Brian Raftery
@BrianRaftery
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Podcaster (THE HOLLYWOOD HACK/GENE & ROGER/DO WE GET TO WIN THIS TIME for @ringer ). Author (BEST. MOVIE. YEAR. EVER. for @simonschuster ) brianraftery @gmail .com
Burbank, CA
Joined February 2009
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As a well-scrubbed, hustling rube, I'm excited to announce I'm working on a book for
@simonschuster
about red dragons, screaming lambs, manhunters--and one very famous serial killer.
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THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT went wide twenty years ago today. In BEST. MOVIE. YEAR. EVER., I spoke with the film's cast and creators about how the film hijacked the culture in the summer of 1999--and about the backlash that followed:
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Here's
@WIRED
with the latest excerpt from BEST. MOVIE. YEAR. EVER.: The making of THE MATRIX!
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I’ve spent the last year working on a new podcast for
@ringer
about Hollywood and Vietnam, one that looks at how the films about the war were made—and how they impacted moviegoers. The first two episodes drop today on
@TheBigPic
, including the prologue:
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THREAD: It's my last day at
@WIRED
, a place that's been wonderful to me for 10 years. It's ALSO the day I can *finally* tell you all about my new book: BEST. MOVIE. YEAR. EVER.: HOW 1999 BLEW UP THE BIG SCREEN, which you can preorder here: . Details below!
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For
@ringer
, I spoke with filmmakers and experts about the great neo-noir movement of the nineties: Why it happened, why it mattered--and why these salacious, deeply satisfying movies went away:
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For
@ringer
, I wrote an oral history of WONDER SHOWZEN, the politically fiery, hilariously brutal MTV2 series that, fifteen years ago, tried to warn us how bad things were about to get:
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For
@ringer
, I wrote about Martin Scorsese's wild ride in the '80s, a period full of set-backs and self-doubts, but one that resulted in some of his most daring, crucial, and controversial works. As filmmaking decades go, it was accomplished!
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Some news: Next week, I'm launching a new narrative podcast with
@Spotify
and
@ringer
. "The Hollywood Hack" is a three-part look at the 2014 cyberattack on Sony Pictures. The series launches Monday on the
@TheBigPic
, but you can hear me babbling semi-coherently about it here...
On a jam-packed episode of
@TheBigPic
:
💻
@BrianRaftery
discusses his Sony hack pod
🏆
@akdobbins
and
@SeanFennessey
build the Matt Damon Hall of Fame
📽️ Sean Wang breaks down his new film, 'Didi'
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ICYMI: Here's a link to *all eight episodes* of the GENE & ROGER podcast on Spotify. Once again, a big 👍👍 to everyone who listened:
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GENE AND ROGER is finally here! In part 1, rivals Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert are brought together for their own movie-review show. It was a crazy idea at the time. But it would change TV forever. Follow along on Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts:
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THREAD: Were you an ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY reader in the late '90s? Do you enjoy wonderfully belabored puns? If so, have I got a listicle for you! (1/378)
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For
@ringer
, I spoke with Tim Robinson—as well as many of his collaborators and friends—about I THINK YOU SHOULD LEAVE, DETROITERS, and his time on SNL:
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I spoke with David Fincher, Edward Norton, Chuck Palahniuk,
@wohojak
,
@andykevinwalker
, and many more about the making of "Fight Club." So excited to have this excerpt from BEST. MOVIE. YEAR. EVER. on
@ringer
!
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In the last episode of "Do We Get to Win This Time?", we head into the nineties, and the final years of the Vietnam-movie boom:
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For
@MensHealthMag
, I wrote about Henry Cavill--which gave me yet another excuse to talk about how much I love "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." Special cameo appearance by the great
@HoS_Burbank
!
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Hard to overstate just how big this film was: Cover stories appeared in both Time *and* Newsweek. Bootleg tapes circulated months before its release. Spielberg would eventually invite co-director Dan Myrick to the set of MINORITY REPORT to talk shop.
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It's Quentin Tarantino week over at
@ringer
, and I wrote about the director's '90s pop-culture takeover, which found him hosting 'SNL,' starring on Broadway, and becoming a regular talk machine (I'm talking morning, day, night, etc):
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Can’t wait for you all to hear GENE AND ROGER, coming next week from
@ringer
and
@spotifypodcasts
. It’s the story of Siskel and Ebert, as told by their family members, friends, and admirers. A special thumbs-up to everyone who helped make it happen.
Siskel & Ebert Narrative Podcast Series Set At Spotify From Brian Raftery & The Ringer
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For
@ringer
, I wrote about the heyday of the eighties/nineties erotic thriller--and why the once-beloved genre might come again.
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Here's the 8th and final episode of GENE AND ROGER. A big👍 to everyone who listened, and to the great team at
@ringer
for their help. Most of all, thanks to Gene and Roger's family members, friends, and colleagues for speaking with me.
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And there were approximately 3.2 million BLAIR WITCH parodies, including this MOTO WN LIVE sketch, featuring one of Beyoncé's first on-screen roles:
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Whoa! The New York Times calls BEST. MOVIE. YEAR. EVER.: HOW 1999 BLEW UP THE BIG SCREEN an "entertaining" and "persuasive" book that "dares to think bigger than the big screen." (It also's apparently "jaunty but jaundiced," aka my natural state of being):
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I replicant believe I'm saying this, but:
@WIRED
let me go to Budapest to witness the return of BLADE RUNNER:
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In episode one of THE HOLLYWOOD HACK, employees at Sony Pictures arrive on the studio lot in late 2014--and find a menacing message on their computers. The company has experienced a massive hack. But who's responsible? And what secrets did they steal?
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My new book, BEST. MOVIE. YEAR. EVER.: HOW 1999 BLEW UP THE BIG SCREEN is out! It has 130 NEW interviews w/ your favorite actors and filmmakers, talking about your favorite movies. On the fence about getting a copy? Here are few chapters you can read FREE!
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The closing of
@FilmStruck
is a huge loss for movie-lovers--and a cautionary tale about the perils of appointing tech-giants as cultural gatekeepers. My latest for
@Wired
:
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For
@WIRED
, I wrote about what it's like to be a full-time D&D dungeon master in New York City:
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For
@ringer
, I wrote about the recent VOD void of John Travolta, one of my all-time favorite movie stars:
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This was a lot of fun: For
@ringer
, I wrote about the very funny, very dark, and very online comedy of
@bradfordevans
and
@nickciarelli
.
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For
@ringer
, I talked to
@electrolemon
about growing up online, making comedy for the internet, and why he's leaving
@punchupthejam
:
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Just wanted to add a quick thank-you to everyone who listened to "Do We Get to Win This Time?" And, of course, a VERY special thanks to the people at
@ringer
and
@TheBigPic
who helped make it happen. One of the best teams I've ever worked with, no joke.
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I really loved BLADE RUNNER 2049:
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I went on one of my favorite pods to talk about the Sony hack. Thanks to
@MattBelloni
and everyone at THE TOWN for having me!
New pod: Hard to believe we’re coming up on a decade since the Sony hack. My thoughts on how the media acted then (me included!), and the implications for today’s hacks. With
@BrianRaftery
. Listen!
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For
@WIRED
, I spoke with the guy making those goofy (and very non-scientific) movie-metrics studies on Reddit:
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For
@WIRED
, I spoke with director
@aneeshchaganty
about his nifty new thriller
@SearchingMovie
--as well as about the film's not-so-hidden message for
@MNightShyamalan
:
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Finished copies of BEST. MOVIE. YEAR. EVER. have arrived! Thanks to everyone at
@simonschuster
who helped make this happen, especially my editor,
@talkingcovers
. This book was his idea, and I’m honored to have gone on this years-long galaxy quest with him.
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For
@ringer
, I spoke to filmmakers about the sci-fi noir boom of the '90s--a period when big technology (and even bigger fears) resulted in a run of future-shocked, sleekly bleak films, from 12 MONKEYS to THE THIRTEENTH FLOOR:
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This is awesome:
@PureCinemaPod
—one of my favorite shows—went through Gene and Roger's old "Dogs of the Week" segments, and found a bunch of cool-sounding '70s and '80s genre movies that deserve a second look (including THE MEDUSA TOUCH, which I am now VERY psyched to see).
New episode! We talk about & try to pick some gems from Siskel & Eberts old “Dog of the Week” segments:
🍎 Podcasts:
Spotify:
Libsyn:
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For
@ringer
, I wrote about the legendarily over-the-top premiere party for 1998's GODZILLA--and about why such lavish Hollywood events have become so rare in recent years:
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RIP Adam Schlesinger. He wrote dozens of my all-time favorite songs, but "Utopia Parkway will forever be the king of this goddamn town:
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A few years ago, I interviewed Christopher Plummer about THE INSIDER (He was delightful, of course: Great talker, even better laugher). Because it was for a book about the movies of 1999, I asked him about Y2K:
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For
@WIRED
, I wrote about concert maven (and
@brooklynbowl
founder) Peter Shapiro's new concert-chronicling website:
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Part 7 of GENE AND ROGER is out today. It's a heartbreaker. But it also has moments that will make you smile--especially if you grew up with Siskel and Ebert, as I did. Follow along on Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts:
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In part 4 of GENE AND ROGER, the critics take on the '80s. It was the blockbuster era--and Gene and Roger were blockbuster critics. But Hollywood was undergoing big changes, on- AND off-screen. Follow along on Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts:
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For
@ringer
, I wrote about GRIZZLY II, one of the most ambitious and troubled movies ever-semi made. It's a story that spans four decades, and involves George Clooney,
@LauraDern
, several new-wave musicians, 50,000 rock fans—and one giant mechanical bear.
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I went on one of my favorite podcasts (
@PureCinemaPod
) to talk about shark movies, Billy Zane’s TOMBSTONE hair, and other fun movie stuff!
Check out our November
@newbeverly
calendar episode with guest
@BrianRaftery
joining us to run down a solid month of movies:
🍎 podcasts:
Spotify:
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In episode 3 of THE HOLLYWOOD HACK, a threat against movie theaters forces Sony Pictures to scrap plans to release THE INTERVIEW--a move that will have major consequences for Hollywood in the years ahead.
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Part 6 of GENE AND ROGER brings the critics into the '90s. It was a revolutionary era for film--and for Siskel & Ebert, who teamed up to take on the Academy, the ratings board, and even Bob Dole. Follow along on Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts:
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Capped off my NYC week with the wild (and wildly funny)
#BeetlejuiceBway
! Congrats to
@scottabridged
and
@theanthonyking
for all their hard work on this show, which is savvy and catchy and puppet-y in so many great ways.
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While researching BEST. MOVIE. YEAR. EVER., I dug into pretty much every 1999 issue of
@EW
. That magazine was my smartest, nerdiest friend throughout the '90s, and I always loved the punny headlines that accompanied the film reviews. And EW had some VERY good puns in 1999.
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So many great details in the
@ringer
Terminator 2 oral history by
@AlanSiegelDC
. But this bit about how Guns N' Roses wound up on the soundtrack is so wonderfully goofy:
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For
@WIRED
, I wrote about Simpsons Shitposting(TM), a Facebook group w/ more backstage drama than Burns' birthday:
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Episode seven of "Do We Get to Win This Time?" looks at the wave of late-eighties Vietnam films--including HAMBURGER HILL and Stanley Kubrick's landmark FULL METAL JACKET:
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Hey, quick-biters! I'm working on a podcast about Quibi for
@audible_com
and
@campsidemedia
. If you worked for Quibi or one of its shows—no matter your role—I'd love to talk about your time there. You can reach me via DM, Signal (917-541-6410), or brianraftery
@gmail
.com. Thanks!
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I had a great time talking about GENE AND ROGER with my good chums (and trusted colleagues)
@akdobbins
and
@SeanFennessey
on
@TheBigPic
(and apologies to all the Bates-mates out there for confusing PSYCHO III for PSYCHO II):
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So now, in the most niche-specific and on-brand Twitter thread of my entire life, here are THE 10 GREATEST MOVIE-RELATED ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY HEADLINE PUNS OF 1999!
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I had a great time talking about Vietnam movies on
@TFSBSide
. Thanks for having me on!
The great
@BrianRaftery
(author and mastermind behind
@ringer
podcast DO WE GET TO WIN THIS TIME) joins to talk about Vietnam War B-Sides: HEARTS AND MINDS, THE LITTLE GIRL FROM HANOI, and HAMBURGER HILL. Listen here or wherever you get your pods!
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For
@WIRED
, I wrote about
@botnikstudios
, a new, AI-assisted comedy application that's a lot of fun to play with:
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Thanks so much to
@ChrisRyan77
and
@SeanFennessey
for having me on
@thewatchpod
to talk 1999 film, old movie magazines, and Colin Farrell's (probable) reasons for digging EYES WIDE SHUT.
On
#TheWatch
,
@ChrisRyan77
and
@SeanFennessey
talk about how 1999 became a seminal year for movies with
@BrianRaftery
. Plus,
@rox_anne_b
joins to discuss making unique horror movies
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In episode six of "Do We Get to Win This Time?", I talk to Oliver Stone, Keith David, and Dale Dye about the making of PLATOON:
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This weekend marks the 20th anniversary of DEEP BLUE SEA, a movie I couldn't fit into the 1999 book, but which I've always loved for its smart-shark, dumb-fun glory (and which I wrote about a few years ago for
@Wired
):
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Episode four of "Do We Get to Win This Time" goes deep into the making of APOCALYPSE NOW--including a new interview with Eleanor Coppola about her time on the set, and the making of her must-see documentary HEARTS OF DARKNESS:
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Took a quick break from book-work to write this
@Wired
story on the state of digital sketch comedy--in case you need something to read on your lazy Thursday:
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Happy birthday to EYES WIDE SHUT, a.k.a. DREAMS FROM A MARRIAGE. Still one of the best films to ever feature Tom Cruise walking around a fake NYC on a treadmill. Here's the chapter from BEST. MOVIE. YEAR. EVER. on the making of Kubrick's final film:
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I had a great time talking to the talented Mr.
@davechensky
about the movies of 1999 for his new podcast, CULTURALLY RELEVANT (
@CREVSHOW
). You can listen here: .
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Hi! Starting this week, I'm taking a break from this wonderful site, and focusing full-time on a book project. I'm still reachable via email, but otherwise, see you all in the spring!
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Congrats to
@scharpling
on his new book, IT NEVER ENDS, which I finished over the weekend, and have been thinking about ever since. It’s very funny (obviously) but also open and vulnerable in ways most memoirs are not. Great stuff!
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For
@EW
, I asked nearly two dozen filmmakers, musicians, and actors to forecast what Hollywood will be like in 2032. Their predictions? The metaverse will rule, deepfakes will be a big deal—and you're STILL going to be hitting up movie theaters. Get ready for a wild ten years:
Hollywood in 2032: Your exclusive, not-at-all-hypothetical look at pop culture a decade from now.
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As the term "supercut" hits the ten-year mark, I wrote about the rise and fall--and possible rebirth?--of one of the web's most delightful (and insightful!) mini-movements. My latest, for
@WIRED
:
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For
@nytimes
, I recommended some feel-good songs for these feel-bad times (and if your favorite power-pop band/tune isn't on here, maybe I'll Squeeze them into a sequel):
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The latest excerpt from BEST. MOVIE. YEAR. EVER. is up on
@vulture
! I spoke with Todd Field, Steven Soderbergh, and Christopher Nolan—and dug through the Cruise/Kidman/Kubrick interview archives—to tell the story of EYES WIDE SHUT:
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Episode three of "Do We Get to Win This Time?" goes behind the scenes of THE DEER HUNTER and COMING HOME--two breakthrough Vietnam drama that would wind up going head-to-head at the Oscars. Listen here:
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It's Whistleblower Week(TM), so here's some behind-the-scenes intel on THE INSIDER, which turns 20 this fall. For my book, I spoke w/ Michael Mann, Christopher Plummer, and several others about the docudrama, which I still can't believe got made—and by Disney, no less! (1/8)
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Happy birthday to RUN LOLA RUN, which opened in the U.S. twenty years ago this week. In BEST. MOVIE. YEAR. EVER., I spoke with both Franka Potente and writer-director Tom Tykwer about the making of their kinetic, dazzling romance:
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For more than twenty years, the internet’s been asking for a MEG movie. Now it’s finally ashore. My latest for
@WIRED
:
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Nearly ALL of these movies are easy to find on streaming: A remastered AFTER DARK, MY SWEET is on
@Tubi
. KILL ME AGAIN (which was hard to track down in the '90s) is on
@PlutoTV
. And several essential nineties noirs (LAST SEDUCTION, SUTURE, SWOON) are on
@criterionchannl
.
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(BTW, here's a Letterboxd list of the movies mentioned in the podcast--thanks to the user who created it!)
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In episode one of "Do We Get to Win This Time?": Hollywood tries to stay out of Vietnam...until one of the country's biggest movie stars decides to go to war. Listen here:
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A big thank-you to
@TheAtlantic
for including GENE & ROGER on its list of the best podcasts of 2021!
“Because of Anita,” “70 Over 70,” “This Land,” and more.
@LJStandley
and
@McQuadeEric
pick the 50 best podcasts of 2021.
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An old EW pal sent along some pictures of the SISKEL & EBERT 1993 CALENDAR--which I never knew existed until now! Perfect if you want to start your day with Gene and Roger's reviews of, say BAD INFLUENCE. Or with Sylvester Stallone's takes on WHAT'S NEW, PUSSYCAT? or DIE HARD.
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10. "Prez Dispensers" (DICK, 8/13/99)
EW MOVIE GRADE: A
BR PUN GRADE: B
ALSO WOULD HAVE ACCEPTED: "What a 'Gate," "Frosty Nixon," "Milhous Party"
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The world premiere of FIGHT CLUB was held in Venice twenty years ago today. In BEST. MOVIE. YEAR. EVER., I wrote about the initial response to the movie Brad Pitt once described as "Mr. Fincher's Opus":
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Episode five of "Do We Get to Win This Time" looks at two of the eighties' most popular and powerful Hollywood heroes: John Rambo and Ronald Reagan.
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In episode two of "Do We Get to Win This Time?": It's the early seventies, and a new wave of dark and imaginative low-budget movies--westerns, horror films, revenge flicks--and bringing the horrors of Vietnam to the drive-in:
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I love these! (And, not surprisingly, the one where Spike looks so glum was taken during a Bulls-Knicks game.)
@bwags
@BrianRaftery
I really enjoyed the series and the choice to end the finale with the Tonight Show clip.
After hearing how much Gene liked the Bulls (media pass story), I also wish we had the show: At The Bulls Game with Siskel & Ebert
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As of now, I’ve seen 6 movies from 2021 that I unequivocally loved: SHIVA BABY, ZOLA, MITCHELLS VS. THE MACHINES, SUMMER OF SOUL, KILLING OF 2 LOVERS, THE SPARKS BROTHERS. What else should I catch up on?
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8. "Men in Blecch" (WILD WILD WEST, 7/9/99)
EW MOVIE GRADE: D+
BR PUN GRADE: B
ALSO WOULD HAVE ACCEPTED: "The De-Kline of Western Civilization," "Corny-as-Hell 'West'"
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(RED ROCK WEST, maddeningly, is *not* easy to find, even on DVD--though apparently it might be re-released on home video soon. I'm also hoping DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS gets another Blu-Ray run. Both of those movies are essential.)
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For
@MensHealthMag
, I spoke with the very funny and forthright
@kumailn
about his physical and mental transformation into a Marvel superhero. (We also discussed our love of '80s Schwarzenegger, though I'm saving that for the cover of Running Man's Health.)
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For the July/August cover story of
@MensHealthMag
, I wrote about the long-time-coming super-heroic ascent of
#Endgame
star Anthony Mackie:
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