HoldenMartinson

"There's final hits, and final hits. What kind was this going to be?" Yes pleeeeease.

High Noon is my poison, but I'm okay with any of these.

First off, this is a clear yea. Second, I feel like Amy's arguments could be applied to Fight Club, and I would agree pretty strongly. Third, there's a great Every Frame a Painting, called "And the Other Way Is Wrong," which is all about how David Fincher uses his camera. Definitely worth a watch. Fourth, that was Goodfellas levels of tense, which is fine, but damn. Can't wait for the commentary.

Far and away more of a fan of Isao Takahata--because, in five films, he explores more with film craft and animation than Miyazaki attempted in more than twice as many--but Ghibli deserves a place in the canon. Princess Mononoke, Grave of the Fireflies, Only Yesterday, My Neighbor Totoro (which I really, really don't like,) and Spirited Away are all worthy of discussion. Satoshi Kon is another absolute maverick. His films are so kinetic and absorbing. There's actually an excellent episode of Every Frame a Painting about Kon, and particularly why his editing only works with animation. If we believe in a canon that has room for The Birth of a Nation, Triumph of the Will, and Battleship Potemkin, we can make room for one or two Japanese cartoons. IF WE CAN MAKE ROOM FOR THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW, WE CAN MAKE ROOM FOR PORCO ROSSO!!!

They did bring this up in the Cannibal Holocaust episode. So, it's not outside the realm of possibility that we might get an episode on Possession.

The softest, most reluctant of yeses. I don't want small canon. Yeah, it's cool to discuss why some films matter. Some film are just beneficiaries to the influence and innovations of other films, and don't give back a ton. Marathon Man is this kind of film. I would also point to Jeremy Saulnier's films. They're not breaking new ground, but they're fucking dynamite. I think the film in question is good enough, even if I don't love it

Modern Times is probably my favorite of Chaplin's, and certainly it's canon-worthy. If we're going with silent-era comedians, I'd kinda rather do Sherlock Jr., which might be the funniest film I've ever seen. Plus, there are moments in there as tense as any Marvel film.

Must've been resisting to do Network--unless they're saving that one, though I figured that they might also be considering Pumping Iron, because "Iron Man."

What's crazy is that there were some terrific nominees that year. Capote is great. Munich is an underrated film, even for Spielberg. Heck, Good Night and Good Luck would at least have been interesting--though it never would have happened. I sincerely would have preferred if the unnominated Charlie and the Chocolate Factory had won over Crash. But really, it just means that the best Oscar... is time.

Voted yes. One minor correction: Three non-best-of-the-year movies from the 21st century that made it in before Brokeback Mountain include Battle Royale, Mad Max: Fury Road, and Oldboy--unless I misunderstood something.

Noah is a fine film, but was probably overshadowed by the fact that Aronofsky was coming off the one-two punch of The Wrestler and Black Swan. I almost think The Fountain might be more worthy, but I wouldn't mind a Noah episode.

I think a more interesting pairing would be Spider-Man 2 versus The Dark Knight, since it seems they both champion those superhero films.

I'd be down to clown for an Adaptation vs. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind episode. That would be a legitimately challenging episode. Or even Being John Malkovich vs. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

This may actually be even more cruel, but this way, at least ONE of them gets in--assuming there wouldn't be a ton of "neither" votes. That said, I think this could be a fun episode about dissecting how we can have favorites that are so different from one another, despite having the same weight. This wouldn't necessarily make either film canon-worthy, but it would make for a neat discussion.

I've probably voted for lesser films in the past, but I'm putting in a real soft no on The Lost Weekend. This is a good film. I'm glad I sought out this film. There are better Best Picture contenders. There are better substance abuse stories. There are better Billy Wilder pictures. Looking at the votes, this might be the first pre-1980 film not to make it into the canon--which is too bad, because this is solid.

Given the level of acclaim that Eternal Sunshine... has amassed over the years, it'd be a huge blow-out for that film. That said, I think (500) Days of Summer is a solid film that is pretty lazily misinterpreted as a MPDG story--which it sort of is, though it's more subversive than that designation implies. I guess ESotSMis also somewhat like that--though the turn in expectations happens far earlier in the film. Anyway, I think they're both really good, but I think the former has the advantage, no question.

Cameron is fine. Every dude is talking over her, and she's totally right about the gender politics at play here. This is one of the most interesting episodes of the podcast in recent memories. That said... FEEL THE BERN!!!

You could also throw in Requiem for a Dream and The Wrestler, because they're very thematically similar Aronofsky films. That said, both Black Swan and Whiplash are absolutely thrilling, and I think both are canon-worthy. I'd be up for this episode.

I'm imagining a world where, for whatever reason, they do Stop Making Sense vs. Amy as a joke, but then Amy Winehouse's fans catch wind of this episode, and then skew the vote to get Amy in the canon. But uh... yeah. I'd throw in No Direction Home, as well as the mega-underrated Mistaken for Strangers.

Yeah. I've been wondering this for the last week or so. I mean, if you decided to do Cannibal Holocaust, I'll never ask about it again. I'm just a concerned listener is all.

That's totally fair. I think the main argument, maybe, is that these are his most well-known films. Otherwise, he has certainly done better.

I just watched Modern Times last week. Hilarious from beginning to end, but that scene where Chaplin stops a jailbreak while coked out is legendary.

I think Life of Brian wins because it's the edgier choice. They're both great, but clearly iconography doesn't matter--*cough* *cough* Empire Strikes Back *cough*--so, Holy Grail would likely miss out.

I think the whole idea is to listen to their arguments, and then vote. You should at least understand why it's being nominated, which you can't really do if you haven't listened to the episode. When voting, you can bring in your own understanding of the film, but hearing others talk about a particular film first could give you a new understanding of the film, which is never a bad thing. So, just listen first, and vote later.

A lot has been made about Linklater centering on straight white males in his last two films, because this is somewhat regressive when representation in film is more important than ever. At the same time, I think that focusing on the lowest common denominator is sort of the point. In Boyhood, Mason is the blankest, least descriptive character. In a way, he falls under the Campbellian trope of being a hero of a thousand faces. By using the most undefined individual, we don't have to worry about Mason's journey so much, because the point of the film is to see everything else around him, and how it influences him. What I think Everybody Wants Some!! kind of does is examine straight white male privilege, and says how to use it well. This is a film for a dominate demographic, not just to relate to, but to learn from. Linklater knows how to craft human stories. He knows how this stuff works. I think he's totally aware of the social landscape, and is trying to get at the core of patriarchy and male privilege. Heck, he even sets this before the next four years of Jake's life are about to begin, as if he knows that whatever anyone learns here, there's still a ton to learn and understand. Maybe it's not Mad Max: Fury Road-level politics, but I think some of that is definitely there.