Time to get things back to normal…to bring you fine people another episode of “Matineecast Classic” as it were. The bells, the whistles, they’re all here. So too is a guest I should have had on the show a long time ago.

Seems like I’m saying that a lot, doesn’t it?

Speaking of said guest, turns out he knew which way the wind was blowing as it pertains to the feature film for this episode. He thought one way, I thought another, and in talking to people on Twitter and the like after this was recorded, it would seem like more of y’all agree with him than with me.

Who knew?

Without further ado, here’s the original recipe of the podcast. No dvd’s up for discussion, no road trips, no marital disagreements.

 

Here’s what’s in store in episode ninety-three…

 

Runtime
72 minutes

Up for Discussion

1. Introduction
2. KNOW YOUR ENEMY– Q& A with this week’s guest Dave Voigt (2:50)
3. COME TALK TO ME – Fielding some listener feedback on listeners’ favorite new directors (11:32)
4. THE NEW SLANG – Review and reaction to ELYSIUM (27:57)
5. THE OTHER SIDE – Dave couples OBLIVION (45:10)
6. THE OTHER SIDE – Ryan couples DISTRICT 9 (55:41)

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Comments and feedback are welcome, and thank-you very much for listening.

Enjoy!

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8 Replies to “Episode 93”

  1. How District 9 came to be is probably just as interesting as the film itself.

    For those unfamiliar, Peter Jackson was preparing to produce a film version of the videogame HALO and hired Neill Blomkamp to be the director.

    When HALO imploded due to budget concerns, Jackson offered to produce any film idea Blomkamp had as consolation. The end result was District 9, which was an expansion of Blomkamp’s 2006 short Alive in Joburg.

    There have been some folks (i.e. Andrew James), who have been surmising that Blomkamp reused some of his HALO ideas for Elysium (including the design of the station itself). I can definitely see that.

  2. Usually you and I tend to agree a lot about movies Ryan, but not this time. I thought it was pretty terrible and comparing it to films such as Never Let Me Go and Moon is outrageous. It’s not anywhere near their level of intelligence. I give it as much as that the set pieces look great, but that’s about it. It’s hammering in a message without any subtlety at all, without tickling your mind or putting any interesting questions. Such a wasted opportunity! Equally I disagree about Oblivion. Yes, it has influences from a lot of other science fiction, but those influences are good! There’s much more of cool ideas and twists in this movie, which is something I appreciate a lot in the genre. Elysium was just a generic action movie in disguise.

    You asked for advice about what to catch at TIFF. If I were you I would try to see the Swedish movie We Are the Best!

    The director, Lukas Moodysson, has previously done Together and Show me Love! which both are excellent and highly recommended in case you haven’t seen them. I haven’t had the opportunity to see this one yet, but it’s rumoured to be charming and fun as opposed to some of the darker movies he’s made in recent years. I’m really looking forward to it and I hope you’ll check it out.

    1. I’m beginning to believe that one is either an ELYSIUM person or an OBLIVION person. I stand by lumping it in with NEVER LET ME GO and MOON, but certainly do see why many people would think I’m nuts.

      Thanks a mil for the Moodysson recommendation! I always need help where the world cinema is concerned since I’m more ill-versed with directors and stars, so any tips I can get there go a lot further. Come to think of it, the only Swedish film I’ve ever seen at TIFF was three years ago or so – a flick called BAD FAITH (or OND TRO in Swedish) by director Kristian Petri. I remember liking it, but is it well regarded back there in the motherland?

      1. Haha, Elysium or Oblivion, cat or dog person? The question is how they’re connected. Do dog persons like Oblivion better?

        I’m sorry to say that I never watched that Kristian Petri movie. I don’t think he’s been particularly succesful at the box office. I checked out the Swedish reviews for that movie and they were pretty harsh, a lot of 2/5 ratings.

  3. Wow, I got a shout-out and diss all in the first couple of minutes! Nice!

    Nice rundown of “less experienced” directors. It’s funny to think of Tom McCarthy as new (since “The Station Agent came out in 2003), but he is certainly someone I hope does many more films and will follow. Though at this rate we still have to wait another 2 years for his next film…

    As for other directors, short of the ones you mentioned, Sylvain Chomet is my leading candidate. Also, Cristian Mungiu comes to mind and Charlie Kaufman, Lucrecia Martel and Giorgos Lanthimos. They’ve all done shorts and other things, but I don’t think any of them have more than 4 features.

    Have’t seen Elysium yet, but I will say that Jodie Foster (and her character) were the least appealing things about “Inside Man” for me. So that doesn’t bode well.

  4. Roy Andersson dude, Roy Andersson. Both “Songs From The Second Floor” and “You, The Living” are freaking masterpieces. And I don’t throw that word around lightly.

    “Call Girl” and “Behind Blue Skies” were the two best Swedish films I’ve seen at TIFF the last couple of years. Neither have been released here yet (as far as I know), but I hope one day they will be.

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