Episode 145: The Two Toms [Far From the Madding Crowd; Unfriended; Elsa + Fred]
It’s Episode 145 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.
Our latest episode is our shortest yet, as connection problems plagued our recording, and this week’s offering of films was fairly minimal. The big question this week is whether negative preconceptions about Thomas Hardy and Thomas Vinterberg respectively, could be conquered when we sat down for period romance “Far From the Madding Crowd”. Elsewhere, we both caught geriatric romance “Elsa + Fred,” starring Shirley MacLaine and Christopher Plummer, while Cal was in the queue for social media horror “Unfriended,” which gets us talking about the value of gimmicks. Plus: a series of listener questions leads to an inquisition into last week’s Pootsition and the advent of a new segment, there are digressions about the strength of 1964’s Best Actress and 2004’s Best Actor fields, and Pete launches an unexpectedly vicious assault on the work of Julian Jarrold.
Listener Questions [Ibbi]
[3:50 – 13:19]
Red Light District: Revealing the non-new films we’ve been catching up with in the past month, featuring discussion of “Dead Ringer,” “Middle of the Night,” The Pirate,” and “Up”
[13:20 – 19:08]
Preconception Corner
Reviews of:
- Elsa + Fred 22:45 – 31:52
- Unfriended 31:53 – 37:40
- Far From the Madding Crowd 37:41 – 47:32
Shag, Marry or Kill?
The Pootsition
The Garrett Gauge
Episode 143: The Ehle Atonement [A Little Chaos; Woman In Gold; The Salvation]
It’s Episode 143 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 it’s time to go retro again, as this month’s Red Light District is a Best Actress spectacular, which gets us discussing (among other things) the women of 1948, and the testiness of Barbara Stanwyck. The week’s reviews concern Nazis, outlaws, gardeners, and wild goose chases, as we tackle Kristian Levring’s Western “The Salvation,” and courtroom drama “Woman in Gold.” Cal reveals all on the wilderness-set “Jauja,” while Alan Rickman’s sophomore effort “A Little Chaos” offered Pete a chance to atone for an earlier egregious omission. Elsewhere, there’s an unexpected shout-out to Courtney Love, Daniel Bruhl is saddled with another thankless role, and the trailer (and tagline) for Blake Lively’s latest project has us howling.
Red Light District: Revealing the non-new films we’ve been catching up with in the past month, featuring discussion of “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure,” “The Furies,” “Joan of Arc,” “Lady Sings the Blues,” “Three Comrades,” and “Xenia”!
[6:00 – 25:37]
Preconception Corner
Reviews of:
- The Salvation 32:27 – 40:02
- Woman In Gold 40:03 – 50:24
- Jauja 50:25 – 54:46
- A Little Chaos 54:47 – 1:07:00
Shag, Marry or Kill?
The Pootsition
The Garrett Gauge
Episode 139: The Alexa Conjecture [Run All Night; The Duke of Burgundy; Suite Francaise]
It’s Episode 139 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 the Red Light District returns, bringing news of films from the fifties, a World Cinema classic from Scandinavia, and digressions involving Maria Schell, Ava Gardner, and Otto Preminger. We have reviews of the latest Jaume Collet-Serra/Liam Neeson project “Run All Night,” wartime romance “Suite Francaise,” and meditative drama “Still Life,” while one of us was more prepared than the other for the Sapphic shenanigans in Peter Strickland’s “The Duke of Burgundy.” Elsewhere, Pete’s fondness for Sidse Babett Knudsen goes into overdrive, Cal feels guilty for a second consecutive snub of Matthias Schoenaerts, and we’re all about the Arri Alexa.
Red Light District: Pimping the best old films we’ve seen in the past month, featuring discussion of “Gervaise,” “Pelle the Conqueror,” and “The Smallest Show on Earth”
[8:50 – 20:30]
Preconception Corner
Reviews of:
- The Duke of Burgundy 30:45 – 44:54
- Suite Francaise 44:55 – 53:30
- Still Life 53:31 – 1:02:25
- Run All Night 1:02:26 – 1:14:28
Shag, Marry or Kill?
The Pootsition
The Garrett Gauge
Episode 124: The Gay in Engaging [The Imitation Game; The Drop; Life Itself]
It’s Episode 124 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 the beer is flowing, and so is the innuendo, as Pete finally has the keys to his brand new house. This forces Cal into a distillation of jukebox classics, before we review the new releases, which include Michael Roskam’s “The Drop” and Roger Ebert documentary “Life Itself,” which prompts Pete to recite some of Roger Ebert’s more baffling reviews. In the wake of Alan Turing biopic “The Imitation Game” we get chatting about our favourite gay characters and icons of cinema, featuring discussion of Oscar Wilde and Billie Holiday, while Cal discloses some of the recent films he’s caught up with from earlier in the year, including a horror film about an urban archaeologist. A hefty news segment sees us discuss Angelina Jolie’s adoption of Derbyshire dialect, plus Eddie Redmayne’s fuckability sees a boost, and Fashion Police finally found a replacement for Joan Rivers. Elsewhere, the cast of Downton Abbey are out in force this week, Cal is feeling guilty for leaving Matthias Schoenaerts in the lurch, we float the possibility of a Tallulah Bankhead biopic starring Cate Blanchett, and Pete recounts a regretful dancefloor moment set to the music of Vanilla Ice.
- Chris Hemsworth voted People Magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive”
- Angelina Jolie’s Derby Moment
- Kathy Griffin announced as Joan Rivers’ replacement on Fashion Police
- The trailer for Kenneth Branagh’s “Cinderella” is out
[4:15 – 23:10]
Reviews of:
- The Drop
- Life Itself
[30:25 – 52:15]
Closing Segment: Our take on Oscar-tipped Alan Turing biopic “The Imitation Game,” and discussing LGBT heroes of the film world!
[52:20 – 1:13:00]
The Isaac Range
Outro Music: This Mortal Coil, “Holocaust”
Episode 120: L’entrecôte de Belgique [The Maze Runner; The Judge; Annabelle]
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It’s Episode 120 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 Pete is recovering from the gruelling tasks of running a half-marathon and tackling the Cougars of Sutton, while Cal is exhausted from a week’s worth of screenings at the London Film Festival. We’re braving hit horror prequel “Annabelle,” despite Pete being unable to remember its predecessor, “The Conjuring,” and we both saw futuristic flick “The Maze Runner,” which we only really watched for the presence of the delectable Kaya Scoledario. Pete saw Robert Duvall get his grump on in David Dobkin’s courtroom thriller “The Judge,” while Cal caught the James Franco-penned “Palo Alto,” the plot of which forced Pete into demonstrating his eye-rolls through sound bites. Audio cues continue to invade the episode from then on, so listen as we discuss a history of unappealing subplots involving Vera Farmiga, an 80s cult classic starring David Bowie, and the promise of Val Kilmer’s son Jack. Elsewhere, a certain horticultural film sees much of Matthias Schoenaerts on display, Cal braves the wrath of Irini when he reviews Xavier Dolan’s latest, and anticipation for next week’s “The Babadook” leads to hilarity.
The Week’s News:
- The death of Misty Upham
- The death of Kit Carson
- Neil Patrick Harris to host the Oscars
- Leviathan wins Best Film at the London Film Festival
[4:45 – 12:25]
Opening Segment: Coverage from the London Film Festival, featuring discussion of “A Little Chaos,” “Mommy,” and “Something Must Break”
[12:30 – 22:50]
Preconception Corner
- Annabelle
- The Judge
- Palo Alto
- The Maze Runner
[32:55 – 1:18:00]
Shag, Marry or Kill?
The Olsen Factor
The Isaac Range
Episode 111: The Moribund Monologues [The Congress; Finding Vivian Maier; Blood Ties]
Episode 111: The Moribund Monologues
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It’s Episode 111 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 pay tribute to two legends of the screen, as we discuss our favourite career highlights of Robin Williams and Lauren Bacall. The week’s releases offered few options, but we both managed to catch photographic documentary “Finding Vivian Maier” and Ari Folman’s live action/animation hybrid “The Congress,” which led us to some mighty preconceptions about Robin Wright. Pete saw the latest Simon Pegg comedy “Hector and the Search for Happiness” but only managed to come out of it with appreciation for one woman, while a surprise masculine presence in Guillaume Canet’s “Blood Ties” had Cal rather satisfied. Digressions are aplenty this week, as we take time out from the films to discuss the downfall of Gary Busey, lament Miley Cyrus’s break from acting, and list the problems that arise when normal moviegoers see foreign films. Elsewhere, an unexpected Gorillaz sing-off makes the final edit, recent dread for Daniel Radcliffe’s new film sees it excised from this month’s schedule, while a factual clanger from last week’s episode forces Cal into an apology, much to the amusement of Pete.
- David Ayer’s “Fury” to close London Film Festival
- The death of Robin Williams
- The death of Lauren Bacall
[4:45 – 21:00]
- Finding Vivian Maier
- Hector and the Search for Happiness
- Blood Ties
[32:00 – 1:02:55]
Closing Segment: Discussing Ari Folman’s “The Congress,” the career path of Robin Wright, and revealing our favourite films that are bat-shit crazy!
[1:03:00 – 1:19:30]
The Isaac Range
Outro Music: A-Ha, “Take On Me”
In the Mood for Podcast 