PODCAST

Reel Deep Dive

Ryan Valentine

Does the world really need yet another movie podcast? Probably not, but I made one anyways.

arts performing arts

All Episodes

00:53:32

Care Bears II: A New Generation (1986)

Reel Deep Dive ·

2023/05/28

While originally conceived as greeting card mascots with an accompanying toy line, the Care Bears debuted in a market where children's media was freshly-deregulated and immersed in shameless commercialism. It was perhaps inevitable that these characters would be spun off into an animated toy commercial that was barely masquerading as an entertainment property, but the success of the IP was far from certain. Still, despite its limited budget and rushed production schedule, the first Care Bears

00:49:45

Titane (2021)

Reel Deep Dive ·

2023/05/21

Winner of the Palme d'Or at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, Titane is about a serial killer (Agathe Rousselle) who goes on the run after she kills her parents and gets impregnated by a car. She winds up impersonating the long-lost son of a firefighter (Vincent London) and the two ultimately form a symbiotic bond that's based upon their respective emotional needs. Titane goes to some grim places, touching upon the work of David Cronenberg and John McNaughton. Ryan is joined by Rachel for a

00:44:34

Cinderella (1950)

Reel Deep Dive ·

2023/05/14

This may be difficult to consider in an era where Disney is arguably the world's most powerful entertainment conglomerate, but there was a period where the company was in a precarious state (multiple periods actually, but we're talking about the postwar era). Disney was in massive debt in the late 40's and the company could've very easily gone under. The world might've become a very different place had the considerable investment in Cinderella had yielded a flop, but the 1950

01:13:19

Pleasantville (1998)

Reel Deep Dive ·

2023/05/07

Centering on two teens in the then-modern 1990's getting transported to the world of an idyllic (yet vaguely unsettling) 1950's sitcom, Pleasantville uses broad symbolic imagery to paint a picture about personal growth, the pressures of conformity, and the ever-lingering threat of authoritarianism. Gary Ross, the film's writer and director, was the son of a Hollywood screenwriter who was blacklisted by McCarthyism; that background infiltrates much of the movie's text and subtext

00:32:09

Gatlopp (2022)

Reel Deep Dive ·

2023/04/30

A riff on the "supernatural board game" subgenre that was shot on a microbudget during the Covid-19 pandemic, Gatlopp focuses on four estranged friends who briefly reunite when one of them starts going through a tough divorce. Their awkward attempt to reconnect ultimately leads to them trying out the titular game, an experience that forces each of them to confront aspects of their lives they'd prefer not to acknowledge. Unfortunately for the players, Gatlopp promises damnation to

01:36:01

Key Episodes: Spongebob Squarepants (1999-2004)

Reel Deep Dive ·

2023/04/23

Spongebob Squarepants was far from a sure thing when animator Stephen Hillenburg pitched him to Nickelodeon executives, but the program quickly became a gigantic hit that transformed the network, the children's television landscape, and the millions of kids who watched the show religiously. Combining well-defined characters with absurdist humor, vaudevillian gags, and a surreal reality, Spongebob inspired and enchanted a legion of children and adults. Ryan was never really swept up in the

00:40:32

Super Mario Bros (1993)

Reel Deep Dive ·

2023/04/16

One of the most infamous celluloid turkeys of its time, the 1993 film adaptation of the Super Mario video game franchise suffered from a disinterested IP holder, thousands of rewrites, an annoyed and confused cast, and a disastrous shoot supervised by an inexperienced directorial team. The film bombed hard with both critics and the few people who willingly paid for a ticket, but the movie did clog up video rental shelves and basic cable timeslots, so it's not without its apologists. When

00:54:54

Jesus Christ Superstar (1973)

Reel Deep Dive ·

2023/04/09

Derived from the popular (and controversial) stage musical composed by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, Norman Jewison's 1973 version of Jesus Christ Superstar is a deeply timely reflection of the spiritual and socio-political issues gripping the environment that produced it. While a box office success that garnered attention from prestigious award committees, Jesus Christ Superstar got ambivalent notices from both film critics and the men who wrote the songs used in the film itself. It also

00:42:20

The Maxx (1995)

Reel Deep Dive ·

2023/03/26

Based on the idiosyncratic comic series by Sam Kieth and William Messner-Loebs, The Maxx centers on a vagrant with delusions that he's a mighty superhero. While ineffective in the real world, The Maxx is powerful and important in the world of The Outback, a fantasy version of Australia that appears to be bleeding into reality. The Maxx's supporting cast includes "freelance social worker" Julie, a jaded rape survivor who helps/enables The Maxx. The main antagonist is Mr. Gone, a

00:58:58

Shorts! The Three Stooges with Larry Fine (1934-52)

Reel Deep Dive ·

2023/03/19

While his screen persona is arguably the least defined of the Three Stooges, Larry Fine is frequently argued as the glue that holds the act together. While not as driven as Moe, as wild as Curly, or as physical as Shemp, Larry's role as the relative voice of reason (and his penchant for bizarre ad-libs) adds ballast to many a Stooges short. That, combined with his almost musically-acute sense of timing, means that studious viewers will easily find many ways in which Larry Fine's performance

00:56:51

Little Women (2019)

Reel Deep Dive ·

2023/03/12

Arguably the most ambitious and accomplished of the many, many outside media adaptations of Louisa May Alcott's 1868 coming-of-age novel, Greta Gerwig's 2019 take on Little Women scored rave reviews and high box office returns. Its studio, knowing that period dramas with lots of actorly moments tend to do well at the Oscars, campaigned hard for it during awards season (it got lots of major award nominations, but it won only a few fancy trophies). Little Women is one of Sylvan's favorite things

00:45:44

Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022)

Reel Deep Dive ·

2023/03/05

One of the most acclaimed films of 2022, Everything Everywhere All At Once follows a struggling laundromat owner (Michelle Yeoh) as she navigates dealings with a stern IRS agent (Jamie Lee Curtis), her disapproving father (James Hong), her disappointed husband (Ke Huy Quan), and her distant child (Stephanie Hsu). Things take a turn when she gets roped into a wider struggle centered upon various alternate versions of herself from many parallel worlds. All of these realities involve figures making

01:04:54

Toy Story (1995)

Reel Deep Dive ·

2023/02/26

While Toy Story holds the distinctions of being the first computer animated feature film and the IP that established Pixar's brand identity, its endurance in pop culture goes far beyond its groundbreaking elements. Toy Story is a deeply emotive and humanizing film that also possesses great story structure, a deep bench of likable characters, and a warmly relatable sense of humor. Toy Story becomes all the more remarkable when one looks into the behind the scenes drama; there were hundreds of ways

00:36:40

Shorts! UPA Films by John Hubley (1949-51)

Reel Deep Dive ·

2023/02/19

Founded shortly after unionization struggles at Disney resulted in a talent exodus, United Productions of America (UPA) specialized in wartime propaganda cartoons before subcontracting for Columbia Pictures. Their output, heavily indebted to abstracted modern art and limited animation, pushed the boundaries of what an animated short film could be. This recording focuses on four groundbreaking cartoons supervised by director John Hubley; their embrace of wry humor, experimental aesthetics, and

00:46:42

Good Will Hunting (1997)

Reel Deep Dive ·

2023/02/13

Film distributor Miramax spent the 80's and 90's cannily marketing its products with great success to critics, audiences, and film award committees. One of the biggest beneficiaries of Miramax gamesmanship was Good Will Hunting, a coming-of-age drama surrounding a troubled Bostonian math prodigy. Good Will Hunting only had one famous actor in its cast and its story could not be easily boiled down into an elevator pitch, but it ultimately became a big hit that won breathless accolades, collected

00:49:18

Casablanca (1942)

Reel Deep Dive ·

2023/02/05

Made at the height of World World II, Casablanca centers on a group of drunks, gamblers, criminals, refugees, cops, and Nazis contending for a valuable set of papers that can ensure one safe transit out of the reach of the Third Reich. These documents wind up in the hands of saloon owner Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), meaning that everyone from corrupt police Captain Renault (Claude Rains) to Rick's old flame Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) suddenly take a serious interest in his actions and motives. While a

01:13:10

Reservoir Dogs (1992)

Reel Deep Dive ·

2023/01/29

Centering on a group of jewel thieves bickering with increasing severity after a heist goes horribly wrong, Reservoir Dogs broke several molds, inspired numerous imitators, and immediately turned writer/director Quentin Tarantino into an adjective. Its brisk pace, unconventional structure, fondness for pastiche, cavalier approach to violence, and rambling dialogue became hallmarks of independent cinema for the remainder of the decade (and beyond). It would be difficult to fully assess the shadow

00:41:00

Troop Beverly Hills (1989)

Reel Deep Dive ·

2023/01/22

Troop Beverly Hills is a late 1980's comedy centering on a privileged housewife (Shelley Long) taking a position as the leader of her daughter's Wilderness Girls group. This is initially so she can demonstrate her resolve to her estranged husband (Craig T. Nelson), but she gradually bonds with her child (Jenny Lewis), forms connections with the other girls, and develops a rivalry with the Culver City troop run by the conniving Velda Plendor (Betty Thomas). Troop Beverly Hills received a critical

00:38:32

A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999)

Reel Deep Dive ·

2023/01/15

Arguably the most fantastical (and sexy) of the Bard's comedies, A Midsummer Night's Dream was first adapted into a movie in 1925 and has received numerous treatments since. This podcast episode delves into a 1999 Hollywood treatment directed by Michael Hoffman and starring Kevin Kline, Anna Friel, Stanley Tucci, Christian Bale, Rupert Everett, Michelle Pfeiffer, Calista Flockhart, Dominic West, and a whole lot of bicycles. This take on the story received lukewarm reviews and tepid box office, but

00:35:19

City Lights (1931)

Reel Deep Dive ·

2023/01/08

Defying the ascent of talkies, Charlie Chaplin conceived and filmed City Lights as a romantic comedy in pantomime and released it well after the silent era was dead. Despite this, City Lights was an acclaimed success and is routinely argued as Chaplin's masterpiece. It's also Ryan's favorite Chaplin film, meaning that he was eager to drag Sylvan and Cheryl in for a discussion about its merits, impact, and legacy. Discussion topics for this one include the film's troubled production, Chaplin's

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