Film Intuition: Jen's P.O.V. -- Misc. News, Articles & Interviews

Film Intuition's 2020 Holiday Gift Guide

2020-12-11T12:15:00.005-07:00

Shelter in Place with Shiny Physical Media

Easily packaged, overly commercial, and as synthetic as an economy-sized bottle of laundry detergent, the entertainment options on most streaming services leave a lot to be desired. And while this fact was easy to ignore in the past, now with so many of us still sheltering in place during the pandemic, it's become increasingly obvious to discerning film fans that in addition to a subscription to The Criterion Channel, the best way to protest against the insanity of Bad Content overload is by stocking up on your favorite physical media titles.

Fortunately, from the brightest classic film and TV fare to the latest and greatest releases, this year has been a veritable bonanza of box sets and special editions, including these highly recommended offerings, which should delight the entertainment lovers in your life who are (rightfully) still holding onto their DVD and Blu-ray players like they're worth their weight in gold. It's safe to say that once you check out the wide array of titles available to add to your collection (where you can control when and if they're played, and need no longer worry about them disappearing from a service tomorrow) if you're not a physical media convert yet, you soon will be.

Saturday Night Live: The Early Years

(Buy It)

Featuring 30 of the most hilarious episodes of the first 5 seasons of SNL, this 2-volume, 12-disc DVD collection arrives just in the nick of time to make you forget about the stresses of 2020 for a little while. With a gorgeous 28 page booklet that goes into the history of the series and focuses on the key skits, characters, and legendary cast members like Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, and Gilda Radner that made the series must-watch appointment television from its earliest days, the DVD set includes memorable episodes with hosts like George Carlin, Steve Martin, and Richard Pryor and serves up musical performances with iconic guests such as George Harrison, The Kinks, Blondie, and Paul Simon. Also available from TimeLife, who delivered outstanding releases of The Wonder Years and China Beach a few years back, is a 106 episode deluxe version of the series, complete with every single episode that SNL aired for its first 5 years.

The Trip: Four Course Meal

(Buy It)

There is no discernible reason why the release of my favorite film franchise of the 2010s is only available on DVD and not Blu-ray. But really, with all four of Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon's witty, weird, and wonderful trips to the U.K., Italy, Spain, and Greece now available in one collection, how can you go wrong? Originally produced and broadcast overseas as a multi-episode series but released internationally as four individual feature films, I've reviewed a few of director Michael Winterbottom's Trips individually so if you're looking for a refresher, here's my latest piece on the final film in the series, The Trip to Greece.

Two from Universal: The Alfred Hitchcock Classics Collection (Buy It)

& Focus Features: Spotlight Collection (Buy It)

Reviewed in extensive detail earlier this fall, Universal Studios quietly unveiled two of this year's best box sets with a jaw-dropping 4K Alfred Hitchcock collection (review) and 10 of Focus Features' most acclaimed films all packaged together in one offering (review).

A New Look at Old Favorites

One of the best things about physical media is that it celebrates the favorites you love instead of mindlessly churning out new lackluster content. With current restorations, upgraded technical specs, and/or in the case of The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone, a whole new cut of the film that improves the pacing of the much-maligned trilogy ender, a quartet of releases I was particularly excited to bring home came not from The Criterion Collection this year but Warner Archive, Paramount, and Kino. In addition to the Coppola film, be sure to check out The Best Years of Our Lives and Grace of My Heart in Blu-ray and Collateral in 4K. Additionally, Kino has dished up new box sets celebrating the overlooked films of Cary Grant and Carole Lombard and Mill Creek Entertainment has given Rita Hayworth the same treatment.

The Criterion Collection

Still the ultimate destination for film snobs, physical media devotees, and art-house lovers du jour, three of the year's biggest multi-disc collections were unveiled by Criterion this year as Federico Fellini, Agnes Varda, and Bruce Lee earned the box set treatment. And while the sky's the limit when it comes to individual movies getting the Criterion treatment that you should add to your list, a few of this fall's titles that I've had my eye on include Moonstruck, The Irishman, Parasite, Pierrot Le Fou, Crash, and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai. Additionally, fellow novelty bag collectors will definitely want to visit the official Criterion shop to check out the new Agnes Varda tote that just hit the site.

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Text ©2020, Film Intuition, LLC; All Rights Reserved. https://www.filmintuition.com Unauthorized Reproduction or Publication Elsewhere is Strictly Prohibited and in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Also, as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases made off my site through ad links. FTC Disclosure: Per standard professional practice, I may have received a review copy or screener link of this title in order to voluntarily decide to evaluate it for my readers, which had no impact whatsoever on whether or not it received a favorable or unfavorable critique. Cookies Notice: This site incorporates tools (including advertiser partners and widgets) that use cookies and may collect some personal information in order to display ads tailored to you etc. Please be advised that neither Film Intuition nor its site owner has any access to this data beyond general site statistics (geographical region etc.) as your privacy is our main concern.

Watch With Jen Giveaway: Win 1 of 3 Annual Subscriptions to Film Movement Plus

2020-04-21T12:06:00.000-07:00

April Giveaway on Twitter

One of the five films recommended on this week's Watch With Jen podcast is Marine Francen's gorgeous 2017 feature The Sower, which you can find on both Tubi (free with ads) and Film Movement Plus, alongside one of my favorite films — Antonia's Line — which I compare to The Sower in the episode.

And generously, the amazingly kind people at Film Movement have agreed to give away three annual subscriptions (valued at $59.99) to their outstanding digital streaming service to Film Intuition readers and Watch With Jen listeners.

To enter, follow me on Twitter and retweet this contest announcement (quote tweets or retweeting with comments doesn't count) by 11:59 PM on Thursday, April 30. I will select three winners using this random selector tool to ensure that everyone has a fair chance to stream Film Movement's terrific library of films free for a year. Winners will be notified via Twitter DM at the beginning of May.

Boasting everything from the hottest new independent and foreign films from the world's top festivals to classics like Bill Forsyth's Gregory's Girl, Oscar winners like Pelle the Conquerer, foreign adaptations of works by authors such as Elena Ferrante, spaghetti westerns like The Great Beauty, cult favorites including John Woo's first movie, and four from Takeshi Kitano, Film Movement Plus offers something for everyone. And if you're eager to get watching right away, new users can sign up for a 30-day free trial and 50% off of the first month of paid membership with the promo code 50FMP.

No purchase required to win, of course! Thank you so much for reading and listening - good luck on the April giveaway and remember to check out new episodes of Watch With Jen (as well as our sister podcast Watch With Jen & Friends featuring a stellar panel of guests) on Spotify, Google, Stitcher, or through my patreon page.

Film Intuition's 2019 Holiday Gift Guide

2019-12-09T14:06:00.001-07:00

Beyond the Bad Ties & Fuzzy Socks:
Jen's Gift Guide for Every Pop Culture Fan

Women in Film 101: Introduce the aspiring filmmaker in your life to the filmography of early women pioneers and Ida Lupino, and then rock their world with the newly restored Blu-ray of Kathryn Bigelow's first film, The Loveless. Celebrate the achievements of women working behind the scenes in style with some amazing new shirts featuring Thelma Schoonmaker, Elaine May, Claire Denis, Amy Heckerling, and more from Tees-en-scène.

Gift Cards for Arthouse Lovers: Bring the film festivals of Cannes and Sundance home to your recipient's living room with a gift subscription to The Criterion Channel, Mubi, or Film Movement Plus.

For the Bookish Classic Film Fan: Turner Classic Movies has been releasing one knockout work of nonfiction after another, including Donald Bogle's Hollywood Black: The Stars, the Films, the Filmmakers, Mark A. Vieira's Forbidden Hollywood: The Pre-Code Era (1930-1934): When Sin Ruled the Movies, and Sloan De Forest's Dynamic Dames: 50 Leading Ladies Who Made History. Also, "You Must Remember This" podcast host Karina Longworth's incredibly well-researched, critically acclaimed book, Seduction: Sex, Lies, and Stardom in Howard Hughes's Hollywood is now available in paperback. And chronicling the histories of her parents, both before they were a couple in alternating chapters until they eventually married in the 1940s, author Victoria Riskin released one of the year's most fascinating biographies with Fay Wray and Robert Riskin.

Films off the Beaten Path: While The Criterion Collection is still the gold standard for physical media, home entertainment distributors such as Kino Lorber, Shout Factory, Arrow, Olive Films, Cohen Media Group, Film Movement Classics, Twilight Time, and Warner Archive are starting to give Criterion a run for their (and our!) money with lovingly transferred and/or restorations of cult favorites, out-of-print classics, and forgotten films from decades gone by. Often packaged with striking artwork, film school worthy extras, and thoughtful essays, you could easily spend hours happily perusing their sites for gifts (while also picking up a little something for yourself).

Pop Culture Art: A colorful, tongue-in-cheek book for auteur lovers, Now Playing: A Seek-and-Find Book for Film Buffs serves up page after page of illustrations devoted to some of the world's greatest filmmakers. If you're looking for art you can either hang up, wear, or live with, look no further than the stores of two of my favorite independent artists, Brianna Ashby and Kate Gabrielle, whose work offers everything from jaw-dropping portraits to classic film puns sure to make you smile.

Past Prestige TV: With the release of the Comic Genius: Robin Williams collection, along with their commitment to tracking down the music rights to release the phenomenal China Beach and The Wonder Years the way they originally aired in the late '80s through the early '90s, Time Life has raised the bar on box sets of TV on DVD. (Now if only they would release Ed!)
Twin Peaks: From Z to A, Paramount's incredible collection of all three seasons of David Lynch's iconic cult series serves up both the original event series as well as Showtime's acclaimed Return alongside a plethora of new featurettes, interviews, extended musical sequences, as well as 4K transfers of the pilot and 2018's instantly legendary episode eight.

Welcome to 4K: Streaming in 4K Ultra HD is one thing but watching a film on 4K Blu-ray — without buffering and dips in quality — is an altogether different experience. With crisp detail and richness in color, contrast, and sound, the recent flood of collectible quality 4K restorations of the films of the '70s and '80s including Coppola's Apocalypse Now, and The Cotton Club as well as De Palma's Scarface, and Kubrick's The Shining are reason enough to convince a habitual streamer to buy and plug a top notch Ultra HD player into their TV. If you're longing for something more modern to break in your new player, look no further than the jaw-dropping transfers of last year's Mission: Impossible – Fallout and this summer's Toy Story 4. Sure to be on many holiday lists this year is the release of Quentin Tarantino's smash summer hit Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, which arrives this week both on its own as well as in a mega 4K collector's edition set.

Kids and Teens: With vibrant pop-up artwork and adorable collectibles sure to evoke strong feelings of nostalgia, Warner Bros has unveiled an enviable selection of new TV on DVD/Blu-ray box set releases. This year's titles include a 50th anniversary Scooby-Doo collection with every single episode of the perennial favorite, the 70th anniversary celebration of the Peanuts Holiday Collection, the full series release of the animated Batman Beyond, and a surprisingly sturdy, limited edition Blu-ray and digital series collection with a collectible book (and cool pop-up art!) of my cousin's favorite, The Big Bang Theory, which has become this generation's answer to Friends. Joining in the family fun with a nice compact release, Dreamworks has created an entertaining holiday gift set of Rise of the Guardians packaged together with their animation studio's surprisingly funny holiday shorts, including a handful of film worthy Madagascar standouts featuring my favorite movie penguins.

Text ©2019, Film Intuition, LLC; All Rights Reserved. https://www.filmintuition.com Unauthorized Reproduction or Publication Elsewhere is Strictly Prohibited and in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Also, as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases made off my site through ad links. FTC Disclosure: Per standard professional practice, I may have received a review copy or screener link of this title in order to voluntarily decide to evaluate it for my readers, which had no impact whatsoever on whether or not it received a favorable or unfavorable critique. Cookies Notice: This site incorporates tools (including advertiser partners and widgets) that use cookies and may collect some personal information in order to display ads tailored to you etc. Please be advised that neither Film Intuition nor its site owner has any access to this data beyond general site statistics (geographical region etc.) as your privacy is our main concern.

When Barry Kemp Changed My Life: Confessions of an 11-Year-Old "Coach" Screenwriter

2015-03-26T21:51:00.001-07:00

'90s Sitcom Coach Set to Return to NBC

In light of today's exciting news that Coach creator Barry Kemp and series star Craig T. Nelson are re-teaming on a scheduled thirteen episode continuation of their '90s hit Coach, I wanted to share a personal story of my connection to the series.

A precocious budding scribe, I taught myself how to write screenplays at the age of eleven after a teacher told me that she could see me working as a staff writer for Saturday Night Live someday.

Armed with Syd Field's Screenplay and most of the nonfiction section at the local library in my oversized Esprit bag, I rushed home from school eager to turn someday into next month.

By the time I turned twelve, I'd begun submitting scripts to my favorite television series including Seinfeld and — as a Minnesotan in particular — Coach.

Flooded with submissions, most of the shows didn't bother replying aside from a very polite "thanks but no thanks" form letter (such as in the case of Seinfeld co-producer Peter Mehlman).

But imagine my surprise when a few months after submitting a script to Coach, I received an unbelievably kind, personally written letter of encouragement from series creator Barry Kemp who took the time to tell me that he not only thought I had "a lot of potential as a writer" but also that he expected "to hear from... [me] someday."

An amazingly generous gesture — Kemp's letter helped inspire me to continue writing, which led me to receive two of three national awards in the screenwriting category before I segued into film analysis.

In a funny twist of fate, over the past few months I'd started streaming Coach again on Netflix while taking care of a relative before and after surgery.

And indeed, recalling not only subplots but actual lines that had inspired me as a young Minnesotan screenwriter, I realized once again that laughter really is the best medicine.

So with this recollection, I'm thrilled to pay tribute to Coach, say "thank you" to Barry Kemp and wish him and the cast the best on the upcoming series.

Text ©2014, Film Intuition, LLC; All Rights Reserved. http://www.filmintuition.com Unauthorized Reproduction or Publication Elsewhere is Strictly Prohibited and in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. FTC Disclosure: Per standard professional practice, I may have received a review copy of this title in order to evaluate it for my readers, which had no impact whatsoever on whether or not it received a favorable or unfavorable critique.

Listen In: FilmIntuition's Jen Johans Guests on Digital Downtime Podcast

2015-02-13T14:35:00.003-07:00

In the Mood for
Underrated Romantic Comedies?

Listen in as FilmIntuition.com's Jen Johans recommends little seen favorites for the Pensacola based podcast Digital Downtime, hosted by Christian Garman.

Christmas Appearance
(Jen Appears throughout the Podcast):

Valentine's Day Appearance

(Segment Starts Around 26 Minute Mark):