Mama Needs a Movie

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Presumed Innocent with Courtney Davis Jun 25, 2024

Show notes

Writer/director/actor Courtney Davis returns to the podcast to help us judge Alan J. Pakula's 1990 legal thriller PRESUMED INNOCENT starring Harrison Ford, Raul Julia, Bonnie Bedelia, Brian Dennehy, Paul Winfield and Greta Scacchi. Based on the best-selling novel by Scott Turow, PRESUMED INNOCENT spins the engrossing tale of a respected prosecutor accused of murdering a colleague. To give away any more of the plot would be a crime in itself. A box office hit upon release, the story has resurfaced in a new adaptation on Apple TV+ starring Jake Gyllenhaal in the lead role. For a movie of highly enjoyable twists and turns (including a still-discussed ending), we highly recommend you see PRESUMED INNOCENT before listening to our spoiler-filled discussion, where we also launch into unrelated sidebars on Casino, Flags of Our Fathers, The Perils of Pauline, Donald Sutherland, Kinds of Kindness, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard's Architectural Digest profile, and much, much more!

PRESUMED INNOCENT (1990) is available for digital rental and purchase on most major platforms.

Hit Man and Poolman: An All-Man Double Feature Jun 11, 2024

Show notes

It's raining men on Mama Needs a Movie with our first ever doubleheader review, discussing Richard Linklater's comedy noir HIT MAN and Chris Pine's lighthearted mystery POOLMAN.

HIT MAN stars Glen Powell as a mild-mannered philosophy professor Gary Johnson, moonlighting as an undercover fake hit man, who falls for Madison (Adria Arjona), a woman who hires him. Debuting to critical praise at the Venice Film Festival, HIT MAN was picked up by Netflix for a straight-to-streaming release.

POOLMAN stars Chris Pine as Darren, a good-natured eccentric who lives in a trailer at an apartment complex in Los Angeles. His intense love of the city is put to the test when femme fatale June (DeWanda Wise) draws him into a sordid conspiracy. Premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival, POOLMAN has faced a harsher critical response, but we vow to give Pine's directorial debut a fair shake.

HIT MAN is currently available to stream with subscription on Netflix.

POOLMAN is currently available for digital rental.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga May 28, 2024

Show notes

We push the pedal to the metal in our discussion of George Miller's post-apocalyptic actioner, FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA starring Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth and Tom Burke. The fifth installment of Australia's venerable Mad Max series finds a young Furiosa kidnapped by biker warlord Dr. Dementus, and forced to watch her mother be murdered. After growing to adulthood at the Citadel, Furiosa becomes intent on taking revenge on Dementus, setting out on Fury Road where she meets Praetorian Jack. Following 2015's widely praised Mad Max: Fury Road, FURIOSA has opened to favorable reviews but disappointing box office numbers, causing some to wonder if this long-running franchise has finally run out of gas. Join us for a high octane talk of all things FURIOSA, along with some pit stops into The Bikeriders, Mike Faist, Saving Private Ryan, The Cell, The Souvenir, revenge films, aging auteurs, Marlon Brando, and much, much more!

FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA is currently available to stream with subscription to Max.

The Idea of You with Raft May 14, 2024

Show notes

Artist, writer and comedian Raft joins for a discussion of the new romantic comedy, THE IDEA OF YOU starring Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine. Directed by Michael Showalter, this Prime Video release tells the story of Solène (Hathaway), a Silver Lake art gallery owner and divorced mother turning 40 whose accidental Coachella encounter with 24-year-old pop star, Hayes Campbell (Galitzine) leads to a sexy romance. Based on the book by Robinne Lee, THE IDEA OF YOU has garnered buzz for Hathaway's sincere work and the characters' unconventional age pairing, so it's high time for Mama Needs a Movie to weigh in on this modern work of Mom Cinema. Join us as we share some ideas about THE IDEA OF YOU, along with diversions into the Met Gala, celebrity tattoos, theatre kids, Fiona Apple, Quentin Tarantino, My Policeman, Maestro, Glendale, Quibi and much, much more!

THE IDEA OF YOU is available to stream on Prime Video.

Challengers Apr 30, 2024

Show notes

Anne and Ryan volley points back and forth on Luca Guadagnino's tennis romance, CHALLENGERS starring Zendaya, Mike Faist and Josh O'Connor. CHALLENGERS is the chronologically jumbled story of two young tennis players, Patrick (O'Connor) and Art (Faist) who meet another pro, Tashi (Zendaya) and are immediately drawn to her. Years later, Tashi has coached one player to numerous titles, while the other fumbles through a career low point, the fate of all three realigning at a Challenger event. Praised for its sexy, kinetic style and score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, CHALLENGERS is shaping up to be one of 2024's most discussed movies. We serve up an aggressive CHALLENGERS discussion along with some out-of-bounds diversions into Shampoo, Out of Sight, The Social Network, West Side Story, body hair, Universal CityWalk, the Americana, and much, much more!

CHALLENGERS is currently available to stream with subscription to Prime Video.

Monkey Man with Craig Jorczak Apr 16, 2024

Show notes

Actor and podcaster Craig Jorczak (The Oscar Should Have Gone To) joins to discuss the newly released action thriller, MONKEY MAN starring Dev Patel, Sharlto Copley, Pitobash, Vipin Sharma and Sikandar Kher. The film marks Patel's directorial debut in which he plays Kid, a young man set on taking revenge against the corrupt police chief who murdered his mother. Plagued by injuries sustained during fight training, a harsh mid-pandemic production, and a late withdrawal of Netflix distribution, Patel’s first foray behind the camera required a resiliency worthy of his action hero protagonist, but is the film worthy of the blood, sweat and tears that went into it? Join us as we tackle MONKEY MAN with some diversions into Ripley, Letterboxd, John Woo, the Skarsgård siblings, Monster's Ball, Foe, Kenneth Lonergan, movie stars on Broadway, and much, much more!

MONKEY MAN is available to stream with subscription to Peacock.

Black Narcissus with Harrison Atkins Apr 02, 2024

Show notes

Director and writer Harrison Atkins (Lace Crater) joins for a discussion of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's rhapsodic 1947 drama, BLACK NARCISSUS starring Deborah Kerr, Kathleen Byron, David Farrar and Sabu. Based on Rumer Godden's novel, BLACK NARCISSUS tells the story of Anglican nuns establishing a convent on a Himalayan mountaintop. Overwhelmed by the region's natural beauty and their own natural urges, the sisters begin to question their lives as nuns. Shot in stunning Technicolor by cinematographer Jack Cardiff, BLACK NARCISSUS is one of Powell and Pressburger's defining films, a thorny, surprisingly modern work on female devotion, repression, lust and madness. Join Mama Needs a Movie as it gazes into BLACK NARCISSUS, with some diversions into Annihilation, Paris Is Burning, declining horniness, Madeline, Silence, haircuts, Sister Wendy and much, much more!

BLACK NARCISSUS is available to stream with subscription to The Criterion Channel or Max, and can be streamed for free on Freevee, Tubi, and The Roku Channel.

MNAM's 100th Episode Special Mar 19, 2024

Show notes

Mama Needs a Movie celebrates 100 episodes of flawless podcasting with a telephone survey of former guests Danny Jelinek, Allan McLeod, Jessica Lee Williamson, Alex Kavutskiy, Courtney Davis, Meghann Murphy, Caramel Nguyen, Jon Millstein, and Rachel Lee Goldenberg.

Dune: Part Two Mar 05, 2024

Show notes

Anne and Ryan serve up a spicy discussion of Denis Villenueve's DUNE: PART TWO, the second installment of the epic science-fiction saga starring Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, and Javiar Bardem. Based on Frank Herbert's classic novel, the film picks up where 2021's DUNE left off: In a distant future, after the fall of the House Atreides, Paul Atreides (Chalamet) and his mother Jessica (Ferguson) travel with the Fremen on the planet of Arrakis. Paul's romance with Chandi (Zendaya) grows as he struggles with visions of a terrible future and an impending war with House Harkonnen. Opening to rave reviews and a strong box office performance, DUNE: PART TWO has already cemented its place as one of 2024's most celebrated releases, but does the film really live up to the hype? Join Mama Needs a Movie down the wormhole of Villenueve's latest, along with diversions into Star Wars, Priscilla, The Last Temptation of Christ, Sydney Sweeney, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and much, much more!

DUNE: PART TWO is available to stream with subscription to Max.

Animal Farm with John Ross Bowie Feb 20, 2024

Show notes

Actor, comedian and playwright John Ross Bowie (Brushstroke) joins to discuss the 1954 animated adaptation of George Orwell's ANIMAL FARM featuring the voices of Gordon Heath and Maurice Denham. Co-directed by John Halas and Joy Batchelor, ANIMAL FARM is a beast fable symbolizing decades of Russian history as an animal uprising on a brutally-maintained farm. Partially funded by the CIA's Office of Policy Coordination, ANIMAL FARM was intended as a covert piece of anti-communist propaganda, but performed poorly at the box office, eventually finding its biggest audience in American classrooms. We delve into this animated oddity in the context of Bowie's new play, BRUSHSTROKE, a Cold War comedy thriller dealing with the CIA's involvement in the modern art movement. Plus, we leave room for some off-topic diversions into
The Secret of NIMH, The Green Berets, No Way Out, Mike Leigh, Andy Serkis, Captain America, Captain Phillips and much, much more!
ANIMAL FARM is currently streaming for free on Freevee and Tubi.
BRUSHSTROKE is currently playing at the Odyssey Theater in Los Angeles.
Tickets at: https://odysseytheatre.com/tickets/?eid=111850

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