The Q Filmcast

From writer/director Mike Mills comes  BEGINNERS  a comedy/drama about how  deeply funny and trans-formative life can be, even at it's most serious moments. Imaginatively exploring the hilarity, confusion, and surprises of love through the evolving consciousness of Oliver (Ewan McGregor)who meets the irreverent and unpredictable Anna (Melanie Laurant) only months after his father Hal, played by Christopher Plumber, has passed away. This new love floods Oliver with memories of his dad, who, following the death of his wife of 45 years, came out of the closet at age 75  to live a full, energized, and wonderfully tumultuous gay life - which included a younger boyfriend Andy (Goran Visnjic of ER). The upheavals of Hal's new honesty turns funny and moving, bringing father and son closer than ever. Now Oliver endeavors to love Anna with all of the bravery, humor, and hope that his father taught him.Beginners was met with widespread praise upon it's 2010 release, especially for the stellar performance from Christopher Plumber, who went on to win the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for the role - becoming the oldest person to do so. Listen to see where the five us landed on this one as well as our "Top 3 Man's Best Friends In Movies"

SPECIAL GUEST EPISODE! Featuring Dana Buckler, host of HOW IS THIS MOVIE? *************************** This week we turn The Q over to Dana, host of the fantastic HOW IS THIS MOVIE Podcast. Focusing on the history of films, their origins and just HOW they made it to the screen, this absolute gem of a show is one that we emphatically recommend. Dana delivers his dose of movie pontificating weekly , using his unique brand of storytelling and sheer class. We couldn't wait to invite him on and tell us what's worth checking out on Netflix Instant Streaming.  If you haven't had the oppportunity to check him out, please do so. You can follow him on twitter at @howisthismovie You’re Next (2011), this is where we're going this week. Dana invades our home with a little home invasion, it goes a bit like this….The Davisons, a seemingly upper-class and somewhat estranged family are gathering for a family reunion at one of their fathers  fixer upper estate homes in an attempt to mend their broken family ties, Aubrey (Barbara Crampton) and Paul (Rob Moran) Davison decide to celebrate their wedding anniversary by inviting their four children and their children's significant others to their weekend estate. The celebration gets off to a rocky start, but when crossbow-wielding assailants in animal masks suddenly attack, the Davisons must pull together or die... We've all been there, right? All of this as well as our Top 3 Kick Ass Chicks in movies!

Get your head on straight! This week we tackle the odd little gem from 2014   FRANK   the eccentric story of an avant-garde pop band whose leader (played by Michael Fassbender) wears a large artificial head. When we meet them, Frank and his band, the unpronounceable Soronprfbs, are on a “not-very-successful”  UK tour. While attempting to rescue their keyboardist from drowning himself after a show, they encounter Jon, a “not so sure of himself” musician who they recruit to the lineup despite his lack of talent.From there, Jon is invited to join the band in Ireland, where they take root in a secluded country house - a perfect place for composing, what they believe will be, the-greatest-album-ever!  But Jon doesn’t take the warning that the shoes he’s filling put him in the center of a band full of crazy people. There’s Clara, the theremin player who aggressively hates him, Baraque and Nana, who don’t seem to speak English other than when it suits them, Don, the manager and self confessed manaquin lover - and, of course, Frank the musical genius lurking somewhere behind his papier mache head. Why? Who knows? What’s underneath? Who knows? Where does it get them? Who knows?"Frank" is based on the memoir by Jon Ronson and is a fictional story loosely inspired by Frank Sidebottom, the persona of cult musician and comedy legend Chris Sievey, as well as outsider musicians like Daniel Johnston and Captain Beefheart... All of this, plus our Top 3 Fictitious Bands in Movies.

This week in The Q we take on the much appreciated 2010 Welsch Indie film   SUBMARINE  from director Richard Ayoade, Starring  Craig Roberts, Yasmin Paige and Noah Taylor. Set in the seaside town of Swansea, Submarine explores the world of Oliver Tate, the dryly precocious, soon-to-be-fifteen-year-old hero of this engagingly offbeat story, lives in the seaside town of Swansea, Wales. He sees himself as a self-styled social scientist, a spy in the baffling adult world surrounding him, and a budding, hormone-driven emotional explorer – in other words,Oliver is stealthily (and perhaps a bit more nervously than he’d ever admit) nosing his way forward through the murky and uniquely perilous waters of adolescence… His objectives? Uncovering the secrets behind his parents’ teetering marriage, unraveling the mystery that is his alluring and equally quirky classmate Jordana hides, losing his virginity and possibly understanding where he fits in among the pansexuals, Zoroastrians, and other mystifying, fascinating beings that inhabit his orbit. All of this plus our Top 3 Movie Dream Sequences.

This week we boldly take on the James Franco's directed   CHILD OF GOD  from American novelist Cormac McCarthy, if you know his work (The Road, Blood Meridian, No Country for Old Men), then you know the tone... Set in mountainous Sevier County, Tennessee in the 1960s, Child of God tells the story of Lester Ballard, a dispossessed, violent man described as "a child of God much like yourself perhaps." Ballard's life is a disastrous attempt to exist outside the social order. Successively deprived of parents and homes and with few other ties, Ballard descends literally and figuratively to the level of a cave dweller as he falls deeper into crime and degradation… Released in the summer of 2013,Child of God was placed for official competition at the 70th Venice International Film Festival and was an official selection of the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival – After its release to the public, it received mainly mixed reviews – from scathing to high praise. Many people who watched the film have gone on to say that “Although they thought it may have been good, they just couldn't like it, nor would they EVER recommend it”. Franco did however garner a fair amount of “attaboys” from his peers who saw his ability to take on such material for a directorial debut as highly bold and brave... We cap it off with our Top 3 Movie Degenerates, why wouldn't we?

This week in The Q it's  EQUILIBRIUM   the Matrix inspired dystopian action piece from 2002 starring the then up and coming Christian Bale ... It’s the future, 2072 to be more specific, and the place is Libria where a strict regime has eliminated war by suppressing emotions. Books, art and music are strictly forbidden and feeling is a crime punishable by death. Cleric John Preston (Bale) is a top ranking government agent responsible for destroying those who resist the rules. When he misses a dose of Prozium, a mind-altering drug that hinders emotion, Preston, who has been trained to enforce the strict laws of the new regime, suddenly becomes the only person capable of overthrowing it. Upon its 2002 release, Equilibrium received generally poor reviews and at times scathing, but it did manage to gain an audience of headstrong fans and a smattering of praise including some from the late Roger Ebert, who stated "Equilibrium would be a mindless action picture, except that it has a mind. It doesn't do a lot of deep thinking, but unlike many futuristic combos of f/x, it does make a statement... Crime or not, we do our best to tell you EXACTLY how we felt about this one, as well as our Top 3 Over the Top Action Scenes.

This week in the Q we take on what may or MAY NOT be a Mummblecore film when we jump into   THE ONE I LOVE  from first time director Charlie McDowell, starring Mark Duplass and Elisabeth Moss... Here's what you have: THE ONE I LOVE is  a refreshing and inventive take on monogamy, relationships, and expectations - one that turns the idea of the "Romantic Comedy" on it's head. Ethan and Sophie, (played by Mark Duplass and Elisabeth Moss) escape to a country retreat on the advice of their counselor (played by Ted Danson)  to save their ailing marriage. But, when an unexpected AND unexplainable  discovery presents itself, what begins as a quiet opportunity to reconnect morphs into a head trip into the surreal - one that forces the two to examine themselves, their relationship, and their future  in an impossibly unique way. We do our best to straighten this one our for ya - as well as our Top 3 Movie Doppelgangers!

AMERICA, HECK YEA!... When everyone cowered, we stepped up.This week we step up to the plate and give our breakdown of the now classic puppet against Jihad parody  TEAM AMERICA : WORLD POLICE  from Trey Parker and Matt Stone. This is what you have. Team America, an international police force dedicated to maintaining global stability, learns that a power hungry dictator is brokering weapons of mass destruction to terrorists, leaving our heroes to embark upon a harrowing mission to save the world from those attempting to destroy freedom around the globe! Team America soon recruits Gary Johnston, a rising star on Broadway, to go undercover in an attempt to gain a foothold into the terrorist nest of evil dooers. Although initially reluctant to sacrifice his promising career, Gary realizes that his superb acting gifts are needed for a higher cause. With the help of fellow Team America members, Chris, Sarah, Lisa, Joe and Spottswoode, Gary slips into an arms dealer’s hideout where he discovers that the terrorists’ plot has already begun to unfold. From the pyramids of Cairo to the Panama Canal and  finally to the palace of power-mad dictator, Kim Jong II, Team America criss-crosses the globe on a desperate mission to preserve the very fabric of civilization. With NO strings attached. All of this plus our Top 3 Movie Montages... Because even Rocky had a montage!

This week we reunite with the 1997 Hitman Gone Home dark comedy   GROSSE POINTE BLANK   Starring John Cusack, Minnie Driver and Dan Aykroyd. Martin Blank (Cusack) is a freelance hitman with a few emotional problems who starts to develop a conscience that ultimately effects his job.. On the advice of his secretary and his psychiatrist, he attends his 10th year High School reunion in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, a Detroit suburb where, ironically enough, he’s just been given a  contracted to kill someone. Hot on his tail are a couple of over-enthusiastic federal agents, another assassin who wants wants him gone, and the leader of the "Assassin's Union” who wants his membership or else. While the present meets the past, Martin finds himself having to relive the "uncomfortableness" of his High School memories, including an attempt at making amends with his then sweetheart, whom he abandoned on prom night in order to join the army. Considered my many to be a cult favorite from the late 90's and perhaps one of Cusack's best, the film also has a great supporting cast that includes Joan Cusack, Alan Arkin, and Jeremy Piven. Listen to hear our take on it as well as our "Top 3 Movie Hitmen"

 Kumaré   (2011) tells the story of “KUMARE”,  a wise guru from the East and his indoctrinated followers in the West. Kumaré, however, is NOT real! He’s the alter ego of American filmmaker Vikram Gandhi who impersonated the spiritual leader for the sake of a social experiment designed to challenge one of the most widely accepted taboos: that only a tiny 1% can connect the rest of the world to a higher power. Concealing his true identity from everyone he meets, Kumaré forges profound and spiritual connections with people from all walks of life. At the same time, in the absurdity of living as an entirely different person, Vikram, the filmmaker, is forced to confront difficult questions about his own identity. At the height of his popularity, Kumaré unveils his true identity to a core group of disciples who are knee-deep in personal transformation. Will they accept his final teaching? Can this illusion reveal a greater spiritual truth? Kumare, at once playful and profound, is an insightful look at faith and belief The film received fair reviews upon release. Many movie reviewers criticized its deception as immoral, but partially forgave the film maker for realizing that the experiment had grown out of his control. Listen to see just how enlightened we were, as well as our take on the Top 3 Movie Characters who weren't who they said they were.

Director Bong Joon-ho makes his English-language debut with this dystopian sci-fi thriller  SNOWPIERCER  based of the French graphic novel series Le Transperceneige .Set in the aftermath of a failed global-warming experiment that ushered in the dawn of a new Ice Age. As a perpetual-motion engine keeps a super-powered locomotive speeding around the planet, the impoverished lower classes occupy the rear cars while the privileged upper classes are pampered in the front. The fragile balance of power between the two begins to shift, however, when an enigmatic message sparks a revolt that cannot be quelled. The film stars Luke Evans, Song Kang-ho, Jamie Bell, John Hurt, Ed Harris and a spasmatic Tilda Swinton as Mason, the trains main disher of dirty deeds. Listen to see if we thought this one managed to stay on the rails, we also round it out with out Top 3 Movie Train Scenes.

BAD SANTA  -  Stick this one in your stocking! The Christmas season just got a lot less joyous in this very dark comedy. Willie T. Stokes (Billy Bob Thornton) is a con man and a thief who teams up with his friend Marcus (Tony Cox), a midget, for a very special scam each year during the holiday season. Willie gets a job as Santa Claus at a shopping mall, his pal tags along as an elf, and they use their employee status to crack mall security and rob stores blind just before Christmas. However, there's one flaw to this plan -- Willie is a bitter, foul-mouthed and perpetually grouchy alcoholic who doesn't care for kids, and it's all he can do to keep himself from getting fired while on the job. The mall's manager (John Ritter, in his last film appearance) is certain something's wrong with the Santa he's hired, so he asks the mall's chief of security (Bernie Mac) to do some research on Willie. Meanwhile, one of the kids Willie is forced to talk to becomes a regular customer; overweight, awkward, and the frequent target of bullies, the boy manages to arouse something like sympathy from Willie, who tries to give him some advice and develops something vaguely resembling Christmas spirit along the way. Listen as we each leave our take on this one as well as our Top 3 "Pathetic Kids" in movies.

This week it's Max's turn in the shame chair as we conclude our "walk of shame" round by queuing up the (1950) Classic   ALL ABOUT EVE    Based on the story The Wisdom of Eve by Mary Orr, All About Eve is an elegantly bitchy backstage story revolving around aspiring actress Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter). Tattered and forlorn, Eve shows up in the dressing room of Broadway mega-star Margo Channing (Bette Davis), weaving a melancholy life story to Margo and her friends. Taking pity on the girl, Margo takes Eve as her personal assistant. Before long, it becomes apparent that naïve Eve is a Machiavellian conniver who cold-bloodedly uses Margo, her director Bill Sampson (Gary Merill), Lloyd's wife Karen (Celeste Holm), and waspish critic Addison De Witt (George Sanders) to rise to the top of the theatrical heap. Also appearing in All About Eve is Marilyn Monroe, introduced by Addison De Witt as "a graduate of the Copacabana school of dramatic art." This is but one of the hundreds of unforgettable lines penned by writer/director Joseph L. Mankiewicz, the most famous of which is Margo Channing's lip-sneering admonition, "Fasten your seat belts. It's going to be a bumpy night." All About Eve received 6 Academy Awards, including Best Picture

THE GRADUATE Week four of our "walk of shame" round has many asking how one of us hasn't yet seen this American Classic from 1967. As we take turns Queuing up films that (for some reason) we haven't gotten around to it, this one is at the top of the list. It goes a bit like this... Mentally adrift the summer after graduating from college, suburbanite Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) would rather float in his parents' pool than follow adult advice about his future. But the pressure of family friend Mr. Robinson (Murray Hamilton) to seize every possible opportunity inspires Ben to accept an offer of sex from icily feline Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft). The affair and his pool are all well and good until Ben is pushed to go out with the Robinsons' daughter Elaine (Katharine Ross) and he falls in love with her. Mrs. Robinson sabotages the relationship and an understandably disgusted Elaine runs back to college. Determined not to let Elaine get away, Ben follows her to school and then disrupts her family-sanctioned wedding. None too happy about her pre-determined destiny, Elaine flees with Ben -- but to what? The Graduate was met with positive reviews from critics upon its release and In 1996, was selected for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Initially, the film was placed at #7 on AFI's 100 Greatest Movies list in 1998. When AFI revised the list in 2007, the film was moved to number 17.     

PLANES TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES  the now classic film from iconic 80's director John Hughes is where we're going this week. Once again, its an "I can't believe you haven't seen that!" selection, courtesy of James Hard Sub Savage. Released in (1987) it tells the tale of tight ass businessman Neal Page (Steve Martin), who's En route to Chicago to spend Thanksgiving with his family. After being demoted from first-class to coach, he grumpingly  settles into his cramped seat where he finds he’s sharing his space with obnoxious shower curtain ring  salesman Del Griffith (John Candy) – and to make matters worse, a sudden snowstorm in Chicago soon forces the plane to land in Wichita where Neal is compelled to accept Del's invitation to share his cheapo-sleazo motel. Driven to distraction by Del's annoying personal habits, Neal is unable to pry himself away from his OVER BEARINGLY, OVERLY TALKATIVE companion, but as more storms hit, and the path home begins to narrow – Neal soon realizes that he’s in for a ride that will test his patience, his priorities and may just change his idea of who he is.  Released in (1987), The film marked a widely noticed change in the repertoire of John Hughes. It was greeted with critical acclaim upon release, (a revelation in that Hughes was considered a teen angst filmmaker). The movie was also hailed for its performances, especially Candy, whos lack of an Oscar nomination for the role is still regarded as one of the great snubs. The film was also a financial success, grossing over $49,500,000 domestically on a production budget of almost $30,000,000. Hitch a ride with us as we break down what is now a modern classic as well as our Top 3 "Worst Days Ever!" in movies.