236. '2001: A Space Odyssey', Part 4
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We've come to the end...or is it the beginning? This is part 4 of my series of episodes about the emotional and intellectual contact Stanley Kubrick made between movie-goers and his epic science-fiction film of 1968. Here's . if you haven't; it's free and filled with random recommendations based on what I'm reading, watching and listening to on a given week. Some of it podcast-adjacent and some totally unrelated.
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235. '2001: A Space Odyssey', Part 3
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In Part 3, I geek out into how incredible and evocative the HAL sequences are in this film; what an amazing sense of character and personality Kubrick creates through the use of Doug Rain's iconic, best-in-class voiceover and the varying cutaways to HAL's electronic eye in scenes featuring the computer. Be sure to check out my other episodes covering the other sections of 2001. Next up: THE STAR GATE sequence in Jupiter And Beyond The Infinite.
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234. '2001: A Space Odyssey', Part 2
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In part 2 of my four-part series on 2001, I am going through the TMA-1 (Tycho Magnetic Anomaly One) sequence in which Dr. Haywood Floyd of "The Council" visits the International Space Station, diverts some Russian scientist attentions, presents a specious, US Governmental coverup of the Clavius discovery to a group of cowed committee members, and then embarks to Clavius base on the Moon to visit the Monolith. This sequence famously uses Johann Strauss' 'The Blue Danube' as well as additional modern pieces by Ligeti. Here's the Tom, we kid because we love! . It's full of recommendations and...
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233. '2001: A Space Odyssey', Part 1
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The first of my four-part series on Stanley Kubrick's '2001: A Space Odyssey' covers some introductory approach notes and the first sequence in the film: 'The Dawn Of Man'. In these episodes I want to avoid a nerdy technical discussion about how the filmmakers did what they did in this extraordinary, still-vital film masterpiece and instead focus on the remarkable ability of the film to inspire thoughts and feelings in its viewers. For a bibliography of resources consulted in the research of these episodes, check out for links to materials you might find of interest.
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232. 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' & 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre II'
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I'd never seen Texas Chainsaw Massacre before this episode. I had also never seen Texas Chainsaw Massacre II. Regrets, I have a few. And this apparent chainsaw-sized hole in my film-going life is at the heart the Brad Caleb Kane Experiment In Terror that are our Cannon Fodder series of episodes. Find out what happened in this chaotic mess of an episode.
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231. Cannon Fodder: '52 Pickup' (1986)
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Cannon Fodder continues! John Frankenheimer finds himself directing for Cannon Films with Roy Scheider starring in Elmore Leonard's own adaptation of his 1974 novel 52 Pickup. Watch before it leaves this weekend. Watch the excellent Cannon Films/Golan Globus unauthorized documentary Watch , the Larry Cohen documentary, featuring Martin Scorcese. Listen to Subscribe to my newsletter, , it contains recommendations for movies, music, tv shows, books, and musings on popular culture and the events of the given day. It's free. Listen to the first , with my special guest, Brad Kane.
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230. Cannon Fodder: Charles Bronson in '10 to Midnight' (1983)
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In this week's episode it's the debut of 'Cannon Fodder', a recurring series of episodes where I watch a curated selection of films made by schlockmeisters Golan/Globus in the 1980's for their Cannon Film Group, one of the most entertaining production shingles you'll ever hear or see. In Brad's view, he is a man of the people's cinema and I am a high-minded, opinionated cinephile. Duly diagnosed, I agreed to expand my horizons under Brad's careful tutelage. The result is either an epic argument or filled with surprises...or both. Here's a about the "Go-Go Boys" as they're known. Here's some ...
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229. 'The Big Picture' (1989)
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Long before 'Waiting For Guffman', Christopher Guest directed 'The Big Picture', a heartfelt, hilariously incisive movie about making movies. The film was greenlit during British film executive David Puttnam's brief tenure running Columbia Pictures. Co-written by Guest's 'Spinal Tap' co-star Michael McKean, who also turns in an unexpectedly warm and heartfelt performance, 'The Big Picture' is worthy of rediscovery for its impressively spot-on send-up of both Los Angeles and the studio executives who populate the business. The film stars Kevin Bacon, McKean, J.T. Walsh, Emily Longstreth,...
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228. 'Sinners'
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Ryan Coogler's original film 'Sinners' defied the so-called conventional wisdom of Hollywood and dropped only 6% week-to-week in its box office performance. It was also the subject of a fascinating online discourse about how the film's box office performance was written about in industry media. In this episode I recount the online controversy surrounding some of the reporting on the film and give you my own take on having seen the film. Enjoy! The McKinsey Report mentioned in the podcast:
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227. 'Caddyshack' (1980)
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'Caddyshack', it turns out, is kind of a miracle of last-minute producer-led stitching together and salvaging, resulting in one of the more quotable films in comedy history. Hard to believe that at the time, Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, and Rodney Dangerfield were not yet the massive film stars they'd become as a result of this movie. This episode delves into the coke-fueled nonstop party that was this film's production, a production that would contribute to the untimely death of co-writer Doug Kenney on a cliff in Hawaii where he'd gone to dry out. Doug's death was...
info_outlineWhat does it say about your favorite podcast host that he considers the 1979 BBC adaptation of John le Carre's seminal espionage novel 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy' to be COMFORT VIEWING??
Nonetheless, as Smiley would say, there we are.
In this episode, curiously one in which I am still totally unresolved as to how best to approach this series in episodic fashion, I explore the myriad genius aspects of the production.