The Kick

Chance Solem-Pfeifer
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  • TV & FILM
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The Kick

Go on a themed movie kick with host Chance Solem-Pfeifer. We're currently on Kick #4 ... "Grand Finales & Follies" about major filmmakers' last big swings.

  1. 'Eyes Wide Shut' with John DiLillo | Grand Finales & Follies

    OCT 31

    'Eyes Wide Shut' with John DiLillo | Grand Finales & Follies

    You can't end a career with more enduring mystery than Stanley Kubrick's "Eyes Wide Shut." John DiLillo returns to explore how the film still reverberates (perhaps too conspiratorially) in the culture, the volumes it suggests about Tom Cruise, and why it's a movie about learning the hard way to deal with marital complexity. Need any last-minute Halloween costume ideas? We've got those, too. I'll add that this is the conclusion of Kick #4, but we'll close out the year with a series on the best (or rather, most beloved) films of 2024.

    46 min
  2. 'Varda by Agnès' with Jennifer Jones and Laura Glazer | Grand Finales & Follies

    OCT 24

    'Varda by Agnès' with Jennifer Jones and Laura Glazer | Grand Finales & Follies

    "If all great filmmakers would make a documentary about their lives right before they died, wouldn't that be so handy?" Couldn't put it better than Jennifer Jones does in this episode. She and Laura Glazer are the co-founders of the Agnes Varda Forever project, and they're here to talk about "Varda by Agnes" (2019), the final film from world cinema icon Agnes Varda. We dig into Varda's one-of-a-kind career, suggest starting points for newcomers, and assess what sets Varda's final film apart of the towering epics that seem to typify this series. Check out the Agnes Varda Forever website for free posters, cool merch, info on a forthcoming postcard project, and news of their return to Clinton Street Theater in March: AgnesVardaForever.com

    35 min
  3. 'Megalopolis' with Bennett Campbell Ferguson | Grand Finales & Follies

    OCT 17

    'Megalopolis' with Bennett Campbell Ferguson | Grand Finales & Follies

    What is "Megalopolis" about? The 40-year dream of Francis Ford Coppola to make his opus? A reclusive inventor who holds the key to utopia? Deviant capitalism? Cyclical violence? Aubrey Plaza giving *the* comedic performance of 2024? Bennett Campbell Ferguson is here to talk about the vast contradictions, bravura setpieces, and wild swings of "Megalopolis"—aka, this series' inspiration. Check out Ben's new film writing site Fools Who Dream: https://foolswhodreammovies.com/

    59 min
  4. 'Julie & Julia' with Erin Carlson | Grand Finales & Follies

    OCT 10

    'Julie & Julia' with Erin Carlson | Grand Finales & Follies

    Arguably the most influential rom-com voice in movie history, Nora Ephron ended her reign in 2009 with an ode to marriage, butter, and idealizing Paris. "Julie & Julia" is this week's career finale, and author Erin Carlson is here with anecdotes from both her Meryl Streep and Nora Ephron books, plus tales from the set, theories on why Julie's plotline is so stressful, and her experience cooking Ephron's rice pudding recipe. Subscribe to the "You've Got Mail" substack to read Erin's terrific reporting and criticism: https://erincarlson.substack.com/

    35 min
  5. 'Horizon' with Noah Ballard | Grand Finales & Follies

    OCT 3

    'Horizon' with Noah Ballard | Grand Finales & Follies

    In honor of "Megalopolis," we begin a new series on great filmmakers' last big swings. Today, it's Kevin Costner's all-in bet on himself, as he rewrites the frontier myth once again. Noah Ballard (Verve) is here to talk "Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1," its baffling number of plot lines, questionable portrayal of the Apache, and impossible infatuation with the "real West."

    51 min
  6. 'The Bikeriders' with Bennett Campbell Ferguson | Motorcycle Rebels

    JUN 27

    'The Bikeriders' with Bennett Campbell Ferguson | Motorcycle Rebels

    End of the road for this kick, gang. And fittingly enough "The Bikeriders" (2024) is all about how nothing lasts. But it's also about a lot of actors—Tom Hardy, Jodie Comer, Austin Butler, Michael Shannon, and 15 more—bringing wildly different acting styles to the table in this requiem for a Chicagoland biker gang. Film critic Bennett Campbell Ferguson is back to discuss whether "The Bikeriders" is "cosplay" or something deeper.

    44 min
  7. 'Ghost Rider' with Noah Ballard | Motorcycle Rebels

    JUN 20

    'Ghost Rider' with Noah Ballard | Motorcycle Rebels

    Nic Cage brings the boys back together for a weekend of Ghost Rider. In search of the motorcycle rebel's most demonic representation, we watched “Ghost Rider” (2007) and “Ghost Rider: The Spirit of Vengeance” (2011). What did we find? Floating skulls, hot chains, performances stuck between a Cage and a hard place, and two movies that just need a *little* more time to explain what a Ghost Rider is.

    57 min
  8. 'Rumble Fish' with Ray Gill Jr. | Motorcycle Rebels

    JUN 13

    'Rumble Fish' with Ray Gill Jr. | Motorcycle Rebels

    “The Motorcycle Boy Reigns” as our kick arrives at “Rumble Fish” (1983). It’s not set on the highway, but perhaps no movie in this series uses the idea of the motorcycle rebel to such cool, elusive effect as Francis Ford Coppola’s dreamlike crime drama, starring a young Mickey Rourke. Ray Gill Jr. (Portland Mercury, Willamette Week) is here to explain why “Rumble Fish” is his favorite film, why Matt Dillon used to scare him, and why insanity is intoxicating, plus primo tales of growing up in a video store.

    45 min
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4.7
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About

Go on a themed movie kick with host Chance Solem-Pfeifer. We're currently on Kick #4 ... "Grand Finales & Follies" about major filmmakers' last big swings.

Information

  • Creator
    Chance Solem-Pfeifer
  • Years Active
    2015 - 2024
  • Episodes
    275
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © All rights reserved
  • Show Website
    The Kick

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