“The Dark Knight Rises” debuts more new character posters
Has the Sacha Baron Cohen shtick jumped the shark?
Tim Grierson on Will Smith, the Last Movie Star
Exclusive download: Corporal, featuring Michael Shannon, presents “Glory”
This week on the IFC News podcast — we’re, sadly, closing up shop, at least for now and at least in this incarnation. It’s been a wonderful 215 episodes, and we’re very grateful to all of our listeners and to everyone who’s written in to agree with us, disagree with us, take us to task…
The snow. The swag. The cinema. Alison Willmore called all the way from Park City, UT to bring us a report on the first weekend of activity at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. Topics include Kevin Smith and the circus around “Red State, his first independently financed movie since “Clerks,” the big buzz movies of…
He’s manufactured a plausibly ramshackle business in memory loss, introduced the world to “sweding” and has now attempted a transition into the realms of the superhero movie. This week on the IFC News podcast, we look at the visually inventive output of Michel Gondry. DOWNLOAD MP3, 1:08:22 minutes, 62.6 MB SUBSCRIBE iTunes | XML This…
The talent getting involved — like Michel Gondry, Darren Aronofsky and others — may be better than ever, but the superhero movie and other comic book adaptations seem to be in a moment of flux, as the studio system runs out of or reboots prominent franchises and struggles with how to adapt more niche series.…
“True Grit,” the Coen brothers’ Western starring Jeff Bridges as a tough marshal hired by a stern young girl to track down her father’s killer, has become their highest grossing movie. In honor of their latest, this week’s IFC News podcast looks through the Coens’ filmography and genre-jumping, from the neo-noir of “Blood Simple” and…
In the second part of our look back at the memorable moments of the past year, we also look forward to what we’re anticipating in 2011. DOWNLOAD MP3, 1:03:53 minutes, 61.4 MB SUBSCRIBE iTunes | XML This week’s keyword game giveaway is a grab bag where six winners will receive one of the following DVDs:…
We’re already offered our picks for the best films of 2010. But what about the best final shot of a film this year? The most unfairly maligned movie? The greatest fight scene? In the first of a two-part episode, we look at some of our favorite scenes, moments, performances and images from the year in…
Last week, the Michelle Williams/Ryan Gosling indie romance “Blue Valentine” received an R rating, having appealed the MPAA after initially being slapped with an NC-17. It’s the third film in recent months to receive a controversially harsh rating, along with “The King’s Speech” and “A Film Unfinished,” resurrecting the eternal debate about what our ratings…
“The Fighter,” based on the life of boxer “Irish” Micky Ward, has been a dream project of Mark Wahlberg’s for years. The film comes out this week, and inspired by its release we’ve devoted this week’s IFC News podcast to boxing at the movies, from ’40s films like “The Set-Up” to the evolution of the…
Natalie Portman plays an obsessed dancer whose psyche may be splintering under the stress of preparing for a new show in Darren Aronofsky’s “Black Swan.” It’s not new for an onscreen ballerina — ballet’s been a handy battleground for the clash between one’s art and everything else in the movies. This week on the IFC…
“The King’s Speech,” which opens on Friday and stars Colin Firth as the future George VI, is both an early awards contender and the year’s big prestige picture involving royalty. This week on the IFC News podcast, we look at monarchies (from different countries) in movies, the intrigues, the glamor, the corsetry. DOWNLOAD MP3, 59:13…
The greatest food movies are never just about making or consuming food — for them, food is tradition, it’s family, it’s even art. This week on the IFC News podcast, we talk about some of the most memorable representations of food and cooking on screen, from the prison meal in “Goodfellas” to the erotic comestibles…
It’s Veterans Day on Thursday, and inspired by the holiday and the men and women it honors, this week’s IFC News podcast turns to films about life after combat. We look at the differences and recurring themes of representations of on-screen veterans from “The Best Years of Our Lives” to “Stop-Loss.” DOWNLOAD MP3, 1:06:21 minutes,…
One of the breakout directors of the ’90s thanks to his still-exuberant, edgy and dark 1996 drug story, Danny Boyle has gone on to an intriguing career of bringing his visually kinetic style to genres as varied as horror, sci-fi, romantic comedy and now semi-experimental tales of survival. On this week’s IFC News podcast, we…
With “Saw 3D” being promised as the last in the series, are we finally seeing an end to the horror subgenre that was torture porn? This week on the IFC News podcast, we talk about the loose definitions of torture porn, whether “enjoyment” is the right word to describe the experience of watching such extreme…
But don’t cry! We’ll be back next week.
On this week’s IFC News podcast — our 200th! — we revisit an episode we did back in 2007, in which we pointed out some of the most glaring gaps in our film background. On this week’s installment, we follow up on ten of those blind spots, discussing finally caught-up with classics from “Raging Bull”…
Arthur Penn, who passed away last week at age 88, is by far best known for 1967′s “Bonnie and Clyde,” and film that shocked and challenged audiences and helped usher in the New Hollywood era. But that’s far from his only film. This week on the IFC News podcast, we discuss highlights from Penn’s career,…
We’re on the road this week, heading from the ongoing New York Film Festival to Austin, TX for the genre-centric Fantastic Fest. This week on the IFC News podcast, we discuss what we’ve seen and liked at these very different festivals so far, focusing on their two opening night features — David Fincher’s “The Social…
This week sees the release of this year’s Woody Allen movie, “You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger.” Inspired by a description of writers given by Kurt Vonnegut in “Timequake,” not to mention Allen’s prolific career, in this week’s IFC News podcast we try dividing some of our favorite filmmakers into two categories — swoopers…
This week’s new release “The Freebie” looks at a couple who try to spice up their marriage by allowing themselves one night to sleep with other people. Obviously, it doesn’t work out as well as planned — but really, they’re lucky it didn’t result in murder. Infidelity in movies tends to have notably dire consequences,…
Most movies that take on the topic of fame go out of their way to portray the downside, the isolation, the emptiness and, worst of all, the shock when that fame fades away. This week on the IFC News podcast, inspired by the Joaquin Phoenix meltdown movie “I’m Still Here,” we talk about how celebrity…
Fall movie season — and all the resplendence, prestige, and hype that comes with it — is nearly upon us. Before we start looking forward to the great movies coming our way (we hope), we’re looking back at the best of 2010 so far, or at least the best of 2010 so far that you…
Would you ever agree to a dinner party if you were a movie character? When they aren’t showcases for social awkwardness, embarrassment, frenemyship or the airing of dirty laundry, they’re the location of plots to uncover murders. This week on the IFC News podcast, we look at dinner parties in films, from the endless get-together…
Ben Affleck’s directorial follow-up to “Gone Baby Gone” “The Town,” American remake of Swedish vampire movie “Let Me In,” Mark Romanek’s “Never Let Me Go,” David Fincher’s “The Social Network” — this week on the IFC News podcast, we take a look at the major trailers for this fall’s most anticipated movies, and look at…
