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. 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.

Contact

Follow Can We Still Be Friends? on Instagram and Threads. Don’t forget to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Send us a message anytime.

You can also leave comments on our YouTube channel. While you’re there, go ahead and subscribe!

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Ep. 102: CODA

For this episode, Nate and Ryan watch the most recent Best Picture winner, CODA. Its story of a deaf family portrayed by deaf actors is an important step in diverse representation and storytelling. Even before its historic Oscar win for Troy Kotsur – the first deaf man to win an acting Oscar, CODA was making waves at Sundance when Apple TV+ paid 25 million dollars for distribution rights. A quiet momentum built as Oscar time neared, and the Best Picture win that seemed like a long shot in December 2021 became the sure bet in the weeks before the ceremony. CODA won all three Oscars it was nominated for (the third going to writer/director Sian Heder for her adapted screenplay) and is the rare Best Picture winner that clicked both with audiences and critics. But what do Ryan and Nate think?

What are your thoughts on CODA? Is it deserving of Best Picture? What else could have won? Let us know!

 

Read The Tension at the Heart of CODA by John Hendrickson (The Atlantic).

 

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Ep. 48: Singin’ in the Rain

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As La La Land continues to be an Oscar favorite (14 nominations), Nate and Ryan explore what might be the most revered of all movie musicals: Singin’ in the Rain.  Though Singin’ in the Rain didn’t garner any Oscar wins (and only 2 nominations), it has lived on to be adored by fans, critics, and scholars.  Nate and Ryan talk about whether the dance numbers still dazzle, the love story is still lovely, and if it can still make ’em laugh.

What is your favorite movie musical?  Where does Singin’ in the Rain rank?  Where will La La Land fit in the pantheon of musicals?  Let us know your thoughts!

Correction: In the episode Nate mentions Jean Hagen winning the Best Supporting Actress Oscar. Hagen was nominated but did not win. The Oscar went to Gloria Grahame for The Bad and the Beautiful.

Ep. 35: Birdman

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This episode contains explicit language.

Following Birdman’s Best Picture win at the Oscars last year, director Alejandro G. Inarritu seems poised once again to be the front-runner this year with his new film The Revenant.  Nate and Ryan have often debated the merits of Inarritu, and his 2005 movie Babel remains one of their most hotly contested arguments.  Their divide continued on the release of Birdman, and with Inarritu still drawing praise and criticism from all corners, it was time to at least open the discussion on this polarizing director.

Let us know your thoughts on Alejandro G. Inarritu.  Is he a genius?  A fraud (ahem, Scott Tobias)?  Visionary?  Annoying?  What do you think of Birdman?  Will The Revenant take home another Oscar for Inarritu?