FS #237: Milk / Australia / Top 5 Biopics We'd Like To See

Dec. 5: This week Adam and Matty break out their best polyester and bell-bottom ensembles for a march on the 1970s San Francisco Castro district with a review of "Milk," Gus Van Sant's highly anticipated cinematic biography of Harvey Milk, the country's first openly gay politician. Will Sean Penn manage to approximate the real-life Milk's unfettered joie di vive, or will the intense actor's performance leave Matty wanting less? And will "Milk" displace "Paranoid Park" as Adam's favorite Gus Van Sant movie of the year?

Then the lads set the dial on the Way Back Machine even farther and take a trip to 1940's Australia with Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman in Baz Luhrmann's epic love story "Australia." Listen as Adam and Matty alienate their devoted followers in Melbourne, trotting out every obvious Australian reference they can find while debating the finer points of a shirtless Hugh Jackman, magical Aborigines, and the '80s American classic "Cocktail."

Also, in honor of "Milk," your hosts roll out the Top 5 Biopics We'd Like To See. Adam makes his pitch for "Steven," a four-hour chronicle of the life and times of Steven Soderbergh -- an upcoming guest on Filmspotting! -- while Matty counters with "Finding The Gooch," his Charlie Kaufman-esque unorthodox biography of Bob Guccione.

Music this week courtesy of The Sea and Cake.

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Filmspotting #237
:13-16:39 - Review: "Milk"
Music: The Sea and Cake, "Aerial"
17:37-21:20 - Mass. Theatre (Winner: M. Whitehead, Vancouver, WA)
21:21-24:27 - Polls
24:28-34:28 - Review: "Australia"
Music: The Sea and Cake, "a Fuller Moon"
37:06-48:27 - Feedback (Mancrushes)
Music: The Sea and Cake, "on a Letter"
49:37-55:32 - New DVDs, Donations
55:33-1:11:20 - Top 5: Biopics We'd Like To See
1:11:21-1:14:23 - Close/Next Show/Outtakes

NOTES/CORRECTIONS

- I (Adam) wasn't suggesting ugly things don't take place in "Australia" because plenty do. They just aren't depicted in an ugly way.

FS #179: Into the Wild / Smiles of a Summer Night / Top 5 Senior Citizen Performances

September 28: Adam and Matty review Sean Penn's latest film as writer/director, "Into the Wild" ... Plus, Listener Feedback, Massacre Theatre, the first movie in our Ingmar Bergman Marathon -- Smiles of a Summer Night" -- and our Top 5 Senior Citizens On Screen, in honor of Hal Holbrook's performance in "Into the Wild."

Music by Bottle Rockets courtesy of Bloodshot Records

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Filmspotting #179
:21-12:41 - Review: "Into the Wild"
Music: Bottle Rockets, "Better Than Broken"
13:21-14:41 - Audio Feedback
14:42-25:47 - Listener Feedback ("Across the Universe," Overrated Directors)
Music: Bottle Rockets, "Middle Man"
26:35-31:12 - New DVDs, Donations/Nicknames
31:26-34:08 - Massacre Theatre (Winner: Melinda Hale)
34:09-37:46 - Chicago Film Fest Preview
37:47-45:05 - Bergman #1: "Smiles of a Summer Night"
Music: Bottle Rockets, "Happy Anniversary"
45:37-59:15 - New Poll, Top 5: Overrated Directors
59:16-1:02:48 - Close/Next Show/Outtake (New "Elah" ending)

CORRECTIONS/NOTES
- McCandless: Hero or Dumb Jerk?

- "Into the Wild" makes use of one of my (Adam's) all-time favorite poems - "I Go Back To May 1937" by Sharon Olds.

- "Network" has been added to my Top 5 penalty box... and is being considered for the pantheon.

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.