Cinecast #89: Inside Man/Top 5 Twist Endings
In honor of this week's Top 5 Twist Endings countdown, Cinecast decided to throw in a twist of their own -- a guest host. With Sam away in New York City, Chicagoist entertainment writer Scott Smith sits in to discuss Spike Lee's latest joint, "Inside Man," featuring Clive Owen, Denzel Washington and Jodie Foster. A heist movie that respects its audience's intelligence and knowledge of movie history, "Inside Man" is a taut thriller with great performances by its heavyweight cast -- OK, great performances by two of the heavyweights. Russell Gewirtz' lean, smart screenplay explores Lee's age-old problem of the powerful vs. the powerless without a moment of excess.
Also on the show: the battle over "V for Vendetta" begins in Listener Feedback ... and your chance to win a free DVD in Massacre Theatre.
Music by Anne McCue courtesy of Messenger Records ... Cinecast theme music by Age of the Rifle.
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Cinecast #89
:36-14:36 - Review: "Inside Man"
Music: Anne McCue, "Stupid"
15:20-22:51 - Peerflix winner, "Inside Man" cont.
22:52-30:42 - Thank you's/Listener Nicknames, Polls
Music: Anne McCue, "Tiny Little Song"
31:30-34:33 - Massacre Theatre
34:34-45:58 - Listener Feedback ("V for Vendetta")
Music: Anne McCue, "50 Dollar Whore"
46:56-1:02:35 - Top 5 Twist Endings (Spoiler Alert!)
1:02:57-1:04:11 - Bonus: "Tom Cruise: Dress Casual," Ben Stiller Show
Have a comment or Top 5 list you'd like to share? Send us an e-mail at cinecast@cinecastshow.com. Or give us a call at 206-203-CINE and leave a voice message.
posted by Adam @ 11:21 AM
10 comments
10 Comments:
Another great show guys. I just have one comment to make about "Unbreakable". I enjoyed it better than "The Sixth Sense" but the problem with the film as a whole is not with the end title credits (as Adam mentions), it's with the beginning credits. I went into the film not knowing anything about the story and to have text appear on screen talking about comic books totally deflates the impact of the story and the suspense of Bruce Willis' transformation. Without the text, the viewer would be allowed to slowly understand where the story is going and become fully engaged. As it is now, the film feels slower and less dramatic simply because we, as the audience, know more about the characters than the characters themselves, which ultimately tests our patience. Anyway, just my thoughts. Take care.
Just out of curiousity, may I ask why you left out movies such as Shawshank or Empire Strikes Back? Was it because the twists weren't satisfying enough? Or did you already happen to know them? Or was it another reason completely?
Thanks for introducing us to Anne McCue! I bought "50 Dollar Whore" off iTunes nearly immediately after I heard it on the show. More proof that Cinecast should stick to the Indie.
i am a bit suprised nobody has mentioned adrian lyne's 1990 movie, jacob's ladder- the last 10 seconds of the movie literally turns you on your ear. since the "twist" has become such the rage these days, i am curious about the worst twist ending movies or "the bottom 5." a few suggestions:
the life of david gale
identity
k-pax
what are others???
most underwhelming twist ending:
Inside Man
How about non twist endings? Movies that you go see even though you know exactly how they're going to end?
Titanic
Revenge of the Sith
King Kong
Great show guys!
The text at the end of Unbreakable ruined the movie for me.
The worst twist endings are those that "cheat" to get their twists, or don't really integrate with the plot and are just tacked on as a twist.
A movie like "No Way Out" or "Arlington Road" comes to mind.
For me the best twist ending was that moment in "The Empire Strikes Back" - I don't know if it was becuase I was so young but it really affected me at the time. I think you guys may be a bit younger than me so maybe that twist was just "always there".
That final moment in Primal Fear was pretty good too, especially the last shot with that look on Richard Gere's face.
Most messed up twist ... ending of Oldboy.
And I know its probably a penalty box film, but has nobody mentioned "Rosebud"
in what way does the end of "Arlington Road" cheat the rest of the film ? I did think that it make sense, but maybe i missed something when i fell asleep halfway thru...
Basically for the twist to work and the bad guys plan to work a bunch of random unpredictable things have to happen - like when the main character will go nuts, in addition to lots of other things (I don't want to spoil).
For a twist not to cheat it has to be plausable and can't have a bunch of miraculous circumstances required otherwise its a cheat.
I don't know if Fight Club can be considered a twist ending considering the twist takes place at the beginning of the 3rd act and not at the end.
Same goes for Shawshank I guess
Empire and Primal fear qualify as "Twist Endings"
might be a bit picky on my part but anyway
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