Monday
Nov232015
Podcast: Room, Brooklyn, Spotlight
Monday, November 23, 2015 at 12:10PM Nathaniel and Nick are back, after an unexpected podcast hiatus, to catch up before the Thanksgiving holiday.
43 minutes
00:01 Intros, Carol's opening, Hateful 8 gossip
04:30 Split feeling on Room
11:19 Saoirse Ronan in Brooklyn
20:06 Complicated platform releases, audience confusion, and dismissed "flops" of October including Truth
32:25 Delayed reaction to Black Mass
34:40 Spotlight's conflicts, arc, quality
You can listen to the podcast here at the bottom of the post or download from iTunes. Continue the conversation in the comments won't you?
Reader Comments (13)
Did either of you have standouts among the Spotlight cast? I have a hard time picking favorites, though I thought Michael Cyril Creighton was outstanding in a smaller role.
Kelsie -- i liked Keaton & Tucci best personally though i also was wild about Crudup & Sheridan in the teenier roles
<sarcasm> I feel so bad about all your comments on Hateful Eight. </sarcasm>
Actressexuals and Black Mass: a meh waiting to happen...
Love it when it's just Nathaniel and Nick! They are the best. Love Katey too!
Nice podcast. It's a shame Nick's connection was so bad. Difficult to hear him at times...but what I did hear I agreed with, of course.
Thanks again, you guys! I'm hopefully seeing Carol on my birthday and I also want to see Truth and Brooklyn. Not interested in the other movies but I surely enjoyed hearing your thoughts on them.
Is anyone else scared that the three hour version of Hateful Eight being sent to theaters was cut down to get there? I'm so mad Carol got shoved back but that reasoning makes some sense of it, and it's not like I'm planning on skipping it because it's coming out a month later. Hopefully everyone else who wanted to see it decides to wait for it too.
I found the comments about Brooklyn to be very interesting. I think I agree with both of you and yet I really liked it as well.
About Emory Cohen, the "bad boy" quality that Nathaniel mentioned was very apparent to me too and I'd never seen him before (I'd never connected him to the annoying kid on Smash). So there was a real frisson between his bad boy "natural" tendency coupled with his desire to be a good boy. It created a really dynamic performance for me.
But what I most loved about Brooklyn was how lived in all the secondary characters were. A real triumph of casting. And actressing.
The non-major market release schedules of late have been beyond wackadoodle! It's felt like the only thing that didn't change its date in my city was "Truth". The struggle is real.
Dave - YES! The whole time in Ireland, I wanted to ask her "But don't you really miss your friends you live with and your gorgeous Jessica Pare boss??"
This podcast is so on point about the convoluted nature of film releasing.
Surprised that Brooklyn was more tepidly received by both of you. I thought it was old-school filmmaking with truly soulful living in all the performances. The camera lingers on the characters long enough that you become surprised by their self-doubt or confidence.
I agree with you both that I have never understood Emory Cohen's appeal, but good lord, this was the most engagingly sly performance. Wasn't it such a neat trick that we have grown to expect him to be the horror show, Italian macho abusive man, that he'll eventually turn on her, but what we really have is what we always saw: someone completely earnest, perhaps a little dim, but completely invested in his future and true in his love.
It's a deceptive trick of a performance -- I'd love to see him rack up some noms.
Also, Nick, I don't know if you'd like Cinderella (I did) but if you want to see yet another good/great performance by Blanchett in 2015, take a chance.
I am getting depressed over the less than stellar word of mouth in regards to The Hateul Eight. However I agree Django Unchained sucked , so excessive and self-indulgent. I want Jennifer Jason Leigh to be brilliant!