Academy Vs Audience

Awards season 2009 came down to a telenovela-worthy duel between Kathryn Bigelow with her war drama The Hurt Locker, and her ex-husband James Cameron, delivering his second consecutive Highest Grossing Movie Ever with Avatar. Kevin Weir re-joins Erin, Claire, and Dan to break it all down. Claire is not thrilled, Dan explains how a later release makes Hurt Locker seem much better, Erin posits you can only like movies about one war. ...

After the directors of Goodfellas and Fargo won Oscars for their bleakest movies to that point, Danny Boyle won over the Academy with something basically uplifting: the story of a poor Indian youth chasing his fairytale ending via a western game show in Slumdog Millionaire. First time viewers Erin and Claire ponder Jamal's journey, while on his third viewing Dan finds some grace for Jamal's dirtbag brother. But the people...

In the wake of Martin Scorsese getting nominated for his bleakest movie (pre-Silence), the Coen Brothers deliver their bleakest effort (pre-A Serious Man) with No Country For Old Men, pitting an opportunistic hunter Josh Brolin and a pragmatic sheriff Tommy Lee Jones against human Terminator Javier Bardem. Audiences, however, are torn between two threequels that fail to live up to the originals, as Jack Sparrow and Spider-Man face ...

It's 2006, and get ready for the most thrilling, action packed, high quality bummers of a movie. The Oscar finally found its way to Martin Scorsese, with his tense remake of Hong Kong flick Infernal Affairs, The Departed. Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon go head to head in the Battle of the Snitches, and nobody walks away clean. Speaking of nobody being clean, audiences flocked back to Tortuga for the long awaited return of Ja...

While schedules align, Dan presents a one-man crossover between us and Recovered by asking the question... do the Best Pictures of the 20th century need or warrant a remake? From Wings to American Beauty (at which point they're all so recent it's a hard no), Dan skims through 72 years of Oscars darlings to sum up potential remakes: which could be, which should be, which must not, which already have been, and some fancasts...

It's 2005, and Munsi Parker-Munroe rejoins Erin, Claire, and Dan to discuss what is often called one of if not the worst Best Picture winner ever... by people who have not seen The Broadway Melody. It's Crash time, and Paul Haggis is trying to say something about racism but not managing more than "Racism, boy I dunno." Will the box office champ improve the viewing experience? It's Star Wars: Revenge of the ...

In the wake of Lord of the Rings dominating the Oscars the previous year, the Academy decided to go small and serious again, while the audience remain here for fantasy good times. The Oscar went to Million Dollar Baby, Clint Eastwood's story of three broken people bonding over boxing until boxing breaks them all the further. Meanwhile, audiences around the world had a relapse of Shrek Fever, flocking to Shrek, Fiona, and Donke...

It's 2003, and we reach our final Joint Champion, as after two years of being Best Picture nominees and lurking near the top of the box office, Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy reached its grand finale with The Return of the King. Gina Stewart is back to help Erin, Claire, and Dan break down the full Lord of the Rings experience, novel and movie versions, as we follow Frodo and the Fellowship past the Two Towers ...

It's 2002, and Hollywood is swinging, be it to all that jazz, or by webs through the city. The Academy, still waiting to see if Lord of the Rings could stick the landing, gave the big prize to musical adaptation Chicago, which managed the singular achievement of blending the gritty realism Hollywood thinks prestige pictures need with the glitzy, showy song and dance numbers musicals thrive on. Meanwhile, only one man could tri...

While we align schedules, Erin gives us a sneak peek at next episode and beyond as she breaks down the first entries of all three live-action Spider-Man eras, from someone who never read the comics and only knows these as movies. What are the strengths and weaknesses of Sam Raimi's first go-round with the character? How does Amazing Spider-Man reassess the origin in a post-Nolan/Iron Man landscape? And when Spidey comes to the...

In 2001, the question on the mind of Academy voters was "Well we can't risk just awarding Lord of the Rings three years in a row, can we?" and thus an alternate Best Picture was needed: Ron Howard's call-it-a-biopic of John Nash, genius mathematician struggling through schizophrenia, with Russell Crowe taking us from coming-of-age to espionage thriller to one man's battle with his own mind in maybe too litt...

We enter a new century by jumping back to an old trend and an adaptation of an old TV show, seems about right for 21st century Hollywood. First, the Oscar goes to Ridley Scott's Gladiator, a return to old-school sword and sandal action, only without the Jesus angle. Historical accuracy is nowhere to be found, the plot doesn't merit a lot of deep thought, but Erin, Claire, and Dan answer the important question: are they, i...

Before we enter the 21st century, Munsi Parker-Munroe returns to present their Top Ten Secret Masterpieces of the 1990s: ten films that weren't hits, didn't get Oscar love, but delight our guest to no end and they would argue are worthy of your attention just the same, because as films they're weird, they're passionate, and they're more than a little wonderful. Also Dan is here briefly. Erin and Claire will...

Before we reach the 2000s and spend half an episode breaking down Dan's least favourite entry of one of his favourite franchises, he's here to get the Mission: Impossible brainrot out of his system by breaking down the evolution of the franchise and which film did what the best. From it's lower-key suspense thriller origins to its recent final (unless...) origins, best squads, best villains, and best teammates in a q...

The decade wraps up with one beautifully crafted but disturbingly hollow Best Picture, and one beloved franchise returning with a controversial entry. Recurring guest/victim of scheduling Munsi Parker-Munroe is back for the takes, joining Claire, Erin, and Dan in being mad at how well made American Beauty is in spite of the troubling central themes and lead actor, then digging into Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, looking for the few...

It's 1998, and was all fair in love and war? Some say no, as Harvey Weinstein launched an Oscar campaign of attrition to get himself an award for theatre kids' ideal romcom Shakespeare in Love, while also slandering rival Steven Spielberg's intense war movie Saving Private Ryan. Claire, Erin, Dan, and returning guest Kevin break down both, ask whether Shakespeare deserves the hate it got for defeating Private Ryan, w...

While Erin and Claire are busy on a stage, Dan succumbs to his ongoing Titanic brainrot, and drags his Recovered co-host Keith along for the ride by asking: did Titanic need or warrant a remake? Not the movie... the BOAT. Dan and Keith walk through how a replica Titanic is not equipped to compete in the modern cruise market, something it was never designed or priced for, and why one right-wing Australian politician has spent the la...

The day Erin's been waiting for arrives as she, Claire, and Dan dig into the third of three Joint Champion Juggernauts, James Cameron's Titanic. A star crossed romance between Jack and Rose is plagued by class differences, a cruel fiancé, and oh yes the boat they're on plowing into an iceberg. Records are smashed, feelings are felt, Dan's only a little bitter about one of the other nominees being defeated, and t...

Another year, another Oscars has come and gone, and returning guest Olav Rokne of the Hugo Book Club blog is back to help Erin, Claire, and Dan break down how each nominee did, and how they should have done. What does everything think should have won? What won too much? Can Claire, cursed by witches to watch no movies outside of this podcast, tell us anything about them? Also someone even manages to cape for Emilia Perez. Someone n...