Kermode & Mayo’s Take

Latest Episodes:

Steve McQueen and Bianca Stigter, Occupied City, Your Fat Friend & The Iron Claw Feb 09, 2024

Show notes

This week, Steve McQueen and his wife, historian, filmmaker and producer Bianca Stigter, are in the studio to chat with Simon about ‘Occupied City’, their four-hour documentary about the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam from 1940-45, which is based on Stigter’s book on the subject.

Mark gives his thoughts on the film, along with reviewing ‘Your Fat Friend’, a documentary that charts the rise of writer and activist Aubrey Gordon from anonymous blogger to NYTimes best-selling author and podcaster, whose goal is to shift the way we see fat people in the world and the fat on our own bodies; and ‘The Iron Claw’, the Zac Efron-starring true story of the Von Erich brothers, who made history in the intensely competitive world of professional wrestling in the early 1980s.

Plus, we find out about the exciting cinematic events happening around the UK.

Timecodes (relevant only for the Vanguard - who are also ad-free!):

08:44 Your Fat Friend review

19:00 Box Office Top 10

34:00 Steve McQueen and Bianca Stigter interview

49:32 Occupied City review

59:03 Laughter Lift

01:01:49 The Iron Claw review

01:08:00 What’s On

You can contact the show by emailing correspondence@kermodeandmayo.com or you can find us on social media, @KermodeandMayo

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Jeffrey Wright, Cillian Murphy, American Fiction, Oppenheimer Revisited, The Zone of Interest in & Argylle Feb 02, 2024

Show notes

It’s a bumper week for (lauded) guests! Simon chats to Jeffrey Wright about his Oscar-nominated role in ‘American Fiction’, which tells the story of a Black novelist, frustrated with the establishment that profits from Black entertainment that relies on tired and offensive tropes, who uses a pen name to write an outlandish Black book of his own, only to find himself at the heart of hypocrisy and the madness he claims to disdain; and both Simon and Mark talk to Cillian Murphy about his Oscar-nominated turn as J. Robert Oppenheimer in Christopher Nolan’s eponymous biopic.

Mark gives his thoughts on ‘American Fiction’, along with reviewing Jonathan Glazer’s historical drama ‘The Zone of Interest’, which follows the commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss, and his wife Hedwig, as they strive to build a dream life for their family in a house and garden next to the camp; and ‘Argylle’, a star-studded spy action-comedy about a reclusive author who writes best-selling espionage novels about a secret agent on a mission to unravel a global spy syndicate only to find that the plots of her books are starting to mirror the covert actions of a real-life spy organisation.

A very glitzy week for you!

Time Codes (relevant only for the Vanguard - who are also ad-free!):

08:15 The Zone of Interest review

22:13 Box Office Top 10

31:29 Jeffrey Wright interview

45:47 American Fiction review

53:41 Laughter Lift

55:44 Cillian Murphy interview

01:07:52 Argylle review

You can contact the show by emailing correspondence@kermodeandmayo.com or you can find us on social media, @KermodeandMayo

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Andrew Haigh, All Of Us Strangers, Baghead & The Color Purple Jan 26, 2024

Show notes

This week, Simon sits down for a thoughtful and moving chat with director Andrew Haigh about his new Bafta-nominated drama ‘All of Us Strangers’, which sees Andrew Scott play a lonely screenwriter drawn back to his childhood home, where his parents appear to be living, just as they were on the day they died 30 years ago.

Mark also gives his take on the film, as well reviewing ‘Baghead’, a horror in which a young woman discovers the pub she’s inherited is home to a 400-year-old she-devil; and ‘The Color Purple’, the second adaptation of Alice Walker’s classic novel, which tells the story of Celie, an African American woman living in the American South during the early 1900s.

Plus, it’s awards season! The duo give their thoughts on who was – and wasn’t, ahem - nominated at this year’s Oscars.

Time Codes (relevant only for the Vanguard - who are also ad-free!):

10:55 Baghead review

23:24 Box Office Top 10

35:44 Andrew Haigh interview

50:54 All of Us Strangers review

57:10 Laughter Lift

59:18 The Color Purple review

01:06:16 What’s On

You can contact the show by emailing correspondence@kermodeandmayo.com or you can find us on social media, @KermodeandMayo

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A Sony Music Entertainment production.

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Daniel Kaluuya, The Kitchen, The End Where We Start From & The Holdovers Jan 19, 2024

Show notes

This week, the one and only Daniel Kaluuya is in the studio and ready to chat with Mark and Simon about his dystopian directorial debut – co-directed with his longtime friend and collaborator Kibwe Tavares - ‘The Kitchen’, which sees a funeral-service worker looking for a way out of the chaotic housing block of the title.

Mark also offers up his critical perspective on the film, as well as reviewing ‘The End Where We Start From’, a Jodie Comer-starring drama about a woman trying to find her way home with her newborn as an environmental crisis submerges London in floodwaters; and ‘The Holdovers’, Alexander Payne’s latest, which sees Paul Giamatti play a curmudgeonly teacher at a New England school, who remains on campus during Christmas break to babysit a handful of students only to form an unlikely bond with a brainy but damaged troublemaker and the school’s head cook.

Time Codes (relevant only for the Vanguard - who are also ad-free!):

09:50 The End We Start From review

21:13 Box Office Top 10

38:28 Daniel Kaluuya interview

57:32 The Kitchen review

01:00:32 The Laughter Lift

01:03:15 The Holdovers review

01:09:43 What’s On

You can contact the show by emailing correspondence@kermodeandmayo.com or you can find us on social media, @KermodeandMayo

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A Sony Music Entertainment production.

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Emma Stone and Ramy Youssef, Poor Things, The Disappearance of Shere Hite & The Boys in the Boat Jan 12, 2024

Show notes

OK, now we are really back! Mark and Simon are firmly back in their seats and ready to shepherd you through a new year in cinema.

This week, Simon sits down with Emma Stone and Ramy Youssef to discuss their roles in Yorgos Lanthimos’ wild new science fantasy black comedy ‘Poor Things’, which tells the story of a young woman in Victorian London, who, after being crudely resurrected by a scientist following her suicide, runs off with a debauched lawyer to embark on an odyssey of self-discovery and sexual liberation.

Mark also offers his thoughts on the film, as well as reviewing ‘The Disappearance of Shere Hite’, a documentary narrated by Dakota Johnson, which follows the life of American-born German sex educator and feminist Shere Hite; and the George Clooney-helmed ‘The Boys in the Boat’, a biographical sports drama about the University of Washington rowing team that represented the United States at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin.

Time Codes (relevant only for the Vanguard - who are also ad-free!):

08:39 The Disappearance Of Shere Hite review

17:44 Box Office Top 10

33:41 Interview with Emma Stone and Ramy Youssef

49:43 Poor Things review

58:21 Laughter Lift

01:02:37 The Boys in the Boat revew

01:08:53 What’s On

You can contact the show by emailing correspondence@kermodeandmayo.com or you can find us on social media, @KermodeandMayo

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A Sony Music Entertainment production.

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James Hawes, One Life, Night Swim & Good Grief Jan 05, 2024

Show notes

We’re back! Well kind of. This week, Robbie Collin and Rhianna Dhillon are filling in for Mark and Simon, who are still recovering from their completely raucous New Year celebrations.

Rhianna chats to director James Hawes about his new war drama ‘One Life’, which sees both Anthony Hopkins and Johnny Flynn star as humanitarian Nicholas Winton, who is known for his role in rescuing Jewish children during the Holocaust.

Robbie gives his take on the film, as well as reviewing ‘Night Swim’, a horror about a haunted swimming pool – yes, you read that right, a haunted swimming pool; and ‘Good Grief’, the directorial debut of Dan Levy of Schitt’s Creek fame, which follows an artist who takes his two best friends on a trip to Paris after the death of his famous writer husband.

Time Codes (relevant only for the Vanguard - who are also ad-free!):

03:07 Night Swim review

15:52 Box Office Top 10

35:01 James Hawes interview

50:04 One Life review

54:58 Laughter Lift

59:29 Good Grief review

01:07:18 What’s On

You can contact the show by emailing correspondence@kermodeandmayo.com or you can find us on social media, @KermodeandMayo

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A Sony Music Entertainment production.

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Raging Grace, Priscilla & Scala!!!, BEST and WORST films of 2023 Dec 29, 2023

Show notes

This week sees Mark review ‘Raging Grace’, a social issue drama-come-gothic horror about a Filipino single mother working in a sinister British family mansion; ‘Priscilla’, Sofia Coppola’s adaptation of Priscilla Presley’s 1985 memoir about her complicated relationship with music icon Elvis Presley; and ‘Scala!!!’, a documentary telling the riotous story of the famed London cinema, which inspired a generation during Britain’s turbulent Thatcher years.

Plus, Mark talks us through his best and worst films of 2023. You’re welcome!

Time Codes (relevant only when you are part of the Vanguard):

10:36 Raging Grace review

21:16 Priscilla review

31:30 Scala!!! review

41:32 Mark’s Top 5 and Bottom 5 Films of 2023

A Sony Music Entertainment production.

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Zack Snyder, Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire, The Boy and the Heron & Ferrari Dec 22, 2023

Show notes

It’s Christmas! This week, Simon chats to Zack Snyder about his new space opera ‘Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire’, which sees an ex-soldier search for allies to help defend her home when it is threatened by the cruel ruling Imperium.

Mark gives his take on the film, as well as reviewing ‘The Boy and the Heron’, the long-awaited and apparently final film from legendary filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki, which follows a 12-year-old boy, who, after speaking to a talking heron, journeys into another world to search for his mother, who he believed to be dead; and ‘Ferrari’, Michael Mann’s 30-years-in-the-making passion project, a biographical sports drama about Enzo Ferrari, who founded the iconic Italian car company.

Time Codes (relevant only for the Vanguard - who are also ad-free):

11:35 The Boy and the Heron Review

20:08 Box Office Top Ten

31:53 Zack Snyder Interview

49:00 Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire Review

57:36 Laughter Lift

01:05:14 Ferrari Review

01:13:00 What’s On

You can contact the show by emailing correspondence@kermodeandmayo.com or you can find us on social media, @KermodeandMayo

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A Sony Music Entertainment production.

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Taika Waititi and Jaiyah Saelua, Next Goal Wins, What Happens Later, The Three Musketeers: Milady & Godzilla Minus One Dec 15, 2023

Show notes

This week sees Mark and Simon chat to director, writer and producer Taika Waititi and American Samoan footballer Jaiyah Saelua about ‘Next Goal Wins’, a sports comedy-drama based on the documentary of the same name, which chronicles the national team of American Samoa as they try to recover from the indignity of the worst loss in international football history and attempt to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Mark also offers up his thoughts on the film, along with reviewing ‘What Happens Later’, a romantic comedy that marks Meg Ryan’s second outing as director, and sees her star alongside David Duchovny as ex-lovers that get snowed-in at a regional airport; ‘The Three Musketeers: Milady’, an adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’ classic novel, which sees D’Artagnan embark on a frantic quest to save the woman he loves, joining forces with the mysterious Milady de Winter in the process; and ‘Godzilla Minus One’, a Japanese-language addition to the Godzilla franchise, which sees a post war Japan faced with a new crisis in the form of a giant monster, baptised in the horrific power of the atomic bomb.

Time Codes (relevant only for the Vanguard - who are also ad-free!):

08:32 What Happens Later Review

17:41 Box Office Top Ten

28:20 Taika Waititi and Jaiyah Saelua Interview

44:21 Next Goal Wins Review

49:45 Laughter Lift

56:01 The Three Musketeers: Milady Review

59:34 Godzilla Minus One Review

01:08:18 What’s On

You can contact the show by emailing correspondence@kermodeandmayo.com or you can find us on social media, @KermodeandMayo

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A Sony Music Entertainment production.

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Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Paul King & Simon Farnaby, Wonka, Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain & Leave the World Behind Dec 08, 2023

Show notes

Simon sits down with director and screenwriter Paul King and screenwriter Simon Farnaby to discuss their new Timothée Chalamet-starring Christmas blockbuster, ‘Wonka’, which is a prequel to the Roald Dahl children’s classic ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’.

Mark gives his take on the film, along with reviewing ‘Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain’, the Saturday Night Live trio’s first comedy feature about a three childhood friends who realise they don’t like their life trajectory and so set off to find the treasure that is rumoured to be buried in a nearby mountain; and ‘Leave the World Behind’, Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail’s star-studded psychological thriller – and adaptation of the novel of the same – which sees a family’s Long Island vacation interrupted by two strangers bearing news of a mysterious blackout.

Time Codes (relevant only for the Vanguard - who are ad-free!):

09:44 Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain Review

18:45 Box Office Top Ten

35:05 Simon Farnaby and Paul King Interview

51:05 Wonka Review

01:00:19 Laughter Lift

01:04:05 Leave the World Behind Review

01:13:38 What’s On

You can contact the show by emailing correspondence@kermodeandmayo.com or you can find us on social media, @KermodeandMayo

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A Sony Music Entertainment production.

Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts