Watch This With Rick Ramos

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#391 - Spielberg's Duel - WatchThis W/RickRamos Jul 18, 2022

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Tormented Road: Steven Spielberg's Duel

This week Mr. Chavez & I dig into one of our favorite film decades - The 1970s with a look at - arguably - the most successful box-office director in the history of cinema . . . Steven Spielberg. This week we take a look at his feature length directorial debut, Duel. 1971 was a phenomenal year for cinema with the trumpeting of a great new director. It's difficult to imagine film without Steven Spielberg and, thus, it's important for us to begin an examination of great storytelling and the beginnings of a great filmmaker. Take a listen and let us know what you think of this 1971 classic. Questions, Comments, Complaints, & Suggestions can be directed to gondoramos@yahoo.com. Many Thanks.

#390 - New Hollywood - WatchThis W/RickRamos Jul 11, 2022

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Easy Drugs & Raging Egos: New Hollywood & the Auteur Era

On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Mr. Chavez & I take a look at Ted Demme & Richard LaGravenese's IFC Documentary, A Decade Under the Influence and Kenneth Bowser's Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex, Drugs and Rock 'N' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood. It's a great time for a couple of cinema nerds to look at one of the greatest periods in the history of cinema. We look at the big names and the legacy of the 70s that continues to fascinate us 30+ years later. This week we talk the usual names: DePalma, Coppola, Spielberg, Bogdanovich, Schrader, and many more including - of course - Scorsese. It's a whole lot of fun. Take a listen and let us know what you think. Questions, Comments, Complaints, & Suggestions can be directed to gondoramos@yahoo.com. Our Continued Thanks for Your Love and Support.

#389 - Films that Defined Their Decades: The 1960s - WatchThis W/RickRamos Jul 04, 2022

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A Decade Light and Dark: Defining the 60s

On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Mr. Chavez & I continue our dive into the films that define their respective decades. This week we look at the 1960s . . . Racial Unrest, Vietnam, The Hippie Culture, Revolution and Class Uprisings, Male-Female Relations . . . The 1960s were a tumultuous decade that would test the country and the world. The usual names make their appearances (Kurosawa, Anger, Peckinpah, Wilder, etc.), but they are accompanied by new names and a handful of films that may surprise you. Take a listen and let us know what you think. Questions, Comments, Complaints, & Suggestions can be directed to gondoramos@yahoo.com. Our Continued Love and Thanks.

#388 - Fellini's Satyricon - WatchThis W/RickRamos Jun 28, 2022

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Rome Before Christ, After Fellini: Fellini's Satyricon

On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Mr. Chavez & I sit down to discuss one of the great names in all of cinema - The Great Italian Master Federico Fellini. Fellini's Satyricon (1970) is a powerful, overwhelmingly beautiful, and incredibly conflicting film based on Petronius's Late 1st Century AD look at Imperial Rome during the reign of Emperor Nero. Whether a commentary on Ancient Rome, The Contemporary Italy of the late 1960s, or both, Fellini's vision is on display through the lens of the great Italian cinematographer Giuseppe "Peppino" Rottunno, and is breathtaking and troubling. Fellini was a director unafraid of tackling images, subject matter, and tastes. This is an incredible visual feast that will challenge your sense of cinema. It's a wild ride that offers so much while dancing on the razor's edge of offense. A truly remarkable film that challenges it's viewers on many, many levels. We're proud and thrilled to be talking about this great piece of cinema. Take a listen and let us know what you think.

Questions, Comments, Complaints, & Suggestions can be directed to gondoramos@yahoo.com. Many Thanks for your continued love and support.

#387 - Two-Lane Blacktop - WatchThis W/RickRamos Jun 20, 2022

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Highway Without Horizon: Monte Hellman's Two-Lane Blacktop

This week, Mr. Chavez & I sit down to discuss a seminal film of the 1970s, Monte Hellman's Two-Lane Blacktop. Featuring musical icons, James Taylor and Dennis Wilson (as, respectively, The Driver & The Mechanic), Laurie Bird, and the great character actor, Warren Oates as GTO. There's not a whole lot I can put into this description, but I will give my all . . . Ibrahim & I are thrilled to be discussing a cult classic that has only grown more powerful and enduring as the years have gone by. There's a whole lot packed into this story of a cross (or mid) country race between Taylor's The Driver, his co-pilot The Mechanic (Dennis Wilson) and Warren Oates's GTO. An existential look at men and their need to bury themselves in car culture, speed, and mythology.

We cover a lot of bases and are thrilled that you are joining us on this incredible ride. Questions, Comments, Complaints, & Suggestions can be directed to gondoramos@yahoo.com

Many Thaks!

#386 - Henry Fonda in The Ox Bow Incident - WatchThis W/RickRamos Jun 13, 2022

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Frontier Justice: William Wellman's The Ox Bow Incident

On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Mr. Ramos goes it alone to discuss a seldom seen, little discussed film in the Western genre, William Wellman's The Ox Bow Incident. Henry Fonda leads a cast of noted character actors in an early look at the Western, closer to it's actual truth. A controversial and disturbing look at mob rule and lynching in American society, Wellman's film is a challenging examination of the Western genre. Take a listen as I ramble on for about an hour. It's a li'l bit of fun. Questions, Comments, Complaints, & Suggestions can be directed to gondoramos@yahoo.com. Many Thanks.

#385 - Jodorowsky's El Topo - WatchThis W/RickRamos Jun 05, 2022

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Madman's Miracle: Jodorowsky's El Topo

There are a few filmmakers that when you watch their work you can step back and honestly say that you are watching a visionary work. The great Russian-Chilean filmmaker, Alejandro Jodorowsky, is a filmmaker of immense talent and visual uniqueness. From his earliest films, including his earliest film Fando y Lis thru The Holy Mountain and his ill-fated adaptation of Frank Herbert's Sci-Fi Classic, Dune - Jodorowsky has been an admired, venerated, controversial, and polarizing figure.

On this week's episode, Mr. Chavez & I sit down to look at one of his masterpieces, 1970s El Topo. A beautifully poetic Eastern-Western, Jodorowsky's midnight movie masterpiece is justly regarded as a classic. This week, Ibrahim & I express our admiration, confusion, and love of his cinema. Take a listen . . . it's an interesting conversation that covers the poetics, the beauty, and the controversies surrounding this exceptional film and it's even more exceptional director.

Questions, Comments, Complaints, & Suggestions can be directed to gondoramos@yahoo.com. Many Thanks.

#384 - Films that Defined Their Decades: The 1950s - WatchThis W/RickRamos May 29, 2022

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Postwar Paranoia: Defining the 50s

On this week's episode of Watch This W/Rick Ramos, Mr. Chavez & I sit down and continue our examination of the definitive films of their respective decades. This week we look at the 1950s . . . A Post-War America, The Red Scare, McCarthyism, and the "Imagined Idealism" of the Leave it to Beaver decade. It's a fun talk as we dig into our respective choices for the films that define the 1950s. Take a listen as we discuss a host of directors, actors, themes, and stories. It's a fun talk as we barrel towards the new millennium of film-making. Take a listen. Questions, Comments, Complaints, & Suggestions can be directed to gondoramos@yahoo.com. Our Continued Love & Thanks.

#383 - George Carlin's American Dream - WatchThis W/RickRamos May 22, 2022

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More Than Seven Words: George Carlin's American Dream

On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, I visit with an old friend, Mrs. Amy Nelson Melle. Amy & I first met thirty-three years ago as sophomores in the Camelback High School Drama Department. The only two Chicanos (and - maybe two of less than seven or eight Non-White students), we bonded early with our mutual love of Soul Music, Cinema, and Stand-Up Comedy. We went to our first George Carlin concert at the CelelbrityTheatre in Phoenix, AZ sometime in the early-90s. Carlin has been a constant source of strength, intelligence, and hope in our lives. We're thrilled to sit down and discuss this iconic performer and the Judd Apatow/Michael Bonfiglio directed HBO Documentary, George Carlin's American Dream (2022), which premiered May 20th.

Looking at Carlin's tumultuous life: compromised early career, counter-culture shift, rocketing success, drug and alcohol abuse, marital problems, dip in popularity, and late career resurgence which solidified his position as one of the greatest stand-ups of all time - all of this comes together to help us understand ourselves, the culture, and - ultimately - the species. This was a great time talking the past, the present, and the future with Carlin a constant presence and - to some degree - a contrarian guide. We invite you to sit in with us. It's a fun time between two old friends.

Questions, Comments, Complaints, & Suggestions can be directed to gondoramos@yahoo.com. Many Thanks.

#382 - Cypress Hill - WatchThis W/RickRamos May 15, 2022

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Sons of South Gate: The Cypress Hill Story

On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Ibrahim & I bring it home with this fun discussion digging into Mr. Chavez's feelings, attitude, and memories of his hometown, South Gate, CA. - which also happens to be the birthplace of Latino Hip-Hop pioneers Cypress Hill. We look to cinema for inspiration and the new Showtime Documentary, Cypress Hill: Insane in the Brain (2022, Dir. Estevan Oriol) provides just that. It's a fun, informative, and enlightening talk for me and a trip through the past for Mr. Chavez. We discuss the 1990s and Mr. Chavez's hometown of South Gate, CA - its music, people, culture, and history. It's a goddamn good time that you're not going to want to miss. Take a listen and see if you agree.

Questions, Comments, Complaints, & Suggestions can be directed to gondoramos@yahoo.com. Many Thanks!

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