Ep 121: American Fiction

Nate and Ryan talk about 2023’s American Fiction, written and directed by Cord Jefferson and starring Jeffrey Wright. Both Nate and Ryan are big fans of author Percival Everett and his novel Erasure, which American Fiction is adapted from. For that reason, expectations were high for this Academy-Award winning movie. Critics all loved it, and the limited audiences who saw it seemed to as well. So what did Nate and Ryan think?

Share your thoughts on American Fiction, Percival Everett, and anything else you want us to know!

 

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Ep. 120: Barbie

Nate and Ryan complete the second leg of Barbenheimer with a discussion about 2023’s smash hit Barbie, directed by Greta Gerwig. Barbie‘s popularity boom and subsequent backlash and Oscars buzz and subsequent Oscars backlash have come and gone, so we decided it would be a good time to see what it’s like to watch Barbie after the dust has settled, but while it’s still fresh in our minds. We discuss our love for all things Greta Gerwig, the all-out weirdness of this movie, and what we think there is to learn about being human from this massively successful corporate commercial.

What are your thoughts on Barbie? Let us know!

Links

Watch Patriarchy According to The Barbie Movie by Pop Culture Detective.

Read Barbie Has Never Been a Great Symbol, but She’s an Excellent Mirror by Andi Zeisler (New York Times)

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Ep. 119: Oppenheimer

Once again, the Academy picked our movie for this month, so Ryan and Nate are re-watching Oppenheimer, 2024’s Best Picture Oscar winner, written and directed by Christopher Nolan. On top of continuing this year’s theme of revisiting 2023, Ryan and Nate realized they’ve never talked about a Christopher Nolan movie on air. Given the decades worth of praise that’s been heaped upon Nolan, as well as the mountain of awards his latest movie won, it seemed like the time was right to take a trip back to Los Alamos.

Where does Nolan rank for you among favorite directors? Where does Oppenheimer rank among Nolan films? Let us know!

Links

Watch Christopher Nolan narrate the opening scene of Oppenheimer in this New York Times Anatomy of a Scene.

Read Jennifer Ouellette’s Oppenheimer review for Ars Technica.

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Ep. 118: Past Lives

For this episode, Nate and Ryan picked from the slate of Best Picture nominees and decided to re-watch Past Lives, their favorite movie from 2023, and a stunning directorial debut from playwright Celine Song. While it’s not a front-runner for any Oscars, Past Lives has been widely recognized as something special, which is saying something, given how strong the field was this last year. It’s unexpected Golden Globe nominations put Past Lives on many people’s radar, and a slew of nominations (and a few wins) followed. Listen in as we talk about what makes this movie so special and why it deserves all the love it gets.

What are your thoughts about Past Lives? Let us know!

Links

Celine Song interview on the Scene 2 Seen Podcast

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Ep. 117: The Holdovers and Our Plans for 2024

Nate and Ryan discuss the Golden Globe winning and Oscar nominated Alexander Payne comedic drama The Holdovers. Much has been made of the reunion of Paul Giamatti and Alexander Payne after 20 years. Added to their alchemy are Da’Vine Joy Randolph (in yet another standout performance) and newcomer Dominic Sessa. What results is a throwback comedy that unfolds in emotional and unexpected ways. Nate and Ryan talk about how Payne and Co. create a lived-in atmosphere and whether The Holdovers has the goods to be in the annual watch rotation. On top of all that, hear their plans for this year’s theme!

What are your thoughts on The Holdovers, and what movies should we talk about in future episodes this year? Let us know!

Links

Read Wesley Morris’s review of The Holdovers (New York Times)

Watch The Holdovers trailer

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