The Gentle Art of Japanese Extortion (1992)

This week, Crit Club returns to our home away from home: France. We watched the 1995 crime drama La Haine, which follows three young men from the Parisian slums in the day after an explosive riot that landed one of their friends in the hospital. La Haine deals with the ongoing issues of French xenophobia, police brutality, and the choices left for those trying to survive on the fringes. Come listen to our thoughts on this gripping movie! And come back next week for a Peter pick! He’s celebrating Pride month with the 1991 coming of age queer drama Young Soul Rebels. Watch along! You can follow the whole of our podcast, aided by ⁠this helpful spreadsheet⁠ which documents all the scores we gave to the movies we have watched. And drop us a line! You can email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram, Threads, or Bluesky with the handle @critclubpodcast. Crit Club's theme song and art were made by co-host ⁠⁠Peter Allen Clark⁠⁠.

This week, Crit Club gets a remarkable education from Spike Lee’s 1988 joint School Daze. In the vein of, and making light of, such rollicking college films as Animal House, et. al., School Daze follows various social groups at an HBCU over Homecoming weekend. They struggle with each other, expectations, and politics both local and global, in hopes of realizing some vision of themselves, however compromised such visions may be. The movie also features Crit Club’s official song of summer 2024. Come hear what we took away from this master class! And join us next week for a very special Coire pick as we watch the 1995 drama La Haine. It’s special because Coire picked a French movie. Can you imagine?? You can follow the whole of our podcast, aided by ⁠this helpful spreadsheet⁠ which documents all the scores we gave to the movies we have watched. And drop us a line! You can email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram, Threads, or Bluesky with the handle @critclubpodcast. Crit Club's theme song and art were made by co-host ⁠Peter Allen Clark⁠.

If a Yakuza has ever threatened you into free lasagna, then this week’s Crit Club is up your alley. We watched the 1992 dark comedy The Gentle Art of Japanese Extortion (aka Minbo) from director Juzo Itami. It tells the story of a group of hotel employees dedicated to ridding their hotel of Yakuza bullies, led by one fearless lawyer. Come listen to what we thought and how much protection money we had to pay! Next week, we’re having an Angela pick! She’s chosen Spike Lee’s 1988 joint School Daze. Watch it along with us! You can follow the whole of our podcast, aided by ⁠this helpful spreadsheet⁠ which documents all the scores we gave to the movies we have watched. And drop us a line! You can email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram, Threads, or Bluesky with the handle @critclubpodcast. Crit Club's theme song and art were made by co-host ⁠⁠Peter Allen Clark⁠⁠.

This week the Crit Club is slowing things down a little with Kelly Reichardt’s 2016 movie Certain Women. This film tells three moderately overlapping stories of women in various stages of life going through their motions in rural Montana. It’s small and quiet, like Reichardt’s other films, and we had a lot to say about it. Like what, you ask? Come listen! And join us next week for a Wizard Pick™! We’ll be watching the 1993 satire The Gentle Art of Japanese Extortion. Join us for that! You can follow the whole of our podcast, aided by ⁠this helpful spreadsheet⁠ which documents all the scores we gave to the movies we have watched. And drop us a line! You can email us at [email protected] or find us on social media with the handle @critclubpodcast. Crit Club's theme song and art were made by co-host ⁠Peter Allen Clark⁠.

Never one to shy away from masochism, this week the Crit Club is watching the 1985 Soviet anti-war movie Come and See. This film, directed and co-written by Elem Klimov, follows a young boy as he is swept up into the hell that is war, specifically rural Belarus during the Nazi invasion of 1943. While it borders on surrealism, the dogged pace and devoted honesty of Come and See never lets a viewer have too much distance from the horrors humans can unleash. If that didn’t scare you away, then you should listen to the Crit Club’s full discussion! Next week, we’re slowing things down a bit (a LOT), by watching Kelly Reichardt’s 2016 drama Certain Women. Watch along and join us! You can follow the whole of our podcast, aided by ⁠this helpful spreadsheet⁠ which documents all the scores we gave to the movies we have watched. And drop us a line! You can email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram or Threads with the handle @critclubpodcast. Crit Club's theme song and art were made by co-host ⁠Peter Allen Clark⁠.

Surprise, surprise, the Crit Club is watching a French movie this week. The 1973 post-new wave drama The Mother and the Whore follows a young man named Alexandre as he talks, meets women, talks to them, and meets more. Written and directed by Jean Eustache, this movie is highly regarded as one of the best films of the 1970s and a unique meditation on youth, romance, and relationships. Come and hear what we thought! Join us next week for a Coire pick, where we’ll watch the 1985 anti-war drama Come and See, directed by Elem Klimov. You can follow the whole of our podcast with ⁠this helpful spreadsheet⁠, which documents all the scores we gave to the movies we have watched. And drop us a line! You can email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram or Threads with the handle @critclubpodcast. Crit Club's theme song and art were made by co-host ⁠Peter Allen Clark⁠.

This week the Crit Club is traveling way back, and way forward, in time as we watch the 1936 science fiction film Things to Come. This early special effect juggernaut is looked decades into the future with a script by H.G. Wells, and posits questions about humanity, progress, and peace. Were we left wishing for futuristic art deco toga clothes, or did this movie make us want to be shot out of the space gun? Listen and find out! Join us next week for an Angela pick! We’ll go back to France with 1973’s The Mother and the Whore. You can follow the whole of our podcast, aided by ⁠this helpful spreadsheet⁠ which documents all the scores we gave to the movies we have watched. And drop us a line! You can email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram or Threads with the handle @critclubpodcast. Crit Club's theme song and art were made by co-host ⁠Peter Allen Clark⁠.

The Crit Club is a brave bunch, no stranger to tackling any movie, whatever its reputation. To prove our courage, this week we’re watching the notorious 1987 box office bomb Ishtar, written and directed by Elaine May. Its plot is a goofy buddy comedy starring Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman as aspiring songwriters who somehow find themselves a gig in Morocco. But the film’s legacy is one of reported mismanagement, studio interference, and deep-seated grudges, which led to a reputation as being one of the worst movies ever made. Did we buy into that hype, or was there an oasis to find in the desert of Ishtar? Listen and find out.  And join us next week for a Wizard Pick™, where we’ll watch the 1936 British science fiction film Things to Come. You can follow the whole of our podcast, aided by ⁠this helpful spreadsheet⁠ which documents all the scores we gave to the movies we have watched. And drop us a line! You can email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram or Threads with the handle @critclubpodcast. Crit Club's theme song and art were made by co-host ⁠Peter Allen Clark⁠.

It’s a real date night week here at Crit Club where we’re watching the often-banned, taboo-breaking In the Realm of the Senses from 1976. From Nagisa Ōshima, this fictionalized account of a Japanese true crime incident that happened in the 1930s follows two lovers as they fall down the well of each other’s hedonistic appetites. That “date night” thing mentioned earlier was sarcasm, and all sorts of trigger warnings should be applied to a viewing and discussion of this cinematic curiosity.  Next week should prove to be a bit more audience, though not box office, friendly. As Peter picks the Elaine May reputable disaster of a film that many believe destroyed her career. We’re watching Ishtar. You should watch it as well and listen along! You can follow the whole of our podcast, aided by ⁠this helpful spreadsheet⁠ which documents all the scores we gave to the movies we have watched. And drop us a line! You can email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram or Threads with the handle @critclubpodcast. Crit Club's theme song and art were made by co-host ⁠Peter Allen Clark⁠.

That train whistle blowing you hear is the Crit Club hustling their way to watch 3:10 to Yuma, Delmar Daves’ classic 1957 western based on an Elmore Leonard short story (which you can read here). This compact story puts a modest rancher in an unexpected position with an infamous gang leader, telling a timeless story of morality, humanity, connection, and dread. Did we find the ride comfortable or would we have rather been tied to the tracks? Listen and find out! And join us next week for a Coire pick, where he has challenged us to watch the oft-banned 1976 erotic art film In the Realm of the Senses by Nagisa Ōshima. You can follow the whole of our podcast, aided by ⁠this helpful spreadsheet⁠ which documents all the scores we gave to the movies we have watched. And drop us a line! You can email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram or Threads with the handle @critclubpodcast. Crit Club's theme song and art were made by co-host ⁠Peter Allen Clark⁠.