Episode 377: Barbenheimer

Posted on July 21, 2023 by Aaron White.

The movie event of the summer is here and we couldn’t just choose one of these great films to discuss, so we’re talking about both! Patrick is out on vacation this weekend but Meredith Loftus is filling on to discuss what made Barbenheimer such a phenomenon, what makes Greta Gerwig’s colorful satirical comedy so meaningful, and how unique and powerful of a biopic Christopher Nolan has crafted. It’s a celebration of great cinema, with a few criticisms here and there, and we hope you enjoy.

Barbie – 13:56

Oppenheimer – 49:30

* Note – full spoilers in effect for entire episode *

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FF+ Oppenheimer/Barbie

Posted on July 19, 2023 by Aaron White.

The cinematic event of the summer is upon us with new films from beloved directors Greta Gerwig and Christopher Nolan. These two couldn’t be more different, but both have much to offer. While one is bright, colorful, hilarious, and heavy-handed but entertaining in its satire, the other is a challenging, long, and dense operatic biopic. Both are highly recommended for their strengths, but I do have notes.

Barbie – 0:53

Oppenheimer – 10:02

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Music: Upbeat Party – Scott Holmes Music

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Episode 271: Tenet

Posted on January 31, 2021 by Aaron White.

We welcome back guest Zoheb Ali from The Midnight Double Feature Podcast to finally discuss Christopher Nolan’s mind-bending newest, a sci-fi espionage thriller that had the weight of an industry on its shoulders upon release. Did our favorite director satisfy us yet again and is there such a thing as being too confusing? We answer those questions and many, many more.

Tenet Spoiler Review – 0:08:30

The Connecting Point – N/A

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What We Learned This Week: December 7-13

Posted on December 11, 2020 by everymoviehasalesson.

LESSON #1: MILLIONAIRES LIKE TO ARGUE WITH BILLIONAIRES AND VICE VERSA— The wake of the Warner Bros. HBO Max initiative raised all kinds of holy Hollywood hell this past week. You’ve got production houses suing the studio for possible breach of contract. You’ve got agents and guild members from actors to filmmakers calling for a boycott or demanding their same box office-based pay rates. You’ve got film prominent film directors, most notably Christopher Nolan, Patty Jenkins, and Denis Villeneuve, lambasting the decision and, naturally, you have people in return lambasting the lambasters. Is this the death of cinema or movie theaters? No, it’s a pause and a pivot. Could things have gone smoother for the studio in terms of communication for all involved? Certainly, but I continue to be stunned that anyone is all that shocked and couldn’t see a move like this coming. The business goal at the core for WB is still sound and necessary for the current landscape of the industry, period. Tough decisions were coming, and a media communication company (AT&T) that bought an expensive big studio made one will still propel itself forward to remain sustainable. Also, last time I checked, everyone pissing and moaning is still filthy rich. Gal Gadot still cashed a fat check. No one is going from the penthouse to the outhouse with these changes. The smart and savvy among them will keep on profiting. I said it last week here and I’ll say it again. This is just the beginning. Watch others follow suit in time, and by time I mean

LESSON #2: DISNEY RUNS THIS MF-ING BLOCK— Warner Bros. moves their whole 2021 theatrical slate to HBO Max and the industry outrage is trumpeted from the mountaintops. By contrast, Disney holds their “Investor Days” presentation (a slick D23 replacement in the time of COVID) that stacks up how Disney+ will become home to 10 Marvel series, 10 Star Wars series, 15 Disney live-action, Disney Animation, and Pixar series and 15 Disney live action, Disney Animation, and Pixar films and everyone cheers. All of WB’s movies are including in the HBO Max subscription price and they still get slammed. At Disney, several titles will have “Premium Access” price tags like Mulan and no one bats an eye. What a telling (and nearly hypocritical, if you ask me) difference! The big-stack-bullying at the poker table of Hollywood is real and Disney is the bull shark. Their execs said it’s about “quality over quantity,” but, hot damn, did that splash the streaming wars pot with an awfully lot of quantity aimed at making a fat quantity in return.

LESSON #3: TOXIC FANS GONNA BE TOXIC— Still, all is never peaceful, even for Disney. Kudos to the success of The Mandalorian stewarded by Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau. They have reinvigorated both the quality and the canon of the Star Wars franchise. However, haters are still gonna hate. There’s a petition going around to remove the sequel trilogy from Star Wars canon. Not liking the trilogy is one thing. I get that, but the entitlement and false sense of ownership from this cross-section of fandom is always off-the-charts and it ruins it for everyone else. Any and all of these things, from prequels and old fan fiction novels to the corporate-controlled new stuff, can be enjoyed just as they are and separately if necessary. The Skywalker Saga sequels are not going away. Let them be. No one is forcing you to watch them if you don’t want to. The entirety of Star Wars isn’t going away either. New creators are going to add and grow the universe as it goes. Just look at all that dropped at Investor Days. Look further than the big screen and discover all the tangential creativity that has been going for over 40 years and beyond.

LESSON #4: SOME MERGERS MAKE PERFECT SENSE IF THEY WOULD JUST PULL THE TRIGGER— When Disney bought out Fox a few years ago, they gained controlling majority ownership of Hulu and planned to buy Comcast out of the rest. They acquired that property right around the time they were already in development of their planned Disney+ platform. The smart play then would have had Disney+ slide right into the existing functions of Hulu Plus, but Disney wanted their own family-minded brand identity separate from Hulu’s adult-skewing content. They went with the “why not both” GIF instead of combining strength in numbers. Now, nearly two years later, that merger may finally happen according to sources on Collider. If it finally comes to pass, it would be a smart play and one I predicted in this column last week with the ongoing streaming wars. Hulu gives Disney a mature arm to finally get some use out of their not-so-family-friendly Fox acquisitions. It would be damn nice to see Alien or Predator in some streaming 4K instead of being locked in a radiation vault at the Mouse House. In other purchases and acquisitions news, you have to love Sony buying anime streamer Crunchyroll. That’s an apt match as well, hopefully giving anime a higher profile. Oh, and who got that $1.175 billion from Sony? AT&T, the parent company of Warner Bros. and HBO Max. The rich get richer.

LESSON #5: MANK IS A SPRINGBOARD TO EXPANDED LEARNING— Love or hate the newest David Fincher film (feelings are certainly mixed here at Feelin’ Film), the legend surrounding Citizen Kane has filled cinema history now for nearly 80 years. If Mank stupefied you a little or if it inspired you to learn more about Orson Welles, movies studios, and more, then it worked as the fable and springboard it sought out to be. Now, if you don’t know where to start, check out this excellent piece from Chicago-based writer/critic Nick Allen writing for Vulture. His comprehensive article outlines what to watch, read, and listen to after Mank, and the curated selections range from feature films and documentaries to books and podcasts. Enjoy a deep dive in Golden Era Hollywood history.

LESSON #6: SURPRISE, SURPRISE, THE OSCARS DON’T UNDERSTAND PRESENT LANDSCAPES— Speaking of golden things, while the hiring of the dextrous and cinema believer filmmaker Steven Soderbergh counts a modern and inspired choice to produce the Oscar, the Academy still can’t read the room or, in this case, the who damn country. Word around the campfire is they are still insisting on doing an in-person awards show. Imagining that scenario begs a couple of superficial questions. Does Hugo Boss design masks for tuxedos? Can Cartier affix gemstones to masks to match gowns? What would the Dolby Theatre look like with socially distant seating? Then there’s the serious question. Who in their right mind is going to encourage a fan-less crowd and red carpet just to celebrate themselves with some awards in an asterisk year? Soderbergh loves to shoot movies lately on iPhones. Maybe he can get Zoom to sponsor the shindig and leave everyone at home.

LESSON #7: IF YOU THINK AMERICANS ARE SENSITIVE, GO CHECK ON CHINA— This country just finished a very combative presidential election that culminated years of snowflake-y and facist-ish labels slung by both political slides. Public relations teams for any missteps tended to outrun the #cancel culture, where Twitter kept on churning and nothing really got shelved or banned. If you think we’re harsh, go look at China. One off-color reference in Paul W.S. Anderson’s Monster Hunter and an entire country shuts the movie out after its premiere. That’s a level of strict conservatism and backlash that we’re not even close to here in the U.S. Thank your lucky stars-and-stripes you live here.

LESSON #8: EDUCATE YOURSELVES ON FILM NUDITY— In the closing recommendation slot this week, I’ll shuck the prudent content massively filling holiday time airwaves right now to talk about some hot and sexy bodies instead. Amazon Prime has a new expansive two-hour-plus documentary entitled Skin: A History of Nudity in the Movies. It’s a fascinating look at that aspect of entertainment and art. Ian Simmons, a YouTube and podcast colleague of mine who hosts Kicking the Seat, gave the doc a spin and came out with high appreciation. Shoo away the censors, call off the morality police, and learn something about movies while you Netflix-and-chill your way from Christmas snuggling to melted snow.

DON SHANAHAN is a Chicago-based and Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic writing on his website Every Movie Has a Lesson. His movie review work is also published on 25YL (25 Years Later), Horror Obsessive, and also on Medium.com for the MovieTime Guru publication. As an educator by day, Don writes his movie reviews with life lessons in mind, from the serious to the farcical. He is a proud director and one of the founders of the Chicago Independent Film Critics Circle and a member of the nationally-recognized Online Film Critics Society. As a contributor here on Feelin’ Film now for over two years, he’s going to expand those lessons to current movie news and trends while chipping in with guest spots and co-hosting duties, including the previous “Connecting with Classics” podcasts. Find “Every Movie Has a Lesson” on Facebook, Twitter, and Medium to follow his work. (#149)

What We Learned This Week: November 16-22

Posted on November 20, 2020 by everymoviehasalesson.

LESSON #1: FILM TWITTER IS SOMETIMES A BETRAYAL OF CINEMA— This lesson title matches the title of an article written by a Chicago critic colleague of mine named Robert Kojder of Flickering Myth. What he expounds on in his editorial spoke to me so well, not just because he’s a fellow Rotten Tomatoes-approved grinder who hasn’t stomped reviewing and writing during the pandemic. It spoke to me as a fellow fan of cinema in its purest form, even if we’re now charged to write on the art form. To echo Robert simply, Film Twitter has gotten out of hand, and it’s been a mess now for too long. Too many people judge and burn movies sight unseen based on the skinniest of hype or the stupidity of trailers (a rant I gladly share, as loyal readers here know). Rob’s quoted advice is solid gold, and I couldn’t agree more with the satisfaction found in taking this caution and control:

“If possible, I encourage critics and moviegoers alike to close themselves off from trailers entirely; they are terrible nowadays anyway and, typically in the case of the second one for every movie, only serves to spoil the whole damn movie. I promise it’s 1000 times more rewarding and fulfilling watching films outside of that nexus, completely unconcerned with whatever popular opinion will emerge.”

Furthermore, some targeted movies get trashed or labeled as such because people want to match some phantom importances of “trends.” If you stand apart and disagree with the trolling masses, you get the trash label next. We never really know who/what starts those fires, but they multiply like crazy for no good reason. That’s not what true movie fans do, and that certainly shouldn’t ever be what film journalism does either. I don’t use the word “trash” to describe a movie or any aspect of one. I also don’t use the word “great” either on the other end. I aim higher than trolls. Yet, here’s the cesspool side of Film Twitter and I f–king hate it. I keep an account to promote my own work and share/follow the work of my fellow critics. That’s it. Promotion is a good and essential thing for a DIY creator like me, but not at a greater price of engaging in the stupidity found wider and worse. Hang around it if you must, but don’t buy the BS slung there for any measure of time. Bravo, Robert.

LESSON #2: THE ENGINE OF COMMERCE FROM SUPERHERO FILMS HAS BEEN AROUND FOR OVER 40 YEARS— Leave it to Christopher Nolan to keep acting like Christopher Columbus sometimes by planting flags of claims and discoveries on things that already existed. Recently on a book tour, Nolan patted himself on the back for making superhero films in a time before they became an “engine of commerce.” Dude, did he miss he miss the two decades and change that came before his 2005 Batman Begins? Superhero films have been highly coveted and supremely controlled properties for studios ever since 1978’s Superman and even more so after 1989’s Batman. Fox and Sony entered that churning machine before Nolan with X-Men in 2000 and Spider-Man in 2002. Sorry, Christopher, you don’t get to make that claim. If anyone can, as some of our Feelin’ Film Facebook group members has noted, it’s Richard Donner and Tim Burton decade before you. While your work was extraordinary to strengthen the genre, Mr. Nolan, but you still played in the same system for the same benefits.

LESSON #3: THE DOOR HAS BEEN OPEN FOR INDIES— I miss blockbusters as much as the next person. You can’t beat the big screen experience of a BIG movie. And I get why, especially after Tenet couldn’t draw the masses electing for safety, business decisions are being made for tentpoles to delay or find digital homes, just as Wonder Woman 1984 did this week with HBO Max, to recover costs. The crazy thing is it’s the little indies surviving and standing tall with the multiplex battlefield clear of tanks. Low-cost and low-risk movies like Let Him Go, Unhinged, and more are your box office champions right now. Sure, the competition is nil, but the thing is they can afford taking the distribution shots with nothing else around. They have seized the day and made their money. Studios, scale it all down and adjust your business output to match the market.

LESSON #4: THEATERS NOW HAVE TO SHARE— It wasn’t long ago towards the beginning of this pandemic when Universal Pictures received a good bit of backlash from theater companies when they smartly and profitably pulled Trolls: World Tour to premium VOD. A half-year later with theaters reeling on the brink of financial closure (an estimated 70% of all theaters), their tunes have changed. They now know they have to share. An example of this is AMC’s “fully onboard” reaction to Warner Bros. making the plan to release Wonder Woman 1984 in theaters and on HBO Max. Another example is the deal Cinemark struck with Universal Pictures to shorten the window between theaters and streaming to a shocking 17 days, down from what was the usual 75-90 and what used to be a decade ago six months. Some may read 17 days, measure their patience, and say “what’s the point of that when I can wait and stay home.” Those consumers are not wrong to have that mentality. Beaten into submission, sad compromises have to be made and they’re making them to hang around. Still, I feel like they’re dealing away their own existence in a risky manner.

LESSON #5: MOVE YOUR TRYPTOPHAN HANGOVER FROM FOOTBALL TO MOVIES— In the final recommendation slot, I should probably open a sidebar to eat responsibly and gather safely for Thanksgiving this week. I’ll only support half of that. It’s Thanksgiving and sheltered won. Eat to your heart’s content. When that turkey coma of amino acids hits you, marvel at how many decent Thanksgiving-themed movies are available. I normally never get farther than Planes, Trains and Automobiles, but Rotten Tomatoes has a full list of 20, many of which I never made the holiday connection with right away. Peruse the streaming available with JustWatch and find a winning new blind spot to fill instead of a bad Detroit or Dallas football game.

What We Learned This Week: November 9-15

Posted on November 13, 2020 by everymoviehasalesson.

LESSON #1: PEER PRESSURE CAN BE EFFECTIVE— With George Lucas long-retired and until James Cameron finally releases that next Avatar epic, the reigning King of Cinematic Hubris remains Christopher Nolan. His ardent activism for physical film will always be commendable, but he is not the “savior” the trades (and himself) tout him to be. Not if he can’t even properly tune his own films and has to hear about it from his peers and contemporaries. More than fans, fellow filmmakers have contacted Nolan about his messy sound mix from Tenet. To me, that’s when you know it’s bad, if you have buddies calling you it. Peer pressure is an effective motivator. Let’s see how it shifts the chip on the king’s shoulder below his self-made crown.

LESSON #2: WISE PEOPLE IN THIS BUSINESS CUT LONG-TERM DEALS— Back in the day, everyone from actors to filmmakers were on studio-exclusive contracts. If Paramount wanted to use a talent controlled by Warner Bros., they had to pay handsomely and vice versa. For the studios, it was winning bidding wars to secure top talent for multiple projects. For the actors, it was securing guaranteed work in an era before they made ungodly money. Somewhere along the way, the movies turned into looser free agency like you see today in baseball where everyone is a mercenary chasing paychecks.

To see David Fincher sign a four-year deal with Netflix feels old school and a win-win, joining Patty Jenkins on the squad. Netflix nabs a big name for their digital marquees. The Mank filmmaker gets a shingle that pushes for Oscars, far more creative freedom on set, and more guaranteed upfront money than he would chasing box office receipts, especially during a pandemic choking the industry. Don’t believe me or Fincher? Just ask Martin Scorsese. No one else, and I mean no one, in town was going to give him $200+ million to make the geriatric steak buffet that was The Irishman. That epic may not have netted Oscars, but it brought in new subscribers and that’s Netflix’s bottom line.

Netflix is not alone in getting out their checkbook to sign top-shelf creators. Apple TV+ has first-look deals with Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, and Alfonso Cuaron. Even if most of those are for TV projects, those are names worth marketing and bragging about for the up-and-coming streaming platform. Is this the death of cinema? No. This is job preservation and squeezing for artistic carte blanche that you normally can’t get.

LESSON #3: DON’T BEAT LIVE HORSES ANYMORE THAN DEAD HORSES— Speaking of David Fincher, he has a long-standing reputation of over-filming many scenes in his directorial career. He’ll go after 50 or more takes in some scenes, the polar opposite of Clint Eastwood being good after one or two. It’s a personal philosophy Fincher has gone on record to explain. Word from the set of Mank, by way of Amanda Seyfried and Gary Oldman, was that the director went for as many as 200 takes on a scene, something that supposedly “cracked” the latter Oscar winner. There is meticulousness and fastidiousness, and then there is exhausting punishment. Dude, I love you, David Fincher. It’s been too long since Gone Girl,but have some workplace efficiency and empathetic professionalism.

LESSON #4: NOW IS THE TIME TO SEE CITIZEN KANE— Speaking of Mank which is releasing into limited theaters today before debuting on Netflix on December 4th, this week’s final lesson in the usual go-home recommendation slot promotes just a single movie and quite possibly the greatest movie of all-time. To fully absorb and appreciate Fincher’s new movie, you must see Citizen Kane before it, period. If you’ve been putting it off because of its stature or the silly fact it’s old or in black-and-white, swallow hard, pick a day, and get through it. If you call yourself any level of film buff, connossieur, or fan, Orson Welles’ 1941 tour-de-force is required viewing as a cornerstone of visual filmmaking and storytelling techniques that would become the exemplars for decades. Citizen Kane is available now (thank you, JustWatch app) as part of HBO Max or can be rented for $3-4 on most streaming storefronts. If you want to do one better, straight up buy it or borrow any disc version of it from your local library. Seek out the late Roger Ebert’s audio commentary track. That will educate you more on film greatness in two hours than any self-made YouTube ranter or snarky podcast. Rented or bought, the movie is worth every penny and you will thank me for it.

Episode 254: Man of Steel

Posted on October 19, 2020 by Aaron White.

This week we wrap up our six-part Batman v Superman event with the most recent solo Superman film. Zack Snyder’s interpretation of the character has unsurprisingly been met with plenty of divisive opinions. But us? We love this movie and we’re here to discuss why.

Man of Steel Spoiler Review – 0:18:50

The Connecting Point – 1:34:30

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Episode 249: The Dark Knight Rises

Posted on September 14, 2020 by Aaron White.

RISE with us as we discuss the final installment of Christopher Nolan’s great trilogy. A lot of movie deserves a lot of conversation and we are up to the task.

The Dark Knight Rises Spoiler Review – 0:14:11

The Connecting Point – 1:26:40

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Episode 248: Batman Begins

Posted on September 9, 2020 by Aaron White.

The film title says it all. Christopher Nolan’s incredible trilogy about The Dark Knight starts here and is the perfect kick-off to our Batman v Superman event over the next couple of months.

Batman Begins Spoiler Review – 0:07:57

The Connecting Point – 1:03:56

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What We Learned This Week: July 20-26

Posted on July 25, 2020 by everymoviehasalesson.

LESSON #1: WE ALL KNOW AND REMEMBER THE COLLECTIVE EXPERIENCE— I don’t want to get all Mufasa of The Lion King with a “Remember, who you are” or, worse, an Alan Jackson post-9/11 country song of “Remember When” because, in honesty, this whole “I haven’t seen a movie in forever” rant that gets tossed around has only been a few months. That’s a mere drop in our life’s bucket in the grand scheme of things. Look, I get it. Sitting at home on a TV or computer screen isn’t the same. We miss going to the movies, and the movies miss us too (or rather our money, more on that next). Nothing beats the collective and communal experience. Former Roger Ebert wingman Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times made it to very spaced-out Music Box Theatre in Chicago for a 70mm screening of Interstellar after 126 days since being in a theater. The joy and comfort came back to him and he poured that out in a lovely column. What happened for Richard, can and will happen for us. It will be wonderful when it does. It will just take time, namely the right time.

LESSON #2: NO STUDIO IS GOING TO LEAVE NINE FIGURES OF MONEY ON THE TABLE— Sigh. I feel like every week this summer here in WWLTW I have to keep talking about Tenet. Finally this week, it received the full “indefinite” delay that it should have gotten months ago. Was that enough to finally get Nolanites to chill and accept reality? Just like his mind-bending films, the answer was no. The hubris continued with speculation it would at least play in China or Europe or some newfangled staggered rollout. Let’s keep banging the table. Folks, it ain’t gonna happen because Warner Bros. is not going to release a movie, especially one that needs $800 million to make it to the black, without its biggest market. They won’t accept less. They would be asking for torrent piracy to swoop in and spoil their golden goose. You can wish all you want, but it’s time to move on. This is where our #firstworldproblems are at:

LESSON #3: ANY DYING BUSINESS IS GOING TO DEMAND THEIR SURVIVAL EVEN IF IT IS BAD FOR BUSINESS—It’s ugly, yet understandable. The whole industry is swirling an ugly and uncertain drain to against an invincible threat that cannot be wished away or bought. Similar to the predicament schools are in (and, boy, as a teacher, let me tell you about this rocking boat) about what’s best for re-opening, movie theaters are weighing options and recommendations with desperation. For theaters, as evident by the sentiments of the National Association Theater Owners, their answer is anger and frustration with every studio delay like Tenet. “Urge” is becoming “should.” And “should” is starting to sound like “demand.” Things are looking like mid-2021 at best. Unlike schools, their direct survival at the industry level is on the line. They have a bankruptcy gun barrel either pushed to their temple or inserted in their own mouth. Schools, on the other hand, have viable alternatives. I’d hate to be in those budget meetings right now in Hollywood.

LESSON #4: EMBRACE THE PARANOIA— Earlier during this COVID quarantine, the hot social distance water cooler movies to see where the virus-based thrillers like Outbreak and Contagion. Months later, more and more of the craziness is setting in and more tin foil hats are going on. Let some or your movie consumption dive into that. Blake Collier of Film Inquiry posted a recent piece on what paranoid cinema says about ourselves and society. It’s an excellent read and filled with stellar films to sample. Dip your toe in the loony waters and have fun.

DON SHANAHAN is a Chicago-based and Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic writing on his website Every Movie Has a Lesson. His movie review work is also published on 25YL (25 Years Later) and also on Medium.com for the MovieTime Guru publication. As an educator by day, Don writes his movie reviews with life lessons in mind, from the serious to the farcical. He is a proud director and one of the founders of the Chicago Independent Film Critics Circle and a member of the nationally-recognized Online Film Critics Society. As a contributor here on Feelin’ Film now for over two years, he’s going to expand those lessons to current movie news and trends while chipping in with guest spots and co-hosting duties, including the previous “Connecting with Classics” podcasts. Find “Every Movie Has a Lesson” on Facebook, Twitter, and Medium to follow his work. (#138)

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