Sound On Sight / Sordid Cinema

Both the Netherlands' favorite filmmaker and Hollywood's greatest purveyor of cynical sleaze, Paul Verhoeven is many things to many people. but we can all hopefully agree that he is anything but boring. In our first look at his remarkably diverse filmography, Simon, Ali and returning guest star Mariko MacDonald take a look at three of Verhoeven's most divisve films: the space-opera fascism of "Starship Troopers," the blackly comic romance of "Turkish Delight," and one of the '90s worst-reviewed films, "Showgirls."

Monsters and aliens have been a staple of science fiction and horror films since the birth of cinema, bursting out of the chests and feasting on the innards of countless big screen victims. Which is why it makes perfect sense to include them in a children’s movie, provided you want your kids to grow up setting fire to churches and making furniture out of prostitute parts. Referencing countless cinematic creatures, Dreamworks’ Monsters Vs. Aliens tells the story of Susan, a young woman who grows to impossible size after a meteor collision, and must save the planet from an alien despot. Tonight, Sound on Sight takes a look at this computer animated blockbuster, as well as The Blob and The Thing, two of our favourite alien/monster hybrid films.

The “Sound On Sight” radio show has also been consistently shortlisted one of the best film podcasts 2007-2010. It is marketed principally towards students and genre enthusiasts, and typically features in-depth discussion and debate on contemporary film.

In the 1960s, French New Wave director Jean-Luc Godard helmed over 20 feature-length films (depending on whether or not you count films made by "collective"), with many of them now hailed as classics by elitist cineastes everywhere. Today on Sound on Sight, we attempt to dig into Godard's massive filmography by looking at three of the films that defined his work in the first half of that decade: 1960's fast-paced romantic thriller "Breathless," 1963's self-reflexive "Contempt." and 1965's dizzying "Pierrot le Fou," which starred his then-wife, Anna Karina.

Episode 105 - A Crow, A Dark City and Knowing Nick Cage sucks.

It's safe to say that our featured director for this week, Mr. Bruce McDonald, was responsible in large part for turning Toronto into a film lab in the early nineties. Winning Best Canadian Feature at TIFF for his first film, Road Kill, Bruce went on to accept the prize promising he would spend it all on "a big chunk of hash." Since then, McDonald has seen more lows than highs. Hard Core Logo remains a cult hit and is acknowledged as one of Canada's greatest films but his early road trilogy made little at the box office. His ten million dollar feature - Picture Claire, starring Juliette Lewis and Mickey Rourke, went unreleased, and in order to purchase screen rights to The Tracey Fragments he had to mail novelist Maureen Medved his cowboy boots as down payment. Today we examine three very different films from the director, all three of which feature novels as source material. The first is last year's The Tracey Fragments, possibly MacDonald's most experimental film. Second is his new film Pontypool, an avant-garde genre movie that's both thought-provoking and thoroughly creepy. Finally, we could not go without touching on the cult sensation Hard Core Logo.

Wes Craven is on the short list of modern horror movie masters, having cornered the market on innovative, genre-defining films since the 1970s. Few people have had as big an impact in shaping modern horror as he's had, directing landmark films that have s

Download show in another window There's an eclectic new slate of documentaries to be found on DVD aisles in the last few weeks, including Kurt Kuenne's provocative "Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father," which wowed festival audiences but has kpet a relatively low profile elsewhere. Bill Maher's satirical travelogue across America's spiritual landscape, "Religulous," has also landed, along with "Front Runners," a peek into high-school electoral drama. Stepping in for Ali is returning guest Mariko McDonald.

For over 20 years, DC Comics’ miniseries Watchmen has been upheld as the prototypical ‘graphic novel,’ used by generations of comic fans to justify for spending a lifetime chasing Spawn back issues, rubbing off to Mary Marvel, and buying Batman underwear at Zellers. In the comic, writer Alan Moore, one of the most respected writers in the medium, brought introduced a fascinating level of formal experimentation. And though Moore’s literary sensibilities are obvious, the book exists firmly in the comic book world, playing off of the conventions of the super-hero genre while pushing the boundaries of the medium’s structure. Which is why it makes perfect sense to put the Watchmen adaptation in the hands of an action movie director who makes Nike commercials. Zack Snyder, whose previous feature films, comic book adaptation 300 and the Dawn of the Dead remake, were box office blockbusters, has finally brought a Watchmen film to the big screen after years of legal wrangling and script-proble

Along with Tom Green and that guy from Kids in the Hall who never smiles, director David Cronenberg is perhaps Canada’s creepiest cultural export. But not the ghosts and ghouls sort of way. The uncle who buys you underwear for Christmas and licks his palm after shaking your hand kind of creepy. In the past 30 years, Cronenberg has returned time and time again to themes of sexuality, infection, and a really slimy combination of man and machine. And while his recent work, such as the Oscar nominated films Eastern Promises and The History of Violence, has been reasonably palatable to mainstream audiences, his oeuvre is one of the most unsettling in the history of auteur cinema. Tonight, Sound on Sight takes a look at three of Cronenberg’s most distressing films: Rabid, Dead Ringers, and Naked Lunch.

"Exqusite and with a sense of innocence, Audrey Hepburn was a rare actress for her time, compared to the likes of Marilyn Monroe and Mae West. Audrey was far from the volumptuos, typical hollywood movie star, she was a pleasant, petite woman with an enchanting Anglo-European accent, big doe-like eyes, a long swan neck, demure smile, melodious voice, charismatic manner, and perfect wardrobe. Audrey was also very modest, describing herself as an actress that didn't have much technique because she never learned to act. Her own acting technique, such as it was, simply consisted of hard work, intense concentration - and instinct. Life. Puppies. Pillows. Smiles. If you enjoy any of these things, even intermittently, you probably like at least one film starring the lovely and talented Audrey Hepburn, who was both a committed philanthropist and a consistently charming performer. In this episode we take a look at two of her most successful films - 1961's "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and 1963's "Charade," as well as one of her more obscure films, the 1967 thriller "Wait Until Dark."

Up to this point, the career of Steven Soderbergh has unfolded like every independent director’s wet dream. His early films, such as 1989’s sex, lies and videotape, were the sort of intimate, deeply personal stories that stun film critics at Sundance but tend to find less success when playing alongside Rocky sequels. Nevertheless, the director has found great commercial success in recent years, with films like Erin Brockovich and Ocean’s 11 ringing in millions at the box office and, in the case of 2000’s Traffic, earning Soderbergh an Oscar for Best Director. Since then, he’s alternated commercial studio fare with low-budget, indie-friendly work. His latest film, the $60 million dollar, four-hour epic Che, may be a perfect synthesis of these two seemingly contradictory styles. Tonight, Sound on Sight takes a look at Che parts 1 and 2, as well as Schizopolis and Kafka, two of the eclectic director’s lesser-known films. Please note that tonight, host Ricky D will be replaced by guest star Mariko McDonald.

Episode 97 comes a day after the 81st Academy Awards and we have our comments on the highlights and lowpoints of the show. As well we look back at two films that won best picture in the past and one which we feel should have. First up is the first and only film X-rated film to win the big award, Midngiht Cowboy. Second we take a look at Cabaret, the film that took home the award for best director over Francis Ford Copolla's work on The Godfahter. Finally we review one of Simon's favorite films Network which despite it numerous Academy Award nominations, lost out to Rocky.

Hailed as German Cinema's bright new hope, Tom Tykwer has quickly made a name for himself abroad as a fresh visualist with an energetic and passionate cinematic style. For his breakthrough film, the international success "Run Lola Run" (1999) and his follow-up feature "The Princess and the Warrior" (2001), Tykwer has enjoyed early comparisons to the late Polish auteur Krzysztof Kieslowski for his stylistic explorations of the effects of chance and choice on the human condition.

Along side the Halloween and Nightmare on Elm Street films, the Friday the 13th series is the prototypical 80s slasher cycle. It’s also the latest in a long line of horror films to get a big budget reboot. Today, in part two of our Friday the 13th special, Sound on Sight takes a look at the second half of the series, as Jason continues his journey from ill-tempered mongoloid to lumbering zombie to demon to, eventually, cybernetic mecha-nightmare. We’ll also take a look at the Michael Bay-produced remake, and see if he’s managed to ruin another of our childhood obsessions. Remember, we watch these movies so you don’t have to.