Watch This With Rick Ramos

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#541 - Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas - WatchThis W/RickRamos Apr 08, 2025

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Gonzo Hellscape: Terry Gilliam's Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas

In 1998 Director Terry Gilliam - a director whose cinematic career has been fraught with difficulty on the level of Job (see 2002s Lost in La Mancha) was finally successful in bringing to the screen Hunter S. Thompson's 1971 Classic roman á clef of excess, paranoia, idealism, and disappointment, Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream. A polariizing film upon its release in 1998, Giliam's interpretation of Thompson's 1971 vision is both awe-inspiring and troubling. There is a tremendous amount to admire in this film while at the same time there is a tremendous amount to be critical of . . . We tackle both perspectives and struggle to find some greater understanding of the late 60s, early 70s, and pain and disappointment of the 2nd decade of a new millennium. It's an interesting and volatile discussion between two friends. Take a listen and let us know what yout think about our reaction to Thompson's vision as rendered through the mind of Terry Gilliam and the equally outrageous and powerful performances of stars Johnny Depp (as Thompson) and Benicio Del Toro (as Chicano activist Oscar Zeta Acosta - the 300lb Samoan of Thompson's writing). As always we can be reached at gondoramos@yahoo.com. Many, Many, Many Thanks.

For those of you who would like to donate to this undying labor of love, you can do so with a contribution at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/watchrickramos - Anything and Everything is appreciated, You Cheap Bastards.

#540 - They Live, Fisting & Foreign Horror - WatchThis W/RickRamos Apr 01, 2025

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This week we continue digging through the archives to remember the past ten years of WatchThis W/RickRamos. (Episodes #395 - #410) Great Episodes . . . Great Discussions. We dive into Mr. Chavez's Favorite Cinematic Decade - The 1990s, as well as looks at Horror both Domestic and International: Dante/Carpenter/Craven & Cronenberg/Kobayashi/Na Hong-jin/Jodorowsky, Oliver Stone, Defining the 80s, but we start everything with a terrific, exciting, worthy re-boot of the Predator series, Prey. We're having a hell of a good time remembering these episodes. Take a listen and let us know what you think - gondoramos@yahoo.com. Many Thanks.

#539 - Godzilla, the 60s, Hopes, & Monsters - WatchThis W/RickRamos Mar 27, 2025

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Godzilla, the 60s, Hopes, & Monsters

A return to 10 years of WatchThis W/RickRamos (Episodes #384 - 394) - This week we return to the vault to look at one of the greatest movie monsters of all time . . . Toho's Godzilla. We look back on the tumultuous 1960s and the changing face of Cinema, Monsters, and Hopes for the Future. Take a listen and let us know what you think. We can be reached at gondormaos@yahoo.com - Many Thanks.

#538 - Cynicism, Rogan, & What Would Carlin Say? - WatchThis W/RickRamos Mar 19, 2025

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Cynicism, Rogan, & What Would Carlin Say? - Remembering 500 Episodes

We come back to this celebration as we look through the archives and reminisce and what these episodes have meant to us. Take a listen as we remember the good times, arguments, and great cultural gifts that Pop Culture, Music, Television, and - of course - Cinema have gifted us. It's a fun conversation . . . We hope you enjoy it. Send us your thioughts: gondoramos@yahoo.com. Many Thanks.

#537 - The Road - WatchThis W/RickRamos Mar 10, 2025

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Carry the Fire, Get to the Coast: John Hillcoat's The Road

Bleak & Dark, Hopeless & Beautiful . . . On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Mr. Chavez & I sit down to discuss one of the most brutal and powerful films to emerge from the studio system in decades. In 2009 Director John Hillcoat adapted Cormac McCarthy's 2006 novel The Road. Featuring a career best Viggo Mortensen as "Man" and newcomer Kodi Smit-McPhee as "Boy" - two of the last surviving humans, left to wander the desperate and perilous remains of a world rapidly dying. There's only so much that should be said in this synopsis. The magic of a viewing is in the discovery. It's a thrill for the both of us to watch, conemplate, and discuss this film. Take a listen. We hope you enjoy it. As always we can be reached at gondoramos@yahoo.com - Many Thanks.

#536 - Idiocracy - WatchThis W/RickRamos Mar 03, 2025

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Dumbing Down the Future - Mike Judge's Idiocracy

This is an especially fun one! This week Mr. Chavez & I take a trip into a very funny, very frightening, and very likely future. In 2006 20th Century Fox released Mike Judge's Idiocracy in a manner that almost guaranteed that no one would ever see it.

. . . but the film would survive. Judge's bleak and pessiimistic vision of the future - the year 2505 - would find a cult audience that would embrace its hilarious prediction of a Professional Wrestler President, warehouse stores as a kind of Mecca, Fast-Food Restaurants as cheap, disgusting food and sex providers, and a population of such minimal intelligence that an "Average Joe" cryogenically frozen and awoken in the future would find himself the "Smartest Man on Earth". Judge spares no targets and we are grateful for the ride Idiocracy takes its viewers on. There's a whole lot to unpack here. Great Satire is usually ahead of its time and that is surely the case with this film. Judge would later joke, "I'm no prophet, I was off by 490 years." Sadly, he was right. Take a listen and let us know if you agree. As always, we can be reached at gondoramos@yahoo.com. Many Thanks.

#535 - Munchausen,Tarkovsky, and Noir - WatchThis W/RickRamos Feb 25, 2025

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Dreams with Gilliam, The Rolling Stones Through the Years, The Silent Voice, The Magic of Tarkovsky, Zappa, A Trio of Very Different Noir

On this week's episode Mr. Chavez & I return to reminiscing on 500 shows. We begin with the beauty and magic of Terry Gilliam with The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, through a look at Rock 'N Roll and The Rolling Stones, A beginning series of movies that defined their decades, the beauty of Soviet Cinema with Andrei Tarkovsky, and The Dark Brilliance of Film Noir. It's a fun look back; We hope you'll take the ride with us. Many Thanks. We can always be reached at gondoramos@yahoo.com.

#534 - A Clockwork Orange - WatchThis W/RickRamos Feb 17, 2025

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Cinematic Karma - Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange

WatchThis fan and BuyMeACoffee contributor, Alan Lamberg, suggests this week's title, Stanley Kubrick's 1971 controversial (masterpiece - ?), A Clockwork Orange. In the late 60s and early 70s the cinematic landscape was changing and evolving into a very different creature. Arthur Penn's Bonnie & Clyde and Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch would usher in a new era of cinematic violence. Stanley Kubrick would soon pick up the baton and create one of the most polarizing and controversial films ever made. From the novella by Anthony Burgess, Kubrick would create a dystopian England that would change the attitudes and expectations of film audiences. With a powerful and compelling performance by Malcolm McDowell, A Clockwork Orange has riveted audiences since its premiere in 1971. Fifty plus years later we have to ask ourselves if the film continues to offend and frighten as it did those many years ago. Mr. Chavez & I definitely have our opinions and are thrilled to lay it out for you the listener. Sit down, download, and enjoy a spirited discussion on the film, its role in cinematic history, and Kubrick's continuing power as a filmmaker. It's a fun time. As always, we can be reached at gondoramos@yahoo.com - Many Thanks.

#533 - White Saviors & Raging Bulls- WatchThis W/RickRamos Feb 11, 2025

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Whitey Saves the Day, Jake Won't Go Down, The Beatles Break Up, & More

This week Mr. Chavez & I return to a project that began in the middle of last year, releasing an episode recorded many months ago, and exploring the first 500 shows of WatchThis W/RickRamos. It's taken some time to get back to this, but we find ourselves returning to Memory Lane and plan on spending the next few months peppering the podcast with our reflections on what has come before; what it meant then, what it means now, and what it may mean in the future. A whole lot to unwrap, but we're having a great time doing it. This week reflections on: Denis Villeneuve's Dune, Scorsese's Raging Bull, Hitchcock's Rear Window, and Peter Jackson's The Beatles: Get Back. The opinions are as strong as ever. We thank you for taking the trip with us. As always, we can be reached at gondoramos@yahoo.com - Many Thanks.

#532 - David Lynch Remembered - WatchThis W/RickRamos Feb 04, 2025

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David Lynch: The Art of Dark Dreams

This week Mr. Chavez & I remember and say farewell to one of the greats of Cinema - David Lynch (01/20/46 - 01/15/25). Goodbye, Mr. Lynch; we were fortunate to have you.

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