The worst kept secret about Denis Villeneuve's DUNE is that it's only half a movie. Or half a story, anyway. Villeneuve split Frank Herbert's classic sci-fi novel in two, with part one offering a stunningly detailed and impressively cast setup to a conclusion we may not see for years. Adam and Josh admire the film's craft, but they were left with more questions than answers about how the new adaptation will reckon with the source material's 20th-century origins. Plus, the Jane Campion Oeuvre-view continues with 1999's HOLY SMOKE, a critical and box office failure on its release that contains a remarkable early Kate Winslet performance and the complicated sex and gender dynamics we've come to expect from Campion. 0:00 - Billboard 1:01 - Review: "Dune" Neil Diamond, "Holly Holy" 33:05 - Next Week / Notes 41:23 - Massacre Theatre 47:07 - Campion #5: "Holy Smoke" 1:09:31 - Outro  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Filmspotting

#846: Dune / Holy Smoke (Campion #5)

In five films over 15 years, Daniel Craig has established himself as the pre-eminent Bond. But will he also prove to be the final 007? The 60-year-old franchise has its work cut out for it, finding someone to fill Craig's shoes and bringing the iconic, if archaic, character firmly into the 21st century. Adam and Josh agree that the new NO TIME TO DIE does right by Craig—but does that make it a good Bond film? They take their review into spoiler territory to unravel their feelings about the conclusion of the Craig era. Plus, the fourth film in the Jane Campion Oeuvre-view, 1996's THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY, Campion's inventive and emotionally volatile adaptation of the Henry James novel. Plus Josh recommends the new Nordic horror film LAMB. 0:00 - Billboard 1:14 - Review: "No Time To Die" 32:56 - "No Time" Spoiler Talk Wojciech Kilar, "Pearl in the Crown" 39:32 - Josh recommends: "Lamb" 43:29 - Next Week / Notes 56:32 - Polls 1:04:40 - Jane Campion #4: "The Portrait of a Lady" 1:35:00 - Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#845: No Time To Die / Lamb / The Portrait of a Lady (Campion #4)

“I hear what you’re saying, but you’re completely wrong.” Adam has employed his favorite catchphrase many times over the years, but never on himself. On this week’s show, as part of the Jane Campion Oeuvre-View, he revisits the director's Oscar-winning (and beloved by Josh) THE PIANO for the first time since his lukewarm first encounter with the film in 2013—and this time he comes away from the film singing a very different tune. Plus, a preview of the 57th annual Chicago International Film Festival, which features new films from Céline Sciamma (“Portrait of a Lady on Fire”), Joachim Trier (“Oslo, August 31st”), and Andrea Arnold (“American Honey”).  0:00 - Billboard 1:14 - Preview: Chicago Int'l Film Festival Michael Nyman, "The Heart Asks Pleasure First" 31:13 - Next Week/Giveaway/Notes 41:37 - Massacre Theatre 49:33 - Campion #3: "The Piano" 1:28:56 - Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#844: The Piano (Campion #3) / Chicago Int'l Film Festival Preview

Director Julia Ducournau wants to shake her audience to the core. And she more or less accomplished that feat - for Josh, anyway - with her 2016 debut "Raw." Her latest, TITANE, falls into several genre categories—body horror, revenge picture, deeply black comedy—none of which quite prepare you for the experience of watching it. While Ducournau proves herself a filmmaker of great talent, Adam and Josh debate whether the 2021 Palme d'Or winner has much to offer beyond its many unexpected and provocative twists. They take their review into overtime with some Spoiler Talk about some of the movie's more ambiguous moments. Also on the show, the new Deeply Flawed Filmspotting Poll, and the second film in their Jane Campion Oeuvre-view, 1990's AN ANGEL AT MY TABLE. 0:00 - Billboard 1:25 - Review: "Titane" 32:56 - "Titane" Spoiler Talk Duncan Gray, Opening Credits ("An Angel at My Table") 45:37 - Next Week / Notes 54:24 - Polls 1:04:46 - Jane Campion #2: "An Angel at My Table" 1:30:18 - Outro  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#843: Titane / An Angel at My Table (Campion #2)

Ahead of Daniel Craig's final outing as 007 in "No Time To Die," Adam and Josh revisit Craig's 2006 debut, CASINO ROYALE, a film both agree remains a high-water mark for the franchise. Plus, the Jane Campion Oeuvre-view kicks off with the New Zealand director's funny, harrowing, and utterly assured first film, 1989's SWEETIE. 0:00 - Billboard 1:06 - Review: "Casino Royale" at 15 Cate Le Bon, "Sisters" 34:31 - Next Week / Notes 47:49 - Massacre Theatre 53:44 - Campion #1: "Sweetie" 1:23:27 - Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#842: Casino Royale at 15 / Sweetie (Campion #1)

The 50th anniversary of the ’71 movie year provided Adam and Josh an excuse to give Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange" the Sacred Cow treatment earlier in the year and, with this week’s TOP 5 FILMS OF 1971, to celebrate the movies that introduced iconic movie characters and performances like Richard Roundtree’s John Shaft, Gene Wilder’s Willy Wonka and Ruth Gordon’s Maude. Also on the show, Josh recommends the new THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE, featuring a galvanizing performance from star Jessica Chastain. 0:00 - Billboard 1:11 - Top 5 of 1971 Oompa Loompa Cast, "Oompa Loompa" ("Willy Wonka") 36:43 - Josh on "The Eyes of Tammy Faye" 40:50 - Next Week / Poll / Notes 1:04:33 - Top 5 of 1971, cont. 1:30:52 - Outro  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#841: Top 5 Films of 1971 / The Eyes of Tammy Faye

A gambling movie that only Paul Schrader could make, THE CARD COUNTER has the "First Reformed" director meditating on weighty subjects like redemption and absolution in his tale of an ex-con (Oscar Isaac) trying to make amends for past deeds. Tiffany Haddish and Tye Sheridan co-star. Along with that review, Adam and Josh wrap up the World of Wong Kar Wai Marathon with "The Tonys," their favorite performances and moments from the marathon. 0:00 - Billboard 0:58 - Review: "The Card Counter" Julie London, "I'm In The Mood For Love" 32:14 - Next Week/Notes 41:48 - Massacre Theatre 46:59 - Wong Kar Wai Awards 1:25:25 - Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#840: The Card Counter / Wong Kar Wai Marathon Awards

The coming fall movie season is less a slate of titles than it is a promise fulfilled, with loads of big films coming to the big screen, some of which have been delayed for a year or more: “No Time To Die,” “Top Gun: Maverick,” “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune,” and Wes Anderson’s “The French Dispatch,” to name just a few. For their FALL MOVIE PREVIEW, Adam and Josh have questions about some of those long-anticipated titles, along with queries about some of the season’s more obscure offerings, including films starring Idris Elba and Regina King; Jessica Chastain and Andrew Garfield; and Tom Hanks and a dog (and a robot). Plus, Josh has reviews of the new CANDYMAN and SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS. 0:00 - Billboard 1:11 - Fall Movie Preview George Lam, "Mr. Strong Man" 25:51 - Josh: "Shang-Chi," "Candyman" 37:32 - Next Week / Notes 47:00 - Polls 54:17 - Fall Movie Preview, cont. 1:10:28 - Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#839: Fall Movie Preview / Shang-Chi / Candyman

Wong Kar Wai’s IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE had no shortage of acclaim on its 2000 release (2001 in the U.S.), but its stature has only grown in the past two decades and is now considered by many to be one of the great achievements of the 21st century. Adam and Josh offer no arguments to the contrary in their 20th-anniversary revisit of the film, part of their World of Wong Kar Wai Marathon. And not that you asked for it, but the review also prompts them to debate which is sexier: silence or food. Plus, a revisit of the Top 5 Romantic Gestures from 2013, and Josh nominates the new existential drama NINE DAYS for the Filmspotting Golden Brick Award. 0:00 - Billboard 1:05 - Wong Kar Wai #6: “In The Mood For Love” Vitamin String Quartet, “In Your Eyes” 41:43 - Brickspotting: “Nine Days” 46:37 - Next Week / Notes 53:25 - Massacre Theatre 1:01:51 - Revisited: Top 5 Romantic Gestures (2013) 1:12:27 - Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#838: In the Mood for Love at 20 / Nine Days / Top 5 Romantic Gestures (Revisited)

French director Leos Carax isn't very well known here in the States, but his films are always something of an arthouse event, coming as they do about once a decade. His 2012 film, "Holy Motors" showed up on several best-of-the-2010s lists, and his latest, ANNETTE, premiered at this year's Cannes Film Festival to a 20-minute ovation (along with a smattering of boos). An L.A.-set rock musical starring Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard, Carax's film is, according to guest critic Michael Phillips, "the world's most toxic remake of 'A Star Is Born'." (That's mostly a compliment.) In the second half of the show, Josh and Adam continue their World of Wong Kar Wai Marathon with the Hong Kong auteur's 1997 Argentina-set film HAPPY TOGETHER, and music biopic skeptic Josh has some nice things to say about the new Aretha Franklin biopic RESPECT. 0:00 - Billboard 1:07 - Review: "Annette" w/Michael Phillips Sparks feat. Adam Driver, "All The Girls" 29:28 - Josh recommends "Respect" 35:43 - Next Week / Notes 44:06 - Polls 56:54 - Wong Kar Wai #5: "Happy Together" 1:21:27 - Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#837: Annette / Respect / Happy Together (Wong Kar Wai #5)

Like many an auteur before him, David Lowery ("A Ghost Story", "The Old Man and the Gun") brings his obsessions to whatever material he's working with—even if that material is over 600 years old. Lowery's THE GREEN KNIGHT delivers some of the seduction and swordplay that the 14th-century source material "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" promises, but it also serves as another Lowery riff on mortality, time, and mythmaking. The fourth film in the World of Wong Kar Wai Marathon, 1995's FALLEN ANGELS, sees the Hong Kong auteur introduce a new set of lost urban souls, but Adam and Josh debate whether Wong gets dangerously close to self-parody in his follow-up to "Chungking Express." And Josh has a review of the new THE SUICIDE SQUAD, a successful-ish entry in the killshot-comedy genre. 0:00 - Billboard 1:10 - Review: "The Green Knight" Shirley Kwan, "Forget Him" 31:56 - Josh: "The Suicide Squad" 36:58 - Next Week / Notes 52:20 - Massacre Theatre 57:35 - World of Wong Kar Wai #4: "Fallen Angels" 1:21:10 - Outro  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#836: The Green Knight / The Suicide Squad / Fallen Angels (Wong Kar Wai #4)

Getting Nic Cage for your debut feature is a risky move. On the one hand, Cage is both a big name and a singular talent. On the other hand, Cage's eccentric on-screen persona can send a movie reeling into camp. PIG director Michael Sarnoski rolled the dice and won, bringing real pathos to his missing truffle pig saga, and getting Cage's most subtle and moving work in at least a decade. Adam and Josh also continue the World of Wong Kar Wai Marathon with the director's 1994 international breakthrough CHUNGKING EXPRESS. Plus, Josh defends M. Night Shyamalan's OLD–while also advising Adam to avoid it. 0:00 - Billboard 1:10 - Review: "Pig" Chris Egan, "Traveling Troubadours" 22:36 - Josh reviews "Old" 28:37 - Giveaway / Next Week / Notes 37:26 - Polls 47:53 - Wong Kar Wai #3: "Chungking Express" 1:30:18 - Outro  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#835: Pig / Old / Chungking Express (Wong Kar Wai #3)

Inspired by M Night Shyamalan's "Old," Adam and Josh take a trip to the shore for their TOP 5 BEACH SCENES. As a place of transition–between land and sea, and as a point of no returnºthe beach has long offered filmmakers an evocative setting for tales both hopeful and despairing. Also: romantic, elegiac, and deranged. Plus the second film in the World of Wong Kar Wai Marathon, 1990's DAYS OF BEING WILD. 0:00 - Billboard 1:16 - Top 5: Beach Scenes Emily Lim & Rob Kelly, "Barefoot in the Sand" 31:34 - Cannes / Next Week / Notes 46:03 - Massacre Theatre 53:26 - Top 5: Beach Scenes, cont 1:13:43 - World of Wong Kar Wai #2: "Days of Being Wild" 1:37:28 - Outro  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#834: Top 5 Beach Scenes / Days of Being Wild (Wong Kar Wai #2)

With its provocative mix of giddy, nihilistic violence, social satire, and formal audaciousness, A CLOCKWORK ORANGE has been a cinephile rite of passage for decades. For their Sacred Cow revisit, Adam and Josh find a film that is both more philosophical than they remember–and perversely funny. Just how funny, however, is a matter of some debate. Also up for debate: how to read the film's memorable ending. Plus, the first film in the World of Wong Kar Wai Marathon, 1988's AS TEARS GO BY, and Adam's thoughts on the new ROADRUNNER: A FILM ABOUT ANTHONY BOURDAIN. 0:00 - Billboard 1:16 - Sacred Cow: “A Clockwork Orange” Marianne Faithful, “As Tears Go By” 45:08 - Adam: “Roadrunner” 58:21 - Next Week / Notes 1:08:21 - Polls 1:20:42 - World of Wong #1: “As Tears Go By” 1:42:57 - Outro / Outtake Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#833: A Clockwork Orange at 50 / Roadrunner / As Tears Go By (Wong Kar Wai #1)

Marvel's BLACK WIDOW returns the MCU to theaters for the first time since 2019, but despite the more than capable cast and some provocative ideas, Adam and Josh agree that director Cate Shortland ("Lore") doesn't always find the right balance between the traumatic and the comedic. They have nothing but praise for Questlove's SUMMER OF SOUL, which sees the Roots-founder bringing a keen curatorial eye and potent historical context to his electrifying concert documentary. Plus, a review of Steven Soderbergh's new NO SUDDEN MOVE and Josh's thoughts on the wild road-trip comedy ZOLA. 0:00 - Billboard 1:03 - Review: "Black Widow" The Chambers Brothers, "Uptown" 25:06 - Josh recommends: "Zola" 30:53 - Next Week / Notes 49:04 - Massacre Theatre 54:51 - Review: "Summer of Soul" 1:29:17 - Review: "No Sudden Move" 1:44:24 - Outro  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#832: Black Widow / Summer of Soul / No Sudden Move / Zola

Weekly film podcast and WBEZ radio show from Chicago featuring in-depth reviews, top 5 lists and interviews. Hosted by Adam Kempenaar and Josh Larsen.