The Movie Homework Podcast
Although we’re a bit late this week, our lives are finally returning to normal from the thesis inspired disorganization and weirdness. Mariam even went to the movies, seeing Nicholas Winding Refn’s latest Refnarök Only God Forgives, which received a pretty brutal reception at this year’s Cannes film Festival. Meanwhile Ari caught up with John Frankenheimer’s 1998 thriller Ronin, starring Robert De Niro and Stellan Skarsgård.
This week Ari made Mariam watch one of the seminal comedies of the last decade or so, David Wain’s directorial debut Wet Hot American Summer, a skewed take of the 80’s camp film, it stars many of the biggest comedy stars of the moment, is generally, at least in Ari’s mind, one of the funniest films ever made. But since Mariam is mostly ambivalent to comedies, and especially the more “random” weirdness of modern comedies, what will she make of this?
Ari had to watch something far more overtly “serious” than Wet Hot, which isn’t to say that his homework, Ingmar Bergman’s Hour of the Wolf, is without laughs. It’s a gothic inspired horror film about a husband and wife grappling with the husband’s increasingly unhinged and dangerous behaviour.
We might not be back again next Monday, as Mariam goes back to the US, but we’re going to experiment with doing an episode through skype. We close this episode by discussing what we’ll be talking about next week, as well as Ari reading a post from IMDBmessageboards. As always you can follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, send us an email and subscribe and review us in iTunes!
Movie Homework Ep.55 - Wet Hot American Summer & Hour of the Wolf
It’s a weird hate-watchathon this week on The Movie Homework Podcast. Fittingly, for the lacking quality of the films, we have to deal with a less-than-perfect recording environment. But we kick things off by discussing our underwhelming film watching these last few days.
Mariam’s homework this week was something she actually requested, Brian De Palma’s notorious flop The Bonfire of the Vanities, based on Tom Wolfe’s zeitgeisty bestseller. Ari had seen the film, and although a De Palma apologist couldn’t quite recommend the film, but will him rewatching and Mariam seeing it in comparison to the book add new layers to the film?
Ari’s homework this week was to watch one of Mariam’s most hated films, Harmony Korine’s 2007 film Mister Lonely. It centers on a commune of people who impersonate celebrities, among them Michael Jackson played by Diego Luna and a Marilyn Monroe played by Samantha Morton.
We close things off by discussing Ari’s new tumblr and what we’re up to next week. As always you can email us, follow us on Twitter and on Facebook. Subscribe and rate us in iTunes!
Any reasonable scientists can’t support such a weird theory.
IMDb user nooware has some interesting theories regarding Brian De Palma. (Follow imdbmessageboards for more insane IMDb ramblings)
But the violent isn’t meant to be taken serious.
Clearly IMDb user Graeme6630 disagree’s with us on Freeway.
We’re finally back from our thesis enforced break. We talk about our work, and some of the stuff we’ve watched in the break, including Mariam actually going to the movies to see Derek Cinefrance’s new film; The Place Beyond The Pines, which we talk about in pretty spoiler-y terms. But it stinks so who cares? Ari decided to watch a “classic” he’d been putting off, the seminal comedy Animal House.
Ari’s homework this week was to watch the 1996 film, Freeway, starring Reese Witherspoon and Kiefer Sutherland. It’s a modern, non-supernatural re-telling of the Little Red Riding Hood story. Mariam remembered it as a fun, campy version of the story, but was her memory actually right?
Mariam had to watch the 2012 film Contraband, which is a remake of the Icelandic film Reykjavík-Rotterdam. Since Ari has spent the last semester writing and thinking about the movie, he was interested in hearing what someone else would think about the remake, and to see if he’s totally in the wrong about his opinions.
We close this week’s episode by discussing the film’s we’re gonna make each other hatewatch next week! Don’t forget you can email us, find us on Twitter and Facebook and in iTunes!
It’s a jam-packed episode this week. We kick things off by talking about an explosive development in Ari’s life, Mariam finally watching Brian De Palma’s Dressed to Kill and Ari catching up with Richard Linklater’s film from last year Bernie.
This week Mariam had to watch two movies! More specifically the two worthwhile follow-ups to Die Hard: 1990’s Die Hard 2 and 1995’s Die Hard With A Vengence. Mariam picked Die Hard as her favorite piece of homework so-far, so what will she make of its sequels?
Ari’s homework was slightly weirder, the Russ Meyer directed, Roger Ebert penned sexploitation classic Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. Ari had never seen a Russ Meyer film, so what will he make of his first venture into his filmography.
As always you can email us, find us on Twitter and on Facebook. Please write reviews and subscribe in iTunes. We’ll be taking a break for a few weeks, but will return in early June!
Movie Homework Ep.52 - Die Hard Sequels & Beyond the Valley of the Dolls
A glorious screenshot from Die Hard - With a Vengeance. Coming up on Monday’s episode.
