Albatross Applesauce: A Film Blog and Podcast

Podcast #12 - Errol Morris

albatrossapplesauce@gmail.com — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 00:44:00 +0000

Another of our new podcasts is here, ladies and gentlemen! This one focuses on the work of the great documentary filmmaker, Errol Morris. We discuss six of the films that he has made over the course of his career, and get into a discussion of his style and his influence on other filmmakers. The films discussed in this podcast include Vernon, Florida, The Thin Blue Line, Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr., The Fog of War, Standard Operating Procedure, and his most recent film, Tabloid. Please click on the player below to start the podcast.

Morris invented a device called the Interrotron, seen here, which allows the subjects of his interviews to look directly into the camera while being interviewed.

Those who are new to this filmmaker and would like to whet their appetites for his work are in luck! Errol Morris, who frequently write for The New York Times, has just this week written a short piece and uploaded a short film to the New York Times website that deals with one of the many peculiarities of the Kennedy assassination. The total running time of this little film is 6 minutes and 36 seconds, and gives you an idea of his style before you go running off into the vast and fascinating world that is the rest of his filmography. You can find that film, "The Umbrella Man", right here. Enjoy!

Robert McNamara, in a still frame from the film "The Fog of War".

As always, we encourage any of our visitors to comment in the comments section below, or e-mail us and tell us what you think of the blog and the podcast! Also, you can find our page on Facebook and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes. Thanks for listening!

Podcast Episode #11 - Terrence Malick

albatrossapplesauce@gmail.com — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 19:12:00 +0000

Okay, folks. It's been a long time coming, but we've returned with our first podcast in many months, and I things have changed a bit around here. We've decided that doing our podcasts in the old style wasn't working particularly well. Cumbersome and lengthy, we tried splitting it up at one point, but never really got into a flow. In the spirit of trying to do a better and more interesting podcast, we've decided to have a go at podcasting about particular subjects - actors, directors, movements - that are of interest to us and, hopefully, of interest to you. And so it is that we bring you our first podcast in the new format.

Today's podcast covers the films of Terrence Malick, a much revered and much maligned director who has made only 5 films in the past four decades. As regular listeners may imagine, our opinions differ greatly on the merits or downfalls of each of his films, and we have put together what we hope you will find to be an interesting discussion about Malick's body of work, which includes the films Badlands, Days of Heaven, The Thin Red Line, The New World, and The Tree of Life. Please listen and leave us any feedback you have, including questions or suggestions, in the comments section of this post. Thanks for sticking with us as we went through this lengthy hiatus, and look for more podcasts to come in the near future!

I'd Like to Thank the Academy

albatrossapplesauce@gmail.com — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 00:40:00 +0000

Phil here:

Wow, that was a pretty lame Oscars. I think I would rather watch David Letterman host the next ten Academy Awards then bear further witness to the lameitude that is James Franco. He is a fine actor; I really enjoyed him in Pineapple Express, but he is not Oscar host material. I was further reminded of this when the great Billy Crystal appeared, reminding us all, (me included) that he is the pre-eminent Oscar host of our times. He looked exactly the same in his tux as he did in 1991 - oh if only he had the job and not Harry Osborn. Franco had the energy and enthusiasm of a ninety-year old...well, hell even Kirk Douglas had more vim and vigor than the 32-year old Best Actor nominee. Franco also seems an odd choice to host (for many reasons) but also because he was up for an award that night. To her credit, Anne Hathaway tried to keep the show afloat and was rather charming, albeit the hosting was a bit lopsided. I believe at one point Mr. Franco rolled his eyes at the lines he was reading? Perhaps the blame should be placed squarely on the writers of the show, who will undoubtedly be nominated for Emmys come next year.

Poor entertainment aside, the choices the Academy made were occasionally surprising. It is interesting to see how the Golden Globes can differ in outcome to the Oscars. What makes the Hollywood Foreign Press favor The Social Network, while the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences prefers The King's Speech? Last year Avatar took home the big award at the Globes, while the film helmed by Jim Cameron's ex captured Best Picture and a record-setting Best Director prize (first for a woman) for The Hurt Locker. Perhaps recent events suggest the Golden Globes are not really a predictor for what will win the golden statuette. I personally would have liked to have seen The Social Network win for Best Director at least. David Fincher was completely deserving of that. My co-host Andrew said it best when he wrote that The King's Speech, although a fine film, does not challenge the viewer at all.

Oscar has a storied tradition of passing over films that would later become classics in favor of more palatable, zeitgeist films. Kramer Vs. Kramer instead of Apocalypse Now. Ordinary People instead of Raging Bull. Forrest Gump instead of Pulp Fiction. Maybe it's no surprise at all that the stand-up-and-cheer film won the top prize instead of the darker film where there was no real hero to root for. Mark Zuckerberg is just not as classic a hero as King George. But I rooted for Mark because of his delightfully venomous wit. Who needs a bland hero when you have a virtuoso such as David Fincher at the helm, not to mention a cast of top notch actors. The Social Network all the way.

I also would have given the Best Actor prize to Javier Bardem, but it is oh so predictable that Colin Firth would get it, because we all now how much the AMPAS likes to award actors playing someone with a disability. Firth was great; first rate, but in Biutiful, Bardem was soul-searching and truly transcendent. I'll recall at the end of the film when his character is near-death, Bardem had the weakness and frailty down, but his body language emanated eerie peace and he had a beatific grin on his face that evoked dying much more than any award-winning make-up job could do. Not a typical Oscar pick so I should be glad he was even nominated. It should be noted that he won the acting prize at Cannes for Biutiful.

Michelle Williams would have had my vote for Best Actress for a remarkably fleshed-out turn in Blue Valentine. Natalie Portman did a very good job as the lead character in Black Swan, and she certainly had her Oscar "moment" (it was the clip they showed, where she tearfully gloats to her Mom on her cellphone.) While Black Swan rested on Portman's shoulders, Williams was the more nuanced, and ultimately heart-breakingly real performer in Blue Valentine. Either way, the Best Actress category was certainly black and blue. Did you see what I did there?

With each passing awards year, I lament the lackluster crop of films that appear in the local multiplex (or arthouse theater). The Social Network inexplicably came out in September, where every other serious Oscar contender is released in late December. That's probably a major reason why it lost the big award. Now we have to wait several months before the good movies come out again. In the meantime, there's Netflix.

Andrew's Post-Oscar Take

albatrossapplesauce@gmail.com — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 22:07:00 +0000

Well, there you have it. Many of my predictions came to pass, some did not. As per usual, the films and performances that I wanted to win did not, in all cases, win, but I've come to expect that. The interesting thing about this year is that I thought all of the films nominated for the awards were quite deserving of their respective nominations, and I did not find myself fuming at any point in time, infuriated that some undeserving silliness walked away with the gold. The hosting and the fashion interest me far less than the awards themselves, so I will restrict this post to dealing with the winners and losers that I deem the most interesting or important.

I found this to be a year in which performances trumped filmmaking in the bulk of the awards. Black Swan, The King's Speech, The Kids Are Alright, and The Fighter were films in which the performances were all spectacular, but I was left wanting when it came to thinking that they were really great films. I can't see myself returning to many of these films for any reason other than to watch these spectacular actors act (with the possible exception of Black Swan), and that quality will only take me so far. For something to be truly great, I believe it has to transcend the performances and become something much more compelling, and I think that only a few films managed that difficult task this year.

I will say this about the big award: The King's Speech, though a fine film, was not as much to my liking as The Social Network, Toy Story 3, or even Winter's Bone, which has grown on me tremendously since I first watched it several weeks ago. There are some films that deserve repeat viewings, that reveal themselves more and more upon further inspection, and those tend to be the kind of films that I prefer to watch and the ones I tend to be rooting for at the end of the year. The King's Speech, fine though it is (and it is a fine film, don't get me wrong), is what I see as being a very presentational drama of the sort that requires no work on the part of the viewer. It is benign, it is comfortable, and it is uplifting. While that may make me feel wonderful (and it does), it doesn't strike me as being the best film of the year. Perhaps I'm getting into semantics here, but a really great film, a winner of that Best Picture Oscar, should be a film where every single element of the film works in consort to form a greater whole that is above and beyond that of its competition. This means that the acting, the direction, the cinematography, the editing, the score, everything just...works. This year, I simply did not see that being the case with The King's Speech. A forgettably mediocre score and adequate but not spectacular direction kept it from achieving, in my mind, the title of Best Picture. That title, and that of Best Director (in my mind), should have gone to The Social Network, but again - I'm not terribly upset by The King's Speech winning. I loved it.

The acting awards I can find no real fault with, save for the fact that I would really liked to have seen John Hawkes win for Supporting Actor, in what I believe to be the performance of the year. Christian Bale, however hot and cold I am on his qualities as an actor, did a fine job in The Fighter, and I think was equally deserving of the award. Melissa Leo was certainly the best in her category, and Colin Firth and Natalie Portman were unstoppable this year (though I again thought that perhaps Annette Bening gave a more nuanced and touching performance in The Kids Are Alright). All in all, a solid (though terribly boring, foregone conclusion-wise) year for the actors.

Technical awards went largely to Inception, and I wholeheartedly agree, though I think it probably should have picked up an award for Art Direction as well. Alas. Exit Through the Gift Shop got shafted. It was far and away the most fascinating documentary I've seen in quite a while, and something that my thoughts return to time and again. Truly interesting and mind-bending look at consumerism and the art world, not to mention the secretive world of street artists. If you haven't yet checked it out, please do; it's worth the time. I didn't see any of the other entries except for Restrepo (also excellent), but I'll concede that Inside Job may change my mind. Perhaps I'll report to you once again when I've seen the film.

So there it is, folks. I hope I've made my thoughts pretty clear and I hope that some of you will join in the discussion by posting in the comments section below. Keep on the lookout for Phil's Oscar wrap-up and keep listening for our next podcast, due out in the next couple of weeks. Cheers!

Phil and Andrew Handicap the Oscars - Podcast Special Episode #2

albatrossapplesauce@gmail.com — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 22:29:00 +0000

We're back, ladies and gentlemen! It's been quite a while since we've posted a new podcast on our site, and we could hear you all out there salivating, so we've responded by recording a special episode for you. Phil and I have gone and handicapped the Oscars, and you're invited to come hear what we have to say, and even join in the discussion! We go through a lot of the major categories and give you our brief takes on what we think is going to end up winning the awards and, more importantly, what we think should win the awards. I've given a brief recap of the awards we are covering below, for those of you who'd like a quick reference to which films we had to choose from. Please leave us your thoughts in the comments below or send us an e-mail at albatrossapplesauce@gmail.com. We will return in the coming weeks with an all-new, leaner, meaner podcast for you. Keep on the lookout!!!

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role:

Amy Adams for The Fighter

Helena Bonham Carter for The King's Speech

Melissa Leo for The Fighter

Hailee Steinfeld for True Grit

Jacki Weaver for Animal Kingdom

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role:

Christian Bale for The Fighter

John Hawkes for Winter's Bone

Jeremy Renner for The Town

Mark Ruffalo for The Kids Are Alright

Geoffrey Rush for The King's Speech

Best Writing, Based on Material Previously Produced or Published

127 Hours: Danny Boyle, Simon Beaufoy
The Social Network: Aaron Sorkin
Toy Story 3: Michael Arndt, John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich
True Grit: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Winter's Bone: Debra Granik, Anne Rosellini

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen

Another Year: Mike Leigh
The Fighter: Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson, Keith Dorrington
Inception: Christopher Nolan
The Kids Are All Right: Lisa Cholodenko, Stuart Blumberg
The King's Speech: David Seidler

Best Director

Darren Aronofsky for Black Swan
Ethan Coen, Joel Coen for True Grit
David Fincher for The Social Network
Tom Hooper for The King's Speech
David O. Russell for The Fighter

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

Annette Bening for The Kids Are All Right
Nicole Kidman for Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence for Winter's Bone
Natalie Portman for Black Swan
Michelle Williams for Blue Valentine

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role

Javier Bardem for Biutiful
Jeff Bridges for True Grit
Jesse Eisenberg for The Social Network
Colin Firth for The King's Speech
James Franco for 127 Hours

Best Picture

127 Hours
Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
The King's Speech
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter's Bone

Podcast Episode 10: Head-On (Gegen die Wand) / Charley Varrick

albatrossapplesauce@gmail.com — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 16:47:00 +0000

Greetings once again, faithful listeners! As we stated last week, we have started the process of breaking up our podcast into smaller chunks to make things more accessible to you, the audience. Last week, we talked about The Next Three Days and Naked, and this week we'll be bringing you a couple of our own personal recommendations.

Phil recommends a German film from 2004 entitled Head-On, or Gegen die Wand. Directed by Fatih Akin, it is an intense character study of two young, self-destructive Turkish immigrants whose lives take a turn for the better (or is it for the worse?) when they meet one another in the hospital.

Andrew recommends Charley Varrick, a pulp noir thriller from 1973, directed by Don Siegel and starring Walter Matthau in the titular role. It is about a small-time bank robber who just happens to take down a bank in which the mob is stashing a good deal of its own money. Needless to say, this angers the mob, and the action of the film ensues. We hope you enjoy both of these films, and we hope that you join us next week. Leave us your feedback in the comments!

The breakdown:

Introduction (0:00 - 2:45)
Head-On (Gegen die Wand) - Directed by Fatih Akin - Phil's Recommendation (2:46 - 29:23)
Charley Varrick - Directed by Don Siegel - Andrew's Recommendation (29:24 - 45:58)
Wrap-Up and Farewell (45:59 - 47:46)

Podcast Episode 9: The Next Three Days / Naked

albatrossapplesauce@gmail.com — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 20:28:00 +0000

Well, here it is, folks. The new podcast format!

We have halved our show, and this is the first of the new, more manageable podcasts. For regular listeners, you know that our episodes typically run somewhere between an hour and an hour and twenty minutes. Well, feedback from various sources informed us that this was a bit too much for most people to digest in one sitting. We heard your cries, dear listeners, and we have broken our podcast into two distinct halves, which we will be releasing on a weekly basis. You will now be getting content from us more frequently, in more delicious, delectable, digestible portions. Enjoy!

In this episode we will be discussing the new film written and directed by Paul Haggis, entitled The Next Three Days. It stars Russell Crowe, Elizabeth Banks, Olivia Wilde, and Liam Neeson. In The Criterion Corner we discuss Naked, an incendiary film from 1993 directed by the british auteur Mike Leigh and starring David Thewlis in a powerful lead performance.

Here is the episode breakdown:

Introduction (0:00 - 4:39)
The Next Three Days - Directed by Paul Haggis - New Release (4:40 - 23:28)
Naked - Directed by Mike Leigh - The Criterion Corner (23:29 - 45:39)
Wrap-up and Farewell (and what to look forward to in next week's episode) (45:40 - 49:35)

Jeunet and Caro circa 1981

albatrossapplesauce@gmail.com — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 15:32:00 +0000

If you're a regular listener of our podcast, then you will remember a discussion that Phil and I had about the film Delicatessen not long ago. In it, we discussed Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro having worked on a new and exciting silent film together and I advised our listeners to check it out online. Well, upon further research, I discovered that this film is, in fact, a short that they made together way back in 1981, predating Delicatessen by a full decade! For any of you who might be fans of the Jeunet/Caro filmography (Delicatessen, The City of Lost Children), or even big fans of Jeunet's solo directing work (Amelie, A Very Long Engagement, Micmacs), this short film is definitely worth checking out and I have embedded it below. Even if you aren't fans, it's a fascinating short film.

Without any further ado, The Bunker of the Last Gunshots, a Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro film from 1981:

LE BUNKER from kapelaans on Vimeo.

Podcast Episode 8: You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger / Revanche / Casino / Bringing Out the Dead

albatrossapplesauce@gmail.com — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 19:49:00 +0000

Hello, all.

Welcome back, once again, to the Albatross Applesauce podcast. This week's episode is a long one, and we hope you'll stick through it, because this looks like it is going to be the last of our podcasts in the current format. For the next podcast and beyond, we will be splitting our show in half, in an attempt to make it more manageable for you and more manageable for us. As regular listeners of the podcast know, the first half of our podcast is usually a new release, followed by a discussion of a DVD or Blu-ray disc from the Criterion Collection in our Criterion Corner. The second half usually contains recommendations from Phil and Andrew. These two sections will now be separate episodes in and of themselves, and we hope you'll enjoy this newer, more digestible format. Leave us comments on the blog or send us suggestions to albatrossapplesauce.com.

This week, Phil and Andrew are once again seemingly in agreement on all four films. We start with a discussion of the latest film from Woody Allen, You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger. We engage in a discussion about our shared respect for the filmmaker and for this film, especially the way that he writes and his insight into human behavior, all on display in this film. We then move on into the Criterion Corner, where we discuss Revanche, an Austrian film that was nominated for best foreign film a couple of years back. We both loved this powerful and strikingly beautiful film, but this section of the podcast deserves a very large SPOILER ALERT. We found it very difficult to talk about this film without talking about specific plot points, so if you'd like be surprised by this very surprising and moving film, please reference the episode summary below and skip on over to Phil's recommendation. Speaking of our recommendations, we have picked a couple of under-appreciated or under-viewed gems from Martin Scorsese's filmography. Phil recommends Casino, and Andrew recommends Bringing Out the Dead.

We have another winner for our limerick contest a couple of episodes back, and wouldn't you know it -it's the same winner as last time. Aaron from St. Louis has correctly guessed all three limericks for the second time in a row, so now it's up to all of the rest of you to dethrone him as the reigning contest champion. To that end, we have another contest this week! In place of limericks, we've chosen to go with a contest correctly guessing the source of Phil's songs. Listen to the podcast, and send your best guesses to albatrossapplesauce@gmail.com or comment below on the blog.

Here is the episode breakdown:

Introduction (0:00 - 5:07)
You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger - Directed by Woody Allen - New Release (5:08 - 24:55)
Revanche - Directed by Götz Spielmann - The Criterion Corner - SPOLIER ALERT!!! (24:56 - 44:18)
Casino - Directed by Martin Scorsese - Phil's Recommendation (44:19 - 1:04:20)
Bringing Out the Dead - Directed by Martin Scorsese - Andrew's Recommendation (1:04:21 - 1:18:00)
Wrap-up and Farewell (1:18:01 - 1:20:31)

My Crippling Addiction: A Heart-Touching Post

albatrossapplesauce@gmail.com — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 02:31:00 +0000

Phil here.

I've been clean now for nine days. Haven't bought any for nine days. It feels...good. Like, refreshing. Like, I've finally beat this thing.

You see, I am a Criterion addict.

It happened to the unlikeliest guy. I was always against the idea of buying DVDs. What's the point? It's a waste of money. You'll only watch it maybe 2-3 times. Renting is perfectly adequate.

Then, I discovered them.

Double discs. Blu Rays. These babies were loaded with extras. Some of them the kind of extras that required an additional rental. And they were so beautifully packaged! As The Criterion Collection evolved in the graphic design of their DVD packages, I would catch myself salivating at Barnes and Noble, a bead of spittle dangling from lips and just delicately hovering above said DVD, gripped in my clammy hand.

I had to buy these beauties. Even if I would only watch the film once, it was the COLLECTABILITY of it that made me have. to. get it.

Some boys collect baseball cards. This boy collects Criterion DVDs. You want to know the depths of my addiction? I mean, former addiction. I'm not addicted anymore. I said it's been nine days, remember? Anyway, the depths of my addiction. Yes. I probably own about 110 Criterion DVDs and Blu Rays.

Of those?

There's about 40 I haven't even watched yet. Most of those are still in their original shrink-wrapping. Someday I'll make the time to watch them, I tell myself.

It's a good thing Albatross Applesauce features a Criterion Corner. I have a never-ending supply of titles to draw from.

Never-ending.

But those wild times are behind me. I'll be taking it easy from now on. No more out of control spending binges at B&N. A man has to grow up. Take charge of his life. If I'm not careful I might end up in the gutter, a copy of Bergman's Scenes From a Marriage clenched in my fist.

Perhaps the most glorious Criterion DVD I own is Jim Jarmusch's Down By Law. Not only do I love the film, but it is a double-disc that is jam-packed with extras and they're all great. I can't stand director's commentary and thankfully Jarmusch doesn't do those. I adore press conferences, and this baby has a great one from Cannes. It's the unusual extras that win me over, like a music video starring Tom Waits and recorded phone calls with the cast. Down By Law is my favorite.

What's your favorite Criterion DVD?

Tune into Albatross Applesauce to hear Andrew and I pontificate on the top-tier Criterion releases.

Corralling My Nostalgia

albatrossapplesauce@gmail.com — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 14:52:00 +0000

Andrew here.

I'm a child of the 80s. There's no doubt about it. I was born right at the start of the decade and I spent my formative years mired in an endlessly fascinating and enjoyable mixture of cartoons, computers, sports, science (and science fiction), comic books, Scouting, video games, Scholastic book fairs and, of course, unbelievable movies. Yes, I will say it without reservation: I am a firm believer in the idea that the 80s was, without a doubt, the single best decade for consistently high-quality children's entertainment at the cinema. This particular children's entertainment didn't talk down to its audience, didn't assume a particularly low level of mental or emotional maturity in those who were out there watching. These were films that dealt with issues of love and death and loss without pandering to the lowest common denominator or to their frightened and overprotective parents. These are films that always seemed capable of working just as well for adults as they did for children, without boring them or insulting them. It was the decade of Spielberg, Zemeckis, Henson, Lucas, Howard, Dante, Petersen, and Donner, amongst many others, all of them at (or close to) their best. I have vivid memories of endlessly replaying these films until the VHS tapes we owned became so worn and warped that they were virtually unwatchable. They were a huge part of my childhood, and I am quite confident that they helped establish and develop my enduring love of film. Every now and then, however, I will get into a conversation with someone about the merits of one film or another from this time, and a nagging question inevitably rears its head: Were these movies really all that great, or have I deceived myself into thinking that they were great as a result of my own rose-tinted nostalgia?

Some years ago, when Phil and I were at film school together, I got some of the best news anybody could have given me at that time: the school was going to be screening a print of Transformers: The Movie for all to see. To my fellow children of the 80s, I don't think this needs an explanation, but I do realize that for anyone outside of my generation, the excitement about this screening may be a little hard to understand. For a boy growing up at that time, Transformers: The Movie was it. It was the be all and end all of kid movies. It seemed that every boy watched the television show, every boy owned the (quite awesome) toys, and every boy couldn't wait to see this movie. I distinctly remember my grandfather taking my brother and me to see the film in the theatre back in 1986, and the fascination we shared over the action, the drama, and the considerable alterations to the Transformers universe that took place over those scant 90 minutes. My brother and I loved it. My grandfather, on the other hand, was thoroughly confused by it and wondered how it was that we could be so crazy about this bizarre and frenetic film. "You just don't get it!" or "You're too old to appreciate it!" seemed to be the prevailing 6-year-old logic, and it was that logic that took root in my mind all the way up until the day that I attended the aforementioned film screening in college. I was 18 or 19, and had not watched the film since I had seen it in theatres at the tender age of 6. All of my remembrances of it seemed to be of the utmost clarity - this film was an animated masterpiece of storytelling, infusing pathos and human drama into a story of intergalactic robotic warriors. Right?

Pathos, y'all.

On that fateful day, I settled into my seat in the theatre, surrounded by similarly excited students whose collective enthusiasm for this little piece of our youth was heavy in the air. The lights dimmed, the projector rolled, a cheer went up from the audience, and...wow. To say that watching this film again was a disappointment would be an understatement of the highest order. Nothing about the film worked. It was haphazard, slipshod, and nigh incomprehensible from a storytelling perspective. Events that I can remember upending my 6-year old psyche had little to no impact on me this time around. All of the gloss of nostalgia vanished instantly, and I was left wondering how it was that I could have loved such a terrible film for so long a time. It became clear to me that my grandfather had definitely been on to something all those years ago.

I was not, however, in the majority. I remember engaging in conversation with some of my friends following the screening, and trying to get them to talk about how much of a disaster I thought it had been. I was met primarily with responses like "Whatever, man." or "It wasn't that bad." or "Hey, dude. Stop looking at it so critically. Just enjoy it!". I was flabbergasted. It appeared that a lot of my friends then, and even to this day, look at films like Transformers, films that are part of their youthful consciousness, and talk about how much they continue to love them despite what I see as an objective standard that dictates that the film itself is utterly terrible. It got me thinking about the power of nostalgia and how much of a sway it has over our continued taste and preferences when it comes to entertainment and art.

Less than meets the eye?

And so it is, all these years later, that I have decided to embark on the quest of "Corralling My Nostalgia". I'm going to be spending some time watching the films of my childhood and trying to view them anew, with a more objective eye. I'd like to try and do my best to suss out exactly what the appeal was (and continues to be, in many cases), and determine whether those films really were the great films I recall them being. Perhaps I will find out that my fond remembrances are everything that they're cracked up to be. Perhaps I will find that I was just a kid with terrible taste. Who knows? I hope you will all accompany me on this journey, and leave your thoughts and feelings in the comments section of each of these posts. I really would like to know what you're thinking. Look for the first entry in this series some time this coming weekend, and thanks so much for reading!

Podcast Episode 7: Devil / Diabolique / Rosemary's Baby / The Orphanage

albatrossapplesauce@gmail.com — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 21:28:00 +0000

Boo!

No?

Alas.

Welcome to our spoooooooky Halloween episode of Albatross Applesauce, where Phil and Andrew will be discussing a series of suspenseful and terrifying films. We lead off with a discussion of Devil, directed by John Erick Dowdle, but likely more well-known to the general public for being produced and written (the story, at least) by M. Night Shayamalan. We then move on over into the Criterion Corner, where we discuss Diabolique, a suspenseful classic from the "French Hitchcock", Henri-Georges Clouzot. Phil recommends you all watch the classic psychological horror film Rosemary's Baby, directed by Roman Polanski. Andrew thinks you'll get a good scare out of The Orphanage, a Spanish film directed by Juan Antonio Bayona and produced in part by Guillermo del Toro. Spooky stuff, folks. And just in time for you to rent them from Netflix before Halloween.
We've also introduced a new segment to the podcast, one in which Phil and Andrew discuss some of the upcoming films or trends that are exciting to them. This week centers on the trailer for the new Coen Brothers film, True Grit. All in all, a pretty straightforward episode, and one we hope you'll enjoy!

Hop on over to the blog and leave your comments in the comments section, or send us an e-mail at albatrossapplesauce@gmail.com. We'd love to hear from you!

Here is the breakdown:

Introduction (0:00 - 3:50)
Devil - Directed by John Erick Dowdle - New Release (3:51 - 24:33)
Diabolique - Directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot - The Criterion Corner (24:34 - 40:51)
What We're Excited About (40:52 - 51:03)
Rosemary's Baby - Directed by Roman Polanski - Phil's Recommendation (51:04 - 1:05:25)
The Orphanage - Directed by Juan Antonio Bayona - Andrew's Recommendation (1:05:26 - 1:20:33)
Wrap-up and Farewell (1:20:34 - 1:22:38)

Podcast Special Episode 1: The Social Network / Catfish

albatrossapplesauce@gmail.com — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 15:40:00 +0000

Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen! We've been away from this for a couple of weeks, but that doesn't mean we haven't been busy! I'd like to welcome you all to the first of our Special Episodes, which I imagine to be a series of one-off episodes that will come in between our regular episodes in order to discuss films or topics that we might be unable to discuss otherwise. Our format, good though we think it is, restricts us to only one or two new releases monthly. We sometimes think there are more than that number of films each month that are worth seeing, and so we will occasionally be doing episodes like this one.
Do not fear! Our next regular episode will go online in the next week, and focuses on scary and suspenseful films to prepare us all for Halloween next weekend (Mwa ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!).

This episode could easily be called the Facebook episode, as both of the films we have watched have Facebook figuring into their respective narratives very heavily. First, we'll have a discussion about the current "it" movie, The Social Network, the semi-fictionalized story of Mark Zuckerberg and the founding of Facebook, based on the book The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich. Directed by David Fincher (of Fight Club fame) and written by Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing), this film impressed us both and we have a lengthy and, I think, fruitful discussion about it. Definitely one to go see again. We follow that up with a discussion of Catfish, the much misunderstood and mis-marketed (intentionally misrepresented?) film about a young man and the dangers and pitfalls of living one's life virtually. Interesting stuff, to be sure.

So, that's it. No bells, no whistles, no frills, no songs, no limericks, just a discussion of two films that we thought might be worth talking about. Enjoy!

Here's the (very simple) breakdown:

Introduction (0:00 - 1:05)
The Social Network - Directed by David Fincher - (1:06 - 27:35)
Catfish - Directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Shulman - (27:36 - 45:10)
Wrap-up and Farewell (45:11 - 46:43)

And here are the links to the interesting series of meditations on The Social Network that Jim Emerson has been running over on his blog, Scanners. I mentioned them during this podcast, and I thought people might be interested in checking them out. I recommend reading them in order - very thoughtful and fascinating stuff, and a great supplement to the viewing experience.

Communicating in Code

Cracking the Codes

Coding in Pictures

The Best Directors, The Best Soundtracks

albatrossapplesauce@gmail.com — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 00:06:00 +0000

Phil here.

Have you ever noticed that certain directors always have great soundtracks to their films? Sure you have! Some of them are quite well known for the music they include in their movies. Awhile back I sat down and made a list of the Top 5 Directors with the best taste in music. The list does not include directors who commission composers to write music for their movies. Rather, this list is for the directors who hand pick rock, blues, classical, R&B and other pieces of existing music (often with the help of their Music Supervisors) and give them the greenlight to accompany the visuals in their personal masterpieces. I firmly stand by this list and it's hierarchy.

1. Stanley Kubrick

The king. He favors mostly classical, but when he does include a rock song, such as "Surfin Bird" in Full Metal Jacket or "Baby Did A Bad Bad Thing" in Eyes Wide Shut, he puts it to such indelible use that it is ruined for use in any other film to come. Kubrick uses source music sparingly so we don't get overdosed with too much (a problem I have with #5.) We are all familiar with his unparalleled taste in classical pieces in films like 2001: A Space Odyssey and particularly A Clockwork Orange. Kubrick actually commissioned a composer to write a score for 2001, but threw it out in dissatisfaction and went with the temp tracks he had laid out - now we have perhaps the most glorious meshing of music and visuals in all of filmdom: The Blue Danube Waltz space montage.

2. Martin Scorsese

A VERY close second. Scorsese is the king certainly, when it comes to rock songs in his movies. An incredible taste in music, with wide variety...although he mostly keeps it mired in the 1970's, which is STILL a decade rife with outstanding material. Only complaint? He's a bit too enamored of the Rolling Stones, in particular "Gimme Shelter" but that is made up by the fact that so often I have wished I could pop a DVD of Casino in my CD player and hear the entire soundtrack. There's always some great songs left off of the official CD soundtrack release. My favorite Scorsese musical moment: Henry Hill has a crazy, coke-filled day to the tune of Harry Nilsson's "Jump Into the Fire" in Goodfellas.

3. David Lynch

Perhaps the most diverse taste in music working in film today. Lynch's work explores Kubrickian terrain with classical, Scorsese terrain with 60's rock, but is heavily entranced with the 1950's, the decade in which he came of age. David Lynch's spooky ballads in films like "Blue Velvet" and "Wild At Heart" are singularly part of his style. Careful, his soundtracks are likely to move you. Also a jazz fan, which you don't hear very often in auteur soundtracks. David Lynch soundtracks are heavily moody and atmospheric. My personal favorite is Roy Orbison's "In Dreams" moment in "Blue Velvet" involving a work light and Dean Stockwell in white face make-up.

4. Quentin Tarantino

Tarantino's soundtracks are also diverse but rest in the realm of kick-ass tunes from the 70's. So many quintessentially Quentin musical moments are in our collective consciousness thanks to likes of Stealer's Wheel and Dick Dale and the Del-Tones. Like all of the aforementioned auteurs, Tarantino is a master of the incongruous use of joyous music with horrifying events onscreen. While many would argue that Kubrick pioneered the use of musical counterpoint with A Clockwork Orange (I would say that Hitchcock did it at least 20 years earlier with Strangers On a Train) Tarantino has a way of getting under your skin, most famously with the ear-slicing scene in Reservoir Dogs, which was accompanied by the 70's AM favorite "Stuck In the Middle With You." You get the impression soundtracks to a QT film are one long mix CD that he put together from his own record collection. When you watch Pulp Fiction you feel the unmitigated glee that went into compiling the rockin' and often obscure songs in the film and that makes it more fun for everyone. Personal favorite Tarantino musical moment is the opening credits of Reservoir Dogs with "Little Green Bag."

5. Wes Anderson

Rounding out the top five is Wesley Wales Anderson, director of such quirky and polarizing films as The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou and The Royal Tenenbaums. Anderson has access to so many 60's chestnuts I've never heard of that I had to include him, despite that he has a flaw that keeps him at the bottom of this list. Unlike Kubrick, Anderson could benefit from some restraint in his musical predilections. I'm looking at you, Royal Tenenbaums. In that film, every single scene has a different song attached to it, and the effect is jarring and overdone. He consistently has great music all his movies however and you gotta love his choice of having David Bowie songs sung in Portuguese throughout the film, even if you don't like The Life Aquatic. Speaking of that film, I sure do love the use of Devo in the aforementioned film's central montage sequence. But a strong honorable mention also goes to the exciting climax of Bottle Rocket, set to tune of "2000 Man" by the Rolling Stones.

What are your favorite musical moments from these filmmakers? Any alternate directors you would pick? Comment below!

Podcast Episode 6: Machete / The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou / Delicatessen / Bright Star

albatrossapplesauce@gmail.com — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 16:05:00 +0000

WE HAVE A WINNER!

...for our first contest, that is. A couple of episodes ago, we had a contest where we asked you, the listeners, to write in with your guesses for a series of movie-related limericks that I had written. As we stated in the podcast, the first person to write in with a correct response would win a copy of the Criterion Collection DVD of John Cassevetes' A Woman Under the Influence. Well, we got exactly one response to the contest, and that one response happened to be a correct response! Congratulations to Aaron Koch of St. Louis, MO for the correct answer which was, in order of limerick, Jaws, The Matrix, and Jurassic Park. Aaron, if you're out there reading, send your address to albatrossapplesauce@gmail.com and we will send you your DVD right away!

It just so happens that we have another limerick contest this week, and another prize to go with it! This week's prize for naming all three limericks correctly will be a copy of The Man With Two Brains, the 1983 comedy starring Steve Martin. The criteria for choosing a winner has changed as well. Last time, we stated that the first person to write in with a correct answer would win. Well, that elicited a very limited response, so for this competition we will be putting all correct answers into a hat, and then we will draw the winner from that pool. So, give us your best shot!

For those of you who have been waiting for the two of us to disagree more strongly on the films we discuss, this is the episode for you! We start off by discussing Machete, the new film by Robert Rodriguez. Phil found it rather enjoyable and humorous, and Andrew found it...less so. We follow that up in the Criterion Corner with a discussion of The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Wes Anderson's fourth film starring a cornucopia of great actors. Phil finds it to be a charming and fully realized vision of Wes Anderson's style, and Andrew sees it as Anderson's first film that lacks the heart of his previous work and veers off into self-indulgence. Good discussions on both films! Our recommendations find us in a bit more agreement. Phil starts us off with his recommendation of Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro's whimsical and cannibalistic Delicatessen. Andrew shows us his softer side with a recommendation of Jane Campion's Bright Star, the tale of the love affair between Fanny Brawne and the great Romantic poet, John Keats. As always, Phil will be giving us a couple of songs to introduce the first couple of films, and Andrew's limericks could win you a DVD, so it's in everybody's best interest to listen to the whole thing! Subscribe to our feed by clicking the button in the upper right portion of this page, or subscribe to the podcast by going to iTunes and searching the store for Albatross Applesauce!

Here is the breakdown of the episode, as always:

Introduction (0:00 - 2:54)
Machete - Directed by Robert Rodriguez - New Film Discussion (2:55 - 23:32)
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou - Directed by Wes Anderson - The Criterion Corner (23:33 - 43:27)
Contest #2!!! (43:28 - 46:33)
Delicatessen - Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro - Phil's Recommendation (46:34 - 58:56)
Bright Star - Directed by Jane Campion - Andrew's Recommendation (58:57 - 1:14:05)
Wrap-up and Farewell (1:14:06 - 1:15:39)

Podcast Episode 5: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World / Wise Blood / The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters / Munich

albatrossapplesauce@gmail.com — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 23:35:00 +0000

Here it is, ladies and gentlemen. Our fifth episode of the podcast. I want to thank you all for sticking with us as we go through the growing pains of getting this podcast and blog up and running. This episode has a little bit of a technical problem in that my microphone levels were a bit wonky during the first part of the podcast. I have done what I could to make sure everything turned out all right, but I apologize in advance for the lower-quality audio fidelity. We do hope you'll enjoy this episode, nevertheless! Also, please vote in the poll to the right to let us know which day of the week it'd be the most prudent for us to release our podcast. Really, it's all about pleasing you guys, so your input would be much appreciated.

This week we start off the podcast by discussing Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Edgar Wright's hyper-kinetic adaptation of the graphic novels by Brian Lee O'Malley, in the New Releases section. We follow that up with a conversation about John Huston's late-career adaptation of Flannery O'Connor's Wise Blood, starring Brad Dourif, Harry Dean Stanton, and Amy Wright. We then move on into the recommendations section for a couple of films we both really enjoyed. In keeping with the video game aesthetic that Scott Pilgrim introduced, Andrew's suggestion this week is a documentary from 2007 entitled The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, which documents the battle between Steve Wiebe and Billy Mitchell for the all-time Donkey Kong high score. Fun stuff. Phil's recommendation is Steven Spielberg's Munich, the fictionalized story of the governmental retribution for the kidnapping and subsequent killing of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics. All in all, an interesting set of films, and I hope you'll enjoy what we have to say and join in the discussion by commenting in the comments section below or by writing us an e-mail at albatrossapplesauce@gmail.com.

Here's the breakdown, as usual:

Introduction (0:00 - 2:25)
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World - Directed by Edgar Wright - New Film Discussion (2:26 - 20:18)
Wise Blood - Directed by John Huston - The Criterion Corner (20:19 - 39:32)
The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters - Directed by Seth Gordon - Andrew's Recommendation (39:33 - 56:44)
Munich - Directed by Steven Spielberg - Phil's Recommendation (56:45 - 1:15:15)
Wrap-up and Farewell (1:15:16 - 1:17:12)

Notes from Docutah: Living the Life

albatrossapplesauce@gmail.com — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 21:35:00 +0000

DOCUTAH
St. George, UT
9/21/10
3:38pm

Phil Brubaker writes:

The festival marches on, despite indifference in the ranks. One screening had only three people in the audience. The quality of the films I've seen leaves something to be desired. A film called "Grown In Detroit" which I saw on the first day, is by far the best doc I've seen. The film is about a high school in Detroit which is exclusively for pregnant girls and young mothers. There are only three of these schools in the country and they have daycare as part of the school day. The double meaning of the title is that not only are the children "grown in Detroit" but the school teaches farming as a means of making use of the ample farmland in urban Detroit due to foreclosures and general abandonment of land.

The day after my film was screened, I was walking around the mall looking for a place to eat lunch when a white SUV that drove past was now backing up about fifty feet towards me. I didn't know what to expect. Need directions maybe? The woman driver rolled down her window.

"Did you make that film, "Brush With Life?"

"Yes, I did."

"That was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen!"

She and her daughter both saw the film the day before and really liked it. When I told them I was just walking around looking for a place to eat, they took me to Ruby Tuesday's and bought me a steak!

I also saw Fishbone perform at the Electric Theater in St. George. They tour film festivals now to support the release of a new documentary about them called Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone. After the show I was skanking it up, which was pretty cool considering this is a band that was a part of my childhood. One of the volunteers told me I actually inspired most of the dancing once the concert began.

But sadly I haven't seen many films that I thought were particularly good and was dismayed to find my film is not even being considered for competition. Why? The answer I got was because it wasn't good enough!! It's good enough to include in the festival, but that's all apparently. Thanks, Docutah. I haven't seen any movies today and instead am preparing for a hiking trip to Zion National park where I will bring my Super 8 camera to make a film about my discoveries there.

-Phil

Notes from Docutah: My Film is Screened

albatrossapplesauce@gmail.com — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 00:10:00 +0000

DOCUTAH
St. George, UT
9/18/10
6:10pm
Phil Brubaker writes:

I've been here for two days now, soaking in the sun and the documentaries. This is the first-ever Docutah International Documentary Film Festival here in this quaint college town. From my hotel at the base of a cliff I can walk to Iggy's to get dinner and Five Guys to get lunch. Breakfast is served from 6-10 in the lobby. I've seen several docs so far and there are many more to come. It's a nine day festival which is downright ambitious for a first time event. Many docs are scheduled simultaneously with one another at different venues all over St. George. One has to choose carefully.

My documentary, "Brushes With Life: Art, Artists and Mental Illness" was screened yesterday, at the very beginning of Docutah. It played to about 35 people in a multiplex theater that had been rented for the fest. It was well-received and several people approached me when it was over. Some wanted to praise the film, others wanted to buy a copy. But one elderly gentleman sat next to me talk about the film and suddenly broke down into tears. I reached for him, but hesitated and he grabbed my hand and held it as he sobbed. I put my other hand on his and listened as I knew he had a story to tell me.

His son, who is 37, has struggled with mental illness for the past twenty years. The son has refused medication because of the stigma involved: he just wants to be like everybody else. My film taught this father, Dennis is his name, that it is possible to live with a bipolar diagnosis and still thrive. Dennis kept saying that he thinks my film could help his son. I brought two extra copies of "Brushes" in the car, in case of a situation like this. I never expected my film to touch someone so deeply. I was glad to give him a DVD copy and he paid me, even though I didn't ask him to.

Everyone I've met here in Utah is extremely nice, but not in a phony way that you sometimes find elsewhere. I ate at Five Guys for lunch today and the fry cook seemed genuinely pleased to give everyone their order. He didn't smile in a flashy, Hollywood way as he handed over the food, but one could tell he had some satisfaction in providing us with our meals. Tonight I will try the Polygamy Porter at Iggy's and head to the Electric Theater (great name) to watch "Do It Again", film about a man who tries to get The Kinks back together. Tomorrow I hope to join an unofficial hiking club to trek across some of the red stone cliffs that arc over St. George. The air is dry and hot, and skies are clear. I'm soaking it all in.

-Phil

Podcast Episode 4: I Am Love / The Man Who Fell to Earth / 13 Tzameti / Punch-Drunk Love

albatrossapplesauce@gmail.com — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 15:42:00 +0000

Hello again, ladies and gentlemen! I'm a little bit late in getting this one out to you, but I promise you that we will be releasing these podcasts on a regular schedule in the very near future. Speaking of which, stop on by the blog and cast your vote for which day of the week would be the most optimal for you to listen to our podcasts; there is currently a poll running to help us determine when you've got the time and the inclination to listen to us prattling on about movies. While you're there, check out some of the past entries and listen to any of our first three episodes (as well as this one).

As always, we encourage you to come on over to the blog to share your thoughts and opinions in the comments section, or send us an e-mail at albatrossapplesauce@gmail.com. Don't forget to subscribe to our feed by clicking on the links in the upper right of this page, or search for our podcast (Albatross Applesauce) on iTunes.

In this episode, Phil and I will be discussing I Am Love in our New Release section, a film starring Tilda Swinton that left us both with a middling aftertaste. We follow that up with a discussion in The Criterion Corner of The Man Who Fell to Earth, a bizarre film from the seventies starring David Bowie. Following those discussions, we add a new segment to the podcast in which you, the listener, can win a prize! Listen to that segment for more on the contest. Finally, we finish off with our recommendations for this week. Andrew's Recommendation is 13 Tzameti, a dark French film from 2005, and Phil's Recommendation is Punch-Drunk Love, Paul Thomas Anderson's masterful film starring Adam Sandler.

Here is the breakdown for this episode, with running times for each segment:

Introduction (0:00 - 1:48)
I Am Love - Directed by Luca Guadagnino - New Film Discussion (1:49 - 16:35)
The Man Who Fell to Earth - Directed by Nicolas Roeg - The Criterion Corner (16:36 - 35:00)
Limericks!!! Plus, our First Listener Contest! (35:01 - 38:09)
13 Tzameti - Directed by Gela Babluani - Andrew's Recommendation (38:10 - 53:49)
Punch-Drunk Love - Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson - Phil's Recommendation (53:50 - 1:11:20)
Wrap-up and Farewell (1:11:21 - 1:13:50)

Podcast Episode 3: Inception / Throne of Blood / The Elephant Man / Blue Velvet

albatrossapplesauce@gmail.com — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 22:19:00 +0000

Well, I hope you've all had a great holiday weekend, and what better way to finish things off than by listening to the two of us jabbering on about movies? This week's new release will feature the very popular and much talked-about film Inception from director Christopher Nolan. Over in the Criterion Corner, we'll be talking about Shakespeare's Macbeth by way of the Japanese Noh theatre in Akira Kurosawa's Throne of Blood. Finally, in our recommendations section, we've each prepared a selection from David Lynch; Andrew's suggestion being The Elephant Man and Phil's suggestion being Blue Velvet.

We encourage you all to join in the discussion by posting here in the comments section or sending any suggestions, comments, or questions to albatrossapplesauce@gmail.com. We're hoping to start incorporating listener feedback, so who knows? Maybe one of your posts will make it on the air in a future episode!

As always, you can subscribe to this podcast by hitting the subscribe buttons in the upper right corner of this page, or by going to iTunes and searching the store for "Albatross Applesauce". Barring those options, you can always just click on the embedded player below. Thanks for listening!

Here is the breakdown for this episode, with running times for each segment:

Introduction (0:00 - 1:56)
Inception - Directed by Christopher Nolan - New Film Discussion - (1:57 - 15:40)
Throne of Blood - Directed by Akira Kurosawa - The Criterion Corner - (15:41 - 31:00)
The Elephant Man - Directed by David Lynch - Andrew's Recommendation - (31:01 - 46:10)
Blue Velvet - Directed by David Lynch - Phil's Recommendation - (46:11 - 59:11)
Wrap-up and Farewell (59:12 - 1:00:17)

iTunes Shows Us Some Love

albatrossapplesauce@gmail.com — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 22:30:00 +0000

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am happy to announce that you can now find our podcast easily on iTunes by simply doing a search for "Albatross Applesauce" in the iTunes store. Tell everyone you know, and make sure you subscribe to the podcast in order to download new episodes as soon as they are released!

Thanks for listening, folks!

Podcast Episode 2: Best Worst Movie / Troll 2 / Paris, Texas / Repo Man / Let the Right One In

albatrossapplesauce@gmail.com — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 16:25:00 +0000

I warned you all that there would be a flurry of activity in the first couple of weeks of podcasting, so here it is already - our second episode! Again, disregard the requests for a name for the podcast, but please don't disregard the podcast itself! As always, leave us your feedback in the comments section of this post, or send any suggestions or additional comments to albatrossapplesauce@gmail.com. We'd love for you to join in the discussion! Also, don't forget to vote in our poll to the right - we are trying to figure out which day of the week would be the best time to release our podcast, and your input would be extremely helpful. Thanks so much, and we hope you enjoy listening!

Here's the breakdown of the content, with running times for each segment, in case you should want to skip to a particular title:

Introduction (00:00 - 01:55)
Best Worst Movie (2009) - Directed by Michael Stephenson - New Film Discussion (01:56 - 14:39)
Troll 2 (1990) - Directed by Claudio Fragasso - Appendix to New Film Discussion (14:40 - 21:36)
Paris, Texas (1984) - Directed by Win Wenders - Criterion Corner (21:37 - 39:17)
Repo Man (1984) - Directed by Alex Cox - Philip's Recommendation (39:18 - 51:53)
Let the Right One In (2008) - Directed by Tomas Alfredson - Andrew's Recommendation (51:54 - 1:02:28)
Wrap-up and Farewell (1:02:29 - 1:02:40)

iTunes Issues

albatrossapplesauce@gmail.com — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 05:34:00 +0000

To those of you having trouble finding our podcast on iTunes, please follow these instructions (at least for the time being) until we start showing up in the iTunes directory.
First, open iTunes.
Go to the "Advanced" menu and click on "Subscribe to podcast".
Put the following URL in the box that pops up, and you should be good to go:

http://albatrossapplesauce.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

Thanks for bearing with us as we get everything up and running!

The Podcasting Begins - Episode 1: Antichrist / Salo / The Set-up / The Last Detail

albatrossapplesauce@gmail.com — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 22:53:00 +0000

Well, ladies and gentlemen, the time has come. I have finally, after much consternation and a rather rocky introduction to the wide world of domain and website hosting, managed to get our podcast up and running (I hope). The first episode will be accompanying this post, and I hope you all enjoy it. Please leave feedback and let us know what you're thinking. The blog's official e-mail is now albatrossapplesauce@gmail.com. Hit us up.

If you'd like to get our podcast regularly, subscribe to our RSS feed in the upper right corner of this page. If you're using Google Reader or another feed reader, our podcasts will simply pop up in your feed reader once you've subscribed, ready to be heard. If you're using iTunes, go ahead and do a search for Albatross Applesauce, and you'll find our podcast pretty easily (if I've managed to configure this all correctly - let me know if it's not working). If you're not one of those people who uses all this newfangled web-tech nonsense, then just hit the play button on the mini player below, and enjoy listening.

The first episode covers a pretty controversial couple of films, so prepare yourselves. Here's the breakdown of the content (with running times for each segment in parentheses):

Introduction (00:00 - 02:56)
Antichrist - Directed by Lars von Trier - New Film Discussion (02:57 - 26:08)
Salo, Or the 120 Days of Sodom - Directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini - The Criterion Corner (26:09 - 43:34)
The Set-up - Directed by Robert Wise - Andrew's Recommendation (43:35 - 56:06)
The Last Detail - Directed by Hal Ashby - Philip's Recommendation (56:07 - 1:07:32)
Recap and Farewell (1:07:33 - 1:08:26)

The goal of this podcast is simply to discuss film in a casual and forthright manner, with a fair amount of fun thrown in for good measure. These discussions are generally the very first that Phil and I are having with one another on these films, so we're hoping that you'll enjoy the conversational tone; we're frequently only just starting to suss out our thoughts on these films for the first time.

We're still getting up and running, so please forgive the myriad uuuhhs, aaaahhs and lengthy pauses in this inaugural episode. I promise you that as we move along, their frequency will diminish. We are also still working out the format of this podcast, but for now, the basic structure of our podcast goes something like this:

Introduction, followed by brief summary of the show's contents.
New Film: We discuss a film that is new either to theatres or to DVD/Blu-ray.
The Criterion Corner: We will be discussing a DVD or Blu-ray disc from The Criterion Collection. We are both great fans of the work that Criterion does on their releases, which invariably feature high-quality transfers and informative supplements. We'd like to share our enthusiasm with you.
Recommendations: This part of the podcast is the opportunity for Phil and myself to recommend films that we are truly fond of to those of you out there listening, and, in many cases, to each other for the first time. These films can run the gamut, from old to new, mainstream to obscure, beloved to vehemently despised. Perhaps you'll discover a new favorite in here as well!

Thus far we've recorded four podcasts together, and will shortly be working on the fifth. This means that these first couple of weeks will see a flurry of activity on this blog and in this podcast, after which we will slow to a pace of posting one episode every two weeks, most likely. This also means that for the first several episodes, the "new movie" segment will be discussing films that are...well...not quite so new any more (the third episode, for instance, features a discussion of the not-so-recent-any-longer Inception). So, please bear with us as we get up to speed. Also, as you may have guessed, we have, in fact settled on a name for the podcast. So, if you would be so kind, please disregard our multiple requests for names in the first few episodes. We're good. Any feedback or suggestions you may have about the podcast are welcome, and please feel free to take part in the discussion in the comments section of any post. We'd love to engage in a conversation with you!

We sincerely hope you'll enjoy what we have to offer and you'll want to stick around for more! In the future, we will start to incorporate regular bits and segues, as well as listener feedback. Keep an ear out for Episode #4, when we initiate our first listener contest!

Podcasting Will Commence...Soon

albatrossapplesauce@gmail.com — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 17:53:00 +0000

As I have noted before, ladies and gentlemen, the act of regularly updating this blog has been something of a challenge for me. Well, that shall be no more! I have teamed up with my friend Phil (who you may remember from this post) and we have started recording podcasts about movies. In these podcasts, we hope to simply have interesting and fun discussions about films that we are seeing, films that we love, and issues within the world of cinema that have piqued our respective interests. The first few episodes will be posted in quick succession, and then we will settle into a more regular schedule, we hope. The first podcast will be posted here very shortly, so keep an eye out for that, and I hope you all enjoy it! Thanks!