Godzilla, King of the Monsters (Episode 62) - Hot Date with Dan and Vicky
Release Date: 01/19/2018
The Rickshaw Man (Episode 207) - Hot Date with Dan and Vicky
Hot Date with Dan and Vicky
The Rickshaw Man, Hiroshi Inagaki's 1958 film about a gruff rickshaw driver who becomes the surrogate father to a boy who loses his father unexpectedly, is a remake of his own 1943 black and white film of the same name. The 1958 version won Inagaki the Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival and was one of 20 films the director made with his favored actor Toshiro Mifune. Dan and Vicky discuss the film along with lots of recently seen items like A Complete Unknown, Oscar winner Flow, Mickey 17, Black Bag, 1997's Tower of Terror, and streaming shows like Daredevil: Born...
info_outline
Six Souls (Episode 206) - Hot Date with Dan and Vicky
Hot Date with Dan and Vicky
Originally titled Shelter and produced independently in 2010 with Swedish filmmakers Måns Mårlind and Björn Stein co-directing, the Julianne Moore starring Six Souls, written by Identity's Michael Cooney, was eventually purchased by the Weinstein Company under their Radius banner. But the Weinsteins were in the midst of serious financial woes in 2010 after the failure of Nine and many of their acquisitions ended up in distribution turnaround. Six Souls would eventually come out in 2013 as a day and date VOD and theatrical release. It got very little attention and...
info_outline
My New Gun (Episode 205) - Hot Date with Dan and Vicky
Hot Date with Dan and Vicky
Struggling to find a role that would break her from beautiful girlfriend, adoring wife parts, 1992's My New Gun gave Diane Lane her first starring vehicle. It was a role that got her noticed and some of the best reviews of her career. Supporting her were Stephen Collins, James LeGros, Maddie Corman, Tess Harper, and Phillip Seymour Hoffman in the tale of a handgun that sets off a chain of distressing events in the life of Lane's unfulfilled New Jersey housewife. Dan and Vicky discuss the indie darling along with plenty of recently seen like Babygirl, Presence, NIghtbitch,...
info_outline
Slither (Episode 204) - Hot Date with Dan and Vicky
Hot Date with Dan and Vicky
1973's Slither was the directorial debut of Howard Zieff (Private Benjamin, My Girl) and the screenwriting debut for W.D. Richter (Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Big Trouble In Little China). In the freewheeling comedic thriller, James Caan goes on the road looking for a stash of embezzled money with Peter Boyle, Louise Lasser and Sally Kellerman in tow. Famously, Caan was quoted saying he took the role for the money and had little understanding of the story. Dan and Vicky discuss the film along with lots of recently seen including Nosferatu, The Front Room, Shudder's doc series...
info_outline
Clash By Night (Episode 203) - Hot Date with Dan and Vicky
Hot Date with Dan and Vicky
Of his time working with then burgeoning film actress Marilyn Monroe, Fritz Lang recalls a 26 year old who struggled with self esteem issues, set tardiness, and lack of preparation. On 1952's Clash By Night, adapted from the Clifford Odets play, Monroe drove the director to distraction but was surprisingly embraced by leading lady Barbara Stanwyck. Stanwyck, recognizing an overwhelmed and emotionally vulnerable fellow actress, was patient, helpful, and caring with the young actress according to Lang. What resulted was a pretty assured above the title debut for Monroe and...
info_outline
Paris Blues (Episode 202) - Hot Date with Dan and Vicky
Hot Date with Dan and Vicky
The couples paired up in Martin Ritt's 1961 musical drama Paris Blues were more than just smart casting. Real life married paramours Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward play Ram and Lillian, a jazz musician and the woman he falls in love with him. And Sidney Poitier and Diahann Carroll, real life lovers at the time, play Eddie and Connie. Carroll and Poitier had carried on an extramarital affair on their previous film Porgy and Bess and continued during the making of Paris Blues. Both eventually stayed married and ended the affair after Paris Blues was completed. Dan...
info_outline
Megan Is Missing (Episode 201) - Hot Date with Dan and Vicky
Hot Date with Dan and Vicky
Dan and Vicky discuss the found footage horror thriller Megan is Missing. The film, starring many first time actors and shot for under a week on a $35,000 budget, was the brain child of cinematographer Michael Goi. Goi was eager to make a cautionary tale on the dangers of online predators and so impressed Anchor Bay Films they gave the movie, shot in 2008, a small theatrical release in 2011. Starring Amber Perkins and Rachel Quinn, Megan is Missing has divided critics - some applauding it's unflinching look at the dangers of being a teen in the internet age and others calling...
info_outline
Top Ten Directorial Debuts (Episode 200) - Hot Date with Dan and Vicky
Hot Date with Dan and Vicky
Our 200th Episode! 200 episodes of Hot Dates and Hot Takes on some of the weirdest, most beautiful and just plain bad movies. We've covered Oscar Winners and Razzie Winners, blockbusters and indie films, classics and guilty pleasures. To celebrate this milestone, we've invited Alexandra Kopko from the Film Bros Podcast to discuss our favorite directorial debuts. Dan and Vicky and Alex offer their top tens and a fun list of alternates. From the Gerwigs to the Raimis to the Lumets, hear the films that paved the way for some of the greatest careers in film - and some that...
info_outline
Home Room (Episode 199) - Hot Date with Dan & Vicky
Hot Date with Dan and Vicky
The 2002 film Home Room imagines the unlikely friendship between two survivors of a school shooting - women from very different backgrounds united in tragedy. Busy Philipps and Erika Christensen play Alicia and Deanna respectively and Victor Garber is the police investigator hoping the two will help answer questions about the deceased shooter. With Columbine fresh in the world's memory, director/writer Paul F. Ryan attempts to examine the effect a mass shooting can have on the community and the people in it. Dan and Vicky discuss the little seen Home Room along with lots of...
info_outline
Blood Oath (Episode 198) - Hot Date with Dan & Vicky
Hot Date with Dan and Vicky
The 1990 Australian film Blood Oath (aka Prisoners of the Sun) is the harrowing true to life story of the military tribunal put together on the Indonesian island of Ambon to investigate the mass killings of Australian soldiers in a Japanese POW camp. Leading the charge is Captain Cooper, played by stalwart Aussie actor Bryan Brown (FX, Cocktail, Anyone But You) and a whole battalion of great supporting turns from Deborah Unger, Terry O' Quinn, Russell Crowe, Toshi Shioya, Tetsu Watanabe, George Takei and John Polson. Dan and Vicky look at the film along with a bevy of recently seen...
info_outlineIn 1954, Japanese film production company Toho was looking to cash in on the monster movie mania inspired by the American film Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. They conceived of Godzilla, named Gojira locally, as a way to announce the power and independence of the Japanese film industry post World War II but also as a metaphor for the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by American weapons of war. The film was a huge hit and American producers were eagerly looking for a way to translate Godzilla to a stateside audience. Their answer was to cut 16 minutes from the Japanese version, shoot new scenes with actor Raymond Burr and add the King of the Monsters subtitle for a 1956 release. It was a "monster" hit!
Dan and Vicky gush over the monster movie masterpiece and the nostalgia it inspires in both it's 1954 and 1956 versions. In addition to the film your hosts tell us what they did over the holidays and what they were watching during their time off. Vicky checks in with Stranger Things season 2, She's Gotta Have It season 1 and the movies Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Bright and Mayhem. Dan has thoughts on Call Me By Your Name, The Post, Personal Shopper, Downsizing, Colossal, and Hammer classic Island of Terror.
Hot Date 62: Godzilla is stomping into 2018! Take a listen and leave us some feedback.