You’ve probably heard by now that the opening minutes of The Descendants, Alexander Payne’s adaptation of the novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings, do not bode well for what follows. The first film Payne has directed that he hasn’t co-written with Jim Taylor, his partner on Citizen Ruth, Election, About Schmidt and Sideways (and surreally, …
View full postMay 15 2012
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This week: the first of a two-part episode finds Chris joined by Malcolm McConnell to talk over The Avengers, in forms both assembled and otherwise, as well as comic book movies and the work of Joss Whedon more generally. WARNING: believe it or not, this hour long, in-depth discussion of one film contains some spoilers. Part two, on the Beastie Boys and MCA, to follow later this week.
Mar 11 2012
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This week: Guess who’s back? Back again? If you guessed ‘a ten years out of date reference to Eminem’, you’d be right, but also missing the point, because the podcast’s back after a two month hiatus. No guests, so hear Chris ramble for most of an hour about Bruce Springsteen, Blu-Ray and some of the film and music highlights from the start of 2012.
N.B.: Dud e-mail address given at the end of this week’s pod – all enquiries/comments/abuse can be sent to chris@seenyourvideopod.com
Feb 13 2012
You’ve probably heard by now that the opening minutes of The Descendants, Alexander Payne’s adaptation of the novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings, do not bode well for what follows. The first film Payne has directed that he hasn’t co-written with Jim Taylor, his partner on Citizen Ruth, Election, About Schmidt and Sideways (and surreally, wonderfully, credited drafts of Jurassic Park III and I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry), starts with a concentrated burst of uncharacteristically clunky expository voiceover from George Clooney, playing Hawaiian lawyer Matt King. As Clooney looks the old show-don’t-tell rule square in the face and dares it to blink, there’s an emergent worry that seven years off has left Payne the writer a little rusty, even as Payne the director expertly complements the narration bemoaning outsiders’ idealised visions of Hawaii with shots of an island city that looks like it could be anywhere in the USA.
Jan 22 2012
I know it’s totally pointless to get worked up about awards season in Hollywood, because it rarely, if ever recognises the actual best films of any given year. I know we say this about it every year. I know we trot out the same statistics of past injustices: Hitchcock, Welles and Kubrick never won Oscars; Dances With Wolves beat Goodfellas; Forrest Gump beat Pulp Fiction; from a largely fool-proof field that included Brokeback Mountain, Capote, Munich and Good Night, And Good Luck, the Academy still managed to fuck up and give Best Picture to Crash.
I know we all just let out a sigh, acknowledge that the Oscars have happened and move on with our lives. Goddammit, though – nothing quite hammers home the essential frippery of these awards like the knowledge that Michael Hazanavicius’ The Artist is considered this year’s frontrunner.
Jan 22 2012
Aye, so, sorry for the lack of podcast over the past couple of weeks. I’m trying to nail down a particular interview that has so far proven elusive, but will hopefully get something up before the month’s out. In the meantime, have some blog posts.
Dec 31 2011
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This week: the conclusion of the epic two-part year-end round-up sees Chris counting down his ten favourite films of the year, ably assisted by Jamie Dunn, Ross Watson and Ali Braidwood.
Nov 28 2011
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This week: Chris flies solo in anticipation of the forthcoming year-end best-ofs, ruminating on how best to enjoy films that are just OK and wondering why Tyler, The Creator got so much stick for foregrounding prejudices that have long existed in hip-hop.
Nov 21 2011
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This week: Chris missed Arab Strap at Sleazy’s 20th birthday party, but did get to see The Twilight Sad; and Jamie Dunn, film editor of The Skinny, comes in to talk about the revitalisation of British cinema over the past year, including Terence Davies’ The Deep Blue Sea (on general release from Friday).
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