Good Point Podcast

We ramble through 2020

Pieced together from Timothy Treadwell's actual video footage, Werner Herzog's remarkable documentary examines the calling that drove Treadwell to live among a tribe of wild grizzly bears on an Alaskan reserve. A devoted conservationist with a passion for adventure, Timothy believed he had bridged the gap between human and beast. When one of the bears he loved and protected tragically turns on him, the footage he shot serves as a window into our understanding of nature and its grim realities.

The Social Dilemma is a 2020 American docudrama film directed by Jeff Orlowski and written by Orlowski, Davis Coombe, and Vickie Curtis. It explores the rise of social media and the damage it has caused to society, focusing on its exploitation of its users for financial gain through surveillance capitalism and data mining, how its design is meant to nurture an addiction, its use in politics, its effect on mental health (including the mental health of adolescents and rising teen suicide rates), and its role in spreading conspiracy theories such as Pizzagate and aiding groups such as flat-earthers.

Starship Troopers is a 1997 American military science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Edward Neumeier, based on Robert A. Heinlein's 1959 novel of the same name. The story follows a young soldier named Johnny Rico and his exploits in the Mobile Infantry, a futuristic military unit. Rico's military career progresses from recruit, to non-commissioned officer, and finally to officer, against the backdrop of an interstellar war between mankind and an insectoid species known as Arachnids.

Johnny Mnemonic (1995) by Robert Longo In this film based on the William Gibson story, Johnny (Keanu Reeves) is a data courier who has a secret stash of information implanted into his mind. However, the data will kill Johnny if he cannot retrieve it within 48 hours. Accompanied by physically enhanced bodyguard Jane (Dina Meyer), Johnny sets out to acquire the passwords he needs to save himself. Worse yet, he is hunted by gangster Shinji (Denis Akiyama) and businessman Takahashi (Takeshi), both of whom seek the data Johnny possesses.

On the Rocks is a 2020 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Sofia Coppola. The story of a young mother who reconnects with her larger-than-life playboy father on an adventure through New York. In this comedy about aging, marriage, and the tenuous bond between parents and grown children, New York author and married mother-of-two Laura has become suspicious that her career-driven husband may be having an affair with a coworker, a speculation encouraged by her caddish, bon vivant father.

A view to a Kill (1985) After recovering a microchip from the body of a deceased colleague in Russia, British secret agent James Bond (Roger Moore) discovers that the technology has the potential for sinister applications. Investigating further, Bond is led to Max Zorin (Christopher Walken), the head of Zorin Industries. Soon Agent 007 faces off against the villainous Zorin and his tough Amazonian bodyguard, May Day (Grace Jones), who are scheming to cause massive destruction that will eliminate the competition.

Battle Royale (バトル・ロワイアル, Batoru Rowaiaru) is a 2000 Japanese action-thriller film directed by Kinji Fukasaku, with a screenplay written by Kenta Fukasaku, based on the 1999 novel by Koushun Takami. Starring Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda, Tarō Yamamoto, and Takeshi Kitano, the film follows a group of junior high-school students that are forced to fight to the death by the Japanese totalitarian government. The film drew controversy, and was banned or excluded from distribution in several countries. Toei even refused to sell the film to any United States distributor for a long time due to concerns about potential controversy and lawsuits (until Anchor Bay Entertainment eventually acquired the film in 2010 for direct-to-video release).

Bacurau is a 2019 Weird Western film directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles. It stars Sônia Braga, Udo Kier, Bárbara Colen, Thomas Aquino, Silvero Pereira and Karine Teles. The film, a co-production between Brazil and France, revolves around Bacurau, a fictional small town in the Brazilian sertão, which is beset by strange happenings following the death of its matriarch at the age of 94.

Interstellar (2014) by Christopher Nolan In Earth's future, a global crop blight and second Dust Bowl are slowly rendering the planet uninhabitable. Professor Brand (Michael Caine), a brilliant NASA physicist, is working on plans to save mankind by transporting Earth's population to a new home via a wormhole. But first, Brand must send former NASA pilot Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) and a team of researchers through the wormhole and across the galaxy to find out which of three planets could be mankind's new home.

Tampopo (タンポポ, Tanpopo, literally "dandelion") is a 1985 Japanese comedy film written and directed by Juzo Itami, and starring Tsutomu Yamazaki, Nobuko Miyamoto, Kōji Yakusho, and Ken Watanabe. The publicity for the film calls it the first "ramen western", a play on the term Spaghetti Western (films about the American Old West made by Italian production studios).

Spirited Away (2001) is a Japanese-animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, animated by Studio Ghibli. It tells the story of Chihiro Ogino, a 10-year-old girl who, while moving to a new neighborhood, enters the world of Kami (spirits of Japanese Shinto folklore). After her parents are turned into pigs by the witch Yubaba, Chihiro takes a job working in Yubaba's bathhouse to find a way to free herself and her parents and return to the human world. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirited_Away

The Tree of Wooden Clogs (Italian: L'Albero degli zoccoli) is a 1978 Italian film written and directed by Ermanno Olmi. The film concerns Lombard peasant life in a cascina (farmhouse) of the late 19th century. It has some similarities with the earlier Italian neorealist movement, in that it focuses on the lives of the poor, and the parts were played by real farmers and locals, rather than professional actors. The original version of the movie is spoken in Lombard (the Bergamasque variety, an Eastern Lombard dialect). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tree_of_Wooden_Clogs

Eighth Grade is a 2018 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film written and directed by Bo Burnham. It stars Elsie Fisher as Kayla, a middle school teenager who struggles with anxiety but strives to gain social acceptance from her peers during their final week of eighth grade. To cope, she publishes video blogs as a self-styled motivational advice-giver, though spends much of her time obsessing over social media. This frustrates Kayla's otherwise supportive father (Josh Hamilton), whom she alienates despite his wish to be present in her life as her sole parent.

The Square (2017) by Ruben Östlund https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Square_(2017_film) The Square is a 2017 satirical film written and directed by Ruben Östlund and starring Claes Bang, Elisabeth Moss, Dominic West and Terry Notary. The film is about a curator who struggles with various personal issues, including the theft of his mobile phone and affair with a journalist. Amid these distractions, a controversial promotional video for an art installation is published without his oversight, threatening his career and sparking a debate about freedom of expression and political correctness. Next week... two films? Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga The King of Staten Island

This Is Spinal Tap (1984) by Rob Reiner https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Is_Spinal_Tap "This Is Spinal Tap" shines a light on the self-contained universe of a metal band struggling to get back on the charts, including everything from its complicated history of ups and downs, gold albums, name changes and undersold concert dates, along with the full host of requisite groupies, promoters, hangers-on and historians, sessions, release events and those special behind-the-scenes moments that keep it all real. Next week: The Square (2017) by Ruben Östlund https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Square_(2017_film)

Moonlight is a 2016 American coming-of-age drama film written and directed by Barry Jenkins, based on Tarell Alvin McCraney's unpublished semi-autobiographical play In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue. The film presents three stages in the life of the main character: his youth, adolescence, and early adult life. It explores the difficulties he faces with his sexuality and identity, including the physical and emotional abuse he endures growing up. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moonlight_(2016_film) Next week: This Is Spinal Tap https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Is_Spinal_Tap

Il Posto (1961) by Ermanno Olmi. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Il_Posto The film tells the story of Domenico, a young man who forgoes the latter part of his education when his family is in need of money. Applying for a job at a big city corporation, he goes through a bizarre series of exams, physical tests and interviews. During a brief respite from the tests, he meets Antonietta, a young girl who has similarly forgone her schooling when in need of money to support herself and her mother. Through the course of this meeting, they have coffee at a local cafe, discussing the issues of their lives and their ambitions. Becoming attracted to her, they are quickly separated when they land jobs in different departments. Next week: Strange Days (1995) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strange_Days_(film) Ad: https://thewrong.tv/

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) by George Miller https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mad_Max:_Fury_Road Years after the collapse of civilization, the tyrannical Immortan Joe enslaves apocalypse survivors inside the desert fortress the Citadel. When the warrior Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) leads the despot's five wives in a daring escape, she forges an alliance with Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy), a loner and former captive. Fortified in the massive, armored truck the War Rig, they try to outrun the ruthless warlord and his henchmen in a deadly high-speed chase through the Wasteland. Next week: Il Posto https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Il_Posto

Barry Lyndon (1975) by Stanley Kubrick https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Lyndon Acclaimed adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray's novel, in which a likeable young Irishman changes into a conniving, manipulative rogue. The protagonist finds himself homeless after taking part in a fake duel and is then captured by a Prussian highwayman, and meets up with a spy, but his fortunes change when he marries a wealthy titled woman in order to secure his future. Next Week: Mad Max Fury Road https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mad_Max:_Fury_Road