With DC’s “only bad guys can stop the real bad guys” movie coming this weekend, Steve thought it was only fitting for me to catch David Ayer’s admitted inspiration from 1967. Its a fun movie, especially for its length, but something is slightly off about it for me, listen in while I try to explain what that is while praising the ensemble cast.
Tag: film criticism
Debt to Cinema 045: This Film is Not Yet Rated
Documentaries are a fickle mistress. They’re important during the time of their release, but seldomly retain the appeal which made them hot way back when. Case in point is this largely unseen investigation into the philosophical makeup of the Motion Picture Association of America. For a contemporary viewer such as I, it informed my immediate outlook of cinema at an impressionable age, but what about Steve? Listen to discover what he thinks of Kirby Dick’s exploration a decade removed from its release in the age of streaming VOD.
Debt to Cinema 044: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Before Justin Lin takes us Beyond what Star Trek has to offer, Steve thought it was fitting to make me finally watch the universally lauded, and unanimously selected, best installment thus far. I wish I loved it, but this was another case of society ruining an experience for me (Spoiler: I already knew Spock died).
Dollar Reviews 025: Ghostbusters (2016)
Despite telling ourselves, and each other, that we wouldn’t see Paul Feig’s Ghostbusters, we caught the she-make anyway. Also, Steve saw 1988’s Uninvited (34:28), I trounced around Goodwill and started The CW’s Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (39:50), terrified myself with Scare PewDiePie (41:36), and listened to the new Avalanches (43:40) and Blood Orange (46:05) albums. Finally Steve caught Tickled (47:32) which leads into a great conversation about documentary filmmaking.
Debt to Cinema 043: Heaven’s Gate
A running topic on the show, and in my life in general, is the battle between universal acclaim and general hatred. When so many people qualify a film as good, its close to impossible to have a dissenting opinion. However, when it comes to films such as Michael Cimino’s Heaven’s Gate, if everyone hates it, any critique is valid. Join us for this epitaph of a review where we share our conflicting views while trying to understand why this notoriously flopped so hard.
Debt to Cinema 042: The Witches
I’m fairly critical of this widely unseen childhood horror flick, but I give my reasons. I get truly animated towards the end once we get to the film’s bullshit ending though. My problems aside, this is a fun and pretty damn spooky Roald Dahl adaptation with some great Jim Henson puppet work sure to please the kiddies come October.
Dollar Reviews 024: Swiss Army Man/Finding Dory
We begin with the all Daniels, tour de farts, Swiss Army Man which will hopefully ride the current under the radar into your hearts, then surf into Finding Dory (20:28) a little later than the rest of the ocean of film critics. Finally, Steve caught Max Landis’s Victor Frankenstein (32:00) and I talk future proofing my Playstation VR library with Mike Bithell’s Volume (36:05).
Debt to Cinema 041: Odd Thomas
2016 has been a horrible year so far in terms of celebrity deaths. David Bowie and Alan Rickman are probably the most notable passings, but whereas they both had several iconic performances that made them cultural icons, Anton Yelchin was only just starting out. What better way to remember him than viewing a film about him being able to see ghosts?
Debt to Cinema 040: The Thin Man
Just a year after Prohibition was repealed, Nick and Norah Charles reminded America why they missed alcohol so badly. Between their comedic timing, romance, and scene stealing dog, join us as we decide if this whodunit romcom has enough going for it to make up for the subpar mystery.
Debt to Cinema 039: The Red Violin
What the world needs now, is love, sweet love, its the only thing there’s just too little of – especially for Classical music. That’s not the topic exactly, but it is instrumental in the main character’s creation. This is the second sabbatical episode and our first attempt at a new intro. Even if it sucks, hopefully us trying something new can get you to share what you thought.
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