Ryan McNeilRuntime
133 minutes
Up for Discussion
1. Introduction with Hillary Butler, Jo Ryan, and Bob Turnbull
2, THE FIVES (3:02)
3. THE FOURS (15:49)
4. THE THREES (35:49)
5. THE TWOS (1:06:18)
6. THE ONES (1:31:20)
Thoughts from your host…
Last year at this time, I wondered if we were tasting the sweet before the bitter. Turns out, I was right.
The labour disruptions of 2023 (the strikes by WGA and SAG) meant that trips to the cinema this year was like panning for gold; a few shiny things, but a lot more mud.
The good news is that if one knows where to look, there are always lovely films to be found – so I’d never suggest that this was a bad year for film, just certainly not a great one.
On a personal note, the upside was that the world has done enough healing that many of my old rhythms are returning. While one doesn’t want to be reckless, there’s less anxiety about seeing people, gathering in larger groups, sitting in shared spaces and even travelling. I did all of that this year, and it helped me to appreciate more of what I was seeing on the screen.
It reminded me of a video clip I watched this month where Jason Segal was breaking down his time working on “How I Met Your Mother”. He spoke about how miserable he was at the end of its run because all he did was write-and-shoot tv and film for seven years, and didn’t take any time to actually live and gain the experiences needed to fuel the creativity.
So maybe that’s the thing with a down year – with less time spent in the dark; it allows us the time to live a little more. We gain the perspective, we connect with the people these stories reflect, and we recharge our audience battery and dive headlong into the next “great year” when it arrives.
On that note – the gang is all here, and we are ready to dig in.
We wander the dunes, we turn inside out, we spend a late night with the devil and see the TV glow.
We meet Maxxxine, Furiosa, and Anora.
We are wicked mean girls with long legs
And we are here to talk about it all. Grab a cookie, pour a glass of wine, and join us in our conclave while we work out what films this year stuck with us after all was said and done.
Hopefully this time next year, we’ll be talking about how the great films returned.
Quick note on the section about APRIL –
At that point of the discussion, we’d been talking for a while, and I didn’t articulate my thought properly. You’ll hear me say, in regards to a teenager terminating a pregnancy, “no one should have to go through that“.
To be clear: My belief is that this character – a minor, who is special needs, in no position to offer consent, and clearly has been sexually abused – they shouldn’t have to go through such an invasive and emotionally intense procedure…they should just be leading a normal, teenage girl life free of sexual abuse.
Further – it’s clear in the film, and it’s also my belief that terminating the pregnancy is the best choice for the girl, and that she/her mother should have the choice to make for themselves.
Links from The Show:
Matineecast 335 on ANORA
Matineecast 333 on THE SUBSTANCE
The song on the CHALLENGERS soundtrack that i want to be my “entrance music” – “Yeah x10” :
Trailer for Jo’s #2 film – the documentary “The Movie Man” :
Hillary’s Bluesky feed can be found here. Bob’s Bluesky feed can be found here. You can subscribe to the Matineecast via iTunes or RSS
Comments and feedback are welcome, and thank-you very much for listening and all the best for the new year!
Enjoy!
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