Fifteen Minute Film Fanatics Fifteen-Minute Film Fanatics

In a recent interview, Paul Schrader said he was lucky with Taxi Driver because he “caught the zeitgeist.” He may have done so again with First Reformed (2017), a film that reflects the age of extremism in which we now live. Join us for a long conversation about a person who might be called the “green Travis Bickle” and who trades in one religion for another, only to find that he can’t give his new set of beliefs as much as he thought he could.
Reverend Toller (Ethan Hawke) is an admirer of Thomas Merton; his renown The Seven Story Mountain (1948) tells the story of his entering Gethsemani Abbey in Kentucky.
Follow us on X or Letterboxd–and let us know what you’d like us to watch! Incredible bumper music by John Deley.
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Hobson’s Choice (1954) is the perfect example of a very specific genre: the capitalist romance. Filled with a Dickensian love of humanity and featuring one of Charles Laughton’s best performances, it’s a perfect film about a deeply complicated topic: what makes the world go round and how individual family units come together, function, and roll on. Dan compares it to The Honeymooners; Mike compares it to 2001. Give it a listen on your way to Moonraker’s!
If you love the film, you’ll want to read the original play by Harold Brighouse, subtitled “A Lancashire Comedy in Four Acts.”
Follow us on X or Letterboxd–and let us know what you’d like us to watch! Incredible bumper music by John Deley.
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Is there anything so refreshing for a film fanatic as a film about grownups? The mid-budget We Own the Night (2007) is a tonic in a world of films costing five times the money but offering only one fifth the talent. Join Mike and Dan for an appreciation of a film without seven reversals at its ending or a series of explosions, but one about adults who find themselves in terrible situations from which they struggle to escape. It has major players in its cast but still feels like a deeply un-Hollywood movie; it’s the cinematic equivalent of a dull ache, and we mean that as a compliment. Prince of the City, Angels with Dirty Faces, and even the parable of the prodigal son make their way into the discussion. If 7-Up is the un-cola, this film is the un-Departed.
If you’re interested in the issue raised by the film concerning the war on drugs, you may want to read David Farber’s 2021 history of the cause and the costs.
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“I envy normal women—they’re free,” laments Irina Dubrovna Reed, in Jacques Tourner’s 1942 film, one as noir as Out of the Past which he would direct five years later. Join Mike and Dan for a conversation about a film that explores the same subject as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and has received, justly or not, “The Criterion Treatment.” They also talk about why Paul Schrader’s 1982 remake works on paper but not on the screen. So grab your sketchbook, steal that key, and give it a listen!
You can pick up a copy of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde here.
Follow us on X or Letterboxd–and let us know what you’d like us to watch! Incredible bumper music by John Deley.
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Everyone loves gut-busting belly-laughs in a film. But sometimes, big laughs slow things down. There’s something to be said for films that amuse us for their duration. Join us for a conversation about a film that makes us smile from its first moment to its last: The Ladykillers, Alexander Mackendrick’s 1955 dark comedy starring Alec Guinness as the creepiest criminal and a young Peter Sellars as one of his gang. Dan praises the film’s economy and compares it to John Cheever’s “Reunion”; Mike explains how it reminds him of Gilbert & Sullivan. And while they dissect the film and how it manipulates the viewer, they still cannot answer the question, “Are those really Alec Guinness’s teeth?”
If you’d like to read “Reunion,” the terrific story by John Cheever to which they compare The Ladykillers, you’ll find it in this collection—which, incidentally, is a book everyone should have.
Follow us on X or Letterboxd–and let us know what you’d like us to watch! Incredible bumper music by John Deley.
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In 1965, Bob Dylan teased the squares by stating, “Something is happening but you don’t know what it is.” The same could be said for childhood and Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) is a film that takes childhood seriously—as opposed to the way it is usually portrayed in big-budget, effects-laden films. Join us for a conversation about a film sometimes compared to the work of C. S. Lewis but one we find is more like that work of Miguel de Cervantes and Hayao Miyazaki.
If you’re interested in learning more about the director of Pan’s Labyrinth, The Shape of Water, and other (literally) fantastic thrillers, check out Guillermo del Toro: The Iconic Filmmaker and His Work.
Follow us on X or Letterboxd–and let us know what you’d like us to watch! Incredible bumper music by John Deley. The opening interview clip of Guillermo del Toro can be found here.
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