Parking Lot Critiques

In the second installment of "A Year of Animation," Jeffrey and Andy discuss Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski's vision as expressed in their 1993 film, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. A last minute studio decision made Mask of the Phantasm, originally intended as a direct-to-video release, the first animated Batman feature to hit the big screen. Timm and Radomski did their best to take advantage of this, delivering a noir-tinged love story with a fair amount of movie magic aided by perhaps the greatest score of any Batman film, composed by the late Shirley Walker. Jeffrey and Andy had so much to say about this magnificent motion picture, themselves delivering the longest Parking Lot Critique to date.

Six Pack and a Song's Parking Lot Critiques returns, kicking off 2021 with a new season themed entirely around animation. For the first entry in "A Year of Animation," Jeffrey and Andy discuss Chris Palmer's 2020 film Superman: Man of Tomorrow. The hosts situate this latest Superman film in the character's long history of "origin stories," comparing and contrasting it with previous incarnations of the characters. They also discuss many other aspects of the film, including its unique character dynamics and its bold and poignant anti-xenophobic sentiments, as well as the question of whether or not it is overly presumptuous for Clark Kent to put cinnamon in everybody's coffee (because, he says, it "really wakes it up") while working as an intern at the Daily Planet.

This week on Parking Lot Critiques, Jeffrey and Andy discuss Josh and Benny Safdie's Uncut Gems, starring Adam Sandler, Lakeith Stanfield, Julia Fox, and Kevin Garnett. The hosts provide a thorough commentary on the film's innumerable ups and downs, discussing its honest subversion and offering diverging perspectives on a central question: is its protagonist at all likable or sympathetic? Either way, Uncut Gems is an immersive, thrilling, and challenging experience, hallmarked by what is arguably the greatest performance of Adam Sandler's career. A special thanks to Jordan Mandela-Lyons for remixing and mastering the Parking Lot Critiques theme song; his mix is heard for the first time in this episode!

This week on Six Pack and a Song's Parking Lot Critiques, Jeffrey and Andy tackle "The Final Cut" of Ridley Scott's 1982 film, Blade Runner. The theatrical release Blade Runner was notoriously fraught with heavy studio interference, and thus the film exists in several different versions. In 2007, an extensive restoration/revision project was completed, resulting in "The Final Cut," which Ridley Scott and many fans consider the definitive version. For this episode, the two hosts discuss the various themes and competing readings of this film, including the central question of whether or not its protagonist, Rick Deckard, is a "replicant" (in other words, a "synthetic human"). Andy digs a little deeper into the history of this film's numerous cuts, and Jeffrey offers insightful context gathered from its sequel, the 2017 film Blade Runner 2049. NOTE: This episode features the piece "Night on the Docks" by Kevin MacLeod, edited very lightly to fit the podcast, free to use under the license CC BY 3.0.

Having wrapped up their marathon of the Mission: Impossible franchise, Jeffrey and Andy now turn their critical attention to another old story resurrected as a nineties action flick in Martin Campbell's 1998 film, The Mask of Zorro. Lamenting its failure to materialize into a franchise of its own, the hosts found much to love about Campbell's swashbuckler—mainly Antonio Banderas and the film's rich set designs, beautiful music, and fanciful swordplay. The Mask of Zorro is an underrated entry to the canon of nineties action films, a taste of the superhero boom that would soon come, and a well-crafted origin story that deserved a better sequel than the one it got.

At long last, Jeffrey and Andy finish their marathon of of the Mission: Impossible franchise! This episode of Parking Lot Critiques is the final selection of footage believed to be lost until later recovered. It was recorded in late 2018 after a viewing of Mission: Impossible - Fallout at Showplace Cinemas East in Evansville, Indiana—recorded in the parking lot. Fallout is another strong entry to a franchise that has reached its full potential under the influence of writer/director Christopher McQuarrie. Layered with mysteries and revelations, the film makes excellent use of its characters and the wealth of lore accumulated from past Mission: Impossible films. This review is also the first episode of Parking Lot Critiques to be mostly spoiler free ("spoiler light").

More from the vault this week on Parking Lot Critiques—Jeffrey and Andy's discussion of Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation, recorded in late 2018 as part of their Mission: Impossible marathon. If Ghost Protocol is the point at which the Mission: Impossible franchise hits full speed, Rogue Nation is a worthy film to take the baton. With the franchise under his control as writer and director, Christopher McQuarrie crafts an intelligent and intricate film with layers of commentary on and criticism of real life espionage and its depiction in cinema—especially its portrayal in the Mission: Impossible franchise.

Recorded in late 2018 and thought to be lost until recently recovered, this week's episode of Parking Lot Critiques centers on the fourth entry to the Mission: Impossible franchise, Brad Bird's Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol. The pitch to Ghost Protocol might have been, "Let's do one of these spy movies in which they do all this crazy and cool spy stuff with all these super advanced spy gadgets... and literally everything will go wrong right up until the end of the movie." Jeffrey and Andy discuss Bird's film with enthusiasm and admiration, examining the film's daring action sequences, its narrative playfulness, and the question of whether or not its villain is sympathetic.

This week on Parking Lot Critiques, Jeffrey and Andy discuss Steven Spielberg's timeless adventure movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark. The hosts had so much to say about this iconic film and left the discussion feeling they had more still to say. Their conversation went in several different directions, ranging from praise for the film's beautiful music and engaging action scenes to a piercing examination of Belloq's villainy and Indiana's flawed heroism. A seamless blend of grand movie magic and B flick fun, Spielberg's film is a classic neo-swashbuckler with an oft-ignored spiritual core.

This week on Parking Lot Critiques, Jeffrey, Andy, and special guest Susan Midkiff discuss Damien Chazelle's Neil Armstrong biopic, First Man. This episode utilizes footage recorded in late 2018 and thought to be lost until recently recovered. Bonus points: this episode is the first episode to actually be recorded in a parking lot, immediately following a viewing of First Man at Evansville's AMC Stadium 16. Jeffrey and Andy benefit greatly from Susan's insightful commentary in a lively discussion full of commentary on Neil Armstrong's interpersonal relationships and trauma, praise for Chazelle's compellingly intimate approach to the film, and the gang's best attempts at making space-themed puns.