Episodes
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It's the week of Valentine's Day and we're old romantics here at Creaky Chair, so we decided to spend our 69th episode discussing some of our very favourite romance movies.
Bill chooses the Rob Reiner/Nora Ephron rom-com classic 'When Harry Met Sally', the decidedly steamy 'The Big Easy' by Jim McBride, and guilty pleasure 'How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days' starring Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey.
Sam opts for another Nora Ephron/Meg Ryan rom-com, 'Sleepless in Seattle', the chaste British masterpiece from David Lean 'Brief Encounter', Céline Sciamma's French historical romance 'Portrait of a Lady on Fire', and 'A Cinderella Story' starring Hilary Duff and Chad Michael Murray.
Michael talks about the minimalist romance of 'Before Sunrise' starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, the heartbreakingly real French film 'Blue is the Warmest Colour', the Bill Forsyth coming-of-age story 'Gregory's Girl', and the bizarre dark comedy 'Harold and Maude'.
In our Make Believe Moviehouse segment we talk to David Jenkins, editor of the wonderful film magazine Little White Lies.
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On this episode we bring you a review double-header of films that are polar opposites from one another. Michael reviews 'Enys Men', the low-budget Cornish folk horror from Mark Jenkin, while Bill and Sam review the mega-blockbuster 'Avatar 2: The Way of Water' from James Cameron.
We also chat about Bela Tarr's 1994 masterpiece of slow cinema 'Satantango', the new Darren Aronofsky film 'The Whale' which is heralding the comeback of Brendan Fraser, and Scott Cooper's new mystery/thriller 'The Pale Blue Eye' starring Christian Bale.
Also, in our Make Believe Moviehouse segment, we chat with Gareth Humphreys and Josh Lawson, co-founders and directors of Dead Northern horror film festival.
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Episodes manquant?
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We are back with our first proper episode of 2023. We review the film everyone was talking about over Christmas, Rian Johnson's 'Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery' starring Daniel Craig and another ensemble cast.
We talk about the films we are most looking forward to over the year ahead. In addition, Michael rhapsodises over Charlotte Wells' debut film 'Aftersun' starring Paul Mescal and Frankie Corio, Bill talks about the Mark Mylod black comedy 'The Menu' starring Ralph Fiennes, and Sam has nothing but praise for the Sara Dosa documentary 'Fire of Love'.
If that were not all, we pilot a new segment for the podcast - Make-believe Moviehouse. Our first guest is Sean McGeady, a freelance writer/sub-editor who has written for the likes of Empire, Fangoria, Little White Lies and TimeOut. He tells us about what films he would programme in his fantasy film festival and his passion for the little-known sub-genre of 'melt movies'.
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Join us for this special episode as we look back over 2022 and pick out some of our favourite films that we've covered on the podcast.
We also select the film the three of us unanimously agree was the worst of the year, as well as the very best of the year.
Thanks for listening, do stick with us for our third year of talking all things film.
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Join us for our final episode of 2022 as we discuss three of our favourite films that we associate with, and tend to rewatch, over the festive period.
First up, Bill talks about John McTiernan's 1988 Christmas action classic 'Die Hard' starring Bruce Willis and Alan Rickman.
Second up, Sam discusses Billy Wilder's 1960 film 'The Apartment' starring Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine.
Lastly, Michael reminisces about first watching Robin Hardy's 1973 seminal folk horror 'The Wicker Man' on New Year's Eve and how it's become indelibly linked to the end of year celebrations.
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Join us for this episode where we discuss the Australian crime/thriller 'The Stranger' from director Thomas M. Wright, starring Joel Edgerton and Sean Harris. Two men of fine beard mumbling in a bleak Australian landscape...
News-wise, we discuss the reported attempts by a 'consortium' of interests to resurrect 60s counterculture classic 'Easy Rider' for the 21st century, and the newly released trailer for Indy 5.
We also discuss the new seasonal comedy/action 'Violent Night' from Tommy Wirkola; the latest Gasper Noe film, the experimental 'Vortex', and one of Steven Spielberg's oft-overlooked films, 1997's slave epic 'Amistad' starring Anthony Hopkins and Morgan Freeman.
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On this episode, join us as we discuss the controversial new film from Andrew Dominik - 'Blonde' starring Ana de Armas as Marilyn Monroe in a 'fictional reimagining' of the Hollywood superstar's life and death.
We also discuss the new Martin McDonagh black comedy 'The Banshees of Inisherin' starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, the 2015 gambling comedy/drama 'Mississippi Grind' starring Ryan Reynolds, and the latest Olivia Wilde film 'Don't Worry Darling' starring Florence Pugh and Harry Styles.
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We're a little late for Halloween, but nevertheless, we bring you a spooky special - our Creaky Chair guide to the vampire movie. We explore the quintessential horror trope and the innumerable different guises it has taken over the decades.
We begin with Year Zero for the vampire film - F. W. Murnau's seminal 'Nosferatu', marking its centenary this year.
We then proceed to discuss our favourite examples of the sub-genre. Michael opts for the Hammer classic 'Dracula - Prince of Darkness' (1966) and Werner Herzog's masterful remake 'Nosferatu the Vampyre' (1979). Sam talks about the New Zealand mockumentary 'What We Do in the Shadows' (2014) and the black comedy/horror with the tour de force Nic Cage performance, 'Vampire's Kiss' (1988). While Bill chooses Guillermo del Toro's 'Cronos' (1993) and Neil Jordan's glamorous and gory 'Interview with the Vampire' (1994).
We also highlight some other quirky examples of the vampire film, from 'Blacula' to 'From Dusk till Dawn' to 'Blade', and more.
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On this episode, we discuss the much-talked-about Indian historical/action epic 'RRR' from director S. S. Rajamouli. Set in the time of the British Raj, and based on two real-life revolutionaries, this was the most expensive Indian film ever made. FInd out whether we thought that budget, and the social media hype, translates into a good film.
Bill reviews a handful of short horror films from this year's Dead Northern Film Festival - 'Woodland Cemetery' (Niels Bourgonje), 'The Baby Monitor' (Frank Appio), and 'Sucker' (Alix Austin).
Continuing with horror, Sam climbs aboard the 'Horror Express' (1972), a creepy overlooked film from Eugenio Martin starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing.
Michael rounds off the episode by revisiting Richard Fleischer's 1973 sci-fi 'Soylent Green' starring Charlton Heston - a dystopian vision of a world in 2022.
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Join us for this special bonus episode as Bill and Sam report back from their time at Dead Northern Film Festival 2022 - a cracking horror film festival based in the city of York.
They review the world premiere of horror/comedy/mockumentary 'Searching for Veslomy', and the world premiere of horror/comedy anthology 'Calling Nurse Meow'. The world premieres continue with British horror/drama 'The Stranger', and last but definitely not least - the "absolutely batshit" British horror/comedy 'Eating Miss Campbell'.
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Join us for this episode in which Michael and Sam discuss Jordan Peele's third film, the sci-fi/horror 'Nope' starring Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer. Meanwhile, Bill reviews Quentin Tarantino's 1997 film 'Jackie Brown' on its 25th anniversary re-release.
We discuss why Michael Bay's action blockbuster 'Armageddon' has been in the news recently, and how two budding directors managed to land the job for the sixth instalment of the 'Final Destination' franchise in what was described as "the Zoom call to end all Zoom calls".
Also, Sam gives us his views on new horror film from Parker Finn, 'Smile'; Michael marks the 40th anniversary of Godfrey Reggio's seminal art film 'Koyaanisqatsi'; and Bill shares his thoughts on the latest Adam Sandler film, the sports drama 'Hustle'.
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Join us for this episode where we discuss the new Baz Luhrmann musical biopic 'Elvis' starring Austin Butler as the King of Rock n' Roll, and Tom Hanks as Col. Tom Parker.
We discuss the news about the release of a new spy thriller 'Blackbird', financed, directed, written by and starring Michael 'Lord of the Dance' Flatley. And news about a forthcoming Winnie the Pooh horror film.
We also talk about another Elvis biopic by John Carpenter starring Kurt Russell - 'Elvis' (1979), the documentary series 'Five Came Back' (2017) by Laurent Bouzereau, and Ron Howard's new disaster film 'Thirteen Lives' based on the true story of the Tham Luang cave rescue.
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On this extra-long episode we present our Creaky Chair guide to the historical epic. We decided that 'historical' meant anything pre-20th century and had to have some basis in historical fact.
Sam went for Abel Gance's 1927 silent classic 'Napoléon' (which, clocking in at some 5 hours, is the most epic of our choices in terms of length), as well as 'Ran' (1985), Akira Kurosawa's loose adaptation of 'King Lear' set in the time of warring Japanese feudal dynasties.
Bill opted for sword-and-sandals Roman epics 'Ben-Hur' (1959) starring Charlton Heston, and Ridley Scott's 'Gladiator' (2000) starring Russell Crowe and Oliver Reed.
Michael chose Andrei Tarkovsky's 1966 masterpiece 'Andrei Rublev' about the Russian icon painter, and Mel Gibson's divisive 'Braveheart' (1995) about the Scottish folk hero William Wallace.
Before all the historical epics chat, we also find time to discuss the shock recent news about Warner Bros' decision to scrap 'Batgirl' entirely, and ponder what the implications for the film industry might be.
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Join us for this episode as we delve into the multiverse and discuss Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert's genre-defying 'Everything Everywhere All At Once', starring Michelle Yeoh and Jamie Lee Curtis. It's a thoroughly mad film and we've got lots to say about it.
We discuss the sad recent departures of several Hollywood legends such as James Caan and David Warner, as well as Martin Scorsese's new project 'The Wager'.
Continuing the multiverse theme, Bill reviews the latest MCU blockbuster 'Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' from director Sam Raimi. Michael revisits an American dystopia double-bill of Peter Watkins' 1971 pseudo-documentary 'Punishment Park' and the 1982 grindhouse documentary 'The Killing of America'. Sam talks about the 1979 musical/drama 'All That Jazz' from director Bob Fosse, starring Roy Scheider.
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We are back after a brief hiatus! Join us this week as we discuss the eagerly-awaited summer blockbuster 'Top Gun: Maverick' with Tom Cruise reprising his iconic role as Captain Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell.
As well as discussing recent movie news, we also chat about Orson Welles' 1942 masterpiece 'The Magnificent Ambersons', the life-affirming 2014 film about gays and lesbians supporting the striking miners 'Pride', the very much not life-affirming 2019 real-life drama 'Dark Waters' from director Todd Haynes, and Rob Savage's new found-footage movie 'Dashcam'.
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Join us for this episode as we discuss Tom Gormican's meta action/comedy 'The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent', starring Nicolas Cage as... Nick Cage.
We chat about the rumoured fourth Austin Powers movie, and Justin Lin's shock departure as director of 'Fast X'.
In addition, we chat about the 2021 Palme d'Or winner, Julia Ducournau's body horror 'Titane', the 1984 period drama 'Amadeus' from Milos Forman, and the 1982 proto-3D slasher 'Friday the 13th Part 3'.
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On this podcast, we are big fans of Robert Eggers, so join us as we review his third and biggest film to date, the Viking action/drama 'The Northman' starring Alexander Skarsgård, Anya Taylor-Joy and Nicole Kidman.
In film news, we discuss the woes of Netflix as they announce projected subscriber losses for the year ahead, and the (apparently) unfounded rumours of a new David Lynch film appearing at the Cannes Film Festival.
We also chat about Randall Miller's 2008 comedy/drama about wine 'Bottle Shock' starring Alan Rickman, the new comedy/action 'The Lost City' starring Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum and Brad Pitt, and Lars von Trier's controversial 2009 experimental horror film 'Antichrist' starring Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg.
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In this episode, Michael and Sam discuss the new Japanese drama/road movie 'Drive my Car' from Ryusuke Hamaguchi. The film was the recipient of three awards at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival and the winner of the Best International Feature Film award at this year's Oscars.
As well as discussing all the fall-out from the Oscars, we discuss Kathryn Bigelow's 1991 surfing action/crime classic 'Point Break' starring Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze, the 2019 Scott Z. Burns true-life political drama 'The Report' starring Adam Driver, Kelly Reichardt's 2006 minimalist friendship drama 'Old Joy', and the 2001 cult classic teen comedy 'Ghost World' from Terry Zwigoff starring Thora Birch, Scarlett Johannson and Steve Buscemi.
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In this episode, to mark the release of the new incarnation of the Caped Crusader - Matt Reeves' 'The Batman' starring Robert Pattinson, we are dedicating an episode to exploring the twists and turns, the highs and lows of one of the most iconic superhero characters in cinema.
Before reviewing the new film, we share views on the cinematic legacy - from Adam West in the camp classic 'Batman: The Movie' (1966), to Tim Burton's dark reinvention 'Batman' (1989) with Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson, to the Joel Schumacher mid-90s films, to the triumphant Christopher Nolan 'Dark Knight' trilogy.
If that's not enough, we give our predictions ahead of this year's Oscars, and Michael deviates from the BatChat to share his thoughts having rewatched Paul Verhoeven's 1997 sci-fi/action 'Starship Troopers' which is now thought of as being one of the most misunderstood films of recent times.
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We are delighted to reached our 50th episode! To mark this occasion, we are talking all about our favourite films that are celebrating their half-centenary this year - so our pick from an amazing year of cinema, 1972.
From the hard science-fiction of Andrei Tarkovsky's 'Solaris' and Douglas Trumbull's 'Silent Running', to the epic majesty of Werner Herzog's 'Aguirre - Wrath of God' and the metaphor-rich sequel 'Conquest of the Planet of the Apes'. We cover Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris and their spectacular battle in 'The Way of the Dragon', Luis Bunuel's surrealist classic 'The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie', one of Alfred Hitchcock's better late-career efforts 'Frenzy', a hidden gem of a western 'The Culpepper Cattle Co'., and the gloriously depraved 'Pink Flamingos' from Divine and John Waters.
Join us for over an hour packed with chat about films to revisit and watch for the first time on this, their 50th anniversary.
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