Sunday
Sep292013
Podcast: Prisoners, Don Jon, and Enough Said
Sunday, September 29, 2013 at 1:01PM 
In this week's podcast Nathaniel, Katey, Joe and Nick discuss three current releases: the dramatic thriller Prisoners (spoilers ahead) and the surprising romantic comedies/character studies Don Jon and Enough Said (spoilers...though it's not really a "plot" movie and the central surprise is given away in the trailers)
Topics include: Scarlett Johansson's career renaissance, James Gandolfini and posthumous performances, Catherine Keener's "statement hair", and various plot machinations in all three films. Are their screenplay contrivances deal breakers or the things keeping them distinctive within their genres?
You can listen at the bottom of the post or download it on iTunes. Join in the conversation in the comments.
Reader Comments (14)
Great convo again, especially on Enough Said.
But Joe, you did not have to spoil the ending. :/
I feel like Nick and I share the viewing experience of noticing the different shots and editing tics that stick out with directors. Lake Bell's In a World from a formal/technical standpoint just felt so sloppy. It is the kind of thing I will forgive first-time directors but it feels like in the digital dominant way of making movies now that I notice it more.
Dang. I feel like we've been buried in a basement.
Hard to relate to a podcast if people are calling Prisoners popcorn junk and calling The Town a bad movie.
Popcorn junk is something like Transformers. Prisoners is mainstream arthouse cinema.
Nick -- right? I think we've been spoiled in past weeks with quick responses.
Ant -- i agree with the first half of your second comment ;) . And this is the first I'm hearing of The Town being a bad movie ;) though I loved it less than most i still thought it was strong mainstream stuff (like Prisoners actually)
The experience of watching "Prisoners" was semi-spoiled for me because there was a guy seating behind me in the theater who could not shut up about everything that was unfolding. He could not stop cussing at the character and I just flipped when he called Viola Davis a "dumb bi$!h" when she unties Paul Dano. My instinct: turn around and say, "Just watch the f*$%ing movie!" He didn't… You can imagine he went berserk when Jake opens the snake-filled canisters.
Anyway, great podcast. Thank you guys once again.
As much as I (reservedly) liked Prisoners, that section of your podcast was a hoot. The plot is so outlandish that it opens itself to skewering, and nobody does it better (because you do it from a place of love).
Saving the Don Jon and Enough Said portions for when I've seen the movies.
It's really a treat to have these podcasts coming so furiously, even if I have to kind of remind myself to revisit as I see the movies.
The repeated use of "Good Vibrations" has me shamelessly imagining what a Marky Mark-headlining Don Jon would be like: phenomenal melding of actor to role, or just half-hearted typecasting? I did get the impression that JGL was attempting his best Wahlberg impression throughout roughly half of the movie.
So so so glad that the gang is back with another podcast, and that they're coming so frequently. Even when I disagree on a particular movie, you all are too entertaining for me to ever fault you!
I love that scene in Lovely and Amazing when Emily Mortimer asks Dermot Mulroney to tell her honestly about her body. Sigh.
I... didn't feel Prisoners' predictability is a problem! It's a 2.5 hours long movie, everything there that is plot-related is essential to the plot. So sure, the final twist isn't a twist, but it's how we get there and the characters' mistakes along the way that's the point! That's what I thought, anyway. Grumble, grumble. The fact that no characters actually exist other than Jackman's character is much more of a problem.
Joey -- that's my favorite scene in that movie. ugh. it singlehandedly bought emily mortimer good will from me from then on in every movie/tv :)
Pitry -- i agree even though i myself didn't predict it. I don't mind character missteps as it makes the plot more believable... -- it's one thing i can't stomach about procedurals on tv... the way the characters are always right to wrap things up in 47 minutes -- which is crucial for such a crazy plot.
Nathaniel and Nick, I usually listen to your podcasts right away but I hadn't seen any of the movies yet when you posted this one, and I really like to go in ice cold to movies, so I was avoiding spoilers. And thank god, because I wouldn't have been happy about Prisoners and Don Jon getting spoiled since I had no idea about either of their endings. I didn't even know what Prisoners was about, and I had no idea why Julianne Moore popped up in the trailers in the first place for Don Jon, so both films ended up being pleasant surprises for me. I saw Prisoners today (the last one of the three I saw) and this was the first thing I did when I got home: downloaded the podcast. :-)
Do you read the comments two weeks after posting?