Back at the Movies (with Scott Mason)

This week, Film Studies and English teacher Matt Ryan joins the show to chat about a movie that is about to have its long-awaited sequel "the Further Mis-adventures of Cliff Booth" released in theaters........ Nominated for numerous Academy Awards, 2019's "Once Upon A Time......in Hollywood" directed by Quentin Tarantino and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, and Margot Robbie! We discuss the movie's origin including Tarantino eventually tujrning it into a full length novel, the layered storytelling and brilliant acting, the multitude of awards it was nominated for and why it probably deserved even more acclaim than it received, as well as a whole host of fun facts about the film that you may not know! Plus, we talk about Richard Roeper's review (unfortunately both Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert had passed away long before the movie was released), we answer the questions Siskel and Ebert were famous for asking themselves after every movie they reviewed...... And don't forget the Nashville chicken scale! Ranking on the year-end 10 best movies of 2019 list: Richard Roeper: #2 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Scott reviews "Wicker," Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson's fable about a woman who commissions a husband made out of wicker starring Olivia Coleman, Alexander Skarsgard, and Peter Dinklage! ****Note: The first half of the episode contains NO SPOILERS. We then take a break and get into the spoiler material. So if you just want an idea of what the film is about, listen to the first half and come back for the second half after you see the movie. If you have already seen it, enjoy the episode straight through!**** Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Scott reviews "The Only Living Pickpocket in New York," Noah Segan's look at a clash between old school and new school in New York City starring John Turturtro, Giancarlo Esposito, and Steve Buscemi. ****Note: The first half of the episode contains NO SPOILERS. We then take a break and get into the spoiler material. So if you just want an idea of what the film is about, listen to the first half and come back for the second half after you see the movie. If you have already seen it, enjoy the episode straight through! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, English teacher and varsity baseball coach Jayson Love joins the show to chat about a movie that's timely given the recent playing of the World Series, 1988's "Eight Men Out" directed by John Sayles and starring David Strathairn, Charlie Sheen, and John Cusack! We discuss the movie's origin including how Adifficult it was for John Sayles to get it made, historical elements, strong performances by the ensemble cast, as well as a whole host of fun facts about the film that you may not know! Plus, we talk Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert's reviews and we answer the questions Siskel and Ebert were famous for asking themselves after every movie they reviewed! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Film Studies and English teacher Matt Ryan joins the show to chat about a movie that won the Grand Prix at Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for 2 Academy Awards, 1997's "The Sweet Hereafter" directed by Atom Egoyan and starring Ian Holm, Bruce Greenwood, and Sarah Polley! We discuss the movie's origin including how Atom Egoyan acquired the movie rights from author Russell Banks, the layered storytelling and brilliant acting, the multitude of awards it was nominated for and why it probably deserved even more acclaim than it received, as well as a whole host of fun facts about the film that you may not know! Plus, we talk Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert's reviews and we answer the questions Siskel and Ebert were famous for asking themselves after every movie they reviewed! Ranking on the year-end 10 best movies of 1997 list: Gene Siskel: #7 Roger Ebert: #2 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, actor, writer, and MMA podcast host Andrew Benjamin joins the show for a SPOILER FREE chat about the movie that won the Grand Jury Prize and Audience award at Sundance Film Festival, Beth de Araujo's "Josephine," starring Channing Tatum, Gemma Chan, and Mason Reeves! We discuss a special Q & A with director Beth de Araujo, how the film came together, a spoiler free review of some of the movie's broad strokes, whether it is worth going out of your way to see, thoughts on if it deserved all the accolades it has been getting , as well as a whole host of fun facts about the film that you may not know! Plus, we answer the questions Siskel and Ebert were famous for asking themselves after every movie they reviewed! *Winner, 2026 Sundance Grand Jury Prize and Audience award *Beth de Araujo winner of Montclair Film Festival's Breakthrough Director award Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, "Van Halen Rising" and "Ted Templeman: A Platinum Producer's Life in Music" author Greg Renoff joins the show to chat about one of the most acclaimed movies of the "New Hollywood" era, 1971's "The Last Picture Show" directed byPeter Bogdonovich, and starring Timothy Bottoms, Jff Bridges, and Cybil Shepherd! We discuss the process of how the film got made, why the decision to make it a black and white film wound up being brilliant, the multitude of awards it was nominated for and why it holds up as one of the best movies of the decade, and a whole host of fun facts about the film that you may not know! Plus, we talk Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert's reviews from 1971 and we answer the questions Siskel and Ebert were famous for asking themselves after every movie they reviewed! Ranking on the year-end 10 best movies of 1971 list: Gene Siskel: #5 Roger Ebert: #1 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, former WWE creative team member and former Soaps In-Depth writer Frank Scalise joins the show for a SPOILER FREE chat about the movie that won Cannes Film Festival's "Palme D'Or" award, Christian Mungiu's "Fjord," starring academy award nominees Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve! We discuss a special Q & A with star Sebastian Stan, how the film came together, a spoiler free review of some of the movie's broad strokes, whether it is worth going out of your way to see, thoughts on if it deserved all the accolades it has been getting including early Oscar nomination buzz, as well as a whole host of fun facts about the film that you may not know! Plus, we talk what we think Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert's would have said about the movie and we answer the questions Siskel and Ebert were famous for asking themselves after every movie they reviewed! *Winner, 2026 Palme D'Or Cannes Film Festival *Christian Mungiu becomes only the 10th director to ever win the Palm D'Or TWICE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, actor, writer, and MMA podcast host Andrew Benjamin joins the show to chat about the 2010 movie that won the People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival and Best Picture at the Academy Awards, "The King's Speech" starring Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, and Helena Bonham Carter! We discuss the exhaustive research of the screenwriter that produced excellent storytelling, award nominating performances of all three of the top billed performers, what led to the movie winning top prize in Toronto and at the Oscars, plus a whole host of fun facts about the film that you may not know! Also, we talk Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper's reviews (Gene Siskel had unfortubately passed away over a decade before the movie's release) and we answer the questions Siskel and Ebert were famous for asking themselves after every film they reviewed! Ranking on the year-end 10 best movies of 2010 list: Roger Ebert: #2 Richard Roeper: #9 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, former WWE creative team member and former Soaps In-Depth writer Frank Scalise joins the show to chat about the movie that won the Toronto International Film Festival's "People's Choice" award and the academy award for best ;picture, Hugh Hudson's 1981 drama "Chariots of Fire" starring Ian Charleson, Ben Cross, and Ian Holm. We discuss how the movie navigated the time period in which it took place, the long list of awards it won including the biggest prizes at both the Toronto International Film Festival and the Academy Awards, the long lasting impact of the movie's theme song, as well as a whole host of fun facts about the film that you may not know! Plus, we talk Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert's reviews from 1981 and we answer the questions Siskel and Ebert were famous for asking themselves after every movie they reviewed! Ranking on the year-end 10 best movies of 1981 list: Roger Ebert: #2 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices