The Next Picture Show

MOANA is a successful new entry in Disney Feature Animation’s ongoing experimentation with non-Western stories and non-white characters, an experiment that was still in its nascent stages around the time of 1998’s MULAN. Inspired by an ancient Chinese poem about a female warrior who disguises herself as a man, the film is an odd mishmash of comedy and war movie, of ancient and modern reference points, and of traditional and CG animation. In this half, we talk over how MULAN fares in 2016, and puzzle over a couple of the movie’s stranger casting choices. Plus, lots of feedback, most of it on ARRIVAL. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about MULAN, MOANA, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our conversation about movies about talking to aliens moves to the present with Denis Villeneuve’s new ARRIVAL, which hits many of the same narrative points as CONTACT, but points them in a different emotional direction. We talk about our reactions to the newer film, and how its ideas about science, communication, and emotion compare with CONTACT’s. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about CONTACT, ARRIVAL, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.  00:00-01:40 - Intro  01:41-25:34 - "Arrival"  25:35-39:41 - Connections  39:42-50:40 - Your Next Picture Show:  *Genevieve: Ava DuVernay’s 13TH *Scott: Paul Verhoeven’s ELLE  *Keith: Criterion’s LONE WOLF AND CUB box set *Tasha: TORCHWOOD “Children of Earth” miniseries, Ben Wheatley’s HIGH-RISE 50:41-53:41 - Outro  Learn more about your ad choices

This week, we look to the skies to consider two films about the difficulty of communication between worlds, and the inward journeys involved in looking to the stars. Inspired by Denis Villeneuve’s new ARRIVAL, we begin with an in-depth discussion of an earlier film with which it shares many thematic and narrative elements: Robert Zemeckis' 1997 Carl Sagan adaptation CONTACT. We consider the film’s ambition, dissect its blockbuster qualities, and try to determine what makes this unwieldy, emotional movie work so well, almost despite itself. (Spoiler: It’s mostly Jodie Foster.) Plus, a brief feedback discussion on cultural empathy and the movies. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about CONTACT, ARRIVAL, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our discussion of lyrical portraits of unrequited love turns its attention to Barry Jenkins’ MOONLIGHT, the look and feel of which—the final third in particular—recalls the bittersweet tone of Wong Kar-Wai’s IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE. We share our reactions to MOONLIGHT, and consider the two films’ shared qualities, including their use of unusual framing and the thematic importance placed on food. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE, MOONLIGHT, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.  Time Codes: Intro: 00:00-03:00 Main Discussion: 03:01-39:50 Your Next Picture Show: 39:50- *Tasha: Mike Mitchell and Walt Dohrn’s TROLLS *Keith: Kelly Fremon Craig’s THE EDGE OF SEVENTEEN *Scott: David Farrier’s TICKLED *Genevieve: Park Chan-Wook’s THE HANDMAIDEN Outro: 51:07-54:30 Learn m

Inspired by one of the year’s biggest indie sensations, Barry Jenkins’ MOONLIGHT, we’re looking at another highly romanticized tale of unrequited love: Wong Kar-wai’s beautiful 2000 film IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE. In this half, we talk about how affecting LOVE’s central non-love-story is - and why - and consider how the film reflects Wong’s improvisational methods and his desire to create a dreamlike return to the Hong Kong of his childhood. Plus, feedback from our last episode on AMERICAN HONEY and MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE, MOONLIGHT, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week’s regular episode has been postponed a week, but in the meantime, Tasha and Genevieve get together to chat a little about why we’re postponing, and how we’re collectively figuring out how to care about movies again when so much else is going on in the world.  Check back in two weeks for our regular episodes on IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE and MOONLIGHT. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We return to the road in our two-part exploration of America and self, jumping to the current day with Andrea Arnold's sprawling, music-packed AMERICAN HONEY, a film with some of the same concerns as MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO, but a much different stylistic approach. In this half, we talk over how the two films handle matters of poverty, style, infatuation, and "the other America." Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO, AMERICAN HONEY, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.  Time Codes: Intro: 00:00-04:10 Main Discussion: 04:10-52:09 Your Next Picture Show: 52:10-1:03:02 *Keith: William Richert's WINTER KILLS *Scott: Xavier Dolan's TOM AT THE FARM *Tasha: "For Youths, A Grim Tour on Magazine Crews" (New York Times Magazine) and "My Own Private Idaho" (Interview Magazine)

This week, we’ve all come to look for America, and we’re looking for it in a pair of road movies about underprivileged outsiders and the dreams that keep them hustling from place to place. Inspired by Andrea Arnold's sprawling new AMERICAN HONEY, we look back at Gus Van Sant's 1991 indie-punk-surrealist-fantasy-coming-of-age mishmash MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO. In this half, we attempt to wrangle IDAHO's many moving parts, admire and mourn its central performances, and share some crazy (or not so crazy??) fan theories. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO, AMERICAN HONEY, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.  Intro/Keynote: 00:00-06:11  Main Discussion: 06:12-34:47 Feedback/Outro: 34:48-43:38 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We return to WESTWORLD in the second half of our double-feature, this time venturing into the wilds of television to discuss HBO's high-profile new series, which uses the concept of Michael Crichton's 1973 film as a jumping off point for a sprawling meditation on humanity, AI, evil, and where they intersect. We talk about how the series extends some of the ideas of the original film, and talk about what the two share—and don't—in their portrayals of humans, robots, and techno-paranoia. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about WESTWORLD v.1.0, WESTWORLD v.2.0, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.  Time Codes: Intro: 00:00-01:50 Main Discussion: 01:51-42:22 Your Next Picture Show: 42:23-53:56  *Genevieve: Every Frame A Painting  *Scott: Kelly Reichardt's CERTAIN WOMEN  •Keith: Babak Anvari's U

This week, we take two trips to Westworld—one via hovercraft, in Michael Crichton's 1973 film of the same name, and one via underground train, in the new HBO series that blows out the film's premise to a serialized-television scale. In this half we focus on Crichton's film, questioning whether it's a political film or just a sci-fi lark, how WESTWORLD plays into its creator's ongoing fixations (ahem, JURASSIC PARK), and what the deal is with those weird robot hands. And yes, we also talk robot sex.  Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about WESTWORLD v.1.0, WESTWORLD v.2.0, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.  Time Codes Intro/Keynote: 00:00-06:50 Main Discussion: 06:51-36:52 Feedback/Outro: 36:53-44:31 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this half, we look at a successor to WAIT UNTIL DARK that puts a very different sort of blind person in the middle of a home invasion: Fede Alvarez's recent horror-thriller DON'T BREATHE, which stars Stephen Lang as a blind ex-Marine who turns out to be much more than a simple victim. We talk over the new movie's more grisly aspects, and compare how the two films both use their settings and space, empathy, and blindness itself to eke different kinds of thrills from their viewers.  Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about WAIT UNTIL DARK, DON'T BREATHE, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.  Time Codes Intro: 00:00-02:19 Main Discussion: 02:20-37:10 Your Next Picture Show: 37:11-44:43  *Keith: IMAGINARY WORLDS podcast  *Scott: Kirsten Johnson's CAMERAPERSON  *Tasha: Andrea Arnold's AMERICAN HONEY and Mira Nair's QUEEN OF KATWE Outro: 44:44-48:33 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We return from hiatus with a much-requested pairing inspired by Fede Alvarez's new breakout horror hit, DON'T BREATHE, which reminded us, and our listeners, of a different cinematic take on the story of a blind person fending off a home invasion: Terence Young's WAIT UNTIL DARK, a 1967 Audrey Hepburn-starring thriller that plays on different sympathies than its modern successor, but delivers similarly chilling results. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about WAIT UNTIL DARK, DON'T BREATHE, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.  Time Codes Intro/Keynote: 00:00-06:35 Main Discussion: 06:36-40:21 Feedback/Outro: 40:22-50:06 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We turn our discussion of puppet-driven fairy-tale adventure stories to Laika Studios' new stop-motion wonder, KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS, to see how it extends THE DARK CRYSTAL's tradition of deep personal investment on the part of committed craftspeople. We discuss the two films' shared strengths and weakness, and how they're reflected in how each utilize puppetry, villains, and mythology. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent film-related experiences in hopes of putting something new on your radar.  Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE DARK CRYSTAL, KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.  Time Codes Intro: 00:00-01:59 Main Discussion: 02:00-37:08 Your Next Picture Show: 37:09-49:46  *Keith: THE ADVENTURES OF BUCKAROO BANZAI ACROSS THE 8TH DIMENSION  *Tasha: "How the father of Claymation lost his company" (via Priceonomics.com); Imagination Illustrated: The Jim Henson Journal;

Inspired by the new Laika stop-motion marvel KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS, we look back at another unconventional children's movie, made by unconventional creators pushing the envelop of their craft: Jim Henson's live-action puppet fantasy THE DARK CRYSTAL. In this half, we talk about how Henson and conceptual designer Brian Froud created their high-fantasy world, and wonder whether there's room for a satisfying story among all the visual wizardry. Plus, we talk over some of the other suggestions we got for KUBO pairings from our listeners. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE DARK CRYSTAL, KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.  Time Codes Intro/Keynote: 00:00-07:01 Main Discussion: 07:02-41:53 Feedback/Outro: 41:54-50:55 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Continuing the legacy of Carroll Ballard's THE BLACK STALLION, David Lowery's new Disney live-action remake of PETE'S DRAGON treats kids' films, kid audiences, and the emotional lives of children with respect and intelligence. In this half of the discussion, we talk over the two films' use of stories within stories, cinematography, child actors, and our relationship with animals and the natural world. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE BLACK STALLION, PETE'S DRAGON, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.  Time Codes: Intro: 00:00-02:17 Main Discussion: 02:18-43:52 Your Next Picture Show: 43:53-53:27  *Scott: James Schamus' INDIGNATION  *Tasha: THE ALIEN MINUTE podcast and David Mackenzie's HELL OR HIGH WATER  * Keith: Kinji Fukasaku's THE GREEN SLIME  *Genevieve: Mike Birbiglia's DON'T THINK TWICE Outro: 53:28-59:29 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The director of the new Disney live-action remake PETE’S DRAGON, David Lowery, recently cited as inspiration Carroll Ballard’s 1979 film THE BLACK STALLION, noting the older film’s careful merging of art and the mainstream. Following Lowery’s example, we look back this week at THE BLACK STALLION’s wondrous beauty and split structure, and try to ascertain what makes the film unique among films aimed at children. Plus, we’re still fielding feedback from our GHOSTBUSTERS episodes, and we have some more to share.  Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE BLACK STALLION, PETE’S DRAGON, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.  Time Codes Intro: 00:00-03:41 Keynote: 03:42-07:16 Main Discussion: 07:17-40:35 Feedback/Outro: 40:36-47:28 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our comparison of bad-guys-doing-good films continues with THE DIRTY DOZEN’s ultra-modern, ultra-messy progeny, the new DC Extended Universe entry SUICIDE SQUAD. We try to make sense of the many issues plaguing the newer film, and decipher how the two films each come down on the ideas of villainy and leadership. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar.  Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE DIRTY DOZEN, SUICIDE SQUAD, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.  Time Codes: Intro: 00:00-01:45 Main Discussion: 01:46-42:44 Your Next Picture Show: 42:43-52:56  *Scott: Joachim Trier’s LOUDER THAN BOMBS  *Keith: Justin Lin’s STAR TREK BEYOND  *Tasha: Sian Heder’s TALLULAH  *Genevieve: Andrew Haigh’s LOOKING: THE MOVIE Outro: 52:57-55:01 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Ayer has characterized his new entry in the DC Expanded Universe, SUICIDE SQUAD, as a modern take on Robert Aldrich's THE DIRTY DOZEN, a 1967 war/heist film that set the standard for movies about a band of criminals teaming up to take on a greater evil. In this half of the conversation, we put THE DIRTY DOZEN's violence and attitude toward war in historical context, and tangle with the film's difficult morality. Plus, lots of feedback from our last episode on the GHOSTBUSTERS of the past and present.  Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE DIRTY DOZEN, SUICIDE SQUAD, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.  Time Codes Intro: 00:00-02:32 Keynote: 02:33-5:33 Main Discussion: 05:34-34:50 Feedback/Outro: 34:51:45:44 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our GHOSTBUSTERS discussion turns its attention to Paul Feig's new remake, which was made with obvious affection for (and cameos from) the 1984 version, and replicates certain character types and plot points. But it also breaks from it in significant ways we'll discuss, as well as thoughts on the effects, the villains, New York City, blockbuster culture, and more. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar.  Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about Oldbusters, Newbusters, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.  Intro: 00:00-02:09 Main Discussion: 02:10-51:24 Your Next Picture Show: 51:25-58:50  *Genevieve: Emily Carmichael's STRYKA  *Tasha: Entertainment Weekly's GHOSTBUSTERS oral history  *Scott: Hirokazu Koreeda's OUR LITTLE SISTER  *Keith: King Hu's A TOUCH OF ZEN Outro: 58:51-1:02:58 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone

This week, we ain’t afraid of no ghosts, but we’re a little freaked out by the politics of busting them. The strange controversy over Paul Feig's gender-reversed GHOSTBUSTERS has us looking back at the original 1984 GHOSTBUSTERS to see what about it has inspired such strong feeling. In this half of the conversation, we focus on the then-and-now of Ivan Reitman's original, while trying (unsuccessfully) to dodge the dreaded "N" word: "nostalgia." Plus, some extra-long, extra-great feedback from our SUSPIRIA/NEON DEMON episodes. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about Oldbusters, Newbusters, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.  Intro: 00:00-02:50 Keynote: 02:51-05:10 Main Discussion: 05:11-41:02 Feedback/Outro: 41:03-51:25 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices