Episode 169: Givenchy in No Man’s Land [The Beguiled; Okja; Wonder Woman]
It’s Episode 169 of In the Mood for Podcast!
This week we’re finally back with a jam-packed episode full of news and reviews! First on the agenda is Daniel Day-Lewis’ shock retirement announcement (which fails to convince) and Annette Bening ruling the roost in Venice, plus a record amount of invitations from AMPAS gets our seal of approval. There are reviews of Bong Joon-ho’s madcap fable “Okja” and Sofia Coppola’s period potboiler “The Beguiled,” while we venture into superhero territory with verdicts on Marvel’s latest spidey story “Spiderman: Homecoming” and DC’s critical and box-office hit “Wonder Woman”. Elsewhere, Gal Gadot’s pacing on the front line conjured up images of the catwalk for Cal, there’s a pitch for a Miranda July-led superhero movie, and Irini unforgivably mistakes Garrett Hedlund for a certain Amazonian explorer.
The week’s news:
- “The Square” wins the Palme d’Or
- Daniel Day-Lewis retires from acting
- Annette Bening to head this year’s Venice Film Festival jury
- 774 people invited to AMPAS
[3:30 – 11:25]
Preconception Corner
Reviews of:
- Wonder Woman 17:45 – 26:55
- Spider Man: Homecoming 26:56 – 32:29
- Okja 32:30 – 42:02
- The Beguiled 42:03 – 54:18
Final Segment:
- Top Films, Performances and Moments of 2017 so far
[54:19 – 1:15:55]
Shag, Marry or Kill?
The Garrett Gauge
Intro Music: Lolawolf, “House Key”
Outro Music: Dua Lipa, “Be the One”
Episode 117: The Ballad of Pitt & Brit [Maps to the Stars; I Origins; Ida]
Episode 117: The Ballad of Pitt & Brit
It’s Episode 117 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’s episode is a distinctly non-sober affair, as birthday drinks crippled Cal’s ability to function (he wants you to know that he is fully aware that Joanne Woodward is American), but we managed to get through this week’s busy line-up of films in under ninety minutes. Pete caught Denzel Washington thriller “The Equalizer” and Mike Cahill’s treatise on faith vs. science, “I Origins,” while Cal was in the queue for horror flick “Honeymoon” and had time to rewatch Pawel Pawlikowski’s “Ida.” After that, both of us weigh in on David Cronenberg’s Hollywood satire “Maps to the Stars,” featuring Cannes Best Actress winner Julianne Moore, which leads us into a discussion of women from the past who have received that honour. Elsewhere, banter about pop music shifts from Taylor Swift onto Cheryl Cole, we ponder how long George Clooney’s marriage will last, a Christie Clanger from last week is addressed, and preconceptions for David Fincher’s “Gone Girl” (reviewed next week) get laid bare.
- George Clooney marries in Venice
- Foreign Language Oscar submissions: Russia submit “Leviathan”; Argentina submit “Wild Tales”
- Al Pacino receives a BAFTA Fellowship
[5:10 – 19:15]
- Ida
- The Equalizer
- Honeymoon
- I Origins
[25:00 – 1:00:05]
Closing Segment: Our take on David Cronenberg’s “Maps to the Stars,” and discussing the history of Best Actress winners at the Cannes Film Festival!
[1:00:10 – 1:21:15]
The Isaac Range
Outro Music: Cheryl Cole, “Crazy Stupid Love”
Episode 113: The Eight Year Drought [Night Moves; The Rover; Obvious Child]
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It’s Episode 113 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 discussing the recently-announced recipients of this year’s Honorary Oscars, which leads us to several Oscar-related issues of the past, including the 1937 Best Actress race and the much-maligned Best Picture winner of 1941. Masculinity is alive and well, as Guy Pearce exercises badass tendencies in David Michod’s “The Rover,” which, thankfully for Pete, Jacki Weaver was absent from, while the talent on show in Scandinavian crime drama “The Keeper of Lost Causes” had Cal clamouring for more. By contrast, there are reviews of two films from female directors, with Gillian Robespierre’s indie comedy “Obvious Child” tackling the tricky subject of abortion, and Kelly Reichardt’s “Night Moves” deconstructing the folly of environmental activism. Pete walked out of the latter at Venice and did not turn back, but tune in to find out whether he managed to finish it at the second time of asking. Meanwhile, Cal has much to say about the sexual politics in John Slattery’s “God’s Pocket,” Pete dictates when co-incidences in film scripts are acceptable, and we bitch about a particularly unwelcome trend in world cinema. Elsewhere, Cal is baffled by a bizarre Robert Pattinson car sing-a-long, there’s a rare shout-out for a former co-star of Dakota Fanning, and there is some serious trepidation in advance of next week’s trashy-looking Rowan Joffe thriller.
- The Academy announces the recipients of this year’s honorary Oscars
[3:10 – 13:50]
- Night Moves
- Obvious Child
- The Keeper of Lost Causes
- God’s Pocket
[25:35 – 1:04:00]
Closing Segment: Our take on David Michod’s revenge thriller “The Rover,” starring Guy Pearce and Robert Pattinson!
[1:04:05 – 1:17:50]
The Isaac Range
Outro Music: Keri Hilson, “Pretty Girl Rock”
Episode 95: The Pullitzer Puzzle [Locke; The Love Punch; Cannes Lineup]
Episode 95: The Pullitzer Puzzle
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It’s Episode 95 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 welcome Irini M back to the podcast to help us discuss the much-anticipated lineup of this year’s Cannes Film Festival, featuring the upcoming works of David Cronenberg, Mike Leigh, and many more European auteurs, some of which fill us with dread. We’re reviewing the Miranda Otto-led lesbian drama “Reaching for the Moon,” British heist comedy “The Love Punch,” and Tom Hardy’s one-man show “Locke,” which divided the camp in its depiction of drama and geography. Cal’s review of psychological horror film “Magic Magic” gets hijacked by Pete’s rant about a certain Pullitzer Prize winner, while Irini had a bone to pick with him about his “failure to understand” the point of Xavier Dolan’s latest delight. There are predictably many digressions, concerning Mr. Potato Head’s liberal use of his lips, Tom Hardy’s neglect of his razor, and Faye Dunaway’s fear of apostrophes, as well as a shocking Hathaway Protocol. It’s a week of regrets, as Irini’s belief in her own festival foresight lost her a fair bit of cash, while Naomi Watts finally bit the bullet and admitted that “Diana” wasn’t all that. Who knew?
Opening Segment: Discussing the recently announced line-up for this year’s Cannes Film Festival, featuring anticipation of films by David Cronenberg, Xavier Dolan, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, and Andrey Zvyagintsev!
[3:50 – 26:55]
Preconception Corner
- Reaching for the Moon
- The Love Punch
- Magic Magic
[36:00 – 1:00:25]
Closing Segment: Our take on Steven Knight’s “Locke,” and random asides involving Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway!
[1:00:30 – 1:17:05]
The Poupaud Range
Outro Music: Radiohead, “Jigsaw Falling Into Place”