That's Not How It Went Down

This time out we're inviting contestants into the hot seat and switching off the air conditioning as we attempt to uncover the mysteries behind the infamous 1950s quiz show scandal. With a brand new genre of TV entertainment came a shocking lack of regulation, allowing viewers to be swept up in the rags to riches stories of their favourite contestants, all the while unaware that what they were watching wasn't just being manipulated...

The temptation to parody the speech we all know from this film as a blurb was tempting but would have been too obvious. What perhaps isn't as obvious, is quite how may historical figures made it into this absolute classic. Ancient Rome is an arena that rarely needs augmenting or embellishing, but it was done for this story by taking some archetypal characters and weaving them into a timeless revenge storyline. Did Commodus kill Mar...

After being recommended this film from many quarters, the time felt right to tackle one of the darkest subject matters when it comes to true stories - serial killings. But this being one of the first films of the visionary behind Parasite, it was always bound to have a certain amount of black comedy, though not as much as one would come to expect from more recent Bong Joon Ho films. As we approach the 25 year anniversary of the fil...

Thank you ladies and gentlemen, players are ready... to analyse 2017's sport/comedy/drama/docu movie of the now infamous "Battle of the Sexes". Although today finds tennis as one of the world's only major sports offering equal prize money between its male and female competitors, that doesn't mean that the journey to reaching parity was an easy one. And netting two of Hollywood's biggest stars to serve up spot on portrayals of Billi...

We return to the ocean this week and tackle our first true disaster movie. The oil spill from this tragedy still causes damage to this day, and even though we can probably all draw a basic picture of what an oil rig looks like, how much do we really know about how they work and what they do? Fortunately, that's not officially our job - but it was the job of many aboard this rig in the Gulf of Mexico and the failings that occurred w...

The heat is on this week as we go undercover in LA. If you combine the talents of two of Hollywood's most legendary actors with an up and coming director then… WHADDYA GOT?! Potentially one of the greatest crime movies ever made. But is that where the story ends or is there more truth to discover about a band of renegade crooks and the stop-at-nothing cops on their tail? Perhaps the DVD extras on "Heat" will have the answers...

It's borderline offensive that it's taken eighty episodes until we explore a film starring the legend that is Dame Judi, but not nearly as offensive as some of the wrongs suffered by the character she portrays. We don't have to work too hard to find a film exploring controversy involving the Catholic church, but this story only really came to light within the last quarter century and even now, people continue to struggle for answer...

Today we're on home turf as we take to the streets in gangland New York. For a movie as colourful, comic book-esque and downright bizarre as 1979's "The Warriors" the idea that this could be based on true events feels like a step too far. But with the release of the director's cut in 2005 came a new opening scene revealing that this story isn't just inspired by the warring factions of NYC's various boroughs, but takes its story fro...

Is that all? Maybe not... Miranda Priestley's presence on various lists of the best movie villains may seem unconventional but it's safe to assume it wouldn't be the case were it not for the clout of Meryl Streep. And to a lesser extent, the rest of the cast have allowed this film to endure longer than many may have expected. But the fact the original story here was penned by someone who experienced a similar workplace culture in t...

Could the world's greatest underdog story really be about… a horse? With the United States reeling from the hammer blow of the Great Depression, millions found themselves out of work and out of luck. But with the appearance in the mid-30s of an unusual steed with crooked legs and "baseball glove knees" the American public found the unlikeliest of heroes. Whilst Seabiscuit may not be considered the most natural racehorse of a...

After cementing his place in the action/thriller genre with an Oscar for his performance as the corrupt Alonzo Harris, Denzel Washington began a period of starring in an action film almost every year for the next decade and a half. Whilst always brilliant in whatever he does, there is one film from this collection that is held in a similar regard to 2001's Training Day, and it's probably unsurprising that it shares similar themes. ...

They say that a man's best friend is his dog. But surely a filmmaker's best bet is to avoid our four-legged pals. The danger of unpredictability, lack of potty training and a tendency to lean into the sentimentality of pet owning are surely all reasons to steer clear of a canine-centric picture. The challenge of movies like Turner & Hooch, Air Bud and Beethoven all providing evidence that you can't teach an old dog new tricks.....

Here we are again. The Warrens - this time back on US soil after virtually zero involvement in Enfield - become major instigators, rather than investigators, in the explanation for the brutal murder of Alan Bono in 1981. Again, this film retelling is determined to showcase the brilliant work the Warrens did and the help they offered to poor suffering souls in need of demonic liberation, but again again, when we remove the testimony...

To fact check, or not to fact check, that is the question. Whether it is nobler in the cinema to suffer the inaccuracies and anachronisms of outrageous filmmaking, or to take umbrage against a sea of errors and by a podcast correct them. For although Shakespeare may perhaps be the most famous name in western civilisation we know dramatically little about the Bard of Avon and even less so... about his family. But what did Chloe Zhao...

Sometimes there's no watch more comforting than an unapologetically outrageous spy thriller - but unfortunately for us, so few of them seem to be submerged in reality. Surprisingly however, that can't be said for this 1990 classic adaptation of Tom Clancy's debut novel. Jack Ryan's search for the truth in the ocean depths inspired me to do something similar, and even though a Scottish sounding Russian submarine commander might be t...

It's never easy to tell a sympathetic story when war is the main focus. But following the invasion of Iraq in 2001, the opportunity to reinvent the war movie genre on a different battlefield seemed like too goood a chance to ignore. Jarhead, The Hurt Locker and Green Zone all take place amidst conflict in the Gulf Wars, but few movies are as deeply "patriotic" and culturally divisive as Clint Eastwood's 'American Sniper'. Despite b...

It took Adam McKay over ten years to prove that he could write and direct a film that didn't star his legendary comedic collaborator Will Ferrell. And he did so with aplomb - cementing his reputation as a creative who knows exactly how to handle whatever story he decides. And I know what you're thinking - what else can be learned from a film that literally goes out of its way to make sure we know exactly what went down in the build...

The challenge of following up a smash-hit that happens to be the first of a series is commonly referred to in the world of music as the difficult second album. And with writer/director team George Lucas and Steven Spielberg wishing to make each of their sequels canonically disparate from their forebear, what better way to achieve this than by not making a sequel at all. Enter the (seldom-used) prequel then to establish a new timeli...

"The average table tennis player is different from most other sports buffs. He is unable to comprehend the enormous gulf in ability that separates him from the professional." So says the enigmatic prodigy that inspired the Chalamet-driven, white-knuckle, globetrotting romp through the lesser known theatre of post-war table tennis competition - and it's easy to see why this world appealed to Josh Safdie when we see the theatre it se...