Godzilla Archives - chimesfreedom

Movie Lovers Should Join The Important Cinema Club (Podcast Review)

I have tried out a number of movie podcasts, and one of the best is The Important Cinema Club. Listening to hosts Will Sloan and Justin Decloux feels like hanging out with your friends in the basement talking about movies. But only if your friends knew a ton about movies and were able to talk about them without being smug or making you feel like an idiot.

Movie Podcast In The Important Cinema Club, Sloan and Decloux explore great films, but they also talk about not-so-great movies. They take a light-hearted approach, so you never feel like you are listening to movie snobs who think they know more than you.

Although they do know more than you, Sloan and Decloux are not afraid to explain why they do not like a classic like Gone With the Wind while also heaping praise on Godzilla movies or the work of Jerry Lewis. One of their recent episodes was devoted to Looney Tunes, and when they turned their focus on Steven Spielberg they decided to focus on his lesser-loved works.

So, one of the great things about The Important Cinema Club is the range of topics. In one episode, they will be talking about Starship Troopers while just a few episodes earlier they devoted an episode to Vincente Minnelli. You will likely start listening by skipping around to episodes about movies you have seen. But you also should listen to the episodes about movies, stars, and directors you have never heard of. Sloan and Decloux have a ton of knowledge, and The Important Cinema Club is one of the most educational podcasts I have found.

But most importantly, the podcast is fun. The best part is the interaction between Sloan and Decloux and their sense of humor. You can tell that they really like each other and that they love movies. Their self-effacing humor makes all of their knowledge both accessible and fun. These guys know their stuff, but they also know how to have a good time. In some ways, they are using their podcast to do what Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert did with television by elevating the conversation about movies while also making the conversation entertaining and fun.

Host Justin Decloux writes about movies, while hosting another podcast called Loose Cannons with Matthew Kumar. He is an editor at FilmTrap.com and also has written and directed films. Will Sloan writes about movies, and has written for NPR and other places. His blog and other writings cover other topics in addition to film.

Most of the podcasts are free. But once you start listening to The Important Cinema Club, you might want to support the podcast through Patreon and gain access to bonus content.

If you do not trust my recommendation, listen to my new “friends” Will and Justin tell you why you should listen to The Important Cinema Club.

What is your favorite movie podcast? Leave your two cents in the comments.

“American Graffiti” Opens in 1973

Siskel & Ebert Go Door-to-Door

Roger Ebert Keeps Us Thinking

Happy 70th Birthday Roger Ebert!

Gary Lewis and Jerry Lewis Together

Enjoy the History of Country Music with Cocaine & Rhinestones Podcast

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Godzilla Versus Ida (Short Reviews)

Two movies in American theaters now illustrate completely different approaches to movie-making. Godzilla (2014) is a summer blockbuster that many will see as something to watch while eating popcorn, only to be forgotten the next day. One has to look around to find the other movie, Ida, a 2013 black and white film that makes no attempt to be the summer’s biggest movie while still having something to say. Both are enjoyable, but in different ways.

Godzilla has garnered mostly positive reviews, and there is little need to summarize the story here. If you are interested in action and seeing things smashed, you will probably enjoy it even if you do not find the deeper meaning in the story about man’s attempts to mess with nature and nuclear power.

Certainly, that deeper meaning and some excellent actors like Ken Watanabe and David Strathairn elevate the film somewhat above being just another Transformers movie. There are some human stories tucked in among the monsters, but I did not find that the filmmakers made those stories very compelling, as Steven Spielberg has done in movies like War of the Worlds (2005). I enjoyed the movie like I enjoy popcorn, but like the snack, it is not really a meal, no matter how you dress it up.

By contrast, Ida is a black and white film in Polish set in the early 1960s about a woman raised in a convent who is about to become a nun. Before taking her vows, Anna (Agata Trzebuchowska) goes to visit her earthy Aunt Wanda (Agneta Kulesza), who reveals to Anna that she is Jewish, that her name is Ida, and that her parents probably died during World War II. The odd couple then go on a journey to discover what happened to Ida’s parents.

Director Pawel Pawlikowski uses no special effects, but he reveals something scarier than a giant monster while also offering something more honest and redeeming too. I was not blown away when I saw the quiet film, but it has lingered with me long after I have forgotten the story in Godzilla.

Other Reviews Because Why Should You Trust Me? Rotten Tomatoes gives Ida a high 95% critics rating and 81% audience rating, although the high numbers partly may be due to the fact that most movie-goers who sought out the movie knew they would like this type of film. Walter Addiego at SFGate says “Ida reminds you of what movies can be.” Rotten Tomatoes gives Godzilla a 73% critics rating and a 74% audience rating.

What did you think of Godzilla and/or Ida? Leave your two cents in the comments.

“Lincoln” As Both Icon and Human Being (Short Review)

Movie Lovers Should Join The Important Cinema Club (Podcast Review)

The Unfinished Films of Stanley Kubrick

Orson Welles And the Pre-Internet “War of the Worlds”

Everything You Wanted to Know About “Jaws”

Happy Birthday Brooklyn Bridge

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Happy Birthday Brooklyn Bridge

Brooklyn Bridge 1899 May 24 is the anniversary of the 1883 opening of the Brooklyn Bridge connecting Manhattan and Brooklyn across the East River. At the time, the building of the Brooklyn Bridge was seen as a great human achievement, resulting in the longest suspension bridge by more than 50% over any existing bridge. Well over a century later, it is still beautiful and fun to walk across.

The bridge has appeared in a number of movies, such as Moonstruck (1987), The Siege (1998), Godzilla (1998), and I Am Legend (2007).

Despite the Brooklyn Bridge’s iconic status, the Manhattan Bridge has stolen some of the more classic New York bridge movie scenes. That bridge is featured in classic scenes in Woody Allen’s Manhattan (1979)) and in Once Upon a Time in America (1984).

The Brooklyn Bridge still has a pretty good movie record, and you may also check it out online with a live videocam. The bridge also appears in songs. For example, Frank Sinatra sang the song, “The Brooklyn Bridge.” Similarly, the bridge recently appeared in Lee Dewyze’s jazzy “Brooklyn Bridge.”

Below is Sinatra’s “The Brooklyn Bridge,” which was written by Sammy Cahn. The song was recorded for the movie It Happened in Brooklyn (1947), which also features Sinatra on the Bridge. The song was released as a B-side in 1947.

For more about the Brooklyn Bridge and its historical significance, a History Channel documentary in their Modern Marvels series tells the story of the bridge. [2015 Update: Unfortunately, that video is no longer available on YouTube, but below is a preview for the Ken Burns documentary about the bridge.]