Episode #41 - Adam Nayman (All Is Forgiven)

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"I try and keep my notes of doubt and discord when trying to build my response."

In a continent dominated by American cinema, it can be easy to forget how essential Toronto is for cinephilia: home of the famed film festival, base of the idiosyncratic magazine Cinema Scope, and the city where critic Adam Nayman has been writing and teaching. Nayman's latest writing opus is It Doesn't Suck, a fantastic book tracing the evolution of Paul Verhoeven's Showgirls from bomb to camp to cult to classic. Peter sits down with Adam to discuss the book, as well as his work for publications like Scope and Reverse Shot, his view of Canadian cinema, and much more. Finally, the two examine the first film from Mia Hansen-Love, All Is Forgiven, and how a film with seemingly little ambition can contain a great depth of feeling. 

0:00-1:17 Opening 

2:13-7:40 Establishing Shots - Blind Detective / Donations and Reviews

8:25-59:00 Deep Focus - Adam Nayman
59:44-1:09:09 It Doesn't Suck

1:21:24-1:41:35 Double Exposure - All Is Forgiven (Mia Hansen-Love)

1:41:42-1:43:32 Close / Outtake

Read Adam Nayman at Cinema-Scope, The Globe and The Mail, and Reverse Shot.
Buy It Doesn't Suck.
Follow Adam on Twitter.

Episode #40 - Michael Koresky (The Seventh Victim)

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"We decided there should a publication for a younger generation of film writers."

It would probably take days to count the number of film publications that launched in the early years of the current millennium, but Reverse Shot, which Michael Koresky co-founded, has been a cornerstone of intelligent and dynamic film writing for over a decade now. Peter sits down with Michael to chart out the publication's origins, the voice the site created, Michael's own work with the Criterion Collection, and his upcoming book on British director Terrence Davies. Finally, the two examine the nothing-else-like-it horror film, The Seventh Victim, a Val Lewton produced existential drama that manages to bring chills down both their spines with one little phrase: "death is good."

0:00-1:36 Opening 

2:24-8:40 Establishing Shots - BAMCinemafest (Ellie Lumme and Something, Anything)

9:25-54:02 Deep Focus - Michael Koresky

56:48-1:11:49 Double Exposure - The Seventh Victim (Mark Robson)

1:11:53-1:13:32 Close

Read Michael Koresky at Reverse Shot and at The Criterion Collection. Pre-Order his book on Terence Davies.

Episode #39 - Phillip Lopate (Charulata)

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"What I've learned from all my writing, is I can take my character and make him be a guide that can go out and fetch the world...and he wanders into my film writing."

Phillip Lopate has been writing for over five decades on a number of subjects - New York, family, marriage, art - but his initial love was the movies. Having seen the New Wave arrive in New York first hand (as well as watch the tide recede), Phillip recounts the stories behind many of his most celebrated essays in this conversation with Peter. He maps out his cinephilia over the years, including finding spirituality through contemplative films, considering the possibility of an essay-film, and thinking through the paradox of making a films about marriage. Finally, the two look at a fascinating work by Indian director Satyajit Ray, Charulata, examining how Ray finds a fascinating tension between East and West in a parable of a tragic housewife, as well as some of the most gorgeously poetic sequences put to screen.

0:00-1:38 Opening 

2:31-9:32 Establishing Shots - Lau Kar-Leung / Donations

10:17-1:03:18 Deep Focus - Phillip Lopate

1:05:53-1:21:26 Double Exposure - Charulata (Satyajit Ray)

1:21:30-1:23:09 Close

Purchase a number of Phillip Lopate's books on Amazon, including Totally, Tenderly, Tragically, American Movie Critics: From Silents Until Now, and The Art of the Personal Essay.

Special Episode - Cannes Film Festival 2014

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The Cannes Film Festival has been the premiere location for the more masterworks in cinema than likely any other festival in the medium's history. And with its 67th iteration, Peter finally made it to the Croisette to see what the fuss was about. Thankfully, he was not alone, so in this special episode of the podcast, Keith Uhlich, Glenn Heath Jr., and Jordan Cronk join Peter to discuss some of the highlights that made a splash during their last day at the festival. From heavy-hitting works as far as Turkey and Mali, auteurs working with unexpected performers, and Jean-Luc Godard's 3D extravaganza, the festival provides more than enough fascinating material to simply scrape the surface of these enormous works. 

0:00-1:16 Opening

1:17-7:16 Timbuktu (Abderrahmane Sissako)
7:52-14:22 Winter Sleep (Nuri Bilge Ceylan)
14:23-20:05 Jauja (Lisandro Alonso)
20:55-30:04 Clouds of Sils Maria (Olivier Assyas)
30:57-37:15 Two Days, One Night (Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne)
37:16-48:28 National Gallery (Frederick Wiseman)
49:27-1:02:06 Goodbye to Language (Jean-Luc Godard)
1:02:08-1:14:12 Critics Picks
1:14:13-1:16:32 Close / Outtake

Read Keith Uhlich at Time Out New York, Glenn Heath Jr. at Fandor, and Jordan Cronk at Fandor and Reverse Shot.
Twitters: Keith, Glenn, Jordan. 

Episode #38 - Sam Adams (The Long Goodbye)

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"You have to follow your star for what's exciting or offensive to you about this movie...writing about what interests you the most produces the best criticism."

Sam Adams may not be in the center of the criticism landscape from his home in Philadelphia, but his presence at the editor for the Criticwire blog has made his dialectic voice a reasoned and fascinating one in a world of polemics. In this latest episode, Peter sits down with Sam to talk about his first interest in criticism through his desire to talk through a film, his participation in the experimental Flaherty seminar, and his thoughts on the strange world of television criticism and its constant evolution. Finally, the two work through Robert Altman's 1973 hazy noir The Long Goodbye and consider how the director's comedic take on the Chandler hero with Elliot Gould might in some ways be more noir than most revisionist works.

0:00-1:25 Opening 

2:46-9:13 Establishing Shots - Mann Noirs / Donations

9:59-1:15:19 Deep Focus - Sam Adams

1:16:45-1:42:42 Double Exposure - The Long Goodbye (Robert Altman)

1:42:45-1:44:40 Close / Outtake

Read Sam Adams at Criticwire, The Dissolve, The AV Club, and The Philadelphia City Paper.
Follow Sam on Twitter.

Episode #37 - Carrie Rickey (Clueless)

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"I love engaging the audience, and the Internet gives you the ability to do that."

From Los Angeles to New York, Carrie Rickey spent many of her years during the heyday of the Golden Age of Film Criticism, writing about some of the truly great movies as they were released, before moving cities for the Philadelphia Inquirer. No longer working the daily beat, Carrie found time in her busy schedule to sit down with Peter for a chat about her training under Manny Farber, that infamous Heaven's Gate screening, and her various pieces and pursuits in examining women and women's cinema. Finally, the two get like totally on board with Amy Heckerling's Clueless, which like is for sure Frank Tashlin except given this sweet makeover.

0:00-1:12 Opening 

1:47-10:19 Establishing Shots - East Asia Films At Tribeca / Donations

11:02-56:25 Deep Focus - Carrie Rickey

57:58-1:13:03 Double Exposure - Clueless (Amy Heckerling)

1:14:06-1:15:56 Close / Outtake

Read Carrie Rickey at her website.
Follow Carrie on Twitter.

Episode #36 - Matt Lynch (Hard Boiled)

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"Deep down, I still crave that jolt. That's what keeps me coming back."

In a world where streaming services have attempted to kill physical media, Scarecrow Video proudly boasts row after row of DVDs, VHS tapes, and more in its 120,000 title collection located out in Seattle, Washington. Matt Lynch has worked at Scarecrow for over 10 years, and knows the store in and out, from the location of every auteur to where you can find "Little Bastards" flicks. So Peter visited the store and sat down with Matt to get a sense of the independent video store's history and future, as well as talk movie violence in its utter grotesqueness and pure visceral pleasure. Finally, the two examine John Woo's 1992 Hong Kong blockbuster Hard Boiled, which not only features some of the most spectacularly crafted action sequences in any film, but examines its own violence through a deeply moralistic lens.

0:00-1:33 Opening 

2:26-9:48 Establishing Shots - Dietrich and Von Sterberg / Donations

10:33-1:09:12 Deep Focus - Matt Lynch

1:10:44-1:29:32 Double Exposure - Hard Boiled (John Woo)

1:29:35-1:31:15 Close

Read Matt Lynch on Letterboxd, In Review Online, and The Stranger. Check out Scarecrow Video.
Follow Matt on Twitter.