Episode 170: The Drive-Thru Dig [Parasite; The Irishman; Marriage Story]
It’s Episode 170 of In the Mood for Podcast!
It’s been four years, but Cal and Pete are finally back together in a bumper two-hour episode that features lots of discussion of the Oscars, and that history-making win for Bong Joon-Ho’s “Parasite”. We reveal our feelings about the film, while Pete gets his statistician head on as we detail some interesting Oscar trends that have emerged in the past decade. Elsewhere, we chat about the length (among many other things) of Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman,” troubling preconceptions of Renee Zelwegger are tested when we review “Judy,” while we discuss an unexpected best-in-show in “Bombshell”. Five acting nominations between “Marriage Story” and “The Two Popes” get us discussing the worthiness of this year’s crop of nominees, while a snub from times-gone-by sets us off on a digression on the 1990 Best Actor lineup. In other news, Pete finally saw the end of “Wolf of Wall Street,” Cal has a bee in his bonnet about flashbacks, and Pete saves a scathing fast food-related diss until late in the day.
Opening Segment: A quick look back at the last four years, and although Pete’s cinema going has taken a hit, he offers some of his notable watches since we last did an episode together!
[5:00 – 20:23]
Preconception Corner (including a listener question from Ibbi!)
Reviews of:
- The Irishman 39:25 – 53:46
- Bombshell 53:47 – 1:04:40
- Judy 1:04:41 – 1:14:02
- Marriage Story 1:14:03 – 1:24:38
- The Two Popes 1:24:39 – 1:31:20
- Parasite 1:31:21 – 1:40:00
Closing Segment: Discussing new Oscar trends since we started the podcast eight years ago, including acting sweeps, picture/director splits, and diversity scandals!
[1:40:01 – 1:55:27]
Shag, Marry or Kill?
The Pootsition
The Garrett Gauge
Intro Music: Thin Lizzy, “The Boys are Back in Town”
Outro Music: Marmalade, “Reflections of My Life”
Episode 34: The Wowface Concept [Zero Dark Thirty; Lincoln; Won’t Back Down]
EPISODE 34: The Wowface Concept
Discussed on the podcast:
Opening Segment: Analysing the impact of the Screen Actors’ Guild awards on the Oscar races. [2:40 – 18:30]
*Preconception Corner*
Reviews of:
- “Lincoln” [Audio was lost at 34:40 but resumes roughly a minute later]
- “Won’t Back Down”
- “Movie 43”
- “The Last Stand”
[23:40 – 1:00:05]
Closing Segment: Discussing Kathryn Bigelow’s “Zero Dark Thirty” and digging into the controversy surrounding its depiction of torture [1:00:10 – 1:17:25]
*Shag, Marry or Kill?*
*The Watson Factor*
*The Poupaud Range*
Intro Music: New theme music!
Outro Music: Blondie, “Hanging on the Telephone”
Episode 30: 2D Or Not 2D
Discussed on the podcast:
Opening Segment: Discussing the recently announced shortlist of contenders for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar [2:45 – 17:30]
*Preconception Corner*
Reviews of:
- “Jack Reacher”
- “Pitch Perfect”
- “Parental Guidance”
[20:20 – 49:45]
Closing Segment: Our take on “Life of Pi,” and discussing directors who elevate their source material [49:50 – 1:07:35]
*Shag, Marry or Kill?*
*The Watson Factor*
*The Poupaud Range*
Intro Music: New theme music!
Outro Music: Phoenix, “Rome”
Episode 29: Long Day’s Journey Into Middle Earth [The Hobbit; Globe/SAG Reaction; Rise of the Guardians]
Discussed on the podcast:
Opening Segment: Reacting to the Golden Globe and Screen Actors’ Guild nominations and assessing how that affects the Oscar race [3:15 – 24:00]
*Preconception Corner*
Reviews of:
- “The Hobbit”
- “Rise of the Guardians”
- “Love Crime”
- “Babette’s Feast” (25th anniversary re-release)
- “Baraka”
[27:35 – 1:05:45]
Closing Segment: Dishing the dirt on 2012 releases we’ve been catching up with: “A Royal Affair”; “Caesar Must Die”; “The Deep Blue Sea”; “The Giant Mechanical Man”; “Vamps”; “Bye Bye Blondie” [1:05:50 – 1:20:10]
*Shag, Marry or Kill?*[Audio difficulties meant that *The Watson Factor* and *The Poupaud Range* failed to record this week — for interested parties, 1.0 and 1.0.]
Intro Music: New theme music!
Outro Music: Sigur Ros, Hoppipolla
Episode 28: Masculine/Feminine [Golden Globe Predictions; Seven Psychopaths; So Undercover]
Discussed on the podcast:
Opening Segment: Discussing the winners from the National Board of Review, LA film critics’ association, and Boston Society of Film Critics’. [2:35 – 14:40]
*Preconception Corner*
Reviews of:
- “Seven Psychopaths”
- “Tabu”
- “The House I Live In”
- “Knuckleball”
- “So Undercover”
[18:20 – 55:35]
Closing Segment: Predicting the Golden Globe nominations, and the Screen Actors’ Guild nominations [55:40 – 1:12:10]
*Shag, Marry or Kill?*
*The Watson Factor*
*The Poupaud Range*
Intro Music: New theme music!
Outro Music: Sky Ferreira, “Everything Is Embarrassing”
Episode 27: Mental Playlists [Amour; Great Expectations; Trouble with the Curve]
Discussed on the podcast:
Opening Segment: Discussing the winners of the New York Film Critics Circle’s annual awards, and a brief look at the Golden Satellite nominations. [1:50 – 13:00]
*Preconception Corner*
Reviews of:
- “Amour”
- “Great Expectations”
- “Sightseers”
- “Talaash”
[17:15 – 52:20]
Closing Segment: Our review of Clint Eastwood vehicle “Trouble with the Curve” and our predictions for the National Board of Review [52:30 – 1:14:25]
*Shag, Marry or Kill?*
*The Watson Factor*
*The Poupaud Range*
Intro Music: New theme music!
Outro Music: Army Navy, “Slight of Hand”
Episode 26: A Little Bromance [Silver Linings Playbook; Gambit; End of Watch]
Discussed on the podcast:
Opening Segment: The contentious results of the Leeds Film Festival’s audience votes, and championing films and performances that won’t make our year-end lists [2:05 – 14:00]
*Preconception Corner*
Reviews of:
- “End of Watch”
- “For a Good Time, Call…”
- “Gambit”
- “Lawrence of Arabia” (50th anniversary re-release)
[18:20 – 57:55]
Closing Segment: David O’Russell’s “Silver Linings Playbook”: considering the awards chances of its cast, offering examples of actors Oscar-nominated for the wrong films, and predicting next week’s New York Film Critics Circle prizes. [58:00 – 1:17:10]
*Shag, Marry or Kill?*
*The Watson Factor*
*The Poupaud Range*
Intro Music: New theme music!
Outro Music: Ellie Goulding, “Anything Can Happen”
Episode 25: Tricks of the Trade [The Master; Actress Roundtable; Mental]
A mini milestone is passed in Episode 25 of In the Mood for Podcast, a British-based film podcast hosted by Calum Reed of Ultimate Addict and Pete Sheppard of In the Mood for Blog. This week our attentions are divided between nutritious world cinema and meaty awards chat, as The Hollywood Reporter’s annual roundtables prompt us to gossip about the females of 2012. From there we move onto reviews of “Mental,” “Jab Tak Hai Jaan,” “Happy Happy,” “A Better Life,” and “On Air,” before returning to process Paul Thomas Anderson’s “The Master,” well-publicised as having sent critics spinning. We’re less concerned with the weight of the film than Amy Adams’ elbow grease, which proves just too rich a source of innuendo for some…
Opening Segment: We chat at length about The Hollywood Reporter’s Actress Roundtable, the participants of which were Amy Adams, Marion Cotillard, Sally Field, Anne Hathaway, Helen Hunt, Naomi Watts, and Rachel Weisz. Who came off best, and which ladies are the frontrunners for awards? [2:40 – 18:10]
*Preconception Corner*
Reviews of:
- “Mental”
- “Jab Tak Hai Jaan”
- “Happy Happy”
- “A Better Life”
- “On Air”
[21:10 – 51:55]
Closing Segment: Our thoughts on Paul Thomas Anderson’s “The Master,” and discussing the art of balancing double features. [52:00 – 1:11:35]
*Shag, Marry or Kill?*
*The Watson Factor*
*The Poupaud Range*
Intro Music: New theme music!
Outro Music: Missy Elliot, “One Minute Man”
Episode 22: Target Practice [Skyfall; Beasts of the Southern Wild; Sister]
It’s Episode 22 of In the Mood for Podcast, a British-based film podcast hosted by Calum Reed of Ultimate Addict and Pete Sheppard of In the Mood for Blog. As a continent braces itself for the force of nature this week, we tackle the winds of change going on in the Bond franchise. Does “Skyfall” revolutionise Bond for better or worse? We discuss the quaint family drama in Switzerland’s Oscar submission, “Sister,” and in awards hopeful “Beasts of the Southern Wild.” Cal goes it alone with reviews of critics darling “Elena,” and the film which united Halle Berry and Olivier Martinez in more ways than one: the seaboard adventure “Dark Tide.” Expect disagreement, derision, and some anticipation for next month’s Amy Adams feast. It’s been far too long…
Opening Segment: Discussing the week’s news (Sport, vicious weather & the Wachowskis) and some brief Bond memories ahead of our discussion of “Skyfall” [1:10 – 12:30]
*Preconception Corner*
Reviews of:
- “Beasts of the Southern Wild”
- “Sister”
- “Elena”
- “Dark Tide”
[16:25 – 48:00]
Closing Segment: Discussing “Skyfall,” our favourite Bond themes, and responding to listener questions [48:20 – 1:10:20]
*Shag, Marry or Kill?*
*The Watson Factor*
Intro Music: Shirley Bassey, “Goldfinger”/”Propellerheads, “On Our Majesty’s Secret Service”
Outro Music: Adele, “Skyfall”
Episode 18: All That Is Holy [Looper; Untouchable; Holy Motors]
EPISODE 18: All That Is Holy
It’s Episode 18 of In the Mood for Podcast, a British-based film podcast hosted by Calum Reed of Ultimate Addict and Pete Sheppard of In the Mood for Blog. This week we begin by concentrating on those countries vying to be alien entrants in America’s biggest awards ceremony, as Oscar submissions for Best Foreign Language Film draw to a close. We review two of the contenders: France’s “Untouchable” and India’s “Barfi!” We count down our favourite films concerning time travel after contemplating Rian Johnson’s “Looper,” as well as considering how sex and politics are explored in “The Campaign” and “Hysteria.” The sinister comes in the form of Brit horror-flick “Berberian Sound Studio,” and Leos Carax’s horror show masterpiece controversy “Holy Motors.”
(Sadly our conversation about staying power in the presence of Eva mendes (or Green) happened 2 mins after the recording was stopped. We’ll try and get it in next time.)
Opening Segment: Assessing this year’s race for the Foreign Film Oscar in the wake of the submission deadline, and reviewing one of the frontrunners, France’s “Untouchable.” [2:50 – 26:00]
Reviews of:
- “Barfi!”
- “The Campaign”
- “Hysteria”
- “Berberian Sound Studio”
- “Holy Motors”
[26:01 – 54:00]
Closing Segment: Discussing “Looper” and our top three films involving time travel. [54:10 – 1:12:40]
Intro Music: Flight Facilities, “Foreign Language”
Outro Music: Alice In Chains, “Don’t Follow”
Episode 15: That’s My Tolstoy! [Anna Karenina; Lawless; That’s My Boy]
EPISODE 15: That’s My Tolstoy!
It’s Episode 15 of In the Mood for Podcast, a British-based film podcast hosted by Calum Reed of Ultimate Addict and Pete Sheppard of In the Mood for Blog. We’re sticking with last week’s freer structure, admitting our filmic peeves before laying the smackdown on some new releases. In theory, that should be easy this week, with Adam Sandler releasing a new movie, but will our review of “That’s My Boy” play out quite as expected? The lone foreign language offering is “The Forgiveness of Blood,” Joshua Marston’s long-awaited sophomore effort, while the core genre material is out in force, with sci-fi represented by spiritual space-tale “Love” and John Hillcoat’s latest western “Lawless.” Unsurprisingly, the most contentious topic of the week is Joe Wright’s “Anna Karenina,” which has been likely to ruffle feathers in the Sheppard household for some time. Will this experimental adaptation of a classic novel gain our seal of approval?
Opening Segment: Discussing the week’s news: Venice announces its festival winners, Toronto commences, and the full trailer of “The Master” is released. [1:40 – 16:05]
Preconception Corner
Reviews of:
- “Lawless”
- “That’s My Boy”
- “Love”
- “The Forgiveness of Blood”
[16:10 – 53:50]
Closing Segment: Discussing “Anna Karenina,” our summation of the week in film, and responding to listener questions.
[53:55 – 1:15:40]
Intro Music: Etta James, “At Last”
Outro Music: Shirley Bassey, “The Performance Of My Life”
In the Mood for Podcast 
