The Visitor
The good Prof. Dr. has been on me for ages to see ‘The Visitor’: ‘The Visitor’ Might Just Deserve Your Time ‘The Visitor’ Screening as Part of the ‘Vote No to the Nashville English Only Referendum’ Campaign Gareth’s Films of the Year: The Top Ten and I finally did. While I disagree with Gareth regarding [...]
Films That You Shouldn't Like But You Do, No. 1: 'Mother, Jugs and Speed'
If you like the US movies of the 70s, then you like Allen Garfield. And you like Harvey Keitel. And you like Tom Mankiewicz’s scripts. And you like Peter Yates’ gritty direction. It’s possible, but not inevitable, that you also like disco. But, in spite of the fact that you may like all these things, [...]
The Real Star of the Dirty Harry Films – Albert Popwell
The real star of the Dirty Harry films, Albert Popwell. As discussed in detail in Part 48 of the Show, coming later today.
Films I Didn't See at the Time Because of the Poster but Later Viewed and Discovered the Poster was Lying to Me #1: 'After the Wedding'
If you had been resident in the UK or Ireland around the time that the Danish film ‘After the Wedding’ was released, you might have seen this poster: Happy people at a post-nuptials reception, in a manner that could put you in mind of the happy scenes in Bergman’s ‘Fanny and Alexander’ or a Scandinavian [...]
Netflix's Watch Instantly is Getting Better and Better – Couple with a Service like Jinni and Who Knows?
Nice post today by David Pogue of the New York times about Netflix’s movie on demand service ‘Watch Instantly’: Awash In a Stream Of Movies I’ve been hammering on about this fantastic service for what seems like ages: Ben Kingsley Doesn’t Do It For Me / Transsiberian ‘Watch Instantly’ isn’t perfect by an any means [...]
Win A Personalized DVD Commentary for Your Favorite U.S. Movie!
Well, Dear Listener, after a year of traveling around I’ve finally decided to settle in Nashville. And, as my genial co-host Professor Dr. Gareth Higgins has, quite coincidentally, also moved to the American South, (to a location that will not be divulged at this time – oddly enough he believes in some modicum of privacy [...]
Films That Last Forever – Dick Van Dyke Tells 'Mary Poppins' Stories
A pleasant surprise of an interview for anyone out there who knows that The Exorcist is great, and enjoys Bergmans both Ingmar and Ingrid, but who recognise that the movies we saw as children (and the terrible English accents) will never leave us: Dick Van Dyke Tells ‘Mary Poppins’ Stories
Today's Film Frame Grab: Sleuth
Was interested in the first filmed version of ‘Sleuth’ starring Michael Caine, Alec Cawthorne and Lawrence Oliver after watching the ‘re-imagining’ the other day: The Harold Pinter Sleuth – Unrecognised After seeing the original again several things were of interest: * The underlying ‘class crisis’ in Britain of the early 70′s is constantly bubbling under [...]
The Film Talk – Part 48 – Gran Torino and the Films of Clint Eastwood
Films Reviewed This Week: Gran Torino / Play Misty for Me / High Plains Drifter Plus we announce our DVD Commentary Competition (Special thanks to Freesound and Mantis235 for effects used in this week’s show)
Want to Watch Hulu Outside the US?
I’m a huge fan of digital delivery of movies in general, and of streaming video service Hulu in particular; they were the first video on demand supplier of commercial content that I think really got it. Unfortunately if you live outside the U.S. you can’t access the video content. I know there’s a variety of [...]
The Best Picture Nominees – Could You Do Better?
We’ve reviewed all but one of the films nominated for Best Picture on the show already (odd one out is ‘The Reader’, which we may get to eventually); and as I turn them over in my mind, one thing is clear – they’re not the best films of the year, in my opinion at least. [...]
TFT 48 Preview – Gran Torino and Our Favorite Clint Eastwood Directed Films
Our show this week is a Clint Eastwood Special. Gareth and I are reviewing Gran Torino and each of us will also discuss in depth our favorite ‘Clint directed’ films. As the frame-grab above demonstrates, my fav is ‘Play Misty for Me’. Check out the brother’s hat, (also he only talks in jive). I don’t [...]
Let's Have a 5 Year Limit on Movie Copyright
Look at the shot above. It’s great. Strange and mysterious. A man and a young boy, dressed alike, stand contemplating a door. There’s something odd in the image. The poster on their left is mounted upside down. And what’s that attached to the bottom of the door? Ahh – everything in the room is inverted. [...]
Benjamin Button Special Effects – The Uncanny Valley was Crossed – Shame The Film was Rubbish
As we mentioned on the show: The Film Talk – Part 46 – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and the Best Films of 2008 there’s no question that The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a digital effects triumph, (at least when it comes to Brad Pitt’s CGI head; we don’t believe in that [...]
Jinni – New Movie Recommendation Service Any Good?
OK – as per previous posts: How Long Till Blu-ray is Declared Dead? The Death of VHS Ben Kingsley Doesn’t Do It For Me / Transsiberian The 2009 Oscar Nominated Films: Pirated Copies Available Everywhere I think the future is instant digital download/stream of movies – often suggested by some sort of Learning Algorithm/Artificial Life [...]
The Death of the Newspaper / Newsprint – All the President's Men
Context changes everything. Yes, yes, deconstructionism. OK. Fine. But while streaming ‘All the President’s Men’, (released in 1976 detailing events earlier in the 70′s), I was distracted repeatedly by the amount of paper present everywhere – palpably present – in the film. OK, sure it’s a film about a newspaper – the newspaper business – [...]
The Best Disney Film You Haven't Seen
I’m loving my Blu-ray player and, inspired by the fact that a number of film critics I like have named Disney’s ‘Sleeping Beauty’ as one of the best releases of the past year, have been watching this fifty year old cartoon in ten minute bursts since the Netflix copy arrived on Monday. It’s twee and [...]
The 2009 Oscar Nominated Films: Pirated Copies Available Everywhere
Via Metafilter is Andy Baio’s always interesting spreadsheet detailing the spread of pirate versions of Oscar Nominated films: Pirating the 2009 Oscars Looking at the data it seems that it’s taking longer for films to leak on to the Tubes – which doesn’t jibe with the feeling I get that everything is available online – [...]
Top 5 Academy Award Oscar Predictions
Hey there – I imagine Professor Dr. Gareth Higgins will be posting his own predictions – but here’s my first thoughts on the Academy’s nominations, (as we’ve mentioned before, being nominated by the Academy is, of course, no indication of filmic quality or lasting value): BEST ACTOR * Richard Jenkins in “The Visitor” (They should [...]
'Che' Starts Tomorrow at the Belcourt Theatre
As mentioned before on TFT – I’m a huge fan of the new Steven Soderbergh / Benicio Del Toro picture(s) Che: Che – and the Creation of a Style It starts tomorrow, January 23rd at the Belcourt Theatre here in Nashville. See it if you can!
The Film Talk – Part 47 – Milk / Doubt / Slumdog Millionaire / Frost-Nixon / Memphis Calling
Films Reviewed This Week: Milk / Doubt / Slumdog Millionaire / Frost-Nixon / Memphis Calling (Photo above by M.V. Jantzen)
Oscar Nominations: Non/Predictions
Tomorrow we’ll know who the Academy has decided will be ‘honoured to just be nominated’. Jett and I both now know the sweet aroma of such feeling, due to the vastly generous person or people who have favoured us with an Irish Blog Award nomination. My feeling about awards shows is that, for the audience [...]
The 2009 Irish Blog Awards
Word on the street is that The Film Talk has just been nominated for Best Blog in the Arts and Culture category at the 2009 Irish Blog Awards. It’s nice to know people appreciate the Show – and of course, even if we don’t win, it’s an honor just to be nominated, (have wanted an [...]
