Author: ccradio

Reel 91: Humphrey Bogart Joins the Resistance

Sean and I have wanted to cover CASABLANCA for a long time, but the tough part was finding a good film to pair it with. Finally Sean hit on the idea of pairing Humphrey Bogart with…himself!

In today’s episode we look at two films in which Bogart plays the very reluctant hero despite the fact that the bad guys are literally Nazis. Whoo! Good thing we learned our lesson from that bit of history, right? RIGHT??

Anyway, we do in fact open up with CASABLANCA, from 1942 and directed by Michael Curtiz. It’s worth noting that Hal Wallis acquired the rights to the stage play Everybody Comes to Rick’s only a few weeks after Pearl Harbor and the United States’ entry to World War Two, giving the entire thing an extra bit of poignancy.

From there we move to 1944, and Howard Hawks’ TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT. In this one, Bogart plays a charter fisherman in Martinique who is asked to use his boat to assist the French Resistance there. This is the one in which Bogie first meets Bacall, and fireworks ensue, both on-and off-screen. Also starring Walter Brennan and Hoagy Carmichael doing his Hoagy Carmichael thing.

COMING ATTRACTIONS:

Next time, we make our first foray into the silent era as we review the film INTOLERANCE (1916), directed by D.W. Griffith. Then we jump ahead to 1999 for Barry Levinson’s LIBERTY HEIGHTS. Both films were made specifically to respond to criticism of an earlier film of theirs. Join us, won’t you?

Reel 90: At the Ballet

One of the tough things about films that are focused on a specific, rather niche topic is that the creators have to find a way to turn the audience into feeling as though they’re experts in the field without being such an information dump that they lose track of the story itself.

In some cases you have a character who’s somehow naive and asks questions, acting as a kind of audience surrogate. Other directors are more subtle, leaking out little bits of information at a time as the viewer needs it.

In the cases of today’s films, you’re mostly thrown into the deep end of the pool and need to suss it out yourself. Mostly, anyway. And the topic here is the ballet, specifically the machinations that go on backstage.

We open up with 1948’s THE RED SHOES, directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. This is a directing team that handles films with a fantasy element quite adroitly, and while Sean and I disagree with each other about the handling of one segment of the film, it doesn’t dampen your enjoyment either way.

From 1948 we move to the 21st Century, for THE COMPANY, a 2003 film directed by Robert Altman. As usual for Altman, you’re dropped directly into the chaos but once you’ve acclimated to the pace, he tells a compelling story without actually having a lot of story to tell.

 

COMING ATTRACTIONS:

In our next episode, Humphrey Bogart joins the Resistance. We begin with CASABLANCA, which we could have easily spent the entire episode reviewing. Fortunately for you we showed some restraint and moved on to TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT, which takes a very different tack on the subject. Join us, won’t you?

Reel 89: Backstage Adaptations

Hey there! Long time no see!

That’s actually my (Claude) fault. I’d completed post-production on this episode of the show and somehow failed to post it to our host. Fortunately I corrected that a couple of nights ago, so it should already be in your podcast feed. But if you’re catching up here, you have my abject apologies. You’ll also get Episode 90 this weekend, dropping overnight Saturday/Sunday morning.

Today we’re looking at a couple of films that outline the trials and tribulations attached to creating a film based on source material that’s notoriously tough to adapt to film. As a result, the film becomes a story telling us how tough it is to do the adaptation, while simultaneously (sort of) telling us the story itself.

We open with ADAPTATION (2002), directed by Spike Jonze. We have here a terrific ensemble cast, including Nicolas Cage, Chris Cooper, Meryl Streep and several other familiar faces. Cage plays a screenwriter who’s struggling with writing a script based on the real-life book The Orchid Thief. His twin brother shows up and decides that scriptwriting isn’t so tough, maybe he can write one. Hijinks ensue.

ADAPTATION is about the scriptwriting process. But sometimes the script comes together but producing the actual film is…something else again. For that we have TRISTAM SHANDY: A COCK & BULL STORY, from 2005 and directed by Michael Winterbottom.

In this film, Steve Coogan plays an exaggerated version of himself in the title role of the film adaptation of The Life and Opinions of Tristam Shandy, Gentleman. He’s constantly fighting with another actor, usually about who the real star of the film is. The director doesn’t appear to have a good handle on the source material, and the two people (who coincidentally–or not–have the same first name) who do, are constantly ignored. If you’ve ever watched a film and wondered how it got made, this is the answer.

COMING ATTRACTIONS: 

In Episode 90 we go to the ballet, starting with the 1948 film THE RED SHOES, written and directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. Sean and Claude both enjoyed this film despite having different opinions on certain aspects of it. From there we go to 2003’s THE COMPANY, directed by Robert Altman. It covers a season of rehearsal and performances at the Joffrey Ballet. As with any Altman film, you may have a little difficulty following the chaos at first, but once you relax and settle in, you’ll have a great time. Join us, won’t you?

 

Short Subject: Sean Looks Back at the Sundance Film Festival

As you no doubt know, actor/director/producer Robert Redford died last week at the age of 89.

Now, lots and lots of people took the time to look back at his film career, so Sean and Claude took a different tack and reviewed a different aspect of Redford’s legacy: the Sundance Film Festival.

Redford wasn’t one of the original founders, but he came in very early in the process, and just having his name attached to it gave the festival a new focus and level of prestige.

Reel 88: Backstage Drama II

Where have we been?

Fair question. Not to get into too many details, but we decided to take a short break and then we each had our own little medical misadventures. Nevertheless, we’re back on our respective feet and ready to go!

In another day or two we’ll be providing you with our tribute to Robert Redford, specifically his legacy to the film industry through the Sundance Festival. But for now, enjoy Reel 88.

If you’ve been with us long enough you may remember all the way back to our 12th episode, when we gave you the backstage drama of Stage Door and All About Eve. Both of those shows were firmly set in the Broadway milieu. This time around we take on a more international flair.

We open with a look at Topsy Turvy, a 1999 British film written and directed by Mike Leigh. It’s played largely for comedy and it brings us the mostly-true story of how Gilbert and Sullivan managed to stage perhaps their best-known play, The Mikado.

From there we take a sharp tonal shift with the psychological drama Clouds of Sils Maria (shut up, I know I misspelled it in the cover art). Kristen Stewart is the American assistant to an internationally-famous star of stage and screen played by Juliette Binoche. As we move through the film, everyone is forced to confront questions about life, love, time, aging, culture in general and, once Chloe Grace Moretz appears on screen, the blurring of lines between actors, their roles, and their personal relationships. It’s a kind of All About Eve-meets-Persona story, and I’m really underselling how compelling it all is.

Oh—and Sean will be happy to learn that my stance on Kristen Stewart is softening a little bit.

A little bit.

COMING ATTRACTIONS: 

In Reel 89, we look at a couple of self-aware adaptations. We’ll start with Adaptation (2002), then move on to Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story (2005). Join us, won’t you?

Reel 87: Semi-Autobiographical Movies

Some directors like to look to their own lives, or to their hometowns, for material for their films. And few are more prolific at it than Martin Scorsese (New York) and Barry Levinson (Baltimore). Come to think of it, we could have stayed in Baltimore and covered Levinson and John Waters. Missed opportunity, dangit.

At any rate, we open the episode with a look at Scorsese’s MEAN STREETS (1973), which Scorsese also co-wrote. It’s an episodic look at some folks in New York who may not entirely be on the up-and-up. Scorsese didn’t yet have the clout to get enough budget to shoot in New York City, but Los Angeles makes for a fine stand-in this time around.

From there we move to Levinson’s DINER (1984), a film that didn’t tear up the box office but it was a critical darling and has been cited by many people as a huge influence on their own work. And lucky for you (or for him), Claude gets to flex some of his Baltimore geography skills.

COMING ATTRACTIONS: 

Next time we’ll be doing a follow-up to Reel 12, with more Backstage Drama, with a slight twist. We’ll start with TOPSY TURVY (1999) and move on to THE CLOUDS OF SILLS MARIA (2014). Join us, won’t you?

Reel 86: The Magnificent Andersons

And this, children, is what happens when you don’t hit the “Publish” button. Enormous apologies and thanks for your patience. I’ll make up for it by publishing another episode tonight, since that was the plan anyway.

While I’m at it, I also apologize for the cover art. I couldn’t come up with anything good.

This episode looks at a pair of films by two (unrelated) directors whose last name is Anderson.

We open up with MAGNOLIA (1999), directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. This is a story that doesn’t so much have a plot as it has several plots, each bumping into one another from time to time (think of Altman’s SHORT CUTS, which we talked about back in Episode 34). It’s a fun ride, even if you sit there wondering what one thing has to do with the other. And the answer is: sometimes, not much. But P.T. Anderson sets you up for that early in the film, so you have nothing to complain about. And it’s a long film, so we have a lot to talk about, so don’t complain about that either.

In Part Two we move on to Wes Anderson and his 2001 film THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS, starring Gene Hackman (RIP), Anjelica Huston and a small company of actors as their children and other relatives. The family is in bad shape, until a lie brings them all together. Then it splits them up. Then…well, we presume that if you’re reading this you already knows what happens. But if you haven’t, what are you waiting for? Go see it! Come back and let us know what you thought!

 

COMING ATTRACTIONS:

In Episode 87 we’re keeping our focus (heh) on directors, with two films that are semi-autobiographical in nature. We’ll begin with MEAN STREETS (1973), directed by Martin Scorsese, and finish with DINER (1982), directed by Barry Levenson. Join us, won’t you? 

 

Reel 85: Denzel Still on the Case

This is the second of two episodes in which we look at films in which Denzel Washington is a lawman of some kind. We start with the 1995 neo-noir Devil in a Blue Dress, directed by Carl Franklin and co-starring the likes of Don Cheadle and Jennifer Beals. It’s a period piece, set in post-WW2 California, and it deals with a man looking for a job but finding a mystery instead.

In the second half, we lighten the tone just a little bit for another Carl Franklin joint, Out of Time, starring Denzel Washington again (of course) along with Eva Mendes, Dean Cain and the always-delightful John Billingsley. In this film Denzel plays a police chief in Florida who needs to clear a murder before he, himself, becomes a suspect.


COMING ATTRACTIONS:

Our next episode is titled The Magnificent Andersons, as we review films directed by Paul Thomas, and then Wes, Anderson. We’ll start with Magnolia (1999), and finish with The Royal Tenenbaums (2001). Join us, won’t you?

Reel 84: Denzel On the Case, Part 1

This is the first of two episodes we’ll be doing, featuring Denzel Washington as a law enforcement officer of some kind.

We open up with The Mighty Quinn, a 1989 film that Washington made right on the heels of his stint in the television show St. Elsewhere. (Don’t mistake it for his film debut, though.) Denzel is a police officer on a Caribbean island and there are some strange doings happening, which point to a good friend of his as the culprit. It’s a story of comedy, corruption, government interference, voodoo, cool drinks and hot music as he works to crack the case.

From there we return to the mainland and see our man in New York City, for Inside Man (2006), directed by Spike Lee. This is a crime thriller that has Denzel’s character matching wits with a bank robber. There are lots of twists and turns and you’re never sure who the titular “inside man” is until you’re very close to the end—although there are lots of breadcrumbs to help you figure it out. If, that is, you know how to read them.

COMING ATTRACTIONS: 

From the modern-day pieces of today’s episode, we’re going to jump to a period piece. Devil in a Blue Dress (1995) is set in post-war California. There’s a mystery to be solved, and Denzel’s the man to solve it. Finally, we wrap this package up with Out of Time (2003), which returns Denzel to the present day, but he’s back in a tropical (well, subtropical, anyway) location to solve a murder before it can be pinned on him. Join us, won’t you?

Reel 83: In the Style of Howard Hawks

Our first episode of 2025 is the last of our “In the Style of” series, and this was a fun one to make for us. This time around we’re looking at films that emulate director Howard Hawks in one way or another. Maybe it’s dialogue, maybe it’s the overall vibe, maybe it’s the cinematography…

…Nah. It’s not the cinematography. But it is the vibe and the dialogue. Both of these films, which couldn’t be more different in content and tone from one another (or from most of Hawks’ work, for that matter), definitely have an echo that could get you thinking, “Yeah…he would have handled this pretty much the same way.”

On to fhe movies themselves. And we open up with 1994’s The Bus That Couldn’t Slow Down Speed, directed by Jan de Bont in his American feature debut as a director, and starring Keanu Reeves and a then largely-unknown Sandra Bullock. It’s a tense thriller that still manages to overlay a lot of laugh-out-loud  humor, and a little bit of romantic comedy. Dennis Hopper plays a pretty definitive crazy guy as only he can, and we get some smaller-but-solid performances from the likes of Jeff Daniels, Joe Morton and Alan Ruck.

From there we jump ahead to 2015 and The Martian, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Matt Damon for half the movie, and Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels (again), and a lot of other solid talent holding up the other half. Matt Damon is stranded on Mars and needs to stay alive for much longer than his equipment was designed to do. And all the folks on Earth have to find a way to get to Mars much faster than they expected they’d ever need. Again, a taut, serious story with a humorous overlay that’s quite faithful to its source material. Is the story good science? …eh…mostly. There are a few spots where Andy Weir, the book’s author, concedes he had to break the rules to get some characters where they needed to be. But in the long run you don’t care because it’s a fun ride.


COMING ATTRACTIONS:

If you like Denzel Washington, you’re going to love the next episode. Denzel is on the case, as we screen The Mighty Quinn, which wasn’t his first film role but it was his first after St. Elsewhere (I think…I’m pretty sure), and then it’s Inside Man, a heist film with an ending that we think will surprise you.