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.
As promised, in lieu of Tenet being released on multimedia platforms on December 15th, here is the final bookend to our long in development Christopher Nolan retrospective. To say that Tenet is in uncharted territory would be an understatement. As information of its making were being gradually released, there was a slight buzz that was bound to explode. But March brought everything to a grinding halt, including the movie industry. Suddenly, Tenet became more than just another Christopher Nolan blockbuster. It was being looked at as the ‘savior of the movie industry’.
Listen in as we discuss if the movie should have even been released this year, as well as the quality of the movie itself. Was it worth the wait and, is Tenet worth seeing at all?
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.
Though there have been plenty of emotional scenes in Nolan’s work, there was never any project of his which seemed too personal to him. His work, as Matt has pointed out previously in this retrospective, has been very clinical, and there hadn’t been that one film which came from a place within his heart. Until Dunkirk.
When Nolan announced that his follow-up to Interstellar was a World War II film based on an incident that happened in Britain which took place before Americans became involved, there were plenty of turned heads who didn’t think he could pull it off. But, what else is new? When Dunkirk came out in the winter of 2017, Nolan proved that he could indeed make a personal film which transformed to box office gold. Three years later, Matt, Jack, and myself review the three perspective film (or is it an experience?) and determine if it deserves to be placed among Nolan’s best work. Be forewarned. There is a review in this podcast which shocked the other two.
Ten down, one to go! Listen to the end as we talk about how we are handling the roll out of our Tenet review, and thanks a ton for all your patience as we get through this longer than expected retrospective.
One year after the financially (but not critically) successful Hannibal took the film world by storm, producer Dino De Laurentiis saw fit to fix what he saw as a mistake. See, even though Michael Mann’s Manhunter has garnered quite a cult following -probably due to the way his 1995 film Heat was received- it was not a favorite of the auteur producer De Laurentiis. In fact, all the way up to his passing a few years ago, he had gone on record several times saying he flat out did not like it.
So what does he do? Back the Brinks Truck up to Anthony Hopkins’s house, and bring together what is quite possibly one of the biggest and most talented casts ever assembled for the 2002 redux Red Dragon. But that’s not all. There had to be a director highly capable of keeping all the onset egos in check, while moving the film along at a brisk clip, and telling a gripping story. All things that, of course, are associated with the talents of….Brett Ratner??
Join me, Michael Guarnieri, and Matthew Goudreau as we take the trip down this Ratner joint, and determine whether the man behind Money Talks and several Rush Hour movies is up to the task of following in the footsteps of Michael Mann, Jonathan Demme, and Ridley Scott.
And be sure to also tune in next week, when we will finish off the series by reviewing 2007’s Hannibal Rising, as well as rank each film. We will also have seen the entire TV series, and give our thoughts on that as well.
…..the new retrospective being put forth to lead everyone into the new year? Welcome one and all to this, what I like to call, Christmas present to myself. After having to put my planned The Exorcist Retrospective on hold, I was told by my Binge bosses to pick another series so as not to lose any momentum going into the new year.
Before he made such a huge splash on the landscape of film, the character of Hannibal ‘The Cannibal’ Lecter was created for the 1981 novel Red Dragon. The rights to the book were snatched up by renowned producer Dino De Laurentiis, who hired Michael Mann -then known for the underrated James Caan starring gem Thief and a little show called Miami Vice– to bring the book to the big screen.
Though the resulting film Manhunter received generally favorable reviews upon release, it was also a box office flop. Why didn’t the 1986 movie viewing public ignore this movie? Was it deserved? And how oh how did they think of continuing the series after the blandly titled Manhunter bombed at the box office?
Join me, Matthew Goudreau, and Aftertaste newcomer Michael Guarnieri to discuss all these topics, as well as whether that scene of Will Graham jumping through the window at the end is warranted. Hint: One or two people might have thought no until a discussion on the podcast MAYBE changed his mind. Oh, and someone on these shows is a film virgin from The Silence of the Lambs on. Who is it, and what are they expecting they’ll get out of this franchise when it’s done? Listen below, and be sure to keep checking this space, as we will be doing one film a week until 2007’s Hannibal Rising.
There are some horses within the entertainment business which are just too fun to repeatedly beat down, aren’t there? You have Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, whose reasons we tear them down with words are so easy to justify. There is what goes through us keyboard warriors’ minds when we see our favorite childhood film get mentioned in the ‘remake’ category. My impression of these types goes as so: “Oooohhhh, where is my iphone so I can rant on Facebook about how much this remake is a disgrace to society. FUCK HOLLYWOOD!” Don’t worry. I’ve been there too.
However, there is one nail people within the online community will not stop hammering in, no matter how delicate the wood block is. For some reason, people love to say just how much of a hack director Brett Ratner truly is. They like to point out the entire Rush Hour series, as well as X-Men: The Last Stand as examples of a director who really has no idea of what he’s doing. However, I am here to refute that.
Let’s start by dissecting his situation with that last film mentioned. By the time Ratner took the directing reigns of The Last Stand, the whole behind the scenes situation on the film was already in shambles. A cantankerous director by the name of Bryan Singer had switched franchises mid prep, deciding to try his hand at a Superman story. And the script was a mess, mostly due to the egos of some cast members insisting on bigger parts, and these requests being honored. Now I will probably be trolled like hell for saying this. But given what he was given, I do not think Ratner did a bad job with X-Men: The Last Stand. At the very least, I feel it is far from being the worst film baring the X-Men name -that would be X-Men Origins: Wolverine– and the movie actually flows at a rapid fire clip without seeming too jumbled. A common film misconception is that people think the feel of a movie is established on the page before cameras roll. But the truth is, all aesthetics and narrative flow is done by the director. On page, X-Men: The Last Stand had the makings of a disaster. But, dare I say thanks to Ratner’s sly hand, it isn’t nearly as bad as its reputation.
However much I am defending the guy’s talent, let me move on to something I feel he does perhaps better than the majority of directors out there. When handed a script like 2002’s Red Dragon, and given all the main Oscar nominated and winning actors that were on that film, the possibility of ego overload, much like Singer let happen on X-Men, was upped to its full capacity. Just take a glimpse at the Red Dragon cast list: Edward Norton, Anthony Hopkins, Ralph Fiennes, Harvey Keitel, Emily Watson, Mary Louise Parker, and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Hopkins and Norton do not have the best behind the scenes reputations, and Fiennes doesn’t exactly exude warmth. Yet Ratner’s ability to keep all of their egos under control, as well as keep the film under budget and on time, is a feat that not many directors in his position as the ‘Rush Hour‘ guy could handle. Just listening to Ratner’s commentaries, he gives off such a passion for what he does, that I know it has to rub off on set.
Another thing people might not know about Ratner is just how much of a producer he is. In fact, his directing career has been tapered in recent years because the guy’s producing resume is impressively piling up. Here are just a few titles he has produced: Catfish, Prison Break (HBO), Mother’s Day (remake), Mirror Mirror, Jersey Boys, Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films. Oh yeah, and a little movie called The Revenant.
Like it or not people, Ratner is a Hollywood player. Knock Tower Heist all you want. I think that Hollywood needs more people like him, if only for the passion each of his projects brings out of him. Yes, his mouth can get the best of him at times (which is how he lost an Oscar directing gig a few years back). But in this society of ‘everything needs to be PC,’ Ratner’s candor is kind of refreshing. As is, dare I say, his directing style.
A Few Words About David Bowie’s Passing
First of all, I am not going to sit here and pretend that the late great David Bowie played a huge part in my life. I was not an outcast who had Ziggy Stardust plastered all over my walls. Nor did I watch Labyrinth on repeat. Truth be told, with the exceptions of a couple Rolling Stone Magazine interviews, a collaboration with Trent Reznor, and a flash of tabloid covers depicting his supposedly bizarre early lifestyle and marriage to former supermodel Iman, Bowie was pretty non existent in the first two and a half decades or so of my life. Even with everyone telling me that Marilyn Manson’s 1998 album Mechanical Animals, an album I absolutely loved, was an almost plagiaristic rip-off of Bowie’s own Ziggy Stardust persona, I never thought twice about him.
When I entered my mid twenties, something happened. I was still attending college, which meant many hours were spent on a bus listening to things to pass the time. One rainy night, I was listening as Howard Stern’s Sirius Radio show went off the air, and for some reason he decided to play a block of Bowie tunes. All of which, and this is something all good music does, felt like were written specifically for me. This one block of music drove me to pick up as much of his catalog that I could.
It was also around this time when I decided to, for the very first time, check out Labyrinth. The mid 80s Jim Henson/George Lucas collaboration is looked at by many as a first rate achievement in making musicals cool for kids. But if there is one thing I regret about my fantasy ridden childhood, it’s that I did not discover Labyrinth earlier. Watching it as an adult, it just did not resonate with me, and I almost felt bad about it.
Nonetheless, Bowie played a part in not necessarily my growing up or outcast cries for help. It was in his, ironically, ability to speak to me about how to become a man. Yes, there are fantastic ways of hiding from your problems and avoiding head first dives into reality. But it isn’t until you look these realities in the eye, IE Buddha of Suburbia, when you are able to transcend not only that reality’s surefire truth, but facing and making it a cummapance.
RIP Goblin King. You may not have been my childhood spokesman. But I respect your ability to do so when everyone else was fighting against what you represented.
Welcome to another special Saturday edition of Working the Weekend with Luke. I missed last Sunday due to laying in bed all day after hosting a party on Saturday night. I slept until 3 and then watched the Breaking Bad Binge for eight hours. Save your judgment for somebody else. So instead of making the trip to Chicago for Lawlapalooza, I’m here working. That, and I may have bronchitis and/or pneumonia, but I digress. Today, I’ll continue my trilogy countdown with #8, but before I get to that, let’s get at the phenomenon that has taken over the media for weeks.
ALS ICE BUCKET CHALLENGE
This is the scene all over America right now, and whether you like it or not, the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge has taken the country by storm. From former presidents to actors to the people on your facebook news feed, millions of people have filled buckets with ice and water, pulled out the smartphone and posted a video of dumping the bucket on their head in hopes of raising awareness of ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.
Personally, I have no problem with this. I know many people do, and they’re certainly entitled to that opinion. That’s the beauty of living in this country. I have certain problems with it myself, but I’ve also got problems with people hating on it.
Here’s some of the problems that I have with it. First of all, I don’t think people truly understand what the rules are. I think the misconception is that dumping the bucket on yourself gets you out of donating. This is not the case. The way I understand it is that if you take the challenge, you’re in for at least 10 bucks. If you don’t do it, then you’re in for at least 100. This is where some of the hating comes in. Personally, I don’t like people telling me what to do. But if I were to respectfully decline your invitation, don’t be a dick about it. Maybe I don’t have a hundred bucks. Hell, maybe I don’t have ten. Ask our comic expert, Nick Spears, how his experience was. He wanted to be a part of the charity craze, but he chose to do something different and I applaud him for it, but don’t knock him for contributing to another charity. He chose to give money to kids that need it in his part of the world. Kudos Nick!
Another part that gets at me is people not knowing what the ice bucket actually represents. If you don’t know anything about ALS, it is a neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons eventually lead to their death, and when they die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. This is what leads to paralysis and death in those that are affected by it. What the ice bucket does is gives people a split-second paralysis due to the insanely cold feeling. It gives people a chance to know for only a moment what people with ALS deal with every day. So, in my humble opinion, if you’re going to do the ice bucket challenge, then make ALS your charity of choice. If you want to bring awareness, state that you are rejecting the ice bucket challenge and donating money to another organization. Personally, I did both. I donated to ALS in doing the challenge and then donated to the American Lung Association as well. But hey, who am I to tell you what to do?
Okay, so you just read all that and are wondering “well, he donated, but where did he go to do that?” That’s one of the biggest problems I’ve had with people. They’re taking the time to put themselves out there on social media and get some attention, but did they actually tell anybody what website to go to? Do they even know? Did they actually donate money? As you’ll see when I put mine up below, I told people where to go (alsa.org and lung.org) and as far as donating, we just have to hope that people are actually doing it.
Are we wasting water? Maybe. Probably. But did you know that the average is about one flush of a toilet? And I’m not directing this next part at everybody, but before this craze started, did you really give a damn about a water shortage? Did you know that the western states are in a drought before someone put that on your feed? Have you ever taken a long shower? Do you reuse the water that melts in your cooler after a night of drinking? . Did you use a bong to smoke weed this week when you’ve got a perfectly good bowl in the house? Hmmm…just a thought.
Overall, I really dig what’s going on with this whole challenge. It’s raising millions upon millions of dollars for ALS and bringing some awareness and raising some money for other organizations as well. The positives far outweigh the negatives here, so for those who are hating just for the sake of hating, just shut the hell up. If you don’t agree with this whole thing, again, that’s your opinion and you are entitled to it. If someone challenges you and you don’t want to do, just respectfully decline and move on with your day. Calling people out for their participation doesn’t make you look like a rebel or a badass. It just makes you look like an asshole.
I’m not pretending to be an expert on ALS or charity or world water problems, but at least I’ve done some research. And that’s all I have to say about that. Oh yeah, here’s mine.
TRILOGY COUNTDOWN
#10-THE INFERNAL AFFAIRS TRILOGY-IF YOU MISSED IT, CLICK HERE
#9-THE NAKED GUN TRILOGY-IF YOU MISSED IT, CLICK HERE
#8-THE LECTER TRILOGY
SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, HANNIBAL, RED DRAGON
There’s a chance that this could have been higher on the list had all three films been outstanding, but let’s be honest, one was subpar. But the overall strength has The Lecter Trilogy at #8 on my list of all-time favorite trilogies.
I don’t think anyone knew how good Silence of the Lambs could be back in the 90’s, but when it was released, it came on strong, winning every major category at the Oscars. And for good reason. With an amazing performance from Jodie Foster and a “who knew that Anthony Hopkins could do that” portrayal of Hannibal Lecter, the first of the trilogy really sets the pace for the rest of the franchise. This movie is filled with amazing moments and some great dialogue, none of which includes the line “Hello, Clarice”. This actually doesn’t get said until the next movie. But think about some of the jacked up moments that happen in this movie, from Miggs’ toss to the awesome dance from “Buffalo Bill” and everything in between.
Most people will say that Silence of the Lambs is the strongest of the trilogy, but I think we can all agree on what the weakest was. Hannibal just couldn’t match the intensity of its predecessor. It becomes even more difficult when one of the main roles has changed actors, as was the case here. Not wanting to return, Jodie Foster was replaced by Julianne Moore, who certainly did her best in the Starling role, but it’s hard to follow up an Oscar-winning performance, even as great as Moore can be. Hopkins was still good, but not as good as he was in the other two films. But hey, at least we got this out of it.
The third movie in this trilogy is probably my favorite. Red Dragon takes place before the events of Silence of the Lambs and is filled with stars. Hopkins obviously returns as Lecter, but this time is joined by Edward Norton, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and Ralph Fiennes, who actually steals this movie. Watching his transformation throughout the film is mesmerizing. For a while, you actually find yourself rooting for him, even though you know he’s insane, much like you feel with Hannibal in the first movie. You can see that he actually has good in him, but his mind just won’t let him be that person. Instead we get this and it’s awesome.
That’s going to do it for me today. I’ll be back tomorrow with another edition of “Working the Weekend with Luke” as I continue my trilogy countdown with #7. Over at Binge Media Sports, I’ll be bringing you more NFL previews over the next few days. If you missed the first one on the AFC East and NFC East, click HERE. As always, if you have any comments on anything I’ve talked about, leave them below or follow me and tweet @THElukenorris. But before I go, here’s another fantastic clip from Beverly Hills, 90210. Remember Emily Valentine?
There are some horses within the entertainment business which are just too fun to repeatedly beat down, aren’t there? You have Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, whose reasons we tear them down with words are so easy to justify. There is what goes through us keyboard warriors’ minds when we see our favorite childhood film get mentioned in the ‘remake’ category. My impression of these types goes as so: “Oooohhhh, where is my iphone so I can rant on Facebook about how much this remake is a disgrace to society. FUCK HOLLYWOOD!” Don’t worry. I’ve been there too.
First of all, I am not going to sit here and pretend that the late great David Bowie played a huge part in my life. I was not an outcast who had Ziggy Stardust plastered all over my walls. Nor did I watch Labyrinth on repeat. Truth be told, with the exceptions of a couple Rolling Stone Magazine interviews, a collaboration with Trent Reznor, and a flash of tabloid covers depicting his supposedly bizarre early lifestyle and marriage to former supermodel Iman, Bowie was pretty non existent in the first two and a half decades or so of my life. Even with everyone telling me that Marilyn Manson’s 1998 album Mechanical Animals, an album I absolutely loved, was an almost plagiaristic rip-off of Bowie’s own Ziggy Stardust persona, I never thought twice about him.
