The Next Picture Show

The new Jason Statham late-summer vehicle THE MEG, like so many middling shark movies before it, can trace its lineage directly to the 1975 film that made us afraid to go into the water: Steven Spielberg’s JAWS. In this half of our sharktastic discussion, we’re diving in (cautiously) to what your NPS crew considers a perfect movie, considering what gives JAWS its hidden depths, what it told us about the director Spielberg would become, and whether its impact on the blockbuster model is a net positive for movies. Plus, some feedback on our recent MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE and SORRY TO BOTHER YOU episodes.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about JAWS, THE MEG, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Show Notes

Works Cited:

• “The great lost Jaws rip-off” by Keith Phipps

• “The men, monsters, and troubled waters of Jaws” by Noel Murray, Keith Phipps, Nathan Rabin, Tasha Robinson, and Scott Tobias

Outro Music: Dwight Twilley Band, “Shark”

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With its latest entry FALLOUT, the MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE franchise has solidified its evolution from the spy thriller Brian De Palma made in 1996 into the setpiece-centric, Tom Cruise-endangering action series we know it as today. In this half of our franchise-spanning conversation, we look at what FALLOUT, helmed by first-time returning director Christopher McQuarrie, brings to the table in terms of stakes-raising action and plot. Then we pull at the many strings connecting the two ends of the MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE franchise, most notably its seemingly ageless star, Tom Cruise, as well as its treatment of Ethan Hunt’s associates, both professional and romantic. 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 MISSION:IMPOSSIBLE, give or take a FALLOUT, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Works Cited: • Get Ready for Mission: Impossible—Fallout With This Recap of the Entire Series (From Michelle Monaghan’s Character’s Perspective) by Matthew Dessem (Slate.com)

Your Next Picture Show: 

• Tasha: Guy Richie’s THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.

• Keith: Aaron Horvath and Peter Rida Michail’s TEEN TITANS GO! TO THE MOVIES

• Genevieve: Carlos Lopez Estrada’s BLINDSPOTTING

• Scott: Bo Burnham’s EIGTH GRADE

Outro Music: Lorne Balfe, “Mission: Accomplished”

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The new MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE — FALLOUT is the latest entry in a franchise that’s become a showpiece for Tom Cruise-endangering stunts and practical effects, but the surprisingly enduring action series began as something more akin to a spy thriller built around a handful of Hitchcockian setpieces. In this half of our franchise-spanning pairing, we look back at 1996’s MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, in which Brian De Palma helped shape what the series would become, while also exerting his own iconoclastic style on the film. Plus, some feedback on our recent episodes on HEREDITARY and DON’T LOOK NOW.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, give or take a FALLOUT, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Outro music: Pulp, “I Spy”

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As with Robert Downey Sr.’s 1969 satirical oddity PUTNEY SWOPE, there’s a lot going on in Boots Riley’s new SORRY TO BOTHER YOU, which takes a similar anything-goes approach to the intersection of race and capitalism. In the second part of our “white voice” double feature, we dig into the anti-capitalist philosophy that unites Riley’s work and keeps SORRY TO BOTHER YOU on the rails, then we look at how the two films compare in their views of race and capitalism, and their use of satire and surrealism. 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 PUTNEY SWOPE, SORRY TO BOTHER YOU, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Works Cited: • “Why Sorry To Bother You director Boots Riley thinks artists should be activists” by Alissa Wilkinson (Vox.com)

Your Next Picture Show: 

• Genevieve: The Coup’s SORRY TO BOTHER YOU and TuneYards’ I CAN FEEL YOU CREEP INTO MY PRIVATE LIFE

• Scott: Lynn Ramsay’s YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE

• Keith: Lewis Teague’s CUJO

• Tasha: Federico D’Allesandro’s TAU

Outro Music: The Coup f/ Lakeith Stanfield, “OYAHYTT”

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Rapper-director Boots Riley has said he hadn’t seen Robert Downey Sr.’s 1969 satirical comedy PUTNEY SWOPE when he made the buzzy new SORRY TO BOTHER YOU, but the films share so much on both a surface level (white men providing the literal voices of black characters) and deeper thematic ones (concerns about capitalism, race, and what it might take to burn down an unjust system) that we had to put them in conversation with each other. In this half, we try to make sense of the fascinating mess that is PUTNEY SWOPE, considering how it works as both satire and comedy, and whether Downey’s choice to overdub his black title character’s voice with his own is an asset or a liability.  Plus, feedback on our recent INCREDIBLES 2/GOLDFINGER episodes and some general thoughts on auteur theory and film categorization.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about PUTNEY SWOPE, SORRY TO BOTHER YOU, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.  

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Ari Aster’s debut feature HEREDITARY carries over the themes of grief, guilt, and extrasensory perception found in Nicolas Roeg’s 1973 shocker DON’T LOOK NOW, another emotionally grueling story about parents wrestling with loss. After discussing our sometimes-visceral reactions to Aster’s film, we put these two movies in conversation with each other, talking over their use of shock tactics, the supernatural, and a memorable setting. 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 DON’T LOOK NOW, HEREDITARY, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Show Notes

Works Cited: 

• "How Hereditary composer Colin Stetson made the movie 'feel evil,'" by Bryan Bishop (The Verge)

• "The biggest shock in Hereditary was almost much worse," by Bryan Bishop (The Verge)

Your Next Picture Show: 

• Tasha: “How Pixar’s Open Sexism Ruined My Dream Job” by Cassandar Smolcic

(Variety/Medium) and Debra Granik’s LEAVE NO TRACE

• Scott: Tim Wardle’s THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS

• Keith: Dave Itzkoff’s ROBIN and Marina Zenovich’s ROBIN WILLIAMS: COME INSIDE MY MIND

Outro Music: The Muppets, “Pass It On”

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Ari Aster’s breakout debut HEREDITARY draws on a fair number of horror touchpoints, but it’s linked by its themes of parental grief and psychic distress to another terrifying film about the lingering impact of a death in the family: Nicolas Roeg’s form-busting 1973 thriller DON’T LOOK NOW. In this half focused on Roeg’s film, we discuss why the film’s intensity of emotion is integral to its horror, what makes its shadowy vision of Venice so unnerving, and what's behind the film’s famously graphic sex scene. Plus, some feedback on our recent episode on GOLDFINGER and INCREDIBLES 2.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about DON’T LOOK NOW, HEREDITARY, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.  

Outro music: “Don’t Look Now” by Torch Song

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On the surface, Brad Bird’s new animated family adventure INCREDIBLES 2 wouldn’t seem to have a lot in common with Guy Hamilton’s swingin’ 1964 James Bond entry GOLDFINGER, but superhero films and spy movies are actually pretty closely thematically related, as we discover in our comparison of the two films. After discussing our reactions to INCREDIBLES 2, a follow-up to what one of us calls “a perfect movie,” we look at how these two very different versions of 1960s heroism compare in their evolution (and establishment) of familiar tropes, in their respective wish-fulfillment fantasies, and in how they handle extraordinary individuals with a license to kill. 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 GOLDFINGER, INCREDIBLES 2, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Show Notes

Your Next Picture Show: • Scott: The Science Behind Pixar exhibit 

• Tasha: David Lynch and Kristine McKenna’s ROOM TO DREAM

• Keith: Sidney J. Furie’s THE IPCRESS FILE

Outro Music: Michael Giacchino, “Pow! Pow! Pow! - Mr. Incredible’s Theme”

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This week on the podcast, it’s supervillains, secretive heroes, and slippery schemes as we pair Brad Bird’s new, long-delayed INCREDIBLES 2 with arguably the best iteration of one of Bird’s oft-cited reference points — James Bond — the third film in the Bond franchise, 1964’s GOLDFINGER. In this Bond-centric first half, we discuss how GOLDFINGER helped codify the 007 we know so well today, how its aspirational qualities and gender politics have aged, and how playing Bond shapes an actor’s subsequent career. Plus, some (semi-spoiler-y) feedback on our recent episode on FIRST REFORMED.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about GOLDFINGER, INCREDIBLES 2, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.  

Outro music: “Goldfinger” by Shirley Bassey.

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Our examination of Paul Schrader’s fixation with “God’s Lonely Man” continues with the critic-turned-screenwriter-turned-director’s 20th film, the searing and excellent FIRST REFORMED, which shares more in common with the Schrader-scripted TAXI DRIVER than just a lonely male protagonist. After examining our reactions to FIRST REFORMED — including its bold ending — we look at how these two films make use of their female characters and the idea of the male savior, what they have to say about societal values and decline, and their conspicuous use of voiceover. 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 TAXI DRIVER, FIRST REFORMED, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Your Next Picture Show:

• Genevieve: Alex Richanbach’s IBIZA

• Scott: Baltasar Kormakur’s ADRIFT

• Keith: THE ATOMIC CAFE and THE VALLEY OF GWANGI

Works cited: “Let’s talk about the ending of First Reformed,” by Kevin Lincoln (Vulture.com)

Outro Music: Iris Dement, “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms”

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Paul Schrader’s excellent, difficult new film FIRST REFORMED inspires us to travel back to Schrader’s first screenwriting collaboration with Martin Scorsese and grapple with TAXI DRIVER, to see how Schrader’s vision of “God’s Lonely Man” first graced movie screens. In this first half focusing on TAXI DRIVER, we discuss the techniques Scorsese uses to force us into Travis Bickle’s sick mind, and consider what effect that approach has had on the reception and legacy of this “dangerous” film. Plus, some feedback on our recent episode on THE RIDER, and another question that asks us to ponder the state of STAR WARS.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about TAXI DRIVER, FIRST REFORMED, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Outro music: “Late For The Sky” by Jackson Browne

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In part two of our comparison of two part twos, we dig into the meta magic that animates both GREMLINS 2 and DEADPOOL 2 (and get a little meta ourselves in the process). After discussing what works and doesn’t in DEADPOOL 2, a film with a lot that works and a lot that doesn’t, we look at how these two studio sequels tap into similar but different veins of self-aware and reference-based humor, how they play with the restrictions and perks of studio filmmaking, and how to break the fourth wall without losing the audience. 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 GREMLINS 2, DEADPOOL 2, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Your Next Picture Show: • Tasha: Taika Waititi’s HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE and John Cameron Mitchell’s HOW TO TALK TO GIRLS AT PARTIES• Genevieve: Agnes Varda and JR’s FACES PLACES• Keith: Christopher Nolan’s “unrestored” 70mm 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY and Jennifer Fox’s THE TALE• Scott: Joe Dante’s HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD, James Schamus’s INDIGNATION, and John Boorman’s QUEEN & COUNTRY

Outro Music: Celine Dion f/Deadpool, “Ashes”

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The new DEADPOOL 2 shares a self-aware sensibility and anarchic spirit with Joe Dante’s GREMLINS 2: THE NEW BATCH, which saw the director returning reluctantly to the franchise and wreaking havoc on everything that had made it a hit, up to and including the much-loved (by everyone but Dante) mogwai Gizmo. That approach works far better for some of us that others, and so we spend much of the first half of this pairing debating whether GREMLINS 2 is a funny movie, a good movie, both — or neither. Plus, feedback on our recent episodes pairing X2 and AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about GREMLINS 2, DEADPOOL 2, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Outro music: “New York, New York,” by Tony Randall

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AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR is the culmination of a decade of Marvel moviemaking, but much of the mechanics of this massive superteam machine can be traced back further, to what was once the biggest teamup of the modern superhero era, 2002’s X2: X-MEN UNITED. After we spend some time helping Scott work out his emotions surrounding INFINITY WAR, we dive into the connections between these two films, including their mass-extinction plots, their lazily conceived romantic pairings, and their respective fealty to their comics source material. 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 X2, AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Your Next Picture Show: • Genevieve: Paul King’s PADDINGTON 2• Scott: Tony Zierra’s FILMWORKER• Tasha: Julia Hart’s FAST COLOR• Keith: Mike Flanagan’s HUSH

Outro Music: Infinity War Cast, “The Marvel Bunch” (via The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon)

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The Russo Brothers’ new, massive AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR may exist in a different cinematic universe than Bryan Singer’s 2003 sequel X2: X-MEN UNITED, but the two films use a lot of the same tricks to bring Marvel's four-color heroes to a live-action setting, and both function as middle chapters in a bigger ongoing saga. In this half of the pairing, we consider how X2’s superteam dynamics look after 15 years of subsequent superhero-movie evolution, dig into the malleability of the mutant metaphor, and wonder whether the morality of mutant freedom is as cut-and-dry as that metaphor suggests. Plus, feedback on some recent episodes and a discussion of our thought process around superhero-movie pairings.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about X2, AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Outro music: “X-Men Opening Theme” by Ron Wasserman

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Chloe Zhao’s THE RIDER’s naturalistic synthesis of documentary and narrative has some roots in Abbas Kiarostami’s 1990 Iranian classic CLOSE-UP, but with a very different story to tell, about a very different part of the world. After discussing what made The Rider one of our favorite films of the year so far, we look at how these two films both dance on the line separating fact and fiction, through their use of non-actors, their respective sense of place, and their preoccupation with identity. 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 CLOSE-UP, THE RIDER, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Your Next Picture Show: 

• Genevieve: Kay Cannon’s BLOCKERS

• Scott: Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead’s THE ENDLESS

• Keith: Francois Truffaut’s TWO ENGLISH GIRLS and MISSISSIPPI MERMAID

Outro Music: Woody Guthrie, “Gamblin’ Man”

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Chloe Zhao’s new THE RIDER lives in the space between the real world and a fictional world that was memorably carved out by Abbas Kiarostami’s 1990 classic CLOSE-UP, which blends documentary and narrative to find a third approach that draws on the strengths of both while committing to neither. In this half of the comparison, we dig into what makes CLOSE-UP tick, where it fits into a Western understanding of Iranian cinema, and how Kiarostami calls attention to the artificiality of filmmaking. Plus, feedback on our recent episodes on CHICKEN RUN and ISLE OF DOGS.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about CLOSE-UP, THE RIDER, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

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We continue our examination of stop-motion animals conspiring to escape captivity by bringing in ISLE OF DOGS, Wes Anderson’s new Japan-set homage/provocation, to see how it stacks up against Aardman Animations’ 2000 feature CHICKEN RUN. After weighing the controversy that’s arisen around ISLE OF DOGS against our own reactions to the film, we dig into what unites these two tonally distinct features, from their deployment of cinematic reference points to their ideas about human/animal interaction to their respective death machines. 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 CHICKEN RUN, ISLE OF DOGS, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: • Tasha: Sergio G. Sanchez’s MARROWBONE• Keith: Plane viewing via the Starz app• Genevieve: Jeff Baena’s THE LITTLE HOURS• Scott: Christian Nemescu’s CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’

SHOW NOTES:

Works Cited:• “Wes Anderson’s ‘Isle of Dogs’ is often captivating, but cultural sensitivity gets lost in translation” by Justin Chang (latimes.com)• “Orientalism Is Alive And Well In American Cinema” by Allison Willmore (buzzfeed.com)• “Unpacking the Akira Kurosawa References in Isle of Dogs” by Charles Bramesco (vulture.com)• “Wes Anderson Explains Hayao Miyazaki’s Influence on ‘Isle of Dogs’” by Zack Sharf (indiewire.com)• “Stream These 12 Great Films From Romania” by Scott Tobias (nytimes.com)

Outro Music: Cat Stevens, “I Love My Dog”

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Is there such a thing as “auteurist animation”? That’s a question that unites this week’s pairing, which looks at two highly collaborative stop-motion animated films that nonetheless bear the fingerprints of a singular filmmaking presence: Wes Anderson’s new ISLE OF DOGS and Aardman Animations’ 2000 feature CHICKEN RUN, co-directed by Wallace & Gromit creator Nick Park. In this half of the pairing we focus on CHICKEN RUN, digging into what exactly gives it that “Aardman Touch,” whether its storyline reflects its status as a US-Britain co-production, and the advantages of silicone over plasticine when it comes to chicken puppets. Plus, feedback on our recent episodes on TRON and READY PLAYER ONE.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about CHICKEN RUN, ISLE OF DOGS, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

SHOW NOTES:

Works Cited: “Home is a reminder that DreamWorks Animation needs an actual identity” by Tasha Robinson (thedissolve.com)

Outro music: “Flip, Flop, and Fly” by Ellis Hall

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Steven Lisberger’s groundbreaking live-action Disney film TRON is one of the few 1980s properties that doesn’t get explicitly referenced in Steven Spielberg’s new adaptation of Ernest Cline’s novel READY PLAYER ONE, but the earlier film makes up a significant portion of RP1’s source code. After discussing our reactions to READY PLAYER ONE, and hashing out what made Cline’s novel become so strangely controversial, we look at what connects and distinguishes these two films about life inside a video game, from their attitudes about human/computer relationships to how they approach the idea of corporate control. 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 TRON, READY PLAYER ONE, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: • Genevieve: Anders Walter’s I KILL GIANTS• Scott: Andrew Haigh’s LEAN ON PETE• Tasha: Rich Moore’s WRECK-IT RALPH

SHOW NOTES:

Works Cited:• “The Ready Player One Backlash, Explained” by Constance Grady (Vox.com)• “Ready Player One is a truly awful book. I’m really looking forward to the movie” by Todd VanDerWerff (Vox.com)• “Ernest Cline: Ready Player One” (review) by Kevin McFarland (AVClub.com)• Ernest Cline’s “Ultraman is Airwolf” (ErnestCline.com)• “Here are all the references in Ready Player One” by Abraham Riesman (Vulture.com)• “I Kill Giants director Anders Walter on making a likable fantasy with a hateful protagonist” by Tasha Robinson (TheVerge.com)• “Our film critic and the director of a movie he hated sat down and tried to work out their differences” by David Ehrlich (Indiewire.com)

Outro Music: Rush, “2112 (The Temples of Syrnix)”

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Steven Spielberg’s new READY PLAYER ONE turns videogaming into both a fantasy adventure and a meta-narrative about adventure fantasies, a premise that feels directly inspired — and given Ernest Cline’s source novel, almost certainly is — by Steven Lisberger’s 1982 Disney oddity TRON. Before digging into what connects the two films, we dive into TRON’s glow-y, rudimentarily CGI-ed mainframe to consider the bits and bytes that drive this fascinatingly flawed film, from its confusing religious undertones (overtones?) to its strange real world/virtual world disconnect. Plus, we continue to wade through the ocean of feedback on our episodes pairing STALKER and ANNIHILATION.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about TRON, READY PLAYER ONE, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Outro music: “Only Solutions” by Journey (TRON OST)

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Like H.G. Clouzot’s DIABOLIQUE, Cory Finley’s directorial debut THOROUGHBREDS develops around a plot between two women who enter into a pact to murder a purely malevolent man, but to much different effect. After discussing our reactions to THOROUGHBREDS’ hyper-formal style and disconcerting ending, we dig into how the two films compare and contrast in terms of their many stylistic flourishes, their motivations for murder, and their respective killer conspiracies. 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 DIABOLIQUE, THOROUGHBREDS, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: • Keith: Serge Bromberg and Ruxandra Medrea’s CLOUZOT’S INFERNO• Genevieve: Anna Deavere Smith and Kristi Zea’s NOTES FROM THE FIELD• Scott: Clarence Brown’s INTRUDER IN THE DUST

Outro Music: The Sweet Hurt, “All The Things”

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Cory Finley’s stylish directorial debut THOROUGHBREDS follows an unlikely pairing of women as they endeavor to kill a domineering man in their life, a setup reminiscent of H.G. Clouzot’s classic 1955 shocker DIABOLIQUE, which took that premise and then applied one of cinema’s all-time greatest twists. In this half of our pairing, we dig deep into DIABOLIQUE, discussing whether its legendary ending is “spoiler-proof,” admiring the skill with which Clouzot keeps viewers off their guard (and how it differs from the approach of Clouzot’s contemporary, Alfred Hitchcock), and debating what makes for a believable on-screen drowning. Plus, a glimpse at the mountain of feedback we received on our episodes pairing STALKER and ANNIHILATION.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about DIABOLIQUE, THOROUGHBREDS, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Outro music: “Deadly Valentine” by Charlotte Gainsbourg

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We take another science-fiction-adjacent journey into the unknown via Alex Garland’s new ANNIHILATION, a distinctive cinematic vision that nonetheless calls back to Andrei Tarkovsky’s 1979 film STALKER in terms of its structure and filmmaking — if not quite the specifics of its dreamlike narrative and themes. After discussing what puzzled and delighted us about ANNIHILATION, we discuss what connects it to STALKER, and how both challenge viewers in their own way. 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 STALKER, ANNIHILATION, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: • Genevieve: Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman’s LOVING VINCENT• Tasha: Duncan Jones’ MOON• Keith: Saul Bass’ PHASE IV• Scott: Travis Wilkerson’s DID YOU WONDER WHO FIRED THE GUN?

SHOW NOTES:Works Cited:• “So, the lady or the tiger? 28 stories that make the audience choose the ending”  by Tasha Robinson et al (The A.V. Club) • “The original scripted ending of Annihilation sounds better” by Tasha Robinson (The Verge)• “Annihilation Co-Composer Ben Salisbury Explains How That Weird Little Melody Wound Up in the Film’s Trailer” by Marissa Matinelli (Slate.com)• Instagram account @petrifiedrainbow

Outro Music: Crosby, Stills & Nash “Helplessly Hoping”

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Alex Garland’s new ANNIHILATION is a loose adaptation of a novel, but its premise, themes, and style give it just as strong a connection to Andrei Tarkovsky’s 1979 philosophical science fiction film STALKER. In this half of the pairing, we venture into STALKER’s mysterious Zone on a search for meaning and metaphor within an enigmatic cinematic landscape that’s as beguiling as it is intimidating. Plus, feedback on some recent episodes that were, and episodes that might have been.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about STALKER, ANNIHILATION, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Outro music: “Meditation” by Eduard Artemiev

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We return to the deep, dark waters of the id to unpack what SHAPE OF WATER director Guillermo Del Toro saw in Jack Arnold’s 1954 horror-sci-fi classic CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON that inspired him to literalize a relationship between a woman and a fish-man. After analyzing the range of reactions we had toward Del Toro’s film and debating whether it is a “snowglobe movie,” we plunge into the connections that link the two films, from the obvious character analogs to their not-so-obvious shared nostalgia. 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 CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON, SHAPE OF WATER, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Your Next Picture Show: 

• Keith: Joe Dante’s MATINEE

• Scott: William Wyler’s MRS. MINIVER

• Tasha: Agnieszka Smoczynska’s THE LURE

Outro Music: Sally Hawkins, “You’ll Never Know”

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Guillermo Del Toro has made clear that his new THE SHAPE OF WATER stems directly from his obsession with 1954’s THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON, and his desire to see the “romance” between the monster and leading lady work out. We unpack that desire by revisiting Jack Arnold’s horror-sci-fi classic, to consider the film’s place in the Universal Monsters pantheon and mid-century sci-fi boom alike, ponder what makes the image of a screaming woman being spirited away by a monster so enduring, and pinpoint the Herzogian echoes in the film's ill-fated excursion to the Amazon. Plus, some feedback on our recent episodes on A FUTILE AND STUPID GESTURE and PHANTOM THREAD.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON, SHAPE OF WATER, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Outro music: “Underwater Love” by Smoke City

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David Wain’s new A FUTILE AND STUPID GESTURE brings the deconstructive spirit of his cult comedy classic WET HOT AMERICAN SUMMER to the biopic formula, putting a meta, self-aware spin on the story of Doug Kenney, co-founder of The National Lampoon. After digging into the benefits and limitations of Wain’s approach as applied to a sprawling biopic-slash-portrait of a scene, we talk over how the two films work together, as points of comparison as well as contrast. 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 WET HOT AMERICAN SUMMER, A FUTILE AND STUPID GESTURE, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Your Next Picture Show: 

• Keith: Elaine May’s A NEW LEAF

• Genevieve: Michael Almeryeda’s MARJORIE PRIME

• Scott: Abbas Kiarostami’s 24 FRAMES

Outro Music: Martin Mull, “The Time Of My Life”

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David Wain’s new biopic spoof A FUTILE AND STUPID GESTURE had a pretty ignominious Netflix debut, but that seems in keeping with the comedic director’s history of films that are unappreciated in their time but grow a cult following — a history that was established with 2001’s WET HOT AMERICAN SUMMER, a Sundance flop that’s now rightly considered a comedy classic. In the first half of our comparison of the two films, we talk over our WET HOT impressions then and now, share some theories for why it didn’t hit with critics or audiences, and consider the limitations of Wain’s affectionate but ultimately insincere, sketch-comedy-influenced style. Plus, some feedback on our recent episodes on PHANTOM THREAD and I, TONYA.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about WET HOT AMERICAN SUMMER, A FUTILE AND STUPID GESTURE, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Outro music: “Higher and Higher” by Craig Wedron and Theodore Shapiro

Articles cited: 

• Tonya Harding Would Like Her Apology Now, by Taffy Brodesser-Akner (New York Times)

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With PHANTOM THREAD, Paul Thomas Anderson has repurposed REBECCA to his own ends, telling a personal story that’s unique from the original yet still resonates with echoes of Hitchcock’s gothic romance. We tug at the many threads Anderson has woven throughout his film, before diving into what unites it with REBECCA, from the two films’ character analogs to their complementary relationships with 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 REBECCA, PHANTOM THREAD, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Your Next Picture Show: 

• Genevieve: William Oldroyd’s LADY MACBETH and Frederic Tcheng’s DIOR AND I

• Scott: Michal Marczak’s ALL THESE SLEEPLESS NIGHTS

• Keith: Christopher Landen’s HAPPY DEATH DAY

• Tasha: Brian Taylor’s MOM AND DAD

Outro Music: Chic, “I Want Your Love”

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Paul Thomas Anderson has made it clear that his new PHANTOM THREAD is a purposeful riff on Alfred Hitchcock’s 1940 Best Picture winner REBECCA, inspiring us to return to Manderley for a reflection on the film that brought Hitchcock to Hollywood (and to producer David O. Selznick, whom he famously clashed with). We talk over what REBECCA gained and lost from being produced under the Hays Code, what it signaled for Hitchcock’s career going forward, and what to make of the two big relationships (or would-be love triangle) at its center. Plus, some belated but welcome feedback on our CALL ME BY YOUR NAME discussion.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about REBECCA, PHANTOM THREAD, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Outro music: “Walking With a Ghost” by Tegan and Sara

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Like Gus Van Sant’s TO DIE FOR, Craig Gillespie’s new I, TONYA takes a light, playful tone with a lot of ugly events, an approach that’s earned it acclaim and some criticism, particularly for its treatment of domestic violence. We talk over our reactions to that and the rest of I, TONYA, then dive into the many connections between these two films, from their portrayals of a scandal-hungry media to their depictions of ambitious women in bad marriages to their conspicuous use of attention-getting music. Then we wrap up by sharing our individual picks for the top 5 films of 2017.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about TO DIE FOR, I, TONYA, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Outro Music: Joanie Sommers, “Little Girl Bad”

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Craig Gillespie’s crowd-pleasing new I, TONYA features a tragicomic tone, a genesis in tabloid true-crime, and an abundance of style, all qualities it shares with Gus Van Sant’s 1995 mockumentary TO DIE FOR, starring an ascendant Nicole Kidman. In this half of our discussion of the two films, we attempt to pinpoint where TO DIE FOR fits into Van Sant’s varied filmography, how it navigates its tricky tonal and narrative divides, and what exactly its broad satire is actually targeting. Plus, in place of our usual Feedback segment, our four hosts share the first half of their individual lists of 2017’s best films.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about TO DIE FOR, I, TONYA, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

**Show Notes**

Outro music: “Season of the Witch,” by Donovan

Works cited:

• “Naked Animals and Sacred Cows: Buck Henry” by Tim Sheridan at StopSmilingOnline.com

• “The 15 best movies of 2017” by Tasha Robinson at TheVerge.com

• Filmspotting #661 and #662 (“Top 10 Films of 2017”) at filmspotting.net

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We return to the consideration of pleasure and heartbreak under the Italian sun via Luca Guadagnino’s sensual new romance CALL ME BY YOUR NAME, a film with a very different narrative than THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY that nonetheless shares some of its major characteristics. After sharing our reactions to CMBYN, we dive into a discussion of what the two films share, and don’t, in their portrayals of life in (and a little bit out of) the closet, their approach to the Italian/American cultural divide, and their use of music as an emotional and thematic underpinning. 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 TALENTED MR. RIPLEY, CALL ME BY YOUR NAME, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Your Next Picture Show: 

• Genevieve: Dee Rees’ MUDBOUND

• Scott: Jairus McLeary and Gethin Aldous’ THE WORK

• Keith: Wim Wenders’ THE AMERICAN FRIEND

Outro Music: The Psychedelic Furs, “Love My Way”

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The new CALL ME BY YOUR NAME’s gorgeous invocation of Italian summers and repressed desire brought to mind an earlier film that does the same, though to much darker ends: Anthony Minghella’s 1999 film THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY, starring top-of-their-games Matt Damon, Jude Law, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Gwyneth Paltrow. In this half of the discussion, we dig into what all three of those actors bring to their respective roles, as well as the additions Minghella brings to his adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s novel — including a pivotal character created for the film — and how he manages the film’s tricky tone. Plus, feedback from our recent episodes on ED WOOD and THE DISASTER ARTIST.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY, CALL ME BY YOUR NAME, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

**Show Notes**

Outro music: “Tu Vuò Fà l’Americano” from THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY

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Our so-bad-it’s-good moviemaking double feature continues with a new film from James Franco that channels the spirit of Tim Burton’s ED WOOD: THE DISASTER ARTIST, about the tortured making of Tommy Wiseau’s cult hit THE ROOM. We discuss the new film in some depth before going into its connections to ED WOOD, from their depictions of the filmmaking process to their shared instinct to send their tragic subjects out on a high note. 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 ED WOOD, THE DISASTER ARTIST, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Your Next Picture Show: 

• Tasha: “The Battle over ‘The Room’” (Entertainment Weekly); “What’s Fact and What’s Fiction in The Disaster Artist,” by Marissa Martinelli (Slate); “The Room Actors: Where Are They Now” (Funny or Die)

• Genevieve: Craig Gillespie’s I, TONYA

• Keith: You Must Remember This: Boris and Bela

• Scott: Santiago Rizzo’s QUEST

Outro Music: Kitra Williams, “You Are My Rose”

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Inspired by James Franco’s new THE DISASTER ARTIST, we look back at another movie about bad movies and the people who make them, Tim Burton’s 1994 comic biodrama ED WOOD. In this half of our discussion, we muse on the motivations driving Wood and Burton alike, locate the emotional core of this highly stylized film, and try to determine what makes a good bad movie, rather than just a plain old bad one. Plus, some feedback on a recent episode and a suggestion for a pairing that might have been.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about ED WOOD, THE DISASTER ARTIST, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

**Show Notes**

Outro music: “Que Sera Sera,” by Bill Murray w/Mariachi Band (from ED WOOD deleted scenes).

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Following our visit to David Mamet’s STATE AND MAIN, we head to another small town for a different sort of redemption tale: Martin McDonagh’s THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI. While the two films may not have a whole lot of overlap in terms of plot, they share a theatrical lineage as well as a tweaked view of small-town life, and both feature stacked ensembles with a strong handle on writerly dialogue, all of which we dig into here. 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 STATE AND MAIN, THREE BILLBOARDS, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Your Next Picture Show: 

• Scott: Brett Morgan’s JANE and Chris Smith’s JIM & ANDY: THE GREAT BEYOND

• Genevieve: Nora Twomy’s THE BREADWINNER

• Tasha: Joachim Trier’s THELMA

• Keith: Jamie M. Dagg’s SWEET VIRGINIA

Outro Music: The Four Tops, “Walk Away Renee”

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Inspired by Martin McDonagh’s new pitch-black comedy THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI, we look back at another playwright-driven film about redemption set in a small town populated by a colorful ensemble: David Mamet’s 2000 comedy STATE AND MAIN. How does the sex scandal at the center of Mamet's film look in a post-Weinstein 2017? What are we to make of the film’s cynicism toward Hollywood and those who populate it? And just what is the deal with that running matzo gag? We discuss all that and more, plus dig into some excellent feedback from recent episodes.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about STATE AND MAIN, THREE BILLBOARDS, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

**Show Notes**

Outro music: “The Song Of The Old Mill” by Patti Lupone

Articles cited: 

• “David Mamet’s State And Main Engineers A Perfect Punchline,” by Mike D’Angelo (The AV Club)

• William H. Macy Interview (2001), by Scott Tobias (AV Club)

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We return to the dawn of the millennium to discuss Greta Gerwig’s new solo directorial debut LADY BIRD, and how it echoes the sardonic coming-of-age comedy that characterizes Terry Zwigoff’s GHOST WORLD. After parsing our individual reactions to and readings of LADY BIRD, we look at how the two films compare in terms of their view of nostalgia and mainstream culture, as well as the respective family dynamics that affect each protagonist’s view of the world. 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 GHOST WORLD, LADY BIRD, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Your Next Picture Show: 

• Genevieve: Taika Waititi’s BOY

• Tasha: Caroline Labreche and Steeve Leonard’s RADIUS

• Scott: Switchblade Sisters podcast

Show Notes:

Articles cited:

• “How Greta Gerwig Turned the Personal ‘Lady Bird’ Into a Perfect Movie,” by Esther Zuckerman (RollingStone.com)

• Interview with RADIUS’ Caroline Labreche and Steeve Leonard, by Tasha Robinson (TheVerge.com)

Outro Music: Dave Matthews Band, “Crash Into Me”

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Greta Gerwig’s fantastic directorial debut LADY BIRD is set in 2002, when its protagonist might have recognized a contemporary kindred spirit in Enid, the protagonist of Terry Zwigoff’s 2001 coming-of-age comedy GHOST WORLD: Both characters are creatively minded outcasts who are leaving high school and facing uncertainty about their futures. In this half of our pairing of the two films, we focus on the prickly and not-quite-lovable iconoclasts who populate GHOST WORLD, discussing its garish version of the turn of the millennium, how it translates Danial Clowes’ comic of the same name for movie screens, and whether it contains the best existential fart joke ever committed to film. Plus, feedback from our recent episodes on MOTHER! and THE GRADUATE.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about GHOST WORLD, LADY BIRD, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Outro music: “Devil Got My Woman” by Skip James

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Noah Baumbach’s new THE MEYEROWITZ STORIES (NEW AND SELECTED), starring Dustin Hoffman, has some strong connections to Hoffman’s star-making role in Mike Nichols’ THE GRADUATE, in particular, its depiction of generations trying to escape one another. After discussing our largely positive reactions to the new film (with one major exception), we talk over how the two stories reflect and refract each other, in their Hoffman performances as well as their respective family dynamics and female characters. 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 GRADUATE, THE MEYEROWITZ STORIES, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Your Next Picture Show: 

• Tasha: Jeremy Rush’s WHEELMAN

• Genevieve: Sean Baker’s THE FLORIDA PROJECT

• Keith: Elaine May’s THE HEARTBREAK KID

• Scott: David Miller’s LONELY ARE THE BRAVE

Outro Music: Adam Sandler and Grace Van Patten, “Genius Girl”

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Noah Baumbach’s new THE MEYEROWITZ STORIES casts Dustin Hoffman on one side of a generational divide, which naturally brings to mind Hoffman’s breakout role as a character on the other side of that generation divide: Mike Nichols’ seminal 1967 comedy-drama THE GRADUATE. In this half of the discussion dedicated to that earlier film, we discuss how THE GRADUATE’s sympathies shift with age, argue over the nature of Ben Braddock’s affair with Mrs. Robinson, and swoon together over that perfect ending. Plus, a brief sampling of the mountain of feedback we’ve received on our recent episodes on BLADE RUNNER 2049 and MOTHER!

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE GRADUATE, THE MEYEROWITZ STORIES, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

**Show Notes**

Articles cited: "The Best Thing About Blade Runner 2049 Is What It Isn't" at Vox.com

Outro music: “Sound of Silence” by Simon &Garfunkel

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Our consideration of Blade Running through the decades continues with a discussion of Denis Villeneuve’s new BLADE RUNNER 2049, which picks up several of the threads left dangling by Ridley Scott’s BLADE RUNNER and adds a few more of its own in the process. After discussing our mixed reactions to the new film, we dig into the many ways 2049 is informed by its predecessor, and the ways in which it manages to distinguish itself as well. 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 BLADE RUNNER, BLADE RUNNER 2049, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Your Next Picture Show: 

• Scott: S. Craig Zahler’s BRAWL IN CELL BLOCK 99

• Genevieve: Susan Lacy's SPIELBERG

• Tasha: Angela Robinson’s PROFESSOR MARSON AND THE WONDER WOMEN

• Keith: John Carroll Lynch's LUCKY and Kevin Phillips’ SUPER DARK TIMES

Outro Music: Lauren Daigle, "Almost Human"

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Denis Villeneuve’s new sequel BLADE RUNNER 2049 made an inauspicious debut with audiences and critics alike when it opened, something it shares with its predecessor and inspiration, Ridley Scott’s 1982 sci-fi noir touchstone BLADE RUNNER. Will the new sequel follow in its ancestor’s footsteps and become a cult classic that viewers are still picking apart 35 years later? It’s too soon to tell, but we do know that the original BLADE RUNNER offers plenty to talk about in this first half of our discussion, which digs into the film’s unusual tone and structure, its many variations, and whether the “Is Deckard a replicant?” question ultimately matters. Plus, some belated feedback from our recent episodes on STAND BY ME and IT.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about BLADE RUNNER, BLADE RUNNER 2049, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Outro music: “Tears In Rain” by Vangelis

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We return to the realm of societal allegory in our examination of Darren Aronofsky’s divisive horror-comedy-whatsit MOTHER! and how it relates to Luis Buńuel’s 1962 surrealist satire THE EXTERMINATING ANGEL, a film Aronofsky has cited as direct inspiration. After grappling with our reactions to MOTHER! and its abundance of malleable metaphors, we look at what the two films share — and what they don’t — in terms of their central allegories, their relationship with religion, their tone and style, and depiction of nightmares. 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 EXTERMINATING ANGEL, MOTHER!, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Your Next Picture Show: 

• Keith: JG Ballard’s HIGH RISE and David Cronenberg’s SHIVERS

• Scott: David Gordon Green’s STRONGER

• Tasha: Benjamin Renner and Patrick Imbert’s THE BIG BAD FOX AND OTHER TALES

Outro Music: Kate Bush, “Mother Stands For Comfort”

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In Darren Aronofsky’s MOTHER!, Jennifer Lawrence is stuck in a creepy old estate while a series of bizarre, inexplicable events drive her to the brink of madness — a premise and tone that’s surprisingly similar to the surreal black comedy of Luis Buñuel, in particular his 1962 classic THE EXTERMINATING ANGEL. In this half of the discussion, we dig into Buñuel’s film, its place in his filmography, and what the film's deadpan satire and surrealism reveal about its maker's opinion of human nature. Plus, some belated feedback from our recent episodes on OCEAN’S ELEVEN and LOGAN LUCKY.   Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE EXTERMINATING ANGEL, MOTHER!, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.   

Outro music: “Exterminating Angel” by The Creatures

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We return to the realm of Stephen King adaptations for a first-impressions review of the new IT, whose vision of 1980s childhood camaraderie and adventure shares a lot with STAND BY ME’s vision of 1950s childhood camaraderie and adventure — only with a really scary clown in the mix. We dig into how the two films reflect some of King’s favored tropes around bullies and adults, how they each handle their period settings, and whether or not they’re both “rite of passage” movies. 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 STAND BY ME, IT, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Your Next Picture Show: 

• Tasha: Stephen King’s PET SEMATARY and “Why is John Denver's Music In So Many Movies This Year?” by Karen Han at Vulture.com

• Keith: Robert Bierman’s VAMPIRE’S KISS

• Scott: Houda Benyamina’s DIVINES and Adam Leon’s TRAMPS

Outro Music: New Kids On The Block, “Hangin’ Tough”

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On the surface, Andy Muschietti’s new adaptation of Stephen King’s IT is about a scary clown and fear itself, but beyond that, it’s also about friendship, nostalgia, and the moment when childhood ends — themes it shares with another of the better cinematic King adaptations, Rob Reiner’s 1986 film STAND BY ME. In this half of our comparison of the two films, we speculate why King thought STAND BY ME was the first film adaptation to get his work right, what in the film holds up (the performances), and what doesn’t (that framing device). Plus, some belated feedback from our recent episodes on THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS and DETROIT.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about STAND BY ME, IT, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Outro music: “Stand By Me” by Ben E King

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For the second half our gentleman-thieves pairing, we bring LOGAN LUCKY into the discussion, to see how it fits into the reliably eclectic filmography of Steven Soderbergh, and how it stands up to its clear forebear within that filmography, 2001’s OCEAN’S ELEVEN. But there are marked distinctions between the two films as well, from their wildly different settings and characters to the mechanics and styles of their central heists, all of which we get into in Connections. 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 OCEAN’S ELEVEN, LOGAN LUCKY, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Your Next Picture Show: 

• Genevieve: Matt Spicer’s INGRID GOES WEST

• Keith: Michael Curtiz’s THE BREAKING POINT

• Tasha: Jules Dassin’s RIFIFI and Sidney Lumet’s DOG DAY AFTERNOON

• Scott: Eliza Hittman’s IT FELT LIKE LOVE and BEACH RATS

Outro music: Farrah Mackenzie, “Take Me Home, Country Roads”

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