Black Book

You know when one of your reviews is "I'm not sure if Kenneth will break into song at any moment", you're either getting something that's gonna be awesome or bordering on disaster. This film is a mixed bag, which is ironic, because MARY SHELLEY'S FRANKENSTEIN, directed and starring Kenneth Branagh, is about a mad scientist who takes a bunch of dead bodies, stitches them together and brings them back to life. It's a tale as old as 1818, as they say. If the dazzling lights of contraptions pulsating, buzzing, and electrifying don't grab you, Kenneth's washboard definitely will!

Movies. You love 'em, right? Now more than ever? The romanticism of cinema. The elegance of the silver screen. The pretentiousness of simply making money in Tinseltown. Yes! We are here for THE PLAYER. Robert Altman crafts a piece of fine art with this twisty m**der mystery about Griffin Mill, a high-level movie executive, who gets embroiled in a vendetta with a writer whose idea he didn't greenlight. Genius, right? This one is one of the good ones.

And like that, we're coming out of another "Spooky P**is Month" and back to the drudgery of season... Shorter days. Colder nights. Christmas. It's all downhill from here. SO CHERISH THESE MOMENTS! We're covering one of cinema's brightest stars and a film he wishes to have absolutely no association with WHATSOEVER! Yeah, we're covering Ti West. Of course, people will scream from the mountains, "Guys, there are other films to cover of his!" and you would be correct, but this is just kind of funny... AND GROSS! This is one of the most shameless, ickiest, nastiest looking sequels to an underwhelming horror franchise from Eli Roth and, y'know what? This rulez! Just be prepared for how gross it is, and you'll be pleasantly surprised.

It's that time of year once again! It comes every year! SPOOKY PENIS MONTH! And we're hitting it hard with a "classic" in the form of John Irvin's GHOST STORY! I don't want to diminish it; it is a classic. It has some memorable moments and a scene that we uncover that we got very excited about. The way it's put together and how it's presented really make it. But other than that, it's about a bunch of rich old men having nightmares after some supremely abhorrent behavior in their youth haunts them and irritates their spouses, and that's about it. Anyway, let's ring in the festivities with our first installment of the season!

Keeping secrets...In the shadows... Or something more descriptive/funny/entertaining, etc. This film is the very definition of "twisty-turny", full of characters waiting to double-cross or double-cross those double-crossers. Maybe the twistiest, turniest film we've ever covered. More so than WILD THINGS. A very serious film about the Dutch Resistance fighters during the Second World War made by Paul Verhoeven.BLACK BOOK marked his departure from Hollywood and a return to Holland since making THE FOURTH MAN. This is a very accomplished film by a very accomplished filmmaker and is well worth a watch or two to get all the little details he put in there. Sit back and strap in for a 2.5-hour ride (don't worry, this episode is only 50 minutes).

Ryan was born quite a long time ago, and he is really old now. Since this is his "birth month", Laura allowed him to pick one of the movies for September, and this felt incredibly "literal".Yes! Sir. Stephen Frears, revered and celebrated British film director, hits it out of the park with this Dame Judi Dench/Bob Hoskins vehicle about "tasteful nudity" in theatre during wartime! With a host of other recognizable faces and a surprising, yet possibly THE BEST REVEAL EVER COMMITTED TO THE SCREEN WE HAVE UNCOVERED ON OUR PODCAST, there's a really, really, REALLY good time to be had with this one.

Alas, we have neared the end of our exclusive "FEMALE" August season, and we've taken this chance to usher in this close with a special guest. Laura and Ryan know next to nothing about the work of John Waters, which is both abhorrent and indicative of our glaring ignorance. That's why we invited Josh, who basically said we should have invited someone else if we wanted to talk about John Waters. Either way, enjoy this deepish dive into FEMALE TROUBLE and the revelation we'll be uncovering far more of his work in the future!

Who knows how far this episode will reach with something like "FEMALE" in the title, huh? Oh, we're only joking, YOU know why. In part 2 of our "August-Where-We-Cover-Films-With-Female-in-The-Title", we're looking at Susan Streitfeld's FEMALE PERVERSIONS. A film of theatrical quality and its own distinct style, it may not appeal to everyone. It may alienate others, and generate wonderment for some. It's hard to argue that the film has something to offer within the scope of exploring woman creatives and voices in cinema. Just watch out for the one-and-only Clancy Brown shine for no more than 3 scenes and basically Philip Seymour Hoffman this!

We're hitting August, and it's all about the FEMALES: which means we're covering films with "FEMALE" in the title. And if you couldn't get enough of individuals assuming someone else's identity in one episode, wait until you get your eyes on SINGLE WHITE FEMALE. Following in the footsteps of THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY, we replace opulence and popularity with questionable haircuts. They really test the limits of Bridget Fonda's attraction factor by giving her a haircut similar to Guy Gardner's from SUPERMAN, but you will be surprised how well this hair performs. There's very little to say about this film that hasn't been said already as one of the prime examples of the Erotic Thriller genre. This is a good one!

Many iterations of this character have found their way onto our screens - some great, some not so great. This happens to be one of the good adaptations. Starring a cast of the best-looking people of the 90s: Matt Damon, Jude Law, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Cate Blanchett.Enjoy this "twisty-turny-journey" from the "Ripliad"!