A Bigger Splash

Who thought putting criminals in space would be a great idea? I mean, if everyone was kind and everything was successful, would it make a great story? Who can tell but that's the basis of the Claire Denis film HIGH LIFE. Starring Robert Pattison, Mia Goth, Juliette Binoche, André "3000" Benjamin, and Ewan Mitchell, we follow a doomed space mission to a Black Hole and the obvious antics that ensue from locking a bunch of criminals on a spaceship and expecting them to produce offspring. What could go wrong? There's a bunch of fluids being slung around this vessel in scenes wetter than those in ALIEN where Harry Dean Stanton takes a shower in the cargo hold with his clothes on and every other scene where the Xenomorph shows up and it's drooling everywhere. HIGH LIFE is considered a sci-fi horror as well just so you know. That's why I mention it.

Ryan felt we needed to lighten things up and dive back into some digestible fluff that he could get into his snarling teeth. But kinda what we found was that he's been tamed slightly. No longer has the pretentiousness of cinema's past enveloped his dark soul now that he's found the work of Nick Hurran. Yes. Nick. Oh, sweet Nick. This man knows what he's doing with this (one of his many "body swap" films in his filmography). This happens to be one of the better examples. Now, it's no BIG. It's no FREAKY FRIDAY. It's VIRTUAL SEXUALITY: the spunky British comedy with plenty of that late 90's style and lack of taste that the early 00's also brought. But hey, it's nostalgia. You kinda had to be there. (Also, Ryan remains unchanged.)

That train keeps chugging and by pure accidental bliss, we have another film up here with some stark similarities! Would I go on to say this film is "controversial"? Probably. We have some issues with it. As you'll gather, we don't talk about the film much but rather the way the film was made. There's some questionable behavior happening here, and we're not a podcast to let that slide. The two leads however, Léa Seydoux and Adèle Exarchopoulos are exceptional. Honestly, they knock this film out of the park with the rather mediocre material they are given. It's a disappointing shame as this was adapted from the equally exceptional graphic novel by Jul Maroh. This is mostly Ryan's opinion here, Laura thinks the film is pretty good despite our universal disapproval of the off-camera shenanigans. It's just the Director who needs to take a little look in the mirror honestly if any of these allegations are true. Let's hope not dude, because that's kinda messed up!

June has rolled 'round and you know what that means?! It's Pride and we get to cover some LGBTQ+ films. This time, we're dipping into Gay Cinema with one of the best examples of the category. Number 22 in the BFI best LGBT film of all time is Alain Guiraudie's STRANGER BY THE LAKE. A masterful and nuanced take on the mystery genre, this minimalist, intimate, and insular film focuses on the shenanigans of a popular cruising area by the lake and the craziness that ensues over a collection of days. There's plenty to enjoy here as you will tell quite quickly, we didn't even note down time codes for this one; there's almost 90% un-coverage. It would be 100% if it weren't for shots like the car pulling into the parking lot and people talking (with their clothes on). 

You knew this day would come. It was inevitable. We're covering Jane Campion's THE PIANO. How does Ryan feel about this one? This was the one film of the filmography that he remembered quite fondly but now, decades later and now a co-host of an alternative film review podcast, with an active dislike for the other films we have covered of this particular filmmaker, how will it fare? I guess you're going to have to find out if this classic and most revered film of the time passes that gauntlet. (Don't worry about Laura, she loves everything.)

We sent out the call at the end of our A BIGGER SPLASH episode with CHALLENGERS releasing day. It may even be fate that willed us, catching an early preview screening the same week in an RPX ("shaky seats") theatre. There's nothing like a tennis movie in a vibrating seat with some phat, thumping base and Zendaya's moody staring. Along with a tonne of sweaty slow motion from the other stars Josh O'Conner and Mike Faist. But honestly, if you've heard this film is good, they're wrong. It's great!

What could be better? You have the sunshine. You have your lover. You have fresh fruits, food and a beautiful location for relaxation and isolation. But then your veracious and intrusive friend from your past phones up and barges into your life. We've all been there I guess. It starts out like fun then gets painfully annoying when that guy tries to steal away your girlfriend and his daughter just won't leave you alone. In Luca Guadagnino's remake / adaption of the original book/film THE SWIMMING POOL (LA PISCINE) (1969) we see a bunch of equally beautiful people enacting this psychological dramatic piece. In short, floatation devices were created for a reason. 

We are back and with something weird and beautiful! Yeah, in our double dipping on the Yorgos-train, we find ourselves at the 2023 release of the multi-award winning POOR THINGS. This comedy/drama/fantasy film is something special. A feast for the eyes and an incredibly darkly comical tale of a woman brought back to life and given a second chance. Think FRANKENSTEIN, FRANKENHOOKER, FREAKY FRIDAY, and some other period piece that gives you a general idea that this is set some-time-when with a sprinkling of familiarity. With an award-winning performance from it's central lead, Emma Stone and backed up by Willem Dafoe, Ramy Youssef, Jerrod Carmichael, and a scene stealing comedy great performance from Mark Ruffalo, this has to be seen to be experienced! Don't let us hold you up! Bella Baxter is a Disney Princess, ya'll!

This episode we look at the early filmography of Yorgos Lanthimos featuring DOGTOOTH! Famous for his more Western entries in his filmography, THE LOBSTER, THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER, THE FAVOURITE and his recent Oscar winner POOR THINGS, we go back to the seminal turning point in his career: DOGTOOTH. He's been a prominent figure in Greek Cinema prior (part of the aptly put "Weird Wave") but it's fair to say that DOGTOOTH put him on the International map, nominated for a Best Foreign Feature Oscar in 2009. Doing so made this deeply darkly comic film (or horror, depending on your interpretation) available to a much wider audience at the time. And what a treat that is! It's funny how films like this have the habit of taking us all to the place we tend to stray to; the darkest places our humor can go honestly. Certainly Josh (not to throw him under the bus). Be warned, there is a lot of sarcastic chatter about inter-familial relations for which we do not seriously condone. But as we say, if you're not laughing, you're crying. Sit in your "sea", turn down the "pussy" and smell your "zombies", here we go! 

Oh boy... What have we done to ourselves? In a moment of uncertainty we decided to double dip into the Winterbottom well. We knew we were going to review this film "at some point" BUT we didn't really know what we were letting ourselves in for. The "arthouse/mainstream/romantic/concert film" is only 69 (lol) minutes long but it feels like it's relatively short runtime. A film that depicts heavily gratuitous un-simulated sexual acts performed by our lead couple, some scenes depicting our lead character's job as a glaciologist (!) and 9 (counted and confirmed) songs of musical acts of the time performing at Brixton Academy in London. If you thought that it would add up to the sum total of "nothing" you'd be close. If you thought it was a bit of a shallow, uncomfortable experiment that doesn't really justify its needs and the pressure put on its performers, you may also be right. If you think its a bit pretentious, you'd also be on the right track. See what we have to say in one of our personal favourite breakdowns of a film we've done in a while.