The Pacific Northwest Insurance Corporation Moviefilm Podcast

Corbin Smith and Matt Ellis
  • 5.0 (20)
  • FILM REVIEWS
  • UPDATED WEEKLY
The Pacific Northwest Insurance Corporation Moviefilm Podcast

A Podcast about movies from the fine folks at the Pacific Northwest Insurance Corporation, with Corbin Smith (The Famous Writer) and Dr. Movies, Matt Ellis (A Professor of Movies)

  1. 5 DAYS AGO

    NOIRVEMBER: "KISS ME DEADLY" (1955, Dir: Robert Aldrich)

    Matt and Corbin talk about "Kiss Me Deadly," a film noir about a Nietzschean superman lost in an existential world... right up until the point when it turns out he's actually in a science fiction disasterpiece.  Our analysis of the election: wrong. Sorry! Corbin reccomends "BALATRO," a video game. Matt reccomends e-readers.  Next week's NOIRVEMBER selection is "STRAY DOG," which you can watch here.

    1h 20m

  2. OCT 31

    "Let's Scare Jessica to Death" (1971, Dir: John Hancock)

    Corbin and Ellis are joined by MATEA, Portland's Elvira (Letterboxd here, subscribe today!), for a conversaion about the early indie horror touchstone "Let Scare Jessica to Death." Topics include: the shifting uses of mental health care as a literary device, the bitter end of the sixties playing out on screen, the thin line between madness and a vampire invading your mind, and the movie's wild sound design.  Corbin reccomends a movie. Matt reccomends another movie. Matea reccomends yet another movie.  Next week's episode, which i neglected to mention, will be the first in a series of NOIRVEMBER selections: Kiss Me Deadly! Watch it here.

    1h 24m

  3. OCT 25

    "The Apprentice" (2024, DIR: Ali Abbasi)

    Corbin and Matt talk about "The Apprentice," a movie that persues an impossible goal and comes out Interesting. Topics: Sebastian Stan, who is incredible, where orbin was when Trump won, Fred Trump, and how "Humanization" is actually like, the only honest way of telling this story.  Corbin reccomends "Persona 5," he guesses. Available wherever you buy games. Matt reccomends "It Happened One Night," watch it here. Next week: "Let's Scare Jessica to Death." Watch here. After that: NOIRVEMBER

    1h 32m

  4. OCT 18

    "The Breaking Ice" (2023, Dir: Anthony Chen)

    Ellis and Da Corb talk about "The Breaking Ice," a lil' character drama about three people in a chilly city on China's border with North Korea. Topics: America in the 50's and China in the now's, capital's universal qualities, China's particular qualities, and a depressing story that happens in a Safeway. Watch the movie here.  Ellis's reccomendation can be heard here. He totally reccomended it last week, despite what he claims. Check out some of Mike Watson's music here. Our outro music this week is "Violet Gibson" by Lisa O'Neill.

    1h 29m

  5. OCT 10

    MEGALOPOLIS (2024, Dir: Francis For Coppola) with CORY ATAD

    Cory Atad (The Baffler) Joins Dr. Movies and The Corb to talk about "MEGALOPOLIS," a movie about Francis Ford Coppola getting extremely baked and creating a drastically less efficent method of public transit.  Corbin writing this right now just wants to say: my opinion on this movie has curdled into something meaner and less forgiving after recording this episode. I have come to think of it as a monument to one man's narcissim, a canker sore on the art of cinema, a pile of garbage for precisely no one. I will concede that it is not boring, though, and John Voight does say "Gargatua is here!" Also, this week, Musk announced the Robotaxi thing. The cars have two seats in them, just like the crummy cars in this movie.  Corbin reccomends Diamond Jubilee, an album by Cindy Lee you can acquire here. Matt reccomends the new Blood Incantation record. Cory reccomends High Potential, a new TV show.  Next week's episode is about "The Breaking Ice," which you can see here. Matt said this: "Can you note the song at the end? It's Cult of Luna on a Metropolis themed record called "Vertikal."

    1h 38m

  6. OCT 4

    Fredric Jameson's thoughts on "VIDEODROME" (Dir: David Cronenberg, 1983)

    Matt and Corbs talk about the recently departed Frederic Jameson and his thoughts on VIDEODROME, David Cronenberg's 1983 masterpiece about the terrifying merger of man and machine occuring en masse in front of your very eyes and also the pleasures and perils of having a gigantic hole in your abdomen that someone can stick living videotapes inside, compelling you to murder people on behalf of a shadowy right wing technoconspiracy.  Read 'Totality as Conspiracy' here. Matt told me to link this piece about Jameson by Jeet Heer. If it's bad, I didn't read it, blame Matt. Matt reccomends I Love Lucy and The Outer Limits on PlutoTV. Corbin reccomends "Charlie Hustle" by Keith O'Brien. He wrote about the book a while back here. Next week's episode is about Megalopolis, which is maybe the self absorbed movie of all time, currently in theaters.

    1h 33m

  7. SEP 28

    "The Young Master" (1980, Dir: Jackie Chan)

    Jackie Chan. Early eighties. Fred Astaire. Buster Keaton. Buddy if you need convincing to watch The Young Master please, get your fun switches cleaned.  Check out a good essay about Jackie here. Corbin reccomends a sandwhich. Next week's episode is about VIDEODROME. Then: MEGAOLOPOPPOIS!

    1h 32m

  8. SEP 23

    "Christ Stopped at Eboli" (1979, Dir: Francesco Rosi)

    Big Matt and Lil' Corbs talk about 'CHRIST STOPPED AT EBOLI,' a movie about a dissident who get sent to the world's cruddiest village by Benito Mussolini. He learns lessons. Topics include: Pringles, anarchism, its similarities and differences to "The Tree of Wooden Clogs," another movie about pesants, and which came first: Christianity or History?  Matt reccomends Roger Waters' new Dark Side of the Moon remake. Corbin reccomends a video game. Next week's episode is about "The Young Master," available at Criterion. RIP Fredric Jameson.

    1h 28m
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5
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A Podcast about movies from the fine folks at the Pacific Northwest Insurance Corporation, with Corbin Smith (The Famous Writer) and Dr. Movies, Matt Ellis (A Professor of Movies)

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