Random Acts of Cinema

Each week friends Mike and Charlie have Randy (the random number generator) select a film for them to watch from the Criterion Collection. Then they discuss and review it for your listening pleasure. It’s a podcast about the love of film, expanding horizons, painstakingly cataloging the duration of every long take, and friendship.

243 - French Cancan (1955) 04/14/2025

243 - French Cancan (1955) There’s a reading of this movie as Jean Renoir’s exercise in delayed gratification. What’s a cancan? Is that a cancan? Will they cancan? Oh no they can’t cancan!! But maybe, just maybe… No they can’t! And then just when you’ve given up all hope: they can cancan! And by god, they do. (Spoiler alert.) Join the Random Acts of Cinema Discord server ! *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone you love a random gift at our . T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and more! If you’d like to watch ahead for next week’s film, we will be discussing and reviewing Federico Fellini’s Amarcord (1973). /episode/index/show/randomactsofcinema/id/36138550

490 - City of Angels (1998) 04/07/2025

490 - City of Angels (1998) Director Brad Silberling’s modern spiritual masterpiece dares to propose a world filled with unseen angels, who look upon humanity with a detached sense of whimsy. Until a brash, brilliant, and beautiful heart surgeon dares to question a universe who steals the life of one of her patients, and one of these angels… falls for her. In more ways than one. Join the Random Acts of Cinema Discord server ! *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone you love a random gift at our . T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and more! If you’d like to watch ahead for next week’s film, we will be discussing and reviewing Jean Renoir’s French Cancan (1954). /episode/index/show/randomactsofcinema/id/36033065

334 - Harlan County USA (1976) 03/31/2025

334 - Harlan County USA (1976) Come gather 'round children, it's high time ye learned. About a hero named Harlan County and a devil named Duke Power. The fight never stops. And Barbara Kopple’s beautifully specific and devastatingly timeless documentary about a grueling coal miner’s strike won’t let us forget it. Join the Random Acts of Cinema Discord server ! *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone you love a random gift at our . T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and more! If you’d like to watch ahead for next week’s film, we will be discussing and reviewing Brad Silberling’s City of Angels (1998). /episode/index/show/randomactsofcinema/id/35932065

The Top 10 of Our 10 Out of 10s 03/30/2025

The Top 10 of Our 10 Out of 10s Bonus episode drop! We recorded this a while ago, but we’re finally releasing the rankings of our 10 highest rated criterion movies. Sure we each gave Rashomon 10 out of 10. But we also gave The Seventh Seal 10 out of 10. So… which is better? All questions will be answered! Join the Random Acts of Cinema Discord server ! *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone you love a random gift at our . T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and more! /episode/index/show/randomactsofcinema/id/35920910

300 - The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) 03/24/2025

300 - The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) Please come celebrate our 300th episode with spine number 300! We grapple with our legacy, come to terms with our many failures, reaffirm old friendships, get matching outfits, mourn our losses, go on one last adventure, and have a few laughs. And because it’s Wes Anderson, we can’t help but fall for yet another flawed father figure. Join the Random Acts of Cinema Discord server ! *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone you love a random gift at our . T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and more! If you’d like to watch ahead for next week’s film, we will be discussing and reviewing Barbara Kopple’s Harlan County, USA (1976). /episode/index/show/randomactsofcinema/id/35836200

689 - Trances (1981) 03/17/2025

689 - Trances (1981) Your humble hosts stumble happily headlong into the world of avant-pop Moroccan folk music! This week we watch what seems to be a proto-version of The Last Waltz (even though it’s not) with a documentary chronicling some of the past and and a lot of the present of the group Nass El Ghiwane. Join the Random Acts of Cinema Discord server ! *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone you love a random gift at our . T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and more! If you’d like to watch ahead for next week’s film, we will be discussing and reviewing Wes Anderson’s The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004). /episode/index/show/randomactsofcinema/id/35734785

LD131 - From Russia With Love (1963) 03/10/2025

LD131 - From Russia With Love (1963) Bond is back! …to this podcast. We swing back into the world of Ian Fleming with the second film adaptation of his books, and perhaps the most faithful to the original source material. So does that mean the movie will be MORE or LESS racist/misogynist? Pour yourself a martini and join us to find out. Join the Random Acts of Cinema Discord server ! *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone you love a random gift at our . T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and more! If you’d like to watch ahead for next week’s film, we will be discussing and reviewing Ahmed El Maânouni‘s Trances(1981). /episode/index/show/randomactsofcinema/id/35599360

LD36 - The Producers (1968) 03/03/2025

LD36 - The Producers (1968) For this week’s episode your hosts intentionally try to make the WORST episode they’ve ever recorded. No wait, that’s what this Mel Brooks movie is about. Oh, now I remember: this is actually the BEST episode we’ve ever recorded. Join the Random Acts of Cinema Discord server ! *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone you love a random gift at our . T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and more! If you’d like to watch ahead for next week’s film, we will be discussing and reviewing Terence Young’s From Russia With Love (1963). /episode/index/show/randomactsofcinema/id/35507505

1242 - The Shape of Water (2017) 02/24/2025

1242 - The Shape of Water (2017) One of us is prepared to insist that this Academy Award winning film is more than just “that fish-sex movie.” A little behind the scenes: in our recording schedule notes Mike keeps writing the title of this movie as “Shapes of Water”. For those of you who know him to be a fully-committed listman and self-professed admirer of Guillermo del Toro, this is shocking. This may is your first hint of his true feelings about this film. Join the Random Acts of Cinema Discord server ! *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone you love a random gift at our . T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and more! If you’d like to watch ahead for next week’s film, we will be discussing and reviewing Mel Brooks’ The Producers (1968). /episode/index/show/randomactsofcinema/id/35402440

715 - Bay of Angels (1963) 02/17/2025

715 - Bay of Angels (1963) Director Jacques Demy returns to the podcast with a notably non-musical romance this time. Gone are the songs and vibrant colors, instead we are given… crushing, co-dependent gambling addictions? Can a platinum blonde Jean Moreau give us hope? Maybe just one last spin… Join the Random Acts of Cinema Discord server ! *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone you love a random gift at our . T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and more! If you’d like to watch ahead for next week’s film, we will be discussing and reviewing Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water (2017). /episode/index/show/randomactsofcinema/id/35309420

368 - Corridors of Blood (1959) 02/11/2025

368 - Corridors of Blood (1959) Spoiler alert. In this movie Christopher Lee stabs Boris Karloff and Boris Karloff throws acid in Christopher Lee’s face. And there’s some stuff about 19th century medical experiments, but mostly that first part. Join the Random Acts of Cinema Discord server ! *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone you love a random gift at our . T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and more! If you’d like to watch ahead for next week’s film, we will be discussing and reviewing Jacques Demy’s Bay of Angels (1963). /episode/index/show/randomactsofcinema/id/35234760

895 - David Lynch The Art Life (2016) 02/04/2025

895 - David Lynch The Art Life (2016) Neither a documentary on the films of David Lynch nor a film about the man we knew as David Lynch. But an account of a young man who through circumstance and single-minded drive, would find himself in and construct just the sort of environment that could form a David Lynch. Directors Olivia Neergaard-Holm, Jon Nguyen, and Rick Barnes put the camera on a man making art and a microphone on a man looking back at his early life. And they leave it up to us to make connections between the two. Join the Random Acts of Cinema Discord server ! *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone you love a random gift at our . T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and more! If you’d like to watch ahead for next week’s film, we will be discussing and reviewing Robert Day’s Corridors of Blood (1959). /episode/index/show/randomactsofcinema/id/35143325

408 - Breathless (1960) 01/27/2025

408 - Breathless (1960) For one of us, this is where it all began. You leave me breathless… ahhhhh…. That’s from a different movie though. Join the Random Acts of Cinema Discord server ! *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone you love a random gift at our . T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and more! If you’d like to watch ahead for next week’s film, we will be discussing and reviewing Olivia Neergaard-Holm, Jon Nguyen, and Rick Barnes’David Lynch: The Art Life (2016) /episode/index/show/randomactsofcinema/id/35021325

473 - The Insect Woman (1963) 01/20/2025

473 - The Insect Woman (1963) This week we return to the Shohei Imamura’s “Pigs, Pimps, and Prostitutes” collection with his “entomological study” of one woman’s lifelong struggle for survival and purpose in a cruel modern world. Style, ambiguity, and shock mark this as a classic Imamura story. Join the Random Acts of Cinema Discord server ! *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone you love a random gift at our . T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and more! If you’d like to watch ahead for next week’s film, we will be discussing and reviewing Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless (1960). /episode/index/show/randomactsofcinema/id/34931555

1174 - Last Hurrah for Chivalry (1979) 01/13/2025

1174 - Last Hurrah for Chivalry (1979) Legendary 1980s/90s Hong Kong/Hollywood action auteur John Woo sets an early pace for his legendary career with a period-kung fu movie about two swordsman-buddies caught in the midst of a bloody revenge plot between warring clans. Spoiler alert: there's a martial arts master whose style is "asleep." Join the Random Acts of Cinema Discord server ! *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone you love a random gift at our . T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and more! If you’d like to watch ahead for next week’s film, we will be discussing and reviewing Shohei Imamura's The Insect Woman (1963). /episode/index/show/randomactsofcinema/id/34809515

401 - Night On Earth (1991) 01/06/2025

401 - Night On Earth (1991) From the clanky jangle of that first Tom Waits song to that jangly clank of the last Tom Waits song, you know you are in for a treat. Jim Jarmusch pops back up on the show with his humanist anthology of five stories set in cabs, each taking place in a different city on the same night. Winona, Gena, Giancarlo, Armin, Rosie, Isaach, uh.. Beatrice, Roberto, and … Matti? Look he went truly international with his cast, so I can’t name them all off the top of my head. Join the Random Acts of Cinema Discord server ! *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone you love a random gift at our . T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and more! If you’d like to watch ahead for next week’s film, we will be discussing and reviewing John Woo’s Last Hurrah for Chivalry (1991). /episode/index/show/randomactsofcinema/id/34734935

539 - House (1977) 12/30/2024

539 - House (1977) Cat, piano, well, watermelon, mirror, bananas. You know, you're basic horror movie formula. Director Nobuhiko Obayashi spins a eerily formulaic but wildly unanticipate-able story of teens. And death. Join the Random Acts of Cinema Discord server ! *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone you love a random gift at our . T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and more! If you’d like to watch ahead for next week’s film, we will be discussing and reviewing Jim Jarmusch's Night On Earth (1991). /episode/index/show/randomactsofcinema/id/34660490

55 - The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988) 12/23/2024

55 - The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988) What says “Merry Christmas” more than a sexy tale of infidelity and alienation set against the backdrop of soviet invasion and oppression? In the Criterion Collection? Not much. Join us as we discuss Phillip Kaufman’s adaptation of Milan Kundera’s novel of Prague Spring and its aftermath, starring some distractingly beautiful people. Join the Random Acts of Cinema Discord server ! *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone you love a random gift at our . T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and more! If you’d like to watch ahead for next week’s film, we will be discussing and reviewing Nobuhiko Obayashi’s House (1977). /episode/index/show/randomactsofcinema/id/34576990

870 - Othello (1951) 12/16/2024

870 - Othello (1951) It’s Orson Welles! It’s Shakespeare! Everyone involved is at the top of their game! Filmed across continents on location! It was a labor of love 3 years in the making! Yep. No problems here. None at all. No need to investigate further… Join the Random Acts of Cinema Discord server ! *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone you love a random gift at our . T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and more! If you’d like to watch ahead for next week’s film, we will be discussing and reviewing Phillip Kaufman’s The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988). /episode/index/show/randomactsofcinema/id/34471985

LD301 - Dead Presidents (1995) 12/09/2024

LD301 - Dead Presidents (1995) Albert & Allen Hughes take a stab at the classic tale of the American twentieth century with a star-studded cast and a sweeping narrative starting in the Bronx of 1968, the bloody jungles of Vietnam, back to a changed America, and then… an iconic 90s heist scene? Join the Random Acts of Cinema Discord server ! *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone you love a random gift at our . T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and more! If you’d like to watch ahead for next week’s film, we will be discussing and reviewing Orson Welles’ Othello (1952). /episode/index/show/randomactsofcinema/id/34343125

1071 - The Elephant Man (1980) 12/02/2024

1071 - The Elephant Man (1980) David Lynch’s follow-up to one of the most disturbing and lovingly crafted pieces of auteur cinema ever made is… an Oscar-bait biopic? Sure: he brazenly assaults Victorian (and maybe even a few modern) sensibilities by frankly visualizing the appearance and living conditions of a young man cast from polite society. And, yeah-yeah, who are the REAL monsters, amiright? But more that this, Lynch taps into is own dark dreamscape, to poke at the less obvious, but deeply felt, horrors of the industrial age. Join the Random Acts of Cinema Discord server ! *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone you love a random gift at our . T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and more! If you’d like to watch ahead for next week’s film, we will be discussing and reviewing Albert & Allen Hughes Dead Presidents (1995). /episode/index/show/randomactsofcinema/id/34246060

1056 - Moonstruck (1987) 11/25/2024

1056 - Moonstruck (1987) This week, it’s Moonstruck. Thank God: it’s Moonstruck. Join the Random Acts of Cinema Discord server ! *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone you love a random gift at our . T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and more! If you’d like to watch ahead for next week’s film, we will be discussing and reviewing David Lynch’s The Elephant Man(1980). /episode/index/show/randomactsofcinema/id/34134376

1072 - History is Made at Night (1937) 11/18/2024

1072 - History is Made at Night (1937) If you throw everything at the wall (romance, screwball comedy, noir thriller, globe-trotting action) you will ALMOST predict one of the great disasters of the twentieth century. This coincidence is inevitably repeated a ton on the IMDb trivia page. But spare yourself from being spoiled and just watch Frank Borzage’s charming tale of star-crossed lovers set against a backdrop of 1930s Hollywood glamour. Join the Random Acts of Cinema Discord server ! *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone you love a random gift at our . T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and more! If you’d like to watch ahead for next week’s film, we will be discussing and reviewing Norman Jewison’s Moonstruck (1987). /episode/index/show/randomactsofcinema/id/33968652

989 - The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice (1952) 11/11/2024

989 - The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice (1952) Get ready for another action-packed…Yasuhiro Ozu movie? Well, at least compared to his other masterpieces. Buckle up for this bracingly gentle study of a middle-aged married couple as they lightly bicker and tell harmless lies to one another all in service of slowly coming to understand and maybe even love each other. Hope you survive the experience! Join the Random Acts of Cinema Discord server ! *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone you love a random gift at our . T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and more! If you’d like to watch ahead for next week’s film, we will be discussing and reviewing Frank Borzage’s History is Made at Night (1937). /episode/index/show/randomactsofcinema/id/33865112

814 - Alice in the Cities (1974) 11/04/2024

814 - Alice in the Cities (1974) Two unlikely kindred souls find purpose and companionship as they wander through the cross-continental 1970s in search of a sense of… just a little stability. Wim Wenders sets the tone for his career as a quiet student of humanity with a big ol heart. Join the Random Acts of Cinema Discord server ! *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone you love a random gift at our . T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and more! If you’d like to watch ahead for next week’s film, we will be discussing and reviewing Yasuhiro Ozu's The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice (1952). /episode/index/show/randomactsofcinema/id/33773727

712 - Scanners (1981) 10/28/2024

712 - Scanners (1981) Is this the one where Keanu takes a bunch of future drugs? I mean that DOES sound kind of like a Cronenberg movie…. No wait! It’s the head exploding one. Except that maybe, just maybe, this early 80s psychic thriller offers a whole lot more than just exploding heads. But don’t worry: if you really like exploding heads, this film still has you covered. Join the Random Acts of Cinema Discord server ! *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone you love a random gift at our . T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and more! If you’d like to watch ahead for next week’s film, we will be discussing and reviewing Wim Wenders Alice in the Cities (1974). /episode/index/show/randomactsofcinema/id/33637292

918 - The Color of Pomegranates (1969) 10/21/2024

918 - The Color of Pomegranates (1969) Soviet cinema at its most… spiritual? Iconoclast director Sergei Parajanov’s deeply personal exploration of the cultural echoes found in the life of 18th-century Armenian troubadour/monk Sayat-Nova uses manuscript-inspired tableaux vivants, exquisite staging, and a profoundly rich symbolic vocabulary to sneak this one past the censors. Sort of. Join the Random Acts of Cinema Discord server ! *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone you love a random gift at our . T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and more! If you’d like to watch ahead for next week’s film, we will be discussing and reviewing David Cronenberg’s Scanners (1981). /episode/index/show/randomactsofcinema/id/33549992

433 - Patriotism or The Right of Love and Death (1966) 10/14/2024

433 - Patriotism or The Right of Love and Death (1966) Content warning: this film contains depictions of suicide. Come check out Mike and Charlie realizing exactly what they’ve gotten themself into AFTER watching this movie and getting about halfway through our discussion about it. Yukio Mishima and Domoto Masaki’s rich confrontation of Noh-style staging with richly visualized sensuality propels a short film about a married couple’s suicided following a failed coup-d’etat in 1936 Japan. Join the Random Acts of Cinema Discord server ! *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone you love a random gift at our . T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and more! If you’d like to watch ahead for next week’s film, we will be discussing and reviewing Sergei Parajanov’s The Color of Pomogranates(1969). /episode/index/show/randomactsofcinema/id/33439772

63 - Carnival of Souls (1962) 10/07/2024

63 - Carnival of Souls (1962) Kansas. The Great Salt Lake. Peaches Christ. Michael Varrati. Abandoned carnival. Am I listing the components of an unlikely-to-happen but likely-to-be-wild road trip? Or is it the perfect formula for a really fun episode where two of our favorite guests return to discuss the weirdly atmospheric ultimate-indie horror film? Join the Random Acts of Cinema Discord server ! *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone you love a random gift at our . T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and more! If you’d like to watch ahead for next week’s film, we will be discussing and reviewing Yukio Mishima and Domoto Masaki’s Patriotism or The Right of Love and Death (1966). /episode/index/show/randomactsofcinema/id/33353822

1121 - Eyimofe: This is My Desire (2020) 10/01/2024

1121 - Eyimofe: This is My Desire (2020) Directing duo Arie and Chula Esiri tell two separate stories of would-be Nigerian emigrants navigating through a dehumanizing world that uses poverty and debt to perpetuate a cycle of exploitation that cares little for dignity and decency. Beautifully shot on film on location in Lagos, Mofe and Rosa each strain towards a better life. Join the Random Acts of Cinema Discord server ! *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone you love a random gift at our . T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and more! If you’d like to watch ahead for next week’s film, we will be discussing and reviewing Herk Harvey’s Carnival of Souls (1962). /episode/index/show/randomactsofcinema/id/33273332

Random Acts of Cinema

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