223. 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy' (1979 BBC Series)

This week we dive into Disney's 'Escape To Witch Mountain', a superlative 1970's effort about telekinetic orphaned siblings fleeing the evil clutches of a business man determined to use their predictive abilities for financial gain.  Ray Milland, Donald Pleasance, and Eddie Albert lend their distinctive abilities to the effort, and a roster of studio-system pro actors rounds out the cast. And lest we forget WINKY THE CAT?  Plus Headlines, Rants 'n Raves and much much more!

7 Mars 20191h 14min

Wendell B. Harris, Jr won the Grand Jury Prize at the 1990 Sundance Film Festival with his debut independent feature "Chameleon Street", a fictional retelling of the incredible life of professional imposter William Douglas Street, a man who pretended to be lawyers, reporters, students and doctors, even performing 36 successful hysterectomies.   "Chameleon Street" announced the arrival of a fully-formed cinematic auteur who had carved out a highly-specific mix of humor, drama, politics, and race relations and was seemingly presented with all the runway to fulfill the promise repped in his entirely self-funded, truly independent first feature.  Instead, he never directed another film.

28 Feb 20191h 9min

2019's Oscars played like a sequel to the 2017 Oscars ... but without the happy ending. Jason and Chris break down (sorta) the ceremony; the set, the winners, the losers, the songs, the snubs, and the question of why we're even talking about this stuff. Come for the praise of Billy Porter's tux-gown, stay for Olivia Coleman's speech!

25 Feb 201940min

LETTTTTT THE RIVER RUNNNNNNN.....Teased hair, eye-shadow that matches your earrings, a 10 o'clock with Slater and lunch with Mr. Trask at 1 downtown.  It's WORKING GIRL and it's got fantastic casting, superlative directing from Mike Nichols and, at the center, a singular performance from Melanie Griffith and another scene-stealing romp from Joan Cusack alongside excellent work from Alec Baldwin, Sigourney Weaver, Phillip Bosco and Amy Aquino.  ALSO: F*ck Jerry!  Pet Semetary rises from the dirt of remembrance and the graveyard of Stephen King adaptations, Chris dares to speak ill of "My Bodyguard", Rants n Raves, Headlines and more!

21 Feb 20191h 14min

Sometimes a film captures the public imagination because it expresses a universal truth in an of-the-moment way. Sometimes it’s because its great artistry reframes a thing we thought we knew. And sometimes it’s because it's pre-chewed, spiceless mush that spackles over the heart-spaced hole where consciousness used to sit before a militantly vapid consumerist culture eradicated humanity’s desire – even ability – to truly feel. Which one is 2004’s The Notebook? Listen to this very special, Valentine’s Day episode of FULL CAST AND CREW to find out!

14 Feb 20191h 5min

This week the FULL CAST AND CREW crew saddles up for THE LAST UNICORN, a 1982 animated feature which, depending on your age, either scared the crap out of you or you have yet to experience.  'The Last Unicorn' is a grandly bizarre spectacle mashing up incredible Japanese hand-drawn animation, voices from Mia Farrow, Alan Arkin, Brother Theodore, and Jeff Bridges, and surprisingly sophisticated takes on belonging and otherness.  We talk about writing for children, animating for everyone, LOTS of music, a voice cast of unparalleled talent, including Jason’s personal favorite, Brother Theodore … who Chris had never heard of (SHOCKER). PLUS:  We are refuseniks with no celebrity friends, the movies of Jean-Pierre Melville, the Fyre Fest docs, and Matt the Engineer makes a restaurant recommendation. From the 1980's. I can't believe I ate the whole thing!

7 Feb 20191h 12min

Across an arctic tundra, a lone sled dog runs, pursued by 2 men in a helicopter. One of them brandishes a rifle and begins shooting.  Workers at a remote arctic research station watch as the helicopter crashes and explodes.  They befriend the dog, welcoming him..and something else... into their kennel.  Thus begins John Carpenter's classic icy masterpiece 'The Thing'.  Featuring spot-on casting, spooky, wind-rattled interiors, dark humor, KURT RUSSELL, and a unique shape-shifting "Thing"...it seems insane now that this film almost ruined Carpenter's career upon release and damaged his relationship with the horror audience and the film community for years...all because of a movie he didn't really want to do in the first place.

31 Jan 20191h 1min

'Green Book' tells white people that it's all good! Racism, man!  Good thing that's over, amirite?  From a shaky, ill-conceived premise comes a shaky, ill-conceived White Savior movie directed, of course, by "Dumb & Dumber" director Peter Farrelly.  That said, Vigo and Mahershala do very good jobs with limited material.  The movie itself is a by-the-numbers Odd Couple/Road Trip/Buddy Comedy with few surprises. But the clamor AROUND the movie is far more interesting and touches upon timely and topical themes like "who gets to tell what stories?" and "should you be faithful to a person's life and truth when making a movie at least in part about that person" and "Should we call this 'Green Book' even when it's about a white guy?".  We also delve into the REAL Donald Shirley, play some of his music and listen to him talk about racism in America. ALSO HEADLINES (with our snappy theme-song):  'Green Book' Director Peter Farrelly and something else he pulled out of his lower region.  Nick Vallelonga regrets his regrettable tweets. Jason suffers a real-time podcasting injury while making a joke about another man's physical challenges.  Robot-on-robot crime and RANTS N RAVE, or at least Chris on the Go-Go's musical and a whole revealing section about Matt The Engineer.

24 Jan 20191h 7min