the lonely survivalist life of Vin Diesel's character (in "Riddick"). Rafer and Kristen also share their own strange memories of being all alone, and read through a large pile of listener mail.
In this week's Movie Date podcast, Rafer and Kristen wonder if anyone trusts the government anymore, and consider whether beauty is enough to make up for a lack of substance. They also sit down with director Morgan Spurlock to discuss his newest and very surprising film project. It's all in honor of "Closed Circuit," "Our Nixon," "The Grandmaster," and "One Direction: This is Us." Listen to Morgan Spurlock talk about his new film here.
In this week's Movie Date podcast, Kristen and Rafer review movies that are about drinking...or that might be best watched while drunk. They include: "The World's End," which is about an alcoholic embarking on a 12-pub crawl gone wrong; "The Spectacular Now," which is about an alcoholic embarking on a romance gone wrong; and "You're Next," which is about a a bunch of rich people at a family gathering gone wrong. Also, Kristen and Rafer take a few minutes to complain about the current state of mo...
In this week's Movie Date podcast, Rafer and Kristen give five movies the Bechdel Test . Will any of them pass? On the chopping block are two biopics ("Lee Daniels' The Butler" and "Jobs"), one suspense thriller ("Paranoia"), Werner Herzog's documentary short about texting and driving ("From One Second to the Next"), and the comic book sequel that swears like a sailor ("Kickass 2").
This week's Movie Date podcast features a wide range of movies that have Rafer and Kristen asking: When should a movie go direct to video? Is a Harry Potter ripoff ever as good as Harry Potter? How much nuance can an audience handle? Are fifty allegories too many? And is incest humor ever actually funny? On the chopping block: "Planes," "Percy Jackson," "We're the Millers," "Lovelace," and "Elysium."
This week, Kristen wonders if the creators of "Two Guns" have difficulty counting, Rafer wonders if the creators of "The Canyons" have difficulty accepting that it's no longer 1983, Kristen has questions about porn, and Rafer feels the need to defend Lindsay Lohan's acting. It's all in honor of the highly anticipated new Bret Easton Ellis/Paul Schrader film, "The Canyons" (featuring porn star James Deen) and the new Mark Wahlberg/Denzel Washington action comedy, "Two Guns."
In this week's Movie Date podcast, Rafer and Kristen tackle a strange, intense, and in some cases disappointing variety of movies, from the teen sex comedy, "The To-Do List" to the latest Woody Allen offering, "Blue Jasmine," and in between, the comic book action flick "Wolverine" and the biopic based on a tragic true event, "Fruitvale Station." They also answer voicemail, from one listener who's frustrated and another who sounds genuinely concerned.
In this week's supersized Movie Date podcast, Rafer and Kristen face what might be the worst opening weekend all summer. On the chopping block: "The Conjuring," "RIPD," "Red 2," and "Turbo." But it's not all bad. They also sit down with Joshua Oppenheimer, director of the critically acclaimed new documentary, " The Act of Killing. " Read the summary below to get a taste of how truly groundbreaking the film is. When the military overthrew the Indonesian government in 1965, Anwar Congo and his gan...
Things you'll learn in this week's Movie Date podcast: Taylor Lautner in "Grown Ups 2" may be the best Taylor Lautner you ever see. "Pacific Rim" is not a porno. Rafer and Kristen do not have a future career in singing.
When's the last time Johnny Depp played an average, regular guy? What exactly are those yellow egg-shaped things in the "Despicable Me" movies? And does Kevin Hart really need to explain anything? These and other questions are explored in the newest Movie Date podcast, as Rafer and Kristen review "The Lone Ranger," "Despicable Me 2," and "Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain." To help them with "The Lone Ranger," and specifically with the depiction of Tonto, they're joined by Rick Chavolla, Education and ...
In this week's Movie Date podcast, Rafer wonders if "White House Down" might be the exact same movie as "Olympus Has Fallen," Kristen tries to fake out Rafer with her feelings about "The Heat," Rafer talks about the most spine-tingling moment in "20 Feet From Stardom," and both imagine themselves as the lead characters in "Turner and Hooch."
This week, Rafer and Kristen look at two monster movies, one of which deals with the training and coming of age of monsters ("Monsters University") and one which deals with their apocalyptic rise ("World War Z"). To help Kristen and Rafer better understand the latter, they're joined by Scott Gordon, a recent honors graduate of Adelphi University whose bachelor's thesis was entitled, "Revolution of the Dead: The New Zombie Apocalypse."
In this week's Movie Date podcast, Rafer and Kristen talk about the dark side of Superman, the bright side of the apocalypse, and the inside of Paris Hilton's closet. It's all in honor of "Man of Steel," "This is the End," and "The Bling Ring."
In this week's Movie Date podcast, Rafer and Kristen review the new Owen Wilson - Vince Vaughn comedy, "The Internship," and look back at their own experiences as adult interns. They also review "The Purge" (which Kristen was surprised to discover, is not about bulimia) and Joss Whedon's take on the Shakespeare classic, "Much Ado About Nothing."
In this very special episode of Movie Date, Rafer raps a full song that he composed himself, Kristen reveals some secrets about her childhood, and both of them issue a public apology for a spoiler alert that didn't go far enough. And, of course, they talk about some movies, as well. On the chopping block: "After Earth," "Now You See Me," and "We Steal Secrets."
In this week's Movie Date podcast, Rafer and Kristen review two big releases with seemingly never-ending sequels: "The Hangover 3" and "Fast and Furious 6." They also climb into the backseat for a couple of female-led quickies: "Frances Ha" and "The English Teacher." Tune in to find out which satisfies better: the quickies or the big boys.
In this week's Movie Date podcast, Rafer explains to Kristen what red shirts signify in the Star Trek universe, Kristen confesses to having a crush on a certain Star Trek character, and their special guest, Scott Rosenberg, reveals which Enterprise crew member he'd most like to see headlining a spin-off series. It's all in honor of the highly anticipated "Star Trek Into Darkness." Warning 1: There are spoilers in this podcast. Warning 2: Rafer and Kristen sing (badly) in this podcast. Warning 3:...
Is "The Great Gatsby" great? It's been the question on movie enthusiasts' minds for the past several months. Rafer and Kristen weigh in on the Leonardo Di Caprio-led movie, share their knowledge of the book, and compare the film to prior adaptations. They also weigh in on another Long Island movie about class differences hitting theatres this week: "Peeples," starring Kerry Washington and Craig Robinson.
In this week's Movie Date podcast, Rafer and Kristen discuss Gwyneth Paltrow's abs, Kate Hudson's divisive acting skills, action sequences that make Kristen clap, and the best terrorism-themed movies for making out during. It's all in honor of this week's two terrorism-themed films: "The Reluctant Fundamentalist" and "Iron Man 3."
In this week's Movie Date podcast, Rafer and Kristen talk about why we should all aspire to the motto, "do be a doer," as opposed to "don't be a don'ter." They also discuss middle-aged sex, wedding hook-ups, and Chef Boyardee. Special guest Cate Contino Cowit gives her insights as well. It's all in honor of the new action-crime-comedy, "Pain and Gain" starring Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, and Anthony Mackie; and the romantic comedy, "The Big Wedding," starring Robert De Niro, Susan ...
This week's Movie Date podcast is arriving a few days late, as Kristen was dedicating all of last week's working hours to covering the news in Boston. But it's still packed with Rafer and Kristen freshness! On the chopping block: "The Company You Keep," a thriller about what happens when radical terrorists hit middle age; and "Oblivion," a sci-fi adventure about what happens when Tom Cruise refuses to mature beyond his "Top Gun" years. Thanks for your patience, Movie Daters!
In this week's Movie Date podcast, Rafer and Kristen debate whether the new movie "42" is the story of Jackie Robinson, the story of the integration of baseball, or another story all together. They also discuss the new film, "The Place Beyond the Pines," which stars Ryan Gosling, Eva Mendes, and Bradley Cooper as a bunch of sad people living extremely sad lives. Guess which one made Kristen cry? And guess which one helped Rafer teach his son an important lesson?
In this week's Movie Date podcast, Rafer and Kristen look at three very different stories of survival, one of which is a reboot ("Jurassic Park 3D"), one of which is a remake ("Evil Dead"), and one of which is a serious documentary ("No Place on Earth"). Warning: there are references to extremely graphic horror movie content in this podcast.
This week's Movie Date podcast explores the complexities of "G.I. Joe: Retaliation," the cultural implications of "The Host," the role of geometry in romantic entanglements, and the race of ninjas in ancient Japan. Along the way, Rafer and Kristen ask: What the hell is going on at this moment on screen? Is that a good guy or bad guy? And can I make out during this film? Delayed by two days due to a nasty cold on Kristen's part, the podcast features lots of coughing and nose-blowing. Apologies to...
In this week's Movie Date podcast, Rafer points out a certain animated character's skimpy clothing, Kristen admits to more than Rafer can handle, and both of them sing the praises of Olivia Newton-John. It's all in honor of this weekend's big releases: "Admission," "The Croods," and "Olympus Has Fallen."
In this week's Movie Date podcast, Rafer confesses to being a magic nerd, Kristen talks about girl-on-girl action, Rafer admits to liking big beds, and Kristen uses some barnyard language. It's all in honor of "The Call," "The Incredible Burt Wonderstone," "Ginger and Rosa," and "Spring Breakers."
In this week's Movie Date podcast, Rafer and Kristen review "Dead Man Down," "Emperor," and "Oz: The Great and Powerful." Along the way, they contemplate the power of Tyler Perry, the scariness of The Incredible Hulk, and the style choices of Joan Crawford. A warning: this week's trivia question refers to a certain college past time involving marijuana, "The Wizard of Oz," and Pink Floyd.
In this week's Movie Date podcast, Rafer and Kristen are joined by Jeff Yang, who writes the Wall Street Journal's Tao Jones column. Jeff shares his thoughts on the new movie, "21 and Over" - from its depiction of race, to whether it's just a cheap mash-up of "Weekend at Bernie's" and "The Hangover." Along the way, Rafer admits he doesn't remember his twenty first birthday, Kristen falls asleep, and Jeff clarifies that he's not really Jackie Chan (even though he wrote a book called, "I Am Jackie...
