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Episode #44 – Top 5 Biopics

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Episode #44

james cagney yankee doodle dandy
My mother thanks you; my father thanks you; my sister thanks you; and WE thank  you for joining us for our excursion into the world of biographical cinema!  In episode 44, the gang at That’s a Wrap! tackles their top 5 biopics.  What does each selection reveal about its selector? We have no idea, but we had a blast doing it! Let us know what tops your list.

Links:

Matinee: A cinematic love letter to the films of William Castle
Spoilers be here. Each of our Top 5 Lists are below:

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Episode #43 – The Coen Bros / Hail Caesar

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Episode #43 – Part I

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This is Part I of our discussion. Part II to follow shortly. 


Hail-Caesar-Character-Poster-1We hope you enjoy our COEN BROTHERS / HAIL CAESAR episode wherein we dicuss Joel and Ethan’s latest effort and cast retrospection on their canon.  Part of what makes these auteurs so fascinating is their cultivation of an aesthetic work ethic that spreads across a broad and diverse body of thematic/narrative/genre landscapes. Bold filmmakers unafraid to work within the template of genre; they subvert and mold them into Coen Brothers films. We discuss their highs, lows and middles. Join us!

Note: After pickups, we talk about Hail Caesar for about 40 minutes. If you’d rather hear us talk about the Coens in general, we start that discussion at the 51 minutes mark, and finish it in Part II of the episode.

Links:

Steven Soderbergh’s Speech on the State of Cinema (A MUST WATCH)

 

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Episode #42 – The 88th Academy Awards

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Oscars

To cap off our week long Oscars extravaganza – we present our all-Oscars episode wherein we discuss our thoughts on this year’s best picture nominees, our own special favorites and, of course, our predictions.

Let us know if you’ve enjoyed our special Oscars coverage this year. We appreciate any and all feedback.

Here is the legendary Rob Lowe/Snow white opening number to the 1989 Oscars that we mentioned in this episode.  Careers went up in flames over this…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJ0XGi_LVOU

Here’s an explanation of the complex system of voting that resulted in 8 nominees this year.

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Episode #39 – Ex Machina and Wes Craven

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Episode #39

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Please join us for episode #39 where we discuss the science fiction darling of many critics and audiences this year, Alex Garland’s  Ex Machina (2015).  Erik and Nick discuss their reactions to the film and also the topic of gendered/sexualized androids, robots and cyborgs trending now and  in the recent past.

In segment two, we remember and pay homage to the quiet genius of writer, producer and director Wes Craven.  Thank you for the scares Wes.

wes

Links:

L. Mulvey’s “Visual Pleausure and Narrative Cinema.”

Freud and “The Uncanny”

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Episode #36 – Jurassic World & Jaws: 40th Anniversary.

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Episode # 36

Jurassic-World-The-Game

That’s a Wrap presents its Summer Blockbuster Extravaganza!

For their 36th episode the lads tackle 2015’s runaway summer juggernaut Jurassic World.  An exciting and insightful look at the franchise and its latest (record breaking) entry await you!  In the second segment, we perform our own “half-assed autopsy” on the original summer blockbuster, 1975’s JAWS.  From a historical standpoint, JAWS is likely the most “important” film of the 1970s and at 40 is still terrorizing beach patrons all over the world.

Additional Announcement:
Book Cover hi-resCo-host Nicholas Schlegel’s book: Sex, Sadism, Spain, and Cinema: The Spanish Horror Film has been released.

It’s currently on sale at 35% off at the publisher website, Rowman.com.  Just enter 15SUMSALE at checkout to receive the discount. Sale is good through August and is just  too good to pass up!  Congratulations Nick!

Links

SNL Richard Dreyfuss “I was in JAWS!” 

Jaws

*Jaws tribute poster by Kris Kirven

Support us on Patreon

or

Amazon Associates (Click before you shop on Amazon and we’ll get a little commission)

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Episode #35 – Top Ten Films of the 1980’s

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Episode #35

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In this episode, the guys go totally 80’s with their top ten films from the decade that gave us hair bands, Ronny Reagan and zombies that danced to pop music. Join Erik, Nick and Chris as they discuss their favorite picks and spend a lot of time quoting one particular film about golf.

Don’t forget to support us on Patron!

Links:

Roger Ebert’s review of Blue Velvet

HERE ARE OUR PICKS:   **EPISODE SPOILERS BELOW**

 

 

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Episode #30 – XXX – Nymphomaniac! Pornography!

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Episode #30

XXX

Nymphomaniac-Volume-I-Image1

In this episode, we talk about Lars von Trier’s film Nymphomaniac, and pornography in general. If you haven’t seen the film, you can listen spoiler free until about the 50 minute mark, and then again at 1:20, when we start talking about porn in general.

Nymphomaniac, despite its polarizing reception, came in at #6 on the Cahiers du Cinéma Top 10 list for 2014.

We also put out a call for a new tagline to replace “Three guys with Ph.D.s talk about Film, Media and Culture.” Give us your suggestions down below, and if we end up with several good options, we’ll run a contest to choose the new tagline for 2015.

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Episode #29 – The One I Love & SNL at 40!

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Episode #29

the-one-i-love

Join Erik, Nick and Chris as they discuss Charlie McDowell’s “The One I Love.”  This 2014 release was mostly well-received. The guys agree and weigh in from a narrative and aesthetic perspective, but more importantly, they talk about the film’s economics and its distribution model.

In segment two, we list some of our all-time favorite skits from Saturday Night Live, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.

During pickups, the guys discuss Gone Girl for a few minutes. Here’s a more detailed explanation of why Erik didn’t like Gone Girl.

Links Mentioned:

KCRW’s The Business episode about Radius

The Fox and The Hedgehog

OUR SNL PICKS:

 

Nick Erik Chris
1 Jackie Rogers Jr. $100,000 Jackpot Wad (as discussed by Bill Hader) Joe Montana – Sincere Stu Schweddy Balls
2 I Need More Cowbell  Jim Carrey does Jimmy Stewart doing Jim Carrey on the Joe Pesci Show Elvis Costello + Samurai Delicatessan
3 Mokiki does the Sloppy Swish First Citywide Change Bank Debbie Downer Goes to Disneyland

Honorable Mentions:

Nick
Happy Fun Ball
Little Chocolate Donuts 

Erik

Sting in an elevator with Kevin Nealon and Dana Carvey

Chris

Hannukah Song

Mr. Robinson’s Neighborhood

 

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Episode #23 – Our Top 5 Movie Endings

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Episode #23

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In this episode, we each list and discuss our 5 favorite movie endings of all time.  This necessarily means: SPOILERS AHEAD.   A list of our selections is provided below – as to temper any spoilers you truly wish to avoid.  Otherwise, enjoy!

As with all of our lists, they’re fun to do, promote discussion and give some insight into who we are and what affects us, cinematically that is 🙂

Nick

5. Cast Away
4. Kicking and Screaming (1995)
3. Roman Holiday
2. Cinema Paradiso
1. Rocky

Honorable Mentions (Carrie, The Verdict)

Chris

5. E.T.
4. The Wizard of Oz
3. The Shawshank Redemption
2. Citizen Kane
1. Sunset Blvd.

(Honorable Mentions: Saw, The Blair Witch Project)

Erik

5. The Maltese Falcon
4. Memento
3. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2. The Departed
1. Chinatown

(Honorable Mentions: Casablanca, The Empire Strikes Back)

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Episode #18 – Top 5 Favorite Films to “Look At” & House of Cards S02

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Episode #18

days of heaven

Erik, Nick and Chris discuss their very favorite films to “look at.” We each take turns presenting our TOP 5 best-loved films that we admire simply for their visual beauty.   A tough task to be sure, but we did our best and include a brief short-list of honorable mentions at the end.  In segment two, we discuss Season 2 of House of Cards which was Netflix’s Valentine’s Day gift to subscribers.  We don’t exactly agree about everything with this show, but we all admire it a lot.

*Please check out Joe Dante’s fantastic Trailers From Hell review of Valerie and Her Week of Wonders below (one of Nick’s choices).

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