sycasey 2.0

Paul & Amy relive 1993’s Bill Murray time loop comedy Groundhog Day! They learn about the tempestuous relationship between Murray and director Harold Ramis, read an excerpt from the original script, and compare the film to another magical realist classic, It’s A Wonderful Life. Plus: Just how long was Phil stuck in that loop anyways? This is the third episode in our Couple Goals series; next week’s film is Groundhog Day…er, actually it’s A Place In The Sun! Learn more about the show at unspooledpod.com, follow us on Twitter @unspooled and Instagram @unspooledpod, and don’t forget to rate, review & subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and Spotify. You can also listen to our Stitcher Premium game show Screen Test right now at https://www.stitcher.com/show/unspooled-screen-test, and apply to be a contestant at unspooledpod@gmail.com! Photo credit: Kim Troxall

So how long do we think Phil spent in the loop? I tend to agree with the higher estimates, just given the kinds of skills he picks up. I know Amy bagged on the kind of jazz they were playing at the end of the movie, but it seems to me that Phil's piano playing took some major skill and musical understanding there: he's embellishing the melody, doing fills and solos, leading a band of musicians who just met him . . . and doing it in front of an audience. To go from zero piano ability to that must have taken like five years at least. Then add in the ice sculpting, learning other languages, etc. I think he was in there for multiple decades.

The "cultural touchstone" part is what convinced me to vote yes. Some other movies/shows have tried this same idea (Russian Doll, Palm Springs) but of course they are all referred to as the "Groundhog Day premise." So let's put the original on the rocket.

One thing not discussed much in the episode is how much this movie has been interpreted and claimed by various religious scholars as a lesson in the tenets of various faiths: Buddhism, Catholicism, Judaism, etc. https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/55243/8-creative-interpretations-groundhog-day It does seem like there's some religious theme running through this movie: it opens with a shot of blue sky and clouds, peering into the heavens, Phil at one point thinks he might be a god, etc.

Paul & Amy dream of 1994’s Wong Kar-wai romantic diptych Chungking Express! They look at Wong’s influence on modern auteurs like Quentin Tarantino and Barry Jenkins, trace a metaphor through the film for a Hong Kong in transition, and ask why it was considered “too MTV” by some contemporary critics. Plus: What does this film have in common with Final Fantasy VIII? This is the second episode in our Couple Goals series; next week’s film is Groundhog Day! Learn more about the show at unspooledpod.com, follow us on Twitter @unspooled and Instagram @unspooledpod, and don’t forget to rate, review & subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and Spotify. You can also listen to our Stitcher Premium game show Screen Test right now at https://www.stitcher.com/show/unspooled-screen-test, and apply to be a contestant at unspooledpod@gmail.com! Photo credit: Kim Troxall

Here's the link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/unspooledpodcast/permalink/1160376427753884 There's some questioning if this is the right WKW (or other film of its type) to send up (including from me), but mostly the yes votes just seem to be from people who love the movie.

Interesting the division in results between here and the Facebook group. Both this and When Harry Met Sally each sailed through with a solid majority of yes votes there, but are being narrowly defeated here. (Granted, many fewer votes in this group than over there.)

This video has a good explanation of the issues I'm seeing pop up in later Nolan work (and why Dunkirk is a bit different).

This is definitely a movie where the whole appeal of it is in how it's shot, edited, set to music, etc. The stories/characters are very simple and stripped-down. So if you don't feel the style then you don't feel it. This one captured me really well the first time I watched it. Subsequent viewings have been slightly down from that high, but still I think it's a really well-made film. I voted yes here, though I do have some hesitation in thinking that In the Mood For Love might be the more worthy entry. The argument for Chungking Express in the Wong Kar-Wai canon is that (1) it was the major worldwide breakthrough for WKW and (2) it captures a particular time and place (Hong Kong pre-China takeover) that might not be better captured elsewhere. Anyway, it's a close call.

Paul & Amy party with 1993’s throwback high school ensemble comedy Dazed And Confused! They watch Matthew McConaughey’s dazzling audition tape, learn the studio’s original plan for the soundtrack, and ask if director Richard Linklater prioritizes the male POV in his films. Plus: We try to determine which high school film we’ve covered is most spaceship-worthy. This is the final episode of our “Back To School” miniseries; next week we kick off a new series about horror films with 1931’s Frankenstein! Learn more about the show at unspooledpod.com, follow us on Twitter @unspooled and Instagram @unspooledpod, and don’t forget to rate, review & subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and Spotify. Also check out our live Spool Party episodes on youtube.com/earwolf, and apply to be a guest on Screen Test at unspooledpod@gmail.com! Photo credit: Kim Troxall

I kind of enjoyed watching it because of Nolan's filmmaking technique making the individual sequences compelling, but as a story it didn't make me feel anything. There's just no grounding for anything that's happening for the bulk of the running time, because the film is deliberately trying to hide information from you. I don't know why characters are doing things or what they want, so I don't care that much. Does it eventually come together? Yes, I suppose so. But that's a long time for a movie to keep you in the dark. In general I like Nolan, but I think he has his little tics and flaws that are starting to become more obvious as his movies get bigger and more intricate in their plotting. For me he still hasn't topped Memento, where the small scale forces him to actually spend time with the characters and give you something to care about. I also thought his approach worked pretty well in Dunkirk, because the stakes are already pre-set (it's a war and the soldiers need to be rescued from the beach), so I don't need to know much more.

Amy & Paul go to the airport for 1989’s quintessential romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally! They learn how director Rob Reiner helped Meg Ryan prepare for the orgasm scene, ask why Harry Connick Jr. doesn’t appear in the film, and discuss whether the film’s ending undermines the message that men and women can be just friends. Plus: Highlights from the scenes that didn’t make the theatrical cut. This is the first episode in our Couple Goals series; next week’s film is Chungking Express! Learn more about the show at unspooledpod.com, follow us on Twitter @unspooled and Instagram @unspooledpod, and don’t forget to rate, review & subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and Spotify. You can also listen to our Stitcher Premium game show Screen Test right now at https://www.stitcher.com/show/unspooled-screen-test, and apply to be a contestant at unspooledpod@gmail.com! Photo credit: Kim Troxall

That said, those who dislike the film may enjoy this fake trailer that re-edits the movie to look like a dark thriller. I think it's really well-done.

I think this movie is great and I don't think of the Woody Allen comparisons as a particularly negative thing. The filmmakers have obviously been influenced by him, but the tone and worldview are completely different. Allen's movies tend to be skeptical of true love; this one looks to affirm it. I see When Harry Met Sally as Woody Allen influenced in the same way I see Wes Anderson as influenced by Orson Welles and Hal Ashby: the similarities are noticeable, but the techniques are also obviously used for very different aims and purpose. So why would people consider it "blander?" I think there is often a bias (especially among critics) in favor of negative emotion over positive, as if the life-affirming work is less "serious" and we have to prove our good taste by liking darker stuff; it's the "Kubrick vs. Spielberg" argument writ large. I've tried to free myself of this false dichotomy over time. I think that upbeat work has just as much to teach us as downbeat work. Anyway, I'm not one who has any particularly nostalgic feelings for WHMS, since I didn't watch it until well after its heyday and well after all of the 90s and early 2000s romcoms it influenced had all been released. Given that, I was actually probably predisposed to find it tiresome, as I did many of those lesser romcoms. Instead, I watched it and immediately saw: "Oh, THIS is the real deal, the thing all those other movies were trying to be." Most romcoms fail to replicate the careful character detail of this one and replace it with lots of silly plotting (someone made a bet, someone wrote a letter that got re-routed, etc.); in this one the only thing keeping our leads apart is themselves. This over-focus on plot also usually means the "happily ever after" romance feels rushed and implausible, but When Harry Met Sally takes its time, allowing the true love to gradually set in over many years. For me the ending has always worked for that reason, even though most of the time I'd be rolling my eyes at that kind of speech. I've also returned to the film several times and have never found it any less engaging. So yeah, given how much I like it and how influential it is I think it goes on the rocket ship.

Okay, at one point Jerry Orbach leaves his office with the woman cop to go discuss something, leaving Gnorm with the other skeevy rival detective (Kaminsky) to watch him. Then Gnorm escapes and Kaminsky is behind the desk . . . naked? Why did either he or Gnorm take his clothes off? I can think of several potential explanations for this, all of them disturbing.

I had similar problems where I lost my password/username combo and just couldn't get back in no matter what I did. That's why my username has "2.0" on it now. I had to re-register and leave the old one behind.

Well, there's already probably five yes votes on there for me.

Paul & Amy highway into Yorgos Lanthimos’ jarring family parable Dogtooth! They learn how audiences around the world interpreted the film differently, discuss how parents can radically shape their children’s world, and lament that more American films don’t use Lanthomos’ method of high allegory. Plus: A snippet of the younger sister’s real-life art punk band. This is the final episode in our Kinspooled series on “effed up families”; next week we kick off “Couple Goals” with When Harry Met Sally! Learn more about the show at unspooledpod.com, follow us on Twitter @unspooled and Instagram @unspooledpod, and don’t forget to rate, review & subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and Spotify. You can also listen to our Stitcher Premium game show Screen Test right now at https://www.stitcher.com/show/unspooled-screen-test, and apply to be a contestant at unspooledpod@gmail.com! Photo credit: Kim Troxall

Yes, I actually like that the parents' goals are unexplained. It's just an accepted circumstance about the world of the film, because of course all of the main characters have by now accepted it as the way things are. Lanthimos wants you to live in that space.

I think it's a very good, interesting film, but I'm not sure it's quite rocket-ship worthy. If I'm looking at Lanthimos' films, then The Favourite is probably the more accomplished film overall and The Lobster maybe the more pure-grade Lanthimos effort. Voting no to table it for a bit.

Of course you have, you're an HDTGM fan.

My other big question: did she become the Jellicle choice?

Yeah I had issues once I thought about that too, but at least Marvel had the courtesy to wait until the final scene of the final movie to do an uncomfortable ret-con about one of their main characters, so you don't spend the whole film wondering what is going on. WW84 was more like if Cap had come out in the first scene of Winter Soldier and said he hadn't actually been frozen, he'd just been hanging out playing solitaire at the North Pole and then got bored and froze himself.

Amy & Paul break into 1990’s abandoned child comedy phenomenon Home Alone! They praise John Candy as the film’s MVP, learn why Joe Pesci was tougher to wrangle on set than any of the child actors, and debate whether Kevin McCallister is a sociopath. Plus: A look at how Macaulay Culkin has responded to the film’s success as an adult. This is the seventh episode in our Kinspooled series on “effed up families”; next week’s film, as voted on by Unspooled listeners, is Dogtooth! Learn more about the show at unspooledpod.com, follow us on Twitter @unspooled and Instagram @unspooledpod, and don’t forget to rate, review & subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and Spotify. You can also listen to our Stitcher Premium game show Screen Test right now at https://www.stitcher.com/show/unspooled-screen-test, and apply to be a contestant at unspooledpod@gmail.com! Photo credit: Kim Troxall