After doing full career retrospectives on Michael Mann and Quentin Tarantino last year, it didn’t take long to figure out whose directorial career the Aftertaste was going to tackle next. An influencer, and someone whose films can be dissected to death, Christopher Nolan is someone who has a firm grasp on what kind of vision he wants to display. From Batman to focused World War II stories, Nolan has certainly run the gamut of what kind of stories he has to tell. But with the only Nolan related things covered in this podcast being his Dark Knight Trilogy, as well as him having a film called Tenet scheduled to come out this summer, we felt it was time to tackle the rest of his career. So join myself, Jack, and Matt as we look at what his career outside of the cowl has consisted of, while leading up to a review of Tenet.
After the incredible $1 billion success of The Dark Knight, everyone wondered what Nolan was going to do next. Enter an idea he had been working on for almost a decade called Inception. The concept of deconstructing dreams and influencing someone to do something because of them is an idea that was much different than anything the British filmmaker had done up to that point. Audiences flocked to it, as it made almost $900 million at the box office. But how do we feel about it?
Join Matt, Jack, and myself as we have perhaps the most confrontational discussion of this retrospective. Guess who doesn’t like Inception and wants us all to know?
After doing full career retrospectives on Michael Mann and Quentin Tarantino last year, it didn’t take long to figure out whose directorial career the Aftertaste was going to tackle next. An influencer, and someone whose films can be dissected to death, Christopher Nolan is someone who has a firm grasp on what kind of vision he wants to display. From Batman to focused World War II stories, Nolan has certainly run the gamut of what kind of stories he has to tell. But with the only Nolan related things covered in this podcast being his Dark Knight Trilogy, as well as him having a film called Tenet scheduled to come out this summer, we felt it was time to tackle the rest of his career. So join myself, Jack, and Matt as we look at what his career outside of the cowl has consisted of, while leading up to a review of Tenet.
Following a huge film that marked the comeback of a major franchise like Batman would cause most filmmakers to hide a few years until they came up with something they found to be a worthy follow-up. But one thing this retrospective has taught us it’s that the career trajectory of Christopher Nolan is unlike any filmmaker we have seen. So he sat down with Warner executives and decided a piece of fiction called The Prestige, written by a gentleman by the name of Christopher Priest, would be the basis for his next project. So he and his brother Jonathan sat down and to rewrite a piece of the book into a two and a half hour film about two feuding magicians. Making magic is kind of what filmmakers do, so this would seem to be right up Nolan’s wheelhouse. Would a battle of wits between Christian (Batman) Bale and Hugh (Wolverine) Jackman be enough to make a good film?
Join myself, Jack, and Matt as we look at The Prestige, a movie I originally promised myself I would never visit again, and we see if it not only lives up to their standards, but also if it improved the 1 on 10 rating I would have given back in 2006.
After doing full career retrospectives on Michael Mann and Quentin Tarantino last year, it didn’t take long to figure out whose directorial career the Aftertaste was going to tackle next. An influencer, and someone whose films can be dissected to death, Christopher Nolan is someone who has a firm grasp on what kind of vision he wants to display. From Batman to focused World War II stories, Nolan has certainly run the gamut of what kind of stories he has to tell. But with the only Nolan related things covered in this podcast being his Dark Knight Trilogy, as well as him having a film called Tenet scheduled to come out this summer, we felt it was time to tackle the rest of his career. So join myself, Jack, and Matt as we look at what his career outside of the cowl has consisted of, while leading up to a review of Tenet.
While not a huge hit with us, Insomnia impressed execs enough to give him the keys to their biggest franchise. Although the two Joel Schumacher films left a bad taste in the mouths of fans, there was still an urge from Warner Bros to let their new wunderkind director run wild with the Caped Crusader. But will a man who had near zero experience with action scenes have enough gusto to take Batman to never before seen heights?
Join Matt, Jack, and myself as we do the podcast we said we wouldn’t do as Jack and I covered the Nolan Trilogy a few years ago. But listener requests along with us wanting to let Matt run wild with his opinions on made us think twice. Does it create conflict? Listen to find out!
After doing full career retrospectives on Michael Mann and Quentin Tarantino last year, it didn’t take long to figure out whose directorial career the Aftertaste was going to tackle next. An influencer, and someone whose films can be dissected to death, Christopher Nolan is someone who has a firm grasp on what kind of vision he wants to display. From Batman to focused World War II stories, Nolan has certainly run the gamut of what kind of stories he has to tell. But with the only Nolan related things covered in this podcast being his Dark Knight Trilogy, as well as him having a film called Tenet scheduled to come out this summer, we felt it was time to tackle the rest of his career. So join myself, Jack, and Matt as we look at what his career outside of the cowl has consisted of, while leading up to a review of Tenet.
After making a mini splash with Following, Christopher Nolan was set to make his next move. Once again returning to the film noir genre, Nolan made the splash he was looking for with Memento, a complete mind fuck of a movie that garnered a lot of praise for both its director and stars.
Entertainment media is starting to get a little ridiculous. TV shows are being produced so frequently that before you know it shows like Ash Vs Evil Dead already have a second season rolling out, even though it feels like the series just premiered a month or two ago. This isn’t a bad thing, but it does require us, as film nerds, to be a little more selective with what we watch. It’s not a matter of picking out what is good or not, because the baseline of quality is now so high that more often than not a new series is going to be pretty good. Now it has really become a matter of seeking out the entertainment you really want to see. We’ve moved past the point of requiring everyone to watch Seinfeld and Mad About You every Thursday night. Now I find myself in need of some serious convincing before I pick up a new show or movie. Typically if the guys review something favorably on one of the podcasts, I’ll seek it out. If you, like me, look towards Binge Media for your weekly recommendations, then let me be the first to tell you this; of all the TV pilots I’ve seen in my life, I don’t know that I’ve seen one better than Westworld.
For those unfamiliar with the movie from which this series is based, here’s the synopsis; Jurassic Park with cowboys instead of dinosaurs. Got it? Good. The boys reviewed the movie on a recent podcast and we all agreed at the time that this is the type of story that should be remade since the first pass was lacking some depth. Not a bad flick, just could have been expanded upon. From the first five minutes of this pilot, it is clear to me that the creative team behind this series has a firm grasp on what they want this show to be, and I am in 110%.
Westworld starts as the story of Dolores, a woman living on the frontier with her parents who lives her days keeping positive and looking for the good in her world. She goes about her daily chores, riding into town to get supplies for the family where she runs into Teddy, the clear love of her life who has been away for some unidentified amount of time. Upon returning to her homestead with Teddy, Dolores sees an attack of some sort going on, prompting Teddy to ride in and save the day. As he does, he bests the two bandits who have murdered Dolores’ mother and father. However, a man dressed in all black, who is impervious to bullets (played by Ed Harris) starts talking about how he’s been doing this for “30 years”, then shoots Teddy and drags Dolores into the barn to have his way with her.
Cut to the next day, where the cycle repeats as if nothing happened, and we get the wider scope of what’s going on. Westworld is a playground for the wealthy and well off. Have the cash? Come on down for a totally immersive theme park experience, complete with prostitutes, guns, bandits, Indians and cowboys to help you live out your fantasy of having an adventure in the old American west. The operation, being run by Jeffrey Wright as a lead programmer and Anthony Hopkins, the doctor who first devised the idea of Westworld, operate from a technologically advanced control center located somewhere within the land that the park resides in. From here, they have complete control of the park, from the androids, or as they call them hosts, to the storylines going on in the world. From here the show takes us to some interesting places, not wasting any time in setting up both the conflicts in Westworld and also the more global plotlines revolving around the park management.
I like a story that finds a lot of rich thematic questions to present and expound upon. It’s part of the reason why Lost was so intriguing in those early episodes, what with not only the mystery of how the plane crashed but also how’s and why’s of who those people were. Westworld brings out the big guns, literally and figuratively, with some very solid action scenes featuring shootouts reminiscent of stuff we’ve seen from modern westerns 3:10 To Yuma, The Assassination of Jesse James or even The Proposition. That being said, there were some much more intriguing and surprising scenes where we get to see and understand the characters. My favorite moment in the pilot was when Anthony Hopkins, playing Dr. Robert Ford, questions a host whose software has clearly malfunctioned. The pervading question on my mind throughout the episode was whether or not these machines are becoming self-aware. The question doesn’t get answered, but I’m interested to see how the writers are going to deal with it. Ed Harris, stepping into the role of the Gunslinger/Man in Black role that Yul Brynner made famous in the original film, is pretty fantastic as the show’s current wildcard. We’re not sure what he’s doing or why but it’s clear he knows more than anyone else in Westworld, even seemingly operating outside the view of the park managers. It will be interesting to see where they take him before the series’ end.
From top to bottom, everything here is working flawlessly in the opener, so much so that I don’t know how I couldn’t be disappointed with what’s to come. The cast is chock-full of phenomenal talent across the board, from the aforementioned Anthony Hopkins to famous character actors like Michael Wincott and, of course, Evan Rachel Wood with maybe the most nuanced performance of her career. I know there is an overabundance of stuff these days to keep up with, but you need to be watching this show. It is thematically interesting, well written, action packed and well made. I can only hope the show runners have the gusto to keep this going for a full season.
I have done plenty of podcasts with Jack Valley, and heard him angry on many occasions. Hell, our Batman V Superman Retrospective podcast was pretty much two hours of anger from the both of us (but not Luke) at how poorly that movie was handled. However, I have never, EVER, heard that Patriots loving bastard as angry as he gets on this, our final installment of The Godfather Retrospective, where the both of us, along with that drunken Mexican Johnny Moreno, cover the much relented The Godfather Part III.
After a series of flops, specifically 1982’s One From The Heart, put him in a financial bind, director Francis Ford Coppola finally relented to Paramount’s wishes and made the third and final installment of his much praised Godfather Saga. However, even generally favorable reviews from the likes of Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert could not shake the general hatred the 1990 film received upon release. And from the get go, at least one person on this site makes it clear that he agrees wholeheartedly with the masses. But will the other two agree as well?
It’s a podcast of mud (pasta?) slinging, Sofia Coppola demeaning, and maybe, just maybe, a slight set of praise. It’s also worth pointing out that it seems ever since our Karate Kid Retrospective, Moreno and I cannot get through one podcast without mentioning Daniel LaRusso’s love for macaroni. So what are you assholes waiting for? Download this final Godfather show right now. And stay tuned for more retrospectives, as well as a couple special interviews, in the Aftertaste’s future.
So I re-watched Goodfellas the other day and had two main takeaways:
1 – Ray Liotta got a bum rap. Dude should have been in way more solid movies
2 – BingeMedia should totally recast this.
So, without further adieu, here are my picks for the BingeMedia remake of Goodfellas (in theaters never because FUCK remakes).
Law – Jimmy “The Gent” Conway
This one’s easy. Law is the type of guy who would just as soon murder you as he would shake your hand, so this was a natural choice right here. Plus, and I don’t really know why, but the line “You might know who we are, but we know who you are, understand?” just seems like something Law would say. To children. In a park. At night.
Moreno – Spider
Spider is one of the most minimal, fringe characters in Goodfellas but he might be one of the most memorable. With a penchant for standing up for himself and one fatal wisecrack, Spider ain’t takin no shit from nobody. Also, he serves drinks, so Moreno’s got that going for him. Which is nice.
Ammon – Frenchy
Of everyone who shows up in Goodfellas Ammon feels most like Frenchy. Frenchy is the kind of guy that just chills in his guard post, surfing his smartphone for pictures of Sass during themidnight-to-8AM shift every day. Does the job pay well? Not at all. So what’s His Broccoliness do about it? He goes to see the local hoods and make a quick buck with them in on the take. It’s a great plan, and one that works well for him in the flick (for the most part), so Ammon is a lock for Frenchy.
Me (Jack) – Michael Hill
Wheelchair bound as he may be Michael Hill is in charge of the sauce. “I’m stirrin’ it, I’m stirrin’ it.” I’ve got that covered. No problem.
Garrett – Tommy’s Mother
Garrett is a tough sell as many people in this movie, mainly because there’s no one quite like 4 On 10. If I’ve gotta pin him down to one character, though, it’s Tommy’s mother. Garrett just seems like the kind of guy that would cook a multi-course meal at 2 in the morning and be blinded by a trio of murderers, even if they are family. Also, I want to believe that Garrett has painted that picture of the dude with his dogs. It just fucking fits.
Kupka – Stacks Edwards
When casting Supka somewhere, you’ve gotta find the highest mofo in the picture. For Goodfellas, that man is Stacks Edwards. Smooth as silk and with all the finesse of David Hasselhoff in his Baywatch days, Stacks is the guy everybody wants to know and no one fucks with. Literally Supka.
Batch – Tuddy Cicero
In a crime family/organization, you need underbosses. Pauly Cicero’s brother, Tuddy, is one of the best. He’s got control of just enough of the action to be a force to be reckoned with yet he’s not the main guy. He’s carved out a piece of the pie but he ain’t baking it, if you know what I mean. Batch is Tuddy for sure, a guy who does what he has to in order to get by while also being a guy who gives no extra fucks unless the situation requires. Plus I totally buy Batch as the guy who would ice Tommy DeVito. Also fucking spoilers, but if you haven’t seen Goodfellas then get bent.
Luke – Billy Batts
A guy who has the credentials to not be touched yet has a mouth that basically requires you to punch it, Luke may not be a perfect match for Billy Batts but I can kind of put it together. While simultaneously trying to show up and insult Tommy ends up being a mistake, Batts doesn’t give a shit one way or the other. He believes he is King Shit, and he knows how to read a map.
Pete – Henry Hill
PeteMC was a tough guy to cast. Sass himself is a guy who likes to maintain a positive attitude, be friendly with everyone and go about his business, but if anyone in the flick could be Pete it would have to be Henry Hill. Hill, as the center of the story, is the guy you wish you were while watching the movie. Granted, by the end most of the tale goes south for Hill, but you get to know him, sympathize with him and, ultimately, relate to him. Does that make PeteMC a rat? Well, he did “knowingly lie” to me about the whole Sass thing…so consider this payback. He’s getting off light people.
Another Summer box office weekend, another “record-shattering” movie release. This past weekend, Suicide Squad came along to set the movie world on fire, immediately dividing the masses into two main camps. You either like the movie or you hate it. Well, that is, unless you’re trying to protest against Rotten Tomatoes, take down critics for disliking the film and picketing against Marvel. In the age of Social Justice Warriors, entitlement and parity for all, the movie-going world is changing for the worse. Marvel, for all the good they have done since 2008, clearly have had a negative effect on the studios around them. This is no more evident than their main comic book rival DC and their handling of the creation of an inter-connected movie universe of their own.
Man of Steel was supposed to kick these films off, a film which included a Superman that doesn’t smile. That was followed up with Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, a patently idiotic attempt at launching a wave of DC cinematic goodness that fell flat for being poorly written and horribly conceived. Now, Suicide Squad, a film whose trailers looked genuinely interesting, featuring a new take on arguably DC’s greatest villain ever, was a disjoined, badly made and stupid movie. There is an argument to be made that all comic book movies are kinda stupid, and I get that, but Suicide Squad is the kind of movie that forgets about its own logic halfway through the film. DC is going south quickly, and despite the amount of money they earn on opening weekend they are failing many of their fans, myself included, consistently.
I know this seems like a simple thing to say but there is a simple way to combat the slew of shitty films that get thrown out way. Simply put, do not go and see these films. We are at a point where audiences are more interested in seeing a certain character on screen than caring about the actual story in the film, and that is a shame. Suicide Squad, for all its faults, does have an interesting story to be told…it’s just 100% different than what they went with. But studios aren’t going to stop shoveling this shit in our faces until we decide to do something about it.
This past year we had a Snow White sequel, a Tarzan reboot, more young adult novel adaptations like Allegiant and a few other genuine pieces of trash. While those were properly ignored by the masses movies like BvS and SS are manipulative in the way they are made. SS featured Batman in the trailer, and of course anyone would want to see him in the film. His screen time amounts to 2 minutes that mean nothing to the story, but at the point most people understood this the ticket was already sold. Take, in comparison, Marvel’s Civil War, featuring the first appearance of ***SPOILER ALERT*** Giant Man on screen. They didn’t play this up in the trailers, they didn’t advertise it elsewhere. Marvel knew the strength of its story was enough to intrigue people and didn’t resort to masking a shitty movie with a lot of pomp and circumstance.
It is tough to know what will be a good film and what will be a bad one these days. Trailers are made to sell you on a film, and oftentimes those are better than the finished film. I think we need to be more conscious of movies and pay attention to the ones that deserve more exposure. Sing Street, The Nice Guys and Hail Caesar are the types of films I want to see more of in theaters. Movies that are well made, sure to entertain and are different than a bunch of people in costumes punching each other with their laser-penises. Let’s try to be better fans and give love to the stuff that needs it or else it may not be around much longer.
Me (Jack) – Michael Hill
Kupka – Stacks Edwards
