Filmspotting #122: Invincible / Adam's Rib / Top 5 Truly Moving Pictures

If any film was going to bring peace to Adam and Sam's increasingly contentious relationship (name changes, over-hyped snakes, and movies about bickering families all contributing to the recent streak of divisiveness), that movie should have been "Invincible." A story about personal redemption and overcoming long odds -- plus football -- seemed just the thing to get your gridiron loving co-hosts seeing eye to eye. Sadly, one of them found "Invincible's" familiar (some might say tired) formula lacking inspiration. Adam and Sam even split on the performance of one of their favorite actors -- star Mark Wahlberg.

Plus, the final film in the six-week Screwball Comedies Marathon, George Cukor's "Adam's Rib" with Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. Does "Adam's Rib" allow the marathon to end on a high note? Or does Hepburn's performance provoke nasty flashbacks of pet leopards and dinosaur bones?

Also on the show: Listener Feedback, a particularly excruciating installment of Massacre Theatre, and this week's Top 5: 'Truly Moving' Pictures ... Movies That Make Us Cry. Click here for more information about the Heartland Film Festival and Truly Moving Pictures.

Music by Aberdeen City from the album "The Freezing Atlantic."

Thanks to everyone who donated to Filmspotting this past week! We appreciate your support.

Filmspotting is brought to you by Peerflix. Trade DVDs online at peerflix.com/filmspotting.



Filmspotting #122
:18-14:44 - Review: "Invincible"
Music: Aberdeen City, "Stay Still"
15:30-20:44 - Aberdeen City, Peerflix Winner, New DVDs
20:45-22:46 - Poll Questions
22:47-32:41 - Listener Feedback (Snakes, Sunshine)
Music: Aberdeen City, "Another Seven Years"
34:16-37:25 - Massacre Theatre (Winner: Jeremy Sheeley)
37:26-49:31 - Screwball Marathon: "Adam's Rib"
Music: Aberdeen City, "God Is Going To Get Sick of Me"
51:00-56:09 - Listener Feedback (Filmspotting University)
56:10-1:12:02 - Top 5: Truly Moving Pictures
1:12:03-1:14:24 - Next Show/Close/Outtake + Bonus Outtake

Links
This American Life - Episode #273, "Put Your Heart Into It" (Crying on Airplanes)

Aberdeen City - Boston Globe article

YouTube: Aberdeen City on MTV

Heartland Film Festival

Truly Moving Pictures - The List

If you liked Judy Holliday's brilliant supporting performance in "Adam's Rib" and you live in or near NYC, check out the Judy Holliday retrospective that's currently running through Aug. 31 at the Film Society of Lincoln Center

Have a comment or Top 5 list you'd like to share? Send an e-mail or short mp3 clip to feedback@filmspotting.net. Or give us a call at 206-203-CINE and leave a voice message.

Filmspotting #121: Accepted / The Lady Eve

"Old School" + "Revenge of The Nerds" = "Accepted." Pretty simple formula. Instead of a bunch of 30 somethings starting a fraternity, Bartleby Gaines (Justin Long) -- rejected from every college he has applied to -- and a couple of his likewise rejected pals found a university. The bad guys, ironically, are frat guys. Guess who wins? Adam and Van Sam both admit to finding plenty to laugh at -- namely, just about every line spoken by comedy savant Jonah Hill as Bartleby's best friend Sherman. But apparently laughter alone isn't enough for some people.

Also on the show: Listener Feedback, and the penultimate film in Filmspotting's Screwball Comedies Marathon -- Preston Sturges' "The Lady Eve." "Eve" is another gracefully constructed movie with great dialogue and brilliant performances (particularly Barbara Stanwyck as con-artist Jean Harrington). Incidentally, both "Eve" and last week's Marathon entry, "Sullivan's Travels," were released in 1941. One of your co-hosts was so seduced by "Eve" that he is threatening to use his abundant spare time to start a Sturges fan site.

New music by Paul Burch courtesy of Bloodshot Records.

Thanks to everyone who donated to Filmspotting this week! We appreciate your support.

Filmspotting is brought to you by Peerflix. Trade DVDs online at peerflix.com/filmspotting.

And by UPN's Veronica Mars Season 2, available now on DVD.



Filmspotting #121
:20-13:27 - Screwball Marathon #5: "The Lady Eve"
Music: Paul Burch, "Montreal"
14:23-21:12 - Donations, Adam on BBC, Corrections, Poll Questions
21:13-29:58 - Listener Feedback (Van Tastic, World Trade Center, True Stories)
Music: Paul Burch, "John Peel"
31:23-36:35 - Listener Feedback cont.
36:36-49:13 - Review: "Accepted"
49:14-51:05 - Next Week/Close/Outtake

Links
Cinecast #44: My Darling Clementine
Adam on BBC's Radio Five Live
Note: Adam was referring to himself only as a "lame American movie critic" and not John Campea. Sorry for any confusion.

Have a comment or Top 5 list you'd like to share? Send an e-mail or short mp3 clip to feedback@filmspotting.net. Or give us a call at 206-203-CINE and leave a voice message.

FS #120 (WBEZ) Little Miss Sunshine / Snakes on a Plane / Rian Johnson / Filmspotting University

On this Chicago Public Radio edition of Filmspotting: Planes, Snakes and Automobiles ...

All aboard the yellow microbus! Mom and dad (at each other's throats), a suicidal Proust scholar, a teenage devotee of Nietzsche who's taken a vow of silence, a heroin-snorting grandpa ... and the 7-year-old, potbellied beauty pageant contestant who brings them all together. Must be an indie comedy. "Little Miss Sunshine," the debut feature from co-directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, was a Sundance favorite this past January. Now in wide release, many are calling "Sunshine" one of the best and funniest films of the year. At least one of your Filmspotting hosts agrees; the other doesn't want to hurt anyone's feelings, but completely disagrees (and suggests that maybe he had a happier childhood than you did).

A phenomenon in its native habitat -- the Internet -- "Snakes on a Plane" has now been released into the wild. How will the new Samuel L. Jackson comedy/thriller respond to intense critical scrutiny? Will it satisfy the voracious appetite of irony-loving moviegoers all over the globe? Will it achieve Rocky Horror-like acclaim as an instant camp classic? Or will its pre-ordained success be chastised for employing one of the most cynical marketing campaigns in the history of the silver screen? Depends which host you ask...

Also on the show, Adam and Sam talk with the man behind Filmspotting's favorite film of the year so far -- "Brick" writer/director Rian Johnson. Plus, another edition of Massacre Theatre and the Filmspotting University Top 5 -- the five films Adam, Sam and special guest Rian Johnson want every young filmmaker to see.

Music by Girls Against Boys and The Black Heart Procession courtesy of Touch & Go Records. Both bands will play Touch & Go's 25th Anniversary Block Party at Chicago's The Hideout the weekend of September 8-10.

Filmspotting is brought to you by Peerflix. Trade DVDs online at peerflix.com/filmspotting.

And by UPN's Veronica Mars Season 2, available now on DVD.



Filmspotting #120
:20-13:17 - Review: "Little Miss Sunshine"
Music: The Black Heart Procession, "Not Just Words"
13:58-34:21 - Massacre Theatre
14:59-25:24 - Review: "Snakes on a Plane"
25:25-26:03 - Peerflix Winner: Elizabeth Gewirtz
Music: The Black Heart Procession, "Blue Tears"
26:04-36:57 - Audio Feedback, Rian Johnson Interview
Music: Girls Against Boys, "Super-fire"
37:43-59:30 - Notes, Top 5: Filmspotting University
59:31-1:01:49 - Next Show/Close/Outtake + Bonus Outtake

Links
Cinecast #77: Transamerica
Trailer: The Covenant
"Brick" Shooting Script
"Brick" Treatment/Novella (pdf)
Adam's Film School Movie

Have a comment or Top 5 list you'd like to share? Send an e-mail or short mp3 clip to feedback@filmspotting.net. Or give us a call at 206-203-CINE and leave a voice message.

Filmspotting #119: World Trade Center / Sullivan's Travels / Top 5 True Stories

Oliver Stone has been called a lot of things -- provocateur, muckraker, conspiracy theorist -- but he has never been accused of lacking ambition. Until now. The story of the survival and rescue of two New York City police officers (Nicolas Cage and "Crash's" Michael Pena) buried in the collapse of the Twin Towers on 9/11, Stone's "World Trade Center" is moving, well-acted, and respectful of its sensitive source material. But it's also remarkably straightforward -- which wouldn't be such a bad thing if Stone wasn't working in such familiar territory. Cage gives a particularly good performance and the rest of the cast is uniformly strong, but both Adam and Sam are left scratching their heads at Stone's bewildering depiction of one of the film's central heroic characters.

Also on the show, Filmspotting takes a look at the fifth entry in their six week/seven film Screwball Comedies Marathon, Preston Sturges' "Sullivan's Travels." The only consensus your hosts have found during the marathon so far has been their mutual dislike of the classic "Bringing Up Baby." With "Travels," Adam and Sam are again in agreement: Sturges' 1941 film is a smart, sophisticated and surprising movie that reaches far beyond its screwball set-up.

Plus: Listener Feedback, Massacre Theatre and our our Top 5 True Stories.

Music by Wilder Embry from the album "Your Sweet Heart."

Thanks to everyone who donated to Filmspotting the past two weeks! We appreciate your support.

Filmspotting is brought to you by Peerflix. Trade DVDs online at peerflix.com/filmspotting.

And by UPN's Veronica Mars Season 2, available on DVD this August.



Filmspotting #119
:20-19:00 - Review: "World Trade Center"
19:01-19:51 - Audio Feedback
Music: Wilder Embry, "Light Me Up in the Dark"
20:37-23:55 - The 'Van' Explanation, Wedding Talk
23:56-28:45 - Peerflix Winner, New DVDs, Poll Questions
28:46-38:41 - Listener Feedback (Talladega Nights, Sidekicks)
38:42-39:17 - Audio Feedback
Music: Wilder Embry, "Sugar"
40:17-42:47 - Massacre Theatre (Winner: Avery Oltmans)
42:48-54:18 - Screwball Marathon: "Sullivan's Travels"
Music: Wilder Embry, "Last Monday Night"
55:22-58:26 - Listener Feedback (More Sidekicks)
58:27-1:14:09 - Top 5: True Stories
1:14:10-1:18:24 - Next Show/Close/Special Extended Outtake

Have a comment or Top 5 list you'd like to share? Send an e-mail or short mp3 clip to feedback@filmspotting.net. Or give us a call at 206-203-CINE and leave a voice message.

Filmspotting #118: Talladega Nights / Top 5 Sidekicks

With Sam honeymooning somewhere in the back woods of Wisconsin, Chicagoist.com arts writer Scott Smith drops by for a review of the new comedy "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby." Directed by Adam McKay and co-scripted by McKay and star Will Ferrell, no movie this year has been more hyped by your Filmspotting Ferrell fanatics than "Talladega Nights." Does it live up to the hype? Is it better than the last McKay-Ferrell collaboration, 2004's "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy"? Probably not and definitely not. But thanks to some huge laughs and the comedic brilliance of John C. Reilly as Ricky Bobby's dimwitted best friend Cal, "Talladega" comes pretty close -- for one of your hosts, anyway.

Plus: our Top 5 Movie Sidekicks, Listener Feedback and Massacre Theatre, presented by The Armageddon Dance Party, premiering this month at the 10th Annual New York International Fringe Festival.

Music by The Blue Jackets and Track Rabbit from "The Groomsmen" courtesy of Rykodisc.

Filmspotting is brought to you by Peerflix. Trade DVDs online at peerflix.com/filmspotting.



Filmspotting #118
:20-16:34 - Review: "Talladega Nights"
Music: The Blue Jackets, "Four Cheers"
17:40-21:09 - Peerflix Winner, New DVDs, Special Announcement
21:10-26:44 - Sam's Wedding, Poll Questions
26:45-35:59 - Listener Feedback (Miami Vice)
Music: Track Rabbit, "Best of Both Worlds"
37:24-40:08 - Massacre Theatre (Winner: Michael Reynolds)
40:09-42:06 - Podcast Awards, Corrections
42:07-46:35 - Listener Feedback (Drug Movies)
46:36-58:19 - 'John C. Reilly Memorial' Top 5: Sidekicks
58:20-1:00:11 - Next Show/Close/Outtake

Have a comment or Top 5 list you'd like to share? Send an e-mail or short mp3 clip to feedback@filmspotting.net. Or give us a call at 206-203-CINE and leave a voice message.

Filmspotting #117: Miami Vice / Bringing Up Baby / Top 5 Drug Movies

How do you take the pleasure out of a "guilty pleasure"? Hire Michael Mann to direct. Unflappable and existentially fraught super cops Crockett and Tubbs (Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx) are back in the big-screen version of Mann's executively-produced hit TV series "Miami Vice," but the kitschy cool of the original show has been replaced by a grim seriousness. Mann still displays a knack for using music, striking visuals and deliberate pacing to establish mood -- but Adam and Sam disagree on just how much that seductive mood makes up for the movie's weak dialogue and contrived plotting.

Also, Filmspotting continues its look at classic screwball comedies with Cary Grant in "The Awful Truth" and "Bringing Up Baby." 'Agonizing' isn't typically a word used to praise a bona fide 'masterpiece' like "Baby" ... and it isn't here, either. If there is a cinematic hell, Adam and Sam have surely just punched their tickets...

Plus: our Top 5 Drug Movies, Listener Feedback and Massacre Theatre, presented by The Armageddon Dance Party, premiering this month at the 10th Annual New York International Fringe Festival.

Music by Enon courtesy of Touch and Go Records.

Filmspotting is brought to you by Peerflix. Trade DVDs online at peerflix.com/filmspotting.



Filmspotting #117
:18-18:22 - Review: "Miami Vice"
18:23-19:08 - Audio Feedback
Music: Enon, "Kanon"
19:58-26:25 - Peerflix Winner (Austin Burns)/New DVDs, Donations
26:26-37:10 - Listener Feedback (Animation, Lady in the Water, Clerks II)
Music: Enon, "Natural Disaster"
37:52-40:53 - Massacre Theatre (Winner: Kara Moore)
40:54-42:23 - Podcast Awards, Dope Sheet Winner (Jennifer Cullimore)
42:24-58:05 - Screwball Marathon #3: Bringing Up Baby, The Awful Truth
Music: Enon, "Shave"
58:49-1:02:56 - Listener Feedback (Male Bonding Movies)
1:02:57-1:11:13 - 'Rent Boy Memorial' Top 5: Drug Movies
1:11:14-1:13:36 - Next Show/Close/Outtake

Have a comment or Top 5 list you'd like to share? Send an e-mail or short mp3 clip to feedback@filmspotting.net. Or give us a call at 206-203-CINE and leave a voice message.