Movies About

James Batcho, PhD

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FILM REVIEWS
EVERY TWO WEEKS

Movies About

Movies About... Music, Places, and other things. Taking a particular film as a launching point, this wife and husband pair talk frankly about the lives of artists, travelers, and other intrepid souls. Podcast produced by James Batcho. Music composed by CeCe Kim; performed by CeCe, James and Gino Brann; and recorded by James. Instagram: @moviesaboutmusic

29/04/2023

Hunger (2023)

Issues of class, ambition, nihilism and family permeate our discussion of the Netflix movie Hunger (2023). We found it entertaining but cliché and lacking depth. We also discuss Thai food, Thai filmmaking, and high food culture. The movie had, to us (especially Jim), some unfortunate comparisons to a movie we hated, and covered in a past show: Whiplash. At least Hunger gives us a character with some redeeming qualities. Hopefully this movie generates some future interest in greenlighting future movies from Thai directors, a trend we welcome. Movies About clips available on our YouTube channel @moviesabout Instagram: @moviesaboutpodcast

28 min
05/04/2023

The Wedding Singer (1998)

We return to the 1980s, sort of, with the 1998 hit comedy The Wedding Singer, starring Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler. We talk wedding gigs, 80s culture, singer moods, Drew and Adam’s chemistry, inappropriate humor, Cece’s recent trip to Australia, and Jim’s past loathing of Adam Sandler. Movies About clips available on our YouTube channel @moviesabout Instagram: @moviesaboutpodcast

37 min
12/03/2023

95th Oscars Special Part 2

Part 2 of a Movies About / Now It’s Dark crossover edition for the 95th Academy Awards. Tim Paugh and I discuss all 10 of the Best Picture nominations, chose our who will/should win for the major categories, and close with Tim’s Top 10 movies of the year list. Tim’s podcast Now It’s Dark is available on Apple, Spotify, Substack , and other platforms. Now It’s Dark YouTube channel: @nowitsdarkmovie Patreon: patreon.com/nowitsdark Movies About clips available on our YouTube channel @moviesabout Instagram: @moviesaboutpodcast

2h 12m
08/03/2023

95th Oscars Special with guest Tim Paugh (Part 1)

With CeCe on holiday in Australia, Tim Paugh and I decided to do a crossover podcast for the 95th Academy Awards. Tim is a filmmaker and host of the excellent movie podcast Now It’s Dark, a pod that was an inspiration to us when we got ours off the ground. In this Part 1 of 2, we take stock of where the Academy is at in 2023. We discuss the oscars-so-white and metoo social media campaigns and how they are influencing popular filmmaking—in narrative content, popular culture, and the news media landscape. We ask what kind of politics cinema is doing and talk about Hollywood insider campaigning—in particular, the Andrea Riseborough controversy. Tim’s podcast Now It’s Dark is available on Apple, Spotify, Substack , and other platforms. Now It’s Dark YouTube channel: @nowitsdarkmovie Tim's Patreon: patreon.com/nowitsdark Highlight clips of Movies About episodes, plus other content, is available on our YouTube channel @moviesabout Instagram: @moviesaboutpodcast

1h 1m
20/02/2023

Music - Tár (2022)

As we approach the Oscars, we return to Movies About Music to discuss the Todd Field film Tár. Cate Blanchett gives a stunning performance as the titular character, a powerful symphony conductor who gets canceled for sexual impropriety (we never learn what exactly). We discuss the electric scene of her shaming a gender-fluid student in class for dismissing Bach. We ask the question “What if she were a man?” and make connections to Harvey Weinstein, issues of power, and what it means to have influence over others. We discuss the job of conductor and how it drives and interprets the music. We make call-backs to our previous episodes on Whiplash and Mr. Holland’s Opus and talk briefly about our recent trip to Thailand.

43 min
15/01/2023

MA Places - Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)

We visit Spain in our second Movie About Places—specifically, the titular locale of our film Vicky Christina Barcelona, directed by Woody Allen. It was a second viewing for both of us and we felt even more love for it than our first. We take a deep dive into the women in the film. Jim sees the three as channeling, in a Hermann Hesse style, three different personas or identities, while Cece discusses the different ways the women express a Beauvoirian sense of self in relation to the men around them. We finish with an update on our bordercollie Cera, whom Cece sees in Penelope Cruz’s María Elena.

39 min
18/12/2022

Movies About Christmas - Home Alone (1990)

Jim had never seen this movie. He was too busy trying to be cool. So we decided to uncork this masterpiece of millennials for our first Movie About Christmas. We discuss the movie, the celebrity and the actor Macaulay Culkin, and somehow veer into an odd discussion about Donald Trump. We also debate what makes a proper Christmas movie. We may do another pod for Home Alone 2, or maybe we’ll save that for next year, we’ll see. Enjoy, happy holidays, and Merry Christmas!

20 min
18/11/2022

Movies About Places: Seoul - Parasite (2019)

Movies About Places: Seoul. After a long break, we’re back with Season 2 of our podcast, which is now named “Movies About.” Our first episode is in the category of Places. Our place is Seoul and our movie is Parasite. We picked this not only because it tells us a lot about contemporary Seoul, but because of recent events in the city: The tragic Halloween deaths in the Itaewon neighborhood, the raging capitalism and rush for profit that drives the city, and how hard it is to have a border collie in Seoul. In Bong Joon-Ho’s film, money is a disease that effects everyone in horrific ways. It’s a genius film that says a lot about the city we live in.

50 min

Movies About... Music, Places, and other things. Taking a particular film as a launching point, this wife and husband pair talk frankly about the lives of artists, travelers, and other intrepid souls. Podcast produced by James Batcho. Music composed by CeCe Kim; performed by CeCe, James and Gino Brann; and recorded by James. Instagram: @moviesaboutmusic

Creator

James Batcho, PhD
Years Active

2021 - 2023
Episodes

30
Rating

Explicit
Copyright

© 2022 James Batcho, PhD
Show Website

Movies About