Nature Finds a Way: Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park This week Ibrahim & I close out the month with a fan favorite, a ground-breaking special effects extravaganza, the emergence of a new cinematic tool, and a hint at the cinematic world to come. This week we close out our look at blockbusters bookending Steven Spielberg's 1975 Jaws with his 1993 look at Jaws on land - Jurassic Park . This was a fun time looking back on a classic and examining how it changed the face of filmmaking. There's a ...
Jun 25, 2024•1 hr 33 min
Lady War Rig: George Miller's Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga This week we focus on a soon to be classic prequel to - arguably - the best action film of the 21st Century . . . the continuing George Miller saga - Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga . Featuring an incredible Ana Taylor-Joy, taking over the Imperator Furiosa role originated by Charlize Theron in Miller's 2015 Mad Max: Fury Road , Taylor-Joy (and as the much younger Furiosa , Alyla Browne) and Chris Hemsworth as the Warlord Leader Dementus. This is a t...
Jun 20, 2024•1 hr 31 min
Yippee-Ki-Yay, M*#^%$F@!^!#: John McTiernan's Die Hard This week a 1980s Action Classic . . . John McTiernan's Die Hard (1988). A huge gamble for 20th Century Fox in the late 1980s, Die Hard remains the standard for "everyman" action films. Before the character would become a superhero, impervious to any and all pain, John McClane was a New York cop, visiting Los Angeles, and struggling to keep his ego, anger, and jealousy in check in a Christmas Eve attempt to win back his estranged wife. We al...
Jun 13, 2024•1 hr 31 min
Like Looking in the Mirror, Only Not: John Woo's Face/Off This week Mr. Chavez and I continue our look at blockbusters with this 1997 John Woo Classic of stylized violence, ridiculous plotting, and unbridled overacting . . . we are - of course - talking about Woo's Face/Off . There's no way to really get into how utterly ridiculous this film is for an episode synopsis, but I will say that it was a fun utterly moronic ride into the past. John Travolta (riding the waves of Pulp Fiction that would ...
Jun 03, 2024•1 hr 19 min
Like a Doll's Eyes: Steven Spielberg's JAWS This week, a classic . . . in 1975 Steven Spielberg changed the face of cinema with his adaptation of Peter Benchley's 1974 novel Jaws. The story of a man-eating shark terrorizing a small island community, Jaws would usher in a new era of moviegoing. There's little that should be written in this episode synopsis; the history and legacy of Spielberg's film is well known. But conversation is always a good time, and we would love for you to join us as we ...
May 29, 2024•1 hr 27 min
Make a Move and the Bunny Gets It: Simon West's Con Air This week Mr. Chavez & I celebrate bad cinema with a look at the 1997 Simon West Action/Comedy/Prison/B-Movie Character Actor Extravaganza Con Air . Based on a real-life judicial system prison transport program, Con Air is an embarassing and exaggerated look at 1990s Hollywood Action Cinema. Featuring a slew of character actors (M.C. Gainey - Swamp Thing , Danny Trejo - Johnny 23 , Mykelti Williamson - Baby-O ), a future star (Dave Chap...
May 23, 2024•1 hr 23 min
Obvious Action, Patriotic Porn: Michael Bay's The Rock This week Mr. Chavez & I dive into the world of 1990s Big Budget, Over-Hyped & Underwritten, Garbage Cinema with one of the best that would come out of the Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Machine, Michael Bay's 1996 opus The Rock Featuring Nicholas Cage (in the first of a series of big-budgeted, ridiculous films), Sir Sean Connery, David Morse, and Ed Harris (in a performance out of touch with this particular film), along with a who's ...
May 15, 2024•1 hr 27 min
The Bailey Effect: Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life This week Ibrahim & I re-watch a classic (Thank You - Anonymous Donor, Someone ), Frank Capra's 1946 Jimmy Stewart/Donna Reed Classic It's a Wonderful Life . Few films have captured the public's hearts and imaginations like Capra's look at the life of Bedford Falls' George Bailey - A man with big dreams hobbled by the responsibilties and challenges of life. A kind of Christmas Carol re-telling from the Bob Cratchett point of view, Capra'...
May 08, 2024•1 hr 35 min
A Fighter's Journey: The Rocky Saga & Legacy This week Mr. Chavez & I continue our look at Sylvester Stallone's 1976 Oscar-Winning creation, Rocky Balboa. For nearly five decades Stallone's Balboa has captured the hearts of the American public. An underdog character that has appeared seven times on the big screen, Balboa's story has run the gamut of emotions featuring deaths, births, disappointments and success. It's a paint by numbers story that the public continues to eagerly swallow. ...
May 01, 2024•1 hr 39 min
America's Underdog: John G. Avildsen's Rocky & Sylvester Stallone's Rocky II Jumping into the world of underdogs (last week's Popeye ), Mr. Chavez & I look at one of the great American Cinematic creations - Rocky Balboa. The Balboa character's screenplay origin rivals that of the character's struggle in the film(s). From a real life adaptation of the 70s Muhammad Ali/Chuck Wepner bout, Stallone is legendary for having written Rocky and forcing studios to accept him as the lead in order t...
Apr 23, 2024•1 hr 16 min
Comic Strip Underdog: Robert Altman's Popeye This week we look to the fans with a special episode dedicated to WatchThis supporter, Jorge Saucedo. Mr. Saucedo asked that we take a look at the much-maligned 1980 Robert Altman comic strip adaptation, Popeye . This was a great time re-visiting a classic of my youth and, although Popeye is not Mr. Chavez's type of film - good guy hero, comic strip adaptation, musical - there is a great deal that he admired in this 80s Classic. Featuring Robin Willia...
Apr 16, 2024•1 hr 30 min
We'll Always Have Aqaba - David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia Few films are able to live up to the label of "epic". In 1962 David Lean created one of the great epic masterpieces of cinema, Lawrence of Arabia . Based on the life of British archaeologist, army officer, diplomat, and write, T.E. Lawrence, Lean's film chronicles Lawrence's involvement in the Arab Revolt (1916-1918), his life among his adopted tribal families and his struggles with loyalty to the Arab tribes, the dessert, and his ties to...
Apr 10, 2024•2 hr 1 min
Frank Herbert's Burden: Denis Villeneuve's Dune Part 2 This week Mr. Chavez & I return to Planet Arrakis for the conclusion (a lie) of Frank Herbert's Sci-Fi Classic, Dune . We partly imagined that this would be more of our previous look at this film (Episode #353), however we were able to find more to complain about. Take a listen as we fortify our stance in the minority opinion regarding this "WhiteSaviour" epic. It's an interesting talk with a lot to unpack. As always we can be reached at...
Apr 02, 2024•1 hr 39 min
Woman in Trouble; Audience Perplexed: David Lynch's Inland Empire Few filmmakers can live up to the title "auteur" . . . David Lynch almost requires the use of it. From daring soundtracks through troubling narratives and controversial story elements, fascinatingly over the top performances and strange journeys into the subconscious, Lynch has left audiences reeling with confusion and excitement for over forty years. On this week's episode Mr. Chavez and I take a look at his last theatrical relea...
Mar 26, 2024•1 hr 24 min
Broken Mirror: Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan Fun talk . . . This week Mr. Chavez and I continue to look at the films of Darren Aronofsky with this discussion of his 2010, Five Time Oscar Nominated (Including Best Picture and Director, and Winner for Best Actress - Natalie Portman) look at the world of Ballet. Aronofsky's film is a tense and often brutal look at the world of artistic perfection featuring a dynamic and fearless performance from Natalie Portman as Nina Sayers, a young ballerina giv...
Mar 20, 2024•1 hr 34 min
Souls Dead, Eyes Dilated: Darren Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream On this week's episode Mr. Chavez & I sit down for a re-watch of Darren Aronofsky's second feature, Requiem for a Dream , based on the 1978 novel by Hubert Selby Jr. Aronofsky's adaptation is a tragic and often times painful viewing of heroin addiction and the victims (Jared Leto, Marlon Wayans, and Jennifer Connelly) it leaves in its wake. Aronofsky and Selby contrast heroin addiction with the more "acceptable" and less recogn...
Mar 14, 2024•1 hr 14 min
Mima's Room: Satoshi Kon's Perfect Blue This week we thank long time listener and Buy Me a Coffee supporter, Cornelius Burroughs with a viewing and discussion of Satoshi Kon's Perfect Blue . Mr. Burroughs was kind enough to gift me a blu-ray copy of this Classic Japanese Anime many years ago . . . I have finally made the time to watch it and am eager for listeners to hear our admiring, problematic, and conflicted opinions of this film. This is a great discussion that has forced - at least this m...
Mar 05, 2024•1 hr 15 min
From Cute & Cuddly to Killer: Joe Dante's Gremlins and Gremlins 2: The New Batch This week Mr. Chavez & I continue our stroll through the 1980s with a look at a stange kind of Comedy/Puppetry/Action/Horror hybrid, Joe Dante's Gremlins (1984). Dante - a graduate of the Roger Corman School of Low-Budget Filmmaking - is one of the most criminally underappreciated directors of the 1980s and 1990s. The Howling , Explorers , The 'Burbs , Matinee , Innerspace, and Looney Tunes: Back in Action ....
Feb 27, 2024•1 hr 15 min
What's Out There: Ridley Scott's Alien and John Carpenter's The Thing This week we take a look at two of the greatest Science-Fiction/Horror films in the History of Cinema: Ridley Scott's Alien (1979) and John Carpenter's The Thing (1982) We've talked about both of these films throughout the history of the podcast, however on this go-around we take a slightly different approach, looking at the similarities between the films, the differences, the influences, and how each film has adhered to and e...
Feb 21, 2024•1 hr 27 min
A Safe Alien for the Box Office: Steven Spielberg's E.T. The Extra Terrestrial This week Mr. Chavez & I shift our focus from the dangers of extra terrestrial life to the cute and cuddly alien that captivated audiences in 1982 - Steven Spielberg's E.T. The Extra Terrestrial . At the time, the biggest box office hit in the history of cinema (a title it would hold until Spielberg's own Jurassic Park eleven years later), E.T. The Extra Terrestrial , is a film that has stayed in the public consci...
Feb 14, 2024•1 hr 35 min
Paradise Lost - Ridley Scott's Alien: Covenant This week brings us to the end of our look into the Alien franchise with a discussion of Ridley Scott's final journey into the world he introduced audiences to in 1979. 2017's Alien: Covenant did a great deal to explain the origin of the xenomorphs and the space jockey, however an equal number of questions arose. As we await the release of Alien: Romulus in the summer of 2024 it's our duty to look at Ridley Scott's conclusion and discuss this multi-...
Feb 06, 2024•1 hr 17 min
F*cked Around and Found Out: Ridley Scott's Prometheus It's rare that a director can tell a story, go on to fabulous critical and commercial success, and return to his origins, answering questions that have hovered around a franchise for decades, while doing so in an exciting and innovative way. Ridley Scott's Alien introduced one of the great Science Fiction/Horror creatures. In 2012 Scott would return to the world he created in 1979 with his prequel Prometheus . A film that confused and angere...
Jan 31, 2024•1 hr 32 min
Dead on Arrival: John-Pierre Jeunet's Alien Resurrection Closing in on the end of the month brings us to the end of the original Alien franchise. 1997s Alien Resurrection is a ridiculous mess of a film that is a final disappointing period to one of the greatest Horror/Sci-Fi franchises in the history of cinema. From a script by Joss Whedon and direction from Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Alien Ressurrection badly fumbles the beauty, intensity, and legacy of the first two films and the potential of what th...
Jan 27, 2024•1 hr 27 min
Dragon, Mother, Queen: Not David Fincher’s Alien 3 Continuing our descent into the world created in 1979's Alien and continued with 1986's Aliens, this week Mr. Chavez & I find ourselves crash landing on Fiorina "Fury" 161 - a foundry and maximum-security planet prison. David Fincher (in his feature directorial debut) takes the helm for 1992's Alien 3. Arguably the most beautifully photographed and intricately detailed entry (production design wise) in the Alien series, Fincher's work in com...
Jan 18, 2024•1 hr 32 min
Unfinished Business: James Cameron's Aliens This week Ibrahim & I return to LV-426. 57 years later - but feeling more like seven - James Cameron takes over the reins for the masterpiece created by Sir Ridley Scott. 1979's Alien would change the Sci-Fi genre. An incredibly influential work of cinema, the film would influence any number of directors, with James Cameron springboarding off of the world created by Scott and moving the genre from Horror/Sci-Fi to Military/Sci-Fi. Analogous to the ...
Jan 11, 2024•1 hr 45 min
Crew Expendable: Ridley Scott's Alien Might as well not screw around and start 2024 with a bang . . . This month Mr. Chavez and I dive into the world of Ellen Ripley and the Xenomorphs. At this point it's been nearly 45 years since we were first introduced to the crew of the Nostromo: Tom Skerritt, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, Ian Holm, John Hurt, Yaphet Kotto, and - in her film debut - Sigourney Weaver. Scott (in his second feature) created a science fiction world unlike anything se...
Jan 04, 2024•2 hr 2 min
L.A. After Midnight: Dan Gilroy's Nightcrawler Finishing December and starting 2024. (Sorry, we're a bit late getting this one out.) A continuation and closing out of Ibrahim Chavez's Los Angeles. We've talked James Ellroy, Charles Bukowski, Thom Andersen, and Paul Schrader's Los Angeles. This week we filter the darkest, most cynical, and bleakest impressions of Los Angeles through the tabloid and exploitative lens of television news in Dan Gilroy's 2014 Nightcrawler . Featuring a powerful and d...
Jan 01, 2024•1 hr 32 min
Bukowski's Drunken Streets: Marco Ferreri's Tales of Ordinary Madness Continuing our exploration of The City of Angels, Mr. Chavez & I dive into the great Los Angeles novelist, short story writer, poet, and "Dirty Old Man" Henry Charles Bukowski (1920 - 1994). Bukowski holds a special place in my heart and memories; Beginning with Notes of a Dirty Old Man and continuing through novels (Women, Ham on Rye), a screenplay ( Barfly ), and numerous poetry collections (War All the Time: Poems 1981-...
Dec 27, 2023•1 hr 13 min
Down These Dark Streets: James Ellroy - Feast of Death Continuing our travels through Los Angeles, Mr. Chavez & I focus our discussion on the great LA Crime (Historical Crime) Novelist, James Ellroy. Famous for his LA Quartet - including The Black Dahlia , L.A. Confidential, The Big Nowhere , and White Jazz , as well as the autobiographical My Dark Places , Ellroy has written some of the most celebrated and polariizing Los Angeles based novels of the last century. His examination of the L.A....
Dec 19, 2023•1 hr 33 min
Another Lost Angel: Paul Schrader's Hardcore This week we continue our descent into Ibrahim Chavez's Los Angeles with a look at Taxi Driver screenwriter, Paul Schrader's blunt and brutal examination of the Los Angeles/San Diego/San Francisco sex trade of the late 1970s. Schrader's upbringing in a strict Calvinist environment would shape his social outlook and influence his abandonment of religion and drive towards sexual and cultural freedoms. Much like his screenplay for Taxi Driver , Schrader'...
Dec 11, 2023•1 hr 57 min
